Wrapping up the last full week

School News:

Thank you!!
Here is a big THANK YOU from us to you!



Step UP 
I heard from most of the teachers today about their fun step up activities with grades 1-6.  Even in this time of uncertainly and weird, it is awesome to have great things to look forward to. 


Parade!
Here is a draft of the parade route.  The times listed are on the early end.  We plan to end at the BIG PICTURE by 8:15ish.

Moretown Elementary School

Parade Route

June 8, 2020

5:45 Begin to gather at Harwood Union Circle

6:00 Leave Harwood, go over Duxbury hills (Rte. 100) toward Waterbury

6:10 Turn right onto Cobb Hill (lower section only), turn left onto Fairground Rd, right onto Rte 2

6:15 Right into Gallagher Acres, circle around to Middle Rd., right back onto Rte 2

6:25  Continue on Rte 2, past Red Hen, turn right onto Rte100B

         Left onto River Rd, continue to intersection of Jones Brook Rd.

6:40 Turn around at intersection of River Rd/Jones Brook Rd., back track back to Rte 100B, left onto 100B

6:50 Turn left on Common Rd, continue to intersection of Howes Rd

6:58  Left onto Howes, continue to intersection of Howes/Moretown Mtn. Rd.

7:00 Turn right onto Moretown Mtn. Rd, continue to intersection of Common Rd.

7:03 Turn right onto Common Rd., continue on Common Rd back to Rte 100B

7:18  Turn left onto Rte 100B, continue towards village

7:26  Moretown Village, continue on 100 to Waitsfield

7:35  Arrive at Big Picture

Staffing News

• Our Technology Coordinator Keith Puffer will be leaving us at the end of the year.  We will miss his knowledge, problem solving and wish him luck in his future ventures.

PTO News

Thank you MES PTO for helping make this happen!!

Please help the Moretown Elementary School 6th Graders with their Graduation Celebration!  The PTO in conjunction with the 6th grade team is raising money to help fund the purchase of large photographs of each graduate along with funding for a viewing of the class slideshow at the Big Picture Drive-in,  in Waitsfield, VT.   Thank you so much for your support!

Sincerely

Terry Hopper, Mandy Couturier, and Diana Puffer

Link to Fundraiser Page: Click here!

Community News/Opportunities

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.

The Bridge Over Troubled Waters Project      Dr. Richard Katzman, a Waterbury community member, Bridgeside Books owner Hiata Defeo, HUUSD Principal Tom Drake and CBMS Librarian Jen Hill are excited to announce the launch of a new program for kids of all ages in the Harwood Unified Union School District.  The Bridge Over Troubled Waters Project will begin on June 15th and culminate as 2020 draws to a close with the publication of student writing and art.  Young people attending private, public or home school are invited and encouraged to participate.

The theme of the project is “How we act and feel in difficult times.” It is about challenge and resilience, success and failure, courage and despair.  Students will have a chance to read a book that relates to this theme in some way, then to create reflections from their reading and their own experience.  Prose, poetry and art work are all welcome.  Fiction or nonfiction, books from home, from a selection available at or special ordered by Bridgeside Books at no cost to participants (and for them to keep), or borrowed from a library, are all fine.

    Bridgeside Books will have available the following selection for the project.  If your child is interested in a different book, we can get it for you, usually in less than a week.
             For older readers
Another Brooklyn by Jacqueline Woodson - looking back on childhood
Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson - novel and graphic about finding your voice
Book Thief by Markus Zusak - in Nazi Germany find comfort in words
Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini - family and friendship in Afghanistan
The Call of the Wild by Jack London - courage and survival in Alaska
The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck - hard times in the Dust Bowl

               For middle readers
Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand (young adult version) - true survival plane crash
Long Walk to Water by Linda Sue Park - true story enduring hardships
Boy Who Harnessed the Wind by William Kamkwamba - true enterprising teen
Hatchet by Gary Paulsen - survive alone in the wilderness
El Deafo by Cece Bell - graphic memoir living with deafness
Out of My Mind by Sharon Draper - growing up a brilliant mind trapped in a body
Insignificant Events in the Life of a Cactus by Dusti Bowling - sarcasm, struggle
Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacueline Woodson - a poem memoir of childhood

           For younger readers
The Day you Begin by Jacqueline Woodson - power of your voice and friendship
The Dot by Peter Reynolds - discover talent
Tomorrow I'll be Brave by Jessica Hische - fantastic journey with opportunities
Jabari Jumps by Gaia Cornwall - courage to take a big important leap

Student submissions will be due by September 1st; details on how to submit will be sent to you in August.  HUUSD faculty will review the collection before formatting the efforts of participating writers and artists into a publication which will include the work of elementary, middle and high school students and which we hope to have available for the holidays by November 1st. 

