Friday Notes 9/24/21

 

SCHOOL INFO

9/24/21

Dear L&G Families:

I hope this letter finds you and your family healthy and happy.  As our state’s COVID cases continue to surge, we are working incredibly hard at school to ensure that L&G stays open!  The two biggest things that help:

• Stay home when sick!

• Wear mask appropriately while in school

Thank you for continuing to support these requirements in conversations with your children!

The Vermont Agency of Education has created a “tip line” to help keep kids and staff safe in school.  Information is here….

Also, the IRS has published information for low and no-income families who need support around the child tax credit, including zoom calls for information.  Please click here!

• Coming Attractions:

• RocktoberFest: Friday, October 8th (details coming soon)

• Indiginous Peoples’ Day: Monday, October 11th (no school)

• Parent Conferences: Tuesday, October 12th (Early Release Day, conferences will be via zoom, and run from 2pm - 7pm - details on how to sign up coming soon!)

• PSAT Day for all 10th and 11th graders will be Wednesday, Oct 13th (it’s free!)

• ASVAB Day for all 12th graders will be at the same time!!!

• Due to challenges at the school picture company (Lifetouch), we’ve had to move Picture Day to Thursday, October 21st.  More information will be forthcoming!

Thank you all and have a great weekend!

Bob Thibault

Principal

L&G Co-Curricular Calendar:

http://lelandandgray.org/index.php/co-curricular-calendar

Refuse to Use:

NEWS FROM REFUSE TO USE

Refuse to Use Registration is open. 

The in-person. Kick-Off has been canceled. A virtual Kick-Off is planned for Sunday, Sept 26th @ 4 PM. 

Please Note: 

• Leland and Gray students (Grades6-12) who wish to participate in Refuse to Use and their parent, guardian, or a caring adult must attend a Kick-Off event.
• Refuse to Use Registration closes October 10, 2021

Here is a link to all Refuse to Use information: https://sites.google.com/windhamcentral.org/refuse-to-use-lg/hom or see the Leland and Gray website homepage and click on Refuse to Use.

https://app.smartsheet.com/b/form/629dfc85fa804f3da99f73623476803a

School Calendar:

COMMUNITY:

Vermont High School Writing Contest:

Friday Notes 9/17/21

 

SCHOOL INFO

9/17/21

Dear L&G Families:

As we wrap up the first “full week” of school since early March 2020, I want to thank you for your kids!  Our students have responded very well to the increased expectations for masking during the school day, and as we all read about case numbers surging, I am confident that our approach to keeping everyone safe will result in us being able to stay fully open and in person!

A couple of updates:

• Due to challenges at the school picture company (Lifetouch), we’ve had to move Picture Day to Thursday, October 21st.  More information will be forthcoming!

• Next week will be our first “PBL Wednesday” in the high school (Middle School will have a normal day!)

• This means that students will not be required to be here for the start of classes until 9:15am.  Students who ride the bus will be provided a supervised location for a “quiet study hall” during the 7:45 - 9:15 timeslot.  

• Classes will run in the morning, followed by lunch, an assembly, advisory, and the PBL block.  This block will be used differently by each grade level:

• 9th graders will be working on “Getting Ready for HS” skills, which in essence is an extension of the new Intro to HS class they are all currently taking.  They’ll start off with a fun game to get to know the HS!

• 10th graders will be earning community service hours 

• 11th and 12th graders will be working on college and career readiness.

• Coming Attractions:

• RocktoberFest: Friday, October 8th (details coming soon)

• Indiginous Peoples’ Day: Monday, October 11th (no school)

• Parent Conferences: Tuesday, October 12th (Early Release Day, conferences will be via zoom, and run from 2pm - 7pm - details on how to sign up coming soon!)

The West River Educational District School Board Meeting will be held this coming Monday night (9/20) at 7pm.  This is held both in person and via zoom.  The agenda is available on the district’s website: https://sites.google.com/windhamcentral.org/west-river-education-district/home

Thanks for reading, and have a great weekend!

Bob Thibault

Principal

L&G Co-Curricular Calendar:

http://lelandandgray.org/index.php/co-curricular-calendar

Refuse to Use:

NEWS FROM REFUSE TO USE

Refuse to Use Registration is open. 

The in-person. Kick-Off has been canceled. A virtual Kick-Off is planned for Sunday, Sept 26th @ 4 PM. 

Please Note: 

• Leland and Gray students (Grades6-12) who wish to participate in Refuse to Use and their parent, guardian, or a caring adult must attend a Kick-Off event.
• Refuse to Use Registration closes October 10, 2021

Here is a link to all Refuse to Use information: https://sites.google.com/windhamcentral.org/refuse-to-use-lg/hom or see the Leland and Gray website homepage and click on Refuse to Use.

https://app.smartsheet.com/b/form/629dfc85fa804f3da99f73623476803a

Found Watch:

Please claim in the front office.

School Calendar:

COMMUNITY:

The Vietnam Veterans Memorial:

VeggieVanGo:

Vermont High School Writing Contest:

Friday Notes 9/10/21

 

SCHOOL INFO

September 10, 2021

Dear L&G Families:

I want to take a moment to recognize the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks on the United States, which is tomorrow.  Certainly it was a hallmark date in many of our collective memories, although not for our students who were not yet born.  They have been raised, however, in the shadow of that day.  Truly, a wonder that twenty years have gone by.

