Gertrude Chamberlin School
Family Newsletter September 11, 2020 Volume 15 Issue 9
Our Queenipal Greeting Families in the Morning
New Students Ready for a Great School Day!
Everyone is a helper at Gertrude Chamberlin School!
Welcome to a Wonderful New School Year!
It’s a new year at Chamberlin School! It was wonderful to see returning students and meet new students this week. Along with new preschoolers and 42 new kindergartners we welcome 19 new students in grades 1-5. As a Positive Behavior Intervention and Support school (PBiS), we are including our expectation matrix for you to review with your child at home. Our school wide expectations are the “Three Be’s”…Be Respectful, Be Responsible, Be Safe. You may want to post the matrix in a prominent place at home to practice these expectations at home! The Three Be's will be important to establish with your child for remote learning to provide consistency between school and home learning environments. It has been wonderful to welcome children back into our building after 6 months! Even though we are excited about our learning ahead, we are also remembering the importance of community building at the beginning of the school year. Students are settling into their classrooms, making new friends and learning classroom and school routines. There are new routines to learn such as mask wearing, social distancing, not sharing materials, increased outdoor breaks and frequent hand washing and sanitizing. You can help your child’s success at school by remembering to establish good bedtime routines that include reading and getting plenty of rest each night, getting them started in the morning with a healthy breakfast, and packing a water bottle and healthy snacks including fruits and vegetables that will give them the energy and hydration they need for optimal learning! We look forward to a wonderful partnership together between school and home!
Attendance
Welcome to the PTO
Did you know that as a Chamberlin parent, you are automatically a member of our PTO? Come join us as we support our children at Chamberlin! We would love to meet you at our first PTO meeting of the year which is Tuesday, September 15th at 6:00 PM on Zoom. The link to the zoom meeting is below - we hope you will join us!
Did you know that you can support programs at Chamberlin School whenever you shop? Check your food items and office supply products to see if they have Box Tops on them! It is now an electronic program and you can download the Box Tops app on your phone and scan your receipt to get credit for Chamberlin. Our PTO uses funds from Box Tops and other fundraising events to support field trips, our gardens, our playground, school supplies and many other needs at our school. For more information, visit www.boxtops4education.com .
Do you shop Amazon? If you use the link tinyurl.com/ChamberlinAmazon, our PTO will get a check for a percentage of your purchases. Shop online and support our school at the same time!
We look forward to having you join us at our first meeting. It's a great way to find out about what's happening in our school each month through Ms. Rouelle's updates at the meeting, and also a way to connect with other parents/guardians.
Topic: PTO Meeting
Time: Sep 15, 2020 06:00 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)
Join Zoom Meeting
https://sbschools.zoom.us/j/96023142533?pwd=QzJVOTFPbkV3TWtwWFhlL2NudkZtQT09
Meeting ID: 960 2314 2533
Passcode: 962895
A Kindergarten artist hard at work on the first day of school.
3rd graders enjoying lunch in the tent.
A 2nd grade mathematician exploring with pattern blocks.
With Gratitude...
We believe that it “takes a village” to raise our children, and we have many thanks to give to community members who have supported us already for the school year. A sincere THANK YOU to the following:
Ryan Roberge, a Chamberlin parent, who maintained the gardens over the summer.
The Barras Family and Vibrant Church for donating masks to our school over the summer.
Annual Student Updates and Registration...New and Improved!
South Burlington School District is excited to begin Annual Student Updates and Registration for the 2020-2021 school year.
These online forms can be found within your PowerSchool Parent Portal and takes the place of the thick packet of papers that have previously been mailed home to families from the schools each summer.
Please take the time to complete these forms that:
- Register your student for the 2020-2021 School Year
- Verify and update emergency contact information
- Communicate important health information
- Sign student laptop/device agreements
To begin, please click this link to login to the PowerSchool Parent Portal: https://sbsdvt.powerschool.com. Once logged in, click “Forms” from the left navigation bar and choose “Update A. Getting Started: Returning Students.” The forms should take 5-15 minutes to complete, per student.
Trouble Logging in?
