THE SCHOOL BELL
Williston Schools / March 24, 2021
A Message from the Administration
Placement Overview for 2021-2022
by WCS Principal Jaqueline Parks
It is hard to believe that we are already thinking about placement for the 2021-2022 school year! We wanted to take this opportunity to provide you with an overview of our placement process and timeline.
Week of March 29th: Parents will receive the ABS and WCS Placement Surveys for Rising First, Third and Fifth Grade via email.
Friday, April 9th: Placement surveys should be completed by the end of the day on Friday, April 9th
Week of May 31st: Placement decisions are shared with families (K-4 students are assigned a team & a core teacher. 5th-8th students are assigned a team and teachers will make core teacher assignments over the summer)
Step-Up Day: To be determined based on COVID guidelines in early June
A Special Note: Due to COVID-19, all placements are subject to change if the guidelines require us to be structured in a certain way to minimize the health risks for everyone.
Requests for Change of Placement: If your child is not in a natural transition year (K, 2nd, 4th & 6th-for most teams), but you desire a change of placement, please follow these procedures. Change of Placement
ABS Placement Information:
Teams:
There are 3 teams at ABS with first and second graders; Synergy, Harmony and Horizon House.
Curriculum:
All teams follow the same CVSD Curriculum.
Structure:
Synergy is traditionally a looping team and will remain so in the 2021-2022 school year. Students that enter as first graders will remain with the same group of students as second graders, along with their teachers. The partner teachers on the looping team also regroup students for some academic areas throughout the school year. Harmony and Horizon have decided to move forward with a one year straight grade model for next year in response to pandemic times we are in. This means they will have two straight first grades and two straight second grades for 2021-2022. We will then reevaluate at the end of next school year to determine if they will go back to multi-age classrooms and teams. This means that there are times when students are grouped as 1st/2nd grade students and other times they are grouped by grade level.
WCS 3rd/4th Placement Information
Teams:
There are 3 teams at WCS with 3rd/4th graders; Kaleidoscope, Mosaic and Equinox House.
Curriculum:
All teams follow the same CVSD curriculum.
Structure:
Equinox and Kaleidoscope Teams are multi-age classrooms and teams. This means that there are times when students are grouped as 3rd/4th grade students in classes and other times they are grouped by grade or academic level.
Mosaic is a looping team. Students that enter as third graders will remain with the same group of students as fourth graders, along with their teachers. The partner teachers on the looping team also regroup students for some academic curriculum areas throughout the school year.
WCS 5th-8th Placement Information
Teams:
Voyager House is a 5th & 6th team with 4-teachers and a special educator. For the 21/22 school year all Voyager 6th graders will move to Summit House as 7th graders. We will reevaluate this practice at the end of the 2022 school year.
Sterling House is a 5th & 6th team with 4-teachers and a special educator. Sterling House 6th graders move to Harbor House as 7th graders. We will reevaluate this practice at the end of the 2022 school year.
Swift House is a 5th-8th team with 4-teachers and a special educator.
Summit House is a 7th & 8th team with 4-teachers and a special educator.
Harbor House is a 7th & 8th team with 4-teachers and a special educator.
Curriculum:
All teams follow the same CVSD curriculum using the common Learning Targets.
Structure:
Our teams have a variety of different internal structures depending on the licenses of teachers. In general, students are grouped by grade level for math instruction. All other curriculum areas are flexible-grouped throughout the year based on a variety of factors including their assigned grade, their interests and/or their proficiency level.
ParentIN Resource
If you have a child who is experiencing anxiety, depression or other social and emotional challenges, Amy will be on hand to offer her support and guidance and be armed with useful resources in the community if you need/want them.
You can pop in for a quick question or to chat through a situation. Amy would love to try to help!
Here is the link to join: meet.google.com/qvq-nwzz-hfm
WCS Part Time Employment Opportunitues
9:00am - 12:00pm, 4 days / Week, Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday
WCS is seeking adults to help supervise 5-8th grade students while they engage remotely in their Essential Arts classes.
This would involve two 40-minute periods of 16-20 students in a classroom
Duties would be related to supervision and safety, not instruction.
Students would be engaged on their Chromebooks with their remote instruction.
4 day commitment is preferred, but not required.
