Moretown School Update May 9, 2017

MORETOWN LIVING CAFE PROJECT CLOSE TO COMPLETION 

 

The Moretown Living Cafe project is close to completion.   Our student team and their community partners (Green Mountain Coffee engineer team, Gary -the Moretown Painter - Butler, The Moretown PTN, Trout in the Classroom biologist Shawn Nailor, and our wonderful maintenance man Greg Wagner) are close to completing the project we started in Winter 2016.   The student team will present their project on Friday at the Cabot School to an audience of peers, teachers, professionals and officials at the Annual Vermont Rural Partnership conference.  The students are excited about their successes and have learned from their challenges during our process.   Still to come:  the release of our adopted Brook Trout (thanks CBMS) into the Mad River, the final coats of paint on our pallets, the completion of the treadmill and bike STEM fan units. and the planting of the seeds into our walled garden.  Come on in to our cafe and take a look... we are proud of what we did.  

Before

After 

LETTER FROM WASHINGTON WEST 

Dear WWSU Parents:

I am writing to make you aware of a new policy that our HUUSD Board adopted on 3/9/17.  F33-L Intra-District Choice, K-8, will allow students in grades K-8 to attend any of the schools in the Harwood Unified Union School District (Crossett Brook Middle School, Fayston Elementary School, Harwood Union Middle School, Moretown Elementary School, Thatcher Brook Primary School, Waitsfield Elementary School, Warren Elementary School) beginning in the Fall of 2017, regardless of your town of residence within the supervisory union.

Our merger under Act 46, where we operate all of our schools under one budget, makes intra-district choice possible without financial penalty to the taxpayers, unlike the previous laws around residency.  We hope the flexibility that we are now able to provide in these years of ongoing declining enrollment state-wide will attract and retain as many families as possible PK-12 to our communities.

Our earlier survey clearly indicates most families intend to continue having their students attend their resident school.  Please review the policyabout Intra-District School Choice here. If you plan to make a change for your child for Fall 2017 from your resident school to another HUUSD school, you need to do two things:

1. Contact the building principal in the school you want your child to attend in the fall as soon as possible, but not later than June 21, 2017, so we can adequately prepare.  Phone numbers for the principals can be found here.  (Scroll down to the bottom of page for school contacts)

2.  Complete this form and submit it to the Principal at the school you want your child to attend in 2017-18.  (You can also find the form on our Home page at www.wwsu.org.)

Bus transportation shall be made available where possible but is not guaranteed.

If you have any questions, please feel free to give me a call - 802-496-2272, ext. 114.

Best Regards,

Brigid Nease, Superintendent

CALENDAR UPDATE

May  2017

May 4	Moretown School Board Meeting 6:00pm Moretown Library
May 10	HUUSD School Board Meeting Harwood Union Library 6:00 pm For more information go to wwsu.org.
May 12	Moretown School goes skating Sponsored by the Moretown PTN Students need helmets for this event.  Please let us know if you need assistance getting a helmet.
May 25-26	6th Grade Class Trip

Upcoming events:  :  

1. Our annual Art Show will be held on June 1st.  

2.  Our annual Music Concert will be held on June 7th.  

Please note:  The ECO fundraising committee will host their annual BBQ on this day as well.

More information to come…

3.  The last day of student day for the 16-17 school is June 16th.  

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.

“Does Privacy Matter In Our Country Today?”  A Community Socrates Café! Waterbury Public Library Wednesday May 10, 6:30- 8:00  PM      A Socrates Café is an opportunity for dialogue about timeless and timely questions that all human beings deal with in their lives. Rather than being a debate or a discussion, a Socrates Café is a dialogue where participants are encouraged to listen to each other and to learn from one another. This form of discourse- and its focus on the search for knowledge- comes from Socrates, who observed that, "Wisdom Begins in Wonder." These gatherings are open to all members of the community, regardless of age, experience or background. Harwood students who are experienced in leading Socratic Dialogues will facilitate the discussions.
          Community members of all ages are invited, and refreshments will be provided.  For questions and more information, please  contact Katherine Cadwell,  Harwood Union  High School faculty member a, katherinewcadwell@gmail.com or Judi Byron at the Waterbury Library, judi@waterburypubliclibrary.com, 244-7036

