Gertrude Chamberlin School

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Preschool Families, please check the district transportation page for bus routes! Preschool students will be riding Bus 28, Bus 16 and Van #32.

Please join us in the GCS library at 6:00 PM for our first meeting!

You can also join us virtually by using this link:

https://meet.google.com/dhq-hjwu-uyx

Dot Day inspires us to use our creativity! Our Integrated Arts team will be providing activities based on this theme, inspired by the book, The Dot by Peter H. Reynolds. Students and staff are welcome to wear any clothing with dots or spots or circles on this day!

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We will let you know which day your child's class is getting their pictures taken as the date gets closer.

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View this calendar for in-school dates, early dismissal dates, and school vacations.

The South Burlington School District (SBSD) Special Education Parent Advisory Council (SEPAC) invites you to a Welcome Back to School Special Education Night.

When: Wednesday, September 9th, 6:00–7:00 PM

Join here: Google meet SEPAC Link

SEPAC Welcome Back to Special Education Night

Wednesday, September 9 · 6:00 – 7:00pm

Video call link: https://meet.google.com/rou-dzqq-hrr

Or dial: ‪(US) +1 567-231-5187‬ PIN: ‪795 139 350‬#

Panelists Include SBSD STAFF:

Mike Hoffman, Noah Everitt, Liz Koons, Kendra Pillsbury, and Nicole Carter.

This meeting is for all SBSD parents of children who receive special education services.

We will share helpful information, such as:

• How are decisions made about your child's IEP?

• What do the new special education teams do?

• Who should you call, and when?

• What can you do if you're not sure what to do — or if you disagree with the district?

Feel free to bring other questions about special education at SBSD. We will answer as many as we can.

Have a question about your own child? Please contact your child's principal or your special education case manager.

Can't make it? SEPAC holds meetings every month. Schedule coming soon.

Nicole Carter, Ed.D., LICSW

Executive Director of Learning and Student Support Services

South Burlington School District

802-652-7390

We had our first all school assembly on Wednesday! Traditionally, our first assembly is a time when we come together to give a special welcome to our kindergarteners. Our 5th graders present them with a carnation to represent the beginning of their school experience in the GCS community. With the help of our 5th grade leaders TJ, Mia, Owen and Addie, we also learned about the school routines and expectations during an assembly. All of our assemblies end with our Chamberlin School Song!

THANK YOU FOR BEING PATIENT WITH THE ARRIVAL AND DISMISSAL PROCESS! As parents and staff become familiar with the process and matching up students to cars, it will improve! On Tuesday, we will have our South Burlington preschoolers starting for the first time.

• Please be sure to check the bus schedules again, as many have updated times!
• Please follow the directions of the staff in the parking lot, as there may need to be a change based on traffic flow.
• When driving up to the curb to pick up your child, please pull up as far down as you can so we can get other cars behind you.

• Please be ready to say a quick good-bye to your child.
• If you need to park, please pull out of the drop off lane and park in a designated parking spot. There will be staff at each drop off spot to help, and lots of caring staff inside to make sure your child gets to the correct classroom.

Also, if you are trying to turn left out of the school driveway onto White Street, you will be backing up the traffic, unless there are crossers in the crosswalk, and then it's easier to turn left. If it's not clear right away to turn left, please turn right and make a loop to get to your destination. This will help us keep the flow of traffic moving.

Arrival:

7:45 - busses drop off out back

7:50 - 8:00 - walkers and drop off students arrive - please do not drop your child off before 7:50 AM, as there may not be an adult outside. For safety reasons, we do not want children outside alone.

Announcements at 8:00 - students arriving after 8:00 will be marked tardy.

Dismissal:

If you have a dismissal change, please call the school by 2:00 PM. If you call after this time, it's very challenging to get the information to the classroom teacher as the end of day routines are very busy.

2:25 - staff will pick up students from their classrooms who are going to the School's Out program

2:30 - bus dismissal

2:35 - walker and pick up dismissal

Please do not arrive before 2:35 to pick up your child. We need to get the busses in and out before cars enter the driveway...otherwise traffic gets backed up onto White Street. If you arrive too early, we will ask you to continue along White Street and come back at 2:35.

