THE SCHOOL BELL

Making more of less

by Director of Student Support Services, Sarah Crum

My brother has now been living in Vermont since February and I receive these intermittent texts from him with questions about the erratic weather patterns and whether or not this type of thing is normal. I keep reminding him that here in Vermont, we have far more than the four seasons: there is certainly a mud season, but then I believe each season has yet another in between if not two. It is that time period when you have to have both sets of gear out: rain boots and snow boots, winter hat and gloves as well as flip flops. We know to take advantage of the good weather when it comes and to hunker down and stay put when it turns bad - we don’t mess around. When it is 70 degrees in November, you go outside and you don’t come back in until the sun goes down. And when it snows in May (as it did this May in case you have forgotten), we sit by the fire with a cup of tea and start a new book.

I often joke that on top of the fall, fall to winter and winter seasons, I find that this time of year includes the season called Holiday. It starts about October 1 as we determine what Halloween characters we will take on and then begin biting off way more than we can chew all the way until January. First, we are consumed by constructing the homemade costumes (that probably cost me more in materials and definitely in time than if I just bought them!). They are usually finished just in the nick of time as we try to fit in end of season sports games, carving pumpkins, decorating, and making enough chili to feed the neighborhood. Just as that is cleaned up we get ready for the grandparents who come for the week of Thanksgiving, we change from fall to winter sports and begin making lists for gift giving. There is racing off to concerts, shuttling, more decorating, school celebrations, shopping, wrapping, shipping, traveling, visiting, stuffing, exchanging, cooking, and oh so much eating. It is wonderful. And I need the month of January to recover.

This year, we made one costume that included a mask and one pot of chili for our family, the grandparents aren’t coming, and the sports are on hold. My hunch is the remainder of the list will look pretty different as well. It’s a bit like 3 feet of snow in May after I have changed over the tires: unexpected and not what I was hoping for. But, when you live in a place like Vermont, you quickly understand that there are elements of life beyond one’s control and you adapt. This year, I am choosing to make more out of less. For years, I have wanted to bake pies. But my mother in law always does it because her pie crust is incredible and I am intimidated. Now, I have her recipe and only my immediate family to disappoint. If I fail, I may even have time to try again. I’m calling all the nights I would be driving to practices “found time” and making a list of things to enjoy instead of driving. I’m letting each kid choose a Thanksgiving dish and then teaching them how to make it from scratch. That way, when the day comes that they need to join another celebration, they will know how to make at least one festive dish to contribute. I’m booking tea dates with my sister in England. And overall, I am slowing down because the current weather pattern demands it.

In this very extended season of a pandemic, I hope you can find that in some ways, less could be more. May there be joy and gratitude for you this season.

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.

Your CVSD Nutrition Services team

The School District is aware that there has been a great deal of speculation, rumor, and on-line discussion in our community and around the State about the status of schools immediately following the Thanksgiving break. We want Williston families to know that at this time, CVSD has no plans to preemptively close or declare remote schooling for the days and weeks following the Thanksgiving break. With this in mind, families should expect that school routines will be maintained throughout this period for the benefit of all of our learners. Of course, as this pandemic has required since its inception, we will continue our work to be prepared for every contingency as we have learned how quickly things can change.

For those considering plans to travel outside of Vermont, please be aware that there are new travel restrictions put in place by Governor Scott that would require you to quarantine for up to 14 days upon your return to Vermont (see below). We encourage families to reference the travel guidance on the VT DOH website. Obviously, we all need to work together to help keep our schools open and safe for in-person learning.

10:00am - 12:00pm, 4 days / Week, Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday

WCS is seeking adults to help supervise 5-6th grade students while they engage remotely in their Essential Arts classes.

This would involve two 40-minute periods of 16-20 students in a classroom

Duties would be related to supervision and safety, not instruction.

Students would be engaged on their Chromebooks with their remote instruction.

4 day commitment is preferred, but not required.

Please contact Greg Marino if interested (Gmarino@cvsdvt.org)

There are quarantine requirements in order for your student to return to in-person learning if you travel out of state.

Only PCR testing can be used to test out of quarantine, rapid testing results will not be accepted. Please see below for a list of available testing sites.

• Your local Kinney Drugs:

• Shelburne: 802-985-0008

• Hinesurg: 802-482-4886

• Burlington: 802-864-8154

• Essex Junction: 802-878-5351

• ClearChoiceMD South Burlington: 802-448-8205

• UVM Drive thru at Fanny Allen: 802-847-5440

• Your student’s Pediatrician’s office can be contacted for further advice

If you have further questions or would like more information regarding travel/quarantine requirements, please call the Vermont Department of Health: 802-863-7240. You can also contact your child’s school nurse. Thank you for your help in keeping our schools open and our school communities safe and healthy.

