THE VIKING
Hinesburg Community School - January 22, 2021
The Principal's Corner
Dear HCS Families:
As we mentioned in a recent email sent to HCS families, at this point, we have not yet had a student or staff member who was COVID positive and who was in school at a time when they had the virus. This is the time for us to continue to do our best at following the COVID-19 guidelines. We ask that you continue to follow the Governor's guidelines around social gatherings. As we all know, a good percentage of people with the virus do not exhibit symptoms and small gatherings are where a lot of virus spread happens. Also, if your child has any COVID symptoms, please keep your child home so we can protect our community. We would love to keep on sending out positive messages about not having a positive case at HCS!
Of course, our luck might not hold forever, so if and when we do have a positive case we will take a couple of steps. First, as soon as we are notified by the Department of Health or by a family or staff member of a COVID positive, we will begin the contact tracing procedure. The process has generally been taking schools five to six hours to complete. The process entails us reviewing who might have been a close contact, then we need to relay that information to the Vermont Department of Health, contact tracers, so phone calls can be made. We wanted to explain the process in more detail so that if we have a COVID positive, you will understand what is happening behind the scenes.
The school team that reviews possible close contacts includes our district health personnel, as well as our superintendent Elaine, nurse Shelley, and the HCS Adminstratative team Suzan, Alicia, and John. We will use a comprehensive checklist that includes quite a bit of redundancy to ensure accuracy, which is why the process takes so long.
Once we report this information to the Department of Health, their contact tracers will review the information with us, and then they will make the final determination of which families and staff members need to be contacted and told to quarantine/test. The state contact tracers we would work with specializing in supporting schools so they will be able to draw on their experience and training to ensure accuracy.
After the contact tracers determine who needs to be contacted, they often ask the school to make the contacts. If this happens, then you would be receiving phone calls from our team with instructions. When a child or staff member is told to quarantine, we will not allow them in the school building until their quarantine and COVID test are completed. Many of us would be calling from HCS, but a few CVSD folks might be using their cell phones, and of course, the Department of Health would be using their phones, so please listen to any messages you receive from unknown numbers.
Finally, because the process takes so much time, there are situations where we might need to have a homeroom/classroom or grade level work remotely until we have completed the contact tracing process. As a district, we will always err on the side of caution when determining who would need to be remote while we complete the process. We will also be as transparent as possible while still protecting individual identities. We will send out communications to all HCS families if we determine that any student or staff member is COVID positive and was in the building when the virus was transmissible.
As always, thank you for being supportive in so many ways. We mean it when we say that we love working in Hinesburg in large part because of all of you. This challenging year has drawn us closer together.
Warmly,
John and Suzan
Superintendent Search Input Sessions
You may recall from the announcement last summer that Superintendent Elaine Pinckney is retiring at the end of June. The search process for a new superintendent is underway and the CVSD School Board welcomes the community’s input.
As part of the superintendent search process, the School Board is interested in seeking input from parents and the community in regard to the attributes of the community and school, the issues the new superintendent will face, and what qualities stakeholders would like to see in our new superintendent.
Zoom meetings for the CVSD Community will be held with the Superintendent Search consultant on these dates:
January 26 7:00-8:00pm
January 28 7:00-8:00pm
January 29 12:00-1:00pm
The information needed to access the Zoom meetings is posted on the District’s website.
In addition, an online survey will be posted on the District’s website as well. The survey will be open from Saturday, January 23 to Sunday, January 31. The compilation of all comments received will be published soon after the survey closes.
* There will be separate input meetings for teachers, administrators, support staff, and high school students.
We thank you so much for your valuable input!
Kindergarten Registration is open for 2021-22 School Year!
Champlain Valley School District (CVSD) is asking families to register their Kindergartners earlier this year, in an effort to get more accurate enrollment numbers for our schools. These enrollment numbers help us to plan our staffing needs for the upcoming school year and help us to coordinate our site visits for placement in the spring.
We really appreciate your help with registering your child early this year and we’re looking forward to meeting you at our Kindergarten Screening Day and Information Night in the spring if things open up!
Please contact Deb Lavalette at the Hinesburg Community School by emailing her at dlavalette@cvsdvt.org or call 482-2106 if you have a child that will be 5 years old before September 1, 2021.
