Shelburne Community School
Weekly Newsletter
September 17, 2021
Principal's Message
SCS Families,
I am still waiting for a week where we can lighten up the tone and overall seriousness of our newsletter, this...is not that week.
This morning, SCS was made aware of our first positive COVID case of the new school year. While far from unexpected, it is a sobering reminder of the public health environment we are operating within. Obviously, our thoughts and concerns are with the member of our community who has tested positive. It is also with the students, staff, and families associated with the Blue Team (5-6) who have been asked to either make major adjustments or take time away from school.
At this time, any family with a student who has been deemed a close contact, associated with this case, has received a phone call and an emailed letter from the school describing their next steps. By 11:30 we had all staff and students, considered close contacts, out of the school building with materials and devices in hand. The impacted team is working to communicate their plans for what we hope is a short period of work menus and/or remote learning, in the coming days, as test results come in.
In some ways, we got lucky. As of this moment (**knocking on wood**), this seems like a relatively straightforward single case that was identified and isolated quickly. The coming days will reveal whether this is true. It will not always be so straightforward. We know this from our own experience, and from the experience of schools around the area.
While you may expect me to tell you that our learning community is both overwhelmed and overrun by the current demands of this work, I am going to paint a slightly more hopeful picture.
The truth is that I could not be more proud and satisfied with the decisive and efficient manner in which this community handled today's challenges. And, I do not just mean from the school side of the equation. Our entire community (caregivers, students, and staff) put on a MasterClass on how we need to act if we want to keep our wonderful school open in the face of this wave of the pandemic.
Parents and caregivers need to keep children home if they are sick or if they have even the slightest worry that they may have been recently exposed to someone who is COVID positive. If a student develops symptoms or you feel they may have been exposed, they must be tested in a timely manner. The timing of testing can't be predicated on convenience, but instead needs to be informed by the science behind exposure and transmission. Throughout this process, communication between the family and the SCS health office is essential. Literally, every one of these boxes was checked in this situation, and our community is safer for it.
Back at SCS, we need to have a clear sense of how our students move through their day. We need to know who they sit with during their classes, on the bus, and at times where they are maskless to either eat or play. We need to trust students to help us figure out who they play with on the playground and who they have socialized with outside of school. This helps our contact tracers create an accurate and complete line list of close contacts. Those students are temporarily removed from the in-person learning environment to quarantine. Literally, every one of these boxes was checked in this situation, and our community is safer for it.
Parents and caregivers who get that difficult phone call need to be calm and understanding. They need to not only accept the disruption to their student's schooling but also accept the true responsibility of a quarantine. Playdates, athletics, travel, and other activities need to be put on hold if a child is a close contact. We need to understand that refusal to adhere to quarantine will likely result in the type of community spread that will imperil in-person schooling not just in our community, but across the state and the nation. It is my belief, after my conversations today, that these sacrifices will be made by the SCS families impacted by this situation, and our community is safer for it.
SCS needs to do everything we can to keep quarantined students and classes engaged when they are away from school. With that said, we have limitations in a 5-day a week in-person environment. When individuals or even small groups quarantine they will need to rely on the usual systems that teams and teachers use to keep absent students caught up with work. We cannot simultaneously offer in-person and remote learning for just a few individuals. But, in the more likely situation where whole classes or teams are impacted, SCS is prepared to pivot to remote learning. It will typically take a day for a team or classroom to get organized. That day will also likely include material and device pickup for those students. But, we are confident that on the second full day a class or team is out of school, we will have a viable remote option in place. The team impacted by today's case is positioned to make this pivot (by Tuesday) and our learning community is stronger for it.
That's a ton of needs! But, I think we really hit the targets and met the challenges today. Caregivers, students, and SCS staff have really accepted the responsibilities that come with this unique moment in public education. As always, special thanks go out to Jocelyn Boyea, Kelly Marcus, and the main office staff who hold us together in these tense moments. Appreciation must be shown to our teachers and staff who were calm and caring in working with the students most directly impacted. They continue to stretch and bend, while never breaking, to meet the needs of our students.
I hope this message is helpful and provides the "need-to-know" facts about today's case and our response. It is important to note that we are always walking the fine line between confidentiality and community confidence. I also hope this message gives you a clear sense of the continued commitment it will take for us to keep "getting this right". As we wait for test results to come back next week, we will keep you informed on a need-to-know basis. If concerns about school-based spread present themselves, we will communicate as clearly as possible with you.
I am really proud of this community today. We are growing collectively from past experiences and lessons learned. We have built and constructed a clearer understanding of the type of discipline and sacrifice it takes to keep our community safe in the face of all of this uncertainty. It's not perfect. It's imperfect and messy. But, we can do it, if we stick together.
Mask up out there, and have a wonderful weekend!
Keeping Students Home When Ill (A Message from Our Health Office)
SCS Families,
We are so happy to have students back in our school 5 days a week! We have several strategies to keep our schools safe and healthy but need your help to keep illness out of our classrooms.
