CCS Newsletter
November 20, 2020
ADMINISTRATION UPDATE
Dear CCS Families and Community,
As we send our students home for the Thanksgiving week, we wish all of our community good health, time for new traditions and a few moments to count the blessings around you. We reflected on the blessings around us - the amazing people who are doing their assigned jobs each day while also taking on anything else that is needed to make the day great for kids! Our face-to-face connections might be limited, but we see and appreciate every single person in our school community and think they deserve first-name recognition!
We are beyond thankful for
- Our team of individuals keeping our school clean, safe and ready for learning. We appreciate the deep cleaning, sliding out to help us with arrival and dismissal, and the many other tasks that pop up each day. Chris L., Audrey, Ben, James and Jeremy - THANK YOU!
- Our bus drivers are caring, conscientious and committed to getting our students to school safely. They never hesitate to let us know if a kiddo needs a quick touchpoint and they greet every child by name. To May, Brian, Doug, Diana and Julie- THANK YOU!
- Our health office staff, this is a year beyond bandaids and cough drops. They take care of the health and the hearts of all of the children and adults in our building with expertise and kindness. To Lauren and Caroline- THANK YOU!
- Our cafeteria crew serves up delicious food selections each day, adjusting whenever needed. The routines in place to facilitate delivery are seamless! Sherry, Debbie, Vicki and Scott- THANK YOU!
- ALL of our educators. You strive every day to provide your students rich experiences they need to grow socially, emotionally and academically (Sometimes through a tiny square on a screen). You sub in to cover classes that aren’t on your schedule as needed, backfill coverage for duties, and keep learning yourselves in order to keep responding to your students. You keep students at the center of your work and never frame it as “work.” To Beth R, Sarah C, Devon, Lizzy, Alyssa, Nan, Kelly, Monica, Michelle F, Elizabeth, Danielle, Shannon, Lauren K, Leslie, Sophie, Donna, Melissa, Vicky, Dana, Lauren G, Linda, Doug, Lauren M., Meghan P., Rachel, Tim, Zach, Mike D., Caroline, Robyn, Dave, Katie F, Katie B, Angie, Christa, Chris, Rachael, Allison, Katie C, Karyn, Matt L, Michelle H, Kim, Penny, Beth S, Betsy M, Mariel, Dan, Josh, Sarah P, Tegan, Andrew, Heidi, Lisa, Nicky, Sabrina, Jacob, Andy, Allan, Nancy M, Mike H, Jenna M, Mary, Marley, and Matt K- THANK YOU!
- Our wellness team keeping the social and emotional wellbeing of our students at the heart of their daily work! Tanya, Betsy L, Amy, Suzanne- THANK YOU!
- Our amazing group of administrative assistants, receptionists and bookkeepers, who keep the wheels turning on every aspect of the day - Naomi, Bridget, Cindy, Kathie- THANK YOU!
As ever, we thank you, our CCS families, for checking in on us this week during drop-off or pickup or via email or student-delivered notes and artwork! We feel fortunate to be here with our students and get rewarded on a daily basis by the experiences we have with our students.
We wish all of our students, staff, families and community members a safe and relaxing Thanksgiving week.
Warm Regards,
Stephanie, Jen and Cassandra
IMPORTANT DATES TO REMEMBER
Monday, November 23rd through Friday, November 27th
NO SCHOOL - Thanksgiving Break
Wednesday, December 2nd
Remote Day for All
Wednesday, December 9th
Remote Day for All
Wednesday, December 16th
Remote Day for All
Wednesday, December 23rd through Friday January 1st
NO SCHOOL - Early Winter Break
SEEKING SUBSTITUTE TEACHERS
CCS is looking for a few energetic and reliable people to join our guest teacher list for the 2020-2021 school year. If you love working with children, this is a great opportunity to become involved in your community school. If you are interested in subbing at CCS, please contact Vicki Roberts at Champlain Valley School District, 383-1234 or vroberts@cvsdvt.org, for employment paperwork and fingerprinting information.
STUDENTS AND MASK WEARING
REMINDER - THANKSGIVING TRAVEL AND VISITORS
Per current state restrictions, Vermont residents are asked to quarantine after Thanksgiving for any of the following situations:
- Students/families travel outside of Vermont;
- Students/families host guests from outside of Vermont;
- Students/families attend large gatherings as defined by the current state restrictions.
If any of these situations are part of your family plans, please be sure to communicate that with us at school and to follow quarantine guidelines - quarantining for 7 days and getting a test that produces negative Covid results or quarantining for 14 days upon return (or guest departure). Following state guidelines and restrictions is essential to helping us continue in-person education in a safe, healthy environment.
REMINDERS FROM THE FRONT OFFICE
A few quick reminders as we move deeper into the school year!