  If you are interested in participating, even if you do not need a book from us, please click here and fill out this form by June 15th.  We plan to have books ready to distribute to everyone by July 1st.  Dr. Katzman can be reached at 802.793.3661 or rkatzman@uvm.edu if you have questions, or contact Bridgeside Books at info@bridgesidebooks.com.  Details on book distribution will go out to participants the last week of June.


 

Farmers to Families Food Box Program The Vermont Foodbank is thrilled to announce the Farmers to Families Food Box Program. We will be partnering with The Abbey Group, the State Emergency Operations Center, and the Vermont National Guard to distribute boxes packed with fresh, nutritious food to people in need from May 15^th through the end of June, with the possibility to continue beyond that.

 

The Abbey Group will provide boxes of chicken, produce, and dairy products for the distributions held by the Vermont National Guard throughout the state. They will provide enough food at each distribution to serve 1000 households.  For the first several distributions, they will also provide non-perishable food boxes from FEMA. Distributions are currently scheduled through the rest of May in Berlin, Peru, Middlebury, Thetford, Morristown, Burlington, Brattleboro, Swanton, and Lyndonville.

 

We need your help promoting locally! Please click here to see the full schedule and help us spread the word to anyone who could use this assistance. We would prefer that you direct people to that link for the most up to date distribution details as this is a new program and details are emerging as we speak. This will ensure that everyone has access to the most accurate information possible.

TDI@Home 2020— now an on-line summer camp!Summer camp/academic program for advanced and gifted students entering grades 4-9.  Now on-line, to be held M-F for two weeks: June 22-26 and June 29-July 3. Morning and/or afternoon options for one or both weeks; cost is $220 per morning or afternoon session.   On-line classes—including Minecraft Circuitry, Myth-Making, Eggstronauts,  Young Curators, Applied Programming, Writing and Laughing—nurture students' creativity and their love of learning. Campers have a virtual blast learning alongside other smart kids.  Go to  http://www.tdivermont.org/registration for more information. REGISTRATION DUE JUNE 8.

Virtual Girl Scout Programs: The Green and White Mountain Girl Scout organization is fortunate to be able to continue offering programs to girls and volunteers virtually for an at home enrichment experience. Free information sessions to explore the programs are held on Mondays at 3pm and Wednesdays at 6pm. To register visit: bit.ly/GSGWMVirutalopenhouse. For further information contact customer care at 888-474-9686 or customercare@girlscoutsgwm.org

School Board Update
Budget Vote

SUBJECT: Ballots available for absentee voting in June 16th election

Vermont law requires that school boards get budget approval from the district’s voters. The failure of the proposed school budget at Town Meeting Day means that the Board must put forth a new budget for consideration by voters. 

On Tuesday, June 16th, town clerks will be operating our community’s first election under COVID guidelines. Voters are strongly urged to call or email their town offices to request and use absentee ballots, although in-person voting will be available in each of the towns that day. Absentee ballots are mailed to voters and then returned to town clerks by the day of the election -- whether they are mailed or dropped off. For in-person voting, polling hours and locations have shifted in some towns; all towns will set up structures designed to minimize person-to-person contact. 

The budget before voters is $20,000 less than that presented at Town Meeting Day, however it is based on a series of both temporary and long-term cuts to our current configuration, not on changes to grades or location of students in schools. This proposed budget would increase total expenditures in the district by 3% -- quite a bit less than the nearly 5% average seen across the state. However, because revenues will also increase next year, the actual cost to taxpayers (the “Education Spending”) will be less than this past year by about $100,000. The state’s complicated funding formula means this may still result in a slight property tax increase -- averaging a little less than 3% across the district’s six towns.

The school board has put together extensive information for voters to review and consider, including more about the costs in the budget, the decision-making process, the election, and how to get in touch with town clerks. Click here to find out more or copy this URL in your browser: https://tinyurl.com/y7ffmp75