Hello Cornwall families,

 

The end of the school year is upon us, and this year it brings a strange combination of reflection and deep thinking along with the usual flurry of communication and activity. Today’s newsletter will, by necessity, focus on the flurry - it includes important information about the next week. You will also be receiving separate communications from the school and the district. 

After the school year ends on June 10, as a school staff and district, we will be spending some time on reflection and planning ahead.

 

Letter from ACSD Elementary Principals -

Please see this important letter which was shared earlier today with resources for talking to children about race, racism, and privilege.

 

IB PYP Verification Visit -

The virtual authorization visit will take place next week from June 8-June 12 so that Cornwall and the other ACSD elementary schools can fully become International Baccalaureate schools. Most of Cornwall’s “visit” will take place on Tuesday, June, 9 but teachers will be involved with meetings throughout the week.

 

Sixth Grade Promotion:

We will be celebrating our 6th graders on June 10th at 1:00pm by holding a drive up celebration following state guidelines for health and safety. We will only have room for the 6th graders to participate, and we want to acknowledge and thank the rest of the Cornwall School community for supporting these students through their elementary school journey.

 

Updated information will be sent to 6th grade families on Monday. Please reach out to Heather or Andrew if you have any questions.

We look forward to recognizing their accomplishments!

 

 

End-of-school car parade!

To acknowledge the end of the school year, teachers and staff have been looking for a way to say good-bye to all students, K-6, for the summer, especially considering that the transition to summer will feel very different this year. 

 

On the afternoon of the last day of school, June 10th, we will drive through Cornwall and drive by family’s houses. Cornwall fire department will participate as well! We are in the process of figuring out the route so that we can provide you with a time frame.

 

 

Meal Service

The last day of meal service for Addison Central School District will be Wednesday, June 10.  There are several other local programs that will be providing meals that will be available for pick up throughout the summer. Please check the ACSD Facebook and website for further information on more programs and resources as it becomes available. 

 

Mask Survey

ACSD School Nurses are helping to provide cloth masks to families in need. Please complete this survey to assist the nurses in this endeavor. Thank you! 

 

Come Alive Outside: Summer Passport

Come Alive Outside has created a free Summer Passport for students filled with fun outdoor activities that can be completed anywhere while practicing physical distancing! The passport was designed for K-5th grade students, but anyone is welcome to participate. Complete all 15 activities in the passport to earn a prize and qualify to win a $50 Gift Card to Dick’s Sporting Goods!

 

Passports can be downloaded and printed by visiting this website: https://comealiveoutside.com/passports/

 

If you would like a printed copy, please fill out this form: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSevem-9alMiV-ev8WqbbO9jBILoQrg6WrIb-AOkIW7ybCpLGA/viewform 

Thank you to the OK You’ve Got This campaign for youth resilience for offering to print and mail passports to students in Addison County.

 

As always, please feel free to reach out with any questions.

Thank you and stay well,

 

Heather

 

 

 

Hello Cornwall families,

 

As the school year is winding down, today’s newsletter is full of announcements. See below for information on the IB Authorization visit, 6th grade promotion, the end of year celebration, request for masks, details about the gardens and bees, and our last question of the week.

 

Primary Years Program IB Authorization Visit:

A virtual authorization visit will take place the week of June 8-June 12 so that CES and the other ACSD elementary schools can fully become International Baccalaureate schools. 

 

We have been asked to invite 4 - 6 parents and students who would be willing to talk about IB and how its implementation has impacted our students and school. The questions will be informal and touch on how the philosophy, instruction and design of IB has resonated with students and families. 

 

Tuesday, June 9 from 10:00-10:30 has been set aside for the virtual parent/student meeting, and we would greatly appreciate your involvement. This visit is not meant to feel evaluative -- it is intended to give IB an overview of what we have done to implement the Primary Years Program at Cornwall and what work we still need to do before authorization. 

 

Thank you for considering participating in this session and please contact Heather if you are available and interested in participating. 

