Cougar Chronicle

5/12 - Caregivers & Allies of LGBTQ++ young people Meeting

5/19 - Coffee and Conversations with the Superintendent

5/20 - Art and Music Show

5/31 - Out Run the Floods 5k

5/31 - Black Bear - Try Hockey for Free Event

6/18 - 6th Grade Graduation

6/20 - PreK Graduation

6/24 - Last day of school for students

As the school year comes to a close soon, I wanted to share that I won’t be returning next year. This decision was not an easy one, as my time here has been so incredibly special. I’ve felt a growing pull toward exploring a new career path, and I’ve decided it’s time for me to take that next step. That said, I will always carry the heart of a teacher with me.

It’s been such a joy to be part of this caring community, and I feel so lucky to have spent time learning and growing alongside your amazing children. I will always hold my coworkers, families, and each and every kiddo close to my heart. Thank you for the trust, the support, and the many smiles along the way!

With gratitude,
Ms. Gilmore/Blakely Gilmore

This Teacher Appreciation Week, the Friends of Calais invites all educators who live or work in Calais to enjoy a complimentary coffee. Simply visit Adamant Coop, East Calais General Store, or the Maple Corner Community Store between Sunday May 4th- and Sunday May 11th and mention the Friends of Calais Coffee Fund.

Thank you for your dedication to our community's future. We appreciate you!

We’ve asked staff to start sharing positive stories each week and this week there has been so much to share.

Students: Student always seems to be smiling and she is very willing to help!

Student is kind and especially helpful to the younger kids.

Student has worked hard to improve her math skills!

Staff: The entire PBIS/Culture Staff Committee worked really hard to organize our All-School Celebration this week, but especially Ms. Curavoo. Thank you all!

Thank you, Ms. Jackson, for putting together the 3rd/4th grade trip to the Statehouse and History Museum. Such a great experience for our kids and it’s awesome that you worked so hard to bring it together!

The VT Agency of Education requires schools and school districts to engage in continuous improvement planning (CIP). This year our schools are required to submit Continuous Improvement Plans to the Vermont Agency of Education (AOE).

Each CIP must include an Academic Achievement goal and a Safe and Healthy Schools goal. Additionally, elementary schools are required to include a goal related to Act 139, Vermont’s K-3 literacy bill that went into effect on July 1, 2024. In drafting CIP goals, we have analyzed student data and explicitly connected the CIP goals to our district’s strategic plan.

Our elementary school plans include an Academic Achievement goal related to students' performance and growth in mathematics, with a focus on narrowing the difference in performance between students who are economically disadvantaged and students who are not. The elementary plans also include an Academic Achievement goal related to students' performance on the Acadience Reading assessment, with a focus on increasing the growth of students who are receiving reading interventions in grades K-3. This goal aligns with Vermont's literacy goal. Finally, the elementary plans include a Safe and Health Schools goal related to their social emotional well-being as measured by the DESSA, our new social emotional learning screener.

U-32's Academic Achievement goal is related to increasing the 4-year graduation rate for all students. U-32's Safe and Health Schools goal is related to increasing inclusive practices to reduce differences in performance between students who have Individualized Education Plans (IEPs) and students who do not.

The district is also required to develop and monitor a CIP. The current draft includes four goals, 2 related to Academic Achievement and 2 related to Safe and Healthy Schools. The Academic Achievement goals are related to our students' performance in math and K-3 reading. One of the goals related to Safe and Healthy schools is to create and implement a sustainable plan for school nurse services across our schools given the changes in school nurse staffing that we will have next year. The other goal is to support the implementation of the new Education Quality Standards, specifically related to alignment with Vermont's law related to ethnic and social equity standards.

Engaging community stakeholders is an important part of the CIP process. To that end, principals have been sharing the draft CIPs with faculty and staff for feedback. On May 7, as part of the school board's community forum we will gather feedback from the larger school community. Ultimately, the school board and the superintendent need to approve the CIPs. We are planning to bring the CIPs to the school board for approval on May 21 so that we can submit them to the AOE in a timely manner in conjunction with next year's Consolidated Federal Programs grant application.

All members of our community are invited to attend the public forum and provide feedback about the draft CIPs next Wednesday, May 7 at 6:15 p.m. at Calais Elementary School. We hope to see you there.

Dear Parents,

Understanding our school’s culture, climate and the engagement of our students is important to us. Our district will be using climate surveys to gather information about how things are going in our schools. We will distribute these surveys to families, staff and students. The information we gather from these surveys will be reviewed and analyzed in our building so that we can set goals for ourselves; in addition, our WCUUSD Board will review district-level themes to inform their work.

Your participation in this survey is important to us! Your feedback will be confidential and anonymous.

Please find a link to the parent/guardian survey here.

When we return from Spring Break, I will be teaching lessons during Guidance class that

will feature a state curriculum called Care for Kids and We Care Elementary programs for

all grade levels.

Care for Kids is a program for students K-2 that features a unit that teaches and

reinforces 2 to 4 simple, age-appropriate messages via a circle time, a book, and an activity

or craft. The activities are designed to compliment the fact that children of this age

group learn naturally through play and use schemas to assimilate new information.

Information is presented in a matter-of-fact way using anatomically correct language.

For students in grades 3-6, The We Care Elementary curriculum includes six lessons

at each grade level. Each grade focuses on different topics related to healthy

relationships. We Care Elementary moves beyond the concrete and physical nature of the

Care for Kids lessons, capitalizing on children’s capacity for generalizing information and

reflecting on their emotions and experiences.

*ACT One Vermont State Mandate: An Act Relating to Improving Vermont’s Sexual Abuse

Response System Educating Kids and Adults to Help Prevent Child Sexual Abuse in

Vermont (From the VT Department of Children and Families and Prevent Child Abuse VT).

