March 2021 - Conference Schedule and Zoom Link

Ms. LaRose's Schedule and Zoom Link -- click here

Mrs. Ryan's Schedule and Zoom Link -- click here

Mr. Shepherd's Zoom Link / Meeting ID: 440 601 7862 / Password: dshepherd

Mrs. Bissonnette's Sign-Up Link  /  Zoom Link 

Superintendent's Message: Fall Update #2 9/18

CSD Community,

Our first full week is in the books and the district is doing a great job of adapting to the new habits, routines, and systems that come with schooling during a pandemic. Whether your children are learning in a fully virtual classroom or a hybrid classroom, it feels good to be connecting again. Thank you for your continued understanding, support, and flexibility as we fine-tune our procedures.

As a district, we are continuing to evaluate, assess, and revise our systems and procedures throughout our reopening. In meeting with other regional superintendents, we are all optimistically looking towards the future and starting to plan for the possibility of returning our K-5 students to school for more than two days per week. While all of the local school districts decided jointly to reopen in a hybrid learning model, moving forward, each district is unique with differing sizes of buildings, staffing levels, and class size, and with that, you will begin to see districts differ in how and when they decide to bring back more students. 

In Colchester, we have not set a date to bring more students back to school. While we are actively planning for different scenarios in which we would bring elementary students back, ultimately, this decision will be rooted in data as we watch the next few weeks unfold. We will also take into consideration our staffing levels and the confidence that we have in our students’ ability to continue following hygiene, mask-wearing, and distancing routines. Any move that brings additional students into the buildings will be very intentional and only after careful consideration and planning.

With that, we are continuing to ask for our community’s help. We need to stay safe to stay open. The ability to bring our youngest learners back into the classroom, where they truly need to be, will be dependant on how well our community does at continuing to follow the recommendations of our health experts. While in school, we will continue to work on educating our students on the importance of physical distancing and verbally reminding them to “keep their distance.”  Anything that you can do at home to reinforce the need for physical distancing and mask-wearing would be appreciated.

Three more quick updates for this week:

Bus Safety - We've had several reports this week of drivers going by our buses when their yellow or red lights are on. We're asking all of our community members to join forces to keep our kids safe by paying extra attention while driving in town. Additionally, we’re reminding folks to be mindful of sidewalks, bike paths, and crosswalks. With the beautiful fall weather, many of our students are walking or biking to school. We posted this reminder on our social media pages (Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter) and Front Porch Forum and appreciate anything you can do to get the message out to stay alert and drive with caution when approaching a school bus or child pedestrian.

Annual Ski & Board Sale - Sadly, this highly anticipated event is taking a break this year. Organizers hope to bring it back in full force next year. There are some similar events to still happening in our area for those interested.

Free Lunch Applications - As everyone knows, meals are free for the next few months while there is still federal funding available. However, because of this, we’ve seen a decline in Free & Reduced Meal applications. This is concerning for two reasons. First, universal free meals will eventually run out and that will leave families who may not be able to afford to pay for meals in a tight spot. If you apply now, as soon as that universal funding runs out, your free or reduced meal status will immediately begin with no gap. Secondly, the number of families in our district who qualify for free or reduced lunch has a direct impact on programs for our students that are funded through federal grant money. If fewer families take advantage of the free & reduced meal option, we will see a decrease in funding for important academic support programs. The application process is quick, easy, and completely online. Fill one out today here: www.myschoolapps.com/Application 

Be Well,

Amy Minor
Superintendent of Schools

Welcome to 2nd Grade!

July 21st Update from Amy Minor

CSD Community, 

Our reopening subcommittees are meeting often and covering a lot of ground in the areas of academics and curriculum, remote learning, transportation, food service, facilities, health and safety, technology, special education, social and emotional supports, and human resources. 

While we still have a lot of details to sort, we will be providing our families and staff with several pieces of important information this week and next. It is hard to capture the number of decisions, tasks, and follow-up required to implement the recommendations set out in the Vermont Agency of Education’s guidance. Please know we are working around the clock to get you information as soon as it’s finalized. 

Our plan is being designed with the health and safety of our students and employees as a top priority and based on public health information available at the time. To that end, the following is a snapshot of some of the protocols we’re putting in place to protect the health and safety of our students, staff, and families as we prepare for the reopening of our school buildings. There will be more to come as decisions are made.

Arrival and Transportation

• Before entering our school buildings, all students and staff will complete a daily health check which will include having their temperature taken and answering a few questions about COVID-19 symptoms and exposure. Students who are riding the bus will be asked the health check questions and have their temperatures taken as they board the bus. Any individuals determined to have a fever will be sent home immediately. Parents/caregivers must plan for this scenario and be available to pick up their child if required. 
• We are encouraging families who can transport their children to do so. This will allow for better distancing on the bus for those families who rely on district transportation. We are evaluating the traffic flow at all of our buildings to better handle the increased car traffic.
• Students riding the bus will be required to wear a facial covering. They will use hand sanitizer before boarding and will be assigned a seat. All buses will be cleaned and disinfected before and after every route. 
• To protect students’ safety and provide for more orderly temperature taking, students will enter and exit each building through assigned entry points.

Facial Coverings and Distancing

• The AOE is requiring all students, staff, and visitors to wear facial coverings (masks). We recommend that families use this summer to try out some different styles of facial coverings so they can begin to identify which works best for their child. Our district will work to provide masks for those who cannot purchase their own. 
• There will not be any indoor assemblies that bring together students in a large group.
• Individually-packed student meals will be served in classrooms. 
• Classroom seating will be adapted to accommodate physical distancing to the best extent possible.

