Welcome to the 2021-2022 school year!
Dear Moretown Elementary School Families,
We are excited for another adventure year beginning Thursday, August 26th!
While we were hoping for a year that resembled a regular, pre-COVID year, we are excited for all that is to come and know we will all tackle challenges together. Really, there is so much exciting stuff this year, as you will read below. And during this year, we will continue our commitment to our core values of Joy, Community and Kindness!
Speaking of joy, our building is bustling right now. We have the staff coming together to help expand our kindergarten programming; setting up a new classroom and welcoming new staff members who will be joining us.
We are thrilled to share about some new staff joining the Moretown School Community. Mish Boreanaz will join the ⅚ team. Lindsey Vandal joins the ½ team. Lauren Gerber is our new kindergarten teacher. Liz Ather and Mark Gedmin are our new interventionists. Amanda Gates joins us as a preschool program aid. And while Brenda Hartshorn is not a new face to MES, she will be in a new place, front and center in the main office as our new admin assistant! Join me in welcoming these folks to the Moretown School Community.
As hinted at above, there are so many things to be excited about for the upcoming school year. We will continue to appreciate and explore our environment and all that surrounds us. MES looks forward to the expansion of our successful and community-supported Educating Children Outdoors program (A North Branch Nature Center partnered curriculum) for grades Pre K – 6! ALL of our students will spend time learning in the outdoors and about the outdoors on the beautiful land that surrounds the school. This is our 11th year in our partnership with North Branch, as we build toward being a nature based program from our youngest to oldest learners. We also celebrate our partnership with the newly formed community group Friends of ECO at Moretown School, and their support of the programming.
In the world of technology, due to the guidelines around COVID last year, we were able to match each student k-6 with a device for learning. These are learning tools, great for many learning apps like SeeSaw and google classroom, which are used across our classrooms to document, record and share important learning. Most classrooms are also now equipped with ipod touches to capture the amazing work going on indoors and outdoors. We are fortunate to have all these tools for learning.
We will be expanding our intervention model this coming school year. Our new interventionists Liz and Mark are ready to jump into our MTSS system here at Moretown School. With the addition of WIN (What I Need) blocks for all classes k-6, we have built in time for ALL students to get small group instruction that meets their needs based on assessment and data. Some groups will work in the classroom with a teacher or staff member, and others will work with Liz or Mark. Through regular check-ins the adults will be assessing and adjusting to help every student progress and feel successful.
In our continued dedication to kindness and acceptance, we will be continuing our commitment to Responsive Classroom, restorative practices, and our established practice of building strong relationships to build classroom communities. These approaches will be used proactively to build trust and connections, and will also be used in reaction to when things are more difficult. These relationships build a strong foundation, even when things get a little shaky. In building our social emotional learning we are increasing students' responsible decision making, personal responsibility, social awareness, self awareness, relationship skills, optimistic thinking, self management and goal-directed behavior. Mr. Stevenson will join us full time this year to help build our SEL program and to respond to needs around these areas.
The Neck of the Woods program continues to be an integral part of the MES community. Their after school care for school aged students (k-6) will be onsite again this year. They had a very successful summer program at MES, where fun and adventure were seen and heard all over the campus. The school-aged program, led by Moie Moulton, Katie Alexander and their excellent staff, continues to evolve and expand. If you haven’t yet, take a look at their site: https://www.neckofthewoodsvt.com.
We look forward to 3 rounds of family conferences this year. Some of you may have even had your beginning of the year conference already. While it started as a COVID practice last year, to check in with students and families before school started, we found it immensely helpful and meaningful to hear from you all as we embarked on the year. Because of this, we asked that it be part of our practice. Conferences will also take place in November and March as they have for many years past now. Those conferences will be around student goals, as they have been in the past.
As you and your family prepare for the new school year consider these steps that can be taken to insure a smooth transition at the beginning of the year:
Talk with your child about the school year to come. What is he/she looking forward to? Is there anything he/she is nervous about? What does he/she hope for in the coming year? The way you talk about school does much to shape your child’s perceptions. If you share excitement and positive thinking, it is likely that they will feel that as well. These COVID years add another dimension to this conversation, understandably, and there are so many things to be excited about!
