Slate Valley Unified School District

Schools have let us know that many parents have already picked up personal belongings and work for the next couple of weeks. If you have not, please make arrangements to do so. You may contact your school with any questions.

These two companies are offering free Internet services to households during these challenging times: Consolidated Communications Consolidated Is offering students 2 months of free home Internet Service, plus free installation. See the flyer for details. Internet Essentials from Comcast As our country continues to manage the COVID-19 emergency, Comcast is taking immediate steps to help connect low-income families to the Internet at home. Follow this link for further details: https://www.internetessentials.com/covid19

Attention Essential Workers: Please read this Press Release from the State of Vermont Emergency Operation Center: https://5il.co/dxv2 for important information about childcare. Essential workers who need help finding childcare should visit: https://webportalapp.com/webform/essentialworkers or call 2-1-1 ext. 6

Homeschool families are also entitled to come for meal pick-ups!

Please note that you can pick up meals for other families. If you are unable to pick up meals, we will make every effort to get the meals to you. Please call the school to make arrangements.

We're all ready for meal pick-ups between 10 and 12 today! -- Starting on Thursday, March 19th the school district will make breakfast and lunch meals available to all children ages 18 years old and younger while school is dismissed. Meals will be available Monday through Friday. Thursday, March 19th - a breakfast for Thursday, a lunch for Thursday and a breakfast for Friday will be available for pick up. Friday, March 20th - and each day thereafter a breakfast and a lunch will be available for pick up. Meals will be available for pick up starting at 10:00 AM until noon at the following locations: Benson Village School Fair Haven Union High School Fair Haven Grade School Orwell Village School **** Due to Federal Guidelines we are not allowed to have Castleton Elementary and Village School as pick up locations because of eligibility requirements. However all Castleton families can pick up at any of the other sites in the district. The school district will let you know if the method of distribution is going to change. At some point in the future, meals may be made available for pick up along the bus routes, but we will let you know in advance if and when this change is made. If we make this change, meals will still be available at each of the schools listed above for pick up. However, Castleton and Hubbardton families will still need to pick up meals from one of the eligible sites. We will be sending out a ​form with the meals. We ask that you complete the form and return it to the staff member distributing the meals so that we can get a better idea of who needs meals, but is unable to get to one of the schools listed above for pick up. If you are unable to pick up meals, we will make every effort to get the meals to you. This form will also be made available ​online: https://5il.co/dwgv Please note that you can go to any of the schools listed above. You are not restricted to the school that your child attends. Please notify staff at the pick up location if you will be picking up meals regularly and you have any special dietary needs that have medical implications that must be met.

Important Update: Date: March 18, 2020 To: All Slate Valley UUSD Families From: Brooke Olsen-Farrell, Superintendent Subject: Meals Starting March 19, 2020- Updated Starting on Thursday, March 19th the school district will make breakfast and lunch meals available to all children ages 18 years old and younger while school is dismissed. Meals will be available Monday through Friday. Thursday, March 19th - a breakfast for Thursday, a lunch for Thursday and a breakfast for Friday will be available for pick up. Friday, March 20th - and each day thereafter a breakfast and a lunch will be available for pick up. Meals will be available for pick up starting at 10:00 AM until noon at the following locations: Benson Village School Fair Haven Union High School Fair Haven Grade School Orwell Village School **** Due to Federal Guidelines we are not allowed to have Castleton Elementary and Village School as pick up locations because of eligibility requirements. However all Castleton families can pick up at any of the other sites in the district. The school district will let you know if the method of distribution is going to change. At some point in the future, meals may be made available for pick up along the bus routes, but we will let you know in advance if and when this change is made. If we make this change, meals will still be available at each of the schools listed above for pick up. However, Castleton and Hubbardton families will still need to pick up meals from one of the eligible sites. We will be sending out a ​form with the meals. We ask that you complete the form and return it to the staff member distributing the meals so that we can get a better idea of who needs meals, but is unable to get to one of the schools listed above for pick up. If you are unable to pick up meals, we will make every effort to get the meals to you. This form will also be made available ​online: https://5il.co/dwgv Please note that you can go to any of the schools listed above. You are not restricted to the school that your child attends. Please notify staff at the pick up location if you will be picking up meals regularly and you have any special dietary needs that have medical implications that must be met.

Per Governor Scott's recent directive regarding the requirements of providing child care for specified groups of essential employees as outlined in the following link we are working to collect information regarding those individuals in need of child care for their children. Please complete this form only if you are in need of child care for your children as defined by Governor's Scott directive (https://governor.vermont.gov/press-release/governor-phil-scott-orders-implementation-child-care-system-personnel-essential-covid) Form: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1sSylQhJKYFxlBXGB3Wc_bl9Iei8FZLE8mykhz4HsIMc/edit?ts=5e72490b

Social Distancing: What does it mean?

