Castleton Elementary School

Tonight - April 25, 2022 You’re invited to the Slate Valley Unified Union School District Board Meeting at 6:30 p.m. in the Fair Haven Grade School Library. This meeting will be in person or virtually connect by going to https://meet.google.com/wck-ifsf-xve or dial: (US) +1 865-401-0275 PIN: 911 262 892# Tonight’s Agenda: https://5il.co/19bi7 Previous Meeting Minutes: https://5il.co/18rlk Next Board Meeting: May 9, 2022 - 6:30 p.m. at Fair Haven Union High School

Good evening, The budget passed with the following results: Yes: 882 No: 541 We want to thank the community for voting!

Please remember to vote today! Town of Benson: 10:00 AM - 7:00 PM, Benson Community Hall Town of Castleton: 8:00 AM - 7:00 PM, Castleton Fire Station Town of Fair Haven: 10:00 AM - 7:00 PM, Fair Haven Grade School Town of Hubbardton: 10:00 AM - 7:00 PM, Hubbardton Town Hall Town of Orwell: 10:00 AM - 7:00 PM, Orwell Town Clerk's Office Town of West Haven: 10:00 AM - 7:00 PM, West Haven Town Hall For more information, we invite you to visit the budget page on our website: https://www.slatevalleyunified.org/page/budget

Join us tonight at 6:30 p.m. in the FHUHS Band Room for an informational hearing to discuss the proposed FY23 budget (Article 2), which will be voted on tomorrow by Australian ballot. Virtually connect by going to https://meet.google.com/kwb-acpu-kjm or by calling +1 352-503-8958 PIN: 358 031 844#. For more information, we invite you to visit our budget web page: https://www.slatevalleyunified.org/page/budget.

As we approach our April 12th Informational Meeting and April 13th Budget Revote, we are highlighting Frequently Asked Questions (https://5il.co/1898z) related to the FY23 Budget. Question: How does Slate Valley’s FY23 Education Spending per Equalized Pupil compare to surrounding districts? Answer: Rutland City: $18,624 Mill River: $18, 376 Estimated State Average: $18,023 Otter Valley: $17,048 Slate Valley: $16,947 Quarry Valley: $16,870 For more information, we invite you to visit our budget web page: https://www.slatevalleyunified.org/page/budget.

Tonight - April 11, 2022 You’re invited to the Slate Valley Unified School District Board Meeting at 6:30 p.m. in the Fair Haven Union High School Library. This meeting will be in person or virtually connect by going to https://meet.google.com/pon-cdyc-ivw or dial: (US) +1 567-250-1061 PIN: 344 705 713# Tonight’s Agenda: https://5il.co/18j0p Previous Meeting Minutes: https://5il.co/185lr Special Meeting: April 12, 2022 - 6:30 p.m. at FHUHS Band Room

As a reminder, there is a special meeting on Tuesday, April 12th at 6:30 p.m. in the Fair Haven Union High School Band Room to discuss the proposed FY23 budget (Article 2), which will be voted on by Australian ballot on Wednesday, April 13th. We invite you to visit the budget page on our website for more information: https://www.slatevalleyunified.org/page/budget

Castleton Elementary School - Kindergarten Registration! Friday, May 20, 2022 Please join us for Kindergarten Registration! Families will be able to meet the teachers as well as check out Castleton Elementary School, your new school! Call (802) 468-5624 to sign up for a time. Times will be available in 20 minute time slots from 8 am - 3:30 pm. If you are unable to come on May 20th, we will arrange another time for you to come to CES. We look forward to seeing you and your new kindergarten student!

As we approach our April 12th Informational Meeting and April 13th Budget Revote, we are highlighting Frequently Asked Questions (https://5il.co/1898z) related to the FY23 Budget. Question: What changed from the March vote? Answer: Since the voters of Castleton and Hubbardton voted to close and purchase the Castleton Village School from Slate Valley UUSD, $33,500 of building operation costs were removed from the budget. For more information, we invite you to visit our budget web page: https://www.slatevalleyunified.org/page/budget.

