EWSD News
News for EWSD Families and Community Members
January 16, 2019
In This Issue ...
From the Desk of Superintendent Cobb
District Updates
Early Release Provides Time for Teacher Collaboration
Prekindergarten in the EWSD: An Overview and Update
January is School Board Recognition Month
EWSD Honored For Promoting Student and Educator Success
Student Schedule Change
Keep You and Your Family Safe: 2-Factor Authentication
EWSD In the News
Happenings
Upcoming Events
EWSD Job Opportunities
Important Links
Dear EWSD Family and Friends,
The cold temperatures and snow remind us we are in the middle of January. During my years in education, I have valued January and February as productive learning months. As a teacher, I always found that students returned from the December break with a renewed enthusiasm for learning. On a nightly basis, if you don’t already, ask your student one thing they learned at school that day. Engage yourselves in a learning conversation.
At the district office, we are preparing for next year’s budget. Our school board budget work sessions begin on January 22 and the board will focus on the budget each Tuesday night through February 19.
We invite you to come out and learn what goes into the budget and see how our tax dollars are spent. Learn how our budget decision making impacts student learning opportunities, social and emotional learning, instructional excellence, and safety and security. The EWSD Board meetings begin at 6:30 p.m. and are being held in the Essex High School library. If you cannot make a board meeting, you can follow the budget development on our website (ewsd.org) and through social media.
Stay warm and stay well,
Beth
District Updates
Early Release Provides Time for Teacher Collaboration
The EWSD continues to grow with a focus on enhanced and expanded educational opportunities for all students. Starting this past fall the District initiated Personal Learning Communities (PLCs), a research-based practice whereby teachers are brought together under a set of facilitated protocol to discuss student learning each Tuesday afternoon.
PLCs offer an opportunity for teachers to share resources, strategies, and tools with colleagues, reflect on their own work to learn and grow, all while seeking better ways to achieve mutual goals and improved learning for all. Continuous, job-embedded learning for educators helps improve learning for students and with PLCs, effectiveness is driven by data to inform instruction and interventions.
Prekindergarten in the EWSD: An Overview and Update
The research about the value and outcomes of high-quality prekindergarten for children is nationally known and the state of Vermont has invested both time and resources to ensure that Vermont’s children receive access to quality learning experiences in the early years. The Essex Westford School District (EWSD) fully supports this initiative and has a variety of opportunities available to families in order to access prekindergarten for their children.
The EWSD continues to offer high-quality Prekindergarten for Essex Junction, Essex Town, and Westford families. Essex Elementary School, Hiawatha Elementary School, Summit Street School, and Westford Elementary School all have partial day programs offered during the school day to provide learning opportunities for three and four-year-olds in an enriching and developmentally appropriate environment. In addition, the EWSD also partners with 42 private prekindergarten providers to offer up to 10 hours of free high-quality prekindergarten to families who choose to access private partners as opposed to our school-based programs. The EWSD also partners with Head Start and offers a Head Start classroom at Essex Elementary School.
*Learn more about the process and calibration efforts in the EWSD
January is School Board Recognition Month
“I am grateful that our Essex Westford School Board members bring the voice of the community to important education decisions. In January we officially recognize our school board members, but all year long their commitment to our students is admirable,” said EWSD Superintendent Beth Cobb. “They make the tough decisions every month and spend many hours studying education issues and regulations in order to provide the kind of accountability our citizens expect.”
EWSD Honored For Promoting Student and Educator Success
Student Schedule Change
Sick child? Arriving late? Leaving early? Pickup change? Make sure to let the school's front office know. You can call, send an email, or use the "Absence Form" found on the school web page under "Quick Links." If a child is absent from school or is saying they have a schedule change, the administrative assistant at the school needs to verify that change with a parent. Teachers will always be contacted by the office about any changes, but the main office should be your first point of contact. You can also find the attendance line phone number and absence form on each school web page.
Keep You and Your Family Safe: 2-Factor Authentication
The Technology Department would like to share the following post on 2-factor authentication (or 2fa). The article will help us understand what 2fa is, why it's so important to all of us, and how to enable it on your Google account.
TWO-FACTOR IS A MUST
By Jerry Hildenbrand - December 24, 2018
Why you (and your family) should be using 2FA and a password manager
Keep you and your loved ones safe and secure.
EWSD In the News
- CTE students are helping in the search for better compost in this piece on WCAX's Across the Fence.
Happenings
STEM Academy Science Olympiad
Congrats to the EHS STEM Academy Science Olympiad team for their numerous individual victories at the Northern New England Science Olympiad Invitational Tournament.
*Abby Chase/Grace Parks, 1st place, Write It Do It
*Kate Connolly/Katherine Lewis, 2nd place, Anatomy + Physiology
*Isabelle Petrucci/Nguyen Le, 2nd place, Chemistry Lab
*Grace Lu/Eric Lu, 2nd place, Codebusters
*Grace Lu/Eric Lu, 4th place, Experimental Design
International Peace Poster
Hiawatha Student Council Visits Trustees
Knitting Winter Hats for Babies
ADL Book Clubs
Hand-To-Hand Sale
Spoken Word
Spoken Word Poet Steven Willis visited EHS last week!
Attorney General Visits EHS
Snow Structures
FMS Honors EPD Officer Kurt Miglinas
EWSD Social Media
Upcoming Events
EWSD Board Meeting
Tuesday, Jan 22, 2019, 06:30 PM
Essex High School, Educational Drive, Essex Junction, VT, USA
EHS Band Spaghetti Dinner and Dance
Vermont Birdie-Bash 2019
Save the Date - Voices for Education Community Celebration
Please save the date, as Voices for Education will be hosting a community celebration on Monday, January 28 from 7-8 p.m. in the Essex Middle School cafeteria. At this event, VFE will share what it learned at a community forum held in December and possible next steps to help us continue to build a more welcoming community going forward.
More information to follow!
EWSD Job Opportunities
Important Links
About Us
Email: bdickie@ewsd.org
Website: www.ewsd.org
Location: 58 Founders Road, Essex Junction, VT, USA
Phone: 802-878-8168
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/essexwestford/
Twitter: @EssexWestford