Castleton Elementary School

Good afternoon, The Governor’s office has released information about sites where Vermonters can access free, take-home COVID-19 antigen test kits on December 23, 24, 28, 29 and 30. You can refer to the following page for more information: https://bit.ly/3sAwQfE.

While the holidays are a joyful time, they can also be challenging for many. Here are some resources you may find helpful this holiday season:

Tonight - December 20th You’re invited to the Slate Valley Unified Union School District Board Meeting at 6:30 p.m. at Castleton Village School. This meeting will be in person or you may virtually connect by going to https://meet.google.com/etm-zxwa-vgx or join by phone (US) +1 617-675-4444 PIN: 771 605 109 0703# Tonight’s Agenda: https://5il.co/138oi Previous Meeting Minutes: https://5il.co/12xzp Next Board Meeting: January 10, 2022, 6:30 p.m. at Fair Haven Union High School

Good afternoon Slate Valley Families, Due to the weather tomorrow morning's Grades 1 to 4 Basketball Skills Clinic scheduled for 8:30 to 9:30 at Fair Haven Union High School with Coach Vadnais has been canceled for this week. Have a great rest of the weekend and hopefully everyone gets the chance to go outside and enjoy some time in the snow!

Good morning, The weekly COVID update letter from Superintendent Olsen-Farrell is now available: https://5il.co/13bjr

December 16, 2021 Dear Slate Valley Staff and Families, On December 15, 2021, we were informed by the Agency of Education of non-credible (social media-based) school threats that alluded to some potential school violence taking place on December 17, 2021. At this time there are no credible threats in Vermont. These same types of social media threats have taken place in other states across the county. Furthermore, this is not an uncommon pattern that we have seen in other non-credible social media-based threats. The Vermont Intelligence Center and our state’s law enforcement partners are aware of these non-credible threats and will continue to monitor these situations and provide updates to school leadership as needed. As you are aware we take any threat seriously and each incident is evaluated to determine its level of credibility. We have a very close relationship with local and state law enforcement and work with them to assess each situation. As always, please, if you see or hear anything that you are concerned about feel free to reach out. Safety is all of our jobs. Regards, Brooke Olsen-Farrell The full letter can be viewed here: https://5il.co/139sf

In Library Class 3rd and 4th grade students created Bristle Bots with Mrs. Rampone and Ms. Cacciatore after hearing the story "Facts vs Opinions vs Robots". https://youtu.be/RhJ9Oi8VlBw

As part of this week’s Hour of Code, Grades K through 2nd practiced coding during Library Class. They played a life size version of Robot Turtles where Mrs. Rampone acted out the Robot Turtle, and Ms. Cacciatore played the Turtle Master.

Good morning, The weekly COVID update letter from Superintendent Olsen-Farrell is now available: https://5il.co/12zrd

Dear Slate Valley Staff and Families, In recent months and weeks there has been an escalation in school violence across the country and concerns in Vermont schools. Our thoughts are certainly with the communities that have been impacted by these tragic events. To date we have not seen the wide-spread escalation in student behaviors such as hazing, harassment, bullying and students in need of threat assessments that some of our neighbors have. Our incidents in these areas are similar to pre-pandemic levels. This speaks to the increased emphasis that our staff has placed on the social/emotional needs of our students as we continue to contend with the pandemic. Recently the State of Vermont put out a new anonymous tip line. Any student, parent/guardian, educator, or member of the community can use this tip line at NO COST! There are three ways to submit a tip: Go to www.SAFE4VT.org and click on submit a tip, then fill out the form with your information. Dial 844-SAFE4VT (723-3488) and speak with a call-taker. Send a text to 274637, type in keyword SAFE4VT and then your tip. As always, please, if you see or hear anything that you are concerned about feel free to reach out. Safety is all of our jobs. Here (https://5il.co/12xss) is a summary of all of the things we do have in place as a school district. If you have questions, ideas or concerns please feel free to reach out. Best, Brooke Olsen-Farrell Superintendent

Tonight! December 6th You’re invited to the Slate Valley Unified Union School District Board Meeting at 6:30 p.m. at Fair Haven Union High School. This meeting will be in person or you may virtually connect by going to https://meet.google.com/cnm-dutk-ziw or join by phone (US) +1 617-675-4444 PIN: 499 110 969 8714# Tonight’s Agenda: https://5il.co/12mhu Previous Meeting Minutes: https://5il.co/128on Next Board Meeting: December 20, 2021, 6:30 p.m. at Castleton Village School

Good morning, The weekly COVID update letter from Superintendent Olsen-Farrell is now available: https://5il.co/12npi.

