Middle School Students Attend Empower Youth Conference

This post was written by Hinesburg Community School educator Mary Muroski. It's a follow up to this post from July of this year. 

On December 6th, 2018, ten of Hinesburg's 6th, 7th, and 8th grade students attended the Empower Youth Leadership Conference at the Holiday Inn, Burlington. They were joined by 40 other students from towns in Vermont, including Shelburne, Charlotte, Williston, Winooski, Burlington, Grand Isle, and South Burlington. The students participated in workshops designed to build personal leadership skills.

The day started with middle schoolers working with student facilitators to establish their hopes and dreams for the world. These ideas were shared with students in Uganda via a live Skype conversation. As the day progressed, students engaged in activities aimed to enhance communication skills. Highlights included creating vision boards that identified future goals and learning about the power of nonverbal communication. In a workshop on money smarts, students learned about credit, debt, investing, and compound interest. The day ended with students learning how to practice and express gratitude as a way to bring abundance and positivity into their lives.

The event was organized by Hinesburg Community School teacher, Mary Muroski, and Charlotte Central School Counselor, Kathy Batty, and co-sponsored by the Children’s Legacy Partnership through a grant from the NOVO and Education First Foundations. Local sponsors, who helped with the event, included Larkin Realty, Holiday Inn Burlington, New England Federal Credit Union, and Lantman’s Market in Hinesburg. Another conference will be held in March and more of our students will be invited to attend. It was so heartening to see the insight that these future leaders have to make the world a better place for all!

Hour of Code in CVSD

This week marks the 5th year that schools in CVSD, the United States, and the world participate in Hour of Code. The premise behind the Hour of Code is that sometime during this week, schools will provide an opportunity for students to learn about coding, or computer programming, for an hour. The CVSD schools have all participated since the inception. The momentum continues this year in our district, along with about 120 other Vermont schools and nearly 700 million participants globally.

From the Hour of Code website:

What is the Hour of Code?
The Hour of Code started as a one-hour introduction to computer science, designed to demystify "code", to show that anybody can learn the basics, and to broaden participation in the field of computer science. It has since become a worldwide effort to celebrate computer science, starting with 1-hour coding activities but expanding to all sorts of community efforts. 

Why Computer Science?
Every student should have the opportunity to learn computer science. It helps nurture problem-solving skills, logic and creativity. By starting early, students will have a foundation for success in any 21st-century career path.

Most popular during this week are the offerings on the code.org website. There are opportunities for all ages and abilities. Many have popular themes, such as Minecraft or a connection to a recent animated movie. They are all very engaging.

The excitement is not limited to this week; many classes have other things scheduled and will engage in the Hour of Code sometime over the next two weeks. There are opportunities for coding year-round in all of our schools, such as Lego robotics clubs, coding in design tech classes, CVU’s computer programming classes, and CVU’s Computer Club, which participates in CyberPatriot competitions. There’s a competition today - perfect timing! Plus, the resources from code.org are always available.

Here are a few examples of how the Hour of Code has been a focus this particular week in CVSD:

Younger students used iPads apps such as Hopscotch, Scratch Jr., Kodable, CodeSpark Academy with the Foos, or Daisy the Dinosaur. They have explored offline coding through games, small robots (Beebots, Dash & Dot) and physical activities like providing directions for classmates to go from one part of the classroom to another.

CVU students engaged in code.org activities and some were challenged by the Advent of Code. One student tried out an app created by another. Last week, 9th graders in Nichols Core were given choice in how to show their understanding of Neolithic Evolution. One student created a multi-level game to share his learning in a unique way. (see the end of the video below)

There are a myriad of ways in which coding, problem-solving, collaboration, and critical thinking are integrated into our daily work with students. This week’s special focus brings it to the forefront and connects these skills to real life.

We hope you will explore the code.org site and try out a few of the activities on your own or with a student. Let them teach you. And watch out, it’s a lot of fun!

