THE SCHOOL BELL

by Jacqueline Parks

What a wonderful week it has been with students back in our schools after a long six months away. We loved watching the corners of their smiles peek out from behind their masks, hearing their stories from the summer and just sharing in the excitement of being back in school! Teachers have been busy teaching students new routines and procedures to ensure they are maintaining social distancing and appropriate hygiene. They also are pre teaching routines for their remote learning days, so the technology access will be smoother.

One of the gifts of this situation is the amount of time we are getting students outside. As the weather is nice, teachers are going outside with students as much as possible. Each teacher and team has a designated outdoor space to access, as well as a specific area for recess. This allows the students to be socially distanced and enjoy a break from wearing their mask.

I had the opportunity to ask my advisory group what they liked most about their two first in-person days. The unanimous opinion was that seeing their friends was the best! This was followed by playing soccer and non touch tag with friends! It’s clear that students really missed being together and that being partially together again is appreciated by all.

I’ll conclude by sharing that our arrival and dismissal procedures are going very smoothly at both schools. We are so thankful for all our staff and families that are helping out and being flexible. It truly takes the entire community coming together during these trying times to ensure we are safe and on the road to being fully in-person at some point in the future.

WCS Arrival Reminders

• Please pull cars up flush to the curb for drop-off and pick-up. This will ensure you are not backing up into traffic which disrupts the flow.

• Students being dropped off, walkers and bikers should not arrive until 8 am.

• Students walking, biking or skateboarding in from the North Williston Road area should be sure to stop at the car temperature station for a temperature check before entering the building.

• There are two cones in the front of the building to indicate where other walkers, bikers and skateboarders get their temperature checked.

• Families with multiple students can select any of the drop-off locations for the entire group to exit the car.

• Please encourage your student(s) to exit/enter the car quickly to ensure traffic does not back-up.

Williston Families As Partners (FAP), Williston’s “PTA” organization, provides a forum for parents, teachers, administrators, and community members to actively discuss activities, events, and programs in the Williston schools. The participation of teachers and administration differentiates our FAP from a typical PTO/PTA and helps further promote our children’s health, well-being, and educational success.

HOUSE REPRESENTATIVE (Covid-19 edition)

FAP Rep duties vary from house to house, but here are some of the most common activities and functions (an FAP Rep won’t necessarily do all of the things listed);

Liaison between the teaching staff and parents

Inviting interested parents to attend monthly FAPAC meetings

Serving on various FAPAC sub-committees

TIME COMMITMENT (Covid-19 edition)E COMMITMENT

FAP Advisory Council Monthly Meeting, held remotely

Communicating with House parents and teachers (approximately 1 hr/month)

Dorothy Alling Memorial Library is closed and will not be open for students to use for any after school plans

ABS change! We are re-routing the morning Synergy student drop offs. Rather than dropping off in the bus loop, we will have Synergy families follow the map for Harmony or Horizon.

Both Allen Brook School and Williston Central School are staggering their morning drop off times to minimize traffic congestion and wait times.

Please see the links below for all the details, including maps of new drop off and pick up locations.

Allen Brook School

ABS map

Williston Central School

To ensure students are properly distanced on the buses, families were asked to opt in for busing to reserve a seat for their child. If you did not opt in, we hope that you will follow the new drop off and pick up procedures shared in the article above.

Bus route information has been separated out by Group 1 days and Group 2 days, as arrival times will be different depending on which group your child is in school. Click here for more detailed busing information, including estimated times and routes.

This process has a lot of moving parts! Until we see how the routes work on the first week of school, we will not be able to make further additions to bus ridership.

If you would like to request bus transportation after the first week of school, please complete this form.

Parents will be asked to certify that each day they will take their child’s temperature, monitor their health, and NOT send them to school if any of these are true.

All students will have their temperature taken prior to boarding the bus or entering the building.

As students return to school wearing masks, there may be a few occasions in which they see a peer who is not wearing a mask. This is because the AOE's Safe and Healthy Schools guidance acknowledges that students who cannot wear a mask for medical reasons will not be required to do so. Any children who are not wearing masks have received approval through a very individualized district and school process. We will help all children understand that there are very few exceptions about mask-wearing, but that they may occasionally see someone who is not wearing a mask. That person has permission and will be treated with kindness and understanding.

