Community Documentary Viewing: Childhood 2.0

CSD Community, The district would like to invite all parents and caregivers to join us in the Colchester Middle School Library on Wednesday, October 18 at 6:00 p.m. for a community viewing of the film  Childhood 2.0  followed by a Q&A with CSD counselors, psychologist, and administration. T his documentary is highly recommended for anyone who wants to better understand the world their children are navigating as they grow up in the digital age . Featuring actual parents and kids as well as industry-leading experts in child safety and development, this documentary dives into the real-life issues facing kids today - including cyberbullying, online predators, suicidal ideation, and more. This film includes mature themes and is given a 13+ age rating on Common Sense Media. Students are welcome to attend but they must be accompanied by a parent or guardian. Alternatively,  free childcare will be available at the viewing thanks to students from the CHS CARES Club.  Please email cori.girouxwilliams@colchestersd.org if you'd like to use the free childcare option so we can get an approximate headcount. We hope this community event will allow parents/caregivers the opportunity to talk with each other and local experts. However, we know how busy family schedules can be! If you're unable to attend our event, please know  the film is available to watch for free online .  Here is a list of additional resources related to raising children in the digital world: Article or 4-minute audio clip: So your tween wants a smartphone? Guide: A Digital Wellbeing Toolkit for Parents and Caregivers Guide: Dear Parents: A Digital Well-Being Resource from Teens to Parents Website: Waituntil8th.org   Guide: Let’s Talk About Phone Fundamentals Guide: Let’s Talk About Texting Smartphone alternatives App safety Podcast: Healthy Screen Habits ( Apple  or Spotify ) Podcast: Smart Social Podcast ( Apple  or Spotify )