Dear Slate Valley Families, Please read the following middle school update from FHUHS Principal Ben Worthing: https://5il.co/12mo3

Last week Mrs. Rampone and Mrs. Cacciatore once again collaborated in a fun library/tech project. It began with students hearing the story “Balloons Over Broadway”. Then they cut out balloon printouts and attached them to Ozobots. Next students drew their own parade route and lined the street with block skyscrapers. They thoroughly enjoyed creating their own Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade: https://bit.ly/3I4eZTR

You're Invited! Virtual Listening Tour Join Slate Valley board members (virtually) for an informal discussion about the district middle school and 2022-2023 budget. November 29th at 6 p.m. - with Fair Haven/West Haven board members - Join with Google Meet (https://meet.google.com/jkx-bheh-dck) or join by phone: (US) +1 763-392-3037 (PIN: 199823389) November 30th at 6 p.m. with Castleton/Hubbardton board members - Join with Google Meet (https://meet.google.com/xyc-quzc-oym) or join by phone: (US) +1 636-789-8173 (PIN: 468052357) December 1st at 6 p.m. with Benson/Orwell board members - Join with Google Meet (https://meet.google.com/yir-mzhb-jht) or join by phone: (US) +1 402-509-9411 (PIN: 731841436) You are welcome to (virtually) attend any of the meetings regardless of your town of residence.

50 bulbs were planted as our first official event to celebrate CES turning 50 years old! Mrs. Diercksen and Mrs. Rampone (and their spouses!) did the honors!

First graders enjoyed a terrific turkey snack before the break! We are thankful for Mrs. Perry for bringing in this special treat!

Dear Slate Valley Families, I hope everyone had a good Thanksgiving break. A lot of the COVID testing was delayed last week with the holiday. There is a link to the state dashboard on our website for COVID cases in schools although there is a lag in the state’s reporting of the data. I will continue to email you weekly with the updates for the previous week. We continue to expect that the next couple of months will be challenging with the amount of COVID we are seeing in our communities. This past week we saw the following COVID cases in our schools that required contact tracing; 2 at Orwell Village School, 4 at Fair Haven Grade School and 4 at Fair Haven Union High School. The highest overall case counts remain at the high school. Additionally, we continued to see a high absentee rate among staff and students district-wide due to general illness. We urge you and your family to take precautions to limit the spread of COVID. The most important things you can do: -Keep your child home if they have any symptoms of Covid-19-stuffy nose, headache, sore throat, fatigue, muscle aches, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, cough, loss of taste or smell, fever, or shortness of breath. -Make sure your child is wearing a mask (https://bit.ly/3pdgarg) when recommended or required. -Make sure your child is washing their hands (https://bit.ly/3D7RhCq) often, especially after being at public places. -Call your primary care provider if you or your child has symptoms of COVID-19 (https://bit.ly/3d0waHy). -Make sure that your children get vaccinated when they are eligible. Find a location near you (https://bit.ly/3o1beXe). Thank you for your patience and understanding as we navigate this challenging time. With your participation, we believe we can create a safe and fun experience for your children. We all need to do our part. If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out to me at 265-4905. Best, Brooke Olsen-Farrell Superintendent

A big thanks goes out to Michael and Megan Sullivan for bringing cider making to CES! What a fun learning experience for these students!

Tonight! November 22nd You’re invited to the Slate Valley Unified Union School District Board Meeting at 6:30 p.m. in the Orwell Town Hall. This meeting will be in person or you may virtually connect by going to https://meet.google.com/etm-zxwa-vgx or join by phone (US) +1 617-675-4444 PIN: 401 807 037 1082# Tonight’s Agenda: https://5il.co/11y8v Previous Meeting Minutes: https://5il.co/11mg6 Next Board Meeting: December 13, 2021, 6:30 p.m. at FHUHS