The CDC recommends facial coverings in settings where other physical distancing measures are difficult to maintain, especially in areas of significant community-based transmission. Adults doing drop-off and pick-up should wear facial coverings.

Below are the Vermont Department of Health guidelines on masks and school. We are NOT allowing anyone to wear a mask with a valve or vent. We are allowing gators as long as they are double ply/layered and 1 ply(see below) is not effective.

"Masks with Exhalation Valves or Vents The purpose of masks is to keep respiratory
droplets from reaching others to aid with source control. However, masks with one-
way valves or vents allow air to be exhaled through a hole in the material, which can
result in expelled respiratory droplets that can reach others. This type of mask does
not prevent the person wearing the mask from transmitting COVID-19 to others.
Therefore, CDC does not recommend using masks for source control if they have an
exhalation valve or vent."

"Can students and personnel wear neck gaiters? There was one well designed study
that showed 1 ply gaiters are not effective at preventing the spread of the virus."

University of Vermont's Children's Hospital video link on

Masks and Kids: What You Need to Know

https://childrens.uvmhealth.org/caring-for-kids/masks-and-kids-what-you-need-to-know/

Links and information for Tuesday's school board meeting (Sept. 15th).

The meeting will take place via Zoom beginning at 6:00pm.

Zoom link: https://cvsdvt-org.zoom.us/j/91361838741 Meeting ID: 913 6183 8741 Password: 8856$=

Dial by Phone: 1-646-876-9923 Password: 042620

This is the link to the agenda in Google and on the school board website.

This is the link to the full agenda packet available on the school board website.

Student pictures are scheduled to be taken on the following day:

Friday, September 25

Morning at ABS

Afternoon at WCS

Tuesday, September 29

Morning at ABS

Afternoon at WCS

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.

We will start the year by offering 2 lunch choices per day and one breakfast meal per day. We hope to expand our offerings in the future and we will keep you informed as we make changes. Students in school and those learning remotely will have the same menu options but use different methods to order meals.

Menu for Week One 9/8 - 9/11

Choose One Entree. Each meal comes with fruit, vegetable and ice cold milk.

Tuesday: Baked Chicken Nuggets or Ham and Cheese Sandwich

Wednesday: Pasta with Meatballs and Marinara Sauce or Buffalo Chicken Salad

Thursday: Fresh Baked Pizza or Nacho Box

Friday: Baked Corn Dog or Chicken Caesar Salad Wrap

Menu for Week Two 9/14 - 9/18

Choose One Entree. Each meal comes with fruit, vegetable and ice cold milk.

Monday: Beef Soft Taco or Turkey Sandwich

Tuesday: Fresh Baked Pizza or Chef Salad

Wednesday: Baked Chicken Patty on a Bun or Flatbread Pizza Box

Thursday: Chicken Alfredo with Broccoli or Ham and Cheese Sandwich

Friday: Hamburger Deluxe or SunButter Sandwich

In School Meals: Teachers will be taking students’ lunch orders in school on in-person days. Students will have the option of choosing between our hot or cold lunch meal. Breakfast will be available to students on their way to their classroom.

If you feel you may be eligible for meal benefits, please fill out this online form and submit it to the school.You will be notified if you qualify for free or reduced priced meals. Even though meals are currently free for all, this is likely to change later in the fall. Also, this information is used to determine the amount of federal assistance the school receives each year to support learning. If your situation changes you can apply at any time.

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.

Please contact your food service director if you have questions.

Thank you. We look forward to serving students again at school and to continuing to provide meals for the families in our communities.

Our distribution days for meals for remote learning days will be Mondays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays.

The order forms for Meals for Remote Learning Days are below:

Williston Remote Meals: http://bit.ly/WillistonRemoteMeals

Please only sign up on these forms for the days your students will need meals at home. You can come to your school to pick up meals between 10-10:30 on Mondays, Wednesdays and Thursdays. You can also request delivery of meals on the form and we will deliver meals to your home. By requesting this option, you are giving us permission to deliver meals to your home. Please place a cooler near your front door for us to place the meals in to keep them safe and cold. Some items will need to be reheated at home. The instructions will be on the labels.

