12.14

Hi All, 

I hope you all had a wonderful weekend. I was remind this weekend of the beauty of community and the joy of letting go. We had a beautiful weekend with friends and braved the chaos of the mountain on a Sunday with some of the best humans. 

In the business of the Holiday Season make sure to stop and tell the people around you how much they mean to you. Our students need the same. This can be a hard time of year for many of them. So the more that we remind them that it's about what they are and not what they have the better! 

Here's to a great week before, the week before. 

Observations from the Field:

• Differentiated curriculum--offering students choice in their work 
• Staff pitching in to help out and make Friday a success
• Showing students exemplars of what a finished product looks like before starting a project 
• Laughter, fun and lots of great outfits! 
• Teamwork across the board 
• Teachers working incredibly hard to connect with students who are displaying unexpected behaviors
• People engaging in hard conversations in service of understanding, clarity and support

News and Announcements

• Crafts---Please return the cleaned brushes and any unused crafts to my office. I will be sorting and returning things back to where their homes. We will save leftovers for next year. 
• Holiday Gnomies---The Holiday Gnomie gift exchange starts tomorrow. If your participating, don't forget your day 1 gift!
• Budget Update: Last week's board meeting was cancelled and rescheduled for this week. We have a WCLT meeting on Tuesday so I will have more information for you Tuesday afternoon. I will host an optional Budget Information session on Tuesday afternoon from 3:45-4:15. 
• Reminder: Hanukkah started this evening and will be happening all week. The Shalom Alliance sent this email last week and they have a wonderful website if you're looking for resources.  

Supporting a Bright Future for Vermont   Empowering Vermont Schools & Communities to Recognize & Respond to Antisemitism Celebrating Themes of Light, Courage & Freedom  This year Hanukkah begins at sundown on Sunday, Dec. 14, 2025 and lasts for 8 days, until sundown on Monday, Dec. 22, 2025. Hanukkah is an ideal way to include the Jewish holidays and celebrations in your classrooms and schools by incorporating the Festival of Lights. Light the menorah, spin the dreidel, and eat all the latkes and fried foods you can handle. As you prepare the classrooms and hallways for winter celebrations, here are some ideas to help you include the Festival of Lights! Please feel free to contact us with questions. May the Festival of Lights illuminate and uplift spirits and bring us closer together in these dark winter months. With appreciation, Shalom Alliance K-12 Outreach Team Shalom Alliance Website JewBelong Friendly, kinda funny, straightforward explanations, readings and rituals to help warm your heart. JewBelong - Home Page JewBelong - FREE Downloadable Hanukkah Guide The Hanukah Story Light, Courage & Freedom Core Principles for Teaching Hanukkah Teach cultural literacy Emphasize universal values (light, courage, resilience). Engage through hands-on and creative activities. Respect Jewish diversity; avoid stereotypes or oversimplification Hanukkah is a Jewish holiday celebrating liberation from oppression, and reminds us of the importance of freedom of religion. It is a story of triumph and perseverance from historical events of that took place over 2,000 years ago when the Jewish people lived under the Greek Empire. The story narrates how a minority culture preserved their identity, how historical events become symbolic, that traditions evolve across time and place. The story begins, when after generations of living with religious freedom under Greek rule, suddenly Jews were banned from practicing their rituals and culture. The Greeks desecrated their Temple in Jerusalem. Over time, the small army of the Jewish Maccabees fought for their freedom and won the battle against the mighty Greek Empire. When the Maccabees reclaimed the Temple, they found enough oil to light the menorah for one day. But this special menorah inside the Temple was supposed to be lit at all times. New oil would take 8 days to curate. The miracle of Hanukkah is that the small amount of oil stayed lit for the entire eight days illuminating the darkness into light. A theme that is still here today - the Menorah bringing light into the darkest time of winter. The Hebrew letters on the Dreidel - (Nun, Gimmel, Hay and Shin) are anachronism for Nes Gadol Haya Sham - A Great Miracle Happened There The Hebrew letters on a Dreidel in Israel read - (Nun, Gimmel, Hay and Pay) Nes Gadol Haya Poh - A Great Miracle Happened Here Jewish Virtual Library - Detailed Story of Chanukah VIDEO: Arthur - Muffy Learns About Hanukkah VIDEO: Sesame Street Hanukkah with Veronica Monica Hanukkah Recipes Called the Festival of Lights, Hanukkah has many roots. It’s most often thought of as a celebration of the rededication of the temple after the Maccabees victory, when a small vial of oil burned bright in the temple for eight days, when it should have lasted for only one. That is the story, the miracle of light. Many Hanukkah recipes from Jewish communities around the world fry in oil. Sufganiyot RECIPE: Sufganiyot - jelly filled donuts Latkes RECIPE: Latkes - potato pancakes Hanukkah Games, Books, Craft & Songs Happy Hanukkah There are so many Christmas songs out there. I wanted to give the Jewish kids something to be proud of. We’ve got Adam Sandler's Song (see below) which is hilarious, but I wanted to try to get across some of the depth and spirituality inherent in the holiday in a fun, celebratory song. My boy Kojak was in town so at the last minute we went into the studio in the spirit of miracles and underdogs and this is what we came up with. Happy Hanukkah!" - Matisyahu songwriter/artist SONG: Happy Hanukkah The Dreidle Game: A - Great - Miracle - Happened - There GAME: How to Play Dreidle Ocho Kanelikas Song A Sephardic Jewish song sung in Ladino (an ancient form of Spanish) SONG: Ocho Kandelikas A Classic Hanukkah Song If it's from the '90's is that classic yet? SONG: Adam Sandler 1994 SNL - The Hanukkah Song Popsicle Stick Star 0f David An easy craft to set up, for added clean up challenges, remember to add giltter. CRAFT: Star of David PJ Library You'll find books for any age group K-12 READ: A Great Big List of Childrens Books on Hanukkah Make Your Own Menorah Ideas An easy craft to set up, for added clean up challenges, remember to add giltter. CRAFT: Make Your Own Menorah Shalom Alliance | www.shalomalliancevt.org Confronting Antisemitism Through Positive Engagement

 What's Happening at BES? 

