Orwell Village School

Good Evening, Please read the following letter regarding the special airing of “Angst: Raising Awareness Around Anxiety” on Monday, May 3: https://5il.co/ry3u

Save the Date! Virtual Listening Tours with SVUUSD Board Members (Note: You are welcome to attend any of the meetings regardless of what town you reside in.) Join board members for a conversation about Middle School Reorganization prior to their vote on May 24th. May 17th, 6 PM - Fair Haven/West Haven - Connect by going to https://meet.google.com/pdu-abre-xnm or by phone (US) +1 585-532-5413 (PIN: 713397202) May 18th, 6 PM - Castleton/Hubbardton - Connect by going to https://meet.google.com/gee-acpe-ota or join by phone (US) +1 442-900-4083 (PIN: 398252852) May 19th, 6 PM - Orwell/Benson - Connect by going to https://meet.google.com/djm-sekz-bca or join by phone (US) +1 786-563-9119 (PIN: 104762513)

Save the date! On Monday, May 3, 2021, Slate Valley will hold a special screening of the documentary, “Angst: Raising Awareness Around Anxiety," online to open up a dialogue between local families, community leaders and experts. The event will feature a viewing of the 56-minute film, followed by an informative panel discussion, led by Kristin H. Benway, Director of Special Services, with special guests Megan Oldenburger, RMHS School Based Clinician, Michael Kell, School Counselor, and former Slater Cael Christian. Register at https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN__ElOViTuQDG2QTV7IWdFqA. iNDIEFLIX Education has sparked a global conversation about anxiety through screenings of its documentary, “Angst: Raising Awareness Around Anxiety.” For more information: https://5il.co/rpnd

Congratulations to our Orwell 3D Printing Team, the Engineering Wolves, for being selected as finalists in the Makeable 3D Printing Challenge, a world-wide design competition with over 17,000 entries from 70+ countries! As finalists in the category of “Best Showcase for Iterative Design (Under 14), their design brief was to “Design and make a product or prototype that improves the day-to-day life of someone who struggles with mobility in their hands.” You may view the Makeable finalist announcement here: https://weareprintlab.com/blog/makeable-finalist-announcement

Dodge House Donation Drive - A FHUHS Student’s R.E.A.L. Project Please view the flyer here for more information: https://www.smore.com/xpe32 This drive is being held by the Slate Valley Unified School District. We hope to raise awareness of homeless Veterans, and support the Dodge House in Rutland, which "provides shelter, clothing, food, and an individualized program to reintegrate veterans back into the community and help them to achieve self­ sufficiency" (http://www.chcrr.org). Donation boxes will be located in the front offices of all Slate Valley schools from March 29th and April 25th.

Save the date! iNDIEFLIX Shines the Light on Anxiety with Must-See Documentary, “ANGST: RAISING AWARENESS AROUND ANXIETY” ANGST will screen live on: Monday, May 3, 2021 AT 6:00pm Register at https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN__ElOViTuQDG2QTV7IWdFqA iNDIEFLIX Education has sparked a global conversation about anxiety through screenings of its documentary, “Angst: Raising Awareness Around Anxiety”. On Monday, May 3, 2021, Slate Valley will hold a special screening of the documentary online to open up a dialogue between local families, community leaders and experts. The event will feature a viewing of the 56-minute film, followed by an informative panel discussion, led by Kristin H. Benway, Director of Special Services, with special guests Megan Oldenburger, RMHS School Based Clinician, Michael Kell, School Counselor, and former Slater Cael Christian. For more information: https://5il.co/rpnd

Reminder! Tonight (April 19th) You’re invited to the Slate Valley Unified Union School District Board (virtual) Meeting at 6:30 p.m. Participation will be virtual only. Connect by going to http://meet.google.com/nmr-haqy-umb or join by phone (US) +1 617-675-4444 PIN: 151 630 604 3623# Tonight’s Agenda: https://5il.co/rpa2 Previous Meeting Minutes: https://5il.co/ranl

Dodge House Donation Drive - A FHUHS Student’s R.E.A.L. Project Please view the flyer here for more information: https://www.smore.com/xpe32 This drive is being held by the Slate Valley Unified School District. We hope to raise awareness of homeless Veterans, and support the Dodge House in Rutland, which "provides shelter, clothing, food, and an individualized program to reintegrate veterans back into the community and help them to achieve self­ sufficiency" (http://www.chcrr.org). Donation boxes will be located in the front offices of all Slate Valley schools from March 29th and April 25th.

