5.17

Hi All, 

I hope that you are all still out relishing in the beauty that has been this weekend. While we're all extra dirty and filled with bug bites I am so grateful for the sunshine and the promise that the "big green payback" is coming! 

You all are navigating all the end of the year chaos very well. Keep up the fantastic work. 

Observations from the Field

• Staff communicating need to each other clearly and respectfully
• Staff working to provide new opportunities for students 
• Staff who are going the extra mile to make sure that kids feel connected and supported
• Staff working together to make sure that we are pulling in the same direction 
• Students expressing themselves using multiple modes of expression (written, visual, audio)     

News and Announcements

• Given the announcement of class configuration and who is teaching where I wanted to give a heads up of how students will be placed. 
• First, current grade level teachers will make lists 
• Second, the lists will be reviewed/feedback with interventionists and special education teacher 
• Third, lists will be reviewed/feedback by specials teachers 
• Fourth, lists will be reviewed by classroom teachers
• Celia makes final placement/decisions. Letters are sent over summer.  
• Please note that class placement is confidential and parents will be notified over the summer of where their child is/will be placed. 
• Memorial Day Whole School Meeting--- DATE CHANGE 
• We will be having a whole school meet on Friday May 22nd from 2:50-3:20. I apologize, we have a scheduling meeting off campus. I mixed up my dates. 
• Whole School Meeting/Den Groups through the end of the year 
• Whole School Meeting--- May 14th 
• Whole School Meeting--- May 22nd 
• Den Groups w/Special Video Request--- June 4th  
• Whole School Meeting/Activity--- June 15th 9:30-10:45
• Upcoming Dates
• May 19th: Art/Music Show
• May 22nd-- Whole School Meeting 
• June 9th— 6th Step-Up Day
• June 10th--- Field Day/BBQ 
• June 16th– 6th Grade Graduation at 6:00 
• June 17th–Half Day Grading 

• June 18th—Inservice Day 

Field Trips
• Thursday, May 28 - 1st Grade goes to Book Buddies at U32
• Friday, May 29 - Kindergarten goes to Autumn Raynes Farm
• Friday, June 5 - 5th & 6th Grade goes to Great Escape
• Tuesday, June 9 - 4th Grade goes to VT Statehouse and History Museum

• Tuesday, June 9 - 1st and 2nd Grade goes to Montshire Museum

• Marshall Memo 1137

  This week's quotes and articles come from Learning on Purpose, The Rithm Project, The Power of Why, Education Disrupted, The New Yorker, Educational Leadership, Edutopia, Principal Leadership, Communique, Scientists in the Making, Principal, Adrian's Newsletter, and Leadership Freak. Here are the headlines:

  • What is the role of brick-and-mortar schools in the years ahead?
  • A parent worries about AI in her children's classrooms
  • Jim Knight on fast-track instructional coaching
  • How to prevent tearful last-minute pleas for grade changes
  • Dealing with kids' withdrawal symptoms after playing addictive games
  • Getting the most out of small erasable whiteboards
  • Talking so parents understand
  • A teacher's year-end to-do list
  • Complainers and builders

  If you want an HTML version of this week's Memo, please click here.

  To listen to a podcast of last week's issue (#1136), click here.

  For a podcast of this week's Memo, log in at www.marshallmemo.com later this week and click Podcasts.

I want to highlight these two articles from the Marshall Memo:

7. Getting the Most Out of Small Erasable Whiteboards

            In this Scientists in the Making article, Marcie Samayoa says mini-whiteboards can be an excellent way to check for understanding with every student in a class – and use real-time data to adjust instruction accordingly. But in her high-school science classes, Samayoa noticed a problem:

-   She explained a concept and gave a worked example.

-   She gave students a new problem and they solved it on their whiteboards.

-   When the whiteboards were held up, half the class had incorrect answers.

-   She explained it again, addressing the error she saw on the boards.

-   But when students tried a new problem, half the class still got wrong answers.

What was going on? Samayoa believes it was because “despite the teacher providing students feedback on their answers, students are not applying the feedback to their own work.”

