The Bobcat Bulletin
8/November/2021 - News!
Greetings from the Principal
Dear FMS Families,
It’s hard to believe it’s November already! As the weather gets colder, please make sure your child comes to school with appropriate cold weather clothing, including hats, gloves, snow pants and boots. Students spend time outside each day, in the morning, at recess and often during P.E.
Please see some important FMS updates below. Reach out if you have any questions.
Sincerely,
Sara Jablonski
Interim Principal
802-879-6326
IMPORTANT! Schoolwide Morning Meeting 11/9
On Tuesday morning, November 9th, our school will gather in the front of the school for a schoolwide meeting. If you are dropping your child off after 8:00 on Tuesday, please do not pull into the bus lane, but instead, drop your child off in the regular drop off lane in the side parking lot. Thank you for your cooperation!
Test to Stay Information
Attention, Families!
If your child is exposed to COVID-19 at school and is considered a close contact, they may continue to attend school through a program called test to stay. This requires students to take a rapid COVID test at school each day of the quarantine period. Students may still take the bus to school, but upon arrival, will be directed to a testing area. If the results of the rapid test are negative, the student will stay at school. If the results of the rapid test are positive, the student will be sent home for the duration of the quarantine period, and will need to get a PCR test through a medical provider.
In order to participate in a future Test to Stay program, parents need to fill out an online consent form and register in something called simple report. Students cannot participate in Test to Stay until these steps are completed. It would be extremely helpful if all parents could fill out simple report as soon as possible, so we have all the necessary consent on file in the event of a class exposure to COVID-19. Once students are fully vaccinated (2 weeks following the second shot), they may stay in school without the Test to Stay program after expsoure as long as they do not have symptoms.
See below for the two necessary steps to register for Test to Stay. Thank you for your cooperation. Please reach out to Sara Jablonski (sjablonski@ewsd.org) or Joanna Psaros (jpsaros1@ewsd.org) if you have questions about Test to Stay.
A student can only participate in Test to Stay if their parent/guardian has given consent. If you would like your child to participate in the response testing, including the antigen Test to Stay program, please complete the online consent form as soon as possible.
Vermont will be using SimpleReport to report the results of antigen tests. This reporting system allows for parents/guardians to receive their student’s results instantly. Please register your student, including your contact information. Please Note: this self-registration link is not the same thing as giving consent. In order for your child to participate, you must complete the consent form as well (see #1).
Spirit Days!
Friday 11/5 was "Favorite hat or Headband day"! Our school hosts spirit days throughout the school year that we celebrate as a school community.
Our next spirit days are as follows:
- November 19 - Comfy Cozy Day
- December 3 - Show Your Spirit Day
Wear the following colors by grade level:
Red or Pink - 3rd grade
Green or Blue - 4th grade
Orange or Yellow - 5th grade
Black and/or White - Teacher/Staff - December 22 - Flapjacks and Flannel Day
Pumpkin Day!
Students in Erik Acanfora and Nicole Walsh's fifth grade classrooms completed a series of math activities involving pumpkins. Students estimated the circumference and weights of the pumpkins and then measured to find the actual measurements. Students estimated and counted the number of seeds in their pumpkins.The greatest number of seeds was 896!
Audubon Field Trip
Third grade students visited the Audubon Center in Huntington on Thursday, 10/28 and Thursday 11/4. This was an engaging outdoor field trip. Classes learned wilderness survival skills and used cooperation by making fires, building outdoor shelters using sticks and leaves, identifying plants and seeds, and learning about helpful items to bring when spending time in the woods. It was a full day of fun, outdoor activities!
Arrival Procedure and Colder Weather
Morning arrival has been going very smoothly! We appreciate that parents are pulling up to the front of the parent drop off area each morning, which helps eliminate traffic congestion on Founders Road. As the weather gets colder, please make sure your child is dressed for the weather in the morning. All students, no matter how they travel to school, are outside on the playground until 7:50 am. Please be sure to remember hats, gloves and warm jackets.
