The Principal's Corner
Dear HCS Families:
We continue to be impressed with how well HCS students are following our safety guidelines especially around wearing their masks, so thank you for supporting this effort. Even with the masks and distancing, as we walk around the school, we hear over and over from kids that they are so glad to be back in school. In fact, things are going so well that CVSD has decided to bring all of our kindergarteners back into school four days a week. We are able to do this because we know that we can follow the state's guidelines around using three-foot distancing for younger students. This will be a nice first step for us.
The state has also announced that we are now at STEP 3, which on the face of it sounds like a major change. In reality, it gives us the ability to make some small adjustments like allowing our sports teams to play other teams within the district. As with everything, we are working carefully and deliberately with CVSD and our own staff to see if there are any minor adjustments we want to make in response to the change. Our basic philosophy though is that things are going well in terms of reducing the risk of COVID exposure to our students and staff while also working to meet the academic and social-emotional needs of our students.
Also, please call us if your child is sick on remote days as this will better allow us to look for sickness trends within our school.
Warmly,
Suzan and John
School Picture Day!
This year we will have two Picture Days. The first day is for COHORT A and will be on Tuesday, 9/29. The second day is for COHORT B and will be on Friday, October 2. VLA students may choose to have their picture taken either day. VLA students, please contact Deb Lavalette at 482-2106 to schedule your picture timeslot.
In addition to being able to order photos on picture day, you now have the option to order online before picture day. To order online please go to: mylifetouch.com and reference the HCS ID # EVTR9QRP7.
School Nutrition News
Farmer Hilary stopped by with a delivery of fruits and veggies from Lewis Creek Farm. She was glad to be delivering food she grew to her daughter’s school, and we were happy to get just picked, beautiful VT produce. Local lettuce, peppers, tomatoes, cucumbers, corn, summer squash and watermelon found their way onto our meals this week.
Breakfast and lunch are now free to all children in the community, even on remote learning days. We offer home delivery/ pick up at school meals on Monday, Wednesday and Thursday. Students attending school in person will order food at school. Students/other children who are at home will use an online order form for meal pick up/delivery. Questions? Call Elizabeth 482-6241, or email eskypeck@cvsdvt.org.
Hispanic Heritage Month
September 15 to October 15 is the National Hispanic Heritage Month. This celebration started in 1968 when President Lyndon approved a law to commemorate the Independence of five Central American countries: Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua on September 15th, and Mexico on September 16th; and to recognize the contributions of Hispanic and Latino Americans to the history of our country. The celebration started as a week-long and in 1988 the president George H. W. Bush issued the Presidential Proclamation 6021 expanding the length of the celebration to one month.
Hispanic is not a race, the term was first introduced in the US Census in 1970 as a broad category to include all the communities whose origins are from Spanish speaking countries. There are 21 countries where Spanish is the or one of the official languages. The United States is the second-largest Spanish speaking country in the world after Mexico. There are more Spanish speakers in the USA than in Spain where the Spanish language comes from! According to the 2012 US Census, 17% of the total of the U.S. population are of Hispanic or Latino origin.
Hispanic culture is part of our daily life, can you imagine life without chocolate, avocados, tomatoes, potatoes, corn, beans, vanilla, peanuts, quinoa, or pineapple? Or kids parties without piñatas?
Some of the most famous Hispanics in this country are Justice of the Supreme Court Sonia Sotomayor, baseball players within others Roberto Clemente and Sammy Sosa; musicians Jennifer Lopez, Selena Gomez, Shakira, Bruno Diaz, Gloria Estefan, Carlos Santana, and many more; actors and actresses Rita Moreno, Salma Hayek, Cameron Diaz, Andy Garcia, George Lopez, John Leguizamo, and many others, leaders like Cesar Chavez, Dolores Huerta, and Victoria Soto.
In addition to the long list of famous people, there are other Hispanic people that will never be known, heard, or seen, but with their hard labor have contributed to building the economy of this country and Vermont.
Some ways to celebrate the Hispanic Heritage month could be cooking a new recipe, watching some films from Hispanic countries, listening to some Latin music, and observing how many Hispanic items, food, or products you find in your home. Let the Hispanic spirit come to your house and Viva la Fiesta!
- Senora Luna
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/