THE NEWSLETTER
April 7, 2023
REMINDER: DO NOT PASS CARS IN THE PICK UP / DROP OFF LINES. THIS IS VERY UNSAFE FOR OUR STUDENTS.
2023-2024 - FIRST GLANCE AND PLACEMENT PROCESS
In anticipation of our placement process, we wanted to let everyone know that the teams we are planning on for the 2023-2024 school year are in place. We ask that all families and caregivers with students in grades K-7th grade complete the following parent input form by April 17th.
WIZARD OF OZ
Charlotte Community School and Full Circle Theater Collaborative invite you to our presentation of the Wizard of Oz. This is a classic story featuring unforgettable characters on a fantastical journey full of song, dance and adventure. The school and town community is excited to showcase all their hard work.
Tickets available at the door - Adults $8.00, Students $5.00 and Children under 5 are free.
SHOW DATES:
Friday, April 14th, 7pm
Saturday, April 15th, 2pm and 7pm.
ADMINISTRATION UPDATE
Good Afternoon Families, Caregivers and Community Members,
The first Friday of every month, our entire student body comes together to hold a schoolwide morning meeting. There is an opportunity to greet others. The hosting class shares something about what they are learning. An activity is designed for the engagement and joy of all 350+ students. All of these components are based on a morning ritual all across our building- morning meetings and advisories. Our youngest students are in awe of the positive modeling and leadership of our older students and in turn, our older students have the opportunity to inspire, feel agency and share their passions with the “youngsters.” Service to others, compassion and citizenship merge in this school wide experience.
In the past, I have messaged to this community about unkind pranksters and acts of vandalism that plagued some spaces of our school. I wanted to share that there are some new, very appropriate jokesters in our halls. While on my rounds to classrooms, I was stopped by a group of students who couldn’t wait to share what they were reading. I plopped down in the hall to hear some hilarious jokes this cohort had discovered in their books. They had me laughing until I had tears - jokes about meatballs, pizza, cats and mice. All they needed was an audience to listen to their reading but it was I who received the true gift, joy. I hope you all can take time to listen to your child - any age - read something this weekend.
Can I really say “Spring is here”? This week’s playground activities made SPRING feel pretty convincing. Thank you to our PTO, to Mr. Zach for writing the grant and to Alex Jablonski, our head of maintenance, the playground is now equipped with four swings. Throughout all of the recesses, the swings never had a break. Our fields were used for wiffleball, soccer, football and more. A reminder that we do have some soggy mud holes. An outdoor pair of boots or a clean inside pair of shoes will help us keep the mudpiles in the halls to a minimum.
Kind regards,
Jen
CAFFEINE AND KIDS
A learning from the week that could be useful to share. Not all Prime© drinks are the same. According to a reliable group of 6th graders, some Prime© drinks are good for hydration and others are bad because they are filled with so much caffeine that can be harmful. “Kids, though, are extra-sensitive to caffeine’s effects. And when you pair that with the fact that they don’t necessarily have the wisdom and restraint to know when they’ve consumed too much, the result is that children and teens are perfectly poised to experience problems. It can cause: Abnormal heart rhythm. Anxiety. Dehydration. Diarrhea. Headaches. High blood pressure. Moodiness. Restlessness or jumpiness. Seizures. Sleep disruptions. Tremors.” Please do not send the “bad” Prime© drinks to school. If you want to know more, please check out the following resources- Caffeine and Kids or Is Caffeine Bad for Kids?
The above link will bring you to a page on the CCS webpage and we will do our best to provide regular updates and information regarding PCBs at Charlotte Central School.
IMPORTANT DATES TO REMEMBER
Wednesday, April 12
Early Dismissal, 1:40 start loading buses, 1:50 car pick up begins. AM & PM, please do not enter the front parking lot until all of the buses have departed.
Thursday, April 13
ParentIn Panel on Youth Vaping, Virtual, 7:00pm - see below for registration details
Friday, April 14th
Wizard of Oz - MPR, 7:00pm performance. See information at the top of this newsletter.
Saturday, April 15th
Wizard of Oz - MPR 2:00pm matinee, 7:00pm evening performance. See information at the top of this newsletter.
Wednesday, April 19
Early Dismissal, 1:40 start loading buses, 1:50 car pick up begins. AM & PM, please do not enter the front parking lot until all of the buses have departed.
