THE SCHOOL BELL
Williston Schools /February 20, 2019
NO SCHOOL FEBRUARY 25 THROUGH MARCH 1!
Student Absences
by Jacqueline Parks, WCS Building Principal
Is my child sick or is he/she just wanting a day off? This is an age old question that most parents experience at some point in time. The truth for most parents, myself included, is probably somewhere in the middle.
This is the time of year when school absences start to accumulate. Families receive a letter about attendance at 5-day increments and as you can imagine by February, the stack of letters needing my signature grows large. When a student misses 10 school days, the school team starts to look for more information about why a student is out. Sometimes there is an extended illness or a trip that causes the student to miss school. If there is a trip that extends to 5 days or more, families must complete a "planned absence" form to document the conversation between the family and teacher(s) for work to be completed. Other times the 10 day absent are made up of smaller increments of time that start to accumulate.
At the 15-day absent mark, the school will request a meeting with the family and student to develop a more formal attendance plan. An attendance plan is designed to increase communication around absences. It typically requires a note from the doctor when a student is seen in the office. Often part of the plan is for a student to come into school and be assessed by the health office for illness, unless a fever or vomiting is clearly present. This action step is always available to a parent if you are unsure about whether your child is ill enough to miss school.
The bottom line around attendance is that it matters! Being in school and learning is always what we want for our students to ensure their success. So if your child is missing school on a fairly regular basis and the absences are at or beyond 10 days, please thoughtfully look at each absence to see if it warrants being out. We certainly don't want sick kids to come to school and spread germs, but we do want to guard against those more "iffy" times of absence.
Proposed CVSD Budget
The Board of Directors for the Champlain Valley School district is excited to share information with our communities about the proposed budget for 2019-2020. Please visit our website at https://www.cvsdvt.org/budget for up-to-date information. We encourage you to view the links below as well.
Questions are always welcome and can be sent to cvsdboard@cvsdvt.org
(http://bit.ly/CVSDbudgetflyerFY20)
(http://bit.ly/CVSDbudgetFY20FAQs)
SPARK Enrichment After School ~ Session 4
The 4th session of Spark Enrichment, an after-school applied learning program for students in grades 5-8, takes place from March 7 - April 4. These small group classes will be facilitated by school faculty and staff. Please access the link to the sign-up form below by March 5th. You will be able to rank your choices for better placement!! More info
Williston School’s Wildcat Café at WCS and ABS is proud to announce that Domino’s Smart Slice pizza is being served in the lunchroom. Domino’s Smart Slice pizza contains unique ingredients that are available exclusively for schools. Each pizza is made by hand and delivered hot from the local Domino’s store right here in Williston. Domino’s Smart Slice meets all USDA guidelines, and will help give your kids the energy to learn, play and grow!
Domino’s Smart Slice pizzas are:
- Whole Grain Rich
- Reduced Sodium
- Reduced Fat
- Made Fresh
- Taste GREAT!
The flavor your kids love and the nutrition you demand is Domino’s Smart Slice Pizza.
ALLERGENS: For allergen information about any Domino’s product, please visit:
https://www.dominos.com/en/pages/content/nutritional/allergen-info.jsp
Now being served in the lunch room! Every other Monday! Next served 3/4/2019
Spring Cleaning & Unwanted Medications
Wednesday, March 20, 2019 is the first day of Spring. Around this time each year we begin to get the Spring Fever and start to clean out our homes.....Soon the sun will shine warm and the days will be longer and before you know it we will all be cleaning out cabinets and getting rid of things we don’t use, while you are at it ... please remember to clean out your medicine cabinet. You can recycle unused or unwanted medication by bringing it to several different pharmacies and police departments in the community. Some agencies thorough VT will even send you a special bag to mail it in at no cost to yourself. Remember, leftovers are good except when they are medication, either prescribed or over the counter.
Early Childhood Classroom Reconfiguration
We are reconfiguring the early childhood classrooms and outreach services for the town of Williston. For the fall of 2019, we will be offering 3 preschool classes at the Allen Brook School and expanding our community outreach to our partner preschools. The school based classes will consist of 1 morning and 2 afternoon classes, Monday through Thursday. We will be filling the classroom spots by drawing that lottery this week and notifying families if you are in a morning or afternoon spot prior to February vacation. Class placements will be solidified over the spring.
The CVSD early education program provides families with a variety of options for universal access to preschool. Every family has access to the funding for 10 hours of preschool at a qualified preschool. Currently, the district has partnership agreements with over 40 preschool and child care programs to meet this need. For information see our website: Universal PreK, CVSD
One of the options for preschool in Williston is at Allen Brook School. We provide a classroom with an early childhood special educator and speech language pathologist in the school based sites to allow all children access to the services they need. CVSD provides families and students with a mixed delivery system by also providing services, consultation and support for students in our partner programs. In order to provide this array of options in Williston, we allocate resources to match the needs.