If you have an older sibling of a preschool or kindergarten student, remind them to exit out the preschool/kindergarten exit door instead of the front door, so you can pick up both of your children in the same spot.

If you have a dog or other pet that is coming at arrival or dismissal, please leave your pet in the car or wait by the rocks with your pet for your child to come to you. We have students with allergies and different comfort levels about dogs and other pets.

Breakfast is available until 8:10 each day. Students will get their breakfast and then eat in their classrooms.

Thanks again for all of your help as we work to make arrival and dismissal a smooth process!

Stopfinder is an app available to SBSD families that provides information about their student’s school transportation.

If you want to get enrolled in Stopfinder, please email our Director of Transportation, Jonathon Mabbe at JMabee@sbschools.net. Please include your enrolled student's name in the email. You will then get an invite from Route Finder/Stop Finder. We can only send one invite to the main parent listed, and the invite will come from Route Finder / Stop Finder. The main parent can then use the functions in the app to include other family members if needed.

You can learn more at https://stopfinder.com/ or watch this short overview video below.

These resources are also available on the Transportation page of the district website, which is linked above in Arival and Dismissal.

At Chamberlin School, we focus on the positives! We use a framework called Positive Behavioral Intervention Supports or PBiS, to promote behaviors that help us have the best learning environment at our school. Students have been busy learning about the 3 Chamberlin Expectations: We Are Kind, We Are Responsible, We Are Safe. When students are “caught” following our expectations, they receive a paper Bee Buck or a click on a counter. Bee Bucks are collected in classrooms, and for every 10 Bee Bucks, a class receives a honey cell (yellow pom pom). When a class jar is full of honey cells, they are deposited into our Bee Hive located in the lobby. When our Bee Hive is full, we have a school wide celebration. Below is a link to the matrix that we use to teach what it looks and sounds like across our school settings. Please review these with your child. You might even want to create your own expectations at home using the same language...it's great to be kind, respectful and safe at home, too! We have a Universal PBiS Team made up of staff members and students who meet and help make decisions about how to improve our school. PBiS is another way that we make GCS an excellent place to learn and grow!

September is National Attendance Awareness Month! We hope your child is off to a great start of getting to school on time to build some good habits for the school year!

Here are a few reasons why it's important to only miss school for illness:

• Missing 10% of school days, just 2 days each month, puts children at a greater risk of poverty and worse health as adults.
  
• Starting as early as preschool and kindergarten, regular attendance is essential for students gaining the academic and social skills they need to thrive. Research shows that when students are chronically absent (missing 10% or more of the school year or 18 days over an entire school year), they are less likely to read proficiently by third grade, achieve in middle school and graduate from high school.
  
• Absenteeism in the first month of school can predict poor attendance throughout the school year. Half the students who miss 2-4 days in September go on to miss nearly a month of school.

Please let us know if we can help you with any struggles you might be having with getting your child to school on time! You can contact our school counselor, Mr. Belt, at wbelt@sbschools.net.

Thank you and congratulations to our school nurse, Kerry Farrell, for helping us meet the requirements of an Asthma Friendly School! We are proud that all of our South Burlington Schools have reached this status again this school year!

Students are reviewing expectations on how to use technology in our district! In grades 1-5, each child has access to a chromebook that they use at school for learning. Our kindergarten classes have a few chromebooks in each classroom to use for stations. Please view the SBSD Elementary Chromebook Responsibility Agreements, for K-1 and 2-5, below and have a conversation with your child about using technology safely and responsibly - and feel free to use the same expectations on devices at home.

Hello my name is Benjamin Clark I am a scout in troop 611 based in South Burlington who is fundraising for a new sport equipment shed at Gertrude Chamberlin School for my eagle project. GCS will use this shed to store recess and PE equipment for outdoor learning experiences for our students. Below is the design of the shed that I plan to build. Please click the link to his Venmo profile. link to learn more if you would like to donate! Thank you!

What is the GCS PTO? The PTO's mission to enrich educational experiences of all students, to provide support and assistance to Gertrude Chamberlin staff and families, and to enhance the sense of community at the school through socialization events remains strong. The PTO families are working on fundraising events like the Fall Festival, movie nights, the gift catalog, and the Fun Run. These fundraising efforts help us fund field trips, playground upgrades, and many other enrichment opportunities for our children! Did you know that as a GCS parent, you are automatically a member of our PTO? Come join us as we support our children at GCS!