Starting on Thursday, March 19th the school district will make breakfast and lunch meals available to all children ages 18 years old and younger while school is dismissed. Meals will be available Monday through Friday. Thursday, March 19th - a breakfast for Thursday, a lunch for Thursday and a breakfast for Friday will be available for pick up. Friday, March 20th - and each day thereafter a breakfast and a lunch will be available for pick up. Meals will be available for pick up starting at 10:00 AM until noon at the following locations: Benson Village School Castleton Elementary School Fair Haven Grade School Orwell Village School The school district will let you know if the method of distribution is going to change. At some point in the future, meals may be made available for pick up along the bus routes, but we will let you know in advance if and when this change is made. If we make this change meals will still be available at each of the schools listed above for pick up. We will be sending out a form with the meals. We ask that you complete the form and return it to the staff member distributing the meals so that we can get a better idea of who needs meals, but is unable to get to one of the schools listed above for pick up. If you are unable to pick up meals, we will make every effort to get the meals to you. This form will also be made available online. Please note that you can go to any of the schools listed above. You are not restricted to the school that your child attends. Please notify staff at the pick up location if you will be picking up meals regularly and you have any special dietary needs that have medical implications that must be met.

Due to increased volume nationwide, our alert system is experiencing difficulties. Please check our website regularly for important updates: https://bit.ly/38JVkpl

Good evening, as a result of increased volume nationwide, our alert system is experiencing difficulties. The following message was sent out this evening: Due to the issuance of new information by the White House and the rapidly changing situation, all Slate Valley Schools will be closed tomorrow March 17th to both students and non-essential staff. I will follow-up with an update tomorrow. Thank you again for your patience and stay safe. Brooke Farrell, Superintendent

We know that we are in the midst of uncertain times. Please know that we are doing everything within our power as a district to care for the well-being of staff, students and families. The Governor released a declaration today that stated that all students will be dismissed from school no later than Wednesday, March 18th. However, student attendance on Monday, March 16th and Tuesday March 17th is a family decision. Your child will not be penalized for staying home. As a district, in accordance with recommendations from the Department of Health, we are no longer allowing non-essential outside visitors into our school such as volunteers, guest speakers, parents, etc. We will be asking parents to pick up and drop off their students at the front door. If you need to pick up your child during the school day please call ahead to the main office and arrangements will be made to meet you at the front door. If you have a meeting scheduled with school personnel, please call ahead as we are making arrangements to host required meetings by phone or video. This includes Individual Education Program (IEP) meetings and evaluation planning and results meetings that are required by law. In addition, field trips and all after-school events are canceled from this point through at least April 6th. We are working on a plan to offer students at-home learning opportunities and access to a school meals program. We will be asking families whether or not you would like to receive meals while school is dismissed. I will be sending out further communication on this topic tomorrow. Thank you in advance for your support as we progress through these challenging times. Sincerely, Brooke Olsen-Farrell

Good afternoon, On March 15 at 3:20 p.m., Governor Scott announced that statewide school closure will occur no later than Wednesday, March 18, 2020. The purpose of this message is to provide you an update of the actions the Slate Valley Unified School District will take as it relates to Governor Scott's School Closure announcement. First and foremost, student attendance at school on Monday and Tuesday is a family decision. For these two days, Slate Valley Unified School District attendance procedures will be waived, and no student will be penalized for not attending. Your district leadership teams will be working with our employees to plan for the support of our students and families during the closure of school. To be clear, our primary areas of focus include the wellbeing of our students, families and employees. The plan that we are developing will strive to encompass all of the components that Governor Scott has referenced in his statement/press conference. Thank you for your patience and flexibility as we move forward. You can expect regular communication from our district so that we are keeping you informed. We are doing all we can to make sure these priorities are taken care of to the best of our abilities. Sincerely, Brooke Olsen-Farrell

The “Transitioning to Adulthood” informational night on March 18th has been canceled.

In an effort to provide accurate information about 2019 Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19), we have created a page on our website: https://bit.ly/38JVkpl.

Green Mountain Music District V Festival: Friday March 6, 2020 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. Mount Saint Joseph Academy High School 127 Convent Ave., Rutland, VT 05701 Concert Ticket Prices: Adults $5 Children/Students $3 Seniors $3 (age 60 or older) Family $15 (4 or more) Concert Order: Middle School String Ensemble High School Jazz Band Middle School Symphonic Band High School Chorus

March 3, 2020 - Results

Thursday night: Discover Slate Valley's new approach to happy and healthy young people, 6:30 p.m. at Fair Haven Grade School.

Spring Sports Registration for Slate Valley Middle Schools: BVS, CVS, FHGS, OVS Track and Field: Slate Valley Middle School - Grades 6-8 Baseball: CVS/OVS - Grades 7/8 FHGS/BVS - Grades 7/8 Softball: CVS/OVS - Grades 7/8 FHGS/BVS - Grades 7/8 Registration is open through March 30, 2020 Formreleaf.com Slate Valley Middle School If you have questions, please email Kim Alexander (Kalexander@svuvt.org)