THE VIKING
Hinesburg Community School - September 11, 2020
The Principal's Corner
Dear HCS Families:
It is wonderful to have kids in the building again, and we are happy to say the kids already seem comfortable being in the classrooms, and thankfully, the masks do not seem to be a big deal.
As always, pick-up and drop-off on the first day of school was a bit hectic as we have a greater number of parents driving kids to school, and hellos and goodbyes take a bit longer so thanks for being patient. Saying that, day two went much smoother and we will continue to evaluate and tweak our systems to improve the process. On your part we have a couple of suggestions.
- First, during drop-off, we have small traffic jam from 7:50 until about 8:00, but by 8:02, as you can see in the picture below, our parking lot has been close to empty. If you have the ability to drop off a bit later, we are outside taking temperatures until 8:10 and for much of that time there is literally not a drop-off car in the lot.
- Second, as kids get out of the cars, it is a lot faster if their hats and hoods are off. Plus, we have already run into a situation where a student's hat insulated their head enough to raise their temperature past the 100.4 degree cut-off. Once we waited a bit to allow their head to "cool off" the student's temperature was well within the limit and the parent was able to head off to work, leaving their child here to learn.
Also, please know that our crossing guard starts performing her duty at 7:45 so please do not have kids walk to school any earlier.
Finally, next Wednesday marks our first fully remote day. K-4 remote learning day expectations are that students will begin with an optional live morning meeting, with K-2 students involved in remote instruction and learning for 1-2 hours and grades 3 and 4 for 2-3 hours. The remainder of the academics will be pre-recorded so that way families can make it work for their schedules. Students will be able to complete some tasks working on their device and other tasks will be paper/pencil. At the 5-8 level, the teams are communicating schedules, but our goal is for kids to have between 3-4 hours of work/activities including completing work in world language for 6-8, and for 5-8 completing work for their EA, as well as any other work or activities assigned by the core teams which can include silent reading, working with special educators and paras etc. If your child is doing more than this, please reach out to your child's team.
Again, thank you so much for partnering with us to make this school-year as positive and beneficial as possible, while still helping us keep our kids, staff and community as safe. It is a privilege for us to work at HCS!
We hope you have a restful weekend. (We know we will:) )
Warmly,
Suzan and John
Dates To Remember
Monday 9/14
Cohort A
Boys Soccer - Lyman Park Soccer Field
Girls Soccer - Lyman Park Soccer Field
Tuesday 9/15
Cohort A
Wednesday 9/16
First Remote Day
Thursday 9/17
Cohort B
Friday 9/18
Cohort B
Monday 9/21
Cohort A
Tuesday 9/22
Cohort A
Thursday 9/24
Cohort B
Friday 9/25
Cohort B
Back to School Links
Library News!
Hello from your new librarian! I am so pleased to be at HCS. Although students won't be visiting the library at this time, all students will be able to borrow books. Happily, students can now virtually browse for and request library books using Destiny Discover, a student-friendly library catalog. You can visit https://sites.google.com/cvsdvt.org/hcs-library/destiny for a link to Destiny Discover. If you scroll down, you will find three video tutorials on how to log in using CVSD email, how to use search options/filters, and how to place a book on hold. Destiny Discover also will show you which books you have checked out. Students also have access to Sora, an app that allows them to borrow and read audiobooks and ebooks using an Internet-connected device. Both Destiny Discover and Sora are available for our remote learners as well.
If you have questions, please feel free to contact me, Jessie Moore, at jmoore@cvsdvt.org or 482-6288, or visit the library's website for more information.
Masks
As students return to school wearing masks, there may be a few occasions in which they see a peer who is not wearing a mask. This is because the AOE's Safe and Healthy Schools guidance acknowledges that students who cannot wear a mask for medical reasons will not be required to do so. Any children who are not wearing masks have received approval through a very individualized district and school process. We will help all children understand that there are very few exceptions about mask-wearing, but that they may occasionally see someone who is not wearing a mask. That person has permission and will be treated with kindness and understanding.
Welcome from the HCS Kitchen
Dear HCS Families,
I am so pleased to have joined HCS as the Nutrition Program Manager upon Deb Bissonette’s retirement. The kitchen is beautiful and is staffed by an amazing team: Wendy Munsell, Ashley Haskins and Estella Terron.
For the past 12 years, I have run the Charlotte Central School nutrition program. Here is a little information about me:
Favorite people to cook for: my grandsons Riley (5) and Liam(5)
Favorite Food: Tomato Pie made with Orb Weaver Cheese
Favorite Cook;Jaques Pepin
Favorite Cookbook:: Vegetable Kingdom, by Bryant Terry
Favorite Cooking Show: The Great British Bake-Off
Favorite Farmer: ALL of THEM
Favorite compliment from a student: “You are awesome. You put lots of your time into making lunch for us. You have done it for such a long time, too.”
I look forward to meeting you and your children. Please share any questions, suggestions or feedback at eskypeck@cvsdvt.org. Happy to be here, Elizabeth Skypeck
HCS Athletics Update
The first day of HCS athletics practices (soccer and cross country) will be Monday, September 14th.
"Meet the Coaches Nights": WILL BE ONLINE VIA GOOGLE MEET. There are individual links below that correspond to your athlete’s sports meeting that we ask that you please attend to find out more about your athlete’s Coach, their philosophies, etc.. These will be on Thursday, September 10th from 6-7 pm. There is also a prerecorded video of the HCS Athletics General “Meet the Coaches” night info. Please watch this before you attend your sports live meeting as it will help to avoid asking questions of our coaches that might be answered (especially regarding COVID mitigation) in the general session recording.
Here are the links to your “Meet the Coaches” night sessions that will occur on Thursday, September 10th from 6-7 pm:
HCS “Meet the Coaches” General Information Meeting will be linked to the HCS Athletics Website as soon as it has been filmed. Please continue to check back for that.
REQUIRED Athletic Forms:
IMPORTANT: All students participating in school year 2020-21 sports need to be registered into this new/improved google form that is linked directly BELOW:
CLICK HERE for the HCS Athletics Registration Form- School Year 2020-21
The Hinesburg Community School Athletic department has moved back to using google forms to collect athlete/family registration information. The above link is to the new and improved Athletics Registration Form for the school year 2020-21. This form is required in order for your child to participate in any HCS athletic team and must be filled out each and every school year. Make sure to select all the sports that your athlete will be participating in this year. You and your child will fill this out and digitally and sign many sections, which require your consent and/or acknowledgment as well as for you to input your required insurance information. You will then SUBMIT the form. Once submitted, your child's registration will appear on our master list and they will be all set in terms of registration and their chosen sport(s) coach will receive their required information. Note: If you have more than one child playing a sport, you will need to do this online form for each child. The above link will be on the HCS Athletics/Activities website all year should you need to fill out another form (example: your athlete decides they do want to play basketball and you did not indicate that the first time you filled out this form).
The wellness form (link below) is NOT required to participate in middle and high school level sports in Vermont public schools this school year due to COVID and that state of Vermont not wanting to burden local Health centers. However, if you feel more comfortable with your child being checked by a physician before they begin you are more than welcome to send in the wellness form signed by your child’s physician. If you go this route please send to Hinesburg Athletic Director Chris Shackett (cshackett@cvsdvt.org) either electronically or via hard copy to the HCS main office (attn: Chris Shackett, HCS AD). It can also be faxed to the HCS main office (802-482-2003, attn: Chris Shackett, HCS AD).
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.