Gertrude Chamberlin School
Family Newsletter October 20, 2023 Volume 18 Issue 11
IMPORTANT DATES:
Friday, October 20th - PTO Directory Information Is Due Today. See the Information Below to Be Included in our Family Directory!
.
Friday, October 20th - School Photo Order Forms are Due Today.
.
October 23rd - November 13th - PTO Fundraiser - Meadow Farms Catalog
.
Monday & Tuesday, October 23rd & 24th - No School, Family/Teacher Conferences
.
Saturday, November 4th - PTO Fundraiser - UVM Men's Hockey Game 6:00 PM vs. UCONN
If you purchase tickets through our PTO, our school will get some of the proceeds! Mark your calendars and read below for more information!
Monday, November 6th - Picture Retake Day
.
Friday, November 10th - Half Day of School, 12:30 Dismissal for Staff Learning
.
Tuesday, November 14th - PTO Meeting, 6:00 PM in the Library
.
November 20th - November 24th - No School, Thanksgiving Break
.
Here's the Link to the School Year Calendar for More Important Dates
LAST DAY TO BE INCLUDED IN THE GCS FAMILY DIRECTORY!!!
Our PTO creates a school directory, so families and students can connect. Make sure your student is included!
FOR YOUR STUDENT'S INFORMATION TO BE INCLUDED, you MUST fill out the registration form for each student and provide your contact information. Due to privacy concerns, you must opt in - your information will not appear unless you provide your contact information using the link.
Here is the link for the form: https://forms.gle/VyqRexpiS21AVfPW9
By including your contact information, you make it easy to connect with other GCS families and help create a strong Chamberlin Community! The directory is being created and provided by the PTO. Please fill out the form no later than Friday, October 20th to have your information included.
If you have any questions, please feel free to contact Heather Osborne at dauben20@gmail.com.
Safe Routes To School Family Survey
As a school that participates in the Safe Routes to School program, we want to learn your thoughts about children walking and biking to school. This survey will take about 5 - 10 minutes to complete. We ask that each family complete only one survey per school your children attend. If you have more than one child at GCS, please fill out the survey for the child with the next birthday from today's date. (ex: if today's date is 9/23/22, then if you have three children who all go to the same school, whose birthdays are: 2/17/17, 7/3/12, 11/27/15, then you would use your child's information whose birthday is 11/27/15).
Your responses will be kept confidential and neither you nor your child's name will be associated with any results. Please choose "Chamberlin School" as the school name.
Thank you for providing us with information to improve our safe routes to school program! We will also earn 16 free bike helmets by having families participate in the program!
Farm To School - It's Apple Season!
Common Roots' Farm to School has begun!
We're so excited to be back! This month we are bringing in apples from our orchard to each classroom, and together we are making two different recipes, depending on your grade. Younger kiddos (Pre-k through 2nd Grade) are making their own apple, maple, and cinnamon taste tests, and the older classes are making a fresh applesauce with local beets, ginger, and apple cider pressed from our apples.
Here's the 3rd-5th grade recipe:
3 apples, diced
1 baked, steamed, or boiled
1 tbsp of ginger
½ cup apple cider
Put all ingredients into a blender or food processor, and blend to the texture you like!
Alternate cooking option: Cook on the stove in a pot for 1-2 hours, stirring regularly. Add cider when needed.
Here's the Pre-K-2nd grade recipe:
1 apple, diced
2 tsp maple syrup
1 tsp cinnamon
Stir it all together for a sweet treat, or a delicious topping for pancakes!
Don't know about farm to school, or Common Roots? Check out our website!
Farm to School is a food education program provided to South Burlington Elementary Schools. Each classroom receives a 45 minute lesson from our Community Dietitian, Kayli O'Donnell, and talented college interns. Food is provided from our Common Roots Farm South Burlington (Our Organic Farmstand is open until mid November!) and local, organic farms across the state.
Common Roots provides, and teaches, fresh produce to the South Burlington Food Shelf.
Come visit us there Thursday 4 pm to 6 pm, Friday 8am – 10 am, Saturday 8am – 10am!