Dear Slate Valley Families, I hope this letter finds you well. As we head into April break I would like to update you on new Guidelines released from the Agency of Education yesterday, April 8th. These guidelines are part of Vermont’s Reopening Plan. Starting on April 19th all students will need to be screened at home. We will not be doing temperature checks in schools. We will no longer require the form for entrance to school each day per the state guidelines. We ask that you continue to check temperatures and check for any signs or symptoms of COVID-19 and keep children home that have even 1 symptom. The Department of Health guidelines remain the same in managing illness. Please call your child’s school nurse with any questions as they can guide you in safe school attendance. Additionally schools are now required to follow ACCD guidelines and Vermont’s Reopening Plan as such there is no quarantine requirement for travel. However, if your unvaccinated child does travel you are required to obtain a COVID test within 72 hours of return. Your child will be able to continue to attend school if symptom free. If you have planned travel, we encourage you to sign up on the Department of Health website for return testing before you leave and as the site allows. Documentation of the negative test may be required if a case of COVID-19 occurs in the school and your child is considered a close contact. Physician offices for the most part will not perform testing unless your child is symptomatic. Please continue practicing the best prevention measures of mask wearing, 6 foot distancing and hand cleansing during your travels to remain healthy and safe. Social distancing has moved to 3 feet for all students with the exception of 7-12 students when eating. That will remain at 6 feet. Contact tracing is still determined based on the 6 foot standard so we will continue to keep all 7-12 students 6 feet apart whenever feasible. Adults will still need to maintain the 6 feet social distancing. Masks continue to be required of students and staff at all times in the buildings regardless of vaccination status. For more information please visit the Department of Health and ACCD.vermont.gov websites for more detailed and specific information on travel, quarantine, and vaccines. The Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) sections are very helpful. I know this has been a hard road this year and your support for the school district has been very much appreciated. I truly hope you have a wonderful week with your children next week. Best, Brooke Olsen-Farrell Superintendent

Spring Sports Letter Hello everyone, Welcome to Spring! Thank you all for a supportive Winter Athletic season. I so appreciate your support and flexibility through everything. We have a wonderful opportunity this Spring season for our district athletes. We will (like in the Fall for soccer) be combining our OVS/BVS/FHGS/CVS athletes to make one Slate Valley Baseball and Softball team. The registration numbers do not support having separate teams for FHGS/BVS and CVS/OVS as the total numbers for baseball are 19 and softball 21. I reached out to our Varsity softball coach for advice on this and he felt this would be a wonderful way to bring our athletes together, teach them all skills necessary to move to the next level and have enough players to field a team with substitutes during this COVID season. Also, very exciting news, we will be using Castleton University as our HOME field for most games. Fair Haven Grade School will be our HOME practice field for the first part of the season and we are hoping to be able to utilize the field at CU for some practices near the end. I will keep you posted. Your athletes will start practicing on Monday, April 19th. Our coaches that will be returning to work with our athletes this year are: Will Tyler and Will DiFrancesco for the ⅞ boys baseball team and Peter Baird and Ashley Bruce with Emma Kelly assisting for the ⅞ girls softball team. I am looking forward to an exciting season filled with skill building, game play and team work. The practice and game schedule will be on the Slate Valley App by Friday, April 9, 2021. Registration on Formreleaf.com closes at 6am, Friday, April 9, 2021. Our Spring Track is going to be off to an exciting start as of Monday, April 19th. I would like to welcome our new coach Grace Durfee. She brings background knowledge and experience to us. We have 17 athletes registered for that sport. Practices will be held at FHUHS. The practice and game schedule will be on the Slate Valley App by Friday, April 9, 2021. As in the Fall and Winter for athletics, parents will be responsible for dropping off and picking their athletes up at the HOME Practice and Game sites. A bus will be provided for all AWAY games/meets. Thank you in advance for your support and cooperation through our Spring Sports season. I will continue to send out weekly reminder emails with practice/game schedules and COVID requirements. Have a wonderful spring everyone! All my best, Kim Alexander