Monday, Oct 02 2023

Districtwide Newsletter: The Colchester Compass

Message from the Superintendent CSD Community, Fall is my favorite time of year as we welcome back our students, faculty, and staff. We always begin a new school year with a district-wide convocation for all CSD employees. We had a full lineup of students to ignite our minds and inspire our hearts. A group of middle school choral students performed several beautiful pieces led by Music Director Daniel Leonard, high school students Dimple and Soniya shared their cultures with us through a dance performance, and high school students William and Phoebe motivated us with passionate speeches about their school experiences - highlighting the important role that we all share to ensure every student is safe, supported, and welcome in our schools. It was such a privilege to have our school year kicked off by these students and I’d like to thank them for the courage they displayed to get up on the stage. Administrators in the district continue to prioritize our commitment to academic success and the social and emotional well-being of our students. This has led to a deep analysis of our data to understand how to close gaps that have been identified in student achievement. As we better understand this data and identify trends, it is helping to shape the training we are providing to teachers to ensure students are receiving the best possible instruction. In tandem with our academic and social-emotional goals for students, we’re also continuing to assess their learning environments. The School Board has been engaging in work that will ultimately result in a bond request that Colchester voters will see on an upcoming ballot. If approved, it will fund vital renovations to many of our school buildings. We will be sure to share more information about this project as details are finalized. I’m excited for the year ahead and the work that we are doing in our district to prepare and inspire every student to succeed in school and life. This work is made possible because of the commitment of our employees and the support from the Colchester community.   Sincerely, Amy Minor Superintendent of Colchester Schools CALENDAR UPDATES Our district calendar can be found at  csdvt.org/calendar  and has important dates to mark like scheduled early release days, school closings, and family-teacher conferences. Creating Space for Holidays New this year, there are a handful of days that we will not host afternoon/evening activities or events. Our school district is a diverse community that includes families and employees with many different experiences, beliefs, and customs connected to holidays, celebrations, and other cultural traditions. Superintendents in the Champlain Valley have agreed to make every effort to not intentionally schedule events on several evenings to ensure our school community members can take part in celebrations that fall on that date. Early Release Day Change for April: Solar Eclipse! We have moved April’s scheduled early release day from Wednesday, April 10 to Monday, April 8, 2024, to ensure the safe dismissal of students during the solar eclipse.  On Monday, April 8th, the partial solar eclipse will begin at 2:14 pm and the total eclipse will occur at 3:27 pm, both of which fall right at our normal dismissal times. There are very few places in the world that will experience a total eclipse and  it is anticipated that more than 250,000 people will travel to our area of Vermont to see it!  In consultation with local authorities, representatives from NASA, and the Champlain Valley Superintendents Association, we have agreed to dismiss students early that day.  We’ll be providing instruction about the solar eclipse and viewing glasses to all students in the district as we get closer.  For more information about the eclipse visit the NASA website.  We are really excited to have our little corner of the world right in the middle of this galactic event!  SAFE SPACES Each fall, we share  information about our safety procedures  with families because we understand the importance of ensuring that our students, staff, and community members feel safe and secure in every aspect of their educational experience. Our district and local emergency service agencies are well-prepared to handle safety concerns. Our dedicated team works diligently to develop and refine safety protocols, emergency response plans, and security enhancements. We continually collaborate with local law enforcement and emergency services to ensure our readiness for any situation. Our learning communities practice mandatory safety and fire drills at each school and our school entrances are locked and secured all at the start of the school day.  Everyone in our community plays a role in creating safe learning environments, which is why the district adopted an  Adult Code of Conduct . This statement affirms our commitment to uphold and maintain an orderly, respectful, and secure educational environment for students and staff. The Code of Conduct applies to all adults (parents, guardians, step-parents, grandparents, extended family, advocates, or community members) in every school-related activity or communication.  We welcome families and community members into our schools in a variety of roles like reading to students, providing classroom support, and chaperoning events. If you plan to join one of our schools this year, please make sure you’ve completed the  CSD 2023-24 Volunteer Form . This form is mandatory and must be completed prior to coming to the school to allow time to process the background check. PARENTSQUARE TIPS Did you know you can  pick when you receive school information ?  By downloading the ParentSquare app, you can adjust your notification settings to get your school communications the way you want! Choose from email, text, or app notifications, as well as instant or digest. (Digest sends you the day's notifications once at the end of the day.) Just make sure you leave "School Alerts" on so you'll still get notifications in case of a snow day or emergency.  ParentSquare also has a  Direct Message  feature that allows 2-way communication between staff and families.  