            It took her a while to figure out a solution, but she finally found it in Tick-Trick, a system for getting students to apply feedback to their mini-whiteboard responses. Here’s how it works:

-   Students solve a problem on their whiteboards.

-   The teacher scans the responses, visibly craning to see all whiteboards.

-   The teacher refrains from providing individual feedback (Angela, you really understand this.).

-   The teacher goes over the solution, telling students to put a checkmark by each part they have correct, which gets students applying feedback to their work in real time.

-   In her class, Samoya reports hearing a lot of “Ohhhhhhhs” as students do this.

-   Students write their number of checkmarks in the top corner of their whiteboards.

-   Students hold up their whiteboards again for accountability.

-   If some students are faking their checkmarks, Samayoa spots them and follows up individually.

“The Missing Piece to Mini Whiteboards” by Marcie Samayoa in Scientists in the Making, May 6, 2026; Samayoa can be reached at scientistsinthemakingblog@gmail.com; her previous article on mini-whiteboards is here.

Back to page one

8. Talking So Parents Understand

            In this article in Principal, Windy Lopez-Aflitto (Learning Heroes) says the words educators use can confuse or worry parents. Some examples and suggested alternatives:

What we say: self-regulation

What parents hear: This sounds like my child is going through some kind of therapy.

Try this: self-control

What we say: grit

What parents hear: dirt, difficulty, something hard

Try this: taking on challenges, pushing yourself, learning from mistakes and effort

What we say: growth mindset

What parents hear: The ability of child’s mind to expand and grow increases over time.

Try this: learning from mistakes, hard work pays off, it’s all in the effort

What we say: executive function

What parents hear: Is this going to the bathroom?

Try this: organizational skills, setting goals, ability to focus, managing time well

What we say: resilience, perseverance, persistence

            What parents hear: Their child is unhappy or struggling.

            Try this: bouncing back, sticking with it, learning from mistakes, overcoming obstacles

“The Power of School-Home Partnerships” by Windy Lopez-Aflitto in Principal, May/June 2026; the full report is Developing Life Skills in Children: A Road Map for Communicating with Parents, 2018

Back to page one

What's Happening at BES?

Monday 5/18	HJC 8:15
Tuesday 5/19	Concert Rehearsal 1:00 Concert 5:30-7:00
Wednesday 5/20	Teacher PD 8:20-9:20  No Staff Meeting  Board Meeting 6:00
Thursday  5/21
Friday 5/22	Team Meetings 3-6 Academic Whole School Meeting---Memorial Day 2:55-3:20

Where is Celia?

Monday 5/18	HJC 8:15 Union Meeting 10:00-10:30  Student Meeting 11:00-12:00 SPED Meeting 11:40 Student Meeting 3:45
Tuesday 5/19	WCLT In Person 8:30-12:00 **Celia Out until 12:30
Wednesday 5/20	Joelle Recap virtual 8:00-8:30 Teacher PD 8:20-9:20  Student Meeting 10:00  WCLT Nuts and Bolts 1:00-2:00 Board Meeting
Thursday  5/21	Student Meeting 8:15 BES SST 10:00-10:45 Elementary School Scheduling Bootcamp 1:00-4:00
Friday 5/22	Student Meeting 12:00-12:45 Team Meetings 3-6 Academic

5.10

Hi All, 

I hope that you all had a lovely weekend. I apologize that I am late in my blog this week. We ended up spending more time in Waterford than we had originally planned. I am looking forward to another beautiful and joy filled week with you all. 

                                                   

 

Here are a couple of snapshots of the joy last week! I wanted to give a huge shoutout to the 5/6 team for putting on an amazing spaghetti dinner and silent auction. There was an immense amount of excitement and a full spirit of teamwork present on Friday evening. Thank you to everyone who made it happen. 

