We made it to our first official landmark of the school year - the Thanksgiving Break. We have Parent-Teacher Conferences on Monday & Tuesday and then we have our first official, well-deserved break.

It is so important that we follow the state's guidelines about maintaining physical distance, wearing masks ... and not traveling for the Thanksgiving Holiday. This will be difficult but consider this - "all of us" want Orchard School to stay open. We've been doing great and want to maintain the highest level of safety possible. Please stay home and have a quiet, but thankful, Thanksgiving - it will be good for all of us.

Parents in Grades 2 - 5: We are sending Chromebooks home today. We don't think we will be going to remote learning after Thanksgiving but are being pro-active.

SBSD Food Service Order Form for Meal Delivery On November 24th, click here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSe_3WxwY0Kjm7XNYsTexIno60VEfo2muOFhJEIjwjSkJwZ9JQ/viewform

Parents - do you have any old pots around the house? Please consider donating one to recess in the Magical Woods. They are great fun to bang around!

The PTO was able to open the online Orchard Store through the weekend, check the link below!

Have a great break and Happy Thanksgiving, take some time to read with your child.

Mark Trifilio

Quote of the week:

"I will do my best to honor Mother Earth and all its living beings, including the water and land. I will always remember to treat the Earth as I would like to be treated. I will treat the winged ones, the crawling ones, the four-legged, the two-legged, the plants, trees, rivers, lakes, the Earth with kindness and respect."

by Carole Lindstrom from the book, We are Water Protectors.

COVID-19 TESTING

Rapid Antigen Test versus PCR Test:

• Rapid Antigen Test: Detects specific proteins from the virus. The Health Department indicates that antigen tests are less sensitive than PCR tests and therefore a negative test generally requires a PCR test for confirmation.
  
  
• PCR Test: detects the virus's genetic material. This test is highly accurate.

Only PCR test results are accepted at school when your student is being tested due to COVID-19 symptoms or when your student is testing out of quarantine. Rapid antigen test results will not be accepted.

If your student needs to get tested, please contact their health care provider. There are a variety of places to get tested; see this link to find a COVID-19 test site.

Some local PCR Testing Sites:

• UVM Drive-Through at Fanny Allen: #847-5440
• Kinney Drugs, So. Burlington: #860-0714
• ClearChoiceMD Urgent Care, So. Burlington: #448-8205

Travelers Must Quarantine

If you decide to travel out of state, whether for a day or longer, please follow the Vermont quarantine requirements before returning your student to school. You must do the following prior to your student returning to school:

1. Quarantine for 14 days. Quarantine guidelines are here.
2. If your student has not experienced COVID-19 symptoms, a PCR test may be an option, on or after day 7, to end quarantine early (with a negative test result).

Please also notify the school of your travel, return date and test results, as well as indicating "travel" on the health screening app.

Be Well,

Kara & Darcy

School Nurses

Happy reading,

Mrs. Macdonald

Orchard School Librarian

Dear families,

You’re invited to shop our Scholastic Book Fair online only from November 16-29. All purchases benefit our school and connect kids with new books, favorite characters, complete series, and more.

You’ll love the NEW option to shop for Book Fair exclusives directly from the interactive booklist and enjoy these special online shopping features:

· Over 6,000 items, including new releases, best sellers, and value packs

· All orders ship directly to home

· FREE shipping on book-only orders over $25*

· All purchases support our school and earn 25% in rewards

Visit our Book Fair Homepage and click “Shop Now” to get started:
https://www.scholastic.com/bf/orchardelementaryschool14

THANKFUL GIVING Reminder: If you would like to donate a gift card for an Orchard family, we are still gratefully accepting any and all gift card donations. Department store cards are most versatile to meet needs at this time. Please try to hand them in by Monday, December 14 to give us time to get them out to families before the winter break, but know that we are happy to accept them after that date as well. Sign Up Sheet

THANK YOU FOR YOUR KINDNESS!

The South Burlington Rotary is replacing the traditional “Ugly Sweater Run” with an Ugly Mask Competition! See rules and submit your entry HERE!

Elementary, Middle/High School, and Adult Categories!

Non-SB residents welcome to participate!

Vote for your favorites on the Rotary Facebook Page!