Castleton Elementary School

Join Us for a Community Connection Event! 📅 February 25, 2025 ⏰ 5:30 – 6:30 PM 📍 Fair Haven Union Middle & High School Library Engage with Director of Curriculum Casey O'Meara in a discussion on: ✅ Instructional structures & strategies ✅ Academic & behavioral support systems ✅ Assessment, Community Connections & College/Career Readiness Plus, a Parent/Guardian conversation on Title I & Act 1 Policies and Continuous Improvement Planning. Bring your questions and join the conversation!

Reminder: Our Annual District Wide Food Drive is Underway!

We are so excited to kickoff this year’s American Heart Association Kids Heart Challenge on Friday, January 31st with a heart healthy assembly! Every student who registers before the assembly will have a chance to win some cool Kids Heart Challenge Prizes! Meet this year’s Heart Hero Team! Introducing Wynn, Rain, Dakota, Pepper, Riley, Ace, Wylie and Bingo. Each heart hero will teach us how to keep our hearts and minds healthy--and your student can collect them all! Download the AHA Schools app or register online at http://www2.heart.org/goto/castletonVT ! Every student who registers and completes Finn’s Mission will earn a Lifesaver Cape and will be entered to win 2 Super Bowl Tickets!

Dear Slate Valley Families and Staff, We received an update from Powerschool relative to the data breach that occurred in December and wanted to pass the information along to you. The message from Powerschool is below: Dear Valued Customers, I am writing today to inform you that our investigation and data review into the scope of the cybersecurity incident has continued in earnest. As part of our commitment to keeping you informed, we are reaching out with an update on the latest steps we have taken in response to this incident and what you can expect over the coming days. Importantly, this message requires no action on your part and serves simply as an update. This afternoon, PowerSchool began the process of filing state attorneys general notifications across applicable U.S. jurisdictions on behalf of customers who did not opt-out of our offer to do so. PowerSchool has also started the process of notifying Canadian regulators. For our U.S. customers, you may also have notification requirements with your state’s Department of Education. Since many customers have already notified and are in close contact with their state’s Department of Education, PowerSchool will defer to you on making these notifications. In the coming days, PowerSchool will begin providing formal legal notice of the cybersecurity incident to current and former students (or their parents / guardians as applicable) and educators whose information was determined to be involved. A direct email notification will be distributed by Experian on behalf of PowerSchool in the coming weeks to applicable current and former students (or their parents / guardians as applicable) and educators for whom we have sufficient contact information. PowerSchool will also launch a website and distribute a media release to ensure we reach as many involved individuals as possible and provide them with resources to protect their information. Importantly, these notices will include instructions for involved individuals on how to enroll in the credit monitoring and identity protection services that are being offered by PowerSchool. PowerSchool will also be providing you with communications materials to help navigate conversations with families and educators as part of our effort to support you with the expected inquiries from your community members. Thank you for your ongoing patience and partnership. Hardeep Gulati Chief Executive Officer, PowerSchool

Last Night’s Slate Valley Community Advisory Council Recap: Thank you to everyone who joined us for an engaging evening of conversation with local legislators! A special thank you to Senator Weeks, Senator Hardy, Senator Williams, Representative Canfield and Representative Harvey who spoke with over 20 community members about the Governor’s proposed education funding plan and its potential timeline. Key topics included: 📚 Mental Health in Schools: Concerns were raised about the strain on public schools and how the new plan will address this critical issue. 🏫 Consolidation Worries: Community members voiced concerns about long bus rides, board representation, curriculum decisions, and federal funding cuts. 💡 Budget Challenges: Representatives emphasized the importance of continuing to engage voters and work on explaining tax impacts ahead of the local budget vote. It was an informative and productive discussion. The Community Advisory Council hopes to meet again in March with legislators and review updates.

Get ready for our Annual District Food Drive, kicking off this Monday, January 27th!

Join us for this insightful event and gain a complete understanding of Cognia Testing!

Our afterschool Art Club is in full swing! Each week, Mrs. Parrott and Mrs. Simpson inspire and guide our students, sharing their amazing ideas and artistic expertise. We can’t wait to see the incredible creations our talented students will bring to life!

Last night, our talented students lit up the stage with their incredible performances at the Winter Concert! From festive songs to heartwarming melodies, their hard work and dedication truly shone. Thank you to our amazing music teacher, Ms. Tugas, staff, and families for making this event so special. Bravo to all our performers!

