E-News February 26, 2021
Vergennes Union High School
ANWSD Update - Covid news, Budget Vote Reminder and Full-Day Day Care Coming to FCS
Dear ANWSD Families,
We welcomed back students from the winter break and had a fairly quiet week within the COVID-context. There were three cases identified over the break, but in all circumstances, the cases did not impact anyone in the school in terms of contact tracing. We continue to feel very fortunate with what we are experiencing and wish to express our gratitude to the broader community for helping to keep us safe by following the mitigation measures we have put in place. We are hopeful with access to the vaccine becoming more available, we will soon see light at the end of the COVID-tunnel.
We want to remind our community that Tuesday, March 2nd is the day to cast your vote for the School Budget and related articles. Thank you to everyone who joined us on Monday for the Addison Northwest School District (ANWSD) Informational Meeting. If you were unable to attend and/or would like more information, please visit our district website www.anwsd.org or click any of the following links for more information.
Lastly, I wanted to let you know that we plan to expand on our childcare programming next year by building a full-day care model for children in our Pre-Kindergarten program at Ferrisburgh Central School. This is something we heard many community members express an interest in last year during our community engagement events. We would like to hear from parents about childcare and early education needs and have developed the following survey to gather your input. If you have young children please fill out the survey below as soon as possible. Please also plan to join us on April 29th at 6:30 p.m. for a Community Forum on this topic. Feel free to pass this information along to your friends and family with young children.
PREK and CHILDCARE SURVEY LINK
Thank you for your continued support,
Sheila Soule, Superintendent of Schools
Classroom Highlights - Modern Citizenship
Students in Modern Citizenship are learning about the political framework of our government.
In celebration of Black History Month, the class is learning about how the government can respond to social movements through policies and court rulings.
This week students are learning about the notable contributions of Civil Rights Activist and Congressman John Lewis, and his influence on the Voting Rights Act of 1965. These students are applying critical thinking skills as they make connections and draw conclusions through mind-mapping.
Parent Student Teacher Conferences on March 3 and 4
Conferences are scheduled for Wednesday and Thursday, March 3 and 4 in the afternoon and early evening. These will be virtual or phone conferences pre-scheduled through our online scheduler. The link to access the schedule is https://ptcfast.com/schools/Vergennes_Union_High_School. Please sign up for a block that works for you and if you need other arrangements, contact that teacher directly. We look forward to "seeing" you at conferences!
Due to conferences, there is no school on Friday, March 5.
News From the School Counseling Office
ASVAB: ASVAB stands for the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery, which is a multiple-choice test that helps you identify which Army jobs (Military Occupational Specialties) would be best for you. VUHS is happy to proctor the ASVAB test for students in grades 10, 11, and 12. This is a test that is geared towards students that have interest, or potential interest in the Military.
Grade 11 Information Evening: We are excited to offer an information session on the night of March 16th, for rising grade 12 students and their parents. This is a great time to learn more about your post-secondary options, and have a chance to ask your counselor questions about your own process towards graduation and beyond.
21-22 School Choice information including the application can be found HERE. Applications must be received by the school counseling office by Monday, March 1.
Governor's Institutes of Vermont: These summer programs are virtual for the summer of 2021 and are for students currently in grades 9-12. Programs offered this year include Arts, Engineering, Entrepreneurship: Creativity & Technology, Global Issues & Youth Action, Health & Medicine, Mathematical Sciences, and Technology & Design. More information about each program including dates and how to apply can be found here.
Summer Programs 2021:It’s not too early to be making plans for summer. The school counseling office will receive a variety of summer opportunities over the next several months. Click here to access a list of these opportunities for students currently in grades 7-12. We are not specifically endorsing any of these programs (because we are not familiar with all of them) and encourage you to further research any in which your student might be interested. As we receive additional program information, we’ll add it to this document, so check back weekly.
Check the school counseling page on the VUHS website often for other news and announcements. https://www.vuhs.org/school-counseling.php?
Semester 1 Honor Roll
We will not be publishing a middle school honor roll at this time but look to acknowledge student achievement in other ways later this year.
Middle School News - Student Response Team - SRT
The middle school Student Response Team (SRT) has been working on a few issues this year which we'd like to update you about. SRT is a student leadership group that gives students an opportunity to create change around issues at our school that are important to them. We meet during the second 1/2 of lunch on Tuesdays and Thursdays. All are welcome! Here's what we've been up to:
We spent the first couple of months of school talking about issues that students were concerned about or wanted to change. We sent out surveys to students and teachers, met with Principal Taylor and teachers and then decided to focus on three ideas. Here's what happened:
Spark: Because of Covid restrictions Spark was limited to a walk around the building. Students came up with more options that were Covid safe (i.e. four-square) and now students have a choice between walking or playing a game. They also painted an old wooden bin where Spark supplies were kept and now we have a bright and colorful box to house all of the middle school's supplies so they are accessible to everyone.
Lunch: Also, because of Covid restrictions students were limited around who they could eat lunch with! Because of SRT's advocacy, the Endeavor team changed up their lunch groups for the 2nd semester based on a survey that all students filled out saying who they would like to eat lunch with.
Snack: Again, because of Covid restrictions the middle school snack was eliminated this year. Students felt strongly about figuring out a way to offer some kind of snack time and worked long and hard on this one. We now have a plan! All students will have a mid-morning combined mask break/walking snack outside. They can either bring a snack from home or save an item that is offered for breakfast at school.
Our next projects: Creating a virtual tour and recorded Q & A for the incoming 7th graders.
Thanks SRT students for your hard work and dedication!
UVM Math Test Dates
Did you know that VUHS has a math team?
Here are the results for the past few meets.
Meet 4: February 8th
We placed 5th out of 8 teams. VUHS had a victory over Burlington, Colchester and Milton.
Top Category Tests:
Arithmetic: Xavier DeBlois, Peyton Paquette & Shamus Rooney
Geometry: Xander DeBlois & Parker Kayhart
Algebra: Parker Kayhart, Calder Rakowski & Shamus Rooney
Adv. Math: Alisdair Chauvin & Ben Huston
Top Scores Overall:
4th: Xavier DeBlois & Calder Rakowski
3rd: Shamus Rooney
2nd: Peyton Paquette
1st: Parker Kayhart
Meet 3: January 7th
We placed 4th out of 10 teams. We had a victory over Colchester, U-32, Rice, Mt. Mansfield, Milton and CVU. Congratulations.
Top Category Tests:
Arithmetic: Paul Thurber, Shamus Rooney & Parker Kayhart
Geometry: Xander DeBlois & Reagan Kayhart
Algebra: Alisdair Chauvin & Shamus Rooney
Adv. Math: Xander DeBlois, Ben Huston & Reagan Kayhart
Top Scores Overall:
5th: Paul Thurber
4th: Alisdair Chauvin
3rd: Shamus Rooney
2nd: Reagan Kayhart
1st: Xander DeBlois
Great Job to all the VUHS Mathletes: Ben Hargett, Calder Rakowski, Xavier DeBlois, Parker Kayhart, Peyton Paquette, Shamus Rooney, Alisdair Chauvin, Alex Rice, Paul Thurber, Nima Mehregan, Xander DeBlois, Ben Huston, and Reagan Kayhart!
Our final meet is on Tuesday, March 9th!
VUHS
Email: staylor@anwsd.org
Website: www.vuhs.org
Location: 50 Monkton Road, Vergennes, VT 05491
Phone: (802) 877-2938
Facebook: www.facebook.com/anwsdvt
Twitter: @Steph_Taylor