Save the Date!
The Slate Valley Unified School Board is hosting a week of Virtual Listening Tours beginning on March 16th to continue the discussion on district reorganization.
Listening tours are an opportunity to have a conversation with board members. You may attend any of the meetings - regardless of which town you reside in. Please join us at 6 p.m. for a discussion about district reorganization on the following dates:
March 16th with Tim, Julie, Toni, Josh, and Christine (Castleton/Hubbardton)
Join with Google Meet https://meet.google.com/wyi-oqrg-pnc or join by phone (US) +1 209-850-2378 (PIN: 574504536)
March 17th with Pati, Becky, Beckah, Peter, Glen, and John (Benson/Orwell)
Join with Google Meet at https://meet.google.com/ifr-ijcb-qdc or join by phone (US) +1 573-343-8213 (PIN: 143009028)
March 18th with Mike, Rick, Tara, Tanya, and Angela (Fair Haven/West Haven)
Join with Google Meet https://meet.google.com/ust-vwqk-mmx or join by phone join by phone (US) +1 786-592-9982 (PIN: 735144976)
This afternoon at 4:30 we'll be livestreaming an intersquad scrimmage between the CVS/OVS 7th Grade and CVS/OVS 8th Grade boys' teams over on our YouTube channel that can be found here: https://bit.ly/3kg5lBU
This video was played during the SVUUSD Annual Informational Meeting on February 22, 2021. It features scenes from around the district this school year: http://shorturl.at/rvEVX
Tonight! (February 22, 2021)
Slate Valley voters are invited to join us for a virtual informational meeting.
Virtually connect by going to http://meet.google.com/yjx-xnzo-dpq or by calling (US) +1 402-337-4387 PIN: 505 127 437#
Resources
Annual Report: https://5il.co/pc7r
Budget PowerPoint (PDF): https://5il.co/pjwn
Budget Newsletter: https://5il.co/pgqm
Reminder - Slate Valley voters are invited to join us for a virtual informational meeting on Monday, February 22, 2021.
Virtually connect by going to http://meet.google.com/yjx-xnzo-dpq or by calling (US) +1 402-337-4387 PIN: 505 127 437#
Resources
Annual Report: https://5il.co/pc7r
Budget PowerPoint (PDF): https://5il.co/pqu5
Budget Newsletter: https://5il.co/pgqm
High School Prep - Registration High School Prep will be held on the weeks of July 12 and July 19 from 8:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. Families can reach out to Melissa Hoyer at mhoyer@svuvt.org 265-4966, or their school counselor with any questions. High School Prep will be a blending of time at the FHUHS campus and Lake Bomoseen State Park. The focus of Prep is to work on building connections, becoming familiar with the high school and high school staff, work on a project, and possibly earn a half credit towards high school graduation. It will be a fabulous way to kick off the high school career for the class of 2025! Register at https://forms.gle/d7iWvBa82CYrcnhG6
Today marks the start of the 2021 winter basketball season for the CVS/OVS combined girls basketball team with a home game being streamed over on our YouTube channel. https://bit.ly/3qbxJaM
At 4:30 the 7th and 8th grade girls tip off versus Middlebury.
Rosters for the CVS/OVS team can be found here: https://5il.co/pl53
Reminder - tomorrow!
Saturday, February 13
10 a.m. to Noon
Slate Valley and Fair Haven Concerned Essential Food Box Distribution Day
Families within the Slate Valley School District are invited to pick up a Food Box.
How to Build Your Own Outdoor Classroom
Outdoor learning labs can engage students in hands-on activities, while providing a safer way to attend school in person.
https://www.edutopia.org/video/how-build-your-own-outdoor-classroom
Good afternoon,
We are excited to announce the launch of our YouTube channels for our grade 5-8 athletics teams. These channels will be based on gym locations, rather than teams, to allow for the possibility of more than one event to be streamed at one time. On these channels, you’ll be able to watch live streamed athletic events via YouTube Live.
Channels:
Castleton Elementary School: https://bit.ly/3da2Xvj
Castleton Village School: https://bit.ly/3qbxJaM
Fair Haven Grade School: https://bit.ly/3tQ9Ebt
Visit the new channels and be sure you subscribe and turn on notifications to be automatically notified when there is a live stream taking place.
Athletics update: Tomorrow afternoon, we will be sharing details about Friday’s sporting events - including information on how you can view them.
A message from the Vermont Department of Health:
The Health Department has detected an increase in COVID-19 activity in Rutland County during the last two weeks.
What we know is:
Rutland City and some surrounding towns now have evidence of increased rates, multiple household clusters and workplaces with cases.
Surrounding towns with increased rates include Benson, Pittsford, Castleton, West Haven and Fair Haven.
At this time we are seeing an increased number of cases that are not known to be associated with an outbreak, which is an indication of more widespread community transmission. We are sharing this information to encourage community-wide public health interventions.
Our area is seeing an increase in COVID-19 activity. Take these prevention steps to help slow the spread:
-Stay home if you are sick.
-Wash your hands often.
-Keep your social circle to only the people you live with.
-Stay at least 6 feet apart from people you do not live with.
-Wear a mask any time you are around people you do not live with.
See the complete message and resources from the Department of Health: https://5il.co/pieg
Our SROs pitch in wherever they can!
Good afternoon,
All after school activities have been canceled for today (2/9/21) due to weather conditions.