Here is our mission and this year's contract, signed with kiddo's beet-juiced thumbs up!
The Meadow Farms Catalog Fundraiser Starts on Monday!
This year, orders can be done online using each child's seller code that you will receive when you register, OR by using the paper order form in the packet. Paper order forms will be delivered to the school and we will let you know the pick up date and time. Parents who want to participate in online ordering will need to register their child(ren) using the packet information. Online orders will be shipped as the orders come in, to the address given by the buyer. If an order is more than $129 there is no shipping fee. Any orders placed on the paper form get free shipping (whether they ship to home or school). An online customer who lives close to the student can choose to have their order shipped to the student for $3, but the student must be registered and acknowledge that they want to deliver orders.
There is also a prize program for children who place an order. You can share the information and your child's seller code with friends and family and they can order from other towns and states!
Already have enough wrapping paper? Not looking to add to your snack drawer at home? Please consider donating directly to our PTO which helps support field trips and school events. In the information coming home with your child, you will see a flyer for the "Un Fundraiser." You can send in a donation with your child, or use the QR code on the pink flyer in the packet to donate using Square.
Free Sibling Photo Shoot
AMV Photography, who did our school photos this year, will be offering free sibling portrait sessions. These sessions are first come first served and the images will be uploaded for purchase to a gallery on their website for easy viewing and ordering. Here are the dates, times and location:
November 1st, 3 – 4:30 pm at Orchard Elementary School on Baldwin Avenue off Shelburne Road
November 4th, 10 am – 12 pm at Rick Marcotte Central School off Market Street
Chamberlin Night and Afternoon at the Rink!
The University of Vermont is offering GCS families the chance to purchase tickets to come and cheer on the UVM Catamounts at two different games. Families can purchase tickets for a UVM Men's Hockey game on Saturday, November 4th, at 6:00 PM. Families can also purchase tickets for a UVM Women's Hockey game on Saturday, February 17th, at 1:00 PM. Both teams are playing the UCONN Huskies. Our PTO will receive a portion ($5) of each ticket sales. If you would like to purchase tickets, please click on the link below and use the case sensitive, group password, CHAMBERLIN. It will be fun to cheer on the Catamounts together!
October News from Mr. Belt, School Counselor
Starting to get a bit chilly and dark out there. The rain and clouds seem to add to that lack of light. The transition into winter can be rough for many children and adults. Activity levels tend to decrease with the daylight and we are inside more due to rain or cold. The lack of daylight and especially sunshine does have an effect on our mood and in some cases our mental health. If you have ever been by my office you will see a bright light over by my desk. This is to mimic sunlight, something I know I need to help my mood be as bright as the sun.
While there is a diagnosis called Season Affect Disorder, many people still exhibit the effects without meeting the criteria for S.A.D. It is interesting that some of the symptoms are, well, sad. One feels fatigued, irritable, sluggish, sleep issues, and more. Wow, that kind of sounds like some of our tweens!!
What can we all do to help avoid these effects?
Regular sleep times and length
Reduce screen time
Eat full healthy meals
GET OUTSIDE, even if it is cold and miserable. Make a game of it, make it fun to get wet, knowing there is warmth back inside with a hot tea or hot chocolate.
Move the body with heart pumping exercise for at least 30 min a day.
If you think that you or a member of your family is struggling with mental health to include SAD, it is okay to not be okay. Find someone who can help. For children a good starting place is their doctor. For adults a great starting place is also your doctor. Many times a referral can be made for a mental health specialist.
Here are some links:
National Institute of Mental Health - This article focuses more on the diagnosis of SAD
Norton’s Children’s Hospital in North Carolina - This is a quick and easy read.
Please visit my website linked at the end of each newsletter for more information about School Counseling and which classrooms I am in for this rotation.