Superintendent Brooke Olsen-Farrell and Director of Curriculum Casey O'Meara shared cookies and conversation with Castleton Elementary School kindergartners & first graders. The students talked about their favorite playground slide, making friends, and their love for math, art, choice time, and PE. When asked to complete the sentence, 'I love going to school here because…,' one heartfelt response was, 'because our Principal cares and worries about all of us.' #CastletonElementarySchool #CES #StudentVoices #WeAreSlateValley

Dear Slate Valley Unified Union School District Community, We recently informed you that our district was affected by the PowerSchool data breach, which has garnered national media attention. We take data privacy very seriously, which is why we work with vendors who commit to robust data privacy practices in their contracts through the Student Data Policy Consortium. We expect PowerSchool to fulfill its obligations, and we will continue to monitor the situation closely and follow up as needed to ensure a resolution. PowerSchool has notified us that the breached data primarily includes parent and guardian contact information for students, such as names, phone numbers and addresses. In some cases across their customer base, personally identifiable information (PII) for students, such as Social Security numbers (SSNs) and medical details (e.g., medical alerts required to ensure student safety, like life-threatening food allergies), was also affected. PowerSchool is currently conducting an urgent investigation to determine if any PII specific to our students was compromised, with a goal of starting notifications to affected parties in the next few weeks. It’s important to note that Slate Valley does not store Social Security numbers in our PowerSchool database, so this is not a concern for our district based on the current details of the incident. Any staff data that we believe to have been compromised at this time was limited to directory information. Protecting our students’ information is our top priority. With PowerSchool’s assistance, we will share more information and resources as they become available. If applicable, this may include credit monitoring or identity protection services. PowerSchool has also created a general information page about this incident, which you can access here: SIS Incident | PowerSchool. For additional support, here are some resources on identity theft: Vermont Attorney General’s Office: Identity Theft Resources Federal Trade Commission: Protect Your Child from Identity Theft Thank you for your understanding as we work through this matter. Sincerely, Brooke Olsen-Farrell Superintendent

Last week, our 4th graders created Emotion Wind Spinners as part of our Social and Emotional Learning curriculum. It was the perfect day for the project—just enough of a breeze to bring the spinners to life, showcasing the vibrant colors the students had carefully designed. It was a beautiful way for them to express their emotions and see their creativity in motion.

Board Meeting - January 13, 2025 You’re invited to the Slate Valley Unified Union School District Board Meeting at 6:30 p.m. at the Fair Haven Grade School Library. This meeting will be in person. Virtually connect by going to: Video call link: https://meet.google.com/aux-bhia-ezu Or dial: (US) +1 650-735-3957 PIN: 163 604 574# Please note: To participate in conversation virtually and/or ask a question virtually, please use the “raise hand” icon in Google Meet. Typing responses or questions in chat is not an option.

Announcement: Cybersecurity Breach Dear Slate Valley Families and Staff, Slate Valley Unified Union School District was informed late yesterday about a cybersecurity breach involving our student information system vendor, PowerSchool. While we have limited details at this time, we want to share the attached letter from PowerSchool in the interest of full disclosure. We take this news seriously as it pertains to the security of private information. We will be providing more information as it is made available. To clarify, this issue does not involve a data breach within Slate Valley but rather a data breach originating from PowerSchool. Furthermore, it affects a significant number of school districts across the country and state and is not limited to Slate Valley alone. Thank you for your patience as we work to learn more about this situation. Sincerely, Brooke Olsen-Farrell Superintendent of Schools Notification from PowerSchool: Dear Valued Customer, As the Technical Contact for your district or school, we are reaching out to inform you that on December 28, 2024, PowerSchool became aware of a potential cybersecurity incident involving unauthorized access to certain information through one of our community-focused customer support portals, PowerSource. Over the succeeding days, our investigation determined that an unauthorized party gained access to certain PowerSchool Student Information System (“SIS”) customer data using a compromised credential, and we regret to inform you that your data was accessed. Please review the following information and be sure to share this with relevant security individuals at your organization. As soon as we learned of the potential incident, we immediately engaged our cybersecurity response protocols and mobilized a cross-functional response team, including senior leadership and third-party cybersecurity experts. We have also informed law enforcement. We can confirm that the information accessed belongs to certain SIS customers and relates to families and educators, including those from your organization. The unauthorized access point was isolated to our PowerSource portal. As the PowerSource portal only permits access to the SIS database, we can confirm no other PowerSchool products were affected as a result of this incident. Importantly, the incident is contained, and we have no evidence of malware or continued unauthorized activity in the PowerSchool environment. PowerSchool is not experiencing, nor expects to experience, any operational disruption and continues to provide services as normal to our customers. Rest assured, we have taken all appropriate steps to prevent the data involved from further unauthorized access or misuse. We do not anticipate the data being shared or made public, and we believe it has been deleted without any further replication or dissemination. We have also deactivated the compromised credential and restricted all access to the affected portal. Lastly, we have conducted a full password reset and further tightened password and access control for all PowerSource customer support portal accounts. PowerSchool is committed to working diligently with customers to communicate with your educators, families, and other stakeholders. We are equipped to conduct a thorough notification process to all impacted individuals. Over the coming weeks, we ask for your patience and collaboration as we work through the details of this notification process. We have taken all appropriate steps to further prevent the exposure of information affected by this incident. While we are unaware of and do not expect any actual or attempted misuse of personal information or any financial harm to impacted individuals as a result of this incident, PowerSchool will be providing credit monitoring to affected adults and identity protection services to affected minors in accordance with regulatory and contractual obligations. The particular information compromised will vary by impacted customer. We anticipate that only a subset of impacted customers will have notification obligations. In the coming days, we will provide you with a communications package to support you in engaging with families, teachers and other stakeholders about this incident. The communications package will include tailored outreach emails, talking points, and a robust FAQ so that district and school leadership can confidently discuss this incident with your community.

