THE SCHOOL BELL
Williston Schools /January 8, 2020
A Message From The Administration
Reflecting
by Sarah Crum, Director of Student Support Services
The start of a new decade: That feels pretty momentous. I often think of the new year as a time to start fresh, set goals, make promises I may or may not keep. But as 2020 kicks into gear, I realize that the completed decade deserves a bit more than this: It deserves some honest reflection.
All the way back in 2010, students at ABS and many at WCS had not yet been born, perhaps the thought of them not yet even imagined. Our most senior students, now on the brink of their high school career, had not yet begun their K-12 school journey. At the close of another decade, those same 8th graders will be ending their adolescent years (now defined by many experts as the ages between 9 and 25) and beginning adulthood. Our pre-school students will be ready to start high school. I remember when my eldest child turned 10 and I realized that she had likely lived more than half the time she would in our home (that is, of course, if that adolescent range doesn’t get any bigger). I was both amazed at her incredible growth in that time and terrified that it happened while I blinked. Within a ten year span our students will mark significant milestones and catalog a multitude of experiences both in their communities and in school. Is there a way that we can help them make sense of the magnitude of that reality?
Taking the time to pause and reflect on our experiences is a crucial part of our development as individuals. Our brains need time to process information, synthesize it all, connect it to other learning experiences, and map the pathways that then become our foundational knowledge. But we live in a time when instantaneous feedback is the norm. We have adapted our lives and we now depend on and demand a pace of life that leaves little room to pause, much less to breathe. Now, more than ever, we need reminders of the power of reflection. Reflection can take many forms: journaling, drawing, flipping through old pictures, catching up with a friend. It is less about how one reflects than it is about ensuring that reflection includes careful thought or consideration, as many dictionaries define it.
Even educational reformer John Dewey asserted that “we do not learn from experience . . .we learn from reflecting on experience”. I believe experiences can be profound learning in and of themselves, but reflection is certainly a component that enhances those experiences. So before you go making a long list of your goals for the 2020’s, all the should’s and have to’s, the promises you hope to keep, I hope you can take some time to reflect on where you have journeyed in the last ten years. What have been your milestones? What experiences in these last ten years have been instrumental in forming who you are today? Give your brain a little time to create all the connections. Give yourself a little time to pause, to breathe, and to reflect. Perhaps my new year’s resolution this year will be to replace my resolutions with intentional and regular reflection.
FAP Speaker Series
Thursday January 9th at 6:30!
in the WCS Community Room
Michelle Spaulding is a licensed Clinical Psychologist who has been in private practice for over a decade in St. Albans, Vermont. She works primarily with teenagers, young adults, new mothers and adults struggling with anxiety, depression and trauma. She can be found on Psychology Today and also has a public Facebook Page where she writes about taking care of one's mental well being, infusing personal stories and humor into her posts.
ABS Doors to Remain Locked until 7:30 am starting January 13
Supervision is provided in the cafeteria for students between 7:30 am and 8:00 am (breakfast is also available during this time).
Access to the classrooms begins at 7:45 am.
Families dropping students off at school should plan to arrive no earlier than 7:30 am when the doors are open and supervision is available.
Kindergarten Registration for Fall 2020 Underway
Registration for Fall 2020 Kindergarten has begun! Williston and St. George children who will be 5 years old by September 1, 2020 are eligible to enroll.
Please complete this registration packet and submit it, along with proof of residency, and copies of your child’s birth certificate and Immunizations, by January 31, 2020. You may drop off the materials in the front office at Allen Brook School, or mail them as soon as they are complete.
If you would like assistance with any of the paperwork, please join us on Tuesday, January 28 between 2pm and 4 pm at Allen Brook School.
We have scheduled April 1, 2 and 3 for our Kindergarten Meet & Greet. You will sign up to have your child attend a 45 minute Meet and Greet session. The children will meet in small groups (without parents) to do a few activities with kindergarten teachers and the parents will attend an information session with School Principal, Angela Filion. Please expect to receive more information about how to sign up, in the upcoming months.
ABS and Kaleidoscope ART NEWS
Artists have been very busy in our studios. Some of the kindergarten children are finishing up clay pendant painting and everyone will begin paper bag puppets. In this lesson, the children notice human diversity and similarities. Through the use of mirrors, we experience how facial expressions convey feelings and emotions while also exploring relationships and shapes of our facial features.
