SCS Community Newsletter

It’s been quite awhile since we started school with a full 5-day week. Hopefully, you’re welcoming home some tired and happy kids this afternoon. And - more importantly - we hope that any fatigue is accompanied by feelings of excitement for the school year that awaits after a great week of building connections and routines. Thank you all so much for helping us make this week so successful by following our 7:45am drop-off process in the mornings - School Street is running really smoothly! Our incredible transportation team has had a great first week as well, getting to school in time for students to get breakfast and be ready for learning earlier in the morning. Just a reminder that doors open for Morning Movement by 7:25am, and for school at 7:45am. Breakfast begins at 7:45am as well. Doors will close by 7:55am daily.

We want to extend a big thank you to our incredibly generous PTO members for the delicious Welcome Back Breakfast for all of our faculty and staff at pre-service. What a great way to transition from summer to school mode for our hardworking team. We all agree that the cooking of SCS parents and caregivers is far superior to any catering options. On the very first day of school, our PTO also hosted our annual Community Gathering for all caregivers to connect at the Field House after dropping kids off for their first day of school. They don’t sit still for too long: our PTO is already gearing up for our next annual event, which is coordinating our Dynamic Experiences Fundraiser. Stay tuned for more details from our PTO on this super fun adult-student tradition.

We also would like to extend our gratitude to the members of the Shelburne Food Shelf for providing SCS with a $3500 grant to support the school in providing healthy snacks for those who forgot their snack(s). We are encouraging families to provide daily snacks for their child, and if the kids forget their snack, we’ll be able to provide one for them.

Some students may have already shared with families that our teachers have begun reviewing important safety information and practicing some of our safety procedures this week. We had planned to do our first evacuation practice this week, but we have decided to move it to a new date in the near future. We have also had a few Clear the Hall moments this week, and everyone did a beautiful job following the adults’ directions. We have already seen kids getting more comfortable in their routines, and today was the smoothest day of the week all around.

Please be sure to sign up for Seesaw, so you don’t miss out on important communications and highlights about your child/children’s school experience this year!

If you’d like to help us on Saturday, September 21st, we’re trying to recruit community volunteers to help us clean up our Outdoor Classroom space. Reach out to our amazing PTO or the school if you’d like to learn more.

September is National Attendance Month - check out this resource for more information! Every day counts!

We hope you all enjoy a lovely three-day weekend with your families, and we look forward to welcoming everyone back for a 4-day week on Tuesday, September 3rd.

Take Care,

Alison, Brett, and Emily

What an incredible year for our teaching garden! The 15 raised beds were adopted by teachers and their students at the end of last year and planted in the late spring. They have flourished over the summer to produce a bounty of tomatoes, cucumbers, zucchini, beans, peas, okra, potatoes, herbs, kale, melon as well as a variety of flowers. Students have been harvesting and much of the summer produce has gone into the hands of our families.

Can you guess which animals these 7th graders made in their math class? Students used tangrams to tap into their creative side while sharing about their summers as a way to get to know each other. Hint: one has an expandable tail, one is feeding, and one can sting...

Congratulations to Molly Fontaine and her family on the arrival of adorable August Matthew Fontaine on Monday!

• 9/2 - NO SCHOOL - Labor Day

• 9/3 - First Day for PreK Classes

• 9/3 - 4th Grade Chorus Begins

• 9/5 - Beginning Band Night (6:30 pm, Cafeteria)

• 9/10 - PTO Meeting (6:00 PM, Green Team)

• 9/16, 17, 18 - School photos (more details to come)

• 9/19 - 2nd Grade Field Trip (Hansen & Stevens)

• 9/19 - 5:00 - 6:30pm SCS Middle Level Curriculum Night

• 9/20 - 2nd Grade Field Trip (Maynard Jacob & Elia)

• 9/21 - SCS Outdoor Classroom Cleanup (all are welcome!)

• 9/26 - 5:00 - 6:30pm SCS PreK-4 Open House

• 9/28 - SCS Outdoor Classroom Cleanup (all are welcome!) Rain date!

CVSD K-8 Calendar

CVSD 2024-2025 Calendar

• SCS students ride eight buses that pickup and drop off students around the town. 2024-2025 Bus Routes, drivers, and approximate timing for stops are listed on the route schedule.
• If your exact street number is not listed, your child/ren should go to the stop that is closest to your home.
• Routes are designed to have students arrive at SCS ready to unload by 7:45.
• We aim to have buses depart the school in the afternoon at 2:45 (Except Wednesday, when they should roll out at 1:45). In order to make that possible, we use a staggered afternoon dismissal, with bus riders being dismissed first.
• Any bus/transportation questions should be directed to: Barry Russell: brussell@cvsdvt.org or 802-482-7120
• It is essential that your child’s transportation plan be communicated to classroom teachers and on your PowerSchool information. Any changes to the schedule provided must be communicated to the classroom teacher and Jane Graham in the main office.
• We expect all bus riders to follow our Bus Use Guidelines for Students (BUGS). If your child is taking the bus, please review these expectations with them.

From CVSD: We are experiencing some technical issues with STOPFINDER. If you haven't been able to access the app or see your students'schedule, please know that we are working with the vendor to resolve the problems. We expect the issues could take up to a week to solve and apologize if you haven't been able to access the system.

MORNING ARRIVAL AND DROP OFF

• All students arriving early (before 7:45), should head to the School Street doors. They can choose to wait there until the school day begins or head through those doors to the gym for Morning Movement.
• No students should enter the building in the morning through the doors by the cafeteria/gym.
• Buses will continue to unload in the bus circle, starting at 7:45 this year.
• Any student who would like breakfast should head to the cafeteria as they enter the building. Hot breakfast will be available in the cafeteria first thing in the morning.
• Students arriving after 7:55 are tardy. They can enter through the School Street doors or the main entrance to get a late pass and head to class.