Observations from the Field

• Staff communicating clearly about needs 
• Staff reflecting and making team decisions 
• Students feeling comfortable in asking for help
• Staff supporting students in unique ways 
• Adults listening carefully for finding ways to help 

News and Announcements

• Climate Surveys:
• Faculty/staff Climate Survey 
• Grade 2nd-6th need to fill out this student survey 
• All surveys must be filled out by this Friday, May 15th. Families and the broader community will also receive this survey again this week. 
• If you need help in getting this completed with students please let me know what I can do to help. 
• Memorial Day Celebration---
• Kim Knapp and i had a lovely conversation. We are going to move the lunchoen to happen around Veteran's Day next year. 
• The "drop everything and learn" together will happen in the gym. So, instead of classroom learning we will engage in a whole school meeting. 
• We are going to strike a balance between learning, reverence and understanding. 
• All School Meeting will take place March 21. 
• Whole School Meeting/Den Groups through the end of the year 
• Whole School Meeting--- May 14th 
• Whole School Meeting--- May 21st 
• Den Groups w/Special Video Request--- June 4th  
• Whole School Meeting/Activity--- June 15th 9:30-10:45
• Grade Level Configurations 26-27 
• K 
• 1
• 2
• 3/4
• 3/4
• 5
• 5
• 6
• Decision on where teacher's will be teaching will be made early in the week. I want all teaching staff to be in the building when the announcements are made. 

Upcoming Dates: 

• May 13th--- Half Day Dismissal
• May 19th All School Dress rehearsal for Music Show ---- 1:00 pm 
• May 19th: Art/Music Show 
• June 9th— 6th Step-Up Day
• June 10th--- Field Day/BBQ 
• June 16th– 6th Grade Graduation at 6:00 
• June 17th–Half Day Grading 

• June 18th—Inservice Day 

Field Trips

• Tuesday, April 28 - BES Band and Chorus Students go to U32
• 3rd goes to the Farm (???)
• Friday, May 15 - 3rd Grade goes to Shelburne Museum
• Thursday, May 28 - 1st Grade goes to Book Buddies at U32
• Friday, May 29 - Kindergarten goes to Autumn Raynes Farm
• Friday, June 5 - 5th & 6th Grade goes to Great Escape
• Tuesday, June 9 - 4th Grade goes to VT Statehouse and History Museum

• Tuesday, June 9 - 1st and 2nd Grade goes to Montshire Museum

Marshall Memo 1136 This week's quotes and articles come from Education Gadfly, Grading for Growth, Psychology Today, Education Week, The Learning Professional, two Coaching Letters, Communique, and Cult of Pedagogy. The headlines: Five principles of learning and how they can be put to work in schools Zaretta Hammond on countering the effects of "cognitive redlining" Challenges when successful practices are taken to scale Workplace accommodations for neurodivergent adults Jennifer Gonzalez on lesson plans that stand the test of time If you want an HTML version of this week's Memo, please click here. To listen to a podcast of last week's issue (#1135), click here. For a podcast of this week's Memo, log in at www.marshallmemo.com later this week and click Podcasts.

What's Happening at BES?

• Monday 5/11	Curriculum Council 4:00-5:30
  Tuesday 5/12	Paraeducator Monthly Meeting 3:40-4:40
  Wednesday 5/13	Teacher PD 8:20-9:20  Staff Meeting 3:10-4:45 Art Room
  Thursday  5/14	PTNA Meeting 6:00-7:30
  Friday 5/15	Team Meetings K-2 Attendance/Behavior 3-6 Academic

  Where is Celia?

  Monday 5/11	Meeting 9:00-10:00  Union Meeting 10:00-10:30  Meeting w/Julia 10:30-11:00 SPED Meeting 11:40 Student Meeting 1:00-2:30 Curriculum Council 4:00-5:30
  Tuesday 5/12	Student Meeting 10:00  Student Meeting 1:00  Para Monthly Meeting 3:30-4:30
  Wednesday 5/13	Teacher PD  Student Meeting 11:00-12:00  Early Dismissal
  Thursday  5/14	Student Meeting 8:15 Meeting with Capstone Action 9:00 BES SST 10:00-10:45
  Friday 5/15	Studnet Meeting Team Meetings K-2 Attendance/Behavior 3-6 Academic

5.3

Hi All, 

I hope that you all had a lovely end to your week and that you made the best of this kind dreary weekend. Some how the two days we have "off" always feel way shorter than they should! I'm looking forward to another great week ahead. One of my goals for the week is to have a more clear plan for staffing and placement by the end of the week, at the start of next week at the latest. Thank you for your patience as we've waited for returning of contracts, etc.  What is one of your goals for the week? Write it down, share it with a colleague, or stop me and let me know what you're working on. 

