CCS Newsletter
January 31, 2020
ADMINISTRATION UPDATE
Dear CCS Friends and Families,
As we close out January, we’ve heard several times that this has felt like the longest month ever! If that’s true, this week might have been the fastest and busiest week ever! Please enjoy reading highlights from our week at CCS!
CCS attends a UVM Basketball Game
On Wednesday, we took the whole school to UVM for the annual Catamount Classroom Basketball game (picture on right). It was an amazing day of togetherness and play for our entire student body and staff!
National Geographic School GeoBee
Our CCS National Geographic School GeoBee was held on Tuesday morning. The ten finalists for CCS were Arthur Edwards, Parker Trono, Caleb Albertson, Jack Dore, Brahm Lasek,
Griffin Hengelsberg, Henry Bushey, Payton Shattie, William Lollis and Charlie Taylor, with alternate Nik Blasius. It was an exciting and challenging competition! Seventh-grader Henry Bushey emerged as our school champion and will take the qualifying test for entrance into the Vermont State Geobee at the end of March.
5th and 6th Grade Winter Concert
Our musicians from 5th and 6th grade put on a spectacular show on Wednesday night. Featuring the 5th and 6th-grade Chorus, 5th grade Band and 6th grade Band, the Winter Concert showcased the talents and hard work of all of our musicians.
CVU Band Visit
On Thursday, January 30, the CVU Symphonic Winds (CVU’s top instrumental ensemble featuring ten CCS alumni), performed for our 8th grade band members and several other middle school students. We were all inspired by this fabulous experience and are always happy to welcome back our CCS alumni.
CCS Recognized for Equity Work
CCS Librarian Heidi Huestis and her students got a great shout-out on this week’s ISTE Librarians Network blog and webinar:
“At the Charlotte Central School, Heidi Huestis has made it one of her year-long goals years to integrate equity and empathy-building through literature. One of the most dynamic collaborations of the year for Heidi and her students was their partnership with the Clemmons Family Farm and the Vermont Reads book March: Book 1 by John Lewis. Guest artists visited her middle school students and facilitated arts workshops based on social justice, including themes such as identity, diversity, courage, and how to help their peers in the face of injustice. When students make those emotional connections, those empathetic pathways, to characters in literature and then learn ways to turn those feelings into action, they truly become the changemakers our communities need, not in the future, but in the here and now. They become agents of compassionate action.”
District Band/Music /Festival
CCS has several students attending the District III Middle School Music Festival today and tomorrow! CCS students attending are: Hannah Stein, Hadley Auster, Kate Silverman, Kate Kogut, Morgan Keach, Claire Sigmon and Tabby Bastress.
We are proud to have closed out the month with so many celebrations of learning! We look forward to seeing what February brings.
Kind Regards,
Stephanie, Jen and Cassandra
CCS GEOBEE CHAMPION, HENRY BUSHEY
CVU SYMPHONIC WINDS @ CCS
5TH AND 6TH GRADE CHORUS
IMPORTANT DATES TO REMEMBER
Friday, January 31st
Field Trip - District Music Festival (select students) - All Day
Movie Night - sponsored by Student Leadership Council, CCS Library, 6:00pm - 8:30pm
Tuesday, February 4th
Early Release, 1:55pm
Friday, February 7th
Principal Q & A, 7:45am - 8:15am
Tuesday, February 11th
Early Release, 1:55pm
Preliminary Spelling Bee (grade level), Rm 211, 9:00am - 12:00pm
Thursday, February 13th
Field Trip - Kindergarten to Flynn Theater, 11:15am - 2:00pm
Tuesday, February 18th
Early Release, 1:55pm
Wednesday, February 19th
Field Trip - Youth Empowerment Conference (select students), 8:00am - 2:30pm
CCS Schoolwide Spelling Bee, MPR, 1:15pm - 2:45
Monday, February 24th through Friday, February 28th
NO SCHOOL - Winter Break
WHEN SHOULD I KEEP MY CHILD HOME?