Students go outside every day, sometimes multiple times per day! As weather changes, please be sure your child has appropriate outdoor clothing and shoes (and sometimes a change of shoes if very rainy).
CVSD Busing - Due to COVID guidance, capacity on buses are limited and are by reservation. Due to this limited seating and for contact tracing purposes, buses can only pick up and drop off at a student's home or approved/affiliated daycares.
K-4 students returning to 4 in-person days throughout this month means small increases in our traffic flow. Please be mindful of this, knowing that wait times may vary and traffic patterns may be congested. Keeping safety in mind is of utmost importance, particularly as we are loading and unloading students!
Early Pick up: If you need to pick up your child early for an appointment, please plan on picking them up no later than 2:15pm. With our new dismissal process our busses are in front of school by 2:30 and we do not want you to get caught up in that traffic.
Dismissal Pick Up: We have 4 separate locations for parent pick up. Please use these locations as you are writing pick up notes.
- K - Dismissed by the cafeteria/kitchen door.
- 1 - 4 - Exit through the front entrance.
- 5 - 6 - Exit through the cafeteria door.
- 7 - 8 - Exit through the Flagpole door.
TEMPERATURE CHECKS
As we edge toward winter, our thermometers are becoming less and less accurate in the mornings. Beginning Monday, November 16th, we will move temperature taking inside at each entrance. We will continue to use all three parking lots and have a slight shift in the dropoff routine on the cafeteria side. Please know that if your child registers a high temperature, we will enact quarantine procedures quickly and call you as quickly as possible to return to school and pick up your child.
Grades K, 5-6 (and siblings) - drop off at cafeteria door. Temperatures will be taken inside the cafeteria entrance. K students will be escorted to Kindergarten by adults and all others will walk to their assigned classrooms. We will work to stagger entrances to limit congestion.
Grades 1-4 (and siblings) - drop off at the front entrance. Temperatures will be taken in the main lobby entrance and students will proceed to their classrooms.
Grades 7-8 (and siblings) - drop off at the flagpole entrance. Temperatures will be taken in the flagpole lobby and students will proceed to their classrooms.
PARKING, ARRIVAL AND DISMISSAL - PLEASE HELP US WITH SAFETY!
Buses do not leave the front of the building until close to 3:00. Cars arriving early are blocking the ability of the buses to depart the parking lot safely. Please plan to arrive at CCS at 3:00 or after to keep our roadways clear of congestion. We need everyone’s assistance to keep our students, families and community members safe.
Parking spaces on the west side of the building are reserved for our school bus drivers. As the winter weather approaches, our lot also holds buses from Shelburne Community School. We are trying to create habits to avoid any cars impacting the arrival and departure of these buses.
4TH GRADE VIRTUAL FIELD TRIP
SCHOOL LIBRARY NEWS
Celebrations
This week, we celebrate K-2 students visiting the library space for the first time this school year. How we move around the space is different, but the look of pure joy when a student finds an awesome book never changes!
Student readers in grades 4-8 will be pleased to know that the Vermont Middle-Grade Book Award (formerly known as the Dorothy Canfield Fisher Book Award) has a new name! Our kids' choice book award for grades 4-8 is now called The Vermont Golden Dome Book Award. 5,800 Vermont students submitted votes for the name change. Thanks to all CCS readers who added their voices!
Reminders
A pandemic doesn't put a stop to reading! Students have mastered new systems for borrowing books and Mrs. Huestis has mastered new systems for take-out, deliveries, and returns. Remember that library books may be returned any day of the week! We also have a bin located on the library porch as a flexible option for returns.
RESILIENCE DURING COVID TIMES
We all have been impacted by the COVID19 pandemic. We have experienced greater social isolation, and changes in routines and resources. Research is finding that people all around the world are experiencing greater mental health problems as a result of the impacts from the pandemic. Six studies with over 10,000 participants (per study) found that there are greater rates of stress, anxiety, depression and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) since pre-pandemic times. Some groups are more susceptible to impact than others, such as our youth population. Many children have lost activities that provide structure and meaning, like full-time schooling, extracurricular activities, and social engagements. Some children and families are needing to focus now on basic needs, like food, shelter, and physical safety, rather than higher order needs, like self-esteem and self-concept. So how can we support young people during these challenging times and big feelings that are coming up?
Here is some food for thought and strategies you might consider utilizing in helping to build resilience in your kids during this difficult time.
- Help them to talk about how they’re feeling. If you ask an adult how they are feeling, they will most often say good or stressed out. We aren’t modeling the best way to express how we’re feeling in many instances. Check out this mood meter for talking about feelings and emotions. Have your child pick a word that describes how they feel. It will often open up a very generous conversation about the word and their feelings.
