The Bobcat Bulletin

Founders Memorial School News: September 29, 2023

From the Principal

Dear FMS Families,

Here we are, already at the end of September! We are looking forward to seeing all families at our open house on Thursday, October 5th. We have a staggered start to for traffic flow reasons, both on Founders Road and inside the school. Please see below for the schedule!

6:00-6:30: 4th Grade

6:15-6:45: 5th Grade

6:30-7:00: 3rd Grade

We are also looking forward to the FMS Fun Run on October 13th. The PTO will be sending out information soon so families can sign up to help on that day, if you are available. This is a fun way to connect as a community and get some exercise together! We are really looking forward to it.

As always, please reach out with any questions!

Sincerely,

Sara Jablonski

FMS Principal

Contacting the School

All of our teachers send out regular communication to families. This communication is in the form of email, digital or print newsletters, photos, and more. In addition, our specialists connect with families of students on their caseloads, and our UA teachers send important updates either directly to families or through this school newsletter.

Teachers may be contacted by email or phone. We encourage direct contact with specialists and Unified Arts teachers for questions in those areas. Please contact the front office if you need any contact information!

PBIS Newsletter

This week, April Lambert, FMS Social and Emotional Learning Coach, sent out a newsletter with important updates about our behavior system at FMS. Please visit the link below to read it!

PBIS, or Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports is a structure that most Vermont elementary schools have adopted to guide their approach to student behavior and success. FMS adopted PBIS at the beginning of the 2022-23 school year, with positive results. PBIS is an evidence-based, culturally responsive Multi-tiered System of Supports (MTSS) framework, tailored to our school community, for developing and maintaining proactive, effective, and equitable learning environments where all students are successful.

FMS September PBIS Newsletter

Library News

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What students are currently working on in the Learning Center:

Self Checkout
Identifying Genres
Decorating Book Bags to help keep Library books organized!

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Community News

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Lego Robotics Opportunity

FIRST® Tech Challenge engages students in thrilling robotics competition. Teams of students in grades 4th and 5th grade at FMS design, build, code, and operate robots to compete against the clock to earn the highest score. Participants and alumni have access to education and career discovery opportunities, and a place in the FIRST community for life. For this introduction year at FMS, we will have limited spaces! Students are led by two coaches, Alice Larsen and Lindsay Falby. A high level of commitment is required and your child's ongoing attendance is mandatory for success. This is compared with athletic commitments and also requires parental involvement volunteering throughout the season. Parents will need to be committed to driving their students to the competition. If you are interested, please fill out this form.

Important note: this team will be capped at a maximum size of 8-10 students. Our hope is to expand it next year. This program operates on a very low adult to student ratio out of the need for small-group coaching. As we add more coaches, we can grow our student numbers.

More information about First Tech challenge

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Heavenly Food Pantry

The Heavenly Food Pantry, located at the First Congregational Church on Main Street in Essex Junction, will be open to families residing in Essex, Essex Junction and Westford.

Families arriving will be given a number when they enter the building. When their number is called, they will be registered and introduced to a volunteer, who will guide them around the pantry while they select their food. Another volunteer will bring the food to the family’s vehicle. Shopping carts will be made available for those within walking distance of the pantry.

There are no income requirements to visit the food pantry and a variety of food is

available to everyone; however, additional food is provided once a month by the USDA to

eligible families who fall below federally mandated guidelines.

Families not able to attend the pantry may call the Church office at 878-5745 between 9:00-

noon today through Thursday to leave contact information so arrangements for delivery can

be made. Phone calls to complete registration will occur on Thursday morning.

Families are currently able to visit the pantry each time it is open-on the 2nd Monday of the

month from 5:30-7:30 p.m. and the 4th Thursday of the month from 2:00-6:00 p.m. (except for

November and December when it is the 3rd Thursday).

The next food pantry distribution will occur on Monday, October 9, from 5:30-7:30 p.m.

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Youth Cookie Baking Contest

The Essex Parks and Rec department is holding a youth cookie baking contest during their Explore Essex event. They are currently open for entries. This contest is for anyone age 14 or younger.
Please see the link below for more information on how to enter.

Explore Essex Youth Cookie Baking Contest Page