As we approach our April 12th Informational Meeting and April 13th Budget Revote, we will be highlighting Frequently Asked Questions (https://5il.co/1898z) related to the FY23 Budget. For more information, we invite you to visit our budget web page: https://www.slatevalleyunified.org/page/budget. Question: Why is there a budget decrease, but on the ballot the school budget article says there is an increase and the district is estimating a tax rate decrease? Answer: The wording on the budget article can be confusing. The information that appears on the ballot is set by Vermont statute. The language was jointly developed by the Secretary of Education and the Secretary of State and was adopted by the State Board of Education. $26,236,547 is the amount of the total expenditure budget for the entire district for the school year 2022-2023. It is the amount necessary to operate and maintain 5 buildings and to educate 1,250 students. The expenditure budget is $43,838 less than the 2021-2022 school year budget. 2.78% is the percent increase in education spending per equalized pupil compared to the prior year. Education spending per equalized pupil is the amount of the expenditure budget ($26,236,547) less the district's local revenue divided by equalized pupils. Equalized pupils is based on a formula that gives greater weight to certain students. The principle being that it costs more to educate certain students. Since the district has less local revenues and fewer equalized pupils the resulting change compared to the previous year is a slight increase. We are estimating a tax rate decrease because Vermont's system of determining education property tax rates takes into consideration the amount of money in the State's Education Fund. Since this year there is a surplus in the Education Fund it reduces the amount of Slate Valley's local tax rates.

In anticipation of the upcoming informational meeting on Tuesday, April 12th and FY23 Budget Revote on Wednesday, April 13th, we have put together a mailer with some helpful information on it: https://5il.co/17itr For more information, please visit the budget page of our website: https://www.slatevalleyunified.org/page/budget

Please join us Thursday (April 7th) at 5:30 p.m. in the FHUHS Library or join virtually to discuss our Parent/Family/Community Engagement Policy E-1. This meeting will be an opportunity for parents/community members to provide feedback on the policy and discuss Slate Valley’s Continuous Improvement Planning. Policy E-1: https://5il.co/rao4 Meeting ID: https://meet.google.com/cee-mehp-crb Phone Number: (US) +1 414-909-5677 (PIN: 707156020)

Our final Family Lunch of the year was with Grades 4 and 5. We'll see everyone for more Family Lunches in the Fall!

During library class, Mrs. Rampone read the Red Clover book, "Honeybee" to grades K-4. To recap the story of a honey bee's life cycle, she collaborated with Ms. Cacciatore, and developed three differentiated lessons using the Bee Bots for grades K-2 and the Ozobots in grades 3 and 4. Each lesson asked students to code their robot through the different stages of a honey bee's short life. It was a wonderful way to integrate technology. All of the students had fun making their bots buzz along.

The Slate Valley Universal Preschool Program will be conducting developmental screenings for children 0-5 years of age on Thursday March 31st at Benson Village School. Screening involves activities that are both fun for young children and help us learn about a child’s motor, cognitive, and language skills. Vision and hearing will also be screened. We encourage any child aged 0-5 years that resides in Benson, Castleton, Fair Haven, Hubbardton, Orwell and West Haven who has not previously been screened to be screened. If you plan to attend this screening, please call Benson Village School for an appointment.

Bingo! Last Friday, we had schoolwide Bingo. Here are some shots of the fun!

Tonight - March 28, 2022 You’re invited to the Slate Valley Unified School District Board Meeting at 6:30 p.m. in the Castleton Elementary School Cafeteria. This meeting will be in person or virtually connect by going to https://meet.google.com/ibt-nfdy-psz or join by phone (US) +1 260-557-1907 PIN: 533 683 324# Tonight’s Agenda: https://5il.co/17jpu Previous Meeting Minutes: https://5il.co/179ke Next Board Meeting: April 11, 2022 - 6:30 p.m. at Fair Haven Union High School

Please take a few minutes to check out the recording of our first Middle School Family Forum! https://bit.ly/3iC08Vd If you have not done so already, take a minute to complete this survey https://forms.gle/2Z5GHLFTysAkU1qx5 so we can address your questions and concerns about next year. Our next forum will be in-person at 5:30pm on April 28th at FHU. Thank you!

Today's Family Lunch was for Grades 2 & 3. Another awesome turnout!!

Please join us on Thursday, April 7th at 5:30 p.m. in the FHUHS Library or join virtually to discuss our Parent/Family/Community Engagement Policy E-1. This meeting will be an opportunity for parents/community members to provide feedback on the policy and discuss Slate Valley’s Continuous Improvement Planning. Policy E-1: https://5il.co/rao4 Meeting ID: https://meet.google.com/cee-mehp-crb Phone Number: (US) +1 414-909-5677 (PIN: 707156020)