Benson Village School

Dear Slate Valley Community, The overriding mission of the School Board since the onset of the pandemic has been to keep our kids safe and to keep them in school. Only from the extraordinary efforts of so many individuals, have we been successful in achieving these goals. We recognize all of our staff have taken on numerous responsibilities and time commitments that are outside normal expectations. Teachers. We appreciate the extra time spent planning for both in-person education and remote learning, and the creativity and compassion used in the classroom to overcome the challenges of mask wearing. Support Staff. We appreciate you taking on additional students due to staffing shortages, volunteering your time as bus monitors, filling in for teachers, and assisting with the test-to-stay program. Administrators. We appreciate you giving up your personal time to work nights and weekends, implementing new programs and procedures, and communicating with anxious staff and families to assure them that their concerns are heard. Nurses. We appreciate the time spent contact tracing, assessing student symptoms, and making sure students are healthy and able to return to class promptly. Custodians. We appreciate the overtime hours worked due to staffing shortages and added time required to complete enhanced cleaning protocols. Bus Drivers. We appreciate you taking on extra shifts and recognize the extra-long routes that have resulted from the consolidation of bus routes. Cafeteria Workers. We appreciate you adjusting normal food practices to overcome supply chain shortages and ensure our kids are provided nutritious meals, oftentimes outside the cafeteria setting. Coaches. We appreciate you adhering to the COVID protocols and for displaying great patience during player quarantine. Getting exercise and being part of a team is absolutely essential in student development. Police. We appreciate community police and school resource officers providing extra layers of protection and realize external threats still exist, even during a pandemic. Thank you for reinforcing those bridges of trust between police and students. Parents. Thank you for setting your frustrations with COVID requirements aside and doing what is asked for kids to attend school safely. Thank you for timely picking up your child and for playing the role of teacher during times of extended student absence. We recognize the financial implications of missing work and appreciate our community employers for granting such flexibility. Taxpayers. Thank you for your continued support. We recognize the many societal and financial challenges confronting our schools today and welcome you as equal partners to ensure a safe and enriching environment for our children to learn and become good citizens. We are grateful. We are proud. We are Slate Valley. Have a happy and healthy holiday season. Submitted by Tim Smith, Board Chair, on behalf of the entire Slate Valley School Board.

Dear Slate Valley Families, A vaccination clinic will be held at Orwell Village School (Town Hall) on December 14th from 9:00-2:30. Registration will open tomorrow, Wednesday, November 17th at 9:00am and needs to be completed by Sunday, December 12th. This clinic is open to the general public, so it is a first come first serve basis for appointments. Please register on-line at VDH COVID-19 portal (https://vermont.force.com/events/s/selfregistration) if you are interested. If your child attends the Orwell Village School, they will be able to be vaccinated without a parent present as long as they are registered in advance. Walk-ins are welcome, but a parent will need to attend with their child with the appropriate consent form (https://bit.ly/3qK3dYG). For Slate Valley students outside of the Orwell Village School, a parent or guardian will need to accompany the child to the clinic on December 14th. The district will not be providing transportation at this time. Anyone who attends the clinic will be scheduled for their second dose on January 4th as part of the clinic exit process. Information on the Pfizer EUA can be found here: Pfizer EUA age 5-11 (https://www.fda.gov/media/153717/download) This is the Emergency Use Authorization for the pediatric Pfizer vaccine. Please let me know if you have any questions. Brooke Olsen-Farrell Superintendent

There’s no better way to reflect on why Vermont is the green mountain state than to enjoy the green and sunshine while writing why we have that state nickname!

3rd Grade Informational writing in the sunny outdoors!

Dear Slate Valley Families, Due to the high number of COVID cases we are seeing in our schools and community we are going to temporarily suspend notice to all families regarding positive cases. We do not want to be inundating families and staff with emails regarding COVID cases several times a day. For right now please assume we are seeing COVID cases in several schools in our district daily. We do not anticipate the slowing down of cases until the new year. We are continuing our normal contact tracing process. The COVID Test to Stay Program is working well, BUT, due to the large number of cases we are seeing, it is taking an enormous amount of staff to implement and is pulling them away from their regular duties. It is very important to us that students are in person. That being said, if you have a child participating in this program and they test positive at school, you need to pick them as soon as possible. Otherwise we will need to start requiring parents to be present for testing so they can immediately take a positive student home. We only have 1 isolation room for COVID positive students in each building. Please know that we continue to try our very best given the state parameters that are put on schools. We need continued cooperation from families and the community to continue to operate our schools and have our children in classrooms where they need to be. We can’t do this alone and we appreciate your partnership. Best, Brooke Olsen-Farrell Superintendent

Dear Slate Valley Families, On Thursday, November 11th we learned about 2 individuals in our learning community with Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) at Fair Haven Union High School and Benson Village School. Please read the letter from Superintendent Olsen-Farrell: https://5il.co/11qzq

Amazing learning in Mrs. Schuyler's class! Some Unit 5 Jeopardy review about multiplying and dividing fractions in 5/6. Both teams finished with 1,800 points after Final Jeopardy!