HCS Teacher Wins Award

In recognition of inspirational teaching, Hinesburg Community School’s Miranda Johnson has been named the
Vermont recipient of the Sanford Teacher Award for demonstrating commitment to creating an inspirational and harmonious classroom that supports student development and achievement! Miranda grew up in Williston, attending Williston Central School and CVU and is a graduate of the University of New Hampshire. She has worked as a Kindergarten teacher at Hinesburg Community School for 14 years and lives in Huntington with her husband and two children.

Miranda was selected by a committee of educators through an application process that included nominations and information provided by each teacher to assess how closely they represent characteristics of inspiring teaching, which included: Enthusiasm for teaching; empathy and warmth towards all students; fostering positive relationships with all students; creating a positive learning environment; and recognizing student strengths.

The $10,000 award is in the name of philanthropist T. Denny Sanford, which is committed to supporting inspiring teaching nationwide through PreK-12 programs that are being expanded nationally by the National University System. In addition to being the recipient of the Sanford Teachers Award for the State of Vermont, Miranda also qualifies for a chance to be recognized as the $50,000 national winner of the Sanford Teacher Award; to be named in early 2019.

Congratulations, Miranda!

Celebrate the Arts

Champlain Valley Union High School in Hinesburg will be hosting its eleventh annual Celebrate The Arts Night on December 13th!

From 6:00-7:30 p.m. you can enjoy a visual arts show of over 450 pieces created by students currently enrolled in CVU arts courses and from around the district with work on display from Allen Brook, Williston Central, Shelburne Community, Hinesburg Community, and Charlotte Central Schools.

Every student from CVU’s Intro through Advanced Placement Studio Art will be showing a piece they feel best represents their work from the semester. Also on view will be practical art work made by Technology Education, and fashion by Basic Clothing Construction and Fashion Design students. Business students will be sharing information about their collaboration with the Vermont Haiti Project and their upcoming trip to Haiti. Additionally, you will be able to learn about and purchase advanced tickets for their annual Family Formal, benefiting Make-A-Wish Vermont.

Pop-up musical performances this year include shows by CVU’s Women’s Chorus in the science wing from 7-7:15 and a 6:30-7:00 show by CVU’s Jazz Ensemble in four corners. At 7:30, in the CVU Theater, notable main-stage performances will be given by music students including Symphonic Winds and Women’s chorus. Family and Consumer Science classes will provide free refreshments. There will be art activities for the whole family!

New this year! NEXUS students will be sharing their Nexhibitions in the Library from 5:30-7:00. See what these innovative independent learners have been up to. The night will also feature Sustainability student work in the café from 5:30-7:00.

Much learning, innovation and inspiration to be celebrated!

For more information contact abowker@cvsdvt.org


Artwork credit: Taylor Chatoff

Congratulations to CVSD Education Leaders

This past weekend marked the end of a journey for five education leaders in the Champlain Valley School District. For the past 17 months, they have engaged in learning with other Vermont educators in the Snelling Center for Government's Vermont School Leadership Project.

From their website: "Effective public school leadership requires more than professional knowledge. It demands passion, the ability to articulate a vision and engage others in that vision, and the ability to facilitate organizational change To strengthen these capabilities among Vermont educators, the Snelling Center developed the Vermont School Leadership Project (VSLP) in collaboration with prominent members of Vermont's business and education communities. VSLP was launched in 1995 and has graduated thirteen classes, creating a collegial leadership network of over 250 alumni."

Many other educators in CVSD have already participated in the Snelling VSLP. In addition, some of our early childhood educators have participated in the Snelling Center's Early Childhood Leadership Institute. And at least one of our School Board members has been a participant in the Snelling Center's Vermont Leadership Institute. We are fortunate in our district to have motivated leaders who strive to learn, enhance their skills, and challenge themselves in order to best support our students.

The 2018 cohort included 25 Vermont educators, five of whom are leaders in CVSD. We congratulate John Pontius, Suzan Locke, Meagan Roy, Anna Couperthwait, and Bonnie Birdsall on this achievement.

