Shelburne Community School
Weekly Newsletter
March 1, 2021
Principal's Message
SCS Families,
I'd like to be the first to welcome our entire community back from winter break. I hope our students and their families had an opportunity to rest, relax, and enjoy their time together. With the calendar turning to the month of March, the warmer temperatures and increased sunlight are hinting, ever so slightly, at the spring and summer ahead of us. Today, the sun will set at 5:41 PM. By April 1st, the sun will set at 7:20 PM. I know that's enough to fill me with hope! How about you?
I know that another source of shared hope in our community is the prospect of further increasing the amount of time that our students are attending classes in-person. I know this because my inbox has been literally overflowing of late with questions and suggestions about our next steps as a school. I assure you that this is a shared interest and that CVSD and SCS are committed to continuing to find safe new opportunities to increase in-person instruction. This process is likely to be incremental and needs to prioritize health, safety, and those students currently experiencing the greatest impact.
For those that do not have older students, it may be easy to lose sight of the fact that students in grades 7-12 are still only attending school (in-person) two days a week. It has now been months since social distancing expectations were lowered for grades K-6. That move allowed students in those grade levels to get back to 4 out of 5 possible days of in-person instruction. State guidance has remained steadfast about the need for 6ft distancing in all 7th-12th grade classrooms. This has led to our 7th and 8th-grade students at SCS living a significantly different experience from their K-6 peers. It has also left school leaders caught between the aspirational promises of politicians and the reality of the actual health and safety guidelines.
So, while I understand the suggestions and desires being shared by families hungry for a five-day in-person week for all students...my immediate focus is finding some way to provide our 7th and 8th-grade students with even a slightly more equitable in-person experience, while still meeting all safety guidelines. It is simply impossible (under the current guidance) to have all 7th-8th grade students contained in the 7-8 wing on the same day. Any creative solution to get these students into the building for additional in-person days would require these 150+ students to spread out beyond the 8 classrooms currently dedicated to them.
On Friday before the break, I signaled to our 7th-8th grade team teachers my desire to explore the possibility of creating an additional in-person day for their students on Wednesdays. The school-wide remote day may possibly provide the perfect amount of spacing to carve out a 3rd in-person day for all 7th-8th grade students. There are endless challenges in both scheduling and coordination that need to be examined and overcome to make this a reality. Our teachers and staff have been pulled in many different directions this year to make remote learning happen for so many. Many of the teachers and staff that would traditionally work with our older students already have assignments on Wednesdays that simply cannot be abandoned. But, as has been the case all year, we will think outside the box with staffing and try to make this happen for our students. There is much work ahead in the coming days to fully flush out this idea with other district administrators and our staff as a whole. But, I hope that in the next 1-2 weeks, I will have some news to share about how we may be able to pull this off.
I hope that our community views the exploration of this possibility as positive forward movement for all students. While this change would be fairly targeted at this point, I hope it inspires hope in the fact that there is more good news to come. I hope it also inspires good faith and trust in the fact that we will continue to flex and re-think our current strategies when the opportunity arises to take even the smallest step toward more in-person time with our students.
I hope the transparency of this communication gives the community a clear sense of our most immediate goals in the face of these collective challenges. But, I also hope it provides the sense that even if we reach this targeted short-term goal, we will not be dissuaded from doing all that we can to continue to increase opportunities for our students when it can be done safely and effectively.
Spring is coming! I can feel it. I hope you can too.
Have a wonderful week!
Updates from Ms. Celmer
In an effort to reduce the length of our PreK-8 Community Newsletter, I have moved our PreK-4 information into the following Shelburne Community School Elementary Newsletter for March 2021. I invite you to click on this link monthly for new updates that are specific to our youngest learners. I hope you enjoy this new format and the content provided. Be well!
SCS News
Fourth Grade Leadership Council Announces
PreK-4 will be participating in Read-A-Thon Tuesday 3/2/21
It is also Read Across America Day!
