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SCS Community Newsletter
Week of December 11, 2023
Principals' Message
Dear SCS Families and Caregivers,
The 4th and 5th grade Chorus groups performed at SCS on Thursday night, bringing our fall (yes, it's still technically fall) performances to a close. We'd like to thank Jodi Sanders, our Choral Director, and Tim Buckingham, our Band Director, and all the kids who participated for some amazing shows. As we continue to rebuild our traditions since the onset of COVID, it feels like the crowds get a bit bigger each year - both in terms of number of students participating and spectators. The fourth grade chorus alone stands at more than 60 kids!
Next up on the performing arts agenda: the spring musical. The interest meeting for this spring's production of SpongeBob takes place on Monday, with tryouts occurring the week before break. All interested 6-8th grade students are invited to come learn more during their lunch/recess block on Monday.
Speaking of big crowds, if you drove by SCS last Saturday, you undoubtedly experienced some of the excitement surrounding the First Lego League tournament taking place at SCS. Over 500 people from across northern Vermont gathered to cheer on students as their Lego robots navigated a timed series of challenges. Read on for more pictures and a great video montage. Have a great weekend, all.
Take care,
Alison, Brett, & Emily
Mark Your Calendars
Upcoming Dates:
12/11 - Grades 6-8 Musical Informational Meeting (12:35 pm, Yellow Team Common Space)
12/12 - PTO Meeting (6:00 pm, Green Team Common Space)
12/13 - DEI Community Meeting (5:00-6:00 pm)
12/13 - CVSD Virtual Town Hall (6:30-7:30 pm, Zoom details here)
12/15 - 7/8 Winter Dance (7:00-9:00 pm, gym)
12/20 - DEI Community Coffee (8:00 am, cafeteria)
12/22 - Last Day of School before Winter Break (regular 2:45 dismissal)
12/25-1/1 - Winter Break
1/2 - School Resumes
SCS Announcements
PBiS Recognition at SCS for 2023!
SCS has been recognized (again) during the Annual Vermont PBiS Leadership Forum and BEST Annual Report 2023 for our outstanding work in continuing to implement Positive Behavior Interventions & Supports (PBiS) throughout our PreK-8 school community. Way to go, SCS! Check out the letter we received from Interim Secretary of Education Heather Bouchey here.
4th/5th grade Chorus Concert
It was standing room only at our 4th and 5th grade choral concert last night! Thank you ALL for coming to show your support for the performing arts and cheering on these amazingly talented students. They were SO excited for this performance! Another incredible show in the books for Mrs. Sanders :)
Grades 6-8 Musical: Informational Meeting for Students Monday, 12/11
SCS Hosted the FIRST LEGO League Northern Vermont Qualifiers
On Saturday, December 2nd, SCS hosted the FIRST LEGO League (FLL) Northern Vermont Qualifying Tournament that included:
3 teams from SCS
Teams from each K-8 school in CVSD: Williston, Hinesburg, & Charlotte
Judges who are members of the CVU Robohawks team
32 teams from across northern Vermont
Over 200 participants & 500 attendees
The Global Foundries Vice President & General Manager, Ken McAvey, started the day with a brief keynote along with a team of GF employees who joined him. They brought a Boston Scientific robot that resembles a dog, too, that you see in the video linked below.
SCS teams represented our school proudly with “Lego My Eggo” (RoboCats 1) advancing to the state finals on January 20 at Norwich University. The “RoboHats” (RoboCats 2) and “The Acorn People” (RoboCats 3) earned the Core Values Award at the qualifier. Congratulations to Joey Adams for receiving Coach of the Year for Northern Vermont and to the 60+ SCS RoboCats!!
A few years ago there was not one FLL team in all of CVSD!
Watch a highlight video of the day here!
THANK YOU FLL VOLUNTEERS & SPONSORS!
Sometimes it takes more than a village. Our deepest thanks to all the people and teams who made this possible:
- Robocat’s Corporate Sponsors: Galen Healthcare, FD | Compass, Independent Tech Guy, Cookie Love, Perfect Day Media
- Joe Chase, the state FLL volunteers, and our 53 day-of volunteers
- Custodial Services: Sean, David and especially Randy who had a huge lift on Saturday
- Paden Fortier and the IT team without whom there would have been a lot of crashes
- Jodi Sanders and the Choir for leading us in the National Anthem
- Jen Marx and Jane Graham for their constant support and air traffic control of students
- Aaron Raby and the many, many PTO volunteers who made sure no one went hungry
- Rebecca Mashak and team for supporting with logistics and making the cafeteria available
- Vincent Caloiero, who provided his own brand of coffee, Switchboard Coffee
- RoboCat parents: Coaches Julie, Mike, Eric, Jed and Jack make this all possible with many hours of volunteering
- Hilda Tallman for providing countless AP challenges for the team
- The Global Foundries team led by Ken McAvey
- Kate Lucia and Fiona Kovacik from the library for helping us make it a team space
- Folino’s and Cucina Antica for being available when we needed to buy a lot of pizza.