Professional Development on Tuesday Early Release Days

As most in the community know, our preK-8 schools release students an hour earlier on Tuesdays for professional development time with our educators. We want to share with you specifics about how that time is used across the district. Efforts like what's described below are happening in all of our preK-8 schools each Tuesday. We are appreciative of the time to grow, learn, collaborate, and engage on Tuesdays. Thank you to Jackie Parks, WCS Building Principal, for sharing this perspective.

Note: CVU uses the late start time on Mondays for similar engaging activities with professionals. We'll share more specifics about that work in a future blog post.

Professional Learning and Collaboration on Early Release Tuesdays

By Jacqueline Parks, WCS Building Principal

Do you ever wonder what our faculty and staff do on Tuesday afternoons after our students leave? What does that 2-hour time block look like for ABS and WCS? What impact does it have on student learning? Here is a glimpse into the work being done and the impact it is having on our system.

On Tuesday afternoon of this week there were five different meetings taking place for our faculty and staff. Para-educators met and learned about using visuals to support learners with Jenn Randall, a member of the CVSD Special Education staff . PK-2 faculty, led by Caitlin Bianchi (math coordinator) and Angela Filion (ABS principal) engaged in a math meeting where they focused on grade level specific planning by pulling additional resources into the Bridges math program. Third and fourth grade teachers, led by Jessica Eaton (Pk-4 literacy coordinator), dug into teaching reading with an emphasis on understanding texts and readers. Special educators, led by Sarah Crum (special education director) and Greg Marino (Lead principal), met as a PK-8 group and engaged in a futures protocol that was designed to move our special education program forward with new ideas. And finally, 5th-8th faculty, facilitated by Jackie Parks (WCS building principal) worked on nine different middle level specific topics including student leadership, school spirit, parent conferences, discipline response system and more. As you can see, this two hour block of time gives faculty the time to dig into topics deeply and collaboratively.

As a system, we are extremely grateful for the weekly time to engage in this collaborative work. Instead of holding topics and professional learning for a day scattered here or there in the school calendar, we can thoughtfully embed them in our weekly time. The impact of our Tuesday professional time is visible in both small and big ways in our educational system. Teachers improve their skills which results in stronger student outcomes, school procedures are tweaked in ways that improve school climate and safety, thoughtful programming is added, curriculum units are more seamlessly integrated and so much more.

In the not so recent past, teaching was a job done in isolation involving the teacher and students in the classroom. This model has fallen away in lieu of a highly collaborative model with aligned approaches that involves professionals working together on behalf of students. The result is a better quality program for all students and teachers utilizing each other to enhance their own professional repertoire of skills.

And there it is, a quick look into a Tuesday professional development afternoon! Thank you for helping to keep our profession moving forward in ways that support student outcomes.

Different Approaches to Study The Revolutionary War

Charlotte Central School's 5th graders have been immersed in a study of the Revolutionary War. Students gathered information and made presentations. But they went beyond that. A game of tug-of-war ensued, filled with metaphorical “rules” to teach how the Continental Army defeated the British during the Revolutionary War. 

There were 5 "rules" that were given during the game (in a very dramatic fashion). Each rule was an analogy to teach students how the Continental Army defeated the British. For example, there was the blue team (Continental Army), red team (British) and white team (Colonial allies). The white team was the group of students that ran in mid- game to help the blue team (to model the support that the American colonies received from their European allies). Half of the red team had to start down the hallway and run to join the rest of the red team (intended to model the challenge that Britain faced in supplying its troops from across the Atlantic Ocean). The blue team was given a prize if they won (to model colonists' greater motivation to win fighting for their freedom). All of these analogies were made clear through a reflection and class discussion afterwards.

One group made a Revolutionary War rap to demonstrate their learning. Students are engaged in different ways. 

