CVSD Update
August 18, 2022
October 6, 2022
Superintendent's Message
Hello CVSD Families and Caregivers,
Thank you for meeting with our educators to discuss your student’s school year thus far during our October parent and student conferences. As we approach the peak of the fall colors and apple picking, it is a great time to take stock of how this school year has started for your student(s). If you cannot attend the conferences, please connect with your school or your student’s teacher to arrange another time to discuss progress so far.
October allows us the opportunity to celebrate principals, custodians, and school food service workers. These wonderful people are essential to the success of our students and our district. If you can thank them for their service over the course of this month, please do so. You can reach out directly or use the CVSD Kudos button on our Let’s Talk page. CVSD is grateful for their service to and love of our schools.
Indigenous Peoples Day
CVSD will honor Indigenous Peoples Day on Monday, October 10. There's no school for students and teachers that day. Please read the following land acknowledgment from Vermont’s PBIS website:
We are educators from across the state of Vermont who all contribute to inspiring children and students in this world. We want to honor the legacy of Vermont’s Indigenous people, the Abenaki People of the Dawn, who have cared for this land for generations and continue to do so. We recognize that colonialism and the oppression of Native peoples are a current and ongoing process, and we commit to building our awareness of our present participation. We pay our respects to the elders, past, and present. We honor with deep gratitude this land and all it gives us.
Hispanic Heritage Month
These current 30 days, September 15 to October 15, 2022, will be celebrated as National Hispanic Heritage Month. Many Latin American countries celebrate their Independence Days during this time period. In the United States, this time is set aside annually to celebrate the many contributions to our country and our world of the people of Hispanic, Latino, or Latinx descent.
To participate in Vermont’s statewide Hispanic Heritage Event on October 15 in Montpelier, visit this site: https://hrc.vermont.gov/celebrating-hispanic-heritage-month
To learn more about National Hispanic Heritage Month, please visit these websites that contain resources for your student and your own learning. Smithsonian, US DOE.
Strategic Plan
We have a very busy next several weeks supporting the work on our strategic plan. First, as you will see below, we are hosting three community forums around the district–one on a weeknight, one on a Saturday morning, and one on a weekday morning, all in different locations around the district. Additionally, if you can’t join us for the forums, we created a survey to find out what you think about our district as a parent and community stakeholder. If your friends, relatives, neighbors, or work colleagues live in our district, please help us get the word out about the survey by sharing it with them. Finally, we plan on hosting some additional outreach events, which are still in development.
Equity Audit
Mass Insight shared the results of our equity audit at the September school board meeting. The slides from their presentation and the full report are available on our DEI website. This will be one of the main topics at the upcoming DEI Virtual Town Hall on October 12. See below for more details.
Thank you, everyone, for your support of our schools. Enjoy the arrival of a beautiful Fall, and please have a great and safe weekend.
Rene Sanchez, Superintendent
Champlain Valley School District
Our Definitions
Identity is developing a sense of one’s self with respect for the uniqueness of others.
Connection exists when all individuals see themselves in others and in their environment. It is the feeling that our individual and collective story is known. We learn and appreciate new perspectives. Connection is committing to the time and effort to build shared experiences and understandings.
All learners find direction by discovering purpose and exploring passions or interests. We honor where learners are and support their growth, helping them navigate pathways and empowering them to reach their fullest potential.
Proficiency: All students and staff members demonstrate progress and develop capacity toward CVSD student and educator learning targets.
Wednesday, October 12, 2022 at 6:30 pm via Zoom
CVSD leaders and educators will share updates about diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) work in the district and the Equity Audit report. See the calendar on the district's website or visit the DEI website for the Zoom information.
CVSD Strategic Planning
What do you envision for CVSD and its schools?
We want every member of our community to be included as we design CVSD's strategic plan for the next 5 years. You are invited to help identify our shared values and priorities. The upcoming Community Forums and the accompanying survey are the first steps in that direction. We invite you to join us at any of the Strategic Planning Community Forums.
- October 13, 6:00 pm, CVSD Strategic Planning Community Forum, CVU library
- October 15, 9:30 am, CVSD Strategic Planning Community Forum, WCS Community Room
- October 17, 9:00 am, CVSD Strategic Planning Community Forum, Pierson Library, Shelburne
If you can't attend any of the forums, or you'd like to provide your thoughts in another way, please use this survey. https://bit.ly/CVSDOct22 It takes about 8 minutes to complete. The survey will be open through the month of October.
We look forward to hearing from you!
Please view the Strategic Planning page of our website for the latest updates, including the slides and minutes from recent meetings.
UPCOMING EVENTS
- Wednesday, October 12, 6:30-7:30 pm, CVSD Virtual DEI Town Hall
- Thursday, October 13, 6:oo-8:00 pm, Strategic Planning Community Forum #1, CVU library
- Saturday, October 15, 9:30-11:30, Strategic Planning Community Forum #2, Williston Central School Community Room
- Monday, October 17, 9:00-11:00 am, Strategic Planning Community Forum #3,Pierson Library, Shelburne
- Tuesday, October 18, 6:00pm, CVSD School Board Meeting, at CVU and virtual
Connecting Youth Mentoring Program Seeks Mentors for the ‘22/’23 School Year
Middle School Programs
Connecting Youth Mentoring’s school-based programs at Charlotte, Hinesburg, Shelburne and Williston Community/Central Schools are in need of mentors. Mentors are caring adults who spend about an hour a week during the school year with a 5th - 8th grader who would benefit from the friendship of an additional caring adult in their life. Mentors bring with them a sense of shared fun, new experiences and deep listening skills. Through providing consistent encouragement, mentors support expanding a young person’s regard for themselves and their world.