Please click “Forgot Username or Password?”
- Reminder: Please check your Junk box if a reset email is not received.
If you do not have a PowerSchool Portal Account or require more support, please email sbdatateam@sbschools.net.
Individual schools can be contacted at:
PreKindergarten/Act 166: PreK_Reg@sbschools.net
Gertrude E. Chamberlin School: Chamb_Reg@sbschools.net
Orchard School: Orch_Reg@sbschools.net
Rick Marcotte Central School: RMCS_Reg@sbschools.net
Frederick H. Tuttle Middle School: FHTMS_Reg@sbschools.net
South Burlington High School: SBHS_Reg@sbschools.net
Thank you for your time. Completion of these forms will help ensure that we have the most current and accurate information for your students, allowing us to improve communications and better serve our families.
Here's the link to the breakfast and lunch menus.
Please fill out the applications for free and reduced lunch if you think your family might qualify. Even though there are free meals until December or when the funding runs out, the window for qualifying for meals after December is based on submitting the application before October. These applications have to be filled out every year in September for your child to qualify. Specific guidelines to qualify are in the directions. this information is confidential and only shared with our nutritional services staff. You can put this in an envelope marked "Nutritional Services" and return with your child, or mail to 262 White Street, South Burlington, VT.
Free and Reduced Lunch Directions and Application in English
Free and Reduced Lunch Directions and Application in Spanish
Free and Reduced Lunch Directions and Application in Nepali
Arrival and Dismissal Cards
You will receive one grade level place card (placard) for each of your students in their Home Folders. We will use these cards to help direct you to the proper incoming and exit doors for arrival and dismissal. They will give our traffic control personnel a visual reminder of which door you need to be near to drop off or pick up your students.
If you receive multiple cards, please select the card for your youngest student.
Place the card on your dashboard near the passenger side, number side up.
When you arrive at the Chamberlin parking lot, please follow the directions of the traffic control helpers.
Pull up to the door to which you are directed.
Door #1 is the bus doors
Door #2 is the main entrance
Door #3 is the kindergarten entrance (on the front of the building)
Please form a patient line and follow the directions given by the traffic control helpers.
In the mornings, Health Screeners will take the temperature of students while the students are in the car.
In the afternoons, different grade levels will be dismissed out different doors to maintain physical distances.
The placards will help us move you through the lines as quickly as possible. Thank you!
Thank you for helping us have a smooth arrival and dismissal!
We were pleasantly surprised with how well our arrival and dismissal procedures went Tuesday through Thursday. THANK YOU for following the process outlined below and being safe, patient and respectful in the parking lot. PLEASE ARRIVE DURING YOUR DESIGNATED TIME, ESPECIALLY AT DISMISSAL. IF YOU ARRIVE BEFORE 2:30, YOU WILL BE DIRECTED TO CIRCLE THE NEIGHBORHOOD, AS WE NEED TO MAKE SURE THAT WE GET BUSSES LOADED AND ON THEIR WAY BEFORE WE START THE CAR AND WALKING DISMISSAL. Please stay in your car at all times, except if you are helping your child get out of the car. We are grateful that it was a smooth transition back to school given the nature of the required health screenings and the need to social distance. THANK YOU for your smiles and words of encouragement to our morning helpers!
Arrival Procedures for Students
Students arriving at school via car:
Families will be asked to arrive in staggered start times by grade level groupings, and arrive at your youngest child’s time slot if you have multiple children.
For the Blue Pack Monday/Tuesday students:
Students in PK, 1, and 5 will arrive between 7:55-8:10am.
Students in K, 2, 3, and 4 will arrive between 8:10-8:25am
For the Gray Pack Thursday/Friday students:
Students in PK, 1, and 5 will arrive between 7:55-8:10am.
Students in K, 2, 3, and 4 will arrive between 8:10-8:25am
There will be three stops where students' temperature will be taken.
One at the first set of doors (known as the bus doors), one at the front entrance, one at the side entrance on the south side of the building at the doors that lead into the preschool and kindergarten wing.
When entering the parking lot follow the flow of traffic to the right and around the parking lot to the west side of the building. You will be directed to one of the health screening spots.
