Dear SCS Families and Caregivers,
It’s been a busy week on the safety front here at school. We had our second fire drill of the year on Tuesday, and students and staff did a fantastic job as usual. This time, the alarms were activated. We’ll continue to add different aspects to our drills over the course of the year to make sure we are building our flexibility and critical thinking during safety exercises. Last year, we had the Shelburne Fire Department “block” certain exits so classes would have to adapt, and we held a few middle schoolers back to simulate what would happen if a student wasn’t with their class. Teachers noticed and responded right away, which is what we would expect in a real emergency. Thanks to these types of practice, we feel well prepared to respond when a small engine fire sparks in the parking lot, which was yesterday’s surprise.
To help us keep all kids and adults physically safe, please remember to use the morning dropoff loop if you are bringing your child to school in the morning. Davis Circle is for anyone who is parking and walking their students to the School Street doors - it should not be considered a secondary dropoff loop. When it is, this creates parking hassles for our staff members, additional traffic across School Street, and bucks the system for everyone else who is following the plan. Thank you for your help with this - it’s a project to get all members of the SCS community in the building each day, and it takes all of us working together.
Of course, safety is about far more than how we are doing physically. We spend lots of time supporting students’ mental and emotional needs as well. As part of the fall CVSD assessment plan, students in grades 3-8 are starting to complete the Student Engagement Survey. This self-assessment helps our teaching teams better understand what is working for individual students and what is not yet working for them. We use these results to follow up with students, particularly those who might express feelings of not belonging or not connecting to trusted adults and/or peers in the school. We take great pride in establishing trusting relationships with each student and finding opportunities for all students to feel a sense of belonging and engagement in the community and in their learning. Students will complete this survey again later in the year as well. Our goal is to develop another student engagement survey that is more developmentally appropriate for our younger students in grades K-2 soon.
Ms. Celmer just completed reading The Energy Bus for Kids to our K-4 classrooms over the past few weeks. Each child participated in either writing some key takeaways from the story or drawing the passengers on their ‘bus’ (the people in their lives they take really good care of). You’ll be able to see these on display throughout the school. This story talks about the importance of being the driver of your own bus - or taking responsibility for your actions, choosing to be positive, kind, and helpful, and saying ‘no’ to bullying behaviors or people who don’t make you feel good.
Our student support team members will be following this read-aloud activity up with our annual Hazing, Harassment, and Bullying Presentation in grades 3-8 over the next few weeks. We’ll be sure to share a link to the presentation with all of you so you can continue the conversations at home as well. We want to make sure kids know that there is a robust district policy and lots of supports in the building should they ever need to access them. As always, it takes a village to make sure all kids recognize they ways in which they belong to our community. We’re grateful for your support in this effort!
Take care,
Alison, Brett, & Emily
Help Needed Saturday, Sept 28 9am-12 pm
Thank you for all the help last weekend. Tomorrow our goal is to finish revitalizing this important space so that it can be used more often for outdoor learning and community building. We’ll be working on tasks such as clearing out the undergrowth, laying down woodchips, and defining the space with a perimeter barrier to create a welcoming and inspiring environment for our students. If you didn’t know that we have an outdoor classroom, this is a great chance to come check it out and help us rejuvenate it! The classroom is located behind our athletic fields to the southeast of the basketball court, and we’ll plan to meet near the basketball court at 9:00 to kick things off. Rec soccer will be taking place at the same time, so it should be a lively morning.
This is a fantastic opportunity for our community to come together and support outdoor learning. Thank you for your support, and we hope to see you there!
Order forms will be sent home by Tuesday, October 1st.
The order forms are due back to school on October 9th.
- Order envelopes are the most economical way to purchase portraits, and these orders will be delivered back to the school for distribution to families.
- AMV also offers an online ordering option with the same print packages. Online ordering has additional tax and shipping costs but the photos are delivered directly to your home. Avoiding any potential bending of prints or loss of prints. You can log into the gallery using your child's student ID number which can be found on the order form or by contacting Jen Marx. Online order prices will increase after December 1st.
- You can also order a digital copy of the photos online starting Monday. The digital photos would be available to download immediately.
- If you need financial assistance, please contact your school counselor. K-3 - Courtney Close, 3-5 - Kiah Coble or 6-8 - Rachel Petraska
Make-up day will be offered on the afternoon of Tuesday, October 8th for any student who missed the first session or who would like their portraits retaken at no extra charge.
AMV Photography will also be offering sibling portraits at no additional charge. This will be held in early November in the breezeway. We will announce the date in an upcoming newsletter.
Please contact Jen Marx at jmarx@cvsdvt.org or 383-1102, if your child plans to participate in the make-up day or if you have any questions.
Dear CVSD Community,
Earlier this year, the CVSD school board announced the hiring of Adam Bunting as interim superintendent of our district for this school year. At the same time, we announced that we would conduct a thorough search for a permanent superintendent during the 2024-25 school year that included obtaining community input.
The board is pleased to announce that we have begun the process of identifying the next permanent superintendent of our district and extend an invitation to the community to get involved in the process. The search will be facilitated by CVSD’s Director of Human Resources (HR). Information about how to get involved is included on our website, https://www.cvsdvt.org/. Scroll down to the headline for the Superintendent Search.
Throughout the fall and early winter. we will provide the community with periodic updates on our progress. Thank you for your continued support of our schools.
Sincerely,
Meghan Metzler, Chair, CVSD School Board
Keith Roberts, Chair, CVSD HR Committee
Exciting News: Our New PTO Website is Live!
We’re thrilled to announce the launch of the brand-new Shelburne PTO website, your go-to resource for everything PTO-related. From organizing fun events to supporting our incredible students and staff, the site reflects the heart of what we do. It’s a place for you to stay informed about upcoming events and opportunities. Explore how we make a difference, the different ways (small or big) you can contribute or get involved, and learn about the exciting activities we plan to support our school. Together, let’s build a stronger, more vibrant school community.
Please check it out! https://www.shelburnepto.org/
**If you have experience specifically with Wix or website management/design and would be open to supporting on-occasion email devinb@shelburnepto.org
Join us for the first annual Fall Cornhole Tournament fundraiser and support our school community! Open to all ages - from students K-12 to adults. This event is a great way to have fun while giving back. Whether you're aiming for a win or just enjoying the festive fall atmosphere, there's something for everyone with food, drinks, and sweet treats for sale including Frankie's Food Truck and Crazy Cotton Candy Lady!), face painting and more! Prizes awarded to the top teams, but the real victory is coming together for a great cause. Beginner, novice, and wannabe pros are all welcome! To register or for more information: https://www.shelburnepto.org/cornhole.
*Volunteers and baked goods needed to help make this event a success. Thanks for your help!
*We're seeking cornhole boards to borrow for the event! If you have a set and are willing to lend it for the day, please let us know here!
Questions? cornhole@shelburnepto.org
Questions? cornhole@shelburnepto.org
