Craftsbury Schools Newsletter
January
Hello Craftsbury Families!
SNOW
We are finally getting our winter snow. I hope everyone is able to find time to get outside and enjoy one of the great reasons for living in Vermont. Our teachers and staff have been getting our kids outside in this great weather as much as we can. Currently, we have students taking part in cross-country skiing during PE- I keep forgetting to bring my skis. Mrs. Barber, our PE teacher, also organized pond skating for our elementary kids. She made sure we have plenty of milk crates to help our new skaters. Mrs. Barber is also in the process of organizing downhill skiing opportunities for our high school students. We look forward to taking the kids skiing in the next month. Our K-2 students recently held a PBIS celebration outside at the Craftsbury Woodlot. They participated in a lot of outdoor nature games and enjoyed a fire to warm up.
NEW School Website
I hope everyone gets a chance to use and explore our new school website. It has been designed to be more intuitive for users and to provide more information. We are also starting up a Craftsbury Facebook Page as well. Please feel free to connect with it to get updates on our student’s learning and school activities.
Thank you for your continued support of Craftsbury Schools,
Matt Foster
Principal
OSSU CALENDAR
February 3 ~ No School
February 27 thru March 7 ~ Winter Break
Spring Sports Sign-Up
On Monday, January 30th Spring Sports Sign-Up is taking place in the gym during lunch (11:30-12:10)!
The sports that will be present for sign-ups are:
Little League Baseball
Middle & High Track and Field
Varsity Softball
Middle School Baseball
JV Baseball
Library News
Author Chris Young and illustrator Avery Ellis visited grades 1 and 2 on Friday to share their first picture book, Ron and the Partridge. Mr. Young is currently the principal at North Country Union High School but he started his administrative career at Craftsbury. Ms. Ellis, a graduate of Middlebury College, is a friend of his daughter's. The story is based on an actual human-partridge friendship in Irasburg.
Students learned how long it took to bring the book from a rough draft to publication, which authors and illustrators influenced Mr. Young and Ms. Ellis, and how they collaborated. During Ms. Ellis's presentation, she invited everyone to join in painting with watercolors.
The visit dovetailed with both library and guidance class since Ms. Guebara has been discussing careers and students were able to find out the paths taken (and many hats worn) by our guests. Mrs. Greenia happened to be subbing that day, so when Mr. Foster joined the audience, it became an impromptu reunion of three Craftsbury principals.
Half Way Day!
Reader's Theater
The second-grade class performed Reader's Theater for the younger students.
Reader's Theater is a way to involve students in reading aloud. In reader's theater, students "perform" by reading scripts created from grade-level books or stories. Usually, they do so without costumes or props.
Reader's theater is a strategy that combines reading practice and performing. Its goal is to enhance students' reading skills and confidence by having them practice reading with a purpose. Reader's theater gives students a real reason to read aloud.
Craftsbury Public Library Story Time
Simple Acts of Kindness
Last month the 5th Graders organized a food drive for grades 3-8. They collected 244.5 lbs of food to donate to the Hardwick Area Food Pantry!!
Preschool Story Time
Cooperative learning is a great way to build community and promote reading!
When: Saturday, February 4th at 12 pm
Where: Hazen Union Higschool in Hardwick
Cost: FREE, Food For Purchase
RSVP: https://ruralartsvt.org/events/sankofa
What: Join Vermont artist Edwin Owusu for a performance and storytelling event, where we will explore our past to inform our future as a community. This dynamic storytelling event features a rich lineup of artists, comedians, and musicians of color. The event is free and open to the public. Come for an hour or stay for the whole afternoon.
In addition to the comedy routines and musical interludes, Edwin Owusu will host a panel discussion with guests Saudia LaMont, Congressional Representative; Isaac Owusu, Vermont Racial Justice Alliance, and Justin Morgan Parmett, UVM Director of Forensics, to discuss community building among diverse communities.
We hope you'll join us for this opportunity to connect, reflect, and be inspired.
The 802 Smiles Network connects Vermont's various school dental health programs under one umbrella with the goal to eliminate oral health disparities and improve oral health for all Vermont children. Some of you might remember this program as the “Tooth Tutor.” Since its creation in 2017, schools from all over Vermont have become members, solidifying their commitment to increasing access to dental care for children.