Williston Central School Health Office

802-871-6170

Allen Brook School Health Office

802-871-6248

As the weather changes and gets colder, we want to remind families that the Physical Education staff is planning to be outside with PE classes as a first priority. PLEASE DRESS APPROPRIATELY FOR THE TEMPERATURE AND CONDITIONS... (jackets, hats, gloves, etc).

We recommend bringing in or keeping a few extra pairs of socks, gloves, or mittens in a cubby or backpack. Additional layers (snow pants or boots) would be acceptable for PE if needed. If younger students need snow pants for recess, they should wear snow pants to PE. Fresh air and movement is good for us all; let's be safe and prepared for the weather!

- Cathy Kohlasch, Lynn McClintock, Dustin King, Lyn Porter

Turkeys and gift cards can be dropped off on Saturday, Nov. 21. Gift cards can be mailed to the Williston Community Food Shelf, P.O. Box 1605, Williston, VT 05495.

Your kindness is appreciated.

Health Offices at WCS and ABS finished testing students' vision last week.

If we discover a problem, we will send you a referral letter. The referral letters will be mailed out at the end of this week. If your child’s results form states “Complete Eye Exam Recommended” at the top right of the page, it is a referral and we recommend that your child visits an eye care professional.

On the referral, you will see a section on the right side of the page called “Potential Condition”. This includes

information about the potential eye condition(s) detected by the SPOT camera.

Thank you so much! Reach out to your child’s school nurse if you have any questions about the results of the screening.

WCS: 871-6170

Maria Kapetanovic RN, BSN, MSN/Ed

Carol Albertelli, RN, BSN

Samantha Usher, RN, BSN

ABS: 871-6248

Sylvia Love, RN, BSN

We would encourage you to take a look at the amazing Four Winds presentations and try some of the hands-on activities whether you are at school or at home!

Click on the links below! You will find fun facts, diagrams, photos, activities, and even the videos of the beloved puppet show!

The theme for the year is Structure and Function.

Our first unit explores Spiders.

The second unit investigates Tremendous Trees.

This time we are comparing Predators and Prey!

**Because of the new restrictions in place, we are cancelling our December 9th Four Winds socially-distant in-person lesson.
We will also offer an outdoor, socially-distant (but in-person!) lesson, including the puppet show and related activities, at ABS once a month on a Wednesday at 10:30am.

See the dates below if you are interested in joining us!

1/27 - Skulls

2/17 - Birds of a Feather

3/17 - Calling All Owls

4/21 - Defenses

5/19 - 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

Visit the Williston Four Winds Blog

On the occasions it is determined a Williston school bus will not be driving on a hill* road during the morning pick up, we hope to be able to contact families early enough for you to get students to a stop at the start of the hill to catch the bus. When the hills are closed in the morning, it includes hills on the preschool bus routes.Alternatively, during the afternoon bus runs, we will contact families to advise you that the bus will need to drop children off at the start of the hill, and you can meet the bus there if necessary. If no one arrives to meet younger students, they will be brought back to school until arrangements are made for them to be picked up. Please talk with your bus drivers to let them know if you are comfortable letting your child walk home from the drop off location.

We will use the Connect 5 automated calling system to send a voice message to families on the hill roads.

*These are the hill roads: Butternut, Highlands, Porterwood, Oak Knoll, Rabbits Run, Evergreen, Fortier, Douglas, Yantz Hill, lower River Cove, Meadow Ridge, Ledgewood, Bayberry, Terrace, Jasmine, Wild Ginger, French Hill**, Sunrise Drive, Sunset, Lincoln, Chaloux, and Walker Hill.

**Students who live on or off Rt. 2 (Williston Rd) east of the 4-way intersection at the Federated Church should be picked up from school, as the bus will not drive toward French Hill in bad weather.

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:

• Timeline for people who test positive and have symptoms
• Timeline for people who test positive but do not have symptoms
• Timeline for people who are close contacts with someone who has tested positive

Nov 23-27 - No School / Thanksgiving Break

Dec. 1- Budget Meeting

Dec. 15 - Budget Meeting

Dec 23-Jan 1 - No School / Early Winter Break

Champlain Valley School District (CVSD) is required by federal law to locate, identify and evaluate all children with disabilities. The process of locating, identifying and evaluating children with disabilities is known as child find.

CVSD schools conduct Kindergarten screening each spring, but parents may call to make an appointment to discuss their concerns at any time. As the school district of residence, CVSD has the responsibility to identify and provide services to any child with special needs who may require special education and related services in order to access and benefit from public education.

If you have, or know of any CVSD resident who has a child with a disability under the age of 21 or a child who attends a private school located in Charlotte, Hinesburg, Shelburne, St. George or Williston, Vermont, we would like to hear from you. Sometimes parents are unaware that special education services are available to their children.

Please contact the School Principal, (Williston Central/Allen Brook Schools – 878-2762) or the Director of Student Support Services, Meagan Roy at 383-1234 or mroy@cvsdvt.org.

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.

November Menu

December Menu

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

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