Diversity in Science

Middle school teacher Lisa Phelps, and students on the Winton team in Shelburne, have focused on diversity in science over a period of time. Last year, they closely examined news articles from a magazine for students to gather data on the representation of diversity. She posed the following question to her class. “Does SuperScience Magazine contain bias toward race and gender?”

The students focused in on the topic and proposed a change to the magazine in a letter. The most recent edition, and the letter they received back from the magazine, indicates that their voices were heard. Great job Winton students and thanks Mrs. Phelps for raising awareness.

Read more about it on this page of the Winton website.

School Budget Season Gets Underway Soon

We hope you will join us as the school budget season gets underway!

The first event takes place on October 30th. We invite all members of the CVSD community to join us and provide your thoughts and input at a Community Forum.

If you can't attend, please share your thoughts on this form by November 16th.

In addition, there is a series of budget meetings to which all community members are invited. These meetings have varied topics, which build on one another throughout the process. You are encouraged to attend all of them or view the livestream thanks to RETN.

Mark these dates on your calendars:
All of these events take place at CVU at 6:00 pm.

• October 30, 2018, Community Budget Forum

• November 27, 2018, topic: Special Ed

• December 4, 2018, topic: Instructional Program

• December 18, 2018, topic: Operations and Maintenance

• January 8, 2019, topic: Summary and tax implications

• January 22, 2019, topic: Final Approval

We hope to see you at all or most of these events and welcome your input.

PBIS Recognition

CVSD schools were recognized for implementing Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS).  PBIS is a framework for promoting school-wide expectations where expectations are explicitly taught, encouraged, and practiced by staff and students.  For example, Allen Brook School's expectations are to BE safe, BE kind, and BE responsible.  At Charlotte Central School, students are encouraged to Take CARE of Ourselves, Take CARE of Others, and Take CARE of This Place.  At Hinesburg Community School, BE a STAR by Belonging, Sharing, Trust, Accepting Responsibility, and Respect.  

When a school uses PBIS with fidelity, typically, the adults outline expectations for behavior so that everyone has a common understanding. We use this way of managing behavior in our schools because research has shown that teaching the behaviors we want to see in a school and at home and then marking those behaviors with verbal acknowledgement and natural rewards builds long lasting positive behavior. Positive reinforcement (catching someone doing something right and letting them know what is great about what they are doing) is far more effective in shaping desired behavior than consequences or punishment.

At last week's VT PBIS Leadership Forum, several of our schools received recognition. The Allen Brook School won an Exemplar Award for showing positive academic and behavioral outcomes for students and Hinesburg Community School and Charlotte Central School both received Merit Awards for showing positive behavioral outcomes for students. 

We are especially thankful to the PBIS leadership teams in each building, as well as the CVSD leaders, Cindy Cole and Cassandra Townshend. 

Congratulations to all faculty, students, and staff who help contribute to a positive learning environment for our students. 

Exciting Happenings at SCS on Wednesday!

We've noticed that there are many exciting things happening on Wednesday at SCS. 

First, Walking Wednesdays happens each week in October. Families and students are encouraged to meet at the parade grounds in the heart of Shelburne village to walk from there to school together. 

From the SCS blog, we learned that Ms. Stephanie’s First Graders helped prep this month’s Vermont Harvest of The Month taste test. They shredded a whole lot of kale, grated cheddar, and juiced lemons for the dressing. The taste test will be a kale and cheese salad and will be available for sampling to all students on Wednesday during lunch periods.

Thank you to Shelburne Farms for donating the cheese, the parent volunteers and Becky Mashak and her cafeteria staff for making this happen.The kale comes from Vermont’s Lewis Creek Farm and any retrieved caterpillars have been lovingly moved to the stem buckets by the 1st grade caterpillar experts. It appears that wellness is on the menu tomorrow in Shelburne! 

Celebrating More CVSD Educators

We are thrilled to share that two CVSD educators have been recognized as UVM Oustanding Teachers. There was a ceremony yesterday to honor all educators in Vermont who received that recognition this year.