Parents/Guardians often ask us when they should keep their child home and when they should send their child to school. In general, we encourage parents to ask themselves, "Is my child ready to be a student today?" If their illness is preventing them for being a productive member of their class, then staying home is best. Also, please keep in mind that a sick child can spread illness to their classmates so staying home is also important for others' health as well.
• Fever (greater than 100°) You must keep your child home until your child’s temperature is back to normal (less than 99°) for at least 24 hours before returning to school without the use of fever-reducing medication (Tylenol or Ibuprofen)
• Coughing (excessive) Your child’s cough should be “dry” sounding and easily controlled by a drink of water or cough drop before returning to school.
• Vomiting or Diarrhea Your child should be able to eat food and drink liquids without vomiting or diarrhea for at least 24 hours before returning to school.
• Red or Draining Eyes Please keep your child at home and check with a physician to ensure your child does not have conjunctivitis.
• Excessive Nasal Drainage Please keep your child at home and check with a physician to ensure your child does not have an infection.
• Lice Please treat your child’s lice and nits with proper medication, and let the nurse know if your child has lice so proper precautions can be taken to reduce cases of head lice in the classrooms. Children may return to school following proper treatment.
• Unusual Rash Please keep your child at home and check with a physician to ensure that the rash is not contagious.
• Infection If your child has been tested or treated for any contagious infection, please ensure that he/she has been taking the prescribed medication for at least 24 hours before returning to school.
If you give your child medication such as Tylenol or Ibuprofen prior to them coming to school, please let the school know. This does not prevent illness from spreading if your child is sick, it will only mask the illness for a few short hours.
Keeping your students home when they are sick is vital in preventing the spread of illness and helps keep our students and staff healthy.
CCS staff understands this can be a hardship on families. Please plan ahead for an unexpected illness. Working out a “Plan B” can relieve the stress associated with an ill child. Most often, a child who comes to school not feeling well comes to the Health Office needing to go home. This can be stressful for a parent as well.
Thanks for your support in helping to prevent the spread of germs!
CCS LIBRARY NEWS
K-4 Students are participating in the Red Clover Book Award Program over the next few months. Each year, this program introduces students to ten diverse picture books. The books allow them to explore new things, to experience different realities, and to make connections with other Vermont students that are a part of this reading community.
Take a look at the nominees. Students will be voting for their favorite book in the spring, so talk at home about the Red Clover books!
SCRIPPS NATIONAL SPELLING BEE
Our next academic co-curricular competition will be the Scripps National Spelling Bee. The dates for our CCS Spelling Bees are:
Tuesday, February 11, 2020 - 9:00 - 12:00 - Preliminary Grade Level Bees
Wednesday, February 19, 2020 - 1:15 - 2:45 - School Bee
We will announce practice sessions soon. For those wishing to get a head start, here are the (newly-formatted) study lists from Scripps:
School Spelling Bee List - Difficulty Level One
2020/2021 KINDERGARTEN REGISTRATION AT CCS
If your child(ren) will be 5 years old by September 1, 2020 they are eligible to attend kindergarten at Charlotte Central School for the 2020/2021 school year. (Picture on right: CCS Kindergarten Team at this year's kindergarten summit hosted in Williston).
Registration will be held on Friday, February 7, 2020, by appointment only.
Online Registration packets were sent out Monday, January 13th. They will be from our Informed K-12 forms platform provider. If you do not see it in your inbox, please check your spam folder. If you still can not find it, please call Naomi at 425-6600 to verify your email address.
In preparation for your visit, we kindly ask you to complete this short survey.
CVSD PRESCHOOL LOTTERY INFORMATION
Champlain Valley School District School-Based Early Education Programs Preschool Lottery is coming soon!
The CVSD School-based Early Education Programs are now accepting applications for a random preschool lottery drawing for the 2020-21 school year. Our part-time, partial days, preschool classrooms are 5 STARs, licensed early education programs that provide play-based, developmentally appropriate environments for all children in an inclusive setting. Our curriculum is based on the Vermont Early Learning Standards (VELS) and Teaching Strategies Gold. We believe that a diverse classroom offers opportunities for adults and children to practice acceptance and compassion and also provides a broad range of learning experiences.