Visitors and Field Trips

• We are limiting the number of visitors into our buildings, so we will not be allowing classroom volunteers or visitors.
• There will be no field trips.

Hygiene and Cleaning

• Students and staff will be frequently reminded about the importance of proper handwashing. We will place hand sanitizer units throughout our buildings and ensure all of our bathrooms are properly stocked with soap and towels. Signage will be placed throughout the buildings to reinforce good hygiene practices.
• The entire building will undergo enhanced cleaning and disinfection on a regular basis. Frequently-touched surfaces will be cleaned often. 

Public Use of School Buildings

• All school buildings will be open to employees, students, and essential vendors ONLY. The buildings will remain closed to the public. (The primary election on August 11 will be an exception.)
• The public may use exterior school grounds and there will be outdoor recess space for students but the playgrounds will remain closed.

Thank you for your patience as we work to get you answers to your questions. Expect to hear from us soon with more information. In the meantime, I hope you’re able to beat the heat and enjoy the second half of our summer break. 

Amy Minor

PPS Family News -- June 7th

PPS/CSD Calendar:

• Monday, June 8:  Learning plans for the week of 6/8 available by 8:00 a.m. on our school website and on Seesaw.  Lessons for the week will be available by 8:40 a.m. 
• Monday, June 8 through Friday, June 12:  Library book drop off at PPS, 8:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.
• Thursday, June 11 and Friday, June 12:  Chromebook, iPad return at CHS, 7:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
• Thursday, June 11:  Second Grade Send Off at PPS, 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. at Porters Point School
• Friday, June 12:  Last half day of school for students in Colchester
• Friday, June 12:  PPS Car Parade to say good-bye to students for the summer, 12:30 p.m.
• Monday, June 15 - Thursday, June 18:  Inservice for PPS staff/teachers
• Thursday, June 18:  Chromebook, iPad return at CHS, 7:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
• Friday, June 19:  Final report cards are mailed to families

Returning books and devices/Picking up personal belongings:

Library book drop off at PPS this week:

• Drop PPS library books off at school this week- Monday, June 8 through Friday, June 12 - from 8:00 a.m. until 3:00 p.m.  
• Teachers will contact you if your child also has classroom library books to return.  If you can put these in a bag and mark the bag with the teacher’s name, that will help us get them to the correct classroom.
• Place books in the bins out in front of the school.
• Pick up a grab bag of summer reading books, compliments of Mrs. Bochanski!  Bags are sorted by grade level, one bag per PPS student.
• Please do not put Chromebooks and iPads in the bins!  

Chromebook/iPad return at CHS:

If you are choosing to not keep your device for the summer, families can drop off them off to the CSD IT Department on the dates listed below between the hours of 7:00 am - 4:00 pm. 

• Drop off should be brought to CHS at the IT Entrance, Door D18, located next to the access road/walkway to the athletic fields. 
• If the below dates do not work for your family, please call our IT Department at 264-5727 to make an appointment to drop your student(s) device off at a time that is convenient for you.
• Device Return Dates: 
• Thursday, June 11, 7:00 am - 4:00 pm
• Friday, June 12, 7:00 am - 4:00 pm
• Thursday, June 18, 7:00 am - 4:00 pm

Personal belongings at school:

If your child has items here at school that you want to pick up, please complete this survey and Sheila will make an appointment with you for pick up this week:  https://forms.gle/dndaCghYiQn26a3QA

When you enter the building at your scheduled time, please wear a mask.

Saying good-bye to PPS students this week:

We have two events to say good-bye to PPS students this week:

Second Grade Send-Off:

Come to PPS on Thursday, June 11th between 5:30 - 6:30 p.m. in your vehicle PPS teachers and staff can wave good-bye to students for the summer.  You will enter the PPS parking lot at the start of the bus loop and drive along a half circle of waving staff members on both sides of the parking lot.  Grade 2 students will receive a special certificate before exiting the bus loop.

PPS Good-bye Car Parade:

PPS teachers, staff, and bus drivers will be doing a car parade around our part of town to say good-bye to students and families for the summer.  Once the route is done, I will send out the schedule so you know when to be outside for the drive by celebration.  Because we will have a long line of vehicles, I know we will not be able to drive by every house, but I hope the schedule will help you find a place close by to stand and wave!

How and Why to Mute Your Microphone

How to Get Google Meet Grid View

Technology Survey

Continuous Learning Plan: April 3rd

Click here to read the Continuous Learning Plan that was emailed to families on April 3rd.

Google Meet Chrome Extension

Colchester School District has encouraged all educators to use Google Meet (click here for more information) as their video chat platform in the coming months. 

When your student clicks on the Google Meet link sent to them from their classroom teacher to join a Google Meet the current system has the speaker show up on the screen, and the remaining participants are on the right sidebar.  If your student would like to change this, to be able to see every participant in a grid format, a Google Chrome extension is the simple fix.  The extension can be found by clicking on this link.  

You will need to use Google Chrome for this extension to work when your student uses Google Meet.  

Below is a photograph of what your student’s screen will look like with the extension.  Please let us know if you have any questions.  We are also happy to walk your student through how to use the extension when we do a Google Meet. 

March 27 Community Email

Week 2: PowerPoint Presentation Resource

Community Email -- Week 27 -- March 27