In COVID news, the surge of cases in Vermont continues - approaching the highest number of cases at any point in time in the last few years.  Additionally, the Agency of Education has updated its recommendation around assessing our vaccination percentages - it was originally 10 days of school, and now the earliest we can review our percentages will be October 7th, although I wouldn’t be surprised to see that get extended indefinitely.  In the meantime, our “eligible student” vaccination rate is still under 60%, so keep sending those scans/pictures of vaccination cards to jdaigneault@windhamcentral.org.

With regards to masks, the vast majority of our students have been compliant with mask wearing in the building, but unfortunately there are some who continue to have their noses uncovered, or have the masks “slip down” multiple times during each class.  Teachers have been very patient with this in the first two weeks of school, as we know the adjustment returning to school has been hard.  However, starting this coming week, students who continue to struggle with not wearing masks appropriately, will be given one warning and then sent to the main office.  At that point, we will reach out to parents and require them to be picked up for the day.  We recognize that this may create a hardship for parents, but since this is a safety issue, we hope parents will talk with their children over the weekend so that everyone fully understands this expectation.  I have shared it with the student body during this morning’s zoom announcements.  Thank you for your continued support.

This coming Wednesday (9/15)  is our first Early Release Day of the year.  Busses arrive for our departure at 11:30am.  Typical of these types of days, staff will be getting professional development in the afternoon.

Another upcoming day to be thinking about is Friday, 9/24 - Picture Day!

Attached to this email is a document that we send out every year, called the Home/School Compact.  While it is a requirement of us accessing federal tax dollars (Title 1), the concepts contained therein are entirely valid and useful.  Please take the time to review the compact as it spells out the tacit agreement that we all share in educating your children.

And finally, a few reminders about grading this year:

• Beginning this year, we will be utilizing a new gradebook program, called JumpRope instead of the usual PowerSchool gradebook.  Powerschool will still be used as our information system, and your login information will still access attendance data, etc.

• In the coming weeks, you will receive a JumpRope login that will be used for both you and your child.

• We are moving to JumpRope because it is a gradebook especially designed for proficiency based grading, and we feel the challenges that we faced interpreting grades will no longer exist with this new interface.  It will be new to the teachers, so please give us a few weeks to explore it and become familiar with its operation before we open up the family portal!  I am fairly certain that you will like the clarity that it will bring.

• Also new this year, we will not be using the traditional “quarters” as grading terms.  We will run report cards only at the end of each semester (Jan and June) and we will run progress reports typically every 4-5 weeks.  Grading will also be viewable online once the family portal is opened up near the end of September.

• Grading information is always available on our website by clicking on the menu item “Academics” and then “Grading at L&G.”  Please let us know if you have any questions!

Thank you all for reading - I hope you have a great weekend!

Bob Thibault

Principal

L&G Co-Curricular Calendar:

http://lelandandgray.org/index.php/co-curricular-calendar

Refuse to Use:

L&G 2021-22 Refuse To Use Registration:

Click to register

Found Watch:

Please claim in the front office.

School Calendar:

COMMUNITY:

The Vietnam Veterans Memorial:

Vermont High School Writing Contest:

Friday Notes 9/3/21

 

SCHOOL INFO

9/3/21

Dear L&G Families:

Well, it’s Friday of the first week of school, and we are so excited to have spent the last few days with your kids!  We met as a community yesterday morning and celebrated our new staff, our return to school, and all the skills that kids have developed while we were remote and while we had our hybrid schedule.  The media is quick to talk about the learning loss, but our emphasis is that yes, you’ve probably missed out on some academic content, but you have also gained so many other “transferable skills” and we want everyone to recognize it.  We also want to recognize that for some students, returning to a highly structured place like school is a pretty significant change, and for some, adapting will take some time.  Our staff is aware of this, and we are all ready to work through any challenges that come our way!

Here’s a few reminders from last week’s memo:

Hours & Dropoff:

• School hours are 7:45am - 2:40pm; Morning drop-off shouldn’t be much earlier than 7:15am.

• Our driveway travel direction which was temporarily changed during last school year, is now back to normal.  This means that traffic from Rt. 35 may now go down the hill/driveway from A-level towards D-level.  This road is still one-way, with all traffic exiting via the student parking lot onto Peaked Mountain Road. 

• Families may drop off students anywhere - on Rt. 35 in front of the school, by the C-level lobby, or (after 7:45am) in the front circle.  Please do not use the circle between 7:15-7:45am and between 2:30-2:45pm, due to bus traffic.

COVID Updates:

• Families - by sending their child to school - are attesting that they are free of COVID symptoms, are not (knowingly) COVID positive, and have not been in contact with a COVID positive person in the past 14 days - if unvaccinated.

• Students will be required to wear masks indoors for the time being.  We will see what happens in the future with vaccination rates and access to vaccinations with our under age 12 students.

• There won’t be any temperature screening or distancing at school, although lunchtime will be modified as students won’t wear masks during eating.

Parents and students will get access to the new grading program (JumpRope) by the end of September.  In the meantime, if you have questions about your child’s progress, please email their teacher(s) directly, and don’t forget to use the new email addresses, which end in windhamcentral.org!

Have a great long weekend, and we’ll see everyone again next Tuesday!

Bob Thibault

Principal

L&G Co-Curricular Calendar:

http://lelandandgray.org/index.php/co-curricular-calendar

School Calendar:

COMMUNITY:

Vermont High School Writing Contest: