Last Friday we were walking from the school district's offices in Shelburne across the parking lot to the new Shelburne town library. We were going there to hang flyers for the upcoming Community Budget Meeting on October 7th. (7:00 pm, CVU room 160!) The Pierson Library just completed an entire rebuild and it opened a week ago. It's a beautiful building.
As we got closer to the library, we spotted a teacher from the Shelburne Community School, Vasanthi Meyette, along with a group of 6th grade students. They were painting on the pavement in front of the new library's front door! Here's the story that Vasanthi shared about what was underway:
We met Kristen from the Winooski Natural Resources Conservation District last year during our Ecosystems/Water Quality Unit. She came to talk about runoff/storm water and the pollution from our daily lives and it’s affect on our local waterways. This fall Rethink Runoff sponsored a storm drain mural art contest with the Stream Team. The murals were to be painted in Shelburne! We decided to enter. Students worked alone or in partnerships, explored the Rethink Runoff website, and looked at other storm drain murals. They got inspired and drew some amazing designs and came up with many catchy slogans. We eagerly awaited the news about our designs. Finally, we found out that our designs had not been chosen, BUT, one of the artists whose design was chosen needed at least 50 community members to participate in painting her design! Kristen thought of my 6th graders. Julie Holmes, the artist, is a former SCS parent and now a CCS parent. She graciously connected with us and invited us to collaborate on the mural. She visited us earlier in the week so that we could talk about design, her vision and practice painting water drops. Today was the highlight when we actually got to leave our mark! We are so lucky that it is at the library for all to see and for students to show their families!
After that, we talked with Kristen to hear more about this and the partnership between the Winooski Natural Resource Conservation District and the Department of Public Works. We found out that another mural was being painted outside of the Shelburne Country Store practically across the street. We went over there and found two CVU students hard at work on a beautiful fall day. Heatheranne Lee also won the contest and her friend Muriel Spell was helping her paint the design.
We are thrilled to see students from CVSD contributing artistically and making a difference in our communities. Go to Shelburne to see the finished products!
Vermont author, Ann Braden, came to visit and work with Charlotte 5th and 6th graders yesterday. She highlighted her process of writing and collecting ideas for her stories. She helped the students analyze the strengths and obstacles the main character, Zoey, experienced. She then gave each student an individual octopus temporary tattoo to remind them to always look for their own internal strengths and the strengths of others.
From her website: Ann's debut middle grade novel The Benefits of Being an Octopus was listed as one of NPR’s Best Books of 2018, received a starred review from School Library Journal, and was described by Newbery award-winner Karen Hesse as “a compassionate look at poverty, hard choices, and defending one’s right to be treated humanely.”
We thank Ann for visiting the Charlotte Central School and for inspiring students in many ways.
Michael Kellogg, a third and fourth grade teacher at the Williston Central School, has taken storytelling to a new level. He and his students discovered the power of gathering and telling their own stories. He has branched out into the community to inspire others to share their stories. Along the way, Michael and his students have learned about resilience, healing, and empathy.
Michael was recently featured in an article in Seven Days. This piece tells more about his work in Williston and how it's expanded to enrich the larger community on many levels. An event at the Black Box Theater in Burlington last weekend was one powerful piece of this work.
Thank you, Michael, for sharing your story with us and for your work with Williston students.
The directors and staff of the Champlain Valley School District Child Nutrition Program would like to welcome you back to another exciting school year. We’ve been working hard over the summer to make some changes to our Food Service Program that we think you’ll like.
Our four separate K – 8 food service programs have been consolidated into a single, c ohesive system. We are dedicated to serving nutritious, balanced, fresh meals that your child will love! Our philosophy is that children will make good food choices when presented with a variety of attractive, wholesome options in pleasant surroundings.
We follow the USDA guidelines for a healthy meal which emphasize whole grains, fruits, vegetables, and low- fat dairy products with limits on sodium, saturated fats, trans fat and calories.
Here are the changes you and your child will see this fall:
The Hinesburg, Charlotte, Williston Central, Allen Brook, and Shelburne Schools will now be offering a consistent daily lunch offering. The menu is posted on the district website as well as linked to your school newsletter
The online menu contains nutritional and allergen information for the daily specials. Our K- 8 schools will continue to offer other food choices your child currently enjoys, such as our salad bars. We will be adding these items to the website during the year.
Consistent with our wellness initiative we will be removing some less nutrient dense a la carte items from our K- 4 student lunch options. Schools which currently offer these “smart snacks” will continue to do so for middle school students only, emphasizing to them the value in making healthy choices.
What can you do to help? If your child already participates in the school meal program, thank you! Please let us know if you like the changes. If you are not a regular customer, give school lunches a try! The higher the rate of participation, the more resources we have to purchase and offer high quality foods.
If you have questions or comments, reach out to your local food service director or district COO Jeanne Jensen at jjensen@cvsdvt.org.
After many months of planning and a summer of reading, for some, the first CVSD Common Read culminated in the Celebration Day last Thursday. Over 1300 students, representing all of the district's 4th, 6th, 8th, and 9th graders participated in a day of connecting, collaborating, expanding, and building empathy around the theme of social justice. The day was a great success!
As the students arrived they all went into the gym at CVU to sit by grade. That was the first opportunity for the 4th, 6th, and 8th grade students to mix with peers from other schools. Jeff Evans, CVSD's Director of Learning and Innovation, welcomed everyone and then Libby, a 6th grader from Hinesburg, introduced the keynote speaker. Here's an excerpt from her introduction:
When I first heard about the Common Read I was unsure why we were doing any of this. After reading A Good Kind of Trouble I realized that understanding social justice is important, and that we are all very lucky to have this experience. “Social justice means equal rights, opportunity, and treatment for all.” Reading Preaching to the Chickens, Ghost Boys, A Good Kind of Trouble, and March: Book One allowed us to understand some major social justice issues, both past and present.