If you are directed to the first two stops once your student’s temperature is taken you can exit straight out onto White Street.
If you are directed to the side entrance you will make a right and go around the side parking lot stopping at the doors to have your student’s temperature checked. You will then circle around and exit into the flow of cars heading straight out.
Your student should remain in the car or get out right next to the car to have their temperature taken. If they have a temperature of 100.4 or higher the parent/guardian will be asked to take them home. The school nurse will follow up with the parent/guardian at some point during the day.
The students will enter the building through the door closest to their screening point and follow the flow of traffic to their classrooms.
Students arriving at school via walking:
Students who walk to school from the front entrance will have their temperature checked by one of the three stations at the front of the building between 8am-8:20am.
Students who walk to school from the back entrance will have their temperature checked on Hanover Street before they enter the school grounds by 8:10am.
If they have a temperature 100.4 or greater and the parent/guardian are present they will be asked to take them home. If the parent/guardian is not present the school nurse will be notified and the student will be placed in the isolation room for further assessment. The school nurse will contact the parent/guardian.
The students will enter the building either through the back double doors or the main entrance and follow the flow of traffic to their classrooms.
Dismissal Procedures for Students
If you have multiple children they will be dismissed by the youngest child's grade.
2:15pm Schools Out by grade level to cafeteria
PK, K and 5
1 and 3
2 and 4
2:20pm Bus dismissal by grade level through the bus doors (Stop #1):
K and 5
1 and 3
2 and 4
2:30pm-2:40: Car and Walkers dismissal out the by grade level
PK, K, and older siblings of those grade levels out the kindergarten door (stop #3)
1st grade and older siblings of first graders out the main door (stop #2)
2:40-2:50: Car and Walkers dismissal out the front main entrance by grade level
2nd and 3rd grade and older siblings of those grades out the kindergarten door (stop #3)
4th and 5th graders out the main door (stop #2)
Farm To School
Lauren Jones joins us as our Farm to School Educator! Ldjones298@gmail.com
Lauren developed a love for cooking, growing food, and sharing the bounty with others at a young age, while experimenting in the kitchen and throwing vegetable seeds into her mother’s garden just to see what would happen. After completing her Bachelor’s degree in Environmental Science at the University of Vermont, she made her trek out to Jackson, WY to discover what the connections between food and community were like out west. While working with Slow Food in the Tetons, she taught children’s cooking classes and helped run the local farm stand. Vermont continued to call Lauren’s name, and eventually brought her back east. She just completed an AmeriCorps VISTA position, working to increase local food access and improve community health through diet via the Health Care Share at the Vermont Youth Conservation Corps. She is thrilled to continue her work at Common Roots, with an opportunity to educate community members at a young age, while having fun with food and nutrition.
This year, grades K and 1 will have hands on Farm To School lessons outside in a tent area once a month. These lessons will begin the week of September 14th. Grades 2-5 will have an educational video to watch and a taste test sample. Please email Lauren if you have an questions! Ldjones298@gmail.com
Seating Tips for Remote Learning From Our Physical Therapist, TJ Maclay
Information from Superintendent Young
September 6, 2020
Dear Parents/Guardians, Staff, and Community Members,
It’s hard to believe that the new school year will begin this week! After nearly six months of being away from our students and staff, we look forward to building upon our existing connections and fostering new relationships. We are excited to be able to return to part time, in-person learning through our hybrid model and I am filled with hope as we enter this unique year together.
I want to take a moment to thank our school reopening task forces, both at the district and school building levels. They put in many hours of work over the summer to help us make the safe transition back to school a reality. Thank you all!
Masks, Health, and Safety
Aside from physical distancing, wearing masks is one of the most effective strategies for decreasing the spread of COVID-19. As I have been noting throughout the summer, face masks will be required in all of our schools and on our buses this year as well as outside where 6 ft of physical distancing cannot be maintained. Please see this newsletter created by our school nurses that answers many health related back to school questions. Also, within the newsletter, is a health Q and A video put out by nurses Kara Cassani, Kerry Farrell, and Michelle Cannon along with special guests Dr.’s Valerie Riss and Benjamin Lee from the University of Vermont Medical Center.
