THE SCHOOL BELL

Notes, Thoughts, and Inspirations

by ABS Principal Angela Filion

Spring is in the air! The days are getting longer and the sun is shining more. In the photo above you can see two of our educators providing some harmonious music together during one of our sunny Friday dismissals. This morning I saw a few ladybugs emerge in my home as they do every spring. It is said that ladybugs are considered a symbol of good luck and happiness! As we look at the days ahead, let us find those little signs of spring that brings us joy and happiness to help guide us through this pandemic.

This is the time of the year we start to plan and prepare for our placement for the next school year. Although there are still many unknowns about what our guidelines and procedures will look like down the road, we are excited to begin thinking about transitioning our students to the next chapter of their educational careers. "The purpose of the placement process is to create classroom communities that are balanced, diverse, and positive for all students.” In order to achieve this vision we see families as partners in this process. We have sent out input forms for you to complete and return to help inform our decisions for students transitioning to grades 1, 3, and 5. We have asked that these come back by April 9th. Parents and Guardians should communicate a sense of their child’s well-being on the placement forms and also trust the school’s placement process. We believe that we approach the placement process with good intentions, using clear and collaborative processes & communication for all involved parties within the school. We encourage you to use the placement forms to provide input to the placement team. Click here for an overview of our placement process and timeline.

As you can imagine creating balanced and diverse classrooms is a very time consuming and thoughtful process. We appreciate you trusting and respecting our vision and look forward to helping your child/children transition to the next step in their educational journey!

At Allen Brook School we are focused on increasing and empowering student voice. Students heard the story, "Say Something" by Peter H. Reynolds, a book that is about finding your voice, and using it to make the world a better place.

Vermont has restrictions on social gatherings based on whether you are fully vaccinated or not. You are fully vaccinated 14 days after your final shot. Since children cannot get vaccinated at this time, a household with children is not considered a fully vaccinated household.

See full article

The ABS Diversity Equity Inclusion (DEI) Committee is supporting staff and students in the use of gender-neutral language. In the Williston Schools, we believe that it is important to use language that is both inclusive and affirmative. In calling a group of students "boys and girls" or "guys," we are speaking to them based on assumed gender identity. In many instances, we may not know an individual's gender identity nor the gender identity of everyone in the group. Our goal is to be increasingly mindful about the words we choose when addressing groups of people, especially our students. See below for examples of some inclusive language featured on our "Bee Inclusive" bulletin board.

The searches for both our new Superintendent and the CVSD Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) are well underway. We have updated both headlines on the District's website to provide information about the process and current status.

Superintendent Search

Director of DEI Search

Stay tuned for more information as each process reaches its conclusion.

April 17, 2021 3-5pm via Zoom

Are you the parent of a D/deaf, hard of hearing or DeafBlind school-aged child in Vermont? Have you ever wondered what your child’s school is required to provide by law? Does your child qualify for compensatory (make-up) services due to COVID?

Join Vermont Hands & Voices on Saturday, April 17th from 3pm – 5pm for this free workshop via Zoom to discuss these questions and more. Rachel Seelig, Disability Law Project Staff Attorney, Vermont Legal Aid, will be providing information on the educational impacts of COVID, ADA Title II’s effective communication mandate, and other information pertinent to a D/deaf, hard of hearing, DeafBlind child’s education. This workshop is focused on parents and families of school-aged children 3-22 years old, but professionals are welcome to attend. ASL interpretation will be provided, and CART can be arranged if requested ahead of time. Pre-registration is required at https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/9YCHY78 .

Do you have specific questions you'd like answered? You can submit your questions on the registration form if you register by April 12. If time allows, we will have a Q&A time at the end of the workshop.

We are looking forward to welcoming incoming kindergarten families into our school community.

Despite the pandemic and current state guidelines that have impacted some of our traditional kindergarten transition events, we are excited to to offer a Meet and Greet for incoming kindergarten students. See details and links below.

EVENT: Meet and Greet for incoming K students

WHEN: Weds, April 14 OR Weds, April 28

TIME: 45 minute time slots offered between 12:30 p.m. and 3:00 p.m.

WHERE: Allen Brook School

WHAT TO EXPECT: Parents will be guided toward our large outdoor tent to meet with Principal Angela Filion to learn about Allen Brook School and have questions answered. The children will be welcomed and escorted into the school to visit a kindergarten classroom where they will listen to a story and participate in some fun activities. Due to COVID parents and guardians are not permitted in the building this year.

Click here to Sign Up for a Meet and Greet time slot

Click here to submit questions (Any and all questions are encouraged...if you're thinking about it, chances are someone else is too!)

We look forward to seeing you at Allen Brook School in the coming weeks.

Do you have a child who will be 5 years old by September 1, 2021?

Kindergarten Registration for Fall, 2021 is underway at Allen Brook School.

Please submit registration paperwork, (preferably printed double sided) including proof of residency, birth certificate and immunization record.

Questions? Email absfrontoffice@cvsdvt.org or call 802-871-6200

Allen Brook School

497 Talcott Road, Williston, VT

802-871-6200

Amy Sayre is a SAP counselor and ParentIN coordinator for CVSD. She is available online on Wednesday evenings from 7-8 pm to help support parents.

If you have a child who is experiencing anxiety, depression or other social and emotional challenges, Amy will be on hand to offer her support and guidance and be armed with useful resources in the community if you need/want them.

You can pop in for a quick question or to chat through a situation. Amy would love to try to help!

Here is the link to join: meet.google.com/qvq-nwzz-hfm

Williston Central School is looking for energetic and organized candidates to serve as part of a team to supervise our lunches and recesses for students in grades 3-8.

