The weather this week certainly has made summer seem close! Fourth graders enjoyed a field trip to Shelburne Museum on Friday and the entire school gathered for the culminating show of our Circus residency!
Please remember to vote on the school budget on or before May 30. Your engagement is essential to the health of our schools and community. You can find more information, including a Q&A on this third budget proposal here.
Remember, no school on Monday in honor of Memorial Day.
Have a wonderful weekend!
In partnership,
Sarah & Chris
Special Events Calendar:
There are so many amazing things happening at BPS! We look forward to the upcoming special events in the coming weeks...
DATE | EVENT |
Wednesday, Thursday 5/29, 5/30 | Arts Night & Book Fair (detailed information below regarding arts night) |
Wednesday 5/29 | 2nd grade Field Trip |
Wednesday, Thursday 5/29 & 5/30 | Arts Night |
Thursday 5/30 | 1st Grade (and Kindy Wedge) Field Trip |
Monday 6/3 | 2nd (Menz & Kennedy) evening show the Lorax |
Tuesday 6/4 | 2nd (Menz & Kennedy) Field trip |
Wednesday 6/5 | Bike and walk to school |
Wednesday 6/5 | 1st Grade Field Trip |
Friday 6/7 | |
Monday 6/10 | 4th grade: step up day at CBMS Step Up Day for grades K-1 and 2nd-3rd |
Tuesday 6/11 | 3rd Grade Field Trip |
Wednesday 6/12 | 2nd Grade Field Trip |
Wednesday 6/12 | 3rd Grade Chorus Field Trip |
Thursday 6/13 | 4th Grade Celebration of Learning |
Friday 6/14 | Last Day of School for Students; 11:25 dismissal |
Please see more detailed information from your child's teacher regarding any of the above events.
ARTS NIGHT
The 15th Annual Green Mountain Mile Saturday, June 29th, 2024
The race will take place before the 4 pm parade.
The one-mile course starts on the access road to the Ice Center in Waterbury. The race will merge onto VT Route 100 north and continue on Main Street ending at the Reservoir Restaurant. The course is flat.
Read more below to sign up!
4th Grade Graduation Information
We are thrilled to announce that our 4th Grade celebration of Learning is fast approaching! The event will take place in the gym on June 13th, starting promptly at 8:15 am. The ceremony in the gym should take approximately 45 minutes. After the ceremony in the gym, the fourth graders and their families will move outside to enjoy planned outdoor activities.
For ease of access, parents and families will be entering and exiting the building through the main entrance foyer.
Warm regards,
The 4th Grade Team
Cirque Us
On Thursday, students had their final day of Cirque Us activities, culminating with an all school performance in the gym, where each grade showcased the skills they learned throughout the week. Students will have the opportunity to show off their skills to their families at Arts Night! See more information below for logistical information.
A few updates from the Library:
The BuyOneGetOne Book Fair will be set up and Open in the library May 29th and 30th (Wednesday and Thursday) from 3-6:30
Please check out the beautiful rainbow paper quilt in the library-- than to Mrs. Wells for such an exquisite exhibition!
Bridgeside Books is holding a story building workshop on Sunday, June 9 at 3pm. A ticket comes with a signed hardcover copy of one of Aaron Starmer's best known novels, The Riverman. The book is definitely upper-middle grade with some dark themes, so it might be too intense and mature for most Brookside students, but they can still participate in the story building event. Details are here:
Lost and Found
Please come by and look for any lost water bottles, sweatshirts, boots gloves or hats that may belong to your child!
The Pulsera Project
Hello Brookside Families! Alex Prior here, second grade teacher at BPS. I wanted to share that my class will be collaborating and participating in the Pulsera Project these next two weeks.
The Pulsera Project is a nonprofit organization that educates, empowers, and connects Central American artists with students in more than 3,600 U.S. schools through the sale of colorful hand woven bracelets, or "pulseras" in Spanish. Our classroom will be facilitating the pulsera sales with other students here at BPS on May 21-24 and May 28-31st from 7:30-8:00. With the money that we raise, we are funding/supporting social impact programs that empower people through education, scholarships, healthcare, leadership opportunities, housing programs, and much more.
