Slate Valley Unified School District

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

Good Afternoon, The Fair Haven Union High School will be fully remote on Monday, February 22nd. The air exchange that supplies fresh air to many of the classrooms is broken. We are hoping this will only impact in-person learning on Monday and we can return to regular operations on Tuesday the 23rd. Stafford will run as normal as will athletic practices as the gym is not impacted. Meal pick-up will be available between 7:00-8:00 am on Monday morning in front of the high school. For anyone interested in receiving meals and unable to pick-up please contact the school. We will keep you posted if anything should change. Best, Brooke Farrell, Superintendent

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

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.

Last year, our school district was selected to be a participant in The Vermont Youth Project (VYP). The VYP is a statewide initiative supporting communities with creating an environment that embraces positive youth development. In October, students in grades six through twelve had the opportunity to participate in a survey to share their voice about youth needs and resources in their community as we work toward strengthening the resiliency of all. The SVUVT VYP leadership team attended a data reveal in January and based on the review of our local data, we have designed attainable goals that touch on four key areas including community outreach, parent co-collaboration, youth voice and third space opportunities. We want to thank Slate Valley Parents and Caregivers for the continued support of all of our children. Here are some highlights of what our kids had to say.

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

Dear Slate Valley Community Member, On 2-9-21 we learned about an individual connected to Fair Haven Grade School/Benson Village School that has Coronavirus Disease. This individual was in attendance while contagious. Contact tracing has been completed and all close contacts have been identified. 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: https://5il.co/phda

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 afternoon, We are excited to announce that we have started a YouTube channel so that our community can watch events taking place at the Fair Haven Union High School involving the Slaters basketball teams this season. Events will be streamed via YouTube Live and our new channel can be found at the following link: https://bit.ly/3pKA8ZR We currently have two intrasquad scrimmages scheduled for this week. On Thursday, February 4th at 6:30 we’ll be streaming the boys’ basketball scrimmage and then on Friday, February 5th there will be a live stream of the girl’s basketball scrimmage at 4:45. We’ll look to post reminders about upcoming streams on the high’s school website as well as on our Facebook page.

Dear Slate Valley Community Member, On 2-2-21 we learned about an individual at Castleton Elementary School that has Coronavirus Disease. This individual was in attendance last week while contagious. Contact tracing has been completed. 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 read the full letter from Superintendent Olsen-Farrell here: https://5il.co/p86h

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, On 2-1-21 we learned about an individual at Benson 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 read the complete letter from Superintendent Olsen-Farrell here: https://5il.co/p69a

Dear Slate Valley Community Member, On 1-31-21 we learned about an individual at Fair Haven Union High School in the 11th/12th grade pod that has Coronavirus Disease and was in attendance the week of 1-18-21 while contagious. Contact tracing is underway and anyone with known exposure has been notified. Given that contact tracing resulted in a very small group of individuals needing to quarantine we still plan on returning to in person learning tomorrow, 2-1-21. 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 read the full letter from Superintendent Olsen-Farrell here: https://5il.co/p57y