Peace,
Woody
Buzz Assembly
We had an exciting assembly this week! Our 5th grade co-hosts interviewed our new teachers, Mr. Riegler and Mrs. Chandler. As a school, we played a guessing game to learn some interesting facts about our new PE Teacher and our new Librarian. The Support Our School Team (SOS) was introduced to our school! This is a group of 3rd, 4th and 5th graders who meet once a month with Mrs. Post to look at our PBIS data and brainstorm ways that we can create an even more positive community. They modeled how we can "use our voices for good" when there is an interruption to learning - giving friends a reminder of the expectations when they are not focusing or off track with their conversations. We also honored our Citizens of the Month - each grade level nominates one student for this honor each month. What a great way to start our Wednesday!
Congratulations to Our PBIS Team and Mrs. Post!
All three of our South Burlington elementary schools received ribbons for being exemplary PBIS schools at the Annual VT PBIS Forum in Killington! This is a awarded to schools that follow through with all of the systems and data that is required to be a PBIS school, which means documentation of our layered supports. For the past 7 years, Lisa Post has been our PBIS Coordinator, making sure that we have fidelity to PBIS and always looking for ways to enhance our systems with an equity lens and a focus on family engagement. For the past 2 years, they have also given out an annual award, the Sherry Schonberg Leadership Award, and this year, Mrs. Post was chosen as the award recipient! We are grateful for all of the wonderful work Mrs. Post does to support students, staff and systems for PBIS at GCS.
We Are Still Hiring!
Do you want to work the same schedule as your child? Thinking about part time work or full time work? We are still hiring for Recess Monitors, which is 3 hours a day, and an Interventionist which is full time. If you are interested, please reach out to me - hrouelle@sbschools.net or call 802-652-7403.
School Nurse Notes
Check Out Mrs. Goodrich's Art at the Art Teacher Exhibition
School Lunch Information
Lunch Account Refund Request
The Universal School Meals Act H.165 has passed. All students will continue to be offered one complete reimbursable breakfast and one complete reimbursable lunch FREE of charge daily, during the school year.
We are offering parents/guardians an opportunity to request a full refund on their student/student's lunch account/s or donate the remaining funds to help a student in need. Information on student balances was sent via email to all parents/guardians from "donotreply@sbschools.net" If you did not receive this email, please check your spam/junk folder. The subject line will say "school lunch refund requests." You do not need the account balance to request a refund.
Please keep in mind that Snacks and al a carte' items are not included in the Universal School Meals Program. If your student brings lunch from home and wishes to have milk, they must have money in their account to purchase it. The USDA does not allow these items to be charged.
Please let me know if you have any questions, have a wonderful day.
Rhonda L. Ketner
Nutritional Services Director
South Burlington School District
500 Dorset Street
South Burlington, VT 05403
Office: 802-652-7160
Fax: 802-652-7288
E-mail: rketner@sbschools.net
"Nutrition is the CORE of Education"
GCS Family Resources:
Free Parenting and Children's Mental Health Summit
The Institute of Child Psychology is thrilled to announce their inaugural 2023 Parenting & Children's Mental Health Summit, happening from November 14th to 17th.
This groundbreaking event is entirely FREE and brings together a diverse community of parents, professionals, researchers, and authors, all dedicated to exploring the science of parenting and fostering positive mental health in our children.
This Conference is For You If….
- You are interested in the science of parenting. You’re curious about what attachment, emotional intelligence, psychology, and brain science can tell us about how to raise kids.
- You have kids that are more sensitive, strong-willed, bright, or spirited than others (and sometimes the advice in “traditional” parenting sources just doesn’t work for you, or your child).
- You want to raise kids who are resilient and empowered in today’s more complicated world. You’d like to raise strong, confident kids.
- You strive to use effective alternatives to threats and bribes and want to address challenging behaviors with connection and communication (without passing on your own baggage).
South Burlington Public Library Information
Gertrude 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
I am the "Queenipal" for the past 12 years at GCS. Before becoming a principal, I taught kindergarten at Essex Elementary School for many years. I was also the Assistant Director and preschool teacher of the Heartworks and Renaissance Schools. In my free time, I enjoy reading, biking, snowshoeing, walking and playing with my two cats, Willow and Laney.