Charlotte In Their Classrooms!

We are very happy to report that after a long summer of construction work at Charlotte Central School, as of today, all students and teachers are in their classroom spaces. 

The work this summer primarily focused on renovating the “skin” of the central classroom wing in order to improve energy efficiency, and to improve heating and ventilation in classroom spaces. There were only a few minor delays.

Last week, when school began for students, only the K-4 students and their teachers could utilize their classroom spaces. The middle school spaces were not quite ready due to a delay in the arrival of the last air handling units.

Educators of 5th -8th grade students planned an experiential week, August 25-27, that became the foundation for an amazing school year. Last week provided opportunities for creativity, cooperation, team-building, and problem-solving. Each class had a “home-base” in the school. There were stations set up around the campus that provided students opportunities to dive into their passions and to discover some new experiences including engineering challenges, literature, cooperative game, hikes up Pease Mountain, disk golf, journalism, tie-dying T-shirts, Challenge by Choice, art activities, and space and time for mindful breaks.

With one final delay that meant they couldn't access their classroom spaces until Tuesday of this week, middle school students worked remotely on Monday. The rainy weather played a large part in that decision as without the ability to be outside, the district was concerned about COVID air quality and distancing protocols. Families were notified on Friday about the change in plans for Monday.

Today, all CCS students were back in classrooms and settling in for a great school year. There are many to thank for making this possible - from the custodial crew working 7-days a week, to flexible teachers and staff, food service staff, IT staff, and especially the principals. And of course, families who supported the effort and their students as well! 

There's additional work that will be happening after hours in the building and outside over the next few weeks, but there's a lot to celebrate today! 

Here's a sampling of some beginning-of-year photos from Charlotte Central School.

4th grade music

5th grade limbo

A class meeting

lunch outside

Middle schoolers INSIDE their classroom today!

Co-Principal Jen Roth lends a helping hand

eBuses Have Arrived in CVSD

 In December 2019, we published this post about electric buses coming to CVSD. The Champlain Valley School District was selected to be a partner in the Agency of Natural Resources Electric School and Transit Bus Pilot Program. In March of 2020, voters in our towns approved the purchase of two buses (at the price of our regular diesel buses) and the grant we were award provided funds to make up the substantial difference. 

After a number of delays due to varied reasons, the buses have arrived! We have two electric buses, easily recognizable by the blue bumpers and wheels, that are running routes in Williston. They may also be used for other activities like field trips or transporting athletic teams, which could benefit our other schools as well. 

A group of CVSD leaders went to check out one of the buses today after it completed its morning route.

Greg Marino - Williston lead principal, Superintendent Rene Sanchez, Barry Russell - transportation supervisor, Angela Arsenault - board chair, Jeanne Jensen - CVSD COO

We could barely hear it coming into the WCS bus loop. What a difference! These buses will certainly help to reduce air pollution as well as diesel fumes. 

Barry Russell, transportation supervisor

The only need for diesel is for heat.

That looks a lot different than in a diesel bus!

Charging station at ABS

A few of our bus drivers have been trained to learn any additional details that pertains to driving an electric bus. There's great enthusiasm from students as well, especially those lucky enough to be on the routes covered by the electric buses. 

One lucky bus driver!

As we said in our December 2019 post, this opportunity allows us to not only transport students more safely and efficiently, but to make a concrete example of living up to our values. We are excited to take such an important role in helping Vermont reduce carbon emissions and improve energy efficiency. 

CVSD Update August 24, 2021

 

We are excited to officially welcome everyone back to school this week! In this CVSD update you will find: 

• A welcome video from Superintendent Sanchez
• COVID reminders and updates
• Transportation news
• CVSD job opportunities
• and more!

We look forward to greeting your children and having them back in the buildings 5 days a week. 

A Conversation with Medical Professionals About Returning To School

We were honored, once again, to host this conversation with local medical professionals about returning to school. They also discussed COVID safety measures including vaccines, masks, and more. 

We did the same thing at about the same time last year and are hoping that it's not going to be an annual event!

Thank you so much to the doctors and CVSD educators and lead nurse, Jocelyn Bouyea, for contributing to the conversation. 

CVSD Update, August 18, 2021

 

Dear CVSD Families,

The final days of summer vacation are upon us. We are finalizing plans, welcoming new faculty, getting buildings ready, and more. We have so many to thank for the work that has been done over the summer to benefit our students and our schools. We can’t name all of them, but it includes food service, transportation, facilities, IT, administrative assistants, principals and other administrators, all educators involved in our summer programs, and many more.

COVID and Opening Schools

We wanted to provide you with the most recent update and information about how we will open our schools next week. This slide presentation was shared with the CVSD Board of Directors last night. It includes information about three elements:

• Keeping everyone safe and healthy

• Managing active cases

• What school will look like this fall

We hope it helps to clarify and answer some of the questions you may have. We continue to wait on further guidance from the Agency of Education and the Department of Health with more specific information about some topics.

Powerschool Parent Portal

Most families have received the letter in the mail about setting up Powerschool Parent Portal accounts. We know that some have had issues receiving the verification email. Please check your spam folder for an email from cvsdnoreply@cvsdvt.org. If you find anything there from that address, please mark it ‘not spam’ so that you receive further emails from the district and Powerschool. You can access additional information about Powerschool on the district’s website. Look for the yellow Registration button or the headline further down on all school and district websites.

Thank you once again, for your patience and understanding as we roll out this new system and begin yet another unusual school year. We are very excited to see your children next week to welcome them (and you!) back to school 5 days a week.


Rene Sanchez, CVSD Superintendent



If you have any questions, please contact your school directly. If it’s a question pertaining to the district, please use this form to share your thoughts.

CVSD Update August 6, 2021

 

This newsletter features an informative letter with updates regarding recent Agency of Education guidance, an upcoming vaccine clinic at CVU, free meals, and more!