My students are so excited to hold this fundraiser here at BPS. I am including the link to their website if you want to check it out and learn more! The bracelets cost $5 and the bags cost $15. We have created a schedule for different grades to come visit our classroom to purchase these beautiful hand woven bracelets and bags. There is no expectation that everyone will purchase a bracelet/bag, but we encourage anyone interested to come help us in raising money for the Pulsera Project!
We can't wait to color the world together!
Week #1:
Tuesday- May 21: Pre-K and Kindergarten
Wednesday- May 22: 1st and 2nd grade
Thursday- May 23: 4th grade
Friday- May 24: 3rd grade
Week #2:
Tuesday- May 28: 4th grade
Wednesday- May 29: 3rd and 1st
Thursday- May 30: 2nd
Friday- May 31: Pre-K and K
A Message from the principals at HUHS
Harwood Families -
After much discussion, reflection and consideration the Harwood staff came to a consensus.
How we implement this and what it looks like will continue to be explored and will be informed by the work ahead with students, staff and families/guardians. To that end, please join us on May 29th @ 6pm, as Harwood’s Student Harkness leaders facilitate dialogue for both staff and community members to collectively begin considering the research and discuss:
How will a break in our use of Cell Phones increase engagement, connection and learning at Harwood?
There will also be a whole school dialogue with staff and students in June to process and discuss.
There is much more to learn and understand from each other in order to continue collectively creating a learning environment where ALL students, staff, and families feel a sense of belonging, pride and purpose and that strengthens and sustains a rigorous and robust academic program that provides exploration and prepares students with knowledge, understanding, and skills for their next steps.
This is going to be hard.
And, we are excited by the positive opportunities ahead in 2024-2025!
We look forward to doing this work in partnership.
Laurie, Meg and Bethany
Ticks – The top 10 things to remember
Ticks crawl up – Ticks don’t jump, fly or drop from trees onto your head and back.
All ticks (including deer ticks) come in small, medium and large sizes.
Ticks can be active in winter.
Ticks carry disease-causing microbes.
Only deer ticks transmit Lyme disease bacteria.
For most tick-borne diseases, you have at least 24 hours to find and remove a feeding tick before it transmits an infection.
Deer tick nymphs look like a poppy seed on your skin.
The easiest and safest way to remove a tick is with a pointy tweezer.
Clothing with built-in tick repellent is best for preventing tick bites.
Tick bites and tick-borne diseases are completely preventable.
Top ten things to know. (ND). The University of Rhode Island. Retrieved May 6, 2024, from https://web.uri.edu/tickencounter/ticksmart/top-ten-things/
The University of Rhode Island has created a QR Code specifically designed to help answer the following questions: 1) how do I prepare for an outdoor adventure 2) what do I do when I get home and 3) I found a tick, what now? Please use it to answer these very important questions!!
Vermont Department of Health: Measles cases are on the rise in the U.S.
Measles is a highly contagious respiratory virus that can be dangerous, especially for babies and young children. Measles cases are rising in the U.S., Canada, and other countries. In the U.S., nearly twice as many measles cases have been reported in the first few months of 2024 compared to all of 2023. Within the last two weeks, the Vermont Department of Health reported the first diagnosed case of measles in the state since 2018. Measles is common in some countries so make sure you’re protected against measles before traveling internationally. Check with your provider or your school nurse if you are unsure your student is fully vaccinated.
BPS is offering a yearbook again!
It will be free of cost to 4th grade students (you do not need to order one).
All others can preorder (for $12.76) at this link:
Yearbooks will be distributed when they arrive in June. Please note: If you are ordering past 5/17, your yearbook will be delivered directly to your house.
COMMUNITY POSTINGS
Please note that the opportunities/events listed below are not specifically endorsed or screened by school staff. As always, families should use their own standards and review processes to determine appropriate activities.