Dodge House Donation Drive - A FHUHS Student’s R.E.A.L. Project Please view the flyer here for more information: https://www.smore.com/xpe32 This drive is being held by the Slate Valley Unified School District. We hope to raise awareness of homeless Veterans, and support the Dodge House in Rutland, which "provides shelter, clothing, food, and an individualized program to reintegrate veterans back into the community and help them to achieve self­ sufficiency" (http://www.chcrr.org). Donation boxes will be located in the front offices of all Slate Valley schools from March 29th and April 25th.

Reminder! Tonight (April 5, 2021) You’re invited to the Slate Valley Unified Union School District Board (Virtual) Meeting at 6:30 p.m. Participation will be VIRTUAL ONLY. Connect by going to http://meet.google.com/kdn-osig-qsn or join by phone (US) +1 617-675-4444 PIN: 474 306 975 5652#. Tonight’s Agenda: https://5il.co/r4fm Previous Meeting Minutes: https://5il.co/qwix

You’re invited to join us this evening at 6 PM for a Community Connections virtual discussion on District Reorganization. Community Connections are an opportunity for community members to have a conversation with Central Office administrators. Join us by going to https://meet.google.com/jxr-qubs-ptw or by phone (US)+1 609-438-1179 (PIN: 408 338 127#)

Dear Slate Valley Families, I hope this letter finds you well and beginning to see some light at the end of the very long tunnel. With the uptick in COVID cases and a holiday weekend upon us, I would like to send some reminders. As we are headed into a holiday and a week off with warmer weather, I just wanted to remind everyone to stay vigilant to protect one other. We are almost there, but the pandemic is not quite over. We want to continue to prevent any outbreaks that could result in limitations on learning, extra-curricular activities, sports, and future events such as graduation. We saw how gatherings and travel affected us after the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays. There has been a recent surge in cases in our community, so maintaining precautions is very important for preventing spread. This is especially true because several individuals who have recently tested positive have experienced no symptoms. Without following mask and social distancing guidelines, people are unknowingly spreading it. Please follow our current Vermont gathering guidelines regarding the number of households and vaccine receipt. If you travel, please follow quarantine guidelines upon return. Additionally, please wear masks, stay 6 feet apart, and sanitize/wash your hands often. If parents are vaccinated, it does not mean that children can travel without quarantine. It may mean that your student may not be able to return to in person learning after April break. We know this has been so difficult and so many of us are "over it," but we need to keep up the precautions for a little while longer. Positive change is coming, but we are not there yet. And to get there as soon as possible, we all need to continue to maintain the great illness prevention work we are all doing. So do the fun holiday traditions, gather as much as you can under the guidelines, enjoy family as best you can, and soon we will be back to a much better place. Thank you for your continued support of the schools and our community's health. Sincerely, Brooke Olsen-Farrell Superintendent

Dodge House Donation Drive - A FHUHS Student’s R.E.A.L. Project Please view the flyer here for more information: https://www.smore.com/xpe32 This drive is being held by the Slate Valley Unified School District. We hope to raise awareness of homeless Veterans, and support the Dodge House in Rutland, which "provides shelter, clothing, food, and an individualized program to reintegrate veterans back into the community and help them to achieve self­ sufficiency" (http://www.chcrr.org). Donation boxes will be located in the front offices of all Slate Valley schools from March 29th and April 25th.