The Recess and Lunch Monitors will help build and sustain a positive and orderly environment

during recess. They will be supported by paraprofessionals from each grade level who help

provide supervision of students during recess. This is an hourly position and does not include

benefits. The typical hours are between 10:45am-1:15pm.

Responsibilities will include:

• Monitoring student behavior during lunch and recess periods to ensure safety and acceptable conduct

• Adhere to our safety guidelines from the AOE and DOH

• Direct the movement of students to and from the recess areas

• Correct or redirect unexpected behavior and communicate any serious concerns to the

school behavioral coach

Please contact Liz Neeld if interested (lneeld@cvsdvt.org)

Children entering grades K-8 who live in the towns of Charlotte, Hinesburg, Shelburne, St. George and Williston may exercise school choice. Our goal is to both allow options for families and also make balanced class sizes to provide a positive learning environment for all of our children. Processes for intra-district choice of school will be guided by the needs of students, space availability, and existing resources. Given this, we will work to meet as many families’ needs as possible. Guidelines and Application

From our Williston Schools Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Coaches, Cara Clopton and Ryan Batche:

In the Williston Schools we believe that the work for racial equity and justice needs to be ongoing and continuous and cannot be limited to individual lessons or actions during a particular time of the school year. We offer these resources for families and caregivers to support the engagement in conversations about racial equity in your homes.

10 Tips for Teaching and Talking to Kids about Race

https://www.embracerace.org/resources/teaching-and-talking-to-kids

Talking About Race

https://nmaahc.si.edu/learn/talking-about-race

Hello Sunshines!

Has YOUR super reader chatted with you about RED CLOVER picture books? Each spring every ABS child hears 10 new picture books during library lesson time, then gets to vote in APRIL for their favorite one. Kids all across VERMONT participate, too! I wonder which author and illustrator will win THIS school year?

You can listen to Mrs. Clopton read aloud these books here: https://sites.google.com/cvsdvt.org/abs-library/red-clover-book-award

Every enrolled student who qualifies for free/reduced meals is also entitled to an additional $60 - $100 per child per month - retroactive to September.

Many families who did not qualify for free and reduced meals last year may qualify this year due to a change in family circumstances. Because meals are free for everyone, you may not have completed the application. In order to get this additional benefit, you will need to apply now.

Families who were qualified last year are automatically enrolled. You do not need to do anything but are being asked to check the 'head of household" name and address so the electronic-benefit-card gets delivered to the right person/house.
Please see this letter for additional information. If you need assistance applying, look for the contact information in the letter or contact your school.

In order to be in compliance with state regulations and to keep our teachers, staff, and students safe, all families with children participating in in-person learning agreed with and signed a certification at the beginning of the school year that they would attest to 4 questions about their child's health before sending students to school. As a result of the Governor's current Executive Order, we have updated the required questions. Please review the questions in the image below with your family before sending students to school.

We are reminding all parents and caregivers who drop off or pick up students to be extra mindful about your driving in the school parking lots. We are asking that all drivers please drive with extreme caution, courtesy, and at slow speeds. We have noticed some dangerous situations pop up as a result of distracted driving or elevated driving speeds. We thank you for your help in keeping all students, staff, and drivers safe.

Hello Nature Explorers!

How are you doing? We would LOVE to hear from you and see how Four Winds presentations are going this year. PLEASE take a moment to fill out our Mid-Year Check-in Survey.

Spring is here! Are you hearing birds and owls outside? Take a look at the latest Four Winds from Home Presentation - Calling All Owls! Just click the link!

If you missed the previous lessons, check them out! They are full of fun facts, photos, hands-on activities, games, read alouds, science show episodes, and even the videos of the beloved PUPPET SHOW! Pick and choose the activities that are right for you!

Unit 1: Spiders

Unit 2: Tremendous Trees.

Unit 3: Predators and Prey

Unit 4: Skulls and Teeth

Unit 5: Birds of a Feather

Unit 6: Calling All Owls

Bonus: Winter Exploration Ideas

The theme for the year is Structure and Function.

Stay tuned for our future lessons on Defenses and Bees!

Feel free to email, visit our website, or share your findings and photos on our Padlet.

Be curious!

Deb & Amanda, Your Four Winds Williston Coordinators

Return to School Following Illness Guidance

What Families can Expect when a Student is Sick

COVID-19 Parental Resources Kit

How Contact Tracing Slows the Spread of COVID-19.

Here are three different visual timelines to the contact tracing that show important dates for cases and close contacts:

test positive and have symptoms
test positive but do not have symptoms
close contacts with someone who has tested positive

Social Gathering Q&A from the Health Office

April 5 - 7th and 8th grades return to school 4 days/week

April 14 - Fall Kindergarten Meet & Greet

Apr 19-23 - No School / Spring Break

April 28 - Fall Kindergarten Meet & Greet

Please visit the Food Service website for the remote learning days order form and more information.

We are excited to be able to serve your children hot food at school once again as well as continue to offer grab and go and delivery of meals for those students who are learning remotely. CVSD will be able to continue to offer free meals for all children 18 years of age and younger as we start school.

If your student has special dietary requirements please let us know. We will be happy to make reasonable accommodations (prepare a vegetarian version, substitute gluten free grain, bread or crust, soy milk or offer an alternate meal) to make sure they can have something nutritious and delicious to eat.

April Menu

• Williston Facebook Page
  
• CVSD Facebook Page

• CVSD on Twitter
  

• CVSD on LinkedIn
• Did you know CVSD has a blog? http://cvsdstory.blogspot.com
  
• CVSD Handbook
• Bus Information
• Technology Help Desk

Allen Brook School and Williston Central School

Email: cpavlik@cvsdvt.org
Website: https://www.cvsdvt.org
Location: 195 Central School Drive, Williston
Phone: (802) 878-2762
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Williston-School-District-1483758238612170/timeline/
Twitter: @wsdvt