Transportation
The first iteration of bus transportation routes have been posted on our District website. There, you will find routes organized by school, days of attendance, AM / PM, stop time, and stop location. As more parents and guardians request transportation, we may need to adjust times, rearrange trips, and add routes. Due to the splitting of the student body into two cohorts, these routes and bus assignments look somewhat different than in past years. Correspondence was sent to families September 4 to provide clarity on student assignments in case they were not obvious, by the school of assignment, days of attendance, and location information. For our students from the Islands and Georgia, routes will look very similar to last year. The Islands and Georgia schedule are posted on the same webpage.
Please know that we will be doing the best we can, in the safest way possible, given the rapidly changing situation and uncertainties we face. We thank you in advance for your understanding. Again, due to health and safety guidelines that require physical distancing on our buses and the subsequent pressure that puts on capacity, we are asking that if you can drive or walk your child(ren) to school, that you please do so. If you have questions around transportation or the needs you indicated on the transportation survey have changed, please contact Gary Marckres at gmarckres@sbschools.net or Kathy LaRock at klarock@sbschools.net.
Access to Meals
All children in South Burlington under the age of 18 will be fed free of charge through December 31, 2020 or as long as funding remains available. U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue announced the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) will extend several flexibilities that allow summer meal programs to continue into the fall months.
For the week of September 8th, delivery of meals via bus will not be taking place. Instead, the District Nutritional Services team will operate a drive through pickup location (with masks and physical distancing required) on the FHTMS property at 500 Dorset Street (follow signs for exact pickup location) from 9-10:30 am. This pickup site can be accessed by anyone under the age of 18 in our community and signup is not required. Breakfast and lunch will be picked up together.
Starting Monday, September 14th, in addition to maintaining the pickup site referenced above, we will begin bus delivery of breakfast and lunch, Monday-Friday, between 10 am and noon (lunch for that day and breakfast for the following morning), to students engaged in remote learning. The meals for delivery will have to be ordered via an online survey that will be emailed to all parents the week prior. The delivery option will also be extended to the community, but individuals will need to contact Rhonda Ketner at rketner@sbschools.net or 652-7160 to be added to the delivery list. These individuals will also need to order in advance.
Health Screening App
Parents/guardians will be responsible for conducting health screenings of their child(ren) at home prior to boarding our buses and/or dropping their child(ren) off at our schools. In order to facilitate this process, we have been working with a health screening app provider, RUVNA (sbsdvt.ruvna.com). The District implementation of the health screening application will be ready for testing early in the week during orientation days with plans for full implementation on our first regular school day September 10th. We are asking all staff and parents to conduct self-screening for COVID symptoms and self-temperature checks prior to entering school until the app is fully functional. We will be conducting on-site temperature checks beginning Tuesday September 8th.
Please don't hesitate to reach out with any questions or concerns as the school year gets underway. We will inevitably face challenges and will need to be nimble as we navigate them together. I hope you have a safe and relaxing Labor Day and we look forward to seeing you this week.
Sincerely,
David
Integrated Arts Changes During COVID 19
Picture Day
Chromebooks for Remote Learning
All of our 2nd - 5th graders will have chromebooks to bring home again this year. Chromebooks will go back and forth to school for the remote learning days. Students will first review expectations and sign their contracts for appropriate use of technology at school and at home. The first time they will go home is on the 15th and 18th. Chromebooks stay at school overnight during the two days of in person learning. We are working to get more devices for our South Burlington students, however there is a national shortage of devices and our order that was placed earlier in the summer has been delayed for a few months.
Updated Arrival and Dismissal Information
SOUTH BURLINGTON SCHOOL DISTRICT REOPENING GUIDANCE DOCUMENT FOR FAMILIES
Chamberlin School
Email: hrouelle@sbschools.net
Website: https://vt01819219.schoolwires.net/Domain/10
Location: Chamberlin School, White Street, South Burlington, VT, USA
Phone: 802 652 7403
Twitter: @hrouelle