We are so happy to be starting Fall Sports Monday 9/14. Boys and Girls Soccer, Field Hockey and Cross Country. Please visit the WCS Athletics site for more information! Registration is open and all athletes must be registered prior to the first day of practice. A current (within two years) Well Exam-Sports Participation Clearance Form (signed by your physician) must be on file to participate.

Masks must be worn for all sports. All athletes must bring their own water bottle. Athletes will participate only on the days they are in school. Each sport will be designated an outdoor meeting space next week.

Any questions please email Nadine (nlugassy@cvsdvt.org)

To start the year, the WCS band program will welcome all returning band students and students new to our school that have experience playing in band. Students will be offered 3 choices which are described in this newsletter.

We are gathering information in order to inform our scheduling.

If you have not already, please indicate your preference by filling out this form .

Our amazing librarians at both ABS and WCS have been busy working on getting our libraries opening safely, click here to see a slideshow with more information and access the links.

The slides below can be enlarged by clicking on them.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention note that as communities open up, it’s

important children go to their well-child visit. Well-child visits are important for:

• Tracking growth and development, including milestones, social behaviors, and

learning.

• Discussing any concerns about your child’s health.

• Getting scheduled vaccinations to prevent illnesses like measles and whooping cough

(pertussis) and 12 other serious diseases.

See the full article on the CDC website for more information on how to keep up with well-

child visits during COVID-19: https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/parents/why-vaccinate/well-child-visits.html

Vermont’s Immunization Rule requires vaccination of all children enrolled in public kindergarten, elementary and secondary schools. Immunizations protect both individuals and the community.

An official immunization record must be presented to the school upon admission. If a student doesn’t meet the vaccine requirements, or have a current school year exemption on file, they may be temporarily admitted only after the approval of a school nurse or administrator. Failure to meet requirements may result in exclusion from child care or school.

Students entering kindergarten must provide documentation of the following:

• 5 doses of DTaP (diphtheria, tetanus, and pertussis) vaccine

• 4 doses of polio vaccine

• 2 doses of MMR (measles, mumps, and rubella) vaccine

• 3 doses of hepatitis B vaccine

• 2 doses of chickenpox (varicella) vaccine.

If the student has previously had chickenpox disease no vaccine or exemption is needed. Parents must submit documentation of disease or sign the Health Department form

Students entering the seventh grade must provide documentation of the following:

• All the immunizations listed above and

• One dose of Tdap (tetanus, diphtheria, and pertussis) vaccine.

• For residential students, one or two (age appropriate) doses of meningococcal (MenACWY) vaccine

These requirements also apply to students in any grade entering a new school from outside of their previous supervisory union or district. Students not meeting the vaccine requirements must be vaccinated as outlined in the Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s catch up schedule.

Medical or religious exemption to one or more vaccines is allowed under the rule. An unaltered form must be submitted to the school. Religious exemptions require annual renewal. Students with an exemption may be excluded from school during a disease outbreak.

Additional information about immunizations and required forms may be found at: http://www.healthvermont.gov/disease-control/immunization/child-care-k-12-and-collegeimmunization-information-parents

PARENTS: Please be sure to send in any NEW updated Immunization records

for your child. Every time your child receives a new immunization ask your provider to fax an updated copy to your school health office. This will ensure we have the most up to date records for your child. This includes 5 year exam vaccines, boosters and of course Influenza vaccine (coming soon!)

WCS: fax number: 871-6101

ABS: fax number: 871-6201

Access to the school buildings this year is by appointment only for contract tracing reasons, please contact the person you would like to meet with to schedule an appointment.

This site provides health guidance to school staff and families as we plan and implement the reopening of the Champlain Valley School District's schools for the 2020-2021 School Year in the context of COVID-19. Because we continue to learn more about COVID-19 and the conditions surrounding the situation are continually evolving, this site will be regularly updated as new information becomes available.

• WSD Mobile App Flyer
  
• Williston Facebook Page
• CVSD Facebook Page
• Did you know CVSD has a blog? http://cvsdstory.blogspot.com
  
• CVSD Handbook
• Bus Information

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