As we begin exploring how we can best use the direct messaging feature, please be mindful of the time of day that you are messaging our employees and know that an immediate response is not always doable. This feature is new to us and our teachers will let you know the best way to reach them (most still prefer email!). On that note, if you have an important message to relay like a change in end-of-the-day transportation or calling a student out sick, please continue to use the school’s standard process so the message is not missed. Generally, this means calling or emailing the front office. MAKING EVERY DAY COUNT Did you know that missing two days a month from school adds up to four weeks in a school year, which turns into having missed 1 ½ years by the time they graduate? Meet School Engagement Clinician Chelsea Lareau We care about every student, every day. In addition to revising the  Student Attendance (F30) policy  and  procedures , we also have a dedicated School Engagement Clinician (SEC) who works with families and students who struggle to attend school. Chelsea offers various ways to help students improve their attendance including on-demand support in the morning, identifying and reducing barriers to getting to school, and providing general support and encouragement. If your child or family is experiencing difficulties that affect their ability to come to school, please reach out to your school’s front office or principal for support. DISTRICT POLICY CORNER Welcome Our Newest School Board Member If you’ve attended or watched a  Colchester School Board  meeting recently, you may have noticed a new face! We are proud to introduce CHS senior, Phoebe Richardson, as this year’s student representative on the school board. Phoebe has hit the ground running and is proving to be an active spokesperson for her peers. New District-wide Equity Policy After input and feedback from students, employees, families, and experts, the Colchester School Board approved the addition of an  Equity Policy (C1)  to the district’s policy manual. This policy will serve as a guiding document and collective commitment to uphold the values of the district by providing learning environments that are safe, inclusive, and welcoming for all students. This policy is a demonstration of the district’s strong commitment to equity and inclusion, and to cherishing each member of our diverse community.  For three years, the Black Lives Matter Flag flew above each of our schools to let our students know they are welcome and safe in our community. As the flags were lowered, the ongoing equity and anti-racism efforts grew. We are focused on uplifting student leaders and student voices, providing professional development to employees, evaluating our policies and practices, improving our curriculum and instruction, and collaborating on new initiatives like the Equity Policy. There is still so much work to be done.  If you would like to know more, please contact the CSD Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Coordinator, Jamilah Vogel at  jamilah.vogel@colchestersd.org Other Important CSD Policies to Review All of the  district’s policies are listed on the School Board page of our website . While they’re all important and serve specific purposes, there are several that we encourage families to review each year.   F1 Student Conduct and Discipline F2 Prevention of Harassment, Hazing and Bullying of Students F3 Tobacco Prohibition F4 Search and Seizure F7 Threats and Disruptions to School Operations F9 Alcohol, Tobacco and Other Drug Abuse Policy F24 Weapons Policy F30 Student Attendance F37 Prevention of Sexual Harassment as Prohibited by Title IX COMMUNITY EVENT: MENTAL HEALTH SPEAKER Speaker Drew Peterson comes to Champlain College Champlain College is hosting Drew Peterson this Thursday 9/28 from 5-6 PM . Drew is a professional skier, writer, filmmaker, and advocate on a mission to change our culture surrounding mental health. Drew’s presentation aims to spread awareness about teen suicide and includes clips from his film “Ups and Downs”. This event is free, open to the public, and appropriate for all ages.  For more information, visit the event website.  SAILING AROUND THE DISTRICT Union Memorial School Mr. Antonicci put the "finishing touches" on the new mural near the main office.  It concluded a project Ms. Jewett started at the end of last year with all of the UMS students.  You can check it out the next time you visit UMS.  In the meantime, click  here  to watch Mr. Antonicci complete the masterpiece. Porters Point School Building community and belonging has been our theme this year at Porters Point School.  A new mural by Ms. Jewett, the PPS/UMS art teacher, welcomed students with the message, "You belong here" and teachers picked up on that theme with team-building activities and lessons on our school expectations.  Students did such an amazing job following our school expectations in the first week of school that they earned a whole school celebration already.  The surprise celebration was an extra recess for everyone! PreK at Malletts Bay School Preschoolers are learning the expectations of school and creating their very own classroom culture. To the students, they're having so much fun playing! Behind the scenes, our faculty guides them through the discovery of new materials, uses narration of play,  and builds upon scaffolding play and conflict in the moment.  All of this allows them to practice important skills like the schedule of the day, independence in personal care, and friendship skills. Malletts Bay School Students are learning about how to set goals as a part of our social-emotional learning (SEL) program called  Second Step . Each Wednesday students learn a new Second Step Lesson.  In addition to goal setting, students learn about emotion management, empathy and kindness, and problem solving.   SEL instruction  improves both social and academic outcomes for students.  Pictured here are Mrs. Chittenden's 5th graders, way to go! Colchester Middle School Sixth-grade STEM class learns about the properties of air pressure by using syringes to make observations after manipulating it in various ways.  Each manipulation requires them to observe what they see, feel, and hear and then record those observations.  Partner talk allows them to further their thinking about what is happening as they work to answer the question, "How does the wind move?" Colchester High School CHS is off to a great start to the year! Students and staff engaged in many community-building activities in our first week of school, from playing Laker Bingo to creating fun collages with their advisories. We also had fun making awards for the collages on display in our front lobby. If you can come to the open house, swing by to see more collages and the awards. WE ARE (STILL) HIRING We still have several positions open in the district and we encourage you to forward our job postings ( csdvt.org/jobs ) to anyone you know who may be looking to jump into this amazing school district. Our bus company, Mountain Transit, is also desperately looking for drivers. We've been able to make the routes work so far, but we really need more Colchester drivers to keep this schedule sustainable. They pay for all the classes and training leading up to the driver's test! When you  visit their site , click on the Milton, VT location since that's where our buses are based. Thanks for spreading the word!