Congratulations to Sarah Pierson, world language teacher at Charlotte Central School and Sarah Malcolm, science teacher at CVU! Our students benefit from your talents.

 Sarah Pierson 

Sarah Malcolm

Adam Bunting: Principal of the Year

Each year the Vermont Principals’ Association honors distinguished educational leaders at its annual VPA Leadership Academy in August.  We want to congratulate Adam Bunting, CVU principal, for recognition as Vermont's Principal of the Year. Last week he traveled to Washington, DC for more celebrations. 


Here are some thoughts about his recent travels, in Adam's words. 


It was an honor to represent CVU and Vermont in Washington DC this week. Of course, as I soon discovered, CVU was already well represented on the staffs of Welch, Leahy, and Sanders (see photos below: Hans Lynn, Lucas Hilker, Alex Beaton).

The trip was a homecoming of sorts as I grew up in DC public schools until the age of 9. Memories of elementary school flooded back as soon as the plane touched down: I hated school! It wasn’t until moving to Vermont — joining the organized, caring, and dedicated SCS — that I relaxed enough to understand that education wasn’t a punishment. We may not recognize it as kids, but we feel functional school systems on a deep level...and functional systems are often reflections of the cultures around them. I’m biased, but everywhere I turned made me remember how much I love our small state. Unlike many of my colleagues from around the US, I was excited to meet with our representatives. Most of the principals in my group got passing glances from their reps at best; Senator Leahy spent nearly 30 minutes with me. When I asked him what message he would like me to bring back to CVU students, he walked me to a photo hanging on his wall--one taken by the Senator himself years earlier in China.

The image was of a Tibetan man holding a forbidden picture of the Dalai Lama; the man had posed for the photo and risked imprisonment because -- in his words -- “the world [needed] to know.” Leahy’s message to me: Help our kids to live with purpose — ultimately nothing brings greater meaning.

Skype with a Scientist

Cancer biologist and biophysicist Dr. Krishna Mudumbi of Yale joined Mrs. Benoit's class of first and second grade students at the Allen Brook School for an interactive event. Dr. Mundumbi shared a bit about his work and answered some thoughtful student questions! Now all of the students want to be scientists! The class was matched with Dr. Mundumbi through "Skype A Scientist."

Dr. Mudumbi talked about super-resolution microscopy- the newest microscope and techniques allowing scientists to see small details in cells and cell biology - what cells are, how he takes pictures of cells to collect data about how normal cells work an what happens with cell mutations. Wow! 

This is quite a lot for first and second graders, but according to Mrs. Benoit, he did a nice job of bringing it down to the kids' level. We are thankful for this kind of opportunity. 

From Our Houses to Yours

We came across this article earlier, celebrating a high school in California. They are doing a terrific job looking out for the well-being of their students by creating a house structure for their ninth graders. This helps to ease them into life at high school by creating smaller communities to build relationships and provides support. Teachers work in teams to truly meet their students’ needs. Advisory groups are in place to offer further support and relationships.

Sound familiar? Upon further research, we determined that the ninth grade house system at CVU was put in place 34 years ago! We often pride ourselves on leading the way, and this is a perfect example. Our ninth graders are settling in, building relationships, and have started classes within the core and are exploring a few electives beyond as well. The house system also continues in many of our K-8 schools, which has been a part of culture for years for many of the same reasons.

Thank you to the forward-thinking educators who made this happen 34 years ago and to those in CVSD today who keep us on the leading edge.

Time to Connect with Your Schools

It’s that time of year, the time where parents and guardians have the opportunity to connect, learn, and meet the educators who make a difference in lives of their children. Curriculum Nights are upon us and we hope you take advantage of these offerings. Here’s a rundown of what’s happening in our schools.

CVU: Please join us on Thursday, September 13, for our annual open house, CVU at a Glance! Starting at 6:30 pm and running until 8:30 pm, you will get a chance to move through your child's advisory and schedule, getting an overview of the curriculum and meeting teachers.