 

 

Sixth Grade Promotion:

We will be celebrating our 6th graders on June 10th at 1:00pm by holding a drive up celebration following state guidelines for health and safety. We will only have room for the 6th graders to participate, and we want to acknowledge and thank the rest of the Cornwall School community for supporting these students through their elementary school journey.

 

Information was sent to 6th grade families earlier this week to explain what the celebration will look like. Please reach out to Heather or Andrew if you have any questions.

 

We look forward to recognizing their accomplishments!

 

 

End-of-school car parade!

To acknowledge the end of the school year, teachers and staff have been looking for a way to say good-bye for the summer, especially considering that the transition to summer will feel very different this year. 

 

On the afternoon of the last day of school, June 10th, we will drive through Cornwall and drive by family’s houses. Cornwall fire department will participate as well! We are in the process of figuring out details including the time frame, and more information will follow.

 

 

Masks:

Nurse Gina has requested that we put a call out to community members for masks. If you are able to make some to donate to others, please drop them off at the high school between 10:30-3:00 on Thursday 6/4 and Thursday 6/11. Thank you!

 

 

Garden and Bees:

Thanks to Mark Burns and Lisa Beck, the school garden has been cleaned up and planted. They also arranged for master gardeners from the Victory Gardens group at the University of Vermont to take care of the garden over the summer. 

 

Thank you also to the Fetterolf family for taking care of the bees and the trees. We appreciate all of you for looking forward and helping out in these ways!

 

Question of the Week:

Do you know who this baby is?

 

  

Email questionoftheweek@acsdvt.org with your guesses!

 

As always, please feel free to reach out with any questions.

 

Thank you and stay well,

 

Heather

 

 

 

Hello Cornwall families,

 

What glorious weather! I’ve heard more than one person say that no place is more beautiful than Vermont when the weather is nice, and it’s so true!

I hope you all saw the message about the end of the school year that was sent earlier this week. It addresses the last day of school, the winding down of learning, our International Baccalaureate PYP virtual verification visit, progress reports, and 6th grade promotion. I included it at the end of this newsletter for your reference.

 

Announcements-

 

Virtual Kids on the Run Race! 

May 30-31st is the Virtual Kids on the Run Race created by Ms. Carra and other PE teachers in the district. With a parent or guardian, we are challenging you to run/walk a One Mile costume fun run , or a 3.1 mile costume fun run in a safe spot of your choice! Many have already signed up and will be receiving a free T-shirt, and if you haven't signed up and want to participate, you still can! Just email Ms. Carra before or on the day of the race. We may even have a few leftover T-shirts to give away! Race day is May 30 or May 31st, your choice, and we encourage you to wear a silly costume and submit photos to Ms. Carra or Laurie Ballantine to show your enthusiasm for movement and exercise! 

Remember to choose a safe place to run with an adult, and have fun! We are so proud of our students who are challenging themselves to move and get outside!

 

Free and Reduced Lunch Applications: Additional Food Shopping Benefits for Eligible Families

We are encouraging all families who do not currently qualify for free and reduced lunch to submit an application now. This includes families who have not applied in the past and families who previously applied, were not considered eligible, and have had a change in financial circumstances.  Families who are currently eligible to receive free and reduced lunch do NOT need to reapply.  Please note that application approval will not impact whether or not families continue to receive meal deliveries through the end of the school year.

Eligibility for free and reduced price school meals qualifies households to receive an additional food shopping benefit called Pandemic-EBT through 3-Squares VT (families will receive an EBT card that can be used to buy eligible food items at participating stores and farmers' markets) and it could impact free summer meal eligibility for our community in the future. The number of students who qualify for free meals also impacts additional funding for schools.

Applications can be submitted electronically by following this link (and entering 05753 for the zip code) or can be completed by filling out a paper copy of this form and mailing it to ACSD, 49 Charles Ave, Middlebury, VT 05753.  If you have questions, please contact Bill Waller, bwaller@acsdvt.org, 382-1293.

