EWSD News
News for EWSD Families and Community Members
*Just a reminder that all schools will be closed April 22-26 for vacation.
April 12, 2019
In This Issue ...
From the Desk of Superintendent Cobb
- Budget Votes Pass - Thank you!
District Updates
2019-2020 School Calendar
CTE Student Creates New District Logo
Turning Vision Into Reality - Save the Date
EHS Heads to the New England Drama Festival
EWSD Communications/Web Survey Results
EWSD in the Community
Law Enforcement and EMS Training Exercise Saturday
Happenings
Upcoming Events
EWSD Job Opportunities
Important Links
Budget Votes Pass - Thank you!
The FY20 budget passage marks the third year that voters have overwhelmingly supported the planned investments of our merged district - the Essex Westford School District. The resources the voters in our three communities have approved for next school year will ensure a continuation of high-quality education for our nearly 4,500 students. It will continue to support and attract the very best teachers, staff, and administrators. It will also introduce new opportunities to serve the social and emotional needs of our learners, enhance the safety and security of our school communities, and advance our work toward instructional excellence for all students.
Voting results:
The EWSD FY20 Budget Passed: 719-215
The CTE FY20 Budget Passed: 784-150
Article VI (assign $365,000 of available fund balance to the Capital Reserve Fund) Passed: 789-135
We would also like to welcome Todd Odit (Essex Junction) to the EWSD Board and congratulate Kim Gleason (Essex Town) and Al Bombardier (Essex Town) on being reelected.
Beth Cobb - EWSD Superintendent
Brian Donahue - EWSD COO
District Updates
2019-2020 School Calendar
The final date for the current school year (2018-19) has not yet been determined by the EWSD Board. Once that has been finalized, we will make sure to share it with families.
CTE Student Creates New District Logo
The EWSD has launched a newly redesigned logo! The new District image was developed by Center for Technology senior and Design & Creative Media 2 student Makayla Davis.
You may have seen the new logo already on the This is EWSD video and on the EWSD budget flyer and annual report, as the District is slowing rolling out the new emblem. The evolved brand identity will officially be changed over for all EWSD schools, communications, and experiences beginning on July 1, 2019.
Learn more about the updated version and view Makayla's portfolio online!
Turning Vision Into Reality - Save the Date
What makes a school work well for every student? How do we identify and nurture each student’s appetite for learning? How do we meet their different needs and make learning accessible?
Attend a special EWSD Board meeting on Tuesday, May 7 (6:30-8:30 p.m.) at Essex Middle School to learn what equity is and how it can shape our District. Then share your own experiences and ideas in a facilitated discussion with Board members. Light refreshments will be served.
EHS Heads to the New England Drama Festival
Essex High School will represent the state of Vermont in the 2019 New England Drama Festival, hosted by the New England Drama Council and the Rhode Island Theatre Education Association, from April 15-17.
Following successful showings at the regional and state festivals, Essex High School was chosen by the Vermont Drama Council as one of two representatives for the state to advance to the New England festival. EHS performed Frankenstein, the famous thriller about the creation of a monster creature.
Essex High School will perform on Tuesday, April 16 at 7:10 p.m. All performances will take place at Cranston West Alumni Auditorium on the campus of Cranston High School West in Cranston, Rhode Island. Tickets for the festival are general admission and are sold by block, day, and full festival.
EWSD Communications/Web Survey Results
In December, we asked you for your input in a brief Website and Communications Survey to see how we could improve our communication efforts.
After collecting what we heard, we have put together a Website/Communications Survey Results Summary with context and responses to update you on what we are working on! Both links open in new windows.
We invite families to still complete the survey or send us your email if you are interested in being part of a focus group or being consulted on website/outreach updates. To provide feedback for the District/schools not related to communications, use the Tip Line /Suggestion Box form here, in our EWSD Mobile app, or and at the bottom of every school homepage.
EWSD in the Community
P.J. Neverett, a speech-language pathologist at Founders Memorial School, started the beCAUSE Craft Show 13 years ago so that our local community could reach out and help many organizations that are in need while supporting the business of local artists.