HCS Food Drive to Benefit the Hinesburg Little Free Pantry
The HCS Empower Youth Leaders, a leadership group made up of HCS 7th and 8th graders, will be hosting a Food Drive to benefit the Hinesburg Little Free Pantry and the Food Shelf. The Food Drive will last from January 19th until February 12th.
Boxes will be set up in the K-8 classrooms for food donations. The pantry is currently in need of diapers, toiletries, energy bars, flours, sugars, oats, pastas, dried cheeses, dried meats, dried soups and fruits, cereals, and crackers. The food donations must be within their expiration dates and not repackaged or opened. Unfortunately, we are unable to accept breakable items, such as food packaged in glass, or cans that might freeze.
Please consider making a donation to this Food Drive, if you are able. If you would like more information about the Little Free Pantry, please visit this link. We really appreciate all of your help and support on behalf of our community.
THANK YOU! From THE EMPOWER YOU LEADERS HINESBURG.
CVSD Preschool Lottery
The CVSD School-based Early Education Programs are now accepting applications for a random preschool lottery drawing for the 2020-21 school year. Our part-time, partial days, preschool classrooms are 5 STARs, licensed early education programs that provide play-based, developmentally appropriate environments for all children in an inclusive setting. 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 closely follow the CVSD school calendar. Students who will be age 3 or older by September 1, 2021, but not yet 5 years old, are eligible to enter the lottery for our programs.
All applications must be received by February 5, 2021. You can download an application here: Early Education Lottery Application. More information is available on our CVSD Early Education Website also. Students will be selected via a lottery and families notified in early March.
Bolton Ski Program Update
Due to COVID safety precautions, the Bolton Valley Resort afterschool ski program will not be available to HCS students this year. If interested in taking the lead on this activity, please email Lisa Ayer at ayerx5@aol.com or call 802.735.7238. Thanks!
Economic Stimulus Equity Fund
If you did not receive the 2020 federal stimulus because of your *immigrant status* and meet qualifying criteria, please register for the Vermont COVID Equity Fund.
Register at: bit.ly/VTCovidEquity
FAQs: bit.ly/VTCovidEquity-FAQ
Translation and free legal consultation are available for individuals who need it. If you have any questions, please reach out to Indra Acharya via email: indra@vtcovidfund.org or by phone (802) 559-0679.
AN INVITATION
To 8th Grade Parents and Students of the Class of 2025
Join us virtually for
8th Grade Student & Parent Night
Champlain Valley Union High School
Online Thursday, February 11, 6:30-7:30 p.m.
Hosted by Principal Adam Bunting
and the CVU Student Council
This evening will provide you and your child an introduction to the academic and elective programs they will experience in the 9th grade.
We’ll be live at:
Covid-19 Frequently Asked Questions
Please click on the blue # after each bullet to learn more:
Why are social gatherings prohibited right now? #
Can I get together with friends and family? #
How can I report a person or business who is violating the Governor's executive orders? #
What do I do if I think I had close contact with someone who has COVID-19? #
When have I recovered from COVID-19 so that I can stop self-isolating (home isolation)? #
Do I need to quarantine if out-of-state visitors are staying in my home? #
Do I need to quarantine if someone I had close contact with is under quarantine? #
I am in isolation because I tested positive for COVID-19, but I can't avoid close contact with someone I take care of. Do they need to quarantine? #
I am in quarantine, but I can’t avoid close contact with someone I take care of. Do they need to quarantine? #
I take care of someone who is in quarantine, but I can’t avoid close contact with them. Do I need to quarantine? #
How can I celebrate the holidays safely? #
Should I be tested for COVID-19? #
Do I need to quarantine if someone I live with is waiting for their COVID-19 test results? #
When will I receive my test results? #
What is a “probable case”? #
Are children more susceptible to the COVID-19 virus? How can I help my children from getting sick? #
Is it safe to send my children back to school or child care? #
What if there is a case of COVID-19 in school? #
What does my college student need to do when they come home? #
Can I travel to Vermont? Are out-of-state visitors allowed? #
I have parental shared custody. Can my child and I travel without quarantining? #
Do I need a negative COVID-19 test result to return to work safely? #
CVSD COVID-19 Reporting Dashboard
The CVSD Dashboard is an online tool that gives families a chance to view of up to date data (updated each Thursday) from around the district concerning COVID-19. The tool shows a cumulative tally of testing and quarantine data for staff and students across the school district. You can access this information here.
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.