Fair Haven Union Middle and High School

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

FHUHS Student Council Hat & Mitten Drive

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

Good morning, For your convenience, we invite you to refer to the following spreadsheet http://www.shorturl.at/axzKZ for winter sports COVID guidelines and links to livestreams for competing schools throughout the state. The spreadsheet includes masking procedures, spectators protocols, concessions information, and streaming links/information.

In their final tune up before the regular season starts, the Slaters Girls Basketball Team will host a pair of scrimmages this afternoon against Vergennes. The JV game tips off at 6:00 followed by the Varsity game at 7:00. We look forward to seeing everyone whether it be in-person or virtually on our YouTube live stream. https://www.youtube.com/c/FHUHSAthletics

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

While the return of winter weather means the return of freezing temperatures which isn't the most exciting of developments, it does also mean that the Slaters Girls Basketball Team will be back on the court and that is certainly welcomed news to all of Slater Nation! Tomorrow we're excited to welcome Thetford and Colchester to Fair Haven for some intersquad scrimmages as everyone looks to get ready for the regular season tipping off in the coming days. We're going to live stream the scrimmages over on our YouTube channel, whick can be accessed via the following link: https://bit.ly/3rzvIc2, and the tip off times are included below. 11:00-12:00 Fair Haven JV vs. Thetford JV 12:00-1:00 Fair Haven V vs. Thetford V 1:00-2:00 Colchester V vs. Thetford V 2:00-3:00 Colchester JV vs. Fair Haven JV 3:00-4:00 Colchester V vs. Fair Haven V

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

Welcome to December! Enjoy some light reading from the Guidance Office with the December Counselor's Corner Newsletter. Happy Winter Everyone!

FHUHS REAL Class Fundraiser for Lund “Lund helps children thrive by empowering families to break cycles of poverty, addiction and abuse. Lund offers hope and opportunity to families through education, treatment, family support and adoption.” Lund is a non-profit organization, supported by the United Way of Northwest Vermont, which provides services for all Vermonters! Learn more and support the fundraiser: https://lundvt.org/fhuhs/

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

FHUHS Winter Basketball Season Passes: Adults $45.00 Seniors/Students $30.00 Please contact Kim Alexander at 265-4966 x 2510 or email kalexander@svuvt.org Ticket prices at the door: Adults $3.00 Seniors/Students $2.00 Link to our Livestream: https://www.youtube.com/c/FHUHSAthletics

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.

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

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

Check Out "Career Night" at Stafford Technical Center! Stafford Technical Center 22 Stratton Road Rutland, VT 05701

The latest issue of Slater Nation News is now available online! You can read it here: https://5il.co/125x0

Dear Slate Valley Families, I let you know last week that I would not be sending letters each and every time there is a COVID case, as I am sure the emails have been overwhelming. Instead there is a link to the state dashboard on our website for COVID cases in schools. Additionally, every Friday I will email you with the updates for the week. We fully expect that the next couple of months will be challenging with the amount of COVID we are seeing in our communities. As I communicated on Wednesday, we have a significant amount of cases at our high school. We currently have 21 active COVID cases at the high school that have required contact tracing in the last week and half. We also have had 1 case at Fair Haven Grade School, 2 cases at Castleton Elementary and 2 cases at Castleton Village School this week. Additionally, we have a lot of staff and student absences district-wide due to general illness. Again, I am letting you know that if cases do not subside soon at the high school specifically, we may have to cancel classes as we are extremely short staffed, running out of capacity for contact tracing and have high absentee rates for both students and staff. We urge you and your family to take precautions to limit the spread of COVID so we can keep our schools open. 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/3oMPRrQ) when recommended or required. -Make sure your child is washing their hands (https://bit.ly/3HDOBjp) 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/3CwNG0r). -Make sure that your children get vaccinated when they are eligible. Find a location near you (https://bit.ly/30Lnq5u). 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

Webinar for families: How to fill out a Vermont grant application On November 18, from 6-7pm, VSAC panelists will walk families through completing the Vermont State Grant application, question-by-question. They'll also explain how students can apply for any of the 120+ VSAC-assisted scholarships. Register for this free presentation https://bit.ly/3kNS6Ky. Free money opportunities for students: There's still plenty of time to take advantage of the following programs: -802 Opportunity https://bit.ly/3qONGa3 -Green Mountain Grad https://bit.ly/3DtlLQg -VSAC-assisted Scholarships https://bit.ly/3oEniwD -Choose Vermont Scholarship https://bit.ly/3oHJzKc

Dear Slate Valley Community, The overriding mission of the School Board since the onset of the pandemic has been to keep our kids safe and to keep them in school. Only from the extraordinary efforts of so many individuals, have we been successful in achieving these goals. We recognize all of our staff have taken on numerous responsibilities and time commitments that are outside normal expectations. Teachers. We appreciate the extra time spent planning for both in-person education and remote learning, and the creativity and compassion used in the classroom to overcome the challenges of mask wearing. Support Staff. We appreciate you taking on additional students due to staffing shortages, volunteering your time as bus monitors, filling in for teachers, and assisting with the test-to-stay program. Administrators. We appreciate you giving up your personal time to work nights and weekends, implementing new programs and procedures, and communicating with anxious staff and families to assure them that their concerns are heard. Nurses. We appreciate the time spent contact tracing, assessing student symptoms, and making sure students are healthy and able to return to class promptly. Custodians. We appreciate the overtime hours worked due to staffing shortages and added time required to complete enhanced cleaning protocols. Bus Drivers. We appreciate you taking on extra shifts and recognize the extra-long routes that have resulted from the consolidation of bus routes. Cafeteria Workers. We appreciate you adjusting normal food practices to overcome supply chain shortages and ensure our kids are provided nutritious meals, oftentimes outside the cafeteria setting. Coaches. We appreciate you adhering to the COVID protocols and for displaying great patience during player quarantine. Getting exercise and being part of a team is absolutely essential in student development. Police. We appreciate community police and school resource officers providing extra layers of protection and realize external threats still exist, even during a pandemic. Thank you for reinforcing those bridges of trust between police and students. Parents. Thank you for setting your frustrations with COVID requirements aside and doing what is asked for kids to attend school safely. Thank you for timely picking up your child and for playing the role of teacher during times of extended student absence. We recognize the financial implications of missing work and appreciate our community employers for granting such flexibility. Taxpayers. Thank you for your continued support. We recognize the many societal and financial challenges confronting our schools today and welcome you as equal partners to ensure a safe and enriching environment for our children to learn and become good citizens. We are grateful. We are proud. We are Slate Valley. Have a happy and healthy holiday season. Submitted by Tim Smith, Board Chair, on behalf of the entire Slate Valley School Board.