Moretown School Update February 10

2nd grade writers in action..  

Check out our updated

 Library Web Blog 

for students to access information at home

http://moretownschoollibrary.blogspot.com/2016/11/library-resources.html

 

Message from the Health Office...  

A Cold or Flu?  Please take care

The Vermont Department of Health is reporting widespread influenza (flu) activity in all areas of the state.  Flu can be a serious illness, especially for the very young and very old. If you have not been vaccinated, it is not too late!  Ask your healthcare provider for a flu vaccine, or get vaccinated at the local pharmacy.  Vaccine is also available, by appointment, at no charge for children up through age 18 at the Health Department office in Barre.

 

How to tell if it is a COLD or the FLU:

·       If you have a stuffy nose, sneezing, sore throat and a hacking cough; you probably have a COLD

·       If you have a high fever, severe headache, muscle and body aches, extreme tiredness, and a dry cough; you probably have the FLU

Follow these simple precautions to help keep illness from spreading:

·       Wash your hands often, especially after you cough or sneeze.

·       Avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth.

·       Cover your mouth and nose with a tissue or inner arm when coughing or sneezing.

·       Don’t share drinks or water bottles.

·       Stay home from school or work if you are sick.

If your child has a temperature of 100F or greater, please keep them home.  Children need to be fever free for 24 hours without the use of medication in order to return to school.  If your child has vomited in the previous 24 hours, please keep them at home as well. Even if your child meets the above criteria to return, please keep them home if they are not well enough to participate comfortably in school related activities. Thank you for helping us ALL keep healthy.

Please refer to these resources for additional information:

Vermont Department of Health

What to do about the flu?
















Parking Lot/Driveway Concerns

We have heard your concerns about our driveway, parking lot area and sidewalks with regards to potholes, water/ice issues and overall safety issues.    This past Wednesday, the town's road crew spent some time working on the driveway and parking lot area to address some of these concerns. Please note that until the spring when the roadway has thawed, some of the issues cannot be addressed.   The driveway and adjacent parking lot were prepared for the winter season as best as possible this past fall, but there is only so much we can do given its overall state.

As the parking lot and adjacent driveways are a shared responsible between the school and town, we are in the process of developing a memorandum of understanding for both short term and long term maintenance and overall renovation of the entire area.   We are hopeful that this plan will ultimately address all of these areas.    The town has applied for and received a series of grants that support the start of this work.  We will keep our school community updated on this work.  We are aware that this has been and continues to be an issue for our school and town community.   As with most public work projects, there are many complexities involved with both the planning and completion of such tasks.   We thank you for your patience and continued feedback.

Washington West participates in a Study 

 The Washington West Supervisory Union is undertaking an effort to improve the effectiveness of services for struggling students both with and without special needs. The effort is part of a group study, sponsored and funded, in part, by the Vermont Agency of Education. The District Management Council (DMC), a Boston-based group of researchers and practitioners led by Nate Levenson, will be conducting and collaborating with WWSU on this project.  Ten supervisory unions and supervisory districts throughout Vermont were selected to participate in this study.

DMC will share the results and recommendations that come from this study by the end of this school year.  This will allow administration to take a comprehensive look at our general and special education system and identify areas for improvement that have been effective and supported by a strong research base.  The DMC will share generalized findings from the ten districts with the Agency of Education and other school districts across the state.  

Our specific goals and outcomes for this project include:  1) To create the strongest possible educational system so that all children can succeed and receive early intervention; 2) To create research-based, aligned, and consistent infra-structure to support students experiencing a wide array of mental health and behavioral challenges; 3) To create the strongest continuum of support within general and special education to meet the needs of all of our students.

Donarae Dawson, Director of Student Services for the school district and is spearheading this study  states,  “While we are proud of the quality of services provided to students with disabilities and the hard work of our general and special education staff who help all children achieve at high levels, we are continuously seeking ways to further increase student learning opportunities and outcomes.

Please contact Donarae Dawson at the WWSU office if you would like to provide input or have questions. She can be reached at 496-2272 x 113.

https://vtdigger.org/2016/11/29/school-systems-set-for-study-of-special-education-costs-quality/

Feruary 14	Moretown Winter Sports Day - This is our final winter sports day this school year.
February 15	NAEP testing for fourth grade
February 22	HUUSD Board Meeting Harwood Union Library 6pm
February 27- March 8	School Break *Pre-Town Meeting March 6 *Town Meeting March 7

 Mark your calendars:  

     Music Concert date - May 17th, 2017, beginning at 6:00

     Art Show date - June 1, 2017, beginning at 6:00 

Community Announcements

Please note that the opportunities/events listed below are not specifically endorsed or screened by school staff; as always, families should use their own standards and review processes to determine appropriate activities.

Open Mic and Poetry Slam, Friday, February 10th, 7-10pm.  Moretown Town Hall

Join us for the first of a monthly series at the Town Hall until June.  Bring your singing voice, instruments, band or simply your love of music and enjoy a winter evening together.

