School Information to be sent home for the 16-17 school year

Hello Moretown School Families,

We hope everyone had an excellent first day of school.  We were very excited to get the new year started.

Over the next couple of days we will be sending important student information home to be reviewed, filled out and signed and then sent back to us so we have current information on all of our families for this school year.

  

In addition, for students in grades 4 - 6, we will be sending home the student individual SBAC assessment scores for your review.  The assessment scores correspond with their testing window in May of last year. These do not need to be returned.

The following items will be sent in this packet:

- Welcome Letter

- Student Information/Emergency Contact forms (please check for accuracy and completion)

- Washington West Annual Health Questionnaire (please complete and return)

- WWSU school calendar (for your information only)

-Asbestos Management Plan information (for your information only)

-Student Directory Information (please complete and return if you would like to share contact information with other families)

-Media Release Form (please complete and return - if necessary)

-School lunch applications (please complete and return -if necessary)

-PTN ski forms (please complete and return)

If you have questions regarding any information you receive please contact the school's office at 496-3742.  

First Day of School and we can't wait!

Hello Moretown School Families,

We are exited to remind everyone that school begins tomorrow,  Monday, August 29.   Our doors open at 7:15 am.  Early arrivals should go to the cafeteria until classrooms open.

For information on lunches and bus schedules please see our website at:  http://www.moretownschool.com/

If you have questions, please contact our main office at 496-3742.

We hope everyone enjoyed their final weekend of August with family and friends.   For those of you who attended the Morefest celebration we hoped you enjoyed yourself and the opportunity to celebrate our town revitalization five years after tropical storm Irene.  The link to the firework grand finale is linked here - https://www.facebook.com/212510595613984/videos/517857761745931/


We are looking forward to the 2016-17 school year!

Welcome Letter for the 2016-17 School Year

Welcome to the 2016-2017 school year!  

Hello Moretown School Families,

The Moretown School is eager to get underway for the new school year.  There are a host of initiatives, activities and curricular improvements we have been preparing over the summer to create a dynamic and engaging school year for everyone.  Some highlights include;

1. Continuation of our successful and community supported Educating Children Outdoors program (A North Branch Nature Center partnered curriculum) for grades Pre K – 4,
2. Continuation of our involvement with the Vermont Rural Partnership a grant providing agency supporting grant funded learning opportunities for our students.  
3. Continuation of our Moretown School’s STEM program through a Washington West Supervisory Union initiative supported by the Project Lead the Way program (https://www.pltw.org/).  This year all students grades K - 6 will learn about the world of design and innovation through PLTW program materials that are aligned with the Next Generation Science Standards.  We are very excited to offer this program to our students this year.      
4. Continuation of or 1:1 device program for grades 3 – 6 (combining netbook, ipads, and chromebooks for students to utilize).
5. Continuation of our successful and self- supporting MECA program.  
6. Implementation of the first phases of our new grading system procees as defined by ACT 77 (personalized learning plans and proficiency based learning http://education.vermont.gov/flexible-pathways) which includes
1. Family conferences are built into the school calendar two times within the school year; once in late October/early November and once in March (see the school calendar for specific dates). These conferences focus on goal-setting. School staff work with students and their families to establish focus goals, based upon strengths, challenges and interests students have demonstrated. Academic, as well as social-emotional, proficiencies play an important role when establishing focus goals.
2. Progress on these goals, as well as general growth monitoring, is shared in report cards sent home in January and June.  Teachers may share information regarding student strengths and challenges outside of these established communication cycles and families are encouraged to reach out to teachers if they have questions regarding their child’s progress.  

7. Continuation of the responsive classroom system to support a positive school climate.
8. Continuation of our school blog  and new website to keep all of our community informed about our school events, learning and opportunities.   The blog will continue to be a great way to provide real time clips of student learning, up to date information and access to a wide variety of link that will help us help our families create a successful experience for our students. Please provide us feedback as we learn to utilize this media opportunity.

