• Last Call for Food Donations!

    CSD Community, Time is winding down to donate food to the district’s Giving Thanks Food Drive.  If you're headed out to do some grocery shopping this weekend and have the means to pick up an item or two for a family in need, we would be very grateful. While holiday items are appreciated , we’d also like to encourage donations of everyday items like pasta, cereal, peanut butter, baby food, soups, apple sauce, etc..  Food donations can be sent in with students/dropped off at school until next Wednesday (11/16) . Organized by students in the CHS CARES Club, this food drive is the largest district-wide event of the year!  The donated food items get delivered to families right in our district who could use a little extra help stocking their pantries.   "Thank you so much for the food boxes. They literally showed up with huge boxes of food, a platter for the turkey, and a pan to cook it in. But the best part was the tons of other stuff and it was food the kids actually like. I've been so stressed about not having school lunches for the week [of Thanksgiving] and can now just have the week to relax."  - CSD Parent Your generosity makes a difference. Thank you so much for supporting your neighbors, classmates, and community. Colchester School District

    Friday, Nov 11 2022

  • REMINDER: Webinar Tonight

    CSD Community & Caregiver Night Our next Community & Caregiver Night will give attendees the opportunity to meet Jamilah Vogel, the CSD's diversity, equity and inclusion coordinator. Join us using the link below this evening,  Wednesday, November 9 at 6:30  to learn what a DEI coordinator does and why so many Vermont schools are hiring equity leaders. We will also explore some common understandings about what equity in education looks like, why it is important, and what some of the common frameworks are for identifying priorities. Finally, Jamilah will share some exciting initiatives that are underway to improve our district's inclusive practices. There will be an opportunity for Q&A . Community & Caregiver Night Webinar Link :  https://us06web.zoom.us/j/81053447394?pwd=UFc1a3FueXBvS3h5ZWJtcUJTOUpnUT09 ID: 810 5344 7394 PASSCODE: Colchester

    Wednesday, Nov 09 2022

  • Reminder: Emergency Notification Test on Wednesday

    CSD Community, The district will conduct a routine test of our emergency notification system on Wednesday, November 9th at 6:00 pm . This test will contact each parent/guardian with a phone call, text message, and email using the primary contact information we have on file. The district is committed to providing factual and timely information in the event of an emergency or school closure and uses a program called ParentSquare to communicate with families simultaneously via phone, text, and email. Most commonly, this system is used to announce a school closure in the event of poor weather conditions. Decisions about weather-related school closures will be made as early as possible, typically before 6:00 a.m. This notification system is also used to contact families in the event of a school-hours emergency. If you would like to update or change your contact information in advance of this test or if you do not receive a call/email/text during the test and feel you should have, please contact the front office at the school your child attends to review your information. You can also verify the information we have on file by checking your ParentSquare account. Thank you, Colchester School District

    Monday, Nov 07 2022

  • CSD News and Updates from the Superintendent: Novemb...