Charlotte: Fall Open House and Potluck Picnic, Thursday, September 13. Join us as we celebrate the beginning of a new school year at CCS. Open House: 5;00-6:30, Potluck Picnic: 6:00-7:30.

Hinesburg: We hope those of you who were able to attend the middle school curriculum night earlier this week found it helpful. The K-4 Essential Arts & Open House/Curriculum Night is on September 20th from 5:30 -7:00 pm.

Shelburne: Please look over the community calendar for details. We have taken care to list all of our upcoming Open Houses and Curriculum Nights. You will find that all of our teams and grade levels will be holding some type of event in the coming weeks. If you have questions or concerns about one of these events, please reach out directly to the teacher/team.

• The 5th Grade Curriculum Night happened earlier this week.
• September 13th - 3rd Grade Curriculum Night - SCS Library 6:00-7:00pm
• September 17th - Holden Curriculum Night - common area 4:45-6:00pm
• September 20th - 4th Grade Curriculum Night – classrooms 5:30-6:30pm
• September 25th - Alpha Team Curriculum Night – common area 5:00-6:00pm
• September 25th - Winton Curriculum Night – common area 5:00-6:00pm
• October 4th - Kindergarten Open House – classrooms 6:00-7:00pm

Williston: Curriculum Nights and Learning Expo Dates

• Thurs. Sept. 13 / Grade 3/4 Curriculum Night & Learning Expo / 6:30 pm / WCS
• Thurs. Sept. 20 / ABS Curriculum Night & Learning Expo / 6:00 pm / ABS
• Thurs. Oct. 4 / Upper House Curriculum & Learning Expo / 6:30 pm / WCS

We Are Underway!

Welcome to the 2018-19 school year.  On August 29, nearly 4,000 students will enter our bright, cheery, and squeaky clean educational spaces.  They will be greeted by staff -- from the bus drivers to the lunch workers, from the classroom teachers to the school principals, from the para-educators to the school nurses -- all as eager as their students to begin a new year filled with hopes and dreams for the the best year ever.

All summer long, we’ve been preparing for this day and cannot wait to see the bright shiny faces and begin the journey of ensuring that everyone’s hopes and dreams are realized.

Have a wonderful year!

~ Superintendent, Elaine Pinckney

We have so much to celebrate about things that occurred during the summer. See the graphic below for a small window into some highlights.

In addition:

• There were 2 ELL camps in our schools, many students attended summer programs at the schools, and students also learned in their own way through varied summer experiences.
• Our building administrators, administrative assistants, bookkeepers, maintenance staff, IT staff, and more worked hard throughout the summer to get things ready for students. 
• Team Vermont, largely made up of participants from the CVU Unified Sports basketball team, winning gold at the Special Olympics USA Championships was a huge highlight too! If you didn't hear about this wonderful accomplishment, watch this short video. 

Convocation and Pre-Service 2018

Our annual opening at CVU for the whole district was amazing yesterday. We began with convocation, including talented district musicians welcoming us as we arrived. 

This was followed by a touching welcome from the chair of our School Board, Lynne Jaunich. 

As always, the co-presidents of CVU's student council greeted us and they reflected on the impact CVSD educators had on them over the years. 

Educators then were immersed in Fill Your Bucket sessions, in which they learned from their colleagues about many topics. There were over 20 different sessions led by our own talented professionals. 

After lunch, we divided up by grade span and focused our energies on other pertinent work with colleagues. 

And finally, for the 3rd year in a row, we culminated the day with the Annual Trike Race. Defending champions, Charlotte Central School eventually passed the golden helmet to CVU, who won this year's race. We're off to a tremendous start! 

Welcome New Educators!

Today we welcomed new educators to CVSD with a full day at CVU. In the morning they learned about and from their mentors. In the afternoon, they engaged with many faces from the Central Office and learned about systems and structures. There was a game show competition of sorts, assessing how well they understood proficiency-based learning and assessment. Some enthusiastic participants shared their knowledge. We look forward to a wonderful year.