 

Question of the Week-

 

Congratulations to Kiera Sell who correctly guessed last week’s baby as Mrs. Harvey. Kiera will receive a certificate in the mail to redeem for a prize once we are physically back in school.

 

Reflection-

 

 

Have a fabulous weekend! As a reminder, there are no classes on Monday in observance of Memorial Day.

 

Please see below for the End-of-Year message that went out earlier this week.

 

Warmly,

 

Heather

 

May 21, 2020

 

Dear Cornwall families,

 

In light of the superintendent’s announcement that the official last day of school will be Wednesday, June 10th, I am writing to explain some of the ways we will ending the school year:

 

1) The Week at a Glance is Winding Down

Over the next three weeks, teachers will be expecting students to spend less time doing “school work” and leave more time for independent reading, exploring the outdoors, and reflecting on the ups and downs of the past year/months.  

Please continue to contact teachers each day, even as the year winds down.  This makes it possible for us to mark your child present in our attendance system.

Teachers will continue to communicate with you each week, particularly as the schedule for class and/or small group meetings change, and as we put closure on the year and this extended period of remote learning.

 

2) International Baccalaureate Primary Years Program Authorization is Happening!

Due to the COVID-19 shutdown, our planned verification visit from International Baccalaureate in early April was cancelled. We have been able to design a “virtual” verification visit for early June, during which teachers and leaders from all seven ACSD elementary schools will share the work we’ve done to implement the Primary Years Program and become a fully authorized IB PYP school district. 

There will be opportunities for students and parents to contribute to these virtual meetings and share your experiences and observations about IB and the PYP, so please let me know if you’d like to participate (more details to come).

 

3) Sixth Grade Promotion

We are coordinating scheduling 6th grade promotion with the other schools in the area and also with our PYP Authorization visit. It looks like we will be able to hold promotion on June 10th in the afternoon, so please hold that time. As soon as we know for certain, we will be in communication with families about both the date and the format. 

 

4) End-of-year Reports to be Mailed June 17th

Teachers have enjoyed collecting feedback from students and families around their positive take-aways from this “school at home” time. We have designed an end-of-the year narrative report to reflect the many ways students engaged in their learning. The report will be mailed home on June 17th. 

 

Thank you, once again, for your continued commitment to making this remote learning situation work.  As always, feel free to contact me with any questions or concerns you may have.

 

Thank you,

Heather 

Hello Cornwall families,

 

It was great to see many of you at our Virtual Bingo Night last night. Thank you for participating, and thank you to our staff members who put together the opportunity. As Mr. Hirsch pointed out, the Cornwall Bingo tradition continues!

 

This week’s news:

• Please take a look at this video from Nurse Gina. She missed our Cornwall School video, and wanted to make sure to send a greeting. Thank you, Nurse Gina! 
  • A Message from Nurse Gina. 

 

• After hearing from families, Tammie Johnson and I will no longer be hosting Cornwall Zoom meetings on Fridays. Please know that you are always welcome to reach out to us.

 

• Middlebury Studio School is offering online art classes! For more information, please see this  flyer.

 

Question of the Week-

We have a winner! Congratulations to Sarah Tolgyesi who correctly guessed last week’s baby - she immediately sent a message saying that it was Mrs. Raabe! :)

 

We still have a few baby photos left! Do you know who the child below is?

 

Email questionoftheweek@acsdvt.org with your guesses!

Stay safe,

 

Heather

 

Hello Cornwall families,

 

What attracted me the most to Cornwall, and what I am regularly reminded of is the strong sense of community. Once again, thank you! 

 

Today’s newsletter will highlight some community happenings.

Weekly Cornwall Zoom Meetings - Fridays at 12:30pm with Heather and Tammie -

 

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/8159227535?pwd=QlN5RmFhUC8vTjZEQ0NYdUhvQ2wydz09

Meeting ID: 815 922 7535

Password: 325253

After this week, we will assess interest and whether  another time would work better. 

