School News:
Bag lunch order: Ms. Jeannie will be doing a lunch count for Friday earlier in the week.
- The Last day of this school year is June 11.
- This will be an early release day.
- Students will be dismissed at 11:40.
- They will eat lunch here.
- Step up day
- Rising first through 6th graders will have a step up time on Monday June 7 in the morning.
- Step up time will be outdoors for students to meet their new teacher and classmates.
- Step up for rising 7th graders will be Monday June 7 from 9:20 to 11:40. A
- bus will transport students to HUMS and then back to MES.
- Rising Kindergarten students are having a chance to meet Mrs. Dow, but will not have an organized step up time as preK students are here on all different days.
- Rising first through 6th graders will have a step up time on Monday June 7 in the morning.
- Placement Letters for classroom assignments will travel home with you preK-4th grade students on Friday June 4th.
HUUSD is pleased to announce that beginning fall 2021, we will be running new, improved bus routes. Taking advantage of opportunities afforded by being one district, we are able to run consolidated routes that will shorten student time on buses, separate elementary school students from traveling with middle and high school students and reduce or eliminate the long wait times some of our students have at the beginning or end of the school day. We believe these new routes will ease congestion and support increased ridership.
Improvements achieved through the new routes:
Wait times at all schools reduced to an anticipated maximum of 10 minutes for students arriving before school starts, or waiting to get on a bus after school is dismissed.
Separates middle and high school students from elementary students on buses.
Ensures all students arrive at school before school officially begins.
Allows for a slightly later start for our older students while maintaining the earlier arrival for younger students, supporting parents/guardians getting to work.
Keeps school day length relatively consistent across the HUUSD.
Adds intradistrict choice transportation to CBMS from the Valley.
Reduces time on buses for ALL students.
Continues transportation for students attending the technical center.
Look for detailed bus routes to be shared in the near future.
ECO this week
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| An ECO Fairy planted some daffodils at the ECO camps... what a lovely surprise as they sprouted and bloomed earlier this month!!! |
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.
The Renaming Team at Thatcher Brook is pleased to announce that the ballot is ready! The team, made up of 15 students and staff from TBPS, has reviewed, discussed and weighed the nearly 250 nominations received from community members across all six HUUSD towns. The three finalists on the ballot are:
Brookside Primary School - This name honors the multiple brooks that run throughout both Waterbury and Duxbury and the significance of water in our community.
Winding Brooks Primary School - This name honors the multiple brooks that run throughout both Waterbury and Duxbury and the significance of water in our community.
River of Light Primary School - This name honors the significance and presence of water in our community and also references the lantern parade which represents light, art and hope.
Voting, by electronic survey at the link below, will be open from 8:00 am on Tuesday, June 1st and close at 5:00 pm on Saturday, June 5th. One vote per community member is permitted. We look forward to bringing the results forward to the HUUSD School Board meeting on June 9th or June 26th for a final vote by the Board. Thank you for engaging in this exciting and important process!
The Link to the online ballot is here: https://forms.gle/
Renaming Team
Sarah Schoolcraft, Assistant Principal
JoAnne Smith, grades 1/2 Teacher
Rachael Burns, grades 1/2 Teacher
Sally Kulis, grade 1 HURA Teacher/TBPS Interventionist
Anne Hutchinson, grades 3/4 Teacher
MK Monley, Art Teacher
Willa Hudson, grade 4 Student
Gia Gendimenico, grade 4 Student
Tomas Wulff, grade 4 Student
Vivienne Boyle, grade 4 Student
Grayson Eley, grade 4 Student
Emaline Dubois, grade 3 Student
Addison Manley, grade 3 Student
Sam Phillips, grade 3 Student
Isla Allardyce, grade 3 Student
A Year of Its Own: A Mad River Valley Pandemic Story Project
The Mad River Valley Libraries are seeking submissions of prose, poetry, art, and photography for a collection of stories of life in the Mad River Valley during the COVID-19 pandemic. Whatever your age, background, or creative ability, you've got a unique perspective to share! So why not write a mini-memoir, take a photograph, or create a poem or drawing to express yourself? Submissions will be compiled into a publication that will be distributed within the community.