From 8:30-9:00am on Tuesday, March 2nd, we will stop everything and read!
Because we celebrate the 100th day of school on Monday, 3/1/21, each grade level or individual class can try to read for 100 minutes - you can choose when to read, read, read!
Students can bring in one cozy item (not to share!) from home. Choosing from:
- Pajamas
- Small Stuffed Animal
- Blanket or Beach Towel
- Small Pillow
- Everything on this list is optional!
- Or you can bring any cozy item from home,as long as it's ok with your family! (but it has to fit in your backpack)
Please be aware that we can’t share things from home. Alright get ready to... Read, read, read!
2021 Scripps Spelling Bee at Shelburne Community School
We are so pleased to announce that the winner of the SCS School Virtual Spelling Bee, held on Wednesday, February 17th, is Jill Diehl - 7th Grade, and the runner-up is Quinn Tyler - 5th Grade. Congratulations to both students for making it to Round 16!
Scripps SCS Advisors:
Jon Spagnolo, SCS Behavioral Specialist
Nancy Haynes, SCS Planning Room Co-Director
DUE TO COVID-19, THE 2021 VERMONT SPELLING BEE HAS BEEN CANCELLED.
Interested 6-8th grade students at SCS have been practicing with Coach Lisa Phelps online on Wednesday afternoons since early December 2020 to prepare for the MathCounts Regionnal Competition. According to the their website, “The MATHCOUNTS Foundation is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization that reaches students in grades 6-8 in all US states and territories with 3 extracurricular math programs. More than a quarter million students participate in our programs or use our resources each year.” The mission of MATHCOUNTS is to provide engaging math programs to US middle school students of all ability levels to build confidence and improve attitude about math and problem solving.
On Friday February 5, 2021, four SCS students competed in a Regional MathCounts competition: Georgia Knight, Gwen Irwin, Teryn Hytten and Charlie Schramm. While typically, the competition would have been held at the University of Vermont and coordinated by the UVM College of Engineering and Mathematical Sciences (CEMS) and the Vermont Society of Professional Engineers (VSPE), this year the competition was held online. While all four “mathletes” did well in the competition, as the highest-scoring student from SCS in the Chapter Competition, Charlie Schramm qualified to compete in the Chapter Invitational! The Chapter Invitational will take place February 25th, 2021 to determine which mathletes will then progress to the State Level competition to be held in March. Good Luck Charlie!
CVSD News
CVSD Proposed Budget for the 2021-2022 School Year
The letter referenced below is contributed by Kelly Bowen, CVSD School Board member and chair of the Finance Committee.
Dear CVSD Community Members and Voters,
FY22 budget season is upon us. While many voters may cast early ballots, for those who prefer to vote in person, TUESDAY, MARCH 2, 2021, is your chance to vote on the FY22 Proposed CVSD Budget and school-related Articles. (Articles and Ballot Questions refer to the same thing.)
As Finance Committee Chair, I am pleased to report that your District Administration and School Board are optimistic and future-focused. We developed the FY22 budget with a goal to return this August to the familiar in-person 5-day per week instruction.
There are NINE ARTICLES for voter approval this year. This letter will be the first in a series of communications to highlight the FY22 Budget Articles to help you prepare for voting. Read more at this link and find further information on the CVSD website: www.cvsdvt.org/budget.
~ Kelly Bowen
ParentIN CVSD Partners with H.O.P.E. Works
H.O.P.E Works’ mission is to end sexual violence, to promote healthy relationships and prevent all people from harm. This week our focus will be how to teach our children about consent and respecting boundaries. Two very important concepts that help nurture healthy relationships amongst middle school students and adolescent children.Late childhood and early adolescents is a time when children get messages about relationships and consent from tv shows, movies, social media, and friends. This makes an ideal time for parents to have children conversations about consent. Talking with your child now will encourage open and honest communication as they mature and enter relationships.
