Fair Haven Union Middle and High School

Dear Slate Valley Families, As you know we are experiencing a surge in COVID cases in this area. COVID cases are in all of our schools BUT especially high at our high school. We currently have 15 active COVID cases at the high school that have required contact tracing. Almost all of our cases are unvaccinated students. Transmission still seems to be as a result of community spread and not school related. Additionally, we have a lot of staff absences at the high school due to general illness. We are 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/3oAe3xK) when recommended or required. -Make sure your child is washing their hands (https://bit.ly/3Dw9GKc) 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/3ckfJp5). -Make sure that your children get vaccinated when they are eligible. Find a location near you (https://bit.ly/3kMPiNt). 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

Hello Slater Nation! FHUHS students will be practicing an 'Options-Based' drill this week in order to continue building a safe school environment. If you have any questions about our school safety procedures please feel free to reach out to Principal Ben Worthing at (802)265-4966

Save the date for the FHU Class of 2023 Basket Raffle!

Dear Slate Valley Families, Due to the high number of COVID cases we are seeing in our schools and community we are going to temporarily suspend notice to all families regarding positive cases. We do not want to be inundating families and staff with emails regarding COVID cases several times a day. For right now please assume we are seeing COVID cases in several schools in our district daily. We do not anticipate the slowing down of cases until the new year. We are continuing our normal contact tracing process. The COVID Test to Stay Program is working well, BUT, due to the large number of cases we are seeing, it is taking an enormous amount of staff to implement and is pulling them away from their regular duties. It is very important to us that students are in person. That being said, if you have a child participating in this program and they test positive at school, you need to pick them as soon as possible. Otherwise we will need to start requiring parents to be present for testing so they can immediately take a positive student home. We only have 1 isolation room for COVID positive students in each building. Please know that we continue to try our very best given the state parameters that are put on schools. We need continued cooperation from families and the community to continue to operate our schools and have our children in classrooms where they need to be. We can’t do this alone and we appreciate your partnership. Best, Brooke Olsen-Farrell Superintendent

Dear Slate Valley Families, On Friday, November 12th we learned about 3 individuals in our learning community with Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) at Fair Haven Union High School and Castleton Elementary School. Please read the letter from Superintendent Olsen-Farrell: https://5il.co/11rv0

Dear Slate Valley Families, On Thursday, November 11th we learned about 2 individuals in our learning community with Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) at Fair Haven Union High School and Benson Village School. Please read the letter from Superintendent Olsen-Farrell: https://5il.co/11qzq

Dear Slate Valley Families, On Wednesday, November 10th we learned about another individual in our learning community with Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) at Fair Haven Union High School. Please read the letter from Superintendent Olsen-Farrell: https://5il.co/11p4m

Dear Slate Valley Families, On Wednesday, November 10th we learned about an individual in our learning community with Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) at Fair Haven Union High School. Please read the letter from Superintendent Olsen-Farrell: https://5il.co/11ocx

Reminder - tomorrow! Casey O'Meara, Slate Valley Director of Curriculum, will be hosting an informal meeting on Leveraging Title I Schoolwide Programs to Address Barriers to Academic Success on November 10, 2021 at 1:00 pm. Abby Wald, Slate Valley Instructional Coach, will be hosting a presentation on Leveraging Title I Schoolwide Programs to Address Barriers to Academic Success on November 10, 2021 at 6:00 pm. 2021-22 Annual Title I Meeting ( slides & survey ): https://bit.ly/3BhWZAU Please join EITHER virtual meeting for Title I using the following link: https://meet.google.com/xza-xpkp-zvx

Join us for a screening of the documentary ‘LIKE’ Understanding and Creating Balance in Social Media. Read the letter from Kristin Benway, Slate Valley Special Service Director: https://5il.co/11k7r Monday, November 15, 2021 6:30PM Register: https://bit.ly/3woW2G9 'LIKE' breaks down why we find social media so irresistible, examines who is controlling who, and gives you the tools to pivot to a more balanced and contented relationship. It features Silicon Valley entrepreneurs, including the co-creator of the ‘LIKE’ button, experts in brain science and regular teenagers. Includes a post-film panel discussion and Q&A. Film plus discussion will last approximately 90 minutes.

