Moretown School Update, January 26, 2018

Moretown's afterschool book group
Reading is Fun!  

The HUUSD Board has approved a first year unified district budget for the public to vote on March 7th, 2017 via Australian Ballot.  We will be hosting an informational session on the evening of March 6th at 6pm in the Harwood High School Auditorium to provide more detail on this budget and address your questions.  In the meantime, we wanted to provide you with a high-level introduction.  

The budget represents an increase in expenditures of 3.2%, which includes an allowance for ongoing collective bargaining, establishment of a prudent maintenance reserve for our 7 buildings, and strategic investments in a new middle school science curriculum and a bus to boost enrollment from neighboring choice districts.  This budget, with the tax incentives realized through our unanimous vote to consolidate all WWSU schools, impacts our Estimated Equalized Homestead Tax Rates as follows:

                         

Duxbury -5.3%      

Fayston   -6.8%  

Moretown -8.9%     

Waitsfield    -4.1%        

Warren     +0.7%

Waterbury    -5.8%  

Budget development began this past October with our review of a Level Service Budget that merged our 7 existing budgets.  The board discussed the desire to tackle discrepancies in opportunity, eliminate waste and enhance our programming.  Over three months, the board discovered some significant differences between our schools, our resources and our expectations and the complexities of evaluating equity across our schools.  We considered several reductions and increases to the Level Service Budget.

At the conclusion of this process, the HUUSD Board decided that staffing changes required further study and deliberation to avoid undue risk to such priorities as community trust, equity and enrollment.  Identification of efficiencies will be a primary focus in the upcoming budget year.

While not directly impacting budgets, the HUUSD Board has also taken two immediate actions to enhance learning, equity of opportunity and flexibility for families.  We have asked the administration to develop a plan for foreign language resources to be pooled and leveraged across all elementary schools to maximize language learning and equity, and we decided to move forward with school choice in our first year of operation based upon the level of community interest and our capacity to allow for this movement.  

We would greatly appreciate your support of our work and the budget we have developed for our first year operating as a unified district. The proposed HUUSD budget is posted on the WWSU website for your review.  Please do not hesitate to reach out to any and all HUUSD Board Directors with your questions or comments.  Further, we encourage your attendance and participation in any of our regularly scheduled meetings on the 2nd and 4th Wednesdays of each month.  

Contact information for all Board Directors and budget information is posted at www.wwsu.org.

JUMP ROPE FOR HEART

A friendly reminder for anyone fundraising for the American Heart Association through Jump Rope for Heart, fundraising packets are due to Miss Ally by Wednesday, January 31st. We will be performing a jump rope show during an assembly in lieu of an "event." 

Please direct any further questions to Miss Ally (abataille@wwsu.org)  . 

Moretown Pre-Schoolers
Snowshoed twice this month..
way to go...  hopefully the iee
goes away soon.  

CALENDAR UPDATE

January/ Feb

January 2018
NOTE	Moretown’s annual seed sale information can be found in the blog.  Help the PTN continue to support our school programs.
January  30	#3  Winter Sports Program begins at Sugarbush.  (Program begins after lunch)
January 31	Progress Reports to be sent home Please note that our format has changed.  We are in the process of making adjustments and needed improvements for the end of year report date. Thanks for your patience and understanding.

Smiles at Lunch 

Smiles when ending the week with
warm feet!  

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.

Registration is now open for the 2018 Spring Lacrosse Season! Go to www.madriverlax.com to register!  Mad River Valley Youth Lacrosse is a nonprofit, developmental organization and is committed to providing a positive, team-oriented athletic experience.  Teams will be fielded for girls and boys in three separate age levels including U11 (3-4 grade), U13 (5-6 grade) and U15 (7-8 grade).  Equipment will be provided for U11 players as supplies allow.  We will also offer a Sunday morning program for U9 (1-2 grade) boys and girls that we call “Chill Lax.”   First timers are welcome at every level.

Trying to Get Through To Our Children  Andrew Donofrio will incorporate real-life stories and examples from both his extensive law enforcement career working with youth and technology crime, as well as his experience as a parent and step-parent as he works to give parents a better understanding of the issues facing our children:  drug and alcohol abuse, vaping, the impact of technology (digital distraction), bullying, risky behavior, exposure to adult material, distracted driving and others. Armed with the knowledge of what children face today, this program will provide effective methods of communication through an in-depth understanding of how children receive information and what motivates them to want to apply it.The workshop will take place January 29th, 6:30pm, at Harwood Union.  This presentation is for ADULTS only- ALL parents/caregivers are welcome.

Fifth and Sixth Grade Dance  January 26th, 7-9pm, at the Warren School.  The admission fee is $3.  You may also bring money for snack.

Girl Scout Information Session January 31st, at Waitsfield School Library, 6:00-7:00pm.  This session is for girls and their parents/caregivers.  Girls will get a chance to experience their first Girl Scout meeting and earn a patch while parents/guardians learn more about Girl Scouts.  No pre-registraion is required.  If you have questions or need more information, please call 1-888-474-9686.

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 May5th (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  For more info, contact:   Mike Fiaschetti mikef@madriver.com

The Gift of Anxiety and Depression Prevention: Skills We can and Should Be Teaching Our Children    Lynn Lyons will be at the Fayston Elementary School onThursday,  Feb 1, 5:30-7:30, to address strategies that work and ones that don't, offering her perspective on managing and preventing anxiety from taking over children and their families such as: 1)What adults can do to both prevent anxiety from becoming so powerful and help children manage it when it does show up? 2) What is the connection between anxiety and depression? 3) Why are breathing, relaxation, and distraction strategies sometimes ineffective? 4) What do we do when an anxious child is falling apart? 5) How can parents, schools, and outside providers work together more effectively?  For more information call the Fayston School at 496-3636 or emailBarbara@hannahshousevt.org

Softball League The Mad River Valley Little league is considering adding a Youth Softball League to our organization. If you have a girl between the ages of 7 and 12 years old that would be interested in joining a fun, organized and high-quality softball league, please take the time to complete the following linked survey. The survey response will help us better understand potential enrollment in the program prior to investing the money it takes to add this offering to our league.For any questions, please feel free to reach out to Mike Nagle at mikenagle23@comcast.net. Survey Link: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/VWTMMKX

Theater Camp and Performance Opportunity for Young Actors  The Skinner Barn in Waitsfield will offer training and performance opportunities for young actors this summer, with a return of their popular musical theater camp, and also the opportunity to land featured roles in their upcoming July production of the musical ‘Gypsy’. Broadway veteran Peter Boynton will lead a musical theater camp for young actors, 6 to 12 years of age, from Monday, June 18 through Friday, June 22. He will be joined by theater pros Michael Halloran, as music director, and Taryn Noelle as movement instructor. The camp hours will be from 9 AM until 1 PM and the tuition is $250 per student. Additionally, six featured roles, (three girls and three boys ages 6-12 years old), will be cast locally for the July production of Gypsy, with rehearsals starting the last week of June, and performances running from July 18 through 29. The production will be co-directed by Mr. Boynton and fellow Broadway veteran, Nick Corley and will be a tremendous opportunity to gain professional stage experience for these young actors. The directors will be looking for strong singers who move well, and though stage experience is a plus, it not a prerequisite. Auditions will be held in the spring and parents and their young actors interested in this opportunity should contact Peter Boynton at info@theskinnerbarn.com.
More information about our summer camp and theater offerings can be found at www.theskinnerbarn.com