THE SCHOOL BELL

How are Vermont’s Young Children?
by Carter Smith
In April of 2014 Vermont’s early childhood advisory council, Building Bright Futures, published their second annual report entitled “How are Vermont’s Young Children?”.

Vermont has been singled out as a healthy state, with an environmentally conscious culture and a good public education system. Vermont ranks high as a community of volunteers. 97% of family members read to children three or more times a week. In short, Vermont is a good place to raise children.

However, poverty has begun to creep into the middle class and wages at the low end are shrinking. 4 out of 10 families spend more than the recommended 30% of their income on housing which leaves less financial resources to meet children's basic needs. 41% of VT children under six live in low income households (New Hampshire and Massachusetts are at 31%). The actual numbers are higher in our location, as 25% of children under age 9 in the state of Vermont reside in Chittenden County.

Continue reading

As part of Schoolwide PBiS at WCS, schoolwide behavior data is reviewed regularly and used to plan celebrations, instruction and interventions. Students recently earned their first “Cell-a-Bration” of the year, which was extra recess for all grades with music and dancing. One area that needs improvement across grades 3-8 is “following directions.” Students will be participating in a behavior “booster” during the month of November. For these few weeks, adults will be acknowledging students for following adult directions the first time with special “booster cells.” These are extra special SMART cells that are much bigger and help to fill the brain faster! Please encourage your child to follow directions the first time across all settings – including school and at home! Thanks for your support! Be SMART!

Did You Know That…

The Williston Schools 2014-2015 Annual Fund Success Thermometer is at 41 percent of goal! Remember—day field trips are paid for out of this fund. So if you have not yet contributed, please send in your contribution to your House T.A. (any amount is appreciated) or click HERE to take care of it online.

The next FAPAC Monthly Meeting is on Thursday, November 13th at 8:15 am at the Old Schoolhouse in front of WCS. All our welcome. Discussion of School Budget Decision Packets for 2015-2016 School Year is one of the main agenda topics.

The School Counseling Department has many helpful items on their web page.
Click here for a tip sheet on teaching your children to be safe.

The Alliance for a Healthier Vermont is a group of health care providers, public health professionals, low-income advocacy groups, businesses, farmers, and other organizations working together to address the alarming rate at which sugary drink consumption is causing negative public health consequences in Vermont, especially for children.

As we educate lawmakers to support policies that promote healthy and active communities in Vermont, we want to take the extra step to get students involved. We are holding a poster contest challenging students to think about healthy drink choices. Here is a link to more information on our website. Students have the opportunities to win some cool prizes, like passes to Jay Peak or Great Escape's indoor water parks.

Congratulations to the following families for participating in the 2nd Family Math Challenge: Jadus, Watson, and Nicholson!

Math is a part of everyday life and can be enjoyed by everyone. Each week a new logical reasoning math problem will be posted in the School Bell. Share the challenge with your children, use everyday objects to create a visual, watch their creative brains grow, and enjoy your time together. Email your answer (share how you arrived at it if you are so inclined) to Julie Rogers (jrogers@cssu.org) with Family Math Challenge in the subject line. Click here to find the answer to last week’s challenge and a new challenge.

Have you guessed it yet? GREASE is the WORD! This year’s drama production will be the school version of the hit Broadway Musial GREASE. Sean Moran who was in the original Paramount film is back to direct for his second year with Williston!

Come to a Kickoff/Informational meeting for parents and students Monday, Dec 8th at 5:30 in the theater. Meet the team, get your questions answered about the auditioning and rehearsal process, and find out about stage crew opportunities. Students in grades 6-8 are eligible to audition for the play; students in grades 5 and up can be part of the stage crew that builds the sets and runs the show!

There will be 2 workshops on Dec 9th and 10th after school for those who are interested in auditioning to practice music and readings. Because of the rights that go along with this play, none of the readings or music will be on the website but you can get the info at one of the workshops!

Auditions will take place the first week back from the holiday vacation, Jan 5-9!! The show will run early this year so we can stay away from all the spring sports! Show dates are April 10-11!

The 2013-2014 VT Elementary School Oral Health Survey Report is now posted on the Health Department’s website, here is the link: http://healthvermont.gov/family/dental/documents/oral_health_survey_2013-2014.pdf

Strep throat is a common type of sore throat in children, but it's not very common in adults. Healthcare professionals can do a quick test to determine if a sore throat is strep throat and decide if antibiotics are needed. Proper treatment can help you feel better faster and prevent spreading it to others!

People with strep throat should stay home from work, school, or daycare until they have taken antibiotics for at least 24 hours so they don't spread the infection to others.
http://www.cdc.gov/features/strepthroat/index.html

http://healthvermont.gov/prevent/strep/strepfacts.aspx

Enterovirus and Ebola links
http://www.cdc.gov/non-polio-enterovirus/about/EV-D68.html
http://www.cdc.gov/vhf/ebola/

Scholastic Book Fair / Week of Nov. 10 / at WCS
FAPAC / Thurs. Nov. 13 / 8:15 am

District Jazz Festival / Fri. Nov. 14

Instrument Pick up / Mon. Nov., 17 / WCS Auditorium

School Board Meeting / Tues. Nov. 18 / CVUHS

School Board Budget Mtg. / Thurs. Nov. 20 /

No School / Mon. Nov. 24 - Fri. Nov. 28

Intergen Meetings / Wed. Dec. 3 / 11:35; 1:10 pm
School Board Budget Mtg. Thurs. Dec. 4 / 5:30 pm
Click here for athletics

Applications for Free and Reduced price meals are sent home at the beginning of each school year. However, you may apply for meal benefits anytime throughout the year by submitting an application to your school. Eligibility for Free and Reduced meals will last for the remainder of the school year and for the first 30 school days of the following school year in order to provide you with enough time to complete a new application and for eligibility to be determined. If you think you may qualify for meal benefits, please fill out an application and return it to the school. Applications and answers to your questions about Free and Reduced price meal benefits can be found on our school's website or by using this link http://www.cssu.org/Page/963

Click here to access the DAML web site listing of events.
Click here for the Bell listing of DAML events scheduled for children.

Click here for Community Events.

November 5, 2014
October 29, 2014
October 22, 2014
October 15, 2014

Allen Brook School and Williston Central School

Email: cpavlik@cssu.org
Website: www.wsdvt.org
Location: 195 Central School Drive, Williston
Phone: (802) 878-2762
Twitter: @wsdvt