Mad River Park Fields Update  The Mad River Park fundraising committee is still raising funds for the purchase of the Mad River Park fields. We are currently $27,000 away from achieving our fundraising goal. Donations are tax-deductible! You can donate online through Vermont Land Trust's website: https://donatenow.networkforgood.org/VLTDonate Please be sure to designate Mad River Park Fields as the special purpose (at the bottom of the online form). Facebook users can keep up to date with the Mad River Park recreation fields and other recreational opportunities in the Valley at the Mad River Valley Recreation District Facebook page:https://www.facebook.com/MRVRD1/
Thank you for your support!

 Harwood’s Interact Club  sponsoring the Water.org 6K Race to raise funds for Water.org. Water.org is a nonprofit organization combating the global water crisis issue. They help educate people about the necessity of sanitation, build wells with local community members, and teach the community how to maintain the wells.  Join  the Water.org 6K Race Saturday, May 6th. There will also be 1K and 3K options for children. The race is being held at Harwood Union High School on the cross country trails. Registration opens at 8:30am and closes at 9:45.  The  race will start at 10am.  Registration fees:  $25 per adult, $15 per student (ages 8-18). Because this is a student-run and led event, we will not be able to take credit cards.  Only cash and checks will be accepted.  Hope to see you there! For more information feel free to contact Madeline Strasser at mstrasser2017@wwsu.org, Emma Cosgrove atecosgrove2017@wwsu.org, or our faculty advisor, Ellen Berrings, ateberrings@wwsu.org or 882-1167.

Concert for Canines, A benefit for Therapy Dogs of Vermont, featuring Harwood's own Scared By Dolls, May 5th, 7-9pm, at Harwood Union Auditorium, tickets sold at the door, $5/adult, $2 student.

Circus Smirkus is looking for homestay families for the nights of July 4th,5th and 6th. Families who host will earn one free ticket to the Circus per night of hosting (so they can earn 3 free tickets this way)! It's a fun way for families to connect with the performers (the Circus performers are ages 11-18). Homestay families help drive the performers who are staying in their home to Kenyon's in the morning and pick them up in the evenings, and provide breakfast and dinner meals when the performers are at their home. Families who are interested in finding out more should contact Grace Emelett at grace.emelett@yahoo.com.

Chill Lax!!  Noncompetitive learn to play for boys and girls ages 6-9.  Sundays 10-11 am at Mad River Park in Waitsfield, April 30 - June 11. Register at madriverlax.org or just show up on Sunday to check it out! Equipment is provided but please feel free to bring your own.Contact Mary Simmons - Bear@gmavt.net

3v3 HOCKEY SUMMER LEAGUE Players from all organizations welcome!
Cool down this summer at Harwood Youth Hockey's 3v3 Hockey League.Games played half-ice with refs and time keeper. SPACE IS LIMITED.Download a registration form at harwoodhockey.org and mail in by May 25th to guarantee jersey size.6 Week Session @ The Ice Center, Waterbury, VT
Tuesdays, June 27th, July 11th – Aug 8th
U8/Mite (birth years ’09&’10) – 5:00-5:50PM
U10/Squirt (birth years’07&’08) – 6:00-6:50PM
U12/PeeWee (birth years’05&’06) – 7:00-7:50PM
U14/Bantam (birth years’03&’04) – 8:00-8:50PM
$140/Player    $70/Goalie   (jersey included)College Admissions Panel Presentation: Join us to develop an understanding of the college admission process, THURSDAY, MAY 11TH, 6-7:30PM HARWOOD UNION SCHOOL. Please RSVP so we can arrange suitable seating. If you have questions, submit them along with your RSVP. The Panel will do their best to address submitted questions. Admissions representatives from the following institutions will be in attendance: Champlain College, Middlebury College, Saint Michael's College, and The University of Vermont.The information presented will cover: Admission Process, Application Review, Supporting Documents including: transcripts, school profile, letters of recommendation, portfolios, and test scores as well as submitted questions and answers. You may RSVP by sending an email to wgilbert@wwsu.org or calling 802-882-1101.