- Relationships are just as important now, if not more so. Many of us are experiencing isolation so we need to work more intentionally to foster and maintain relationships. Consider having your kids write letters to the family that they might be unable to see over the school breaks. You might have them write a letter of gratitude and your child could call them and read the letter to the recipient for a shared experience.
- Remind your children that it’s okay to ask for help. Many adults are very busy, especially now, and it’s hard for us to slow down because there is so much to do. If we remind our children that they can interrupt us and ask for help, they will be more likely to reach out.
- Model healthy behaviors! Try the best you can to eat well, exercise if you’re able and refrain from misusing alcohol or drugs. Even consider the language you use if you pour a glass of wine with dinner. Kids pick up on everything and if you say that the wine helps you de-stress at the end of the day, they’ll file that information away and remember it. It sends the wrong message about alcohol and stress.
- Help your kids to understand the importance of exercise. Even if you yourself are unable to fit it into your day, encourage them to move their bodies in a physical way. It will help them sleep and is so important to their mental and physical health. Have them walk the dog, cat, chicken, sheep or whichever creature could benefit!
- Nurture optimism. If you know a small person who tends to look at the glass as being half empty, show them a different view. That doesn’t mean invalidating how they feel. Please acknowledge their view and introduce them to a different one. Optimism is a key component of resilient people.
This list is just a few of the many strategies that can help your kids and your family during this pandemic to stay healthy, happy and connected. For more information, please don’t hesitate to reach out to your SAP Counselor, Amy Sayre at asayre@cvsdvt.org.
https://greatergood.berkeley.edu/article/item/seven_ways_the_pandemic_is_affecting_our_mental_health
INFORMATION FROM THE CCS DIRECTION CENTER
Hello Families! I know we are all working to find balance and calm amidst these uncertain times. I also know you are inundated with emails, resources, articles, and information almost constantly.
I have curated a list of resources, updated and added to each week, that I hope will support your entire family’s social and emotional well being. This can be a place you come back to each time new challenges or questions arise, and you need a resource to help.
As always, if you need additional support or information not found here, PLEASE reach out to me. My email is blloyd@cvsdvt.org
Stay well,
Besty Lloyd, CCS School Counselor
Local Vermont Resources
- First Call - 488-7777
- Vermont Department of Children and Families
- Vermont Department of Mental Health
- UVM Breathe In Breath Out - How to deal with stress due to COVID-19
- Outright Vermont - support for LGBTQ+ community
1-800-273-TALK (8255) (National Suicide Prevention Lifelife: USA)
- Crisis Text Line - text HOME to 741741 (24 hours a day, seven days a week)
- 211 has hired three COVID Support Counselors available M-F 8-8. https://covidsupportvt.wpengine.com and there are some good resources on their webpage as well.
Comprehensive Resources
- Child Mind Institute - Great articles and resources for dealing with anxiety (children and parents), also offers live Facebook chats with experts as well as remote evaluations and telemedicine.
- Common Sense Media - Provides online tools, apps, as well as “Best Of” Lists for kids (movies, music, TV, Books, Apps, Games, Websites, etc)
- Here are some direct links that may be helpful:
Educational apps that don't need wifi or data
What to watch, read, play while your children are stuck indoors
Free online events and activities for kids at home
Resources for Anxiety, relaxation, sleep, mindfulness
- Calm - an excellent online resource with soothing music, meditations (for kids and adults), sleep stories, and mindfulness resources.
- Mindful Schools - they have recorded mindfulness classes for kids to try while at home, geared towards kids who are in grades K-5.
- Articles for navigating and managing anxiety
- Insight Timer - this is a link to MANY resources in times of COVID-19 - Anxiety, panic, healthy routines, connection and compassion.
- Meditation for feeling as safe as you reasonably can - created by Rick Hansen, it is less than 5 minutes long and can be a great source of calm
- How Mindfulness Can Help During COVID-19
Resources for Play and Fun!
- Smirkus @ Home - Circus Smirkus is offering online classes for all ages! Learn to hula hoop, juggle, and much more!
- Flynn Center - the Flynn is offering online classes, for little or no cost, and for all ages!
- Pbs.org - how you and your kids can de-stress during coronavirus - activities to try together, and videos from some of their favorite PBS kids characters!
- Time magazine - article with ideas for play and keeping kids busy while at home
Self Care
- Ideas - things you can do to take care of yourself
- Self care in the time of coronavirus
- Holidays during the pandemic- tips for reducing stress, helping kids cope, and making new traditions.
HOLIDAY FOOD AND GIFT SUPPORT
We know this year has been especially difficult for many families, and more than ever we want our CCS community to know that we are here to support you as we enter the holiday season. We have partnered with local organizations and individuals to help support our families in need. Though things will look different this year, please reach out if you need help with food for holiday celebrations or gifts for children. Our goal is to help with one need and one wish for each child. As always, your requests will remain confidential.