This program will begin with collecting information about which children already have regular dental care, and which children might need help getting started with a local dental care provider. We have contracted with Kim Hartling-Welles, a local dental hygienist, who will help us with this important work. She has many years of experience working with 802 Smiles in local schools.
Kim will be working with Nurse Jen to review the information provided on the Annual Health Update form parents/guardians completed at the beginning of the year. In the coming weeks, you may be contacted by Kim, or by one of the nurses, to find out more information about your child’s dental care needs. Kim will also be performing dental screenings on students who do not currently have regular dental care. This screening is not invasive. It is a quick look in the mouth using only a dental mirror and a penlight. The results of this screening can help us to get your child a dental appointment more quickly.
In the spring, we will also be working with Northern Counties Dental Care as part of an exciting new school based dental program. NCDC will be able to have a dental hygienist come to the school and perform cleanings right here at school. If the hygienist finds that your child has a cavity and needs to see the dentist, NCDC will be able to offer prioritized time for that work to be done, and we will be able to help with transportation to the visit if needed. Look for more information, including registration and consent forms, for this part of the program later this year.
Please contact us if you have any questions about this program or if you do not want your child to participate.
Jen Olsen, BSN, RN (jolsen@ossu.org or 472-2405)
Elsa Ingpen, DNP, APRN (eingpen@ossu.org or 472-2749)Lyndon College & Career Pathways event on February 23rd
On Thursday, February 23, we will be bringing 10th and 11th-grade students to VSAC’s College & Career Pathways event at the Vermont State University Lyndon Campus. Students will attend the event from 9 am-2 pm and participate in three workshops of their choosing. Click this link to learn more about this student event and a special event for parents in March.
Now that the legislative session is well underway in Montpelier, Vermont’s Child Care Campaign is beyond excited to announce our next advocacy opportunity: the Grassroots Leadership Circle! Made up of some of the strongest child care champions in Vermont, our Grassroots Leadership Circle will be instrumental in developing new child care advocates and responding to urgent calls to action during the legislative session — a truly indispensable arm of Vermont’s Child Care Campaign!
Events & Programs at the Morrisville Centenial Libaray
WOODLOT HARVEST WORK AND PARTIAL TRAIL CLOSURES BEGIN JANUARY 25, 2023
This winter, students from the Green Mountain Technical Career Center (GMTCC) Forestry Program will be completing a harvest at the Craftsbury Academy Woodlot on Wylie Hill Road. Work begins Wednesday, January 25, 2023. Students will be implementing the silvicultural prescription described within the CA Woodlot Forest Management Plan.
Students will be harvesting trees marked for removal with blue paint by the Orleans County Forester. Harvesting will be limited to the white pine plantation (described as Stand 1 in the Forest Management Plan). While students are working in the woods, several trails will be closed (including the Flat Path and the Big Loop beginning at the western edge of the boardwalk). Trail closures will be marked with flagging, and we ask that you please respect these trail closures and avoid walking in this area while students are working. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact Jared Nunery, Orleans County Forester at 802-595-5754 or via email at jared.nunery@vermont.gov.
Youth STEM activities in February
Take a look at these exciting programs! Make sure to sign up by the registration deadline!
February 2 - Have you ever wanted to learn how to program your own game? Well, here's your chance! In this 4-H World Changers: Learn to Code series, you will learn to program a collecting game using p5.js, a JavaScript library created especially for artists and designers. We will meet virtually each Thursday from February 2 - March 9, 7:00-8:00 pm. Register by February 1.
February 3 - Get your Science Olympiad team ready to compete! UVM will be hosting the Vermont Science Olympiad on Saturday, April 1, 2023, and we are looking for high school teams to join us for this exciting day of science competition! Teams need to pre-register by Feb 3 or contact Lauren.Traister@uvm.edu.
February 11 - Have you ever wondered how rockets work, and what goes into designing them? Come to this teen science cafe hosted by Jeff Gibson, Deputy Chief Engineer at Benchmark Space Systems. At this cafe, Jeff will walk through basic principles and
show you how to design your own functional model rocket from scratch! Register by Feb 8.
February 18 - Discover Engineering is a FREE annual event for youth in grades 5-12 who want to learn about engineering, build skills, and network with engineering students, faculty, and professionals. Register by Feb 8; workshops are first-come, first-serve so don't wait!
More information about each program and registration links can be found at: https://www.uvm.edu/extension/youth/announcements