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| Our nurses gather during pre-service. Read their welcome back note below! | | | Dear ACSD Community,Welcome, everyone, to the 2023-24 school year. I am looking forward to working with you to make this year a positive experience for all. This marks my 38th first day of school, all but two of which were in Pennsylvania. As you may be aware, I was the Interim Superintendent at the Patricia A. Hannaford Career Center (PAHCC) last year and will hold that position for ACSD this year.
Over the past few days, I have enjoyed meeting so many of our teachers and staff as they came back for preservice to collaborate and to plan for the year ahead. We had a wonderful convocation together, celebrating our 2023 Outstanding Teachers of the year, Lisa Maggio and Christina Wadsworth and our Barbara Whittemore Staff awardees, Alex Cox and Linda Barrett. (Read more about them below.)
We were also joined by MUHS students, Bea Hooper '25 and Asa Baker-Rouse '24, who offered thoughtful speeches on the prompt: From Kindergarten to today, what have your teachers done to help and inspire you? During my time at PAHCC, it became obvious that the staff really cared about each other and their students, and everyone worked together to make the best of every situation. That same feeling permeates ACSD, creating a caring environment for students. Undoubtedly, we will face many challenges together this year, and I expect we will also experience many successes.
Parents, thank you for sharing with us the people you cherish most – your children. Teachers and staff, thank you for everything you will do for our students. And thank you to the ACSD community for making this a great place for learning.
The newsletter below shares helpful updates as our children return to their classrooms. I look forward to a wonderful school year together.
Timothy P. Williams, Ed. D. Interim Superintendent
| | | | Lisa Maggio ~ Outstanding Secondary Teacher of the Year!MUMS principal, Michaela Wisell, presented the award. Michaela was joined by Jocelyn Foster, one of many MUMS students to nominate Lisa, who spoke to her warmth, kindness, and the fun that Lisa brings to her classes. Michaela shared that Lisa “has an energy that is contagious, a commitment to her content and our school and a love for students and growth that is impossible to describe….She encourages student autonomy while helping them stretch and explore their creativity and she does this with “all kids” at MUMS in mind. As a colleague, Lisa is a master of interdisciplinary teaching and learning. She seeks out collaboration to develop interdisciplinary units that help students build connections across disciplines and she supports colleagues through complex challenges with humor and compassion.”
| Christina Wadsworth ~ Outstanding Elementary Teacher of the Year!Weybridge principal, Christina Johnston, presented the award and shared that Christina Wadsworth's “voracious appetite for reading and learning have been a hallmark of Weybridge’s learning community, providing tinder and oxygen to her students' and colleagues’ curiosity.” A colleague and parent shared that “Chrstina has helped my children to understand the world as a complex and fascinating place. I am truly grateful for the ways that she has made school a place that both challenges and nourishes students, for her very high standards and ongoing support.”
| | Linda Barrett, Bridport administrative assistant, was presented with the Whittemore award by Bridport principal, Matthew Brankman who shared that Linda is “an institution, a force of nature, and a human being who has devoted her life to serving her community. One cannot think of Bridport Central School without immediately picturing Linda Barrett. She has been the one essential and consistent human being who has sheparded our school through a myriad of challenges. Teachers and paraprofessionals go to Linda for moral support, institutional memory, and kind words of encouragement. Linda She is strong, smart, kind, and one of the hardest working people in the district.” | Alex Cox, Ripton paraprofessional, was presented with the Whittemore Award by former Ripton principal, Tracey Harrington. Tracey shared what a calm, steady, skilled presence Alex is for students and staff. She shared words from many Ripton parents, students, and colleagues including that he “sees, appreciates and fosters students’ individual talents by lifting them up with kindness and empathy.” And “Alex makes the school, the community and the world a better and more beautiful place. He has a tremendous ability to always remember what's most important and reminds everyone around him, both students and adults alike, that above all, they matter, they're important, and they are loved.”
