Safety Team Open House - Lions Club Vision Screening in grades 3, 5, 7 - Families as Partners - Last Call for Grade 4 Chorus - Book Fair details - Halloween safety tips & more...

by Angela Filion, ABS Building Principal

Open House Fun!

September was a very busy month for us here at ABS! Opening the school doors and welcoming everyone back is always very exciting(and busy). Our focus for September was to settle our students and families in and start to build authentic relationships and routines with one another. I would say the highlight of the month was our open house event! One teacher shared, "it felt like Christmas eve today in the building" because students were so excited and proud to share their learning environment with their families and loved ones! As I handed out cookies/cider and bounced around the building, it was so nice to see families engaged in some hands on activities, students parading their parents around for the scavenger hunt, and families connecting and chatting with one another! As I drove home that night, I reflected on how these wonderful community events all went away while we navigated the unknowns of the pandemic. It felt so hopeful and inspiring to be able to recreate those partnerships with families and regain a sense of community. Please enjoy these photos of our first ever open house event. I look forward to more and more of these types of events and experiences for us as we move our way past the pandemic and move toward a sense of belonging and connectedness!

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We will go outside for recess every day unless there is heavy rain, thunder and lightening, or below zero temperatures. Please be sure to send your child with all necessary clothing and footwear.

If you need help locating boots, jackets, etc. please reach out to your school's guidance office.

Just a reminder that we are not allowing students to ride on buses other than their regular route(s). This ensures all students are safe and accounted for. Seating charts will be used on all buses.

This year our school was one of 32 schools chosen to take part in Vermont’s Children Dental Health Survey. Schools are chosen at random to represent the general population of our state, this is how the Health Department gets important data about the oral health of Vermont children. Here is the link to the last survey that was done so you can see how the information is used. Children in Kindergarten and Third Grade will have the opportunity to get an oral health screening by a dental hygienist; the results of the screening will be sent home to parents/guardians, and all participating students will get a dental health kit. The screening is limited to children in K and 3rd grade because the Health Department can get all the data they need by screening these two age groups. Good dental health is an important part of being healthy; we’re excited that our school was chosen to participate in this important activity!

If you do not want your child to take part in the survey, please contact your child’s school nurse.

If you want your child to take part in the survey, you don’t need to take any action.

ABS - Kindergarten - Wednesday 10/19 @ 8:30am

Williston Central Nurses - Maria Kapetanovic, MSN, RN and Carol Albertelli, BSN, RN WCSnurse@cvsdvt.org

Allen Brook School Nurse - Sylvia Love, BSN, RN slove@cvsdvt.org

Last Chance to Join the

WCS 4th Grade Chorus for This Semester!

• Rehearsals are Tuesdays after school, 3:00-4:00 in the WCS music/chorus room.

• Students need to make a final decision to join by Tuesday, October 18th.

• Chorus members must attend all rehearsals.

• Absences due to medical, religious, or family reasons are excused.

• Chorus members should bring a snack to eat between school dismissal and the start of rehearsal.

• There is a 4:20 activity bus available to take students home.

• Supervision is provided between 4:00 and 4:20.

• Sign-up forms have been sent home in all 4th grade students’ take-home folders. (Or sign up using this online form instead!)

• Click HERE to sign up for important chorus updates. I promise I will not spam you.

Please contact Danielle Trasciatti-Holmberg (Mrs. T-H) with any questions or concerns. dtrasciatti@cvsdvt.org

Mark your calendars! Families as Partners (FAP) is bringing BACK a student favorite, the Scholastic Book Book Fair.

This will be the first of two Book Fairs for Williston Schools and will be held at Williston Central School from 10/24-10/27. All students at WCS (3rd-8th grade) will have a chance to shop the book fair with their classes.

Does your kiddo attend ABS?! No problem. The evening of 10/25 we will be holding a special ABS night from 6-8 pm which will include games and prizes just for coming. The Spring Book Fair in April will be at ABS as FAP is committed to making the fair equitable and accessible to all of our students, without having to bus students back and forth eating up precious classroom time.

The Spring Book Fair theme is being a BOLDER, PROUDER and STRONGER reader! We have lots of fun planned!