Dear Slate Valley Community Member,
On 2-8-21 we learned about an individual at Orwell Village School that has Coronavirus Disease. This individual was in attendance while contagious. Contact tracing is underway and anyone with possible exposure has been notified and sent home until a final determination on quarantine can be made. We expect to have contact tracing completed by the end of the day today. As always we are working closely with the Department of Health. We continue to advise our staff and students to stay home when sick. We recommend that you take action to help limit the spread of COVID-19, even if your child is not experiencing symptoms. This is especially important given that we know the virus is in our community.
Please see the full letter from Superintendent Olsen-Farrell here: https://5il.co/pfak
Reminder! Tonight (February 8, 2021)
Your 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/ddd-acaw-zxq Or join by phone (US) +1 617-675-4444 PIN: 267 808 206 8448#
Tonight’s Agenda: https://5il.co/peud
Previous Meeting Minutes: https://5il.co/p31h
Slate Valley and Fair Haven Concerned Essential Food Box Distribution Day
Saturday, February 13
10 a.m. - Noon
Families within the Slate Valley School District are invited to pick up a Food Box.
Dear Slate Valley Community,
I am aware that bill S.63 “An act relating to the prohibition of school resource officers” was recently introduced in the Senate Education Committee. This bill proposes to prohibit schools from contracting for the services of school resource officers. Some of the national data has clearly demonstrated a disparate level of law enforcement treatment of communities of color that have resulted in increased arrests, expulsion and suspensions. However, we have been very pleased with the level of professionalism of our school based law enforcement officers and have established clear roles, responsibilities and practices that have prioritized positive interactions, mentoring, community building and steered clear from law enforcement being seen as disciplinarians and enforcement focused. Resource officers in schools have proven to provide an opportunity to create, and support relationships that strengthen our communities. In an effort to provide equity in our communities, inequities will be created by the removal of resource officers from our schools for Slate Valley.
As Superintendent, I am opposed to this bill due to our past and current experiences with our school resource officers. If you have questions regarding this bill I would encourage you to reach out to your legislators. Rest assured that I know how important our School Resource Officer program is to our district and will do everything in my power to ensure that this bill in its current language does not become law.
Several years ago our community was impacted by a potential threat that resulted in a level of stress and anxiety that is still being felt today. The safety of our students, faculty and staff will always be our top priority. As such we will continue to take appropriate measures to address any school safety concerns.
Link to Bill S.63: https://legislature.vermont.gov/Documents/2022/Docs/BILLS/S-0063/S-0063%20As%20Introduced.pdf
Sincerely,
Brooke Olsen-Farrell, Superintendent
Good Evening,
Due to the impending weather conditions all Slate Valley Schools will be closed tomorrow, February 2nd. Stay safe and enjoy your day!
Brooke Farrell, Superintendent
Dear Slate Valley Community Member,
This is hard and there is no way to make everyone happy, except of course to say that the pandemic is over and we can return to whatever “normal” will look like. I know people are hurting. This has been an incredibly difficult year for our students, families and staff. We need everyone to remember that we are all humans and all are dealing with different challenges that the pandemic has presented, there is sacrifice, compassion and understanding needed by us all.
It was both unfortunate and necessary that FHUHS and FHGS needed to go remote this week but given the amount of students and staff quarantining it was the only decision. We are planning on returning to in person learning for FHUHS and FHGS on Monday February 1st. Additional, positive cases have been identified and those students are isolating according to the Department of Health Guidelines. Some of these cases are due to high school athletics and in consultation with the Department of Health we will be moving back to Phase I for High School Winter Sports for Monday, February 1st and Tuesday, February 2nd. This means that only non-contact drills will be allowed. We will monitor this situation and make a decision on a day to day basis on the status of practices.
Each and every student and staff member is important to me and as such every decision I make is weighed very carefully. Our students deserve every safe opportunity we can give them to access in-person learning. Our staff has had an incredible lift this year as we have changed everything we do related to school. They show-up each day ready to take on these new challenges because they believe that is what is best for your children, our students. It is incumbent upon us all to keep them safe as well.
There is always risk in everything we do and we need to weigh carefully those risks and make the very best decisions possible. There have been many sleepless nights as I weigh those risks and make sure I do what is right for the community, staff and most importantly our students.
There is risk with staying in person and there is risk with going remote. With remote learning, I worry about having the ability to pay our hourly staff if the remote period is a long time. I worry about our students in homes without support. I worry about further spreading the virus as if we are remote, students have more opportunities to visit each others' homes. I worry about parents losing their jobs and having an inability to pay for food and housing. I worry about political backlash from the community and the fallout for staff (This is one thing I wish I didn’t have to worry about but I do). I worry about the ability of our staff to balance teaching our students and being able to support their own kids in remote learning. I worry about the mental health and isolation of all in a remote environment.
With staying in person I worry about in school transmission, although extremely unlikely, not impossible. I worry about the isolation from colleagues. I worry the exhaustion of staff in making sure the social distancing guidelines are being followed. I worry about the concern the staff has for their students and colleagues and the toll on individual mental health.
I know some of you are concerned for a variety of different reasons. I understand your concern and share some of those concerns. We are in the middle of a pandemic and things can’t and won’t be the same. I know that while at times we might disagree with the best way to approach things please know that we always have safety front and center. If we continue to work together and support one another as we work through these challenges, we will be stronger as a community. We need your help in this if we want to continue in person learning and other activities, then we must adhere to the guidelines.
Best,
Brooke Farrell