Student Council
We are assembling a student council with representatives from each grade level. Mrs. Jablonski will begin meeting with students next week to make important school-based decisions. New representatives will rotate into the role in February. It is inspiring to see interest from so many strong student leaders!
Snow Plow Naming
FMS has had an opportunity to name a snow plow. The Vermont Department of Transportation will be officially naming its fleet of plow on Snow Plow Day this November. FMS voted on Thursday and our favorite name is: Ice Claw!
Our name was selected for a special plow which will visit FMS on November 17, 2021. Stay tuned for more information!
Traffic Safety
Dropoff and Pickup times are chaotic and can be dangerous. Attention to the following details will help keep all of our students and families safe!
Please be sure to:
Drive at the speed limit
Stop at crosswalks
Park only in designated areas
Please do not:
Honk your horn in front of the building
Encourage your child to get in your vehicle if you are not parked
Socktober
FMS Collected 802 pairs of socks to donate to COTS, the Committee on Temporary Shelter. Socks were delivered on Friday, October 29th. These donations will support people in need in our area through the winter and beyond. Thank you for your generosity!
Second Step SEL Instruction
Each classroom is engaging in a common SEL Curriculum this year called Second Step. In each family newsletter you will see biweekly updates. Each classroom is in Unit 2, which is centered on Emotion Management. Please see below for detailed information about instruction at each grade level.
Third Grade, Lesson 7: How Angry?
Summary: In this week’s lesson, your child will learn words for three degrees of anger: annoyed, angry, and furious.
Try This at Home: Ask your child to explain the differences between feeling annoyed, angry, and furious.
Fourth Grade, Lesson 7: What Is Rethinking?
Summary: In this week’s lesson, your child will learn what it means to rethink a situation and how it can help them calm strong emotions.
Try This at Home: Tell your child about a time when rethinking a situation, or thinking about it in a different way, helped you feel better. Encourage your child to talk about times in their lives when rethinking could have helped them.
Fifth Grade, Lesson 7: What Is Stress?
Summary: In this week’s lesson, your child will identify signs of stress, situations that can cause them to feel stress, and strategies they can use to manage feelings of stress.
Try This at Home: Ask your child what their body feels like when they’re stressed and what things cause them to feel stress. Share your own experiences with stress and what you do to manage it.
Staffing and General Procedures
As you know, staffing shortages are pervasive in every industry - including education. We still have open support staff positions and due to the pandemic, struggle daily to fill staff absences. Our staff is incredibly flexible, and each day adults in the building take on extra responsibilities. Whether it is supervising students at arrival, in classrooms or during lunch and recess, or shifting roles to make sure our students are happy and safe, our staff is dedicated to our students and goes above and beyond their roles and responsibilities on a daily basis.
With that said, our front office is overwhelmed daily with last-minute dismissal changes. It is our responsibility to ensure your child’s safety after school. While we understand after-school plans do sometimes change at the last minute, please think ahead when possible. If you do need to submit a dismissal change, please do one of the following.
- Call the attendance line and leave a message. This line is checked throughout the day. If you leave a message on the attendance line it will be received. A detailed message will do the trick and is the most efficient way to share this information. ******Call 802-879-6326, and select option 3 (the attendance line)******
- Fill out the online absence form. This form is linked on the FMS Website, and can be used for absences or dismissal changes. This information is instantly received.
- Email Mrs. Kedzierski. If it is easier, you may send an email to Mrs. Kedzierski with your child’s dismissal change or absence reason. If you email your child’s teacher, please include Mrs. Kedzierski on your communication. kkedzierski@ewsd.org
Thank you for your cooperation. Following these simple instructions will help our office staff ensure your child is safe and accounted for!
Founders Memorial School
Website: www.ewsd.org/fms
Location: 33 Founders Road, Essex Junction, VT, USA
Phone: (802) 879-6326
Facebook: facebook.com/https://www.facebook.com/Founders-Memorial-School
Twitter: @FMS_Essex