Our Fall Book Fair will be the perfect opportunity to stock up on gifts for the Holidays! There is no better gift than a book! We are looking for parent volunteers to help with set up, during the book fair and clean up. Please sign up at if you are interested in helping. Hope to see you there!

The Health Office at WCS is starting to test students' vision and hearing. Vermont schools are required by the state to test students' vision and hearing in Kindergarten, 1st, 3rd, 5th and 7th grade.

This year we are very lucky again to be selected for Vermont Lions KidSight program and Middlebury Lions Club will be coming to our schools on Tuesday October 18th (WCS) to perform vision photoscreening.

The vision photoscreening will only happen on October 18th. It is a one-day event and we strongly encourage your child not to be absent from school on that day. There will be no make-ups.

Vermont Lions KidSight program uses a photoscreening digital device called a SPOT to objectively check for vision problems. The photoscreener is like a large camera. It takes a picture of your child’s eyes. With that and the measurements obtained from the images, SPOT can detect a number of potential eye conditions.

If we find a problem, we will send you a referral letter. If your child’s SPOT results form states “Complete Eye Exam Recommended” at the top right of the page, it is a referral and we recommend that your child visit an eye care professional.

On the SPOT referral, you will see a section on the right side of the page called “Potential Condition”. This includes information about the potential eye condition(s) detected by the SPOT device.

If you do not hear from us, your child passed the screenings.

If you have any concerns, please contact the Health Office.

Thank you so much!

WCS HEALTH OFFICE

WCSnurse@cvsdvt.org

Maria Kapetanovic, RN

Carol Albertelli, RN

871-6170

<<Attention ABS Families: Help us keep everyone safe by going to the designated areas for pickup and keep the sidewalks near the main entrance clear. This helps ensure adults can account for each and every pick-up that happens.>>

Be sure to read the arrival and dismissal procedures for your student(s) school [linked below] if you plan to drop off or pick up your child. We appreciate all you can do to follow these guidelines to ensure a safe and smooth transition in and out of school!

Thank you for your continued cooperation during arrival and dismissal.

Wednesday: Early Dismissal!

ABS @1:35 - WCS @1:45

ABS Arrival & Dismissal - WCS Arrival & Dismissal

10/15 - CVSD Strategic Planning Community Forum at WCS @ 9:30am

10/17 - CVSD Strategic Planning Community Forum at Pierson Library, Shelburne @ 9am

10/18 - WCS Vision Screenings

10/19 - Kindergarten Dental Screenings

10/20 - CVSD School Board Meeting @ 6:00 pm

10/21 - ABS T-Shirt Design Contest Entries Due

10/24 - Scholastic Book Fair, WCS

10/25 - Scholastic Book Fair ABS Night, 6-8pm at WCS

10/26 - Scholastic Book Fair, WCS

10/27 - Scholastic Book Fair, WCS / Kaleidoscope to VT Statehouse

10/27 - CVSD Strategic Planning Community Forum at CVU @ 6:00 pm

Resources to keep accessible:

• First Call - 488-7777: phone support, crisis intervention, assessment and referrals
• In Crisis: 1-800-SUICIDE (1-800-784-2433) (National Hopeline Network: USA)
• National Suicide Prevention Life line- 1-800-273-TALK (8255), call or chat online
• Crisis Text Line - text HOME to 741741 (24 hours a day, seven days a week)
• Outright Vermont - support for LGBTQ+ community
• UVM Breathe In Breath Out - How to deal with stress due to COVID-19
• Vermont 211 -Vermont database of resources and services
• Vermont Support Line (833) 888-2557) - peer support warmline open 247 - 365 for call or text
• COVID Counselors @ VT-211
• Teen Crisis Text Line - Crisis Text Line provides free emotional support and information to teens in any type of crisis, including feeling suicidal. You can text with a trained specialist 24 hours a day. Text “HOME” to 741741.
• Society for the Prevention of Teen Suicide - Website where you can find information to help yourself or a friend who may be having thoughts of suicide.
• Trevor Lifeline - 1-866- 488-7386 - provides suicide prevention and crisis intervention services to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and questioning (LGBTQ) young people. It offers free, 24/7, confidential counseling. TrevorText—text START to 678-678; TrevorChat—instant messaging at TheTrevorProject.org/help. It also runs TrevorSpace, an affirming social networking site for LGBTQ youth at TrevorSpace.