How can you find out more? Attend one of our meetings! Our meetings occur from 6-7pm in-person in the GCS library or online via Google Meet on the second Tuesday of each month (except December) from September-May. Our first meeting is September 9th. We hope to see you there!

Is there an easy way to help now? School pictures and on Thursday 9/17/2026 and Friday 9/18/2026 and we need your help! Volunteers assist the AMV staff with following the outline schedule and organizing the students for their pictures, and volunteers get 50% off of their photo purchase! Click on this link to sign up! https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0C45A8AD2CA5FFC43-65284533-picture

What's the next PTO event? We are once again hosting the Fall Festival! This year's festival will take place on Sunday, September 27th from 12-3pm. There will be a number of local food vendors to purchase including Black Forest Bakery, Crazy Cotton Candy Lady, Cub Scout hotdogs and chips, Matt Folts food truck, Texas Roadhouse , This.Sourdough, and Yum! Snow Cones. We will also have a photo area, inflatables, face painting, and lawn games! Our Fundraising efforts will include a 50/50 raffle and a silent auction! We will be asking for volunteers to help supervise the bounce houses! Be on the lookout for a sign up genius.

The GCS PTO uses Konstella to strengthen our school's sense of belonging and help families connect. This private, secure platform helps you get to know other parents and stay engaged. Whether you want to coordinate a playdate with a classmate's family or join a school committee, Konstella makes it easy to communicate and get involved.

With Konstella you’ll be able to:

• View PTO announcements and events.
• Access a school directory to connect with other parents.
• Easily sign up for volunteer opportunities.
• Message other families directly or in group chats.
• Choose your own notification and privacy settings

Joining is easy! It only takes a few minutes.

1. Download the Konstella app on your device.
2. Click on Register
3. Enter the invitation code: IY6J3Y
4. Check your email and tap Join

Existing Konstealla users-How to update your student’s teacher:

1. Open the App: Open the Konstella app on your mobile device.
2. Go to Settings: Tap the Gear icon (or your profile picture) in the upper-left corner of your screen.
3. Select Your Children: Tap on Your Children.
4. Choose Your Child: Tap on the name of the child whose teacher you need to change.
5. Update Classroom: Tap on the current classroom which will bring up all classroom teachers then select the new teacher/classroom from the provided list.
6. Save: Tap Back and then make sure to hit Done or Save to apply the changes.

The PTO has an awesome vendor for all of your SB gear needs! There are a variety of logos (see photo below) and items to choose from - you go online and pick your items and the logos you want on them, and then they will be shipped to your home for a flat fee of $4.95...and sometimes they run specials for free shipping! The PTO earns a portion of all sales which goes to support our school. This link will be open all year long, so you can order whenever you want! Click on the link below and get ready for our next spirit wear day!

South Burlington School District students have access to one complete reimbursable breakfast and one complete reimbursable lunch at school each day, FREE of charge.

Students who bring lunch from home can supplement their home lunch free of charge with a trip through the fruit and veggie bar as long as they take ½ cup of fruit, ½ cup of vegetables and a milk.

• Individual extra meal items and a la carte items, including "just" milk, fruit, juice do not count as a reimbursable meal and are not part of the Free Universal School meal program. If your student brings lunch from home and wishes to purchase "just" milk, juice or fruit, the cost is $.50 each. We are no longer using the online payment system, MySchoolBucks.

• Individual extra meal items and a la carte items may not be charged; a student must have funds in their account or pay cash at the register.

• All students will be assigned a pin # to be used for making a purchase from their lunch account. Don't worry! if your child can't quite remember their pin # yet, we can credit the account by name.

At SBSD, homework is defined as learning that takes place outside of the classroom. We recommend nightly reading of a Just Right Book for each child. A Just Right Book refers to a book at the student’s reading level. Teachers will give input into best choices. Additionally, reading​ ​aloud​ to children (of all ages) is beneficial to increase vocabulary and comprehension. It is also an excellent activity that enriches family time. Other than nightly reading…

• It is not an expectation that teachers assign nightly learning to be completed at home.

