Hi All,
I hope that you all had a wonderful weekend. We celebrated Rowan's 5th birthday with friends and family. The word I keep thinking of is: village. I was extremely grateful to the village that loves us and our child. There's an unspoken, helpful and beautiful thing that is created when we care for eachother.
As exhausting as the first week is I hope that you all feel that village and community that is here to help us "raise" our young people this year. I saw it in action in a million ways this last week. Thank you to everyone who is stepping in and up, making copies, asking who needs what.
I had a wonderful conversation with a new to us family and she remarked at how thankful she was for our community. She said "not every place is like this." We are grateful to be in Vermont and here in Berlin. Your actions are seen and appreciated by many.
Observations from the Field
- Folks welcoming students at the door with a warm greeting
- Folks responding quickly to student needs
- Colleagues supporting each other with breaks, care and connection
- Teachers laughing with students
- Hearing clear, kind directions and re-directions of students
- JOY, FUN and LAUGHTER
News and Announcements
- Here are the results from the Google Form about Open House. With this I have two caveats.
- Caveat 1: There are 5 Wednesdays in September so we will have one staff meeting off. The 30th happens to be the first Districtwide PD virtual PD day so I won't be able to give you staff meeting time for that. If we were to have Open House that evening it would mean that your PD would end at 4:45 and then we would start Open House at 5:30.
- Caveat 2: I apologize. The 30th wasn't set when I set the poll.
- With all of this information I will be re-posing the date question at Staff Meeting on Wednesday.
- I found this quick articles from Edutopia and I thought I should pass them along. They are quick reads and felt very doable.
- Attention Getters
- How to Give Better Directions **This one is particularly good
- There have been some changes to the Duty Schedule. Please review it to make sure that you are where you're supposed to be.
- Indoor Recess Schedule I'm hoping the weather isn't as terrible as it looks. We'll go out even if it's drizzling. I'll make the call by 11:30. If duty folks need to come inside they will go to the rooms marked in the schedule above.
- Staff Website Link. Also, the links to the folder and calendars are on the side of the blog as promised during inservice.
- Compost at BES:
- Will being Monday 8/31 between 2:00-2:30 (PK Last)
- Buckets will be delivered Monday morning and rinsed M-Th. They get cleaned on Friday.
- Reminders from our Intervention Team:
Quick Update: Assessment & IT
Assessment Start Date
Resources
IT Checklist
Return uncollected iPads for critical updates.Dear Teachers,
The upcoming assessment window is scheduled to open on September 8th. The Local Comprehensive Assessment Plan (LCAP) outlines the specific assessments required for each grade level. You may access the LCAP document here. Additionally, this resource will be made available on the WCUUSD website under the "Admin" tab, within the "Curriculum, Instruction and Assessment" section. To ensure a smooth transition into the assessment period, the IT Department has provided three critical updates:
1. iPad Updates: Any iPads that were not returned at the conclusion of the previous school year will likely be locked once they connect to Wi-Fi. Please return these devices as soon as possible so that we may perform necessary updates, replace older models, and install required software.
2. Device Replacement & Distribution: The Android tablets formerly used for testing have been replaced with new iPads. These devices will primarily be reserved for testing purposes and will be managed and distributed by Craig M. If you require a dedicated iPad for full-time use, please submit an IT ticket detailing your specific requirements.
3. Collaboration with IT: We are committed to fostering a culture of trust and cooperation between the Technology Department and our teaching staff. We look forward to working together toward our shared educational goals and value your feedback. While we may not be able to accommodate every request, we encourage you to reach out with questions or ideas. Please note that all specific technical or device-related requests must be submitted via a ticket at ithelp@u32.org. This process allows us to track and address district needs more efficiently than direct requests.
We wanted to make certain everyone is aware of the change in technology for the upcoming administration of assessments.
Please see this email about a State contest for K-4 students:
Greetings,
Since 2024, the Vermont Agency of Agriculture, Food and Markets has invited kindergarten through 4th grade school kids from across Vermont to participate in the creation of the Vermont Agriculture Kids Calendar. This calendar seeks to recognize the importance, beauty and connectivity of Vermont's food and farm communities, through the eyes of our youngest residents!
Participating classes and students create farm or food-based artwork that is submitted to the Agency. A committee chooses 15 of those submissions to be part of the final calendar, but all submissions are posted online for the students, their families and communities to enjoy. (See the 2026 Vermont Kids Art Calendar here.)
We wonder if you, as principal, can communicate this opportunity to the appropriate classrooms in your school. A PDF flyer is attached to assist in disseminating the opportunity.
The Agency hopes this opportunity will spark conversations in the classroom about the many types of agriculture here in Vermont. While dairy is a very large component, we also have apple orchards, pumpkins, vegetables, maple syrup and goats. Did you know that we have grain farmers as well?
The calendar creation invites students to use art to show what it is they love about agriculture or agricultural products. Maybe it is a stack of pancakes and a jug of maple syrup. Maybe it’s an apple tree. Or a big ol’ creemee. Whatever it is, we hope the students will tell us about why they love what they drew.
Do you have children whose English is a second language? We encourage them to submit entries in their home language. Honoring new Americans and their agricultural traditions is something Secretary Anson Tebbetts and Agency staff embrace. The Agency of Agriculture, Food & Markets wants all types of agriculture to flourish here in Vermont.
All submitted entries become the property of the Vermont Agency of Agriculture, Food & Markets. It is our hope to use this artwork to help in messaging the importance of agriculture to our state through social media and other messaging opportunities.
K-4th student entries for the 2027 Agriculture Kids Calendar are due on November 6, 2026.
You are welcome to contact me with any questions you may have by calling 802-622-4662 or by emailing me at scott.waterman@vermont.gov
We look forward to receiving entries from around the state.
Reminders:
- September 9th----Jason Chin/Year of Book Kick-Off Event
- Services Start the Week of September 8th
- Team Meetings start the Week of September 14th
What's happening at BES?
Where is Celia?
