THE SCHOOL BELL

Students Address Dress Code Equity

By Jacqueline Parks, WCS Principal

One of the cornerstones of a strong middle school program lies in incorporating student voice into the system. As a middle school, we work hard to empower students to find and use their voice to make changes in their school, community and world. This week I would like to share one example of how student voice is helping to shape our school community.

A couple of months ago, a small group of middle school students approached Ms. Nadine and I to talk about our dress code. They had some concerns about it being inequitable to some groups of students and expressed a desire to rewrite it in a gender neutral manner. We began meeting with this small group and asked them to invite others to our meetings that were interested in the topic. Last week, over 60 students came to the meeting with representation from all teams! While this took some organization, I was struck with how amazing it was to have students dialoguing with each other and providing us with feedback about a meaningful topic.

Together we looked at our current dress code and then researched some other dress codes from middle schools in Vermont and in other states. Students then met in team groups to review different dress codes and to provide feedback on them. This included identifying what they agreed with and did not agree within each dress code. At this juncture, we are taking the feedback and crafting a draft dress code for students to review this week. We will then share the draft with students and families to get their feedback.

One statement that our students have identified as a core component of the dress code follows. “Ensure that all students are treated equitably regardless of race, sex, gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, ethnicity, religion, cultural observance, household income, disability or body type/size.”

Finally, this has given us an opportunity to talk with students about the legal expectations of a dress code and to understand that there are some expectations that need to be followed. For example, we can’t allow students to wear clothes that promote illegal activities such as drugs, alcohol, hate speech or violence.

Please be on the lookout for a draft dress code soon that you can read and give feedback on through the lens of a parent or guardian. It really is a pleasure to go through this process with students and I look forward to the outcome of a dress code that our community can embrace and feel comfortable with!

We are excited to announce that Williston Schools will be hosting our annual step up day on Monday, June 14th at 8:30 - 9:00 am. This is an important and exciting opportunity for students to visit their classrooms and meet their teachers and new classmates.

• Current Kindergarten students will visit their new 1st grade classrooms and meet their teachers and classmates at ABS.

• Current 2nd graders will take the bus from ABS over to WCS. Students will be organized in their new class groups at ABS before getting on the bus and will have an assigned ABS staff escort who will ride the bus with them and walk them into the building where they will meet their teacher and fellow classmates. After step-up day activities, they will take the bus back to ABS.

• Current 4th graders will visit their 5th grade classrooms and meet their teachers and new classmates.

VLA Students: We welcome all VLA students to participate in our step-up day along with our in-person students. VLA parents should plan on arriving in the Allen Brook School (for rising 1st & 2nd grade) or Williston Central School (for rising 3rd - 8th grade) parking lot at 8:25 on June 14th. Please avoid arriving early as you will get caught in the busy arrival traffic. By June 7, VLA parents will be hearing from individual ABS / WCS teachers via email to personally invite them to this event and provide a few more details. All CVSD COVID protocols will be followed, which means parents are unfortunately unable to come into the building. (If you are not comfortable with this, alternative arrangements can be made for students to connect with their new teacher before the start of the school year.) Greeters will be on hand to meet students as they arrive and escort them into the school. After the event, students will be guided back out of the building by our friendly escorts.

CURRENT 8th GRADERS will have a virtual meeting with Adam Bunting scheduled for next Wednesday, June 2nd! Our current 8th graders do not participate in Step-up day because they will have already graduated!

Incoming Kindergarten Students do not participate in Step-up Day, but will receive an invitation to fun meet and greet activities coming in August!

Please contact Greg Marino with questions about Step-up Day! (gmarino@cvsdvt.org)

Prior to this school year, CVSD released students in our K-8 schools every Tuesday an hour earlier than the usual dismissal time. This year, that was factored into the work that took place on Wednesdays. For the upcoming school year, we will reinstate the early release as part of the regular schedule, however, it will shift to Wednesdays instead of Tuesdays. This time allows for professional development, collaborative teaming, and other important work with our faculty and staff.

Starting with the 2021-2022 school year, K-8 students will be dismissed one hour earlier on Wednesdays. Preschool schedules will be posted. More specific dismissal times will be provided by your schools.

We have missed our Annual Art shows so much these past two years. The WCS Art Department will be publishing several slide show presentations of the amazing work created by artists in grades 3-8. Please enjoy these virtual

displays on the webpage and in the newsletter very soon.