- Our sincere apologies if we missed anyone!
- Finally, our deepest gratitude to Joey Adams for his tireless efforts to make this happen and Tim O’Leary who launched the program last year and is a passionate and ongoing supporter.
Colleague Celebrations
Joey Adams
Joey started a LegoRobotics Club last year. He wrote a grant last June and received funding for a camp. In a few days it went from being the newest camp in the state to the largest! On December 2, Joey hosted 500 people at SCS to view and participate in the LegoRobotics competition. Joey is always talking about where the jobs are emerging for the students we now teach - the trades and coding. Joey is creating the opportunities for young learners to discover a pathway to a future career and have amazing fun along the way!
Jodi Sanders
The National Anthem that your chorus members performed rocked the house. What an amazing opportunity you provided for our students and such relevance for them to kick off an event of over 500 people - a PACKED gym and the chorus members just beamed with earned pride and confidence!
Thanks for all the extra work you put into this to support and grow kids...every FLL, FTC, and FRC event person that was there wants what you did at their events. You elevated the standard as always!
Leah Joly
Check out the latest learning tool our Digital Learning Leader, Leah Joly, has brought to SCS! We continue to learn so much from you - thank you!
https://sketch.metademolab.com/
Library Updates!
Remember for students to come down to the library and compete in the That Looks Familiar contest! Answer sheets are due December 15th!
We've updated our SCS Library Website - check it out!
Safety Conversations
Events in our community are good opportunities for us to look closely at our safety practices. Our PreK-4 SCS faculty and staff are having reminder conversations around 'see something, say something' and 'Clear the Perimeter' with our younger students. Our school's monthly Safety Team Meeting is this coming Thursday, where we will revisit this again as a school team and communicate further with our parents and caregivers.
- Students in grades 3 and 4 recently participated in a lesson explaining the terms Hazing, Harassment, and Bullying, and were taught strategies in how to be an upstander. It would be great to ask your child how they will apply what they learned from this lesson. You can submit your child's learning message here, for a chance to win a prize!
SCS/DEI Community Monthly Meeting
Please Join Us!
When:
Wednesday , December 13th
Where:
SCS Library
New Time:
5:00 - 6:00
Light Refreshments
The gym is available for students if needed. We have a few middle schoolers helping to engage students in basketball.
Feel free to join us virtually as well
Meeting ID
Next Meeting is on January 10, 2024
Volunteers Needed for the Grades 4-5 Musical
We need some help to make Finding Nemo Kids a massive success. Over 43 G4-5 students will be in the production. Performances will be at the amazing CVU Theatre on Feb 2 & 3, 2024.
We're looking for a lead volunteer/coordinator, lighting board operator and 4-5 people to help with set design. If you are available and interested please email devin@consultap.com
LAST WEEK TO DONATE ITEMS FOR PET DRIVE
Health Office Request
We are looking for donations of slightly used (good condition) socks in all sizes, as backups to keep in our health office for those wet and soggy recess days where kids might need to swap their socks out. Thank you!
SCS Angel Fund - help support students and families at SCS
Angel Fund assists families at SCS with children’s clothing, food, school supplies, and items
needed to participate in school-sponsored activities. The fund distributes $20,000 or more of
goods or services in a single year and needs are increasing. Learn more about the fund here.
How to Donate?
Checks are payable to Shelburne Community School. In the memo line write “Angel Fund”.
Please mail to the school at 345 Harbor Road Shelburne, VT 05482. The PTO can receive funds via Venmo at Venmo.com/scspto. Or PayPal at PayPal.me/scspto. Please be sure to write “Angel” in the subject when sending digitally.
Shelburne Food Shelf - Sign Up Now for December Break
If you would like to receive supplemental food for your Shelburne school-age children during the December vacation please complete this form. This form will close on Friday, December 15.
Supplemental food includes milk, eggs, fruit, yogurt, cereal, cheese and various shelf-stable items. Fresh produce is included as well when available. Your phone number and email address will be used for text reminders &/or updates.
