The Buzz

from Roxbury Village School

May 8, 2023

Thank you, Thank you, Thank you!

Everyone who remembers his own education remembers teachers, not methods and techniques. The teacher is the heart of the educational system. —Sidney Hook

It is teacher appreciation week! At RVS, I like to think of it as a week of appreciation for all of the adults who work with our students -- Candice, Carla, Casey, Cynthia, Danny, Dot, Jackie, Karie, Katie, Kristina, Marion, Morgaine, Rachel, Scott, and Tina. There is a lot of work that goes into creating a great place for children to learn and grow and we have an "all hands on deck" approach to our work with students at Roxbury Village School. This week is all about acknowledging that work. It truly is a labor of love. Thank you to all of our staff at RVS!!!

We are feeling the love here at Roxbury Village School! This morning, staff were greeted with posters showing gratitude as well as a hearty breakfast of quiches, fresh fruit, baked goods, and more! What a great way to kick off Teacher Appreciation Week! As I shared with students this morning, they are welcome to show appreciation for their teachers with a kind note and/or a drawing.

We are also grateful for all of the wonderful work that went into our RVS gardens over the weekend! I hear there was a great turnout of volunteers to help us get our gardens ready for planting. Thank you to everyone who helped as well as our caregiver group for organizing the event!

Kindergarten Update

This week in school the kindergarteners start to reflect on how much they have grown this year. One way was that we started self-portraits like we did last fall. In Literacy, we started writing about our opinions, learning all our reading super powers, and the -ad and -ag word families. In Math we started subtraction. We continue to talk about respecting each other's words. Also in the classroom we started chickens in the incubator! In 21 days we hope to have lots of little chicks!

-- Katie Swick

1/2 Update

I always enjoy math in the spring as we tend to save some of our more hands-on and practical math elements for this time of year. Both 1st and 2nd graders have been working on telling time. 1st graders to the hour and half hour, and the 2nd graders are beginning to tell time in 5 minute increments. The students have also created a timeline of their day. They worked with partners to pick a specific time of day, drew a picture of what happens at that time, and then drew the hands on the analog clock and wrote the digital time for when that specific activity takes place. We have also been discussing fractions and equal parts when talking about our clocks to help them understand what it means when we say half past the hour, or it’s a quarter past the hour.

Soon, we will be working on measuring, which is another fun hands-on topic. We will be incorporating our measurement skills with some of our forest adventures to help us “age the forest”, along with other outdoor exploratory activities.

-- Karie DeCasas

3/4 Update

In 3rd and 4th grade, we started Cognia testing and completed the ELA portion of the assessment. This week we will resume with the Math portion of the test. While we started Cognia we also began a new unit in math on fractions. 3rd graders worked on identifying and representing fractions using blocks and diagrams. 4th grade worked on equivalent fractions and fractions greater than 1.

-- Danny Velez

Caregiver Survey

Dear RVS Caregivers:

As caregivers, you play an important role in supporting student achievement and contributing to the success of our school and we value your opinion. To that end, we are asking for your insights about our communication, our collaboration, our school culture, and our overall effectiveness as a school. Please take a few moments to answer the following questions. Your thoughtful responses are appreciated as they will be used to charter a plan for our growth and for the overall improvement of our school and student learning. If you are not able to evaluate a particular area, please feel free to skip that question. The survey itself should take about 15 minutes and your answers are confidential.

CAREGIVER SURVEY

Thank you,

Beth

Student tardy or absent? Let Tina know. (802) 262-1506

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P-EBT Update

The federal government has approved Pandemic-EBT benefits for the current school year, including this summer. Because our district offers free meals to all students this year, this makes ALL STUDENTS ELIGIBLE to get P-EBT benefits for 1) any days they had an excused COVID-related absence or if there was a COVID-related school closure ($8.18/day) AND 2) for the summer ($120/student). Please read this important letter and visit our food service webpage for information regarding this benefit. Please contact Tina by May 10th to update your contact information for the mailing of the benefit card should you need to do so.

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School Board Meeting

The MRPS Board of School Directors is meeting Wednesday, May 17, 2023 at 6:30pm at Roxbury Village School. Everyone is welcome to attend. Find the meeting agenda, minutes from past meetings, information about the work of the various School Board Committees, and more by visiting www.mrpsvt.org/school-board

Dates to Remember

Tuesday 5/9 & Wednesday 5/10 (mornings) -- Cognia Testing -- Grades 3 & 4 only -- Math
Friday 5/12 -- 4th grade students visit MSMS for middle school transition activities
Tuesday 5/16 (new date) -- Rising Gator Night at MSMS 6:00-7:00 pm (for grade 4 students/caregivers)
Thursday 5/18 -- Field Trip to Shelburne Museum
Tuesday 5/23 -- 6:00 RVS Music Concert
Friday 5/26 -- Early Release -- Students dismissed at 12:15
Wednesday 6/7 -- RVS Field Day (6/12 Rain Date)
Thursday 6/8 -- VINS at RVS

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2 Bees (or not 2 bees -- that is the question)

We are celebrating 2 Bees of the Week! Chrissy and Aria are acknowledged for being kind citizens, helpful students who consistently follow expectations at school. Way to go!

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Volunteering at RVS

As a reminder, anyone who wishes to chaperone a field trip or volunteer on field day must be an approved MRPS level 2 or 3 volunteer. As it takes time to set up a fingerprinting appointment and wait for the results to come back, it is recommended that anyone looking to volunteer begin the process ASAP. For more information, please visit the MRPS Volunteer Site.

REMINDER -- Cognia Testing

As you may have heard Vermont has replaced the SBAC assessment with a new assessment called Cognia. All of our 3rd and 4th grade students at RVS will take this assessment for Reading and Math. Here is our RVS testing schedule:

Math for grades 3/4 -- May 9-10 (mornings)

We thank you in advance for ensuring students arrive on time for school on these days. As always, we will provide a hearty breakfast each morning. If you have any questions or concerns about the Cognia tests, please reach out to Beth. Thanks!

REMINDER -- Vermont Family Network & AOE Town Hall

Vermont Family Network (VFN) and the Agency of Education Special Education Program Team will be hosting a series of virtual town hall sessions to support families of students with disabilities. These sessions are scheduled on Wednesday May 17th, May 24th, and May 31st from 10:00 – 11:00. We will discuss July 1, 2023, Special Education Rule changes including adverse effect, functional skills, and specific learning disability eligibility. Register here.

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REMINDER -- Summer Camps

Summer is just around the corner and MRPS is once again hosting a variety of summer camps for incoming 1st - 12th graders! Visit https://www.mrpsvt.org/summer-2023 for all the details about this year's ultimate frisbee, basketball, strength and conditioning, and lacrosse camps!

Additional Information about Local Summer Camps!