Welcome to the 2022-2023 school year!
Dear Moretown Elementary School Families,
We are excited for another amazing school year beginning Monday, August 29th!
We are kicking off this year with some solid connection activities that truly speak to our core values. We invited all families to join us for an ice cream social on the rec field Wednesday August 24. It was a chance to visit, connect, kick off a wonderful year and enjoy some creamsicles and snowcones. Additionally, we have back-to-school conferences scheduled for Thursday August 25. This is a way for your child(ren) to meet their new (or known) teacher, connect and prepare. These are just two exciting things to look forward to, before school even officially starts! 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 connect with colleagues, plan and prepare for this amazing school year, and welcome new staff members who will be joining us.
We are thrilled to share about some new staff joining the Moretown School Community. Phil Stolz will join us as the school nurse. He is not new to school nursing or to the district, but he is new to us and we are excited to have him. Sarah Thompson and Natessa Cournoyer are our new 1st/2nd grade team this year. They have both done much work to set up amazing spaces for learning. We also have two new instructional assistants; Tracy Abbott and Laura Hennessy who we are thrilled to have join us. We also will soon have new folks join us as classroom assistants in preK. Stay tuned. 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. Our new superintendent, Dr. Mike Leichliter kicked off teacher inservice this week with positive messages, reminding us all how awesome our schools are for students. Some pretty amazing things happen in the HUUSD Schools, and Moretown is an amazing place to learn and grow.
Relationships will be a guiding principle this year. Our staff started our time together this week investing in relationships with colleagues. Our first contact with students, during before-school conferences, will be focused around connection and relationships. In our continued dedication to kindness and acceptance, we will be continuing our commitment to Responsive Classroom, restorative practices, and our established routines of building strong relationships to create classroom communities. These approaches will be used proactively to establish trust, and will also be used in response to when things are more difficult. 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 again this year to help build our SEL program and to respond to needs around these areas. Additionally, we have Emily Taylor returning as our student support specialist. She will work with students to build social and emotional skills and practices, respond to trouble spots and work on school teams.
We will continue to appreciate and explore our environment and all that surrounds us. We are so fortunate to have the Moretown Forest right out our back door, providing us wonderful outdoor spots to learn. MES is grateful to continue 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 12th 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.
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 welcome Phil Stolz as our new school nurse at Moretown. He will join us at a time that feels a little more “normal.” Phil will be our resident expert on all things health related, please reach out to him with health concerns or needs. While COVID 19 is still present in our community, we all hope it will become less and less impactful on our everyday lives. We will work together to keep you updated on anything you need to know.
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 are they looking forward to? Is there anything they are nervous about? What do they hope for in the coming year? Validate their feelings and encourage risk taking and connection. 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.
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, making a new friend or connection, 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, 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 7:25 a.m. and dismissal is at 2:25 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. This is time dedicated to social connection and building classroom communities. It is extremely important that each child be here on time so that they can participate in these activities. If your child will be absent or tardy, please complete the online absence tool. Additionally, please update plans in Pick Up Patrol if students will be absent or dismissed early. Thank you for your cooperation with this, as it helps exponentially.
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. Morning greeting duty is a fantastic way for me to connect with students and start in a positive way! 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. 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. Pick up Patrol is an important tool for us to make sure every student heads in the correct direction when leaving at the end of the day. Please take a moment to set up the default plans for your child(ren). These can be changed at any time, but are incredibly important to have complete the first day of school.
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 bring families, volunteers and visitors back into the building and learning spaces. Masks will continue to be optional in the school.
Student meals are all free again this year. We do ask folks to fill out the free and reduced lunch paperwork regardless, as it is helpful for a multitude of reasons. Please see the letter and packet in first day folders. Ms. Jeannie will return as our food service hero, serving up breakfasts and lunches for students every day. 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 the Bobcat Bulletin 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 can even 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 on 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 forms, 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, if you have not already. 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. 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 on that first day. I look forward to working with and forging relationships with students, staff and families to ensure success for every MES student.
Sincerely,
Mandy Couturier
Principal
Moretown Elementary School
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