Grades one and two completed their painted abstract tape designs during which time they explored overlapping shapes and translucent colors. They are now making observational drawings of favorite animals in preparation for a clay pinch pot project.
Kaleidoscope third and fourth graders completed a painting lesson with an emphasis on mixing values and tones of colors. Building on this knowledge, the students are currently immersed in tapestry weaving.
Sara Beeken, Art
Think Global, 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!
Face of Recovery
Vermont has some of the highest uses of alcohol, marijuana and opioids in the nation for youth and adults. In an ongoing effort to educate our middle school students about making healthy and self-respecting choices, WCS hosted the "Face of Recovery" presentation on December 13 for 7th & 8th graders. The presentation was given by Justin Goulet, nephew of WCS teacher Lynn McClintock. Mrs. McClintock was eager for WCS middle school students to hear Justin's story saying "I want to help prevent any of our students from having similar experiences."
The presentation emphasized prevention, resiliency, self-confidence, hope, kindness, and ways for students to ask for help. Teachers used a common pre-teaching slide show and post-presentation follow-up to process the information shared during the presentation.
8th Grade Student & Parent Night
AN INVITATION
To 8th Grade Parents and Students of the Class of 2024
8th Grade Student & Parent Night
Champlain Valley Union High School
CVU Gym, Thursday, January 30, 6:30-8:00 p.m.
This evening will provide you and your child an introduction to the academic and elective programs they will experience in the 9th grade.
Thursday, Jan 30, 2020, 06:30 PM
Champlain Valley Union High School Gym
Cold weather is upon us
All students need good hats mittens or gloves and "SPARES" in case they get wet.
See below link to understand "Frost NIP" and "Frost BITE"
When to Keep your Sick Child Home
ABS is starting to see a "tummy bug". Below is some information on vomiting, with guidance and instructions
*When Should My Child Stay Home? If your child has been ill with vomiting, diarrhea or a fever (100 F) please keep your child home until they are feeling better and are fever free (and no vomiting) for 24 Hours without the use of Tylenol or Ibuprofen.
Below is a link on Vomiting and Rehydration:
https://kidshealth.org/en/parents/vomit.html
Returning to school after vomiting
Children can return to school when they tolerate liquids and solid food without vomiting. A child may go hours without vomiting if they haven't eaten, but as soon as they eat or drink, they get sick again. Doctors advise to wait an hour after a child vomits to let the stomach calm down and then give them sips of water. If they can hold water down after an hour, progress to more liquids or something bland to eat, like a cracker or piece of toast. If they can eat without vomiting, children are fine to return to school.
Children's Health website on keeping kids home:
https://www.childrens.com/health-wellness/when-to-keep-kids-home-from-school
Champlain Valley School District School-based Early Education Program Peer Lottery Application
The CVSD School-based Early Education Programs are now accepting applications for a random peer lottery drawing for the 2020- 2021 school year. Our preschools are 5 STAR accredited licensed early education programs that provide play-based, developmentally appropriate environments for all children. Our curriculum is based on the Vermont Early Learning Standards (VELS) and Teaching Strategies Gold. We believe that a diverse classroom offers opportunities for adults and children to practice acceptance and compassion and also provides a broad range of learning experiences. Our programs are part day and partial weeks. Our programs generally follow the CVSD school calendar.
The lottery will be drawn in February 2020. Applications are due by February 6, 2020
Peers who will be age 3 or older by September 1, 2020 are eligible to enter the lottery for our programs.
If you are interested in your child being considered, please complete this form and deliver to your school.
Penguin Plunge 2020
This year’s Penguin Plunge is on Saturday, February 1st. We invite all students, parents, guardians, and staff members to join our efforts by either taking the icy plunge or making a donation to support our brave plungers.
Last year, our 46 fearless plungers raised over $17,000 – placing us second among other schools across the state. Ironically, CVU took first! Our goal this year is to raise over $20,000.
The Penguin Plunge is a Special Olympics event that supports sports training and competitions, health screenings, and leadership opportunities for children and adults with intellectual disabilities.
These fundraising efforts also support our very own Unified Sports Teams. On Monday, December 16th our Unified Bowling Team proudly represented Williston, bringing home two bronze medals, four silver medals, and three gold medals from the Champion Schools Bowling tournament in Barre.
If you’re interested in taking the plunge or making a donation, please click here . Questions can be directed to this year’s Team Captain, Ashley Sutton – asutton@cvsdvt.org. Ashley is a Special Educator at WCS and co-coaches our Unified Sports team.