Monday 12/15	HJC 8:15-8:45
Tuesday 12/16
Wednesday 12/17	K-6 Teacher PD 8:20-9:20--No Meeting this week **gift of time**   Staff Meeting 3:10-4:45 Art Room  Board Meeting 6:15 at U-32
Thursday  12/18
Friday 12/19	Holiday Breakfast 7:45-8:45 **sign up for the potluck in the mailroom!  Team Meetings K-2 Behavior  3-6 Academic

Where is Celia?

Monday 12/15	HJC 8:15-8:45
Tuesday 12/16	WCLT 8:30-11:45 **Celia Out of Building  Student Meeting 2:15-3:15
Wednesday 12/17	Staff Meeting 3:10-4:45  Board Meeting 6:15 at U-32
Thursday  12/18	Student Meeting 8:15 District Safety Meeting 1:00-3:00 *Celia Out of Building
Friday 12/19	Team Meetings K-2 Behavior  3-6 Academic

12.7

Hi All, 

I wanted to say thank you for your flexibility and understanding last week as we navigated through the worst of Rowan's recovery and some very long budget meetings. I was in the building for not a lot of time last week so my observations from the field are limited: 

• I heard about RAVE All School Meeting behavior reviews. So, hat's off to all of you who helped, prepped and prepared to make the meeting successful for all. 
• Thank you to Jessica and Tyler for stepping up in my absence to help facilitate. 
• I witnessed strong team communication around sticky student stuff 
• I participated in strong team communication with outside agencies
• I was thankful to you all for helping write the impact statement for the board 

News and Announcements 

• Surprise!  Next week is Winter Spirit Week.  

  Monday is Sports Day

  Tuesday is School Colors Day

  Wednesday is Hat Day

  Thursday is Fancy Day

  Friday is PJ/Comfy Day

• Reminder: Wednesday is a half-day early release. We will dismiss students at 12:30. 
• K-2 Lunch from 11:20-11:50 
• 3-6 Lunch from 11:50-12:20 
• K-2 Recess from 11:50-12:20
• 3-6 Recess from 11:20-11:50 
• Teachers our time will start at 1:30 and will have some self-directed learning time as well as time for grade alike group work. These were the talking points from staff meeting last week: 

• Teachers will meet together at Berlin Elementary School from 1:30-4:45 p.m.  Paraeducators will focus on de-escalation strategies with Cat Fair and Sarah Ainsworth from 1:30-3:30 p.m. in the EMES music room.

• The agenda for the work at Berlin is modeled after the UDL sessions and includes an inclusive welcome, time to look at student writing, self-differentiated learning, and an intentional closing.

• Classroom teachers, literacy interventionists, special educators, OT’s, SLP’s, and principals will spend time together in grade alike groups looking at student writing.  Classroom teachers will be asked to bring copies of student work (names redacted) to share with grade alike colleagues.  We will be looking at the fall all district writing prompt.  Exact details about the number of copies will be forthcoming.

• Other subject alike groups will meet from 1:30-4:45 p.m. to focus on other curriculum, instruction, and assessment work.

• There will be a variety of choices for self-differentiated learning.  Details will be forthcoming.  We will be asking folks to indicate their first, second, and third choices so that we can assign them in advance.  All menu choices focus on some aspect of writing and/or connecting writing to other PD modules from the fall.  Some of the choices will be facilitated and others will be self-facilitated so that all learning needs/preferences are addressed.

• Principals will assign folks to grade alike groups.

• Again, all details and a menu survey will be forthcoming very soon.

• We will NOT have PLC on Wednesday morning because of the work we are doing in the afternoon.  
• Paras we will meet Tuesday afternoon from 3:30-4:30. This is not mandatory but if you'd like to stay I will pay you. Agenda
• Here is the link to this week's Marshall Memo. The memo is a roundup on interesting article put together by Kim Marshall weekly. 
• Friday will be our Gifts for Giving Day. After I am finished with the blog I will continue to work on flushing out assignments etc. Here is the DRAFT. 
• Board Meeting---Wednesday night at 6:15 at U-32. I would expect this one to be longer. 

What's Happening at BES? 

Monday 12/8
Tuesday 12/9	Community School: Growing Connections through Food 4:30-6:30
Wednesday 12/10	K-6 Teacher PD 8:20-9:20--Cancelled    Staff Meeting 3:10-4:45 Art Room
Thursday  12/11
Friday 12/12	Gifts for Giving

Where is Celia?

Monday 12/8	Student Meeting 2:15 Curriculum Council 4:00-5:30
Tuesday 12/9	Student Check-In Meeting 12:00 Para Meeting
Wednesday 12/10	Student Meeting 8:00-9:00  Berlin Town Center Update 10:00-11:00  Teacher PD 8:20-9:20  Board Meeting 6:15 at U-32
Thursday  12/11	Student Meeting 8:15 PBIS Meeting 8:15-9:00 SST 10:00-11:30
Friday 12/12	Gifts for Giving