As we are approaching the typical parent's day celebrations, I wanted to share a few reminders from writing and personal experience. These days are particularly challenging for students who have:

• experienced loss
• are living in foster care 
• have strained parental relationships 

https://www.naesp.org/resource/helping-kids-cope-on-mothers-day-and-fathers-day/

Shifting the focus to being a "hero" day or celebrating someone special is an okay shift and please make sure to check in with the student first and make sure that they have an "out" if they'd like. I know that personally it always felt like an afterthought and I would have deeply appreciated a personal check-in and plan with my teachers prior to the class project or discussion. 

Observations from the Field: 

• Teachers flexing schedules and supporting students with multiple entry points 
• Staff supporting each other's work in celebration 
• Conversations staying student centered 
• Professional conversations 
• Solution focused thinking 
• Staff supporting the creation of a new schedule for next year
• Staff stepping in and supporting the finishing of VTCAP

News and Announcements: 

• This week is BES Staff Appreciation Week, expect some fun surprises throughout the week. Wednesday Morning the PTNA is hosting an appreciation breakfast starting at 8:00 in the Art Room. Please know that this is a small gesture of how thankful we are for all of you. 
• The 5th/6th Grade Team is hosting a Spaghetti Dinner Fundraiser on Friday Night. Please support our oldest learners. Sign-Up Here https://forms.gle/dt9p8djJUE1y8vvC7
• End of Year--Reflections
• We will be scheduling meetings in the first weeks of June to reflect on your goals. Please make sure to login and identify progress, upload documents and start to think about that conversation. 
• End of Year-- Field Trips 
• Please know that I am working on placements for adults on Field Trips and will be working with special educators on ensuring that all students are supported. If you know now that you are able/unable to attend one of the trips and support a student please let me know ASAP. 
• Heads Up: Relocation 
• By the end of the year we will have to do a relocation drill-- we will spend some time as a staff on May 6th and May 29th talking about and walking to our "rally points" and will have discussions with our students about where we could go in the event of a run.  

Upcoming Events/Dates:

• May 6th: Community in Bloom Library Night 
• May 8th: 6th Grade Spaghetti Dinner 
• May 13th: Half Day Release---Inservice
• May 19th All School Dress rehearsal for Music Show ---- 1:00 pm 
• May 19th: Art/Music Show 
• May 26th: No School---Memorial Day
• June 10th--- Field Day/BBQ 
• June 16th– 6th Grade Graduation at 6:00 
• June 17th–Half Day Grading 
• June 18th—Inservice Day 

Field Trips

• Friday, May 15 - 3rd Grade goes to Shelburne Museum
• Thursday, May 28 - 1st Grade goes to Book Buddies at U32
• Friday, May 29 - Kindergarten goes to Autumn Raynes Farm
• Friday, June 5 - 5th & 6th Grade goes to Great Escape
• Tuesday, June 9 - 4th Grade goes to VT Statehouse and History Museum
• Tuesday, June 9 - 1st and 2nd Grade goes to Montshire Museum

What's Happening at BES?

• Monday 5/4	HJC 8:15-9:00 Steven in Building 10:00-12:00 Curriculum Council 4:00-5:30
  Tuesday 5/5
  Wednesday 5/6	PTNA Staff Appreciation Breakfast 8:00-8:45 Staff Meeting 3:10-4:45 Art Room  Community Library Night 5:30-7:30
  Thursday  5/7
  Friday 5/8	Team Meetings K-2 Academic 3-6 Attendance/Behavior

  Where is Celia?