As the end of the school year approaches, we want to alert families that ALL K-8 school-provided devices - Chromebooks or iPads and their respective charging cords - need to be returned to school by June 10th. Most of these devices, which pre-COVID were always in the buildings, have been going back and forth between school and home, and in some cases, remaining at home, for more than a year. Our industrious IT staff needs to access each and every device to check on the status and condition and provide any needed repairs. Please return all devices, along with the charging cord, to your child’s classroom teacher(s) by June 10th.

If your child attends the Virtual Learning Academy (VLA) please return their device and charging cord to their brick and mortar school on June 16 or 17. This was detailed in a recent letter to VLA families.

If your child will be participating in a summer school-based program that requires a Chromebook, one will be provided to them at that time. Other possible device needs for the summer will be determined soon and a check-out system will be in place. Watch for future communications!

Thank you for your help and understanding.

Our Allen Brook School Library will be available for storytime and book checkouts along with our Dorothy Alling Library Bookmobile named Dottie!

We'll have crafts, stories, and book exchange in our grassy space behind the library.

9:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m.

Wednesdays

June 30

July 7, 14, 21, 28

August 4, 11, 18

All library books are due by

Friday, May 28th.

Thank you!

Parents and caregivers with children in grades 6 - 12 are encouraged to take the 5 minute survey at the link below. We want to learn from you. Help us improve resources for CVSD youth and families AND be entered in a raffle to win one of 3 possible $50 grocery store gift card prizes.

CVSD Parent Survey link: https://survey.alchemer.com/s3/6296305/2021-CVSD-Parent-Survey-on-Youth-Substance-Use

More info: ParentIN CVSD is working with the Champlain Valley School District to better understand the perspectives and needs of parents and caregivers of tweens and teens in our district.

Your honest opinions on the questions in the survey are appreciated. Your answers are completely anonymous and will not be used to identify individual respondents in any way.

Results will help us evaluate current programs and plan new ways to support youth and families in our area. If you have any questions about this survey, please reach out to Amy Sayre at asayre@cvsdvt.org or 802-482-6290.

In appreciation of your time, at the end of the survey you will find a link to be entered into a raffle for a chance to win one of three $50 gift cards to a grocery store of your choice! The contact information you provide for the raffle is kept separate from the survey response and cannot be tied to your survey answers.

WCS will be holding SBAC make-up for students that miss a testing session on Wednesdays in May. This will ensure that students don’t miss additional class time while taking the SBAC. Transportation will be provided to and from school on the SBAC make-up days. The exact transportation times will be determined once the specific SBAC make-up needs are identified, but generally pick-up will be around 8:30 am with the drop-off being approximately 11:30 am. If a student needs to make-up two sessions, then they would remain at school for the second session and be dropped off at approximately 2:15 pm.

Wednesday, June 2nd: SBAC make-ups for Mosaic, Summit and anyone else that has not completed it.

9:15-11:15 Session One

12:00-2:00 Session Two

The CVSD early education program is looking for a summer paraprofessional at the Allen Brook School in Williston for our summer school. The program runs on Wednesday and Thursday mornings for 4 weeks, July 14- August 5. Hours are 7:30-11:30.

We are looking for a dynamic person, 18 years or older, to support our youngest students in a play-based classroom program that provides new students an opportunity to learn about the school and returning students the opportunity to maintain the flow of coming to school. The group will be spending time outside daily as well as in the classroom.

If you are interested, contact Shelley Henson, Director of Early Education at shenson@cvsdvt.org.

In the next couple of weeks you might start to see these new recycling bins popping up around WCS. There will be two different bins. The yellow bin will be for batteries and the pink bin will be for flippy-floppy plastic.

The reason we are putting these bins out is because we are doing a Genius Hour project on how we can help stop pollution. Our hope is that these bins will make a difference in helping to stop pollution.

These bins will start off just being in the front WCS entrance and at the entrance of Sterling House, which is the house that my partner and I are in. If you need to dispose of Flippy-floppy plastic and batteries, just find one of these bins to dispose of them properly. We are hoping to get these recycling bins out in WCS by June 4th. There will also be signs above the bins to remind you what they are for.

Jacob Mazlish and Owen Mcuin

My name is Megan Rivard and I am an 8th grader on Swift House. For my 8th grade challenge, I'm focusing on stress and how it affects the brain and body. I created a site to create awareness and inform people about stress as well as raise money for the Howard Center. On the site, you can access the fundraising link along with an activity that can help control your stress through exercise and physical health.

Thank you,

Megan Rivard (She/Her)

https://sites.google.com/cvsdvt.org/event/home

Hi, my name is Maeve Serinese and I’m an 8th Grade student in Swift House.

For my 8th Grade Challenge, I chose to study sustainable alternatives to everyday objects. I learned about eco-friendly products that can make a difference in your daily routine and reduce waste.

