CCS FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL
August 28, 2019
ADMINISTRATION UPDATE
Dear CCS Families,
What a fantastic first day! It is always so exciting to have our students back in the building for the first time. We have welcomed many new families to our CCS community and our returning students welcomed their new classmates with kindness and support. We look forward to nurturing continuing and new friendships throughout the year.
We closed the day with our full-school Welcome Back Assembly. Students learned (or re-learned) a little bit about our PBIS “Be The Change” expectations and routines. Co-Principals Ms. Roth and Mrs. Sumner did a whole-school read aloud of Happy Dreamer by Peter H. Reynolds to kick off the year with a little taste of how we all can achieve our hopes and dreams for the year.
We look forward to meeting you all over the next few weeks, especially at our Back to School Night and Community Potluck on September 12th. Stay tuned for more information!
Before we close, we wish to share a few important reminders that will help all of us ensure that our students have the safest learning experience they can at CCS.
Transportation (Buses, Drop-off and Pick-Up):
Per state law, cars may not drive past a bus in any direction when the red flashing lights are on. This is extremely dangerous! Buses are equipped to record passing motorists to ensure that there is legal follow-up.
There are only two drop-off/pick-up sites at CCS - the Mt. Philo/East Parking Lot and the Cafeteria/Library West Parking Lot. Students may not be dropped off or picked up at the front of the school on Hinesburg Road - this is extremely dangerous as this road is highly traveled. Additionally, students are then moving in between buses that may or may not be moving.
When you are dropping off students at either end of the building, you must stay in line. It is extremely unsafe to pass cars in line as they are unloading. It is safe and courteous to unload your students as quickly and safely as possible and to allow cars in front of you to do the same.
Finally - if your child's dismissal plans change, please communicate them directly to Cindy LaWare in the front office. It is even more helpful if you email Cindy and your child’s teacher to ensure a smooth dismissal. If we do not receive a note, we will automatically send students on the bus or dismissal plan indicated on their back-to-school paperwork.
We recognize that mornings are hectic and that the traffic lines are sometimes long (this morning was especially long at all CVSD schools! If you have a tight schedule, you may have your child ride the bus or drop them off in the cafeteria at 7:30 when supervision begins. It takes a village to keep our students safe - thank you in advance for being a helpful part of our village!
Kind Regards,
Stephanie, Jen and Cassandra
AWAY FOR THE DAY
Hello CCS Students and Parents,
Educators around the country are struggling with how to best manage mobile device usage at school and the impact of their use on our students. The research on this subject is compelling and clear. The more time that middle school students spend separated from mobile devices, the more they learn, and the less anxious they feel. A great new resource educators at our school have been reviewing is called "Away for the Day"
To support our students' focus on learning here at school and to help them feel less anxious in their lives, CCS is going to have all our students put their mobile devices Away for the Day. This program has already started at Williston Central School with great results. We will ask that students either leave their devices (phones, tablets, internet watches, etc) at home for the day or place them in their lockers. Students will have access to school phones to make calls to communicate with their parents/guardians as needed during the day (between classes, or during core times).
We understand and acknowledge that some parents will have questions and concerns regarding this new program. We invite you to take some time in the coming days to read the research and talk about this (linked above). We expect that the vast majority of parents will be supportive of this change to support our students, but if you have ongoing concerns that you feel outweigh the expected benefits to all our students, please communicate those to your student's core teacher and we will listen and consider.
Thank you for your support in this new process. Your child’s success at CCS is our priority.
Best,
Jen Roth, Co-Principal and 5-8 Instructional Leader
Stephanie Sumner, Co-Principal and K-4 Instructional Leader