  Monday 5/4	Union Meeting 9:30-10:15  Meet with Steven 10:00-12:00 SPED Meeting 11:40 Curriculum Council 4:00-5:30
  Tuesday 5/5	WCLT 8:30-12:30 **Celia Out
  Wednesday 5/6	Teacher Appreciation Breakfast  WCLT Nuts and Bolts 1:00-2:00  Staff Meeting 3:10-4:45 Art Room
  Thursday  5/7	Meeting w/Stephanie 8:15 BES SST 10:00-10:45 UVM CSC Site Visit and Grant Review 12:00-3:00
  Friday 5/8	Team Meetings K-2 Academic  3-6 Attendance/Behavior

4.26

 

Hi All, 

I hope that this week brought you everything that you needed. I am feeling excited to welcome you all back as well as our wonderful students. We had a productive week at home getting spring projects done. In fact, we had some fun escapees from down the road. Check out the surprise Rowan and I got yesterday while we were working in the yard! Never a dull moment in the town of Berlin. 

The start of this week is supposed to be absolutely beautiful. This is a great time of year to revisit the rules both inside and outside of the school building. I've linked a couple of articles in News and Announcements. Here are some simple check-ins post break. 

Inclusive & Gentle Reconnectors

• Sticky Note Anonymous Board: Put a prompt on the board like "Something I learned over break" or "How I feel about coming back" and have participants add their thoughts anonymously.
• "I am Proud Of..." Partner Share: Participants share a moment from their break (or a personal achievement) they are proud of and give each other a compliment, which boosts confidence and builds social bonds.
• Set the Scene with Music: Play upbeat, fun music during arrival to set a positive, welcoming tone immediately.

Visual & Non-Verbal Check-ins (Low Pressure)

• Emoji Mood Board: Display a chart of emojis and have participants select the one that fits their mood.
• Color-Coded Emotions: Use a color system where each color represents a feeling (e.g., green for ready, yellow for tired, blue for calm).
• "What's Your Break Vibe?" Photo Check-in: Display 4–6 photos representing different types of breaks (e.g., a photo of a snowy mountain, a cozy bed, a fun game, a busy street) and ask participants to pick the one that best matches their time off.

Visual & Reflective Activities

• Memory Drawing: Have students draw one picture of a favorite moment from their break to share with a partner or the class.
• "Before and After" Drawing: Ask students to draw what they thought they would do on break versus what they actually did

News and Announcements

• Over the break we had National Administrative Professional's Day. We'll take Monday to celebrate Lori and Doreen for all that they do to keep us all afloat. Take a minute to say thank you to them for all they do. 
• https://www.responsiveclassroom.org/reaffirming-community-after-a-vacation/
• VTCAP Make-Ups: I will be working with classroom teachers and Special Education through this week (T-Th) to ensure that every student finishes the VTCAP. Stay tuned. 
• Coverage---I understand this used to be a practice. So, I'm putting it out there as a solution as we have zig-zag days in the spring.
•  If there is a whole school activity during a classroom teacher's special time the allied arts teacher will provide coverage during that activity. This coverage allows the teacher their planning time as well as provides seamless coverage to the students who were expecting to see that teacher during that time.  
• With everything there are always exceptions but generally this is the practice of supporting colleagues and meeting the needs of our students. 
• Teaching Positions: 
• Reminder: Letters of Intent are due by May 2nd (that's Saturday).
• Math Interventionist: Given Kim's one year leave of absence please let me know if you are interested in being an interventionist next year ASAP either in person or in writing. 
• We have gotten clearance to have three 5/6 classrooms next year! 
• Kitchen Information---Amber and I have been working on a "cheat sheet" of any kitchen changes and information. More information will be available in the next few days.
• Principal's Challenge--- I had SO much fun on Friday after break, thanks to Christine and Doreen for making the challenge and the blades happen. I'm looking forward to more "challenges" in the future. 

