Cornwall News

Hello Cornwall School families,

Happy Friday!

This week's newsletter includes the following information :

• Photos from the Primary Years Programme (PYP) Exhibition
• Thank you!
• ACSD Equity Update and Listening Circles
• FOCS Cookbook Fundraiser
• Principal Hiring Update
• Cornwall Volunteer Fire Department Open House
• 2024-2025 School Year Calendar, and
• Important Dates

Heather

4th and 5th graders presented their research based on the United Nations Sustainability goals earlier this week to families, adult visitors and to each of the other classes at Cornwall School. They showed great poise, courage, and communication skills. Take a look at the photos below!

Teachers have felt very appreciated this past week. Thank you for the lunch, flowers, sweet treats, cards, kind words, and more!

This summer, Cornwall School will again be able to offer Summer Academy. After reviewing a variety of data points, we are inviting students to participate in a series of half day activities, including academic sessions, from July 8th - August 1st. Academic sessions will be one-on-one or in small groups and will meet each day. The goal is to maintain engagement and practice of academic skills to help prevent “summer slide.” When not involved with academic practice, students will participate in gardening and games with a focus on social emotional growth and learning.

We have started to send communication directly to families to gather information regarding interest and availability. We will open up invitations to others should there be additional spaces available. In the meantime, please feel free to contact Heather Raabe, hraabe@acsdvt.org, with any questions.

This fall, ACSD worked with Dr. Rebecca Eunmi Haslam to address issues of racial equity at MUMS and MUHS through a confidential study called The Listening Circles Project. Now we are extending her work to our elementary school students and staff.

The goal of the Listening Circles Project is to hear directly from students and staff about what we can do to eliminate racial harm and ensure everyone feels safe and valued at school. All students and staff at our elementary schools are invited to participate. To participate you must read and fill out this consent form (parents/guardians fill it out on behalf of their child.) Listening circles will begin at elementary schools as early as next week, so please fill out the form as soon as possible if you want your child to participate. Parents of elementary students who participate will also have an opportunity to meet with Dr. Haslam.

As part of her work with secondary students and staff, Dr. Haslam is finalizing a report and recommendations for the ACSD administration. The elementary portion of this work will also result in a report and recommendations. Thank you for sharing your thoughts with us as ACSD works to make all students and staff feel safe and valued.

Dr. Haslam is scheduled to be at Cornwall School for Listening Circles on May 21, 2024.

• Support the wonderful events and after-school programming provided by FOCS by purchasing a cookbook featuring the favorite recipes of the members of the Cornwall School community! All funds go to support FOCS and its mission of providing robust enrichment opportunities for all students. Consider a cookbook as a Mother's or Father's Day gift or just as a must-have addition to either your collection or that of your favorite chef.

• You may purchase a cookbook here.

Dear Bridport, Cornwall, and Shoreham Communities,

We want to share an update on the principal hiring process for our three schools.

Initial Candidate Review ~ May 6:

As your principals shared in last week’s newsletters, after the application deadline closed on May 3, incoming Superintendent Baker met with Bridport, Cornwall and Shoreham staff to understand the characteristics and skills that each school community hoped to find in a leader. She and Superintendent Williams and Assistant Superintendent Carter did an initial screening of all of the applicants on May 6. They forwarded a strong pool of viable candidates with a positive leadership record to the Screening Committee.

Screening Committee ~ May 9 & 10:

As the Screening Committee, our role is to hold initial conversations with the candidates and forward on any candidates who we believe would be a good fit for our ACSD elementary schools. We are composed of two representatives from each school, two central office staff, and two board members. We are currently in the middle of two days of conversations with candidates. We’re excited by the quality of the candidates we’ve met with and look forward to the next step of forwarding those candidates to your local community so you can meet them.

Meet & Greets ~ May 15-17: This is where you come in!

On May 15-17, your school will be scheduling 90-minute visits for each candidate. Their visit will be designed by each school and will include an opportunity to visit and talk with students, staff, and families. We will know how many candidates will be visiting schools early next week. It could be as many as 6 or 7 candidates which means there may be 6-7 different opportunities for you to meet with candidates over the course of 3 days. We know this is tricky to schedule, but we invite you to attend as many as possible. We are also brainstorming a way for the candidate to offer an introduction that every community member can view.

If you are interested in attending Meet and Greets at Cornwall School, please contact Laurie, lballantine@acsdvt.org.

Community Feedback:

After the Meet & Greets, school and community members will have the opportunity to share feedback via a form that will be sent to everyone. Based on all collected feedback, the Superintendent's Office will negotiate with candidates to ensure good matches between leaders and buildings.

We hope to make successful offers in late May and be able to share our next principals with our school communities in late May/early June.

We really welcome family connection and questions during this process. Please send any questions to Courtney Krahn, Director of Teaching and Learning ckrahn@acsdvt.org, or Emily Blistein, Director of Communications and Engagement eblistein@gmail.com or by calling 802-382-1274

Thank you,

ACSD Principal Screening Committee
Amber Bragg, Bridport
Kate Moehringer, Bridport
Claire Benjamin, Cornwall
Valerie Calzini, Cornwall
Martha Santa Maria, Shoreham
Megan Grandits-Griffin, Shoreham
Courtney Krahn, ACSD Director of Teaching & Learning
Emily Blistein, ACSD Director of Communications & Engagement
Ellie Romp, ACSD Board
Trisha Allen, ACSD Board

• 5/6 - 5/10/24 Teacher Appreciation Week (See above)
• 5/7/24 Exhibition, grades 4 and 5, 1:00pm (See above)
• 5/9/24 Wizard Chemistry Show (See above)
• 5/11/24 CVFD Open House (See above)
• 5/13/24-5/17/24 5th grade students go to KEEC
• 5/20/24 Combined band concert at MUHS - 6:00 call, 6:30 concert
• 5/27/24 NO SCHOOL, Memorial Day
• 5/31/24 Muddy Buddy event at school
• 6/12/24 All Out Day at Button Bay State Park
• 6/13/24 5th grade commencement, 1pm

Sometimes there are changes to the school menu. You can always click here to find the latest one.