What is Consent?
- Consent means asking someone for their permission to do something and accepting their answer.
- Consent shows up in kids’ lives when they ask peers if and what they want to play, if they want to sit together at lunch, or on the bus, if they'd like to share school supplies, toys, food etc.
- Helping kids to ask for consent and accept rejections in everyday life builds a foundation for practicing consent in intimate relationships as they get older.
Talk Openly
- Ask yourself: What message is my child getting relationships and consent? What messages do I want them to get?
- Let your child know they can come to you with questions about consent and relationships.
- Answer their questions honestly and encourage honest conversation about respect and safety
For example, you could tell your child “Everyone’s body deserves respect” or “if someone hurts us, it’s okay to talk about it.”
Teach Respect for Boundaries
- Teach your child that consent always mean always respecting choosing to respect others boundaries
- Boundaries are a person’s right to choose what is comfortable for them.
For example, “ it sounds like your friend didn’t want to sit beside you on the bus today. Sometimes you don’t want to sit beside me and that’s okay. Everybody gets to make choices about what’s comfortable for them.”
Teach How to Ask for Consent
- Help your child to think about how their actions may make another person feel and to ask questions if they don’t know.
- Everyone has different boundaries, and no one should ever feel pressured to do something that they aren’t comfortable with.
Model Asking for Consent
- Show your child ways to ask for consent by modeling the words and actions yourself.
- Model respect for boundaries by asking your child for consent and accepting their answers, like when asking for a hug or sharing information about them with others or on social media.
- Use teachable moments to talk about consent and respect.
For example, “I could tell your guidance counselor that grandma died if that’s okay with you”, or “It’s okay if you don’t want a good night hug.”
By teaching consent and respecting boundaries at an early age, it helps your child be safer and understand how to be respectful to others and their boundaries in person and on social media. Promoting honest and open communication is key to healthy relationships.
*National Sexual Violence Resource
Food Service
We are so happy to share that the USDA has announced it is allowing schools to continue to provide free breakfast and lunch meals to all children 18 years old and younger. CVSD will be offering in-school meals, pickup, and delivery. To read about our program, see our menu, and place your order, go to our district website at https://www.cvsdvt.org/ and scroll down to "Foodservice." Our amazing food service team is excited to continue to serve the children of our community meals that are safe, nutritious, and delicious!
Your child will have the opportunity to order breakfast and lunch each morning when they arrive at school.
New Food Benefit Program for Families
We are excited to share a new food benefit program with families. An email went out about this on Monday, 2/8. We wanted to reach out in school newsletters as well to help inform families about this opportunity.
- There is no change to the current free breakfast and lunch for everyone 18 and younger. No action is necessary to continue to get free meals.
- Every enrolled student who qualifies for free/reduced meals is also entitled to an additional $60 - $100 per child per month - retroactive to September.
- Many families who did not qualify for free and reduced meals last year may qualify this year due to a change in family circumstances. Because meals are free for everyone, you may not have completed the application. In order to get this additional benefit, you will need to apply now.
- Families who were qualified last year are automatically enrolled. You do not need to do anything but are being asked to check the 'head of household" name and address so the electronic-benefit-card gets delivered to the right person/house.
Community Resources
The Part 2 afterschool program operated at SCS is aware that families are seeking information for next school year (especially incoming Kindergarteners). Director, Sara Twombly, would be happy to receive your email inquiries and has provided the following information in an effort to help answer any afterschool care questions.
Additionally, registration for the Part 2 Summer program that will operate at SCS is now open.
Important Upcoming Dates
(A complete calendar can be found on the SCS website)
Mar 9th - SCS PTO Virtual Meeting (6:00pm)
Mar 19th - No School - Parent/Family/Teacher Conferences
Mar 26th - End of Trimester Two
Apr 13th - SCS PTO Virtual Meeting (6:00pm)
Apr 19th-23rd - No School - Spring Break
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