 

Virtual Bingo Night - Thursday, May 14th

Sign up for a half hour session at 6:30 or 7:00pm using this form.

Bingo has long been a Cornwall tradition, which we wanted to keep alive during this isolating time. We hope Bingo will be a great way for all of us to do something fun and see each other! 

Teachers will be helping students make Bingo boards during morning meetings. You may also make them on your own.

We will be playing Bingo on Google Meet. Here is the link to use at the time you have signed up for. 

 

Cornwall Staff Video - here it is again!

 

Question of the Week-

Do you know who this baby is?

 

 

Email questionoftheweek@acsdvt.org with your guesses!

 

Stay safe,

 

Heather

 

Hello Cornwall families,

 

Gratitude

I would like to start this week’s newsletter by saying thank you to all of you!

You are all working hard and continuing to adapt in order to balance work and school and how to keep busy and how to relax and how to get groceries and ….. whatever else is needed!  

 

We are grateful for the efforts you are putting toward helping your children with their Google Classrooms and schedules. Please let us know if there is anything else we can do to help.

 

We would also like to thank FOCS! 

Teachers requested books to send to students, and FOCS volunteered to pay for them - thank you! The books are on order, and once they arrive, Laurie and I will deliver them to families. Thank you!

 

Announcements

• If you did not yet see A message from ACSD Elementary Principals (video), please take a look!

 

• You will be receiving a nature booklet in the mailed titled Naturally Literate Vermont in the upcoming days. It is a primer/resource that encourages spending time outdoors.

 

• A former colleague put together this Virtual Calming Zone and gave permission to share. It provides resources intended to help students, staff, and families find new ways to manage life and regulate emotions. Please look through it and use whatever aspects you find interesting or helpful.

 

• We are waiting for guidance from the state regarding 6th grade celebrations, and we will let you know once we have more information.

 

• We will begin reaching out to incoming kindergarten families soon.

 

• Also, as we are thinking forward toward next year, we are beginning to talk about class combinations. When looking at possible combinations, we will thoughtfully consider a number of things - student needs both individually and collectively, classroom dynamics, numbers, strengths and challenges, and our staffing and budget. We will also look ahead toward the upcoming change in transitioning to MUMS.
• Superintendent's Communique - from today!

 

Community

• Join our weekly Cornwall Zoom Meetings on Fridays at 12:30pm with Heather and Tammie -

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82615343283?pwd=V2xkZ0JVU1o0aGxzdk0yaVEvNzlqQT09

Meeting ID: 826 1534 3283

Password: 9zbpcy

 

• We are working on planning a Virtual Bingo Night - look for more information on this to come!

 

Question of the Week:

The correct answer to the “Who is This? Baby of the Week”  post was Margaret Gish!

Many students guessed Mindy Harvey - we did not receive any correct answers this time around.

 

Teacher Appreciation

5/4-5/8/20 is Teacher Appreciation Week! 

Our teachers are champions - I thank them for their dedication, caring, hard work and flexibility!

 

Stay safe,

 

Heather

 

Hello Cornwall families,

 

The highlight of my week was the opportunity to speak with so many of you! 

 

I called every family and  because of this “new normal” where we are currently living, I was actually able to connect and speak with someone from most families,  only occasionally getting no answer or having to leave a message. I appreciated hearing your thoughts, your messages for the teachers, and sometimes the opportunity to speak to your children!

 

The overall sentiments that I heard were gratitude and understanding - for each other and for teachers. Thank you.

 

One question that came up was regarding online safety. 

Nicole Carter of Weybridge School shared this information, which may be helpful-

Teaching Your Kids to Be Safe Online: A Hasty Primer (nytimes 4/2/20) 1. Communicate to your kids that digital devices deserve a special kind of respect. 2. Consider setting rules on when/ where  kids have access to devices or specific apps. 3. Create a schedule so that kids are using their devices during periods when you can provide the most oversight.   4. Consider a technology agreement: Sample agreement and here’s one

Another topic that came up frequently was connection. 