This year the craft show was held on March 23 at St. Michael's College and featured over 100 Vermont handcrafters, including many EWSD students and staff, selling their crafts, with all of them committed to donating 50%-100% of their profits to a peaceful charity of their choice.
The show has raised over $167,000 collectively in the past 13 years!
Law Enforcement and EMS Training Exercise Saturday
Please see the following message from the Essex Police Department and Essex Rescue about an upcoming training they will be taking part in on Saturday, April 13 at Thomas Fleming School.
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The Essex Police Department and Essex Rescue will be conducting a joint training exercise at the Fleming School (21 Prospect St, Essex Jct.) on Saturday, April 13. The exercise will begin at 8:00 am and conclude at 5:00 pm. The training involves simulated "Active Threat" scenarios that would require a coordinated response between police and EMS in order to treat and evacuate casualties.
Please be advised that residents in the area of the school can expect an increased presence of emergency vehicles and responders that day, as well as noise that may include simulated gunfire. The areas of the school building occupied by the training exercise will be secured and not accessible by the public or media.
Questions about this event can be directed to Ron Hoague at the Essex Police Department (rhoague@essex.org) or Shelby Evans at the Essex Rescue (sevans@essexrescue.org).
EWSD In the News
- Fix in place for last year’s school ballot mishap (Essex Reporter)
- Resource officer to work out of high school (Essex Reporter)
- Students sleep out to raise awareness for homelessness (WCAX)
- Dozens of students sleep outside for homeless benefit (WCAX)
- Essex's Olivia Miller-Johnson named Free Press' Miss Hockey (Burlington Free Press)
- Voters approve Essex Westford School District budget (MyChamplainValley)
Happenings
Geo Bee
Maple Season
No Strings
Business Skills
Several EHS students attended the Vermont DECA annual state competition, a day designed for students to demonstrate their business skills. The team consisted of Jamaal Hankey, Gordon Schmalz, Owen Kemerer, Reece Cronin, and Fatima Khan, who all represented EHS proudly. Congratulations to the winners of the following competitive events:
Jamaal Hankey - Retail Merchandising
Owen Kemerer - Personal Financial Literacy
Reece Cronin - Business Management and Administration
Fatima Khan - Public Speaking
VAMLE Conference
A World of Difference students from Westford attended the seventh annual VAMLE Conference (Beyond Bullying: Creating a Culture of Respect in Learning Communities) at Champlain College along with several schools from all over Vermont. It was an all-day event that offered educational workshops in the morning and afternoon, mostly led by students. Westford students Shea Andrews and Rosie Whitney led one of the afternoon workshops for other middle school students and staff. “I’m so impressed with the time and effort these two students put in to make the workshop engaging and a positive learning experience for those that attended,” said Stephanie Jones, Westford School counselor.
Good Citizen
Cabbage Champ
Congrats to FMS student Austin Ravelin for winning the Bonnie Plants Third Grade Cabbage Program contest for Vermont. Austin will receive a $1,000 scholarship after growing a 29-pound cabbage!
Pi Day
The eighth grade ADL CTE Math Explore class celebrated Pi Day (3/14) with pie! The students made a variety of different pies from scratch and then shared with the staff.
On the Job Training
Recently the Health Informatics class at CTE finished a nine-day training at TLC Nursing Homecare in Williston. Their instructor, Wendy Bombard, BSN, RN was great! The students learned about many different topics, including: homecare and the healthcare system, legal and ethical issues, preventing infection, chronic and acute conditions, and many, many more.
EWSD Social Media
Upcoming Events
EWSD Board Meeting
Tuesday, Apr 16, 2019, 06:30 PM
Essex High School, Educational Drive, Essex Junction, VT, USA
EWSD Job Opportunities
Important Links
About Us
Email: bdickie@ewsd.org
Website: www.ewsd.org
Location: 58 Founders Road, Essex Junction, VT, USA
Phone: 802-878-8168
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/essexwestford/
Twitter: @EssexWestford