You’re invited to join us on March 31st at 6 PM for a Community Connections virtual discussion on District Reorganization. Community Connections virtual chats are an opportunity for community members to have a conversation with Central Office administrators. Join us by going to https://meet.google.com/jxr-qubs-ptw or by phone (US)+1 609-438-1179 (PIN: 408 338 127#)

We have two basketball games this afternoon as the CVS/OVS teams wrap up their season that'll be streaming on the CVS Athletics YouTube channel. https://bit.ly/3lOCl5b At 4:30 the CVS/OVS 7/8 Girls take on Barstow. Following that game at 6:00 the CVS/OVS 7th Grade Boys will also take on Barstow.

Dear Slate Valley Families, We have been through a lot this year and over the last four years as a Slate Valley Community. In the past four years we have experienced a threat to school safety and COVID-19. As a result, anxiety has increased for some of our staff, students and community members. The safety, social and emotional wellbeing of students, staff and our community continue to be priorities for Slate Valley as we move towards recovery. As we move forward with recovery from the pandemic, we are also faced with the potential release of a person who threatened staff and students at Fair Haven Union High School. In 2018, the individual who threatened FHU was adjudicated as a youthful offender, a designation for a defendant under the age of 22 and facing charges within the adult criminal justice system. Youthful offender status only follows an individual through their 22nd birthday, which this individual will turn this year. In some cases these individuals are reintegrated into the community or area prior to the regulation of their youthful offender status. When someone is adjudicated as a youthful offender, information about that individual's whereabouts, treatment, or possible consequences cannot be shared. In this case the Department of Corrections and Department of Children/Families have joint oversight of this individual until his 22nd birthday which is in August. I pride myself on being able to accurately communicate when I have knowledge of matters which may impact our community, but in this case I don’t have any additional information. I have repeatedly asked for the information and have been denied access to the information. I have been left to assume there is a likelihood that this individual could return to Vermont in the very near future. If I did have the information, you would have the information as well. Although I know I don’t have specific information on this one individual, I do know that we have been doing great work in terms of school safety and we will continue to be vigilant as a school community. If at any time you have concerns directly related to this individual or any safety concern, please contact local law enforcement. They take these calls very seriously and will promptly look into concerns. I am fully aware of the anxiety that this may cause some of you on top of COVID-19. However, I felt the need to bring it to your attention as I believe you have the right to know as much as possible. Again, the safety, social and emotional wellbeing of students, staff and our community are the priorities for Slate Valley. Below you can find contact information for those agencies or individuals you can contact if you are in need of support: Students can contact their school counselors and other school support by calling the individual schools. To access community based support for mental health issues, please call Rutland Mental Health (for intake appointments) at 775-2381 or the Crisis Line at 775-1000. Families/Community Members may also contact Rutland Mental Health (for intake appointments) at 775-2381 or the Crisis Line at 775-1000. As in the past, we encourage community members to report any suspicious or concerning behaviors that may have a negative impact on schools within the District to your local law enforcement agency: Fair Haven Police Department: 802-265-4531 Castleton Police Department: 802-468-5012 VT State Police Rutland Barracks: 802-773-9101 We are all in this together and we all need to do our part to take care of one another. Sincerely, Brooke Farrell, Superintendent

We have three basketball games scheduled for today that will be streaming on our FHGS Athletics YouTube channel. https://bit.ly/3rbjAtV At 4:00 the FHGS/BVS 7/8 Girls tip off against the CVS/OVS 7/8 Girls. At 5:30 the FHGS/BVS Grade 7 Boys tip off versus the CVS/OVS Grade 7 Boys. In our third and final game of the evening, the FHGS/BVS 8th Grade Boys tip off against the CVS/OVS 8th Grade Boys at 7:00.

Reminder! Tonight (March 22, 2021) You’re invited to the Slate Valley Unified Union School District Board (Virtual) Meeting Fair Haven Union High School, 6:30 p.m. Participation will be VIRTUAL ONLY. Connect by going to http://meet.google.com/yyb-ypeg-juu or join by phone (US)+1 617-675-4444 PIN: 867 675 227 0575# Tonight’s Agenda: https://5il.co/qtk1 Previous Meeting Minutes: https://5il.co/qgoh