    CSD NEWS AND UPDATES FROM THE SUPERINTENDENT CSD Community,  I would like to thank our families for partnering with us to support the district's early release days. CSD has four early release days annually and they provide our educators the opportunity to engage in professional learning to strengthen our practices. Our Prek-5 teachers and support staff will spend the year learning about Universal Design for Learning (UDL). UDL is an educational framework based on research that improves and optimizes teaching and learning for all people based on scientific insights into how humans learn. UDL can be applied to any content area and research shows that it increases student engagement and participation in a meaningful way. We will highlight the work of the other buildings in an upcoming newsletter. Be well, Amy Minor Superintendent of Schools Upcoming Dates OCTOBER DECEMBER November 1: School Board Meeting November 1 - 16:  Giving Thanks Food Drive November 8:  Vermont General Election Normal School Day November 9:  Community & Caregiver Night - Meet Our DEI Coordinator November 15:  School Board Meeting November 21-25: No School for Students December 7:  Early Release Day K-5 Released at 12:45 6-12 Released at 12:00 December 23 - January 2:  No School for Students Classroom Closures - We Need Substitute Teachers! We are in desperate need of folks willing to be substitute teachers. Like many districts, Colchester is facing a substitute teacher shortage, especially at our middle school.   As we enter cold and flu season, we are becoming increasingly concerned about the impact that reduced daily staffing numbers will have on our ability to safely operate our school buildings and supervise students. It is becoming more of a reality that as a last resort, we may need to temporarily close a classroom or shift a schedule if we are unable to find substitute teachers on any given day. If you are able to help our district by becoming a substitute teacher, even if it’s sporadically or a few days a month, please let us know.  Details on how to apply are below. Here’s what Karen has to say about being a substitute in the Colchester School District. “When the time came to go back to work after taking 6 years off to raise my three children, I found that subbing was a great fit. I worked when I wanted or when I could. I never had the guilt or stress of staying home when my kids were sick. When it comes to teaching our children, it truly does “Take a Village!”  and substitutes play a huge part in that process. Consider becoming a substitute for CSD.  You get to decide the school, the grade, and the days you want to work. And our kids need you!” How to Become a Substitute Our substitute teachers make $120 a day and get to choose when they work. If you enjoy working with kids and are looking for a way to help our community, this is it! For more information about the program, hiring process, and application, visit  csdvt.org/sub  or contact HR Coordinator, Kelsey Sadewicz, at  kelsey.sadewicz@colchestersd.org  or 264-5976.  Emergency Notification Test Wednesday, November 9 at 6:00 pm The district is committed to providing factual and timely information in the event of an emergency or school closure and uses a program called ParentSquare to communicate with families simultaneously via phone, text, and email. Most commonly, this system is used to announce a school closure in the event of poor weather conditions. Decisions about weather-related school closures will be made as early as possible, typically before 6:00 a.m. This notification system is also used to contact families in the event of a school-hours emergency. The district will conduct a routine test of our emergency notification system on Wednesday, November 9th at 6:00 pm . This test will contact each parent/guardian with a phone call, text message, and email using the primary contact information we have on file.   If you would like to update or change your contact information in advance of this test or if you do not receive a call/email/text during the test and feel you should have, please contact the front office at the school your child attends to review your information. You can also verify the information we have on file by checking your ParentSquare account. Giving Thanks Food Drive Members of the CHS CARES club sorting food donations from CSD families. Today kicks off the district’s Giving Thanks Food Drive. Organized by students in the CHS CARES club, this food drive is the largest district-wide event of the year! The donated food items get delivered to families right in our district who could use a little extra help stocking their pantries. In addition to dishes that you might find on a holiday table, we’d also like to encourage more everyday items like pasta, cereal, peanut butter, baby food, soups, apple sauce, etc.. Thank you so much for supporting your neighbors, classmates, and community.  Food donations can be sent in with students/dropped off at any school building  or at our Central Office (located at 59 Rathe Rd) until November 16th. "I have had to reduce my work hours so I can be home to take care of 3 kids. This has affected my work hours and my weekly paycheck.  Donations through the Thanksgiving food baskets are really helpful and go a long way for helping to feed a family with growing children.” - CSD Parent. "Thank you so much for the food boxes. They literally showed up with huge boxes of food, a platter for the turkey, and a pan to cook it in. But the best part was the tons of other stuff and it was food the kids actually like. I've been so stressed about not having school lunches for the week [of Thanksgiving] and can now just have the week to relax." - CSD Parent Community & Caregiver Night Meet Our DEI Coordinator Our next Community & Caregiver Night will give attendees the opportunity to meet Jamilah Vogel, the CSD's diversity, equity and inclusion coordinator. Join us using the link below on  Wednesday, November 9 at 6:30  to learn what a DEI coordinator does and why so many Vermont schools are hiring equity leaders. We will also explore some common understandings about what equity in education looks like, why it is important, and what some of the common frameworks are for identifying priorities. Finally, Jamilah will share some exciting initiatives that are underway to improve our district's inclusive practices. There will be an opportunity for Q&A. Community & Caregiver Night Webinar Link: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/81053447394?pwd=UFc1a3FueXBvS3h5ZWJtcUJTOUpnUT09 Opportunity for Parent Input Regarding Special Education Services Developing and revising a child’s IEP includes parent input throughout the process. Historically, parental input has been included via the Parental Input Section located within the IEP.  New this year,  we will also be collecting parental input via the Parent Input Form (Form #12) with a statement referring to the Form within the IEP document. If you’d like to learn more about this or to access the form, visit the  student support page of our website  and click on parent resources, or contact your child’s case manager directly. CSD Multicultural Calendar and Observances The Colchester School District is proud to have students, families and employees from different ba ckgrounds and cultures. We share these dates as a resource and opportunity to talk within your family about the variety of cultures, traditions, and religions that exist within our community. NOVEMBER National Adoption Month & Native American Heritage Month Oct 31 - Nov 2  Dia De Los Muertos Nov 11  Veterans Day Nov 13  World Kindness Day Nov 20  Transgender Day of Remembrance Nov 25  Thanksgiving  Nov 25  National Day of Mourning  (an Indigenous People’s Alternative to Thanksgiving) See something missing? If there is an observance or holiday that does not appear here, please contact CSD District Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Coordinator, Jamilah Vogel, at  jamilah.vogel@colchestersd.org . 

    Tuesday, Nov 01 2022