Valentine's Coloring and Card Making Open House, Saturday, February 11th, 10am-1pm

Stop in the library to celebrate the holiday of love with some coloring and card making!  We will have light refreshments, basic supplies and coloring pages available, or feel free to bring your own to finish.

Kombucha and Kefir: Making Fermented Beverages, Sunday, February 19, 4pm.  Moretown School

Unfortunately, not everyone loves sauerkraut, kimchi and their fermented cousins, but we are all learning about the importance of live cultures in our diets. Kombucha and kefir are delicious, as well as fun and easy to make without special equipment. In this class, we'll explore the stages and ingredients in these live cultured and fermented beverages and have an opportunity to sample the finished products. This workshop is free with suggested donation, however you must register to attend by emailing moretownlibrary@gmail.com or calling 496-9728.

Parenting Class-"Guiding Good Choices", focusing on children ages 9-14, 5 week workshop series, March 15 - April 12, 6:00-8:00pm, at Waitsfield School.  This parenting class is free and will cover topics such as: understanding the adolescent brain, risk factors; setting clear guidelines and following through with positive and negative consequences; preparing kids to respond to peer influence, refusal skills; conflict management, controlling and expressing anger constructively; and strengthening family bonds and increasing children's participation. Space is limited, pre-registration is required.  Childcare will be provided with reservations.  For more information and to reserve a spot, call Ann Gilbert at 802-223-4949 or email info@cvndc.org.

High Fives Foundation FAT Ski-A-Thon, Sunday, March 5th, Sugarbush Lincoln Peak, 8am-3pm, open to all ages.  Pledge forms may be picked up here at school if your child is interested. For more information, call Suzie Lowe or Jessie Murphy at VT North Ski Shop(583-2511).

Everybody Wins Read-A-Thon, February 11, 1-3:30pm, National Life Cafeteria.  This is a free family event with music by the Swing Peepers, cookies & milk, prizes from Bear Pond Books, and every child chooses a free book to take home! For more information call 802-339-2665 or email beth@everybodywinsvermont.org.

Mad River Valley Youth Lacrosse is now open for registration for the spring 2017 season.  Girls and Boys in grades 3 - 6 are eligible to play.  Practice is typically 2 days a week with games on weekends.  Cost is $75 for grades 3/4 and $100 for 5/6 plus a mandatory $25 US Lacrosse fee.  Scholarships and loaner equipment are available, so don't let that keep you from trying out the fastest game on two feet!  You can register at  http://madriverlax.org/  or email Steve Andrews at sandrewsmrv@gmail.com if you have any questions.

Mad River Valley Little League – Youth baseball for Boys and Girls 5-12 years old. Since 1960, the Mad River Valley Little League has been teaching the game of baseball to Mad River Valley kids. The league has 4 different levels of play:

T-Ball for 5-6 year olds, Farm League (coach pitch) for 7-8 year olds, American League (minors) for 9-10 year olds, and National League (majors) for 11-12 year olds. The T-ball and Farm leagues use a T-ball, which is softer to prevent injury.
There is some flexibility, depending on skill level, to ‘play up’ to older leagues.  The season runs from April 29^th (practice starts earlier) until mid-June.  All Star teams (optional) run later into the summer for the American and National Leagues.

-Registration is open now @ www.madriverbaseball.com
-In person registration night: Thursday, March 9^th 6:30PM @ Waitsfield Elementary School.
-Skills assessment (for team placement on American & National leagues) Saturday April 8^th at the SHARC.  For more info, contact: Logan Cooke at logancooke@me.com or Mike Fiaschetti mikef@madriver.com

Spring Offerings by Eddie Merma - Sculpture School is now enrolling for spring 2017. We offer hands-on, building-based education programs for kids ages 5-14 in the MRV. Spring programs include: Soapbox Derby, Parent learning programs, Sculpture in Spanish for 5-7 year olds, and Play House Design/Build. For more information visit: www.sculptureschoolvt.com or contact Eddie Merma at eddie@sculptureschoolvt.com or 630-269-0143

Free Income Tax preparation and filing for households with income of up to $54,000 is available through Capstone Community Action by IRS trained and certified tax preparation volunteers at locations in Barre, Morrisville, Northfield, Randolph, Bradford, Corinth, South Royalton, and Waitsfield through April 15th.  Call for specific locations and times through Capstone’s tax line, 477-5148, or drop-in.  Schedule and what you need to bring with you is available at   http://www.capstonevt.org/community-economic-development/tax-preparation-program
        Tax preparation in Waitsfield begins today at Evergreen Place and will be offered on Tuesdays from  1-4:30 and by appointment only on Wednesday evenings from 5-8 through the week of April 10th.  For appointments in Waitsfield or for more information, call 496-6900.  This service is available to anyone meeting the income requirements, it is not just for seniors..
       Want to prepare and file your own taxes?  Go to:  www.myfreetaxes.com  No charge for those earning $64,000 or less, and a sliding scale fee for those who earn more.