Book Discussion: Raising Humans in a Digital World
January 22, 2020, 7:00- 8:30pm Charlotte Public Library
ParentIn of Champlain Valley School District and the Charlotte Library are hosting a book discussion featuring digital literacy educator and advocate Diana Graber’s latest book, Raising Humans in a Digital World. Pick up the book at the Charlotte Library or consider purchasing your own copy. You'll likely be glad you did!
8th Grade Challenge Project
My name is Kevin Lahiri. Help me as I seek funds to improve the WCS playground basketball court. The court is in need of some site work and new backboards, hoops and nets, so that the court is safe and functional. I have started a GoFundMe site to begin fundraising for this school improvement, which is part of my 8th Grade Challenge on Voyager House. The link to my fundraising site is:
https://www.gofundme.com/f/wcs-outdoor-basketball-court-improvement-project
Williston Job Openings
Click here for full descriptions
2 day - week Administrative Assistant
Allen Brook School seeks a creative and organized person with information management, computer expertise, and communication skills. Experience with Word processing, databases, spreadsheets. This is a training and job sharing opportunity during the remainder of the 2019-20 school year, and continuing through the 2020-2021 year. Contact Cindy Pavlik with questions (cpavlik@cvsdvt.org). Apply on-line at www.schoolspring.com.
Food Service Subs Needed
Join our Food Service Team. Flexible hours, Training provided, Fun and Friendly atmosphere. Pick up an application or contact Scott Wagner with Questions: swagner@cvsdvt.org / Phone:(802) 871-6198
Substitute Teachers and Paraeducators
If interested, contact Cindy Morin (cmorin@cvsdvt.org) or Cindy Pavlik (cpavlik@cvsdvt.org)
Full Time Custodial Position (2nd Shift)
Williston Schools has a full time 2nd shift (2:30 pm to 11:00 pm) custodial opening.
Contact Lyall Smith with questions. lysmith@cvsdvt.org or 871-6013.
Box Tops for Education
click for a video explaining the changes and more information
Bus Information
Part 2
Four Winds Volunteers
Monthly Fitness Fun
School Nutrition Program
Please make payment checks out to 'CVSD - ABS' or 'CVSD-WCS'
Mobile App
Download the WSD App and get notifications for groups, sports teams, 3-4 Chorus, etc. to keep informed.
Open App, tap on the 3 horizontal bars in the top right and select Notifications. Tap on the group boxes for those you want.
CVSD Meeting Schedules
CVSD Committee, Board, and and Budget Meetings
Committee meetings are on the 1st Tuesday of the month at 6 pm excluding Dec. and Jan., at CVUHS, Room 160, 162, 165
Regular Board Meetings are on the 3rd Tuesday of the month at 6 pm, excluding Dec. & Jan.
Budget Meetings: Jan. 7, Jan. 21, at 6 pm in the CVU HS rm. 160.
Tuesday Early Dismissal
ABS Dismissal is 1:35 pm.
WCS Dismissal is 1:55 pm.
The Tuesday schedule for morning Preschool is 8:00 to 10:15 am. Afternoon preschool is 11:15 am to 1:30 pm.
Upcoming Events
Wed. Jan. 8 / Four Winds Training / WCS Community Rm. / 8:30-10:30 am
Wed. Jan. 8 / Drama Auditions / WCS Auditorium / 3-5:30 pm
Thurs. Jan 9 / FAPAC / WCS Community Rm. / 8:15 - 10: am
Thurs. Jan 9 / Drama Auditions / WCS / 3-5:30 pm
Thurs. Jan. 9 / FAP Speaker Series / WCS Community Rm / 6:30-8:30 pm
Fri. Jan 10 / Drama Auditions / WCS - 3-5:30 pm
Mon. Jan. 20 / NO School (Martin Luther King Jr. Day)
Tues. Jan. 28 / Kindergarten Registration Paperwork help / ABS / 2-4 pm
More Links, More information
DAML Programs
Click here for Important info related to after school hours
Click here to access the DAML web site listing of events.
Recreation & Parks Offerings
Community Events
Williston Schools
Email: cpavlik@cvsdvt.org
Website: https://www.cvsdvt.org
Location: 195 Central School Drive, Williston
Phone: (802) 878-2762
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Williston-School-District-1483758238612170/timeline/
Twitter: @wsdvt