Build your child’s confidence by revisiting all that your child accomplished last year, as well as growth and accomplishments from the summer. From learning to ride a bike, to reading, to public speaking, to understanding division, our children accomplish such growth that we sometimes take it for granted. It’s good to celebrate the accomplishments while we simultaneously offer even more challenges.
Help your child prepare by organizing a backpack for school, looking over the lunch menu for the first week, going through before and after school plans and identifying a spot and time where reading or homework can be done. Also help your child acclimate to the school schedule with earlier bedtimes and wake up times. And practice going to the bus stop to make sure you leave yourself enough time.
Label all of your child’s belongings. Many kids will have the same backpacks, lunch boxes, masks etc. Print your child’s name, use stickers, or even use a luggage tag to help them identify their stuff. Help your child to learn emergency information. This will help both you and your child feel secure.
The main office at MES is open beginning at 7:15 on school days. Our main contact number is 496-3742 if you need to reach us in the morning. The school will be open beginning at 7:20 for early morning drop off of students. Students will meet in the multi-purpose room. School begins everyday at 7:30 a.m. and dismissal is at 2:30 p.m. If your child arrives after 7:40 a.m. they are considered tardy and are required to check in at the office upon arrival to obtain a slip that will notify their teacher that they have checked in. Classrooms start their day promptly at 7:40 with most classes holding morning meetings to promote and reinforce the social curriculum. It is extremely important that each child be here on time so that he/she can participate in these activities. If your child will be absent, please complete the online absence tool, or if they are arriving after 8:15 a.m, we ask that you call us to let us know.
Drop off and pick up will look much like it did last year. We ask that students be dropped off outdoors. I will be there to greet folks. One change is that we are not requiring a morning screening to be completed, although we still ask that you make sure your child is feeling well before sending them to school. It sounds like many more students will be riding the bus to and from school. Please check the new bus numbers and routes for your stops, and know that buses will require masks and have assigned seating, two of our strongest mitigation measures to help stop the spread of illness, including COVID 19. Those families who pick up their student afterschool, please pull into the bus loop and stay in your car, and your child will be dismissed to you.
MES continues to be committed to safety and security, using the tools we have in place. Our main entrance doors will be locked everyday between 8:00-2:15. Please use the buzzer at the front door and smile for the camera. Brenda will greet you and ask the reason for your visit. We are excited to start to bring families, volunteers and visitors back into the building and learning spaces. Note that we will proceed slowly, starting this fall with only limited instances. Note that in order to volunteer or spend time in the building family members must be vaccinated against the COVID virus, show proof of vaccination and wear a mask.
Many of our systems and routines will look a lot like last year. Classrooms will be set up with distancing measures in mind, masks will be worn inside and outdoors to start off the year, and continued handwashing throughout the day will be practiced by students and adults.
Student meals are all free again this year. Ms. Jeannie will return as our food service hero, serving up breakfasts and lunches for students every day. We will be using our cafeteria for lunch times this year, with distancing measures taken while students are not wearing masks. We also are exploring outdoor eating options. To find out more about local ingredients, payment options and, of course, the awesome Bobat Cafe menu, check out the food service website food.huusd.org
I will continue to send out information to parents via Swift Reach every week. Please take a moment to read through the post as it will be information important to know. This information will also be posted online in the weekly Moretown School blog (linked here). These emails contain important news and or other community information relevant to Moretown families. You will need to subscribe to the blog using your email address. In addition to the blog, you can now follow Moretown School on Twitter @MoretownSchool and Instagram @moretownschoolvt. For families without internet access, we are happy to send out these communications in an alternate format upon request.
An important first day packet will go home the first day of school. This packet will include a copy of this letter, a school photo order form, a free and reduced lunch form, a school calendar, a menu and other important forms. Some forms that we used to send will now be part of the online registration, i.e.Health orms, a Field Trip form and a Photo Release form. . Please take the time to review the information contained in the packet and send back the required forms to school as soon as possible. Also, please complete the online registration as soon as possible. When the links are live and ready, you will receive an email from HUUSD with directions to update your child’s registration information.
Our handbook provides additional information regarding our school procedures and expectations. It is accessible via our school’s website www.moretown.org or by clicking here. Speaking of our website, I am continuing to update the website, please be patient as we get it current.
I am excited to have the kids walk in that first day. I look forward to working with students, staff and families to ensure success for every MES student.
Sincerely,
Mandy Couturier
Principal
Moretown Elementary School