Monday, April 24th through Friday April 28th
NO SCHOOL - Spring Break!
Wednesday, May 10th
Early Dismissal, 1:40 start loading buses, 1:50 car pick up begins. AM & PM, please do not enter the front parking lot until all of the buses have departed.
Family Math Night! - MPR, 6:00pm - 7:30pm. See flyer below for more information.
Wednesday, May 24
Early Dismissal, 1:40 start loading buses, 1:50 car pick up begins. AM & PM, please do not enter the front parking lot until all of the buses have departed.
Opening Day of the Vermont Lake Monsters!! CCS Night to support PTO & featuring CCS bands abd choruses performing the National Anthem. Buy your tickets in advance from a CCS student for $8.00 and CCS will receive $4.00! (5:30 gates open, 6:35 first pitch)
Thursday, June 15th
CCS 8th grade graduation (and last day of school for 8th graders only) - more details to follow.
Friday, June 16th
K-7 - Last Day of School
CCS ATHLETICS
Spring sports start Monday April 10th. The practice times for Baseball (7th & 8th) , Track (5th-8th) and Ultimate Frisbee (5th-8th) are 3:00 - 4:30 Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday.
Please check in with the CCS Spring Season Master Calendar, as well as the CCS Athletics Website for all practice updates.
Thank you,
Nicky Elderton, CCS Athletic Director
MUSIC NEWS
Spring Concert
The 5th, 6th and 7-8th Grade Bands, Jazz Band and Chorus are excited to present a Spring Concert on Wednesday, May 17! The event will be at 6:30 PM in the MPR at CCS. Students should arrive at 6 PM and go to the band room first. The performers should wear something nice. The concert is free and open to the public. Thank you and see you at the show!
The CCS Bands and Choruses to perform the National Anthem at the Lake Monsters Game
When: May 24, 2023 (5:30 PM arrival, 6:30 PM performance)
Where: Centennial Field, Burlington, VT
Attire: Please wear a solid color top (red, white or black to represent CCS), solid colored bottoms and comfy shoes.
Student performers are responsible for their own transportation to and from the game.
To sign your child up for this performance, please email Andy Smith for band members or Emy Berger for chorus members stating that your child has permission to perform. asmith@cvsdvt.org or eberger@cvsdvt.org.
If the musicians are planning to attend the game after the performance, the Lake Monsters will provide tickets.
Please keep your eyes on the weather. If the game is canceled due to rain, it may not be until the last minute. We will email everyone as soon as we hear but, if the weather is suspect, you may want to check the Lake Monsters website before heading out. There will not be a make-up performance (this year) if the game is called off.
Please do not hesitate to reach out with any questions at asmith@cvsdvt.org or (802) 425-6653.
Thanks and we look forward to seeing you at the game!
CCS 3rd graders are studying a unit on weather. They received a visit from NBC 5 Chief Meteorogist Tyler Jankoski and the First Warning Weather Lab.
REQUEST FOR HELP
This year's second graders would like to learn 'hello' (or similar greeting) in as many languages as we can. Currently we are working on the 2023 twenty languages with the most native speakers in the world (according to statisticsanddata.org).
We currently use the Google pronunciation tool but would LOVE to record people from our community speaking. If you, or someone you know, speaks another language fluently, and are willing to record your greeting/hello, we would love to include your voice in our project! Have a friend, family member, or coworker who would be willing to support us? That would be great!
If you are able to help us, the recording will take approximately two minutes.If you can support this project, please send us an email with the language you could record. We will then email you directions on how to record or set up a time for you to be recorded by one of us.
At this time, we have French, German, and Japanese already recorded. If you speak a language that is not included on the top 20 list, we would be grateful to include your greeting in our language journey.
Thanks so much for considering,
Shannon & Danielle
MILITARY AFFILIATED DATA COLLECTION
All school districts in Vermont have been asked to send this form out to families/caregivers.
If your family is currently affiliated with a military branch, please fill out this form provided by the Vermont Agency of Education(AOE). The AOE uses this information to fulfill its federal and public reporting requirements.
This data collection is for the current school year. If your family is not currently affiliated with a military branch, no action is required.
ParentIn PANEL ON YOUTH VAPING
We hear from parents and caregivers, school staff, and others who care for youth in our communities that increased vape use among youth is one of their top concerns. We recently surveyed parents and caregivers in the area who repeated the same message: We are worried about all the teens we see vaping.