This act was signed into law in March of 2009 and is available to view at

http://www.leg.state.vt.us/docs/2010/Acts/Act001.pdf

It includes several mandatesfor Vermont school,including:

1. Educating children about sexual abuse

2. Educating school staff about child sexual abuse; and

3. Informing parents about child sexual abuse. Information available:

http://dcf.vermont.gov/sites/dcf/files/pdf/protectkids/GuideforParent.pdf

Hi Parents, Friends, & Caring Community-

We invite you to join our small and mighty group for parents, caring friends, caregivers, and district staff. We meet and share experiences about loving and caring for our LBGTQ++ young people. We think together about what we need and what the kids in our lives are teaching us.

Our next meeting for Caregivers & Allies of LGBTQ++ young people is May 12th at 5-6:30pm. We meet in the U-32 Library classroom.

If you have an article, video, or topics you'd like us to discuss let me know so I can make copies and/or be sure our digital equipment is ready.

Please share this invitation with anyone you know who would like to join our gathering.

Looking forward to seeing you--

Shelley Vermilya

Humanity & Justice scholar in residence

P.S. Questions? Please inquire: svermilya@u32.org

Our Art and Music Show will be Tuesday, May 20th at 6pm. Make sure to dress nice!

Please check out the updates on strep below as we are still seeing a lot of sore throats!

Dear Calais Families, Students and Staff,

Throughout the month of March, students will have the opportunity to explore college and careers in Guidance class. Students will learn more about different professions, college and skill requirements needed and a general description of the work entailed in each profession presented.

If anyone is interested in coming in to talk with students during Guidance class about their college or career, please complete the response form below. Presentations can be anywhere from 5-15 minutes in length. You may drop it off at the Calais Elementary Office or in the Counselor's room in the Learning Center.

I look forward to hearing from you and feel free to stop by or call if you have any questions at 802-454-7777 ext 105.

Kind Regards,

Ruth Frisenda

Link to the response form here.

https://www.wcuusd.org/resources/prek-information

The 5/6ers are working on projects that help out both CES and the Calais community. This week they decided to start with creating a mini food shelf at CES.

6th grader, Katie is taking the lead with a large donation from her family. If you would like to participate please drop of non-perishables at CES during school hours.

The food that is donated is available to everyone so please help yourself, at any time, no questions asked.

Breakfast and Lunch Menus

We are continuing to move forward with our “Humanity & Justice Coalition” working to ensure all people feel heard, welcome, and safe at Calais Elementary and in our community. We’ve even got a new name - “Humanity and Justice, Calais”. This will be our celebration of all that makes us who we are and will work to ensure we will always be a community that welcomes and respects all people.

As we push forward we are engaging our students to gather their input and help them to drive the process. If you ever have any questions, please feel free to reach out to me and be sure to talk with your students - those conversations are going to be critical. This is something we believe is important and I personally want to ensure that all viewpoints are heard and all people have a stake in this work. Do not hesitate to reach out to me personally with any questions.

- Jarrod

This summer the U32 Boys and Girls Varsity Coaching Staff will be hosting a Summer Basketball Skills Camp July 14-18th. A summer basketball camp is a great way for our kids to get together, develop skills, play the game and have fun with friends. Establishing this camp as a way to build foundational skills, build culture and promote basketball in our local community. Coach Olivia, Coach Medosa and members of both varsity teams will be coaching, teaching and developing relationships with our upcoming hoopers!! Proceeds from the camp will be used to support both the Girls and Boys Basketball Programs at U32.

U32 Raider Basketball Camp

Dear Calais Families,

We will be starting the Backpack program soon here at Calais Elementary School for families. The program is designed to provide families with children who attend Calais, the necessary food and clothing that they may need throughout the school year. Food and Gift bags will be dispensed in a discreet and caring manner. This program runs the full school year on a weekly basis with exception to student breaks and summer. This includes winter clothing, Thanksgiving and Christmas presents, in addition. There is no cost associated with this program. If you wish for your child to participate in the program, please sign below and return this letter to the school in your child's folder or drop it off at the Main Office by next Friday. Thank you and please let us know if you have any questions or any needs for your child at any time.

Feel free to email me at rfrisenda@u32.org or call 802-454-7777 ext 105 at any time.

Sincerely,

Ruth Frisenda

School Counselor

Calais Elementary School

2024-2025 Family Handbook

Volunteer Program Form

Calais Parent Advisory Interest Form

Calais Cougar Online Merchandise Store

Elementary and Middle School:

Afternoon in the Children's Library

Join us every weekday between 3:30 and 5PM for games and activities in the Children's Library! Fuse Beads on Monday, Yarn Club on Tuesday, Chess on Wednesday, Pokemon on Thursday and Legos on Friday.

We're excited to share that we have openings for boys in Sessions 1 and 2 this summer! While our girls' sessions are currently full and have started waitlisting, we still encourage families to add their children to the waitlist in case spots become available.

Our staff spent time with Sally Russell from Youth First Mentoring. There are some incredible opportunities for our young people through mentoring and this is something we hope you explore if your child would be interested. We are happy to help connect you and help with the process if this is something you want to explore for your child. Check out this local organization at → https://youthfirstmentoring.org/

Type in your zip code or county to find different resources in your area!

https://www.navigateresources.net/211vermont/

https://resourcevt.org/essential-goods-program/#

https://www.amysarmoire.org/

Prevent Child Abuse - Vermont

5 Tips to Ease Back-to-School Anxiety

A Break (For Parents) After April Break!

Teacher Appreciation Week

Thank you to everyone who made/bought food for us and for all of the gifts we received this week. We have felt the love and can't say enough how much we appreciate the appreciation!!!!!