Building Letters!!!!!!

Reminder - tomorrow! Casey O'Meara, Slate Valley Director of Curriculum, will be hosting an informal meeting on Leveraging Title I Schoolwide Programs to Address Barriers to Academic Success on November 10, 2021 at 1:00 pm. Abby Wald, Slate Valley Instructional Coach, will be hosting a presentation on Leveraging Title I Schoolwide Programs to Address Barriers to Academic Success on November 10, 2021 at 6:00 pm. 2021-22 Annual Title I Meeting ( slides & survey ): https://bit.ly/3BhWZAU Please join EITHER virtual meeting for Title I using the following link: https://meet.google.com/xza-xpkp-zvx

Dear Slate Valley Families, On Tuesday, November 9th we learned about an individual in our learning community with Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) at Benson Village School. Please read the letter from Superintendent Olsen-Farrell: https://5il.co/11m2q

Emotion Monsters (2nd grade) !!!!!!! Thank you to Art teacher extraordinaire, Mrs. Parrott, for these amazing opportunities for kiddos to express themselves through art!

Join us for a screening of the documentary ‘LIKE’ Understanding and Creating Balance in Social Media. Read the letter from Kristin Benway, Slate Valley Special Service Director: https://5il.co/11k7r Monday, November 15, 2021 6:30PM Register: https://bit.ly/3woW2G9 'LIKE' breaks down why we find social media so irresistible, examines who is controlling who, and gives you the tools to pivot to a more balanced and contented relationship. It features Silicon Valley entrepreneurs, including the co-creator of the ‘LIKE’ button, experts in brain science and regular teenagers. Includes a post-film panel discussion and Q&A. Film plus discussion will last approximately 90 minutes.

Literacy Centers!

Tonight! November 8th You’re invited to the Slate Valley Unified Union School District Board Meeting at 6:30 p.m. in the Fair Haven Union High School Cafeteria. This meeting will be in person or you may virtually connect by going to https://meet.google.com/ozg-hwua-mge or join by phone (US) +1 617-675-4444 PIN: 869 909 550 5618# Tonight’s Agenda: https://5il.co/11jaj Previous Meeting Minutes: https://5il.co/1150i Next Board Meeting: November 22, 2021, 6:30 p.m. at Orwell Village School

November 8, 2021 Dear Slate Valley Families, We have seen an uptick in COVID cases over the weekend impacting our students, staff and families in Slate Valley. Our schools have either started Test to Stay or are planning to this week. For those schools that started it this morning it went very well. If you plan to have your child participate in this program if they are a close contact PLEASE REGISTER your child ASAP as it makes it much easier for us if they are already in the system. This is a large undertaking and we are short on staff so your cooperation is greatly appreciated. We want our students to be safe and participate in in-person learning. For more information on TTS please read the following: https://5il.co/11jmn Best, Brooke Olsen-Farrell Superintendent

On Tuesday, November 9th at 12:00 pm the Boston Children's Hospital is hosting a virtual event to provide information about COVID-19 vaccines for 5-11 year olds. You’ll learn about: • Safety of the vaccines in this age group • How the COVID vaccine can benefit younger kids • And much more! To register for the Zoom event, visit the following link: https://bit.ly/3k4mujl

Good Morning Slate Valley Families, Below please find a letter from Superintendent Brooke Olsen-Farrell regarding an incident where a car was broken into in the Fair Haven Grade School parking lot yesterday. https://5il.co/11gp7

K-2 met with Gary Sadowsky from WCAX during his noon weather broadcast and had a Q & A after. All part of our weather and season unit and preparing to create our own weather forecast!

Save the Date! Screening of the Documentary 'LIKE' Understanding and Creating Balance in Social Media: Monday, November 15th at 6:30 p.m. You can register for the viewing at the following link: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_f3MQOJDsRVCh4_LT-aplmw LIKE breaks down why we find social media so irresistible, examines who is controlling who, and gives you the tools to pivot to a more balanced and contented relationship. It features Silicon Valley entrepreneurs, including the co-creator of the 'LIKE' button, experts in brain science and regular teenagers.

Emotion Monsters (2nd grade) !!!!!!! Thank you to our wildly creative Art teacher, Mrs. Parrott, for amazing opportunities for kiddos to express themselves through art!