In this virtual event we have brought together experts to help us all learn more about today's Electronic Nicotine and Cannabis Delivery Systems and help us have more informed conversations with children about the impact these devices have on developing brains and bodies. We'll talk about resources to help our kids and have a chance to answer your questions. Mariah Flynn, Director of Burlington's substance misuse prevention coalition, the Burlington Partnership for a Healthy Community will share:
- What vapes are, harms of youth use, and examples of commonly used products
- How to recognize signs of youth vaping and how to talk to your kids about nicotine addiction
- Resources to support youth who need help to quit.
A multi-district panel of experts who serve and support our youth every day will share what they are seeing in their work and answer your questions
Facilitator: Amy Sayre, CVSD SAP and ParentIN Coordinator for the CVSD schools
Panelists:
- Sunnie Lobdell, BSD Hunt Middle School Student Assistance Program Counselor
- Matt Meunier, CVSD CVU High School Student Assistance Program Counselor
- Dr. Leah Costello, MD, Pediatric Specialist
- Mariah Flynn, Coalition Director, Burlington Partnership for a Healthy Community
Please share this opportunity widely and be sure to REGISTER HERE in order to receive reminders leading up to the event on April 13th at 7pm. For improved security, only registrants will receive the Zoom link via e-mail about a day in advance, so please check your email and/or spam filters.
Direct any questions or access needs to one of the e-mail addresses below:
Sign up to receive first notification of all our events like these at bphc.link/news
Last December, CCS received $536 from Hannaford that was used to cover field trip expenses for families who need assistance.
CVSD'S APRIL VIRTUAL TOWN HALL: DEI
Don't miss this month's CVSD Virtual Town Hall on Wednesday, April 12th at 6:30 pm. The Virtual Town Hall will be facilitated by Williston DEI coach, Mike Fife, with the following focus: We will have a conversation about how Restorative Practices (RP) intersect with DEI work. We will begin with a conversation about attendees' experiences with RP and then move on to a question-and-answer session with RP experts who are doing this work in schools. We are hoping to be joined by staff from Up for Learning and Evan Sivo (CVSD).
Please visit the CVSD DEI site for the Zoom meeting information. It can also be found on the district's website calendar. We look forward to seeing you online!
CVSD GRANTS
CVSD benefits from a number of federal grants to support our system. A key factor for some of these grants is the desire and need to engage students, families, and community members in decisions about how to best use these funds to support our students. We invite you to send your feedback to Sarah Crum, Director of Learning & Innovation, at scrum@cvsdvt.org or submit feedback through the Academics Let's Talk button on our website.
You can find information about all of our grants on our website, cvsdvt.org, under Curriculum: Grants. We are specifically seeking input regarding our investments for the Title IV federal grant which is intended to improve students' academic achievement by increasing the capacity to 1) Provide all students with access to a well-rounded education; 2) Improve school conditions for student learning; and 3) Improve the use of technology in order to improve the academic achievement and digital literacy of all students.
2023 SUMMER CAMPS
This list of summer camps is provided as a convenience to Charlotte families. CCS does not endorse any particular camp but provides the list as informational only.
CVSD Band Camp - August 14 - 18 - for more information please contact Tim Buckingham at tbuckingham@cvsdvt.org
Jazz Jivin' Summer Camp - June 26 - 30, Isham Family Farm. Available for rising 5th through 9th graders. More information and registration at willistoncommunitytheatre.com. $25 discount if registered by February 15th.
Must Love Yarn Fiber Arts Summer Camp - half day, one week long summer camps in Shelburne. Ages 8-12. See flyer.
Summer Symphony Camp - June 26 - 30 - learn more at www.VYO.org
UVM AgroTek Innovation Camps - UVM Extension’s 4-H Program invites rising 8th-12th
graders to apply for one of three, free, residential summer academies held on the UVM campus June 25-30. Deadline to apply, April 7th.Vermont Jazz Camp - July 24 - 28 - for details please visit www.vtjazzcamp.com
ABOUT US
Jen Roth, Lead Principal, Grades K-6
Courtney Krahn, Assistant Principal, Grades 7-8
Beth Slater, Director of Special Services
The Newsletter is published every Friday, when school is in session. It is delivered to our families via email, posted on our website, and on Front Porch Forum. A hard copy is available by contacting the school.