• Pricing: WCUUSD à La Carte Items ***Adults pay à la carte for all breakfast items.

  Item Category	Item	Price
  Breakfast	Milk, Juice, Fruit, Dried Fruit, or Cheese Stick	$0.50
  	Muffin, Zee Zees Bar, Boiled Eggs (2), or Cereal	$1.00
  	Bagel (w/ butter or cream cheese), Cinnamon Roll, or Biscuit	$2.00
  	Smoothie, Yogurt Parfait, or Breakfast Sandwich/Wrap	$3.00
  Lunch	Full Adult Lunch (1.5x portion, no seconds)	$7.00
  	Adult Special Theme Lunch (1.5x portion, no seconds)	$7.50
  	Salad Bar or Salad as a Meal (with protein)	$7.00
  Sides/Misc	Dinner Roll	$0.50
  	Garlic Bread, Garlic Knot, or Corn Bread	$1.00
  	Side of Vegetable, Starchy Veg (Potato), or Main Entree only	$2.00
  	Side Salad (with veggies and dressing)	$3.00

• Marshall Memo 1134

This week's quotes and articles come from National Catholic Reporter, The New York Times, Harvard Business Review, Cult of Pedagogy, Theory Into Practice (more next week), Adrian's Newsletter, Leadership Freak, and Urban Education. Here are the headlines:

- The seven secrets of great teams that continuously improve

- Preventing discipline problems by teaching "replacement skills"

- Orchestrating reflective feedback with teachers: it's difficult!

- Short, frequent classroom visits followed by face-to-face debriefs

- How to murder Shakespeare for teens

- Trying to go into meetings with a curious frame of mind

- How to assess a leader's social-emotional skills

- Recommended children's picture books about African-American boys

If you want an HTML version of this week's Memo, please click here.

To listen to a podcast of last week's issue (#1133), click here.

For a podcast of this week's Memo, just log in at www.marshallmemo.com later this week and click Podcasts.

• Upcoming Events: 
• May 8th: 6th Grade Spaghetti Dinner 
• May 19th All School Dress rehearsal for Music Show ---- 1:00 pm 
• May 19th: Art/Music Show 
• June 10th--- Field Day/BBQ 
• Field Trips
• Tuesday, April 28 - BES Band and Chorus Students go to U32
• Friday, May 15 - 3rd Grade goes to Shelburne Museum
• Thursday, May 28 - 1st Grade goes to Book Buddies at U32
• Friday, May 29 - Kindergarten goes to Autumn Raynes Farm
• Friday, June 5 - 5th & 6th Grade goes to Great Escape
• Tuesday, June 9 - 4th Grade goes to VT Statehouse and History Museum
• Tuesday, June 9 - 1st and 2nd Grade goes to Montshire Museum

What's Happening at BES?

Monday 4/27	Curriculum Council 4:00-5:30
Tuesday 4/28	Steven in building 9:00-11:00  All School Band/Chorus Field Trip to U-32
Wednesday 4/29	K-6 Teacher PD 8:20-9:20 Staff Meeting 3:10-4:45 Art Room
Thursday  4/30
Friday 5/1	Team Meetings K-2 Attendance/Behavior 3-6 Academic

Where is Celia?

Monday 4/27	Union Meeting 9:30-10:15  SPED Meeting 11:40 Curriculum Council 4:00-5:30
Tuesday 4/28	Student Meeting 9:00-9:30 Union Meeting 9:30-10:15 Student Meeting 3:45 Steering Committee Meeting 4:00-5:00
Wednesday 4/29	K-6 Teacher PD 8:20-9:20 WCLT Nuts and Bolts 1:00-2:00 VT Elementary Scheduling "Bootcamp" 1:00-4:00 at Capital Plaza **Celia Out  Staff Meeting 3:10-4:45 Art Room
Thursday  4/30	Student Meeting 8:00-9:00 BES SST 10:00-10:45 Scheduling Meeting
Friday 5/1	**Celia Out---Community School Symposium at UVM Team Meetings K-2 Attendance/Behavior 3-6 Academic