It was a red-hot day at CES! We kicked off spirit week in style. Go Cougars!
Congratulations to our Slate Valley Unified teachers who made it to the final voting round of the Best Teacher of the Lakes Region contest! A special shout-out to Ms. Aliyah Edmonds and Mrs. Tricia Doran for their fantastic achievement, securing second and third place! The Best of the Best Lakes Region contest, held annually, celebrates exceptional people, businesses and organizations, with nominees chosen and voted on by the Lakes Region community. Slate Valley was proudly represented!
Castleton Elementary School Curriculum Extravaganza!
This Wednesday, October 23rd from 5:00 - 6:30 pm.
Check out the work students are focusing on! Literacy and Math will be highlighted along with information about PBIS and Second Step!
Light refreshments will be available! Hope to see you there!
Dear Slate Valley community, please consider attending one of the Agency of Education’s Listen and Learn Tour events. Your voice is critically important.
The Vermont Agency of Education announced in a recent press release the next phase of the 2024 Listen and Learn Tour and invites the public to participate in community conversations to inform how the Agency delivers services and supports to Vermont’s education system.
These public engagement sessions will help the Agency develop its strategic plan and ensure that its work is supporting the educational priorities of communities across Vermont. Following a series of data reports and regional planning sessions with more than 250 education leaders, the Agency is eager to expand these conversations to include educators, parents, students, and community members across the state. The Agency encourages broad participation and welcomes input from all Vermonters, including students, families, and community partners - students are integral to these conversations and are encouraged to attend.
Each public engagement session will take place from 6:00 pm. to 8:00 pm at the below locations. Every session will begin with introductory information and data to support more in-depth conversations, followed by breakout sessions on topics related to student achievement and support, career and college readiness, and school budgets, among other emerging priorities. Detailed agendas will be provided on the Agency webpage closer to the events.
DATE LOCATION
October 22 Woodstock Union Middle/High School
October 23 Mount Anthony Union High School
October 23 Stowe High School
October 28 Montpelier High School
October 28 West Rutland School
October 29 Lyndon Town School
October 30 Enosburg Falls High School
November 4 Virtual Meeting (ASL interpreter available)
November 6 Virtual Meeting (ASL interpreter available
Please check the Listen and Learn webpage to see the most up to date public engagement schedules, links for virtual sessions and information on language accessibility. While not required, pre-registration is encouraged using the online registration form, Listen and Learn Registration (cognitoforms.com). Please email aoe.publicinformation@vermont.gov with questions.
Our Relocation Drill has been completed! We always learn something from each drill, and that makes us more prepared in the event of an actual emergency. Our students were amazing! As always, feel free to give us a call if you have any questions about any safety drill.
Slate Valley FY26 Budget Forums start next week! We invite you to bring your questions and suggestions about the upcoming school budget. Your input is vital as we plan for the future! Can't attend? Submit your thoughts online at https://bit.ly/FY26Suggestions.
As part of their ongoing exploration of emotions and self-expression, school librarian Mrs. Rampone read to her classes a new release titled "When Ayden Paints the Sky". In the story, the main character expresses her emotions through art, painting the sky to reflect her feelings. After the reading, students created their own sky paintings to convey emotions and shared the meanings behind them. Fun fact: the author of "When Ayden Paints the Sky" is the niece of our district’s communications coordinator, Mrs. Cacciatore!
Calling all parents and community members!
Leveraging Title I Funds to Help Students Succeed
Join us on Tuesday, October 8th at 5:15 PM for an informative session with Casey O'Meara, Slate Valley's Director of Curriculum. Learn how Title I Schoolwide Programs are used to address barriers to academic success and support all students in our district.
Meeting options:
In person: Slate Valley Central Office located at Fair Haven Union Middle & High School.
Virtually: meet.google.com/xxa-vdnw-cyz
Bonus! Preview the presentation slides at https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1YT199Tzt3lXdmpfQzQgpf2hjjiES3f4Vh5qdoEcyZrA/edit?usp=sharing. The slides include a survey at the end to share your thoughts.
This session takes place right before the next Slate Valley Community Advisory Council meeting, at the same location. Stay informed and involved!
Please join us for the next Slate Valley Community Advisory Council meeting on Tuesday, October 8, 2024 at 5:45 PM in the Central Office conference room located at FHUMHS. The agenda can be found at https://www.slatevalleyunified.org/page/slate-valley-community-advisory-council
We hope to see you there!
Happy Custodian Appreciation Day to our dedicated team! Your hard work keeps our world tidy. Slate Valley thanks you!
Last week, the Castleton Rec's 3rd/4th girls soccer team joined the FHU varsity girls for a special pre-game experience. The young athletes proudly walked out onto the field together for the national anthem. During halftime, they had the opportunity to showcase their skills in a scrimmage on the main field.
Board Meeting - September 30, 2024
You’re invited to the Slate Valley Unified Union School District Board Meeting at 6:30 p.m. at Benson Village School Gymnasium.
This meeting will be in person. Virtually connect by going to:
Video call link: https://meet.google.com/afd-zdxi-edo
Or dial: (US) +1 636-442-2997 PIN: 222 377 803#
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.
An FYI from Fair Haven's Town Manager...
On Friday, the 4th grade celebrated with the first-ever Superhero Square Dance, uniting all superheroes!
Square dancing promotes social interaction, good citizenship, following directions, developing rhythm, and recognizing patterns. During the dance, the cardinal directions (north, south, east, and west) helped identify partners to form squares of eight superheroes.
At the end, a rousing chant of "Never give up, do the right thing, and help someone in need!" signified their mission accomplished!
We had a successful Coffee & Conversation gathering to kick off the year. If you missed it, don't worry! We have three more scheduled, beginning this Wednesday at 7:30 AM at Buxton's Store in Orwell.
For those who prefer evening events, we have our Budget Forums planned to begin late October at 6:30 PM, as well as our monthly Community Advisory Council meetings, (next one is Tuesday, October 8th at 5:45 PM). Additionally, you're always welcome to attend our School Board Meetings, which are open to the public.
We value your input and encourage you to join us at any of these events to discuss budget and all school matters.
Ahoy, mateys! Who would've known yesterday was International Speak Like A Pirate Day? Well, the 4th graders, of course! They sailed the seas of imagination with pirate map skills, creative pirate writing, and pirate games. But the real treasure was presenting their theater skits called "A Pirate's Adventure"! Groups of swashbucklers dressed the part and presented their tales with a hearty "Yo-ho-ho!"!
During library class, students in grades K-4 delved into the whimsical world of emotions with Patricia Austin's book "Elephant of Sadness, Butterfly of Joy." After exploring the book's animal metaphors, they sculpted their own feelings using Play-Dough on blank face templates, creating a tactile and expressive project.
Look what we've created! Our brand-new Little Library is now open for business. This wonderful outdoor space, where students can borrow books, is the brainchild of our librarian, Mrs. Rampone. Her husband built the library, and our talented art teacher, Mrs. Parrott, painted it with a little help from Mrs. Rampone.
Please join us this Friday morning (September 20th) at the Castleton Free Library. We'll be there at 10 AM, right before Story Hour!