Please contact Liz Neeld if interested (lneeld@cvsdvt.org)
WCS Seeking Lunch/Recess Aides
Williston Central School is looking for energetic and organized candidates to serve as part of a team to supervise our lunches and recesses for students in grades 3-8.
The Recess and Lunch Monitors will help build and sustain a positive and orderly environment
during recess. They will be supported by paraprofessionals from each grade level who help
provide supervision of students during recess. This is an hourly position and does not include
benefits. The typical hours are between 10:45am-1:15pm.
Responsibilities will include:
Monitoring student behavior during lunch and recess periods to ensure safety and acceptable conduct
Adhere to our safety guidelines from the AOE and DOH
Direct the movement of students to and from the recess areas
Correct or redirect unexpected behavior and communicate any serious concerns to the
school behavioral coach
Please contact Liz Neeld if interested (lneeld@cvsdvt.org)
Intra-District K-8 School Choice
ABS Summer Reading Program Donation
Thank you Polli Properties for your recent donation to support Allen Brook School’s summer reading program. New books are being purchased to give to students at the end of the school year. Providing students with the opportunity to choose their own books to read empowers and encourages them. We appreciate Polli Properties’ support, with this important mission for our students.
~ABS Book Committee
WCS 5-8 graders create online read-alouds for Williston K-4 graders!
If you have a young Williston student at home who would like to listen to a picture book read by a Williston middle school student, visit:
https://sites.google.com/cvsdvt.org/readalouds/home
(For student privacy and copyright, these read alouds are on a CVSD access-only site. Students and staff with a cvsdvt.org email can login to hear the read alouds.)
Williston middle school students have been busy creating read-alouds for Williston K-4th graders in Library Essential Arts classes! Using only a chromebook, a picture book, and headphones, 5-8 students have:
- photographed picture book pages with their chromebooks;
- edited the photos & put them in a Google slideshow;
- used Screencastify to capture their slideshow and audio reading the book;
- edited the screen capture and uploaded the video to a Google site;
- made an origami invitation to a Williston K-4 class to listen to their audiobook.
Listen to a favorite picture book anytime, read by a Williston middle school student!
How to Store and Wash Masks
DIVERSITY, EQUITY, and INCLUSION
From our Williston Schools Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Coaches, Cara Clopton and Ryan Batche:
In the Williston Schools we believe that the work for racial equity and justice needs to be ongoing and continuous and cannot be limited to individual lessons or actions during a particular time of the school year. We offer these resources for families and caregivers to support the engagement in conversations about racial equity in your homes.
10 Tips for Teaching and Talking to Kids about Race
https://www.embracerace.org/resources/teaching-and-talking-to-kids
Talking About Race
ABS Library News
Has YOUR super reader chatted with you about RED CLOVER picture books? Each spring every ABS child hears 10 new picture books during library lesson time, then gets to vote in APRIL for their favorite one. Kids all across VERMONT participate, too! I wonder which author and illustrator will win THIS school year?
You can listen to Mrs. Clopton read aloud these books here: https://sites.google.com/cvsdvt.org/abs-library/red-clover-book-award
ABS Library Seeking Reusable Bags
ABS LIBRARY MOTTO: No limits, no fees, no fines. Curiosity is Welcomed Here!
New Food Benefit Program for Families
Many families who did not qualify for free and reduced meals last year may qualify this year due to a change in family circumstances. Because meals are free for everyone, you may not have completed the application. In order to get this additional benefit, you will need to apply now.
Families who were qualified last year are automatically enrolled. You do not need to do anything but are being asked to check the 'head of household" name and address so the electronic-benefit-card gets delivered to the right person/house.
Please see this letter for additional information. If you need assistance applying, look for the contact information in the letter or contact your school.
Allen Brook School Morning Arrival Time Reminder
This message is for families who drop off their students at Allen Brook School in the mornings:
Thank you for adhering to our morning arrival time window, which is 7:50 am to 8:10 am.
Students should arrive at or after 7:50 am.
This allows time for school buses to depart and staff scheduled to assist with student arrival to be in place.
In the hopefully rare occasion a student arrives before 7:50 or after 8:10, they should enter school via the front doors and stop in the office to have their temperature taken.
We appreciate your efforts to arrive during the scheduled time.