| | | Bea Hooper, MUHS '25 and Asa Baker-Rouse, MUHS '24 were invited to share how teachers have helped and inspired them. Asa focused on the importance of building relationships and making learning fun to create strong learners. Bea shared how the little moments and efforts that teachers offer can make a big difference in the lives of their students. Thank you Asa and Bea! | | | |  | |
We are lucky to have several staff moving to new roles within the district and several new faces across our schools. We weren't able to capture all of our new staff in our new teacher day photo, but we want to welcome all of our new staff to the district this year: Kari Aube, Marlies Baird, Katy Bauer, Anthony Bellomo, Savanah Blanchard, Makayla Broughton, Roxie Brouillard, Stephanie Bull, Kimberly Catchapaw, Rachel Cosgrove, Megan Curran, Ida Mae Danforth, Marc Dudsak, Cathy Farman, Samantha Farrell-Schmitt, Connar Foley, Michelle Fongemie, Maddie Fuller, Lexie Grenier, Sam Harlow, Julie Haugan, Marissa Heannings, Tara Huestis, Zach Jerome, Matthew Killkelley, Peggy Leary, Delaynah Leavitt, Nicolas Leslie, Constance MacDougal, Thomas McElhaney, Neil Dharma, Elizabeth Palko, Roberto Pareja, Timothy Porter, Jeffrey Priest, Lily Richards, Colleen Rueppel, Emmaleigh Sabol, Calista Sargent, Michael Sassin, Emily Schademan, Catherine Spitzer, Mollie Sprague, Maggie Standley, Tracie Taylor, Wendy Taylor, Mercedes Terrier, Wendy Taylor, Mercedes Terrier, Larissa Traverse, Sarah Trudo, Laura Vantine, Katie Willard, and Katrina Yepez! | | | School meals are now free for every public school student in VT! We still need all families fill out the free and reduced meal (FRL) application each fall. This helps us qualify for over $475,000 to help students with nutrition, literacy, and other programs! Fill it out on My School Aps. Or print the PAPER APPLICATION and return it to school or to William Waller wwaller@acsdvt.org or 49 Charles Ave Middlebury VT 05753.
HUGE thanks to our food service team who did an amazing job feeding our staff during preservice! They're already hard at work prepping school meals for our students! You can find the menus for our elementary schools, MUMS and MUHS with the link below: | | | | You can find our school bus routes with the button below. We also have several important updates. If your child is a bus rider, please read the entire 2023 Transportation Memo to Families here.
Important updates include: - K-1: Parent/Guardian Must Be Present. Our new transportation agreement stipulates that a parent/guardian must be present to send and receive all kindergarten and first grade students onto and off of the bus each day.
- Change of Ridership Plans - All modifications to a student’s bus route must be approved by their school. You must notify the school if: A student is riding to a friend or family member’s house, getting off at MUMS or MUHS, or altering their normal routine in any other way.
- All disciplinary actions related to bus rides are handled by the school(s) administrators. Bus drivers are not responsible for disciplinary action and are legally required to report all incidents directly to the principal. Parents are required to communicate any and all concerns regarding the bus directly to the principal. Parents should not attempt to communicate with the drivers regarding student behavioral issues.
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We are so excited to welcome your children back to school! As school begins, we often get questions about when students should stay home and when they can return to school after an illness. You can now find the full illness guidance anytime on the health page of our website. As a reminder, we expect students and staff to stay home with any potentially contagious illnesses or symptoms including the following:
Vomiting/diarrhea-must be 24 hours symptom free before returning to school Fever 100.4 or greater (Please note this used to be 100 or greater, but this has changed with the input of our district medical consultants at Porter Pediatrics)-home until fever free without use of medication for 24 hours Any infection requiring antibiotic-keep your student home until they have been on antibiotics for 24 hours Persistent cough that disrupts normal activity Unexplained rash Influenza-stay home until fever free without medication for 24 hours Any other symptoms or illness that impedes a student’s ability to learn or staff’s ability to work.
You may return once feeling well enough to be at school and fever free for 24 hours without the use of fever reducing medications. We are currently waiting to hear if we will continue to have access to COVID tests to send home with families and staff as needed. At this time, the school nurse will no longer be able to test students or staff for COVID at school though this is subject to change.
If your student has a medical concern that requires an emergency plan at school, please connect with the school nurse if you have not already. - Kelly, Ali, Arlene, Elizabeth, Becky, Eva, & Haysal | | | WebsiteThis summer, we launched a new website. We hope it helps families find what you are looking for more easily. There is still a district page and a page for each school. Please reach out to oprescott@acsdvt.org or eblistein@acsdvt.org if you are having trouble finding something. | District & School NewslettersYour principal will send school newsletters by email most weeks to help you stay informed about school specific news. ACSD will send newsletter by email most months to remind you of district information. If you miss the email, we will also post the district newsletter on the district's newsletter page and your school's newsletters on their newsletter pages so that you can refer back to them: | | | If you think you might want to volunteer at your child's school, or you are interested in substitute teaching. Now is a great time to apply! Find the links below: | | | | | |  | | | | Stay Connected!We use our newsletter and social media to stay connected and give you a peek into our classrooms. For more regular connection and lots of photos, follow us: Insta: @acsdvtschools FB: @acsdvt |  | Addison Central School District |
| | 49 Charles AveMiddlebury VT 05753 Phone: 802-382-1274 |
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