Please do not send your child to school if they are sick with any symptoms (ie: cough, runny nose, headache, nausea, diarrhea, stomach ache, sore throat, fever, fatigue, etc.). If your child has any signs of illness, you will need to check in with your child's doctor and have them tested with a PCR test before returning to school. They should not return until you have the results of their test and you have shared those with the Health Office. If you have questions, please reach out to Kelly (kmarcus@cvsdvt.org) or Jocelyn (jbouyea@cvsdvt.org) at 383-1108.***
September Updates from Ms. Celmer
The month of September is filled with exploration, guided discovery, interactive modeling, building relationships, establishing positive learning communities, and practicing daily routines. We'll start to work on some baseline assessments with students to get to know where each student is at, so we can use this information to inform our instruction in the months ahead. We'll have family conferences before the November break, so you'll get a chance to connect with teachers in just a few months.
On Wednesdays (early-release days), during the month of September, our PreK-8 faculty and staff will be diving into our DEI Book Club discussions. Each adult in the building selected one (of six options) book with themes on Racial Equity. We're looking forward to connecting with adults throughout the building, continuing this reflective work, and starting the conversations around ways to improve our practice and systems to be more inclusive of all learners.
Things to Remember:
- Complete ALL forms in PowerSchool for each child at SCS
- Complete the Free & Reduced Lunch form (see below in this newsletter for details)
- Label everything - especially water bottles
- Pack multiple clean face masks for your child every day.
- It's helpful if students have sneakers for PE days (we're outdoors and indoors)
- Don't forget to return library books each week.
I will be writing a monthly PreK-4 update in this newsletter. If you have any questions about upcoming events, please feel free to email me at acelmer@cvsdvt.org.
Here's to a happy, healthy, and fun 2021-2022 school year!
Alison Celmer
PreK-4 Principal
SCS NEWS
The Lions Club will be at SCS on Tuesday, September 21st, to screen the vision of all students in grades PreK, K, 1, 3, 5, and 7 per state requirements. Students who wear glasses should come with their glasses. If you have any questions, please contact Jocelyn Bouyea or Kelly Marcus.
PowerSchool - Creating Parent Accounts AND Updating Forms
We'd like to thank everyone again who has created their Powerschool Parent Portal account. We know that it may appear there are many reminders to complete these forms. That's because we are not seeing a substantial completion rate on the forms.
- Some folks created their account, but didn't fill out the forms yet. Log in and look on the left for the Forms link. Please fill out all of the forms! It doesn't take long; you know the information needed about your child(ren).
- If you haven't created your portal account yet, please do and then complete the forms.
- CVSD set a goal of having everyone complete these forms by the end of September and they're watching to see which school will reach 100% first!
It is very important that we have the most current and up-to-date information to support your child and reach you. Thank you for your help. Reach out to Patty Spagnolo if you need assistance.
AMV Photography was at SCS this past week, taking multiple outdoor shots of every student. In about three weeks, order forms with up to six full color proofs will arrive at school and be sent home with your student(s). The order form will have a URL and student-specific code printed on it so that you'll be able to view the photos online as well.
For those students who missed these photo days, as well as those who desire a re-take, AMV Photography will return to SCS on Tuesday, October 12th. The schedule for that day will be sent to all families, via School Messenger, next week.
If you have questions, please contact Garrath Higgins.
CVSD News
Voluntary Student Vaccine Status Information Requested
CVSD is requesting that families voluntarily share the COVID vaccination status of their child, if they are age 12 and up and therefore eligible for the vaccine. At this time, we will use this information in the event of contact tracing to determine whether or not your child must quarantine if they are identified as a close contact. Individuals who are fully vaccinated are not required to quarantine in the event they are exposed to a positive case. In the future, it may be used to calculate the vaccination rate for our school. If you have more than one child in our school who is eligible, please fill the form out separately for each child.
If your child is eligible for the COVID vaccine (age 12 and up) please fill out this form as soon as possible.
Important Update About Free and Reduced Meals
With school breakfast and lunch free for all students this year you may be wondering why you should bother to apply to the Free and Reduced Meal Program. Learn why at this link.
Important Upcoming Dates
(A complete calendar can be found on the SCS website)
Sep 20th - Dynamic Dates "Fun for All" PTO Fundraiser begins
Sep 21st - Lions Club Vision Screening (8:15am-2:15pm)
Sep 23rd - DEI Community Meeting (6:00-7:00pm)
Oct 4th - Dynamic Dates ticket submission deadline
Oct 7th - Dynamic Dates results announced
Oct 8th - No School, Professional Development
Oct 11th - No School, Indigenous Peoples Day
Oct 12th - Student Portraits Make-Up / Re-Take Day
Oct 12th - SCS PTO Meeting, Green Commons (6:00-7:30pm)
Shelburne Community School
Scott Sivo - Lead Principal (5-8)
Email: ssivo@cvsdvt.org
Website: https://www.cvsdvt.org/shelburne
Location: Shelburne, VT, USA
Phone: 802-985-3331
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ShelburneCommunitySchool/
Twitter: @SCSLearns