Food will be available for pick-up THURSDAY (12/21) between 3:00-6:00 pm at the Shelburne Food Shelf (located on the 1st floor of the town office building at 5420 Shelburne Rd). If you are unable to pick up your food, please reach out to an SCS School Counselor.
Food is purchased for each child signed up, so if your plans change and you will not require food for a school break, please let us know.
You will receive a confirmation email or text to remind you of the dates you signed up for. If any of your contact information changes after submitting your form, please let us know.
Contact: schoolfoodSFS@gmail.com
802-622-3313 ext 3 and leave a message
SCS Yearbook Orders
Orders can be submitted to your child's classroom teacher with the order form that went home today. You can also order online anytime until April 5th. All students at SCS are included in the yearbook. The cost is $32.
If you have any questions, please reach out to Nancy Nakhleh
Girls on the Run
Girls on the Run superstars in your community need mentors like you! Will you join us for this opportunity and support participants as they deepen their healthy habits, form meaningful friendships, and learn vital life skills? Sign up today and give girls the confidence to shine in their own way.
Our 10-week season begins the week of March 18. Our team will meet twice weekly for 90 minutes each session to connect, move, learn and have FUN! No running or coaching experience is required. Coaches are provided with comprehensive training, a curriculum that maps out each session, supplies and support from GOVT for an enriching season.
Visit gotrvt.org/coach to learn more or sign up to volunteer. Questions? Contact GOTRVT at stephanie@girlsontherunvermont.org or 802-871-5664.
CVSD News
CVSD Early Education Programs News
PreKindergarten Lottery is now open for 2024-2025!
The CVSD Early Education Program is now accepting applications for a random prekindergarten lottery drawing for the 2024-25 school year. This lottery is for an opportunity to enroll in one of our school-based classrooms which run 10 hours per week. Our school-based prekindergarten classrooms are 5 STARs, licensed early education programs that provide play-based, developmentally appropriate environments for all children in an inclusive setting. Our curriculum is based on the Vermont Early Learning Standards (VELS).
Our programs follow the CVSD school calendar. Children who will be age 3 or older by September 1, 2024, who are not eligible for kindergarten, and live in the communities of Charlotte, Hinesburg, Shelburne, St. George, and Williston are eligible to enter the lottery. Families who are selected for the lottery and choose to enroll their child in a CVSD program access their Act 166 publicly funded prekindergarten funds for the school-based program.
All applications must be received by February 5, 2024, and are located on the CVSD Early Education website under 2024-2025 Preschool Lottery . Paper applications are available upon request.
For additional information, questions about our program, or any concerns about your child’s development, please visit our website or contact Director of Early Education, Erin Gagne at egagne@cvsdvt.org. Our Early Education team is also available for developmental screenings in the areas of communication, social-emotional development, motor skills, adaptive development, and cognition. More information about an Early Multi-Tiered System of Supports is also available on the website.
CVSD's Virtual Town Hall December 13
Mark your calendars for December's Virtual Town Hall on Wednesday, December 13 from 6:30-7:30. We'll share updates about the budget development process and our strategic plan and engage in conversations with those attending. This is a great way to connect with Superintendent Sanchez and other district leaders! The Zoom information is posted on the CVSD website calendar
Community Announcements
For Grades 7+: Upcoming Science Cafe with UVM Extension
When: SATURDAY December 9
Time: 5:00 - 7:00 pm
Topic: Exploring the Ocean With Our Ears (Learn more here)
Make sure to register ahead of time so we know how much pizza to order.
About our speaker....
Laura May-Collado is an assistant professor of biology at the University of Vermont and a research associate at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute. In her ONDAS (“waves”) lab, students use acoustic remote underwater technology to assess the health of marine communities and to study the communication of marine mammals. Her work has been featured in NPR Science Friday®, BBC Earth, Scientific American and Newsweek.
She was just on Across the Fence (WCAX) last week - check it out!
Part 1
https://youtu.be/XINaVaYE49o?si=54uBU8SZEH7be9J7
Part
SCS Useful Links
CVSD Info
Find information about monthly School Board Meetings, community forums such as the DEI Town Hall, and more on the district website. See the year at a glance on the 2023-2024 K-8 School Year Calendar. See The CVSD Story for the latest blog posts about what's happening across the district.
Let's Talk
Still Need More Information?
Website: https://www.cvsdvt.org/shelburne
Shelburne Community School Administration
Brett Cluff, 5-8 Principal
Emily Cogan, Director of Special Education