When I read A Good Kind Of Trouble I felt that I was in the story. The story was relatable, yet informative at the same time. Lisa Moore Ramée made you realize that Shayla, or better known as Shay, is a normal 12 year old girl, and she makes Shay feel like a girl you have known your whole life. A Good Kind of Trouble shows how a young girl comes to understand the Black Lives Matter movement and why the fight for social justice is so important. Through Shay’s journey I too was able to start understanding these important matters. Through Lisa Moore Ramée writing, I, and so many others, have been able to learn and grow in our understanding of Major issues facing our country.
Lisa Moore Ramée engaged the audience with stories about her own childhood and as a reader. She spoke about the process of writing books and engaging with her readers. And she spoke about how we care for and treat others, alike or different. This quote stood out for a number of students:
“When making new friends, find those with the same values, not necessarily those that look like you.”
After the keynote, students were divided into groups by grade level, but mixed by school, about 10 groups for each grade. There was quite a bit of coordination to get everyone into their group with the adults who would be their guide for the day, but it worked. At this point, about half of the group (650 students!) stayed in the gym to learn about the art project, and the other half went to workshops.
The 4th and 6th grade groups attended workshops facilitated by representatives from the Clemmons Family Farm in Charlotte and two groups had the honor of working with the keynote, Lisa Moore Ramée. All of the sessions had a connection to the theme of social justice. As we visited each room, we witnessed singing, storytelling, writing, artistry, and more.
The 8th and 9th grade groups went to the auditorium where the following things took place:
Student Leaders from CVU's Racial Alliance Committee presented on bias, prejudice, and stereotypes; and they worked to promote room for growth, opportunity, and social well-being in the CVSD community by bringing race to participants' awareness.
CVU Librarian Christina Deeley led a session on examining social justice through photographs, focusing on Teaching Tolerance's four-level equity lens of identity, diversity, justice, and action.
CVU Librarian Peter Langella led a text protocol based on an excerpt from Samira Ahmed's Internment, again focusing on identity, diversity, justice, and action.
While this was happening for half of the whole group, the balance were introduced to a massive collaborative art project, led by Shelburne Community School's art teacher, Pete Boardman. Students were paired up, 4th with 8th graders and 6th with 9th graders, and each student designed a feather. Five very large wings were created by the end of the day, comprised of feathers from each student and many of the adults as well. These will become installations in each school's library - signifying that reading books gives us wings.
Because the weather was glorious, all of the groups went outside to eat. Seeing them mixed by school and getting to know one another was fabulous. There were students outside of CVU's cafeteria, on the hill, on the football field and bleachers, and even on the baseball field.
After lunch, everyone switched activities; those who did the art project went to workshops while those who had been in workshops created their feathers. Somehow, all of the students returned to the gym to finish out the day, say goodbye to their group leaders and new friends from the other schools, and board buses back to their home school.
At Charlotte Central School, a new display with reflections from the day is available for all to see. Here are a few photos of that.
We want to thank everyone on the Common Read Committee for helping to make the day a resounding success, as well as workshop facilitators from the Clemmons Family Farm, Lisa Moore Ramée, Pete Boardman, and all of the educators and especially students who were engaged and active participants.
Enjoy this video with some photos from the day in this video.
In the late spring, all students who would be entering 4th, 6th, 8th, and 9th grades in August received a copy of a book at kickoff assemblies in each school. The books varied by grade level, but all focused on a central theme of racial equity. The Vermont Reads book this year is March: Book One, by Andrew Aydin and John Lewis. CVSD expanded upon the theme to include that book and other books for a variety of grade levels.
Now that school is underway we will gather all of those students, along with teachers, for a special culminating day to celebrate, connect, and expand together at CVU on Thursday, September 5.
Highlights of the Day:
Keynote from Lisa Moore Ramée, author of A Good Kind of Trouble
Workshops and a collaborative art project
All students will participate in the collaborative art project at some point in the day
Workshops opportunities for 4th and 6th graders will include: Clemmons Family Farm (poets, storytellers, musicians, singers, culinary artists), and Lisa Moore Ramée will facilitate writing workshops with some 6th graders
Workshops with
CVU's Racial Alliance Committee for 8th and 9th graders to better understand racism and build empathy.
Closing Remarks and photos with the collaborative art project
The purpose of the day is to celebrate the Common Read books students received before the summer break, connect with their peers across the district, and expand on the themes of the books through an author’s keynote speech, workshops, and a collaborative art project. We anticipate a wonderful day to bring together our district around literacy and empathy building.
We are very excited to bring students together in what we hope is the first of many district-wide collaborative events. We will post photos and more afterward.
Geo Debrosse just finished swimming across Lake Champlain for his 8th grade PLP project!
Geo is a rising 9th grader at CVU. One of his former Hinesburg teachers, Jen Bradford shared the following about Geo's accomplishment this summer.
"He set a goal that was meaningful and relevant to him—and that could be considered a personal stretch—and set about attaining it. It was clear he was passionate about it and committed to the action. He realized it could be something this powerful; he never looked back or thought about just taking an easier route. It’s pretty amazing what he did. I’m super proud of him—we all are—but what is really cool is that he will have this memory forever and is super proud of himself."
All students in our district are engaged in personalized learning, starting at least in the 7th grade and continuing at CVU through 12th grade with other passion-driven projects.