A unique resource for children in Williston is our outreach early childhood teacher, Victoria Francis. Victoria is able to support children in 12 of our largest partners in Williston weekly. Victoria also coordinates our Early Education Initiative, a Williston program, which has some spaces set aside in the classroom.
If you have any questions about early education or preschool, please contact Shelley Henson, Director of Early Education, shenson@cvsdvt.org or Angela Filion, ABS school principal, afilion@cvsdvt.org.
Sincerely,
Angela Filion, Building Principal, Allen Brook School
Shelley Henson, Director of Early Education, CVSD
Seeking Indoor Garage Sale Donations
Voyager House is holding its annual Indoor Garage Sale Saturday, March 30th in WCS's cafeteria 8:00am - 2:00pm! It's a giant indoor Reuse/Resale that raises money to benefit Voyager House. If you have any quality, sell-able items to donate to this sale we'd be most appreciative!! We are looking for furniture, household items, athletic equipment, working electronics, artwork, toys, rugs or anything that could be a treasure to someone new! Drop off donated items from 6:30pm - 8:30pm Friday, March 29th in the WCS cafeteria. Students will be available to help unload your donations. Contact Ted Milks at Tmilks@cvsdvt.org with questions. And THANK YOU for your support!
Food Shelf Offers Vacation Food
CAMP ROCK
WCS Drama Club is pleased to announce the upcoming presentation of Camp Rock!
Performances Friday April 5th at 7pm
Saturday April 6th at 2pm and 7pm
Tickets available through http://willistoncentral.seatyourself.biz
Enjoy the Show!!
K-8 IntraDistrict School Choice Program
Do You Want to Join WCS 3rd/4th Grade Chorus?
When:
Wednesdays after school, 3:00-4:00.
Rehearsals begin on Wednesday, February 20th.
The first two rehearsals are “open.” Students can come to check it out with no obligation.
Starting Wednesday, March 13th, students need to make a final decision to be a chorus member or not. Chorus members must attend all rehearsals. (Absences from school are excused.) Non-members are not permitted to attend rehearsals.
Where:
WCS Chorus room (Mrs. T-H’s and Ms. Kennedy’s music room)
Students should bring a snack to eat between school dismissal and the start of chorus rehearsal. No food is permitted in the rehearsal room. Only water is permitted.
There is a 4:30 activity bus available to take students home. Supervision is provided between 4:00 and 4:30.
Other Information:
The 3rd/4th grade chorus will give performances ion June 5th.
The chorus sings a variety of music from different time periods, cultures, and styles. The students will be singing in different languages, meters and tonalities. The songs range in level of difficulty.
No audition- just a love for singing!
No cost.
Please contact me with any questions or concerns.
Danielle Trasciatti-Holmberg (Mrs. T-H)
Eighth Grade Challenge
Box Tops for Education
Please send in your Box Tops for Education. Next submission is February 28th.
2019-2020 Kindergarten Registration
Pre-Registration for Fall 2019 Kindergarten has begun for Williston and St. George children who will be 5 years old by September 1, 2019.
We start the process by asking families to complete this pre-registration form.
Following submission of the pre-registration form, we'll collect registration forms* and paperwork (copy of birth certificate, proof of residency, and immunizations) in advance of Kindergarten screening in early 2019. *Families with children enrolled in the ABS EE program will only need to provide a copy of the birth certificate and these forms.
Please reach out to Laura (871-6200; lgigliotti@cvsdvt.org) or Cindy (871-6203; cpavlik@cvsdvt.org) with questions.
Mobile App
Download the WSD App and get notifications for groups, sports teams, 3-4 Chorus, etc. to keep informed.
Open App, tap on the 3 horizontal bars in the top right and select Notifications. Tap on the group boxes for those you want.
Families as Partners
Tuesday Early Dismissal
Dismissal at ABS is 1:35 pm.
Dismissal at WCS is 1:55 pm.
The Tuesday schedule for morning Preschool is 8:00 to 10:15 am. Afternoon preschool is 11:15 am to 1:30 pm.
Four Winds Nature News
School Lunch Menus
Please make payment checks out to 'CVSD - ABS' or 'CVSD-WCS'
Monthly Fitness Fun
More Links, More information
Upcoming Events
Mon. Feb. 18- 22 / Theme Week at WCS
NO SCHOOL Feb. 25-March 1
Fri March 8 / School Dance / WCS / 6:30-8:30 pm
March 11-15 / ABS Visiting Artist
Wed. March 13 / Four Winds / WCS Community Rm / 8:30-10:30 am
Thurs. March 14 / FAP / WCS Community Room / 8 - 10 am
Wed. March 20 / gr. 7-8 Concerts
Fri. March 22 / NO SCHOOL / teacher conferences
Upcoming Events on the School Web CalendarDAML Programs
Click here to access the DAML web site listing of events.
Recreation & Parks Offerings
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