For more information, contact the Program Coordinator in your preferred area:
Charlotte Central School, Kate Rooney, krooney@cvsdvt.org, 802-425-6682
Hinesburg Community School, Livy Bulger, lbulger@cvsdvt.org, 802-482-6248
Shelburne Community School, Alice Brown, abrown@cvsdvt.org, 802-734-9845
Williston Central School, Rebecca Martell, rmartell@cvsdvt.org, 802-871-6046
High School Program
Connecting Youth Mentoring's community-based program at CVU is in need of mentors. Our mentors help students by working alongside them to grow their skills, abilities, and resilience, set goals for the future, and explore possible career paths. Mentoring pairs meet outside of school hours on their own schedule to do fun activities like hiking, fishing, painting, cooking, playing sports or board games, or whatever they enjoy. The commitment is four hours a month for at least one year. For more information, contact Program Coordinator Alison Duback, aduback@cvsdvt.org
Celebrations in October
● Hispanic Heritage Month: Sept. 15 - Oct. 15
● National Bullying Prevention Month
● National School Principal Month
● National Arts & Humanities Month
● Fire Prevention Week: Sunday to Saturday in which October 9 falls
● National School Lunch Week: the second full week in October
● Digital Citizenship Week: the third full week in October
● National School Bus Safety Week: the third full week in October
● Red Ribbon Week: always October 23-31
● National Custodial Workers Recognition Day: October 2
● Indigenous Peoples’ Day: the second Monday in October
Please Update Annual Information in Powerschool!
In order to keep them safe, it is important that we have updated and accurate information about each and every student. All parents/caregivers, please take the time to log into your PowerSchool Parent Portal account and navigate to the “Forms” icon on the left-hand toolbar to review, update and submit the following forms for each of your children as soon as possible. Click here for detailed instructions, if needed.
Please note that your submission of the Health and Permissions forms are required before your child may participate in any off-site field trips.
Annual Student Contact Updates
Annual Student Health Update (required for field trip participation)
Annual Student Permissions Update (required for field trip participation)
Annual Student Transportation Update
(PreK is for those students physically attending our schools.)
If you have questions about how to access your Parent Portal account or how to submit the forms please contact your school directly.
Reminders
COVID Considerations Going into the 2022-2023 School Year
Sign Up to Receive SMS/Text Messages!
Please enroll to receive text messages from the district and/or our campuses. If you haven't done this yet or if you are new to CVSD, follow the easy steps on this flyer. We don't overuse this method of communication, but it is helpful for reminders and quick announcements. Don't miss out!
Let's Talk and CVSD Kudos
Let’s Talk! makes it easy for anyone to engage with school and district leaders on the topics that matter most. Unlike an email, your inquiry is automatically routed to the person or team best suited to respond, ensuring you receive timely and accurate responses every time.
We invite folks from all of our communities to share kudos for a teacher, staff member, administrator, or anything or anyone having to do with our schools. These can be shared at any time and will be forwarded to the appropriate recipient. Look for the CVSD Kudos topic!
Look for the Let's Talk tab or page on our district's website.
Resources for Families
Resources to keep accessible:
- First Call - 488-7777: phone support, crisis intervention, assessment and referrals
- In Crisis: 1-800-SUICIDE (1-800-784-2433) (National Hopeline Network: USA)
- National Suicide Prevention Life line- 1-800-273-TALK (8255), call or chat online
- Crisis Text Line - text HOME to 741741 (24 hours a day, seven days a week)
- Outright Vermont - support for LGBTQ+ community
- UVM Breathe In Breath Out - How to deal with stress due to COVID-19
- Vermont 211 -Vermont database of resources and services
- Vermont Support Line (833) 888-2557) - peer support warmline open 247 - 365 for call or text
- COVID Counselors @ VT-211
- Teen Crisis Text Line - Crisis Text Line provides free emotional support and information to teens in any type of crisis, including feeling suicidal. You can text with a trained specialist 24 hours a day. Text “HOME” to 741741.
- Society for the Prevention of Teen Suicide - Website where you can find information to help yourself or a friend who may be having thoughts of suicide.
- Trevor Lifeline - 1-866- 488-7386 - provides suicide prevention and crisis intervention services to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and questioning (LGBTQ) young people. It offers free, 24/7, confidential counseling. TrevorText—text START to 678-678; TrevorChat—instant messaging at TheTrevorProject.org/help. It also runs TrevorSpace, an affirming social networking site for LGBTQ youth at TrevorSpace.
Champlain Valley School District
Reach out using any of the methods below or visit our Let's Talk page. Please use Let's Talk rather than email.
Let's Talk: https://www.cvsdvt.org/page/268
Website: https://www.cvsdvt.org/
Location: 5420 Shelburne Road, Shelburne, VT, USA
Phone: (802) 383-1234
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ChamplainValleySchoolDistrict
Twitter: @cvsdvt