Please direct any questions and requests to Betsy Lloyd, CCS School Counselor, as soon as possible so that we can do everything possible to meet the needs of all families. Betsy can be reached by email at blloyd@cvsdvt.org or by phone at (802)425-6613.
FOR YOUR CONVENIENCE: MIDDLE LEVEL FRIDAY BULLETIN LINKS
FRIENDS OF THE CHARLOTTE LIBRARY GET COZY RAFFLE
The Friends of the Charlotte Library are holding a GET COZY RAFFLE to provide cheer and goodwill during this difficult time of the curtailed holiday festivities. The centerpiece is a beautiful and comfy quilt made by Amanda Herzberger. It is surrounded by coffee from Paradiso, Vermont Artisan tea, cocoa, and chocolates from Lake Champlain Chocolates, Douglas Sweets shortbread cookies, Wild Blossom beeswax candles, and an assortment of great books.
Tickets will sell for $5 each, or 5 for $20.
Raffle dates: 11/13-12/15
The drawing date is 12/16 at 10 am. The system will randomly draw the winner. We will notify the winner by email and will also announce the winner on social media.
To enter the raffle do to this page https://go.rallyup.com/8a580c
All proceeds will benefit the Charlotte library.
The prize will be on display at the library throughout the raffle.
CHARLOTTE COMMUNITY ASSESSMENT SURVEY
Survey link: https://tools.gocros.org/charlotte
(Open through December 11th)
This assessment came to the attention of some very forward thinking folks at the library as it had been formulated in the wake of Hurricane Irene when so many Vermont towns and families sustained substantial damage from the incredible, unexpected flooding around our state. It became apparent during the aftermath of the devastation that some towns rebounded easier and quicker than others and it was determined that it was the result of them being more and/or better prepared for the crisis……in other words, more resilient!
To further study that, the Community Resilience Organization came into being and the assessment created. To date, 10 towns in Vermont have taken the assessment and used the results to bring about change and improvements in those towns for their citizens. In Charlotte, several months ago, the CRO was contacted and the wheels to do this in Charlotte began turning.
The COVID team/Charlotte Community Partners, consisting of folks coming from various organizations/walks of life in our town decided to take up this mission as a way to learn whether or not our town was indeed ready, in various areas, to handle a crisis in the future. The assessment was read and studied, then simplified, reworked, and tweaked every way possible to try to make it relatively painless to complete, easy to understand, but still providing us with some clarity of where the town is meeting the needs of our citizens and where more work is needed….perhaps in terms of services, perhaps in terms of communication!
The assessment looks at areas that are critical to each and every one of us…..the availability of food and housing, how we are dealing with our environment, our roads and bridges and whether or not they are adequate, maintained, and/or safe, our natural resources and whether or not we are protecting them, the availability of health services, use of our land, availability of emergency services and shelters, internet/broadband service, community connections, and more. In every instance you will be asked to rate how you feel Charlotte ranks with the option to say, you don’t know. All questions are important as are all answers, including “you don’t know”….which is critical as it may mean our town isn’t prepared in that area or it could also mean that what the town has done or has available hasn’t been effectively communicated to folks. In other words, if you have a lot of questions with the answer “I don’t know”, don’t feel that your assessment isn’t valuable….because it very definitely is…..a lot of issues today stem strictly from the lack or ineffectiveness of communication.
But if this assessment is to have value to our town, we need to hear from ALL Charlotte residents …..and that means each one of YOU! To that end, the assessment will be available on line and links will be in the Charlotte News and The Citizen and on the Library and Town websites and in the CCS newsletter. If you don’t have access to a computer, you can access one at the Library and complete the assessment there.
INTERVALE CENTER AND SHIFTMEALS
THANKSGIVING WEEK MEALS
Dear CVSD Families,
Important info about Thanksgiving Week Meals from your CVSD Nutrition Services team.
Meals are FREE for all children 18 and under. There will be one meal distribution Thanksgiving Week on Monday 11/23 from CCS, HCS, SCS, and WCS. CVU students can pick up meals from any of the K-8 schools. We will be sending out three days of meals which you can order starting at 11:00 AM Friday 11/13 through 8:00 AM on Monday 11/23. Here is the link to the CVSD Food Services Page where you can order meals from your local K-8 school. The pick-up window is expanded to 10:00 - 11:00 AM on Monday 11/23 only. Delivery is available thanks to many volunteers from Williston and Hinesburg School staff and the Rotary Club of Shelburne, Charlotte, and Hinesburg.
We hope you have a safe and Happy Thanksgiving.
Thanks!
Your CVSD Nutrition Services team