• Occasionally, teachers and specialists may assign practice learning at home in addition to nightly reading.

• Learning from home is an extension of learning, not new learning.

• Take home activities will be coming home from our social emotional learning program, Second Step, and our literacy program, Amplify CKLA. These are not required for your child to complete, and you do not have to send them back to school. These take home activities are for you to use as a family if you have the time, and they are connected to the learning that is happening in the classroom.

• Parents and caregivers may choose to have their children work on practice activities from the SBSD Resources for Learning at Home webpage, visit the SBSD Links for grades K-2 and grades 3-5.

• At-home learning opportunities can also be found on the SB Tech for Students & Families website. Click on the links below for instructions to access various apps available for students.

• Chamberlin Student Home Access with CLEVER Sign In

• Chamberlin Student Home Access with GOOGLE Sign In

To learn more about the SBSD rationale, please refer to the following:

Rationale for our policy:

Our elementary students deserve a childhood and they need to be active and engaged.

• Research does not show a clear link between homework and academic achievement at the elementary level.

• There is extensive anecdotal information about how families and students become stressed about homework completion. This could diminish a student’s interest and enthusiasm for learning.

• Children are engaged in a structured learning environment for 6.5 hours a day. Research shows time for independence and play is essential for healthy child development.

Please see our handbook linked below for more information!

We are hiring for a few support positions for this year! Training will be provided for all new hires. Please contact me at hrussell@sbschools.net, (802)652-7403.

Recess Monitor - 3 hours a day, supporting recess. Starting pay is $19.28/hr. We are looking for someone 5 days a week, and also substitutes.

Lunchroom Monitor - 3 hours a day, supporting lunch periods. Starting pay is $19.28/hr. We are looking for someone on Wednesdays, and also substitutes.

Interventionists - Working with one or two students who have Individualized Education Plans with support from our Special Educators. This position comes with a comprehensive benefit package. Starting pay is $21.86/hour. We are currently looking for a full time interventionist, and a long term substitute interventionist to cover a maternity leave at the end of September.

Please go to https://www.schoolspring.com/ and search South Burlington School District or call 802-652-7403 if you are interested!

Color Fun Run - Get ready to get colorful at the SBRP Color Fun Run on Saturday, September 12 at 1 PM at Veterans Memorial Park, sponsored by Associates in Orthodontics! This family-friendly event features a fun one-mile loop with colorful stations along the way, plus a half-mile option for younger participants. After the run, stick around for a dance party, ice cream, inflatables, sand art, lawn games, and more.

Link: https://secure.rec1.com/VT/south-burlington-vt-recreation-parks/catalog?filter=c2VhcmNoPTQxNTMwMzM=

Howard Center Home and Community Programs will be offering parenting groups starting in September.

Aside from the MOMS Stress Management group, all groups will start the week of September 28th. If you would like to be referred to the VT MOMS Stress Management course, please email VTMOMS@howardcenter.org.

Here are the details:

Breakthrough Parenting: Navigating Trauma Across Generations Starts Monday, September 28th 11:00-1:30. Group will take place at 1138 Pine Street, Burlington. Food and incentives will be provided.

RPC+ Resource Parenting Curriculum Starts Tuesday, September 29th 5:30 PM – 8:00PM. Group will take place at 1138 Pine Street, Burlington. Food and limited childcare will be provided.

MY Time (Formerly known as Rocking Horse) Starts Wednesday, September 30th 11:00AM- 1:00P Group will take place at 1138 Pine Street, Burlington. Food, childcare, and incentives will be provided.

Click below for more information of the programs. If you are interested, please email at ruthd@howardcenter.org or you can call (802)343-1642.

Please feel free to reach out to me if you need more information or have any questions.

Ruth D’Angelo, MS

Director Family and Community Programs

Community Education, Consultation and Training

1138 Pine Street

Burlington, VT 05401

Office: (802) 488-6637

Cell: (802) 343-1642

Email: hrussell@sbschools.net
Website: https://vt01819219.schoolwires.net/Domain/10
Location: Chamberlin School, White Street, South Burlington, VT, USA
Phone: 802 652 7403