AFTERNOON DISMISSAL

• We will continue to use a staggered dismissal, with bus riders and students attending Part 2 dismissed first. Dismissal will begin at 2:38 for K students, with bus riders dismissed starting at 2:40 (1:40 on Wednesdays).
• As soon as buses have exited the circle, we will dismiss all students getting picked up, walking home, riding bikes, or attending an after school / athletics program at SCS.
• All pickups should take place at the School Street side of the building.

We are all excited to welcome you to a new school year filled with opportunities to learn and engage!

Getting into the habit of daily attendance is more important than ever. It helps to:

• Reduce stress

• Make it easier to connect with friends and teachers

• Support learning

• Please call us if you need help with attendance. Jen Marx, our Attendance Clerk, is more than happy to help, or relay concerns to the appropriate school counselor or administrator. She can be reached at 802-383-1102 or scsattendance@cvsdvt.org.

We are working to make our school environment a place where everyone can be safe, healthy, and learning. We will do our best to listen and partner with you so that our children have a successful year. Do not hesitate to reach out to our school team with questions or concerns.

Here’s how you can help;

• PreK Tips

• Elementary Tips

• K-1 Handout

• Middle School Tips

SCS has wonderful opportunities for volunteers in two different mentoring programs. Which program is best for you?

The Everybody Wins! (EW!) Mentoring Program is literacy-based and matches elementary students with adult mentors for a “power hour” of lunch and reading together. Pairs meet on Tuesdays or Wednesdays during the student lunch hour. The goal is to share a love of books and create a warm relationship.

The Connecting Youth (CY) Mentoring Program is relationship-based and matches mentors with 5th - 8th grade students who would benefit from the friendship of an additional adult in their life. Pairs meet for about 45 minutes, at a time that works around the mentor’s schedule. The goal is for each adolescent to grow a strong relationship with a caring adult.

In both programs, each mentor meets weekly with their mentee at the school, during the school day. Adult mentors are provided with training and continual support. The commitment is for one school year.

This volunteer opportunity is an excellent way to be engaged with our school community and to truly make a difference in the life of one great kid!

If you are interested in learning more, please contact us:

Sarah Wannop, EW! Mentor Coordinator at: shelburne@everybodywinsvermont.org

Alice Brown, CY Mentor Coordinator at: abrown@cvsdvt.org.

CY is also actively recruiting mentors for middle school students in each of our CVSD schools. If you live/work in Williston, Hinesburg, or Charlotte, and are interested in mentoring there, please reach out to abrown@cvsdvt.org and Alice will share your info.

Nearby Nature is seeking new volunteers for the 2024-2025 school year! This fantastic program brings place-based natural science lessons into our K-2 classrooms. Every month volunteers attend a training, do a bit of lesson prep, and lead a lesson alongside other volunteers. It's a great way to be part of the classroom community, explore the world around us, and have fun together. For more information or to sign up please email wendy.eberhart@gmail.com. You can also read about the program at https://nearbynature.fwni.org

SCS is looking for students to join a district-wide team that will meet monthly to try to make our school better! In partnership with Up For Learning and teams from each of the schools across CVSD, we’ll be working on how to improve and expand upon our restorative practices, strengthen relationships, and bring more joy, belonging, and student voice to SCS. This group will be meeting for half a day each month from now until December and also leading change in each school building. If you or your student would like to join this group, please reach out to Ms. Celmer or Mr. Cluff.

More information is available in the flyer attached below. You don't need to have attended the session last week to be part of the group!

SCS is looking to fill 2 non-intensive para positions in grades K-4. If you know of someone who might be interested in learning more, please reach out to Alison Celmer at acelmer@cvsdvt.org. Thank you!

Our SCS Food Service Team is looking to fill 2 positions in our kitchen. If you know of someone who might be interested in learning more, please reach out to Becky Mashak at rmashak@cvsdvt.org.

Thank you!

We are always looking for reliable, flexible, and fun guest teachers to support our school throughout the year. If you would like to learn more about how to get on our sub list, please contact Louise Michaels at lmichaels@cvsdvt.org. Thank you!

If you are interested in joining a class/grade level on a fall field trip, please contact your child's classroom teacher to learn more about the process. It can take a few weeks to go through the volunteer/background check process, so you'll want to go through that process as early as possible.

Would you like to volunteer to support our PE Teacher, Ms. Alysia, and our Kindergarten teachers with Action Based Learning this year? Please reach out to Alysia Kroese at akroese@cvsdvt.org to learn more!

The CVSD HR Department is instituting "Drop-In Hours" this year. During these times, HR will be available for any and all individuals that need to support and to finish their onboarding paperwork. If these times do not work for individuals, we are happy to schedule a time for them to come to the office. The office will remain open for all of our standard hours. The drop-in hours are subject to change if we find it isn't working and open additional time during busier times.

• HR Drop-in Hours: Tuesdays from 10 to 2 and Thursday from 9 to Noon.
• If you have new hires, volunteers, chaperones, subs that need HR support, please direct them to reach out and/or stop in during those drop-in hours. Email is best or they can call the main line.
• Please be clear with anyone you are sending our way that if they cannot come during the drop-in hours to reach out to schedule time with us.

Please continue to reach out to HR via the CVSDHR@cvsdvt.org email address so we can timely respond to your needs.

Find upcoming events, library resources, athletics information, the monthly lunch menu, teacher teams, curriculum information, CY Mentoring, School Counselors, transportation, and more on the SCS website.

Website: https://www.cvsdvt.org/shelburne

Alison Celmer, PreK-4 Principal

Brett Cluff, 5-8 Principal

Emily Cogan, Director of Special Education