Social isolation can be very challenging and lonely. Please continue to check in with your neighbors and each other. If you know of someone who is alone, show you care and phone them or leave a note on their porch. Small acts of kindness and consideration are precious. 

 

After break, we will start hosting Zoom Meetings for families with Heather and Tammie at 12:30 on Fridays. I will send out specific log-in information once break is over

 

Question of the Week- Who is this?

We are still taking  guesses about who this baby is!  Please email questionoftheweek@acsdvt.org with your guesses!

HINT: I love to be outside, and I like to run.

 

Appreciation

4/21/20 (during break) - Administrative Professionals Day (Shhhh… how can you or your children show Laurie some appreciation? Hint: She checks the mail at school a couple of times a week!) Who else could you show appreciation to?

4/22/20 (during break) - Bus Driver Appreciation Day (Andrew and Becky start their routes again on Monday, 4/47/20)

 

RECENT DISTRICT COMMUNICATIONS

April Break Meal Distribution

 

District Newsletter

https://mailchi.mp/11f243dfd678/april-10-newsletter

 

Superintendent’s Communique

https://www.acsdvt.org/site/Default.aspx?PageID=172

 

Continuity of Education Plan

https://www.acsdvt.org/domain/59

 

Tech Guidelines for Students and Families

https://www.acsdvt.org/Page/6011

 

Oh! And if you haven’t seen it, please scroll down on Cornwall’s website and you can see ACSD’s Facebook posts on the left side!

 

Hope April break feels like a true break!

 

Stay safe,

 

Heather

802-349-5934

Hello Cornwall families,

 

I hope you all had a good weekend.

As I mentioned in the message on Friday, I am sending out a newsletter today. After this week, I will move back to the regular Friday schedule. 

 

From Four Winds:

For many, many years Cornwall school has been involved in the 4 Winds Nature Program. Parent volunteers are trained and then implement hands-on activities in the classroom throughout the year. There are two units left this year. Follow the below link to find mini-explorations framed around the different topics we had hoped to explore together in the Four Winds Nature Program.

 

Here is a link to the suggestions for kids and families for the Wind and Clouds workshop we were scheduled to do in March.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/e/2PACX-1vT2XeK0ePte0DDuWEG9a9J7ywqaIv9uAWIlVijsHPedk_flRmqRCamt4fXFxvjBv5jCx5cNwFRg5tlJ/pub

I will send along our last unit, Get Your Bearings, at the end of the month. 

 

Sincerely, Keele Kozak and the Four Winds team

 

 

Re: Winter Passport:

 

If your child participated in the Come Alive Outside winter passport activities and you were not able to turn the passport in before school closed, you may email a picture of the front inside cover to admin@comealiveoutside.com by April 17 to be included in the drawing for prizes. Please make sure all of the information has been filled out completely before submitting.

 

Question of the Week:

 To submit a guess about who the baby below is, please email questionoftheweek@acsdvt.org.

Laurie did some test runs with the email address (thank you to those of you who helped!), so we think it’s working properly now.

 

 

When a student makes a correct guess regarding the baby in the Question of the Week, Laurie will mail out certificates for prizes (to be collected once we return to school or mailed to 6th graders who guess correctly). 

Contacting  School during school closure:

 

A reminder that if you need to contact the school, you may do so via email and you may still do so by phone. You will hear a message directing you to use a different number, which will lead you to Laurie.

 

Or, you may call 802-349-5934, which is an alternate number that has been set up and will lead you to Heather. 

 

You are welcome to email or call either of us, and if we cannot help you (or are not who you need!), we will connect you to others or pass on your message to others as needed.

 

Just like during the regular school year, if you have any questions, please reach out to your child’s teacher or to me.

 

Also, as I mentioned in the message on Friday, I will be calling families this week in hopes of reaching all of you to touch base. 

Please continue to take care of yourselves, and I look forward to talking with you!

 

Warmly,

 

Heather

 

 

Hello Cornwall families,

 

I thought  I’d start this week’s newsletter with the FUN!