We also appreciate our staff for enduring the weather and ensuring student safety during the morning drop off.
Kindergarten Registration
Do you have a child who will be 5 years old by September 1, 2021?
Kindergarten Registration for Fall, 2021 is underway at Allen Brook School.
Please submit registration paperwork, (preferably printed double sided) including proof of residency, birth certificate and immunization record.
Questions? Email absfrontoffice@cvsdvt.org or call 802-871-6200
Allen Brook School
497 Talcott Road, Williston, VT
802-871-6200
Updated Health Screening Questions
In order to be in compliance with state regulations and to keep our teachers, staff, and students safe, all families with children participating in in-person learning agreed with and signed a certification at the beginning of the school year that they would attest to 4 questions about their child's health before sending students to school. As a result of the Governor's current Executive Order, we have updated the required questions. Please review the questions in the image below with your family before sending students to school.
PARKING LOT SAFE DRIVING REMINDER
We are reminding all parents and caregivers who drop off or pick up students to be extra mindful about your driving in the school parking lots. We are asking that all drivers please drive with extreme caution, courtesy, and at slow speeds. We have noticed some dangerous situations pop up as a result of distracted driving or elevated driving speeds. We thank you for your help in keeping all students, staff, and drivers safe.
Four Winds
Hello Nature Explorers!
How are you doing? We would LOVE to hear from you and see how Four Winds presentations are going this year. PLEASE take a moment to fill out our Mid-Year Check-in Survey.
Spring is here! Are you hearing birds and owls outside? Take a look at the latest Four Winds from Home Presentation - Calling All Owls! Just click the link!
If you missed the previous lessons, check them out! They are full of fun facts, photos, hands-on activities, games, read alouds, science show episodes, and even the videos of the beloved PUPPET SHOW! Pick and choose the activities that are right for you!
Unit 1: Spiders
Unit 2: Tremendous Trees.
Unit 3: Predators and Prey
Unit 4: Skulls and Teeth
Unit 5: Birds of a Feather
Unit 6: Calling All Owls
Bonus: Winter Exploration Ideas
The theme for the year is Structure and Function.
Stay tuned for our future lessons on Defenses and Bees!
Feel free to email, visit our website, or share your findings and photos on our Padlet.
Be curious!
Deb & Amanda, Your Four Winds Williston Coordinators
Family Resources
What Families can Expect when a Student is Sick
COVID-19 Parental Resources Kit
How Contact Tracing Slows the Spread of COVID-19.
Here are three different visual timelines to the contact tracing that show important dates for cases and close contacts:
test positive but do not have symptoms
close contacts with someone who has tested positive
Social Gathering Q&A from the Health Office
Upcoming Events
March 19 - Parent/Teacher Conference / No School
April 5 - 7th and 8th grades return to school 4 days/week
Apr 19-23 - No School / Spring Break
School Meals
Please visit the Food Service website for the remote learning days order form and more information.
We are excited to be able to serve your children hot food at school once again as well as continue to offer grab and go and delivery of meals for those students who are learning remotely. CVSD will be able to continue to offer free meals for all children 18 years of age and younger as we start school.
If your student has special dietary requirements please let us know. We will be happy to make reasonable accommodations (prepare a vegetarian version, substitute gluten free grain, bread or crust, soy milk or offer an alternate meal) to make sure they can have something nutritious and delicious to eat.
Four Winds
Unit 1: Spiders
Unit 2: Tremendous Trees.
Unit 3: Predators and Prey
Unit 4: Skulls and Teeth
Unit 5: Birds of a Feather
Unit 6: Calling All Owls
Bonus: Winter Exploration Ideas
Link to Padlet for Uploading Photos
Four Winds website
Monthly Fitness Fun
School Nutrition Program
Please make payment checks out to 'CVSD - ABS' or 'CVSD-WCS'
CVSD School Board
DAML Programs
Click here to access the DAML web site listing of events.
Recreation & Parks Offerings
More Links, More information
Williston Schools
Email: cpavlik@cvsdvt.org
Website: https://www.cvsdvt.org
Location: 195 Central School Drive, Williston
Phone: (802) 878-2762
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Williston-School-District-1483758238612170/timeline/
Twitter: @wsdvt