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Important  School Information:

1. Main office of the school is open beginning at 7:20.  Our main contact number is 496-3742.  The school will be open beginning at 7:15 for early morning drop off of students, students will meet in the multi purpose room.   
2. School Day begins at 7:40 and Ends at 2:30.  
3. Construction on the New Town Office building will be completed.    Work on the The “Big Kids” playground will begin this fall.  More on this to follow.  The playhouse in the back of the school will be retooled so that it will be a gazebo for weather and sun blocking rather than a “play house”.   
4. Lunch
1. Pre-school and MECA Lunches will occur a bit before 11:00
2. Lunch for grades K - 2 begins at 11:15 and ends at 11:45
3. Lunch for grades 3 -4 begins at 11:45 and ends at 12:15
4. Lunch for grades 5 - 6 begins at 12:15 and ends at 12:45
5. $3.50 for Lunch and $1.75 for breakfast.  
6. Checks should be made out to the Harwood Food Service.  
5. A comprehensive information packet will be sent home during the first few days of school.  Please take time to review the information and send necessary information back to us so that we can make adjustments and updates to our school’s files.  

Important School Links:

To our Website:   www.moretownschool.com

To our Blog: http://moretownschoolblog.blogspot.com/

Bussing: http://www.wwsu.org/bus-routes.php

Lunch Menus: Lunch Menu

School Calendar 2016 - 2017 Calendar Information

**Here are some helpful tips with helping your child(ren) get ready for the school year...

1. Talk about school starting as a positive event – not a negative.
2. Have your child help pick out their own school supplies (backpacks, lunch box, pens, pencils, etc.)
3. Visit or revisit the school grounds so that your child feels comfortable in their school environment.
4. Start tailoring your schedule now so that it matches your school schedule.  Earlier bedtimes and earlier rise times.
5. Engage your child in discussion about the upcoming school year – what are they looking forward to, what are they scared of?
6. Make sure your child knows emergency contact information.  This will help your child and you both feel more secure.
7. Take advantage of any back to school open houses, tours, or parent-teacher meetings that the school offers.
8. Familiarize yourself and your child with their teacher’s name, school room location, school office, and locker location.
9. Discuss your child’s school schedule.  When do they start, when is lunch, when does school get out?
10. If your child takes the bus, visit the bus stop and make sure your child knows what time the bus picks up.
11. If you have any specific concerns regarding your child, contact the appropriate party and make your concerns known.  This could be the teacher, school nurse, school counselor, etc.
12. Start building up their confidence by revisiting topics that they were learning last year.
13. Encourage your child to work hard this school year by setting up a study schedule and quiet area for them to work in.
14. Label your child’s belongings.  Many kids will have the same backpacks, lunch boxes, etc.  Print your child’s name, use stickers, or even use a luggage tag to help them identify their stuff.
15. Have your child’s backpack and lunch prepared the night before to help the first day of school go as smoothly as possible.  Enclose a special note with their lunch so they know you are thinking of them.
16. Make sure you enjoy these last days of summer!!!

Brief update about the 16-17 school year.

A work in progress - our new playground gazebo! 

No more driveway moon craters.. for now!  

Hello Moretown School Families,

We hope this brief note finds you well and enjoying the final weeks of summer vacation with your family. We are working hard to prepare for everyone's arrival.    Here are some brief school updates:

1.  The parking lot and driveway have been graded and the storm drains have been reset to help with water issues this coming year.  The town and school will be working together to create a long term plan and fix of the of the sidewalks, driveway and parking lot over the next year.

2.  The playhouse on the back playground is being transformed into a gazebo use by our school community.  After receiving some feedback from our end of year survey last school year - we proceeded with some renovation work on this house.  

3.  The "big kids" playground construction is on hold as we proceed with the town's zoning process and weighing whether or not the proposed site is the best option for our new play space.  There will be more information regarding this early autumn.

4.  Bus schedules are out and can be found here:   http://www.wwsu.org/bus-routes.php

We were hoping to get our  welcome letter out today, however, we are experiencing some technical issues with our new website which hosts the information you may find useful.   We are working on resolving these issues a soon as possible.  We hope to and hope to send out letter early next week.    Thanks for your patience.

If you have any questions, please contact us at the school at 496-3742.

New 16-17 School Year information coming soon... can't wait to see everyone at the end of the month!