Monday, Sep 25 2023

Back-to-School Information: Calendar, Bus Schedules,...

CSD Community,  We are in the final stretch of summer and our year-round staff is working hard to complete the final preparations to welcome our faculty and students back into classrooms! We know you're getting ready too, so we wanted to share some information that will help you get prepared for the start of the 2023-2024 school year. See you soon! Colchester School District CALENDAR AND SCHOOL HOURS The first day of school for grades K-12 is Wednesday, August 30. The first day of preschool is Tuesday, September 5. The full school year calendar is available on our website at  csdvt.org/calendar  and is updated throughout the year as needed for snow days.  BUS ROUTES AND SCHEDULES The bus routes and schedules have been posted on our website at  csdvt.org/transportation . If your student plans to ride the bus, please check the website to verify their bus number and pick-up/drop-off times.  The bus schedules are provided by Mountain Transit and do not have any significant changes to pick-up/drop-off times.  That being said, you know your neighborhood best! If you are familiar with when the bus normally goes by your house, expect it to come at about the same time this year, even if it differs slightly from the online bus schedule .   Important Notes for the 2023-2024 School Year Two of our buses will be going by  different bus numbers but the route will be exactly the same . **  MBS 11 is now MBS 3 **  PPS 2 is now PPS 11 This year we will be running  two Island buses to accommodate for the increase in ridership. A detailed route description for both Island buses is available at  csdvt.org/transportation under the CMS/CHS routes . Thanks for Showing Kindness! Please be patient for the first few weeks of school, especially the first three days.   You can expect the buses to be running slower than normal while excited families take photos or provide support to children who may have some first-day jitters! We plan to use Front Porch Forum to remind our community members of this as well. It's an adjustment for everyone when the buses get back out on the roads! SCHOOL MEALS We are thrilled to be able to provide free breakfast and lunch for  all students this year. Our Food Service Department just posted its menus if you’d like to take a look at the offerings for  August  and  September . You can also  sign up to receive the school menus in your email  each month.  As always, additional items beyond the free complete meal (such as extra milk, ala cart items, a second meal, etc…) can be purchased by prepaying through your child's  www.myschoolbucks.com  account. If you are new to the district, expect a letter in the mail soon with information on how to sign up for an account. SCHOOL-TO-HOME COMMUNICATION PARENTSQUARE This year we’re continuing to expand our use of ParentSquare - the district’s communication tool that delivered this message to your email, phone, and the app if you have it. Our goal is to streamline where information is held, regardless of what school, classroom, or team your child is connected to.  You can see all emails/posts sent to you, update your notification settings, add events to your personal calendar, sign up for family conferences, and more by using the ParentSquare app. Use these links on your phone to download the app for Apple IOS or Android . HOW TO UPDATE YOUR NOTIFICATION SETTINGS There are often two types of parents/guardians: those who  want messages from the school immediately   and those that would rather have them  consolidated into one email, once a day . We want your ParentSquare notifications to come to you when and where you want them! By default, everyone in the district has their notifications set to “ instant ” but you have the option to switch that to “ digest ” if you would rather receive a single notification of the day’s messages at 6 pm. To update your notification settings in ParentSquare, log into the app (or the website  www.parentsquare.com ). Click on “My Account” and then “Notifications”.  If you have questions about ParentSquare, feel free to reach out to communications@colchestersd.org. ANNUAL ENROLLMENT REGISTRATION FORMS A nod of gratitude to parents/guardians, school registrars, and the technology department for everyone’s help in getting over 2,100 students registered to start the year through the PowerSchool Parent Portal. These annual forms are required and the information provided is so important for us to be able to support your child and plan for general school operations. We've begun making personal phone calls to the handfuls of families at each school who still need to complete their forms. If that's you, please log into your Parent Portal as soon as you can to get them done. If you need help creating an account or resetting your password, call the helpdesk at 264-5727 or email helpdesk@colchestersd.org. 

Friday, Aug 18 2023

Hiring Event at Shaws Tomorrow!

CSD Community, Our hiring team will be outside of  Shaws Supermarket on Mountain View Drive tomorrow (Tuesday 8/8) from 8-11 am . As we gear up for the school year we are looking to fill several positions across the district. Jobs vary from full-time to part-time and even per-diem!  Most urgently, we're looking to hire: Paraeducators Food Service Workers Van Drivers Substitutes Spread the word to anyone you know who might be a good fit or swing by yourself to see what we have to offer!  A full list of openings can be found at  csdvt.org/jobs . Reach out to Lindsey, our human resources coordinator at lindsey.troescher@colchestersd.org with questions. Thanks for your support and help in getting us fully staffed. We are excited to welcome our students back in a few weeks!   Colchester School District

Monday, Aug 07 2023