TCR Annual Baby, Kids & Maternity Tag Sale: Friday, May 31st (3-7 pm) and Saturday, June1st (8am - 12pm), Wesley United Methodist Church on 56 South Main in Waterbury village. Spring cleaning anyone? Donate clean baby and kid’s clothing, outerwear, toys, shoes, boots, costumes and baby gear on May 28th-30th, 2:30 to 5:30 pm, and come shop the sale on 5/31 & 6/1! Cash, check or Venmo only. Want to help out, give back to your community and get first dibs on amazing kids stuff? We need you! Bring kiddos and meet other parents while helping out. All proceeds go to The Children's Room. Sign up to VOLUNTEER. See the attached flyer for specifics, or check out our The Children's Room website, facebook or email childrensroom@huusd.org with questions.
THANK YOU!
To all school personnel, PTAs & PTOs-
Mad River Valley Arts and Lareau Farm & Forest would like to thank you for your support of the Student Art Show. The work submitted and hung by teachers and parents is outstanding. We appreciate your promotion of the event to students and parents and look forward to next year.
Sam Talbot-kelly
Artist/ Executive Director
Mad River Valley Arts
Alex Morse in front of the artwork of one of her classes showing at the red barn until Sunday May 26.
Joining the Waterbury Rapids swim team is a great way to have fun while becoming a stronger swimmer as part of a dynamic team. We will be practicing and having meets this summer at the Waterbury Pool.
Children of all ages and swim abilities are welcome! Families from all area towns are welcome including Northfield, Barre, Waitsfield, Richmond, etc. Below are the links for the flyer with lots of information.
This year you can register with the Waterbury Recreation Department’s website. Not sure if this is right for your family? Come to practices 5:00 - 7:15 Monday June 24th and Tuesday June 25th to see what it is all about!
Registration link: https://waterburyvt.myrec.com/info/activities/program_details.aspx?ProgramID=30076Email with questions: waterburyrapids@gmail.com
WALK FOR ANIMALS
June 10, 2023
9:30am
Rain or Shine
Walk for a cause - A Cause 4 Paws! Raise money and you will help provide food, shelter, exceptional care, and second chances to over 1,000 animals who will need CVHS this year. Join us on the State House lawn, show off how much you love your furry friends, and help save animals - one step at a time!
YOU can make a differenceEvery dollar you raise will make it possible for us to go the extra mile to save lives. Every penny counts!
For full schedule of events, T-shirt details, prizes, and to register: https://secure.qgiv.com/event/cvhswalkforanimals2023/
Sleepy Hollow 2024 Summer Camp Programs!
Slammin’ Outdoor Camp: Get outside and adventure in Sleepy Hollow’s 850 acres of forest and trails in Huntington! We head out on the trails every day to explore the natural world around Sleepy with a new outdoor theme every day, including forest, stream and pond studies. We also do fun outdoor activities every day- hiking, mountain biking, swimming and more! Campers can expect a fun week outside packed with activities, art projects and games.
Ages: 8-12 years old
Cost: $300 per camper
Weeks: July 22nd - 26th OR July 29th - August 2nd
Time: 9:00 am – 3:30 pm
Summer Ski Camp: Spend the week outside at Sleepy Hollow’s 850 acres of forest and trails in Huntington, with running, hiking, mountain biking, rollerskiing*, swimming and more! The camp is geared towards kids that are excited to try some summer nordic summer training. We get out on the trails every day and do activities, art projects and games too, all with the focus of summer fun outside! *Rollerskis not needed- we team up with NENSA for rollerskiing, and they provide a fleet for us to use.
Ages: 10-14 years old
Cost: $300 per camper
Weeks: July 15th - 19th
Time: 9:00 am – 3:30 pm
Info and registration: https://skisleepyhollow.com/summer-camps/
Location: Sleepy Hollow Ski & Bike Center, 427 Ski Lodge Drive, Huntington, VT 05462
Questions? Contact Summer Program Director, Heather LaRocca at laroccabeal@gmail.com or 802-345-7837.