Our programs follow the CVSD school calendar. Students who will be age 3 or older by September 1, 2020, but not yet 5 years old, are eligible to enter the lottery for our programs.
All applications must be received by February 7, 2020 and are located on the CVSD website under Student Support Services. More information is available there also. Students will be selected via a lottery and families notified in February.
CVSD CAPITAL CONSTRUCTION BOND ON TOWN MEETING DAY BALLOT
On the ballot for Town Meeting Day, March 3, not only will there be articles about the school district’s proposed budget, fund balance, and school buses, but this year there will also be an article about the proposed Capital Construction Bond. Information about the other articles will be shared in upcoming posts, but we wanted to share details about the proposed bond with our communities as soon as possible. We hope this article answers some immediate questions. Please view the Budget page of the CVSD website for additional information about the proposed budget and bond. www.cvsdvt.org/budget.
CVSD BOND PROPOSAL INFORMATION
CVSD $6 Million Bond Proposal Information - District-Wide Facility Improvements and CCS Building Efficiency Improvements Project
As part of its ongoing facility stewardship, CVSD is planning the next steps in building renovations to CCS. The thermal performance of the building is severely compromised due to a degraded envelope, causing significant waste in the form of out-sized fuel oil heating bills. Due to water-damaged siding and inadequate building insulation, as well as poorly-controlled, outdated mechanical systems, the building experiences great temperature swings throughout the day. Spaces lack adequate mechanical ventilation, often resulting in stale, stuffy, hot classrooms. These conditions result in health impacts on students and staff in hot and cold weather, and significantly impact learning.
Please click here for in-depth information: CCS Phase 1 Handbill or visit the CVSD Capital Construction Website.
We will be hosting informational tours at CCS on the following dates:
Monday, February 17th - 6:00 - 8:00 p.m.
Tuesday, February 18th - 9:00 - 11:00 a.m.
FREE FLAG FOOTBALL PROGRAM AT CVU
FlagFootball@CVU is a pick-up style football program for boys and girls in grades 2 through 7. Sessions will be held on Sundays in February (beginning 2/9) and March from 3:30pm to 5pm, in the CVU gym. Coached by Redhawks football players and supervised by CVU Football coaches, participants will play in a non-contact indoor football game comprised of four to seven players per side. The program is free and open to all interested youth regardless of town of residence or experience.
No pre-registration is required, just bring the waiver the first time you participate. Come to the sessions that fit your schedule – no commitment necessary.
More information and the required waiver are available at: https://tinyurl.com/u6ayqqb
Those interested are encouraged to visit the program’s Facebook page for updates: https://www.facebook.com/CVUFlagFootball/
FlagFootball@CVU is sponsored by CVU Redhawks Football and the Buccaneers Youth Football Program.
FEBRUARY FOOD SERVICE INFORMATION
OUR GIRLS ON THE RUN TEAM NEEDS COACHES!
What is Girls on the Run? Girls on the Run is an afterschool, spring program for girls in 3rd-5th grade that encourages girls to recognize their individual strengths and celebrate connections with others. Our team will explore themes like healthy relationships, positive self-talk and managing emotions through fun and interactive lessons. Physical activity is woven into each session as a way for girls to experience goal setting and achievement. The season culminates with the Girls on the Run 5k, a celebratory event that reinforces that big things are possible when you keep moving forward!
What is the volunteer commitment as a Coach? The season is 10 weeks and kicks off mid-March. Teams meet twice weekly, after school, for 90 minutes per session. Coaches may identify as any gender and definitely do NOT have to identify as runners! Coach teams are a combination of guardians, teachers, school staff and community member volunteers. GOTRVT provides comprehensive coach training, a curriculum that maps out each session, all team supplies and support throughout the season.
How do I learn more? Contact Jessica Green, Girls on the Run Vermont’s Northern Program Coordinator, at 802-871-5664 or Jessica@girlsontherunvermont.org. Visit www.gotrvt.org/coach for more info or to register as a Coach!