UES Swoop Scoop

We are deep into the work of community building and creating a sense of belonging for all of our Wise Owls. Belonging is a sense of feeling like you are an important member of a group. A really close family gives each of its members a strong sense of belonging. At UES we are a family of Wise Owls and each of our learners are reminded and shown on a regular basis that they belong here!

• Community & Belonging at UES
• PowerSchool Caregiver Information
• The Backpack Program
• News From Nurse Megan
• Join Our Team!
• MRPS Caregivers Council Seeking Members
• UES Caregivers Alliance Updates
• Montpelier Fall Festival Info
• MRPS PIE Is Seeking a Part Time Executive Director
  
• 1st Annual Costume Swap
• Next MRPS School Board Meeting

We have been busy building community across our building! We had our first monthly Community