THE VIKING
Hinesburg Community School - December 20, 2019
The Principal's Corner
Dear Families,
We want to wish all of you a happy holiday vacation and hope that you are lucky enough to be able to spend time with your families and loved ones. As we learned last year from watching Screenagers, and from a slew of research, too much screen time is harmful to kids and is detrimental for the family. With this in mind, this vacation is a great time to unplug from electronics for a bit to spend time eating as a family, reading together, or even having simple conversations uninterrupted by screens. Knowing that many of you will be giving additional electronics to your children, we also urge you to set time every day where your children are not allowed on screens so they will be forced to play like many of us did growing up.
We wish you peace, joy, hope and happiness during this holiday season and throughout the New Year and look forward to seeing your children following the winter recess, on Thursday, January 2, 2020.
Warmly,
Suzan & John
Kathy and her therapy dog Summer come to HCS once a week. They bring smiles to everyone big and small!
Think Globally, Act Locally!
Hunger can seem far away, but we have children right here in our schools whose families struggle to keep them fed. Federal guidelines for the free lunch are less generous than we think. A single mom who makes $32,000 will find that her child is not eligible! These families can fall behind in making payments to the foodservice program, but tight budgets require us to continue to send them bills. Can you help make the holidays a little brighter for food-insecure families in our community? Make a donation by sending a check in to your school with "help feed hungry kids" on the memo line. An option to make donations right in MySchoolBucks is coming soon!
Peter Drescher from the Vermont AoE, along with representatives Mike Yantachka and Bill Lippert came to the Hour of Code event in Mrs. O'Brien's third grade class today! We learned so much!
The HCS 2020 Scripps Spelling Bee is Coming!
On Thursday, Feb. 7 th , 2020, HCS will be holding a school-level Spelling Bee for interested HCS and home-schooled 4th -8th graders! HCS’s Bee is the first step for a chance to compete at the Vermont State Spelling Bee in March 2020 and the the National Scripps Spelling Bee in Washington, DC in late May 2020.
Steps for 4th -8th grade students who might be interested:
A. PICK UP A WORD LIST from Mr. Shackett or email him at CShackett@cvsdvt.org so he can respond to you with the list attached.
B. PRACTICE / LEARN the WORD LIST. Your word list provides the ANSWERS to almost all the words you’ll encounter. There are 447 words on the list. These words start off with common words like closet, station, and smudge. If the Bee lasts 10 rounds, you’ll only have to spell 10 or those 447 words.
C. TRY the QUIZ on Thurs., 1/9/20. You’ve got nothing to lose by trying the qualifying quiz. Studying the word list before coming to the quiz is recommended, but isn’t required. Also, coming to the quiz doesn’t mean you’re committed to competing in the Bee -- You can decide after the quiz.
Note to Parents: Preparation/studying for the Scripps School Bee will be largely left to individual student initiative. Gentle reminders to practice the list at home can be helpful.
KEY DATES:
Th 1/9/20: Scripps Bee Qualifying Quiz at HCS during school hours -- open to interested students in 4th-8th grade.
Th 2/7/20: Scripps Spelling Bee at HCS during school hours – open to students who qualify by achieving a threshold # of correct answers on the quiz.
Mid-March 2020: VT Scripps Spelling Bee at St. Michael’s College, 2pm
Late May 2020: Scripps National Spelling Bee, National Harbor, Maryland
For specific Scripps Spelling Bee eligibility info:
http://spellingbee.com/eligibility
For more information about the National Bee:
National Geographic GeoBee
Are you interested in geography? Do you know about places around the US and the world? Are you in 5-8th grade? If you said yes, please consider participating in the National Geographic GeoBee. The HCS level competition will take place during the day on January 22nd. Register by google form linked to announcements in your team newsletter or The Viking.
POP (CAN) TAB COMPETITION EXTENDED UNTIL JANUARY 3, 2020!!
Please continue to pull the tabs off your cans and turn them in after break. You can give them to a 7th grader or 8th grader to support their class. On January 3rd we will do a weigh off at lunch time to determine which class brought in the most and then they will be given over to the Ronald McDonald House who will then turn them in for cash to help pay for their programs, including reduced rates for families to stay at the House while their children are in the hospital. The event is hosted by the Hinesburg Girl Scout Cadettes--THANK YOU!!
About Us
Suzan Locke, HCS Co-Principal, Grades K-4
482-6299, slocke@cvsdvt.org
John Pontius, HCS Co-Principal, Grades 5-8
482-6298, jpontius@cvsdvt.org
Alicia Kurth, HCS Special Education Administrator
425-6285, akurth@cvsdvt.org
Email: hcsinformation@cvsdvt.org
Website: https://www.cvsdvt.org/hinesburg
Location: Hinesburg Community School, 10888, Route 116, Hinesburg, Vermont, USA
Phone: 802-482-2106
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Hinesburg-Community-School-125786304154731/
The Viking Newsletter is published bi-weekly, when school is in session. It is available on our web site and is also delivered to email via Blackboard Connect. If needed, a hard copy can be provided for your child to bring home. The Viking includes upcoming events, after school opportunities, notes of interest for parents and the community and updates from our school administration.