To submit your work, complete this entry form: https://forms.gle/
Then email your submission to mrvpandemicstories@gmail.com. Written submissions should be 1,000 words or fewer, and should be submitted as a Google Doc or MS Word document. Photos and artwork should be submitted as .jpg or .png files. Hard copies of artwork may be dropped off at your favorite MRV library. Submissions are due by July 1, 2021.
Need some support to get the creative juices flowing? We are hosting Writer's Workshops for children and adults on Saturday, June 13th. Visit the Moretown Library website for more details.
Location: Waitsfield Elementary Dates: Monday 6/14 - Friday 6/18 (first week of summer vacation) Ages : 5-12
Camp Hours: 8 am - 2:30 pm : $45/day, $225/week After care: 2:30-5:00 pm: $15/day, $75/week
Our goal is to have as much fun in as possible in one week!
Some of our fun Activities: - camp fire building -water balloons - slime -obstacle courses - tie-dye t-shirts - river exploration -dance parties - daytime camp-out - water squirting games -outdoor survival - ice cream sundae bar -science experiments - scavenger hunt All covid guidelines and safety precautions will be followed closely! Activities will be planned to meet the interests of the individual group.
Email Andreea at OHASKprogram@gmail.com to sign up! In your message please include if you need after care.
2021 Harwood Girls Basketball Camps 6/21-6/25 Grades 2-5 Girls 8:00 a.m.-11:00 a.m., 6/21-6/25 Grades 6-9 Girls 11:00 a.m.-2:00 p.m. (use August 2021 grade for registration.) Harwood Union gym. Early registration (before May 30) $125.00 per camper. The fee after May 30th is $150.00, Register here. Contact tyoung@huusd.org or 224-6693(c) with questions.
School Board Updates
5/26/21 Board meeting recap
The HUUSD Board met remotely via Zoom on Wednesday May 26.
Most of the meeting centered around the 7th and 8th grade merger. By an overwhelming majority, the Board affirmed its earlier decision to bring all of the district’s 7th and 8th graders together at Crossett Brook Middle School, contingent on the passage of a bond. The board will ask voters to approve the funds for an addition to Crossett Brook as part of the bond for Harwood Union High School that is expected to be presented this coming November. The permanent addition at CBMS will accommodate an additional 7th and 8th grade team.
Resolving the middle school plans allows the Board to move forward with bond planning for the Harwood campus. For many years, there has been a clear and defined need for significant repairs and upgrades at Harwood. While the building has been well maintained, most of it is over 50 years old, well past the expected life span of many of its components and systems. In addition to the repairs, there are proposed renovations to help move the building from the industrial era model of 50 years ago to one that is well-suited for a 21st century education.
Consolidating 7th and 8th graders at the CBMS campus will create much needed space at Harwood -- for enlarged and appropriately sized science labs, collaborative teaching spaces, gathering spaces for students and staff, a pre-vo-tech program and other innovations. Harwood Community Learning Center students will be able to return to the main building and the district’s Central Office can also be relocated to Harwood.
At CBMS, a small addition will allow each core team of students to have their own team space as well as provide office and work space for all of the building’s staff. All of the district’s 7th and 8th graders will have equal access to the campus’s many playing fields and recreational spaces, outdoor educational features, climbing gym, dedicated middle school library, maker space, and applied academics programs. The Board made this decision after researching options, collecting community feedback in a survey (results can be found at http://tinyurl.com/HUUSDCBMS), and deliberating at the Board table.
There are a number of reports and presentations available on these topics at the Board’s website, https://huusd.org/prek-12-bond-plan. The Board will continue to finalize plans for the bond in the coming months and work to share them thoroughly with the community prior to election day in November.
In other matters, the Board:
Voted to hear from the high school principals in executive session (at a future meeting) regarding a matter of employee discipline;
Reviewed a draft flag policy that is still in development;
Discussed a possible conflict of interest; and
Heard an update on contract negotiations.
As always, the Board welcomes community feedback. Emails sent to cen-huusdboard@huusd.org 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.
The Board will have its next regular meeting, remotely, on Wednesday June 9th at 6PM. Find links to agendas and meetings at huusd.org. Zoom link for meetings is here.
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