November 8, 2021 Dear Slate Valley Families, We have seen an uptick in COVID cases over the weekend impacting our students, staff and families in Slate Valley. Our schools have either started Test to Stay or are planning to this week. For those schools that started it this morning it went very well. If you plan to have your child participate in this program if they are a close contact PLEASE REGISTER your child ASAP as it makes it much easier for us if they are already in the system. This is a large undertaking and we are short on staff so your cooperation is greatly appreciated. We want our students to be safe and participate in in-person learning. For more information on TTS please read the following: https://5il.co/11jmn Best, Brooke Olsen-Farrell Superintendent

Tonight! November 8th You’re invited to the Slate Valley Unified Union School District Board Meeting at 6:30 p.m. in the Fair Haven Union High School Cafeteria. This meeting will be in person or you may virtually connect by going to https://meet.google.com/ozg-hwua-mge or join by phone (US) +1 617-675-4444 PIN: 869 909 550 5618# Tonight’s Agenda: https://5il.co/11jaj Previous Meeting Minutes: https://5il.co/1150i Next Board Meeting: November 22, 2021, 6:30 p.m. at Orwell Village School

Dear Slate Valley Families, On Sunday, November 7, 2021 we learned about an individual in our learning community with Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) at Fair Haven Union High School. Please read the letter from Superintendent Olsen-Farrell: https://5il.co/11ijv

Good Morning Slate Valley Families, Below please find a letter from Superintendent Brooke Olsen-Farrell regarding an incident where a car was broken into in the Fair Haven Grade School parking lot yesterday. https://5il.co/11gp7

Save the Date! Screening of the Documentary 'LIKE' Understanding and Creating Balance in Social Media: Monday, November 15th at 6:30 p.m. You can register for the viewing at the following link: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_f3MQOJDsRVCh4_LT-aplmw LIKE breaks down why we find social media so irresistible, examines who is controlling who, and gives you the tools to pivot to a more balanced and contented relationship. It features Silicon Valley entrepreneurs, including the co-creator of the 'LIKE' button, experts in brain science and regular teenagers.

Save the Date! Casey O'Meara, Slate Valley Director of Curriculum, will be hosting an informal meeting on Leveraging Title I Schoolwide Programs to Address Barriers to Academic Success on November 10, 2021 at 1:00 pm. Abby Wald, Slate Valley Instructional Coach, will be hosting a presentation on Leveraging Title I Schoolwide Programs to Address Barriers to Academic Success on November 10, 2021 at 6:00 pm. 2021-22 Annual Title I Meeting ( slides & survey ): https://bit.ly/3BhWZAU Please join EITHER virtual meeting for Title I using the following link: https://meet.google.com/xza-xpkp-zvx

November 2, 2021 Dear Slate Valley Families, We are getting ready to begin the antigen Test to Stay (TTS) program. Your child's school will notify you when they are ready to begin which will be at the earliest November 8th but definitely by November 15th. Please note that we can only staff this if we have manageable numbers of quarantined students. If we have large numbers then this program will be difficult to staff. That being said, we will continue to do our very best. The TTS program is activated when a student or student(s) are identified as a close contact to a confirmed case of COVID-19 inside school. The intention of the TTS program is to allow students that would otherwise be required to quarantine to remain in school. A detailed description of this program can be found on the Agency of Education Test to Stay website (https://bit.ly/3nPFnHK) and you can also take a look at how the program will work in this flowchart (https://bit.ly/3GGn14N). Please read the complete letter from Superintendent Olsen-Farrell for important information on the Test to Stay Program: https://5il.co/11cwl

Save the Date! Screening of the Documentary 'LIKE' Understanding and Creating Balance in Social Media: Monday, November 15th at 6:30 p.m. Registration link will be sent soon! Film plus discussion will last approximately 90 minutes. LIKE breaks down why we find social media so irresistible, examines who is controlling who, and gives you the tools to pivot to a more balanced and contented relationship. It features Silicon Valley entrepreneurs, including the co-creator of the 'LIKE' button, experts in brain science and regular teenagers.

Dear Slate Valley Families, The winter sports COVID guidelines for Slate Valley can be viewed here: https://5il.co/11d7m. These guidelines will also be followed for other school events. We appreciate your continued support and cooperation as we continue to navigate the operation of school during a pandemic. As always if you have any questions please feel free to reach out. Best, Brooke Olsen-Farrell

Dear Slate Valley Families, On Tuesday, November 2, 2021 we learned about an individual in our learning community with Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) at Fair Union High School. Please read the letter from Superintendent Olsen-Farrell: https://5il.co/11cvq