Please join us tonight for our next Community Advisory Council Meeting, 5:45 - 6:45 PM in the Central Office Conference room located at Fair Haven Union Middle & High School. All are welcome! Hope to see you there! Agenda and more information at: https://www.slatevalleyunified.org/page/slate-valley-community-advisory-council

During their library lesson, students in grades K-2 explored the fascinating world of bioluminescent animals. They began by listening to Who's Afraid of the Light? by Anna McGregor, a captivating Red Clover Book that highlights how deep-sea creatures use bioluminescence to find prey, attract mates, or ward off predators. Inspired by the story, students used Doodlers to design their own unique bioluminescent animals. The following week, the learning continued with Glow! by W.H. Beck, another engaging book about bioluminescent creatures. Students then took the fun a step further by programming BeeBots disguised as Gulper Eels to "hunt" for other bioluminescent animals to eat, combining creativity, science, and hands-on coding skills.

Holiday Greetings from Slate Valley Unified Union School District! As we take a break to enjoy this special time of year, we hope you find joy, relaxation, and quality time with loved ones. We look forward to welcoming everyone back to school in the new year on January 2nd, refreshed and ready for the next chapter of learning and growth. Wishing you all a peaceful and joyful holiday!

Slate Valley District Highlight in today's Rutland Herald Copy: Discover the Dynamic Classrooms of Slate Valley Unified Union School District In Slate Valley schools, education is alive with curiosity and creativity. Each classroom reflects a commitment to blending foundational skills with innovative thinking, fostering a lifelong love of learning. Here’s a glimpse into what students are exploring this semester: Benson Village School: Crazy8’s Math Club - Students are diving into math challenges like building tetrahedrons with glow sticks, exploring probability with dice games, and mastering multiplication through interactive activities. The club inspires students to push their limits and encourage one another. Castleton Elementary School: Community Helpers - Kindergarteners learned about community jobs through engaging texts and activities, focusing on the police station, fire station, post office, doctor’s office, construction workers, and their school. Fair Haven Grade School: Creative Writing - Fourth graders studied narrative and opinion writing, culminating in a fun project where they disguised a turkey and wrote persuasive pieces about it. Fair Haven Union High School: AP Psychology - Celebrity Brains - Mr. Bruce’s AP Psychology students explored brain functions by analyzing how specific parts contribute to a celebrity’s success. They created detailed posters with creative diagrams and celebrity insights. Fair Haven Union Middle School: Website Design - Library Media students learned HTML and CSS to build multi-page websites, incorporating text, images, links, and graphic design elements for a polished look. Orwell Village School: Election Process - The student council embraced the U.S. election process, running campaigns and hosting a school-wide election. Check out the inspiring video by Raspberry Shrub Productions at https://bit.ly/OVSscdoc. Across Slate Valley Unified USD, students are engaging in activities that spark curiosity, foster creativity, and build critical skills. From exploring math and coding to learning about community roles and civic processes, these experiences prepare students for a bright and promising future.

💚 A Reminder from Hunger Free Vermont 💚 Did you know there are local food shelves, pantries, and meal sites at churches and community centers all across Vermont? If you or someone you know needs access to meals, help is just a click or call away! 📍 Visit www.vtfoodbank.org/gethelp 📞 Dial 2-1-1 for assistance finding resources near you. Together, we can ensure no one goes hungry.

The Slate Valley Unified Union School District is currently planning and discussing the FY26 Budget, and we value your input! We invite you to share your suggestions and questions to help shape the budget and provide guidance on community concerns. How to Submit Your Input: Online: Submit your suggestions or questions using this link: https://bit.ly/FY26Suggestions. In-Person: Drop a submission in one of the suggestion boxes located throughout the district. Boxes can be found at: Benson Town Hall Orwell Free Library West Haven Town Hall Hubbardton Town Hall Castleton Free Library or Town Hall Fair Haven Town Hall Your submissions will be shared with the school board and administration for review, discussion, and response. We are committed to transparency and will provide updates and responses via: Our district website Local news outlets Social media platforms To view responses to submissions, visit: https://bit.ly/FY26SQResponses. Your opinion matters, and we sincerely appreciate the time and effort you take to share your thoughts.