 

Question of the Week

When a student makes a correct guess regarding the baby in the Question of the Week, Laurie will mail out certificates for prizes (to be collected once we return to school or mailed to 6th graders who guess correctly). 

Although we did not get any correct guesses this week, we put together some hints:

• Take a look at my hair. The color has changed, but the style is the same!

 

• I was not at school every day.

 

 

Please have your children look  at the photo, think about the hints, and

email their guess to questionoftheweek@acsdvt.org.

They may need your help with emailing :).

 

We will reveal the identity and any prize winners next week, so stay tuned!  We will also post a new photo at that time.

 

And, now to the business-

 

April break 

April break will take place as scheduled!

The district has been waiting for guidance from the state, and we just heard that schools will follow the calendars as created at the beginning of the year.

We expect to receive further guidance on meal service during break within the next week.

 

Contacting  School during school closure

If you need to contact the school, you may do so via email and you may still do so by phone.

When you call the school, you will hear a message directing you to use a different number, which will lead you to Laurie.

 

Or, you may call 802-349-5934, which is an alternate number that has been set up and will lead you to Heather.

 

You are welcome to call either of us, and if we cannot help you (or are not who you need!), we will connect you to others or pass on your message to others as needed.

 

As during the regular school year, if you have any questions, please reach out to your child’s teacher or to me.

 

And, please continue to take care of yourselves!

Warmly,

 

Heather

Hello Cornwall families,

 

I started this newsletter earlier in the week, but as has become part of our “new norm,” things have changed dramatically since I started writing and I’m going to start all over….

At the end of the communication part, there is a little bit of fun for you and your student(s)! 

 

As you have probably seen, Governor Scott has directed schools to remain dismissed through the end of this school year. This news, although not surprising, brings up a lot of thoughts and feelings. 

 

The immediate response from staff was sadness and concern for students and families. We miss seeing students every day, the back and forth of talking with them and laughing with them, supporting them as needed, and just plain spending time with them! We definitely want students to know that although we will not be together in the same room until August, teachers will be here for them until June just as if we were in school together. 

 

We now know we are in this for the long haul which, I have to admit still feels a bit weird. This past week, teachers started interacting with students through virtual platforms. Some of it went well and some of it didn’t. This is a new world for all of us - teachers, staff, students, and families - and we are all learning as we go. To use an analogy, we are sailing the ship while we are still building it. That means there will be some mistakes along the way, we will learn from them and adjust, and that will be OK.

 

One thing we learned this first week is that many students and teachers are eager to get learning and to connect. Others, both students and teachers, are still figuring out how to connect and use these new platforms.  That has resulted in some inconsistency from grade to grade and school to school. We are aiming to improve and become more consistent. The conversations you have been having with teachers, letting them know what is working and what is challenging are very helpful as we work to improve. Thank you very much for all of your collaboration and communication.

 

As part of the  collaborative process, teachers are working with teams - interventionists, specialists, guidance counselors, special educators and support staff as well as with grade level teams across the district to build this ship that we’re sailing and find ways to best support students.  We know that families are also building their own ships at home while navigating what all of the changes mean for you and your family.  

 

Please do what you need to do for your family - school is a great constant even in this changing world, but some may need to step back to prioritize in other ways. Balance is important and can also be a struggle, so please prioritize your needs and please feel free to reach out. 

 

Lastly, a little fun!!  Laurie has been posting baby pictures of a staff member on the “Question of the Week” board. When school closed, there were no correct answers for the baby in this picture. Please show it to your kids and if they would like to make a guess, you may email their guess to questionoftheweek.cornwall@gmail.com. Click on the link below to see the picture so you can start taking guesses!

Guess Who??

 

When there are correct guesses, Laurie shares the name of the winner during our All School Meeting on Wednesdays. She will check on Wednesday to see if we have any correct answers or if we need to start giving hints!

 

Please, take care of yourselves!

Warmly,

 

Heather