School News:
shares, "Hi everyone! I’m Seth Beard, and I am so excited to take over as the PE teacher while Ally is on maternity leave! I’m currently a junior at UVM where I was on the track and field team, and studying physical education with a minor in coaching. I grew up in the Valley, graduating from Moretown Elementary in 2012, and Harwood Union In 2018. I started working with kids in high school, at MECA after school and summer camp, so some of your kids may already be familiar with me. I can’t wait to meet so many new people, and see what the rest of this school year brings!" PTO News
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.
PARENT EDUCATION TUESDAY WORKSHOPS VIA ZOOM!
March 9th, 6:30-8:00 pm ~ March Meltdowns! How to help parents cope and tips to support infants and toddlers before, during and after meltdowns! It is the end of winter and everything is a challenge! You can meet the challenge!
March 16th, 6:30-8:00 pm ~ March Meltdowns Continued! How to help parents cope and tips to support preschool-aged children before, during and after meltdowns! Sometimes these years can be more challenging than infancy and toddlerhood – let us help each other out with information and sharing!
April 6th, 6:30-8:00 pm ~ Parental Resilience. Parental resilience is the ability to cope and bounce back from all types of challenges. Parents are continually managing different amounts of stress in their daily lives. A chance to share challenges and come up with tips for improving coping skills.
April 13th, 6:30-8:00 pm ~ Parental Resilience Continued. In this session participants will continue to explore different ways to improve resilience including finding joy, spending more time on self-care, and building connections.
May 4th, 6:30-8:00 ~ May Movement for Infants and Toddlers! A focus on developmental milestones in the arena of movement for infants and toddlers. So much happens for our wee ones! Learn how to support their efforts!
May 11th, 6:30-8:00 pm ~ May Movement for Preschoolers! A focus on developmental milestones in the arena of movement for children ages 3-5. Even though they have mastered basic skills, they are still learning and growing in their bodies and need our support!
Email Dori at dorio@fcwcvt.org for more information, and to receive the Zoom links for classes!
Each time you attend a training your name will be entered into a drawing for the door prize to be announced at the end May!
Everyone Eats and Share MRV Free Healthy Meals Free meals are available to anyone in the community who has been impacted in any way by the pandemic. Not only will you get a delicious meal, but you are helping your local economy by supporting a valley restaurant and its employees. Come to the Big Picture Theater and grab a meal for you and your neighbor on Saturdays 11-1:00.
For more information, call 8802-505-9149 or send an email to ShareMRA @gmail.com.
She's the First Harwood Union High School "She’s the First" group is running a raffle to raise money to send girls to school who are the first in their families to attend high school in Ethiopia and Uganda. We have gathered prizes from many local restaurants and businesses including Mad River Taste Place, Tucker Hill Inn, Vermont North Ski Shop, Sweet Spot, Waterbury Sports and many more! Tickets are $5, or a book of 5 for $20. To purchase a ticket, please email shesthefirsthu@gmail.com with your name, email, phone number, mailing address, and preferred method of payment. Payment can be accepted through Paypal (shesthefirsthu@gmail.com) or Venmo (@shesthefirsthu). Cash and checks (payable to She’s the First Harwood Union) can be mailed to Kate Stauss at Harwood Union High School, 458 VT RTE 100 Moretown, VT 05660. The raffle drawing will be over Zoom on March 8th (International Women’s Day), along with a showing of a short film, Brave Girl Rising. An email with the zoom link will be sent to you after you purchase a ticket (you do not need to be present to win a prize). Please email krush2021@huusd.org if you have any questions. Help us support this important cause!
2021 Spring Lacrosse Registration @ www.
Early Registration at www.madriverlax.com is highly recommended as teams often fill to capacity. Player space is open on a first-come, first-serve basis. Team assignments will be provided by March 10, 2020. Mad River Youth Lacrosse encourages athletes who might play other spring sports to also play lacrosse. http://www.mrvrd.org/2020/04/
Spring Soccer Registration Registration is open! We are hopeful that soccer will be able to happen in some form, but as with everything during this pandemic we may all have to be flexible with any changes that may occur. Registration fee is $130 until midnight Wednesday February 10th, after that the fee will be $150 IF there is a spot available in your child's age group. If there is not a spot, you may register and you will be put on a waiting list (you will not be charged unless a spot opens up for your player). Link to register is HERE.
General information: Practice: Twice a week (general schedule, may be altered according to needs of coach and team schedule).
All subject to change based on guidance from the VT Governor and Vermont Soccer Association regarding COVID-19 regulations.
U10 Girls– Mad River Park on Tu/Th, U10 Boys– Mad River Park on Mo/We
U12 Girls– Mad River Park on Mo/Wed, U12 Boys– Mad River Park on Tu/Th
U14 Girls– Mad River Park on Tu/Th U14 Boys– Mad River Park on Mo/We
Games: MRVSA spring travel teams play games all over central Vermont and occasionally in more distant locations such as Rutland and Derby. Most games are within an hour’s travel. Games begin the first weekend in May and end in mid-June. Games are generally on Sunday afternoons, but there may also be a couple of Friday evening games and a Saturday game. During some weekends there will be two games..
Scholarships considered upon request. Please email registrar.mrvsa@gmail.
Public Input Needed on Scrag Mtn Town Forest Trails The Waitsfield Conservation Commission is seeking input from Valley residents and visitors on their experiences and hopes for recreational trails on the 750-acre Scrag Mountain Town Forest. There are two near-term opportunities to weigh in:
- Attend a virtual public forum on Monday, February 1st from 7:30-8:30 pm via Zoom - https://tnc.zoom.us/j/
94557295475; - Complete a brief online survey at https://www.surveymonkey.
com/r/W7V3PHT by 5:00 pm on Friday, February 12th.
Please share your perspective on this important community asset! For further information, contact Conservation Commission Chair Phil Huffman at phil@madriver.com or trail consultant Mariah Keagy at mariah@sinuosity.net.
MVR Libraries offerings
- Greek Mythology Trivia Night, Thursday, February 18th, 7pm, Register HERE. Join the MRV Libraries for another fun virtual trivia night! By popular request, it is time to test your knowledge of gods and goddesses, creatures and monsters, and the places where these ancient stories play out. A big thanks to Ms. Hopper’s 5/6 class at Moretown Elementary for creating the questions for this game. Register by noon on the 18th to receive the meeting login information to play along.
- Adventure, Play, Peace: Being Outdoors Together, Sundays, March 7th & 28th, 4pm (In person meeting outside TBD) Register HERE
- Young children are mud pie makers, fort builders and rock stackers. That is, they’re scientists, artists, mathematicians, and engineers learning about the world around them. Join the MRV Libraries and Four Winds Nature Institute to explore nurturing your young learners by being outside together. We’ll be reading the book "Adventure, Play, Peace" by Nancy MacPhee Bower and sharing strategies for creating peaceful family communities that foster children’s curiosity, compassion and confidence.
School Board Updates
2-10-21 Board Meeting Recap
TITLE: HUUSD Board supports name change for Thatcher Brook Primary School
The HUUSD School Board met remotely on Wednesday, February 10. Much of the meeting was devoted to discussion about changing the name of Thatcher Brook Primary School.
A brief history: When Waterbury and Duxbury merged school districts, about 25 years ago, Waterbury Elementary School was renamed Thatcher Brook Primary School. The selection of a name from a nearby body of water reflected the community’s interest in welcoming and including students from both towns. Recently, it came to light that Partridge Thatcher -- the namesake of the Thatcher Brook -- was a slaveholder. In 1749, he purchased two enslaved children, Jacob and Dinah, ages 10 and 11, who were married several years later; their 10 children were all enslaved by Thatcher. While Thatcher freed one of these children in 1773, and Jacob and Dinah in 1781, his remaining slaves were not freed until his death in 1786.
Over the last school year, the School Board has begun to engage in anti-racism work -- learning more about what this concept means and what role school boards have in dismantling institutional racism in our schools. Reconsideration of Thatcher Brook Primary School’s name is one of several areas the Board intends to explore in the coming months and years.
Regarding the matter of renaming Thatcher Brook Primary School, the Board received a number of letters and phone calls from community members in the last few weeks and heard public comment at several meetings on the topic. During this week’s meeting, Board members reflected on the need to change the name as well as an inclusive process for doing so. After a lengthy discussion, the Board unanimously passed the following resolution: The HUUSD Board supports changing the name of Thatcher Brook Primary School to further our mission to create a welcoming and inclusive environment and will determine a process, that includes community members and students, to identify a new name.
Over the next several meetings (likely February 17, March 10, March 24), the Board will begin to develop the process that will be used to identify a new name for the school. While the details still need to be finalized, it is clear from Board discussion that the process will involve students, staff, and community members and will take time to complete -- perhaps even a year or so.
As always, the Board welcomes feedback from our community. One of the easiest ways to share your thoughts is to send an email to cen-huusdboard@huusd.org, which will go to every Board member. There is also time at every Board meeting for public comment. Alternately, reach out to one of your neighbors who is on the school board and share your thoughts in a personal email or phone call (see a list of Board members and contact information at https://docs.google.com/document/d/12bzeVf75bYYP01HvJA0FhigQU1vVqycVJfoXg-PIhEs/edit)