For my Community Connection, I'm holding a basket raffle full of sustainable products in order to raise awareness about eco-friendly alternatives while raising money for Green Mountain Habitat for Humanity. I will draw the winner after I give my final 8th Grade Project presentation in Swift House sometime in mid-June.

To learn more or buy a raffle ticket, please follow the link http://serinese.com/basket/

Again, all proceeds go to Habitat for Humanity.

Hi, my name is Caleb Izor and I am an 8th grader in Swift house. For my 8th grade challenge, I am focused on the importance of sustainable materials and the benefits they have in architecture. I chose this topic because it is important for people in the community to know about what sustainable materials are, and how they can impact our community.

While using sustainable materials is important in many ways, being sure sustainable materials are used in architecture as the world moves forward is paramount. Sustainable architecture is an eco friendly way to build buildings that directly aligns with the United Nations Global Sustainability Goals (17 goals to make the world a better place).

Recycled wood, precast stone, and cotton are a few sustainable materials. Many historic buildings to date showcase sustainable materials, like the Trinity Church in Boston. Others take sustainable architecture a different route such as a skyscraper in Japan which reuses rain water for their sprinkler system.

Sustainable materials can impact Vermont’s carbon footprint in a big way. Using them can help reduce waste and our footprint on the beautiful environment that we live in. Doing a little research before embarking on home improvement projects and considering sustainable materials for patios and decks can help Vermont remain sustainable.

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

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

Free meals availabe for ALL Children 18 years of age and younger.

Home Delivery Available. Pick up M, W, F at WCS, 10:00 - 10:30.

Use this order form link: http://bit.ly/WillistonRemoteMeals

More information will be sent home to all families and will be available at cvsdvt.org

This Institution is an equal opportunity

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.

June Menu

Hello Busy Bees!

Our final Four Winds lesson of this school year available for you! This one focuses on how amazing Bees are! (How especially fitting for all of you ABS families and students).

Check out the presentation and all the fun activities HERE! Remember you can share your findings and photos with us on our Padlet.

There is also a Bonus Spring Scavenger Hunt for you to print it out. See how many items you can find by you!

THANK YOU for joining us virtually for the Four Winds Nature Institute - Nearby Nature from Home Program this year. We look forward to joining YOU our wonderful volunteers, teachers and students back in the classroom this fall!

It's not too late to check out all the Four Winds lessons from this school year (if you haven't already)! 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

Unit 7: Daunting Defenses

Unit 8: The Buzz on Bees

Bonus: Spring Scavenger Hunt

The theme for the year is Structure and Function.

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

Be curious and have a great summer!

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

test positive and have symptoms

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

We are sending this out again, as we have been getting parent feedback indicating that this routine can at times be a safety concern. Please be sure to do your part during our arrival/dismissal procedures so we can ensure a safe environment.

● Please drop off and pick up your child at their team’s designated location ensuring that you leave space for the other team locations.

● Parents must remain in vehicles for drop-off

● Please arrive between 7:50 and 8:10

● Please drive attentively, slowly, and safely, following directions of school staff

● For safety, all students must exit the passenger side of the vehicle

● Temperature taking will happen once your child enters the school

● Your child must have their mask on when entering the school

Please refer to this map for the correct location to drop off/pick up your student:

Arrival /Dismissal Map / Diagram

No School (Memorial Day): Monday, May 31

Canfield class to ABS: Wednesday, June 2; 10:00-10:45 am

8th Grade Meet with CVU: Wednesday, June 2, 10:30-11 am

7/8 Band Concert: Wednesday, June 2; 6:30-7:30 pm

5/6 Band Concert: Thursday, June 3; 8:45-10:45 am

Harbor to Sandbar: Monday, June 7; 9:30 am - 1:30 pm

Summit to Airport Park: Mon. June 7; 9:30 am - 1:30 pm

Equinox to Catamount: Mon. , June 7; 11:15 am - 2 pm

Swift to Oakledge Park: Tuesday, June 8; 4-5 pm

Student device (Chromebooks & iPads) return: by June 10 (June 16/17 for VLA students)

8th Grade Spirit of Ethan Allen Cruise: June 9th

Horizon Field Day: Thursday, June 10

Swift to Sandbar State Park: Thursday, June 10; 9:30 am - 1:30 pm

8th Grade Graduation: Thursday, June 10th

Synergy Field Day: Friday, June 11

Sterling to Knight State Park: June 14; 9:30 am - 1:45 pm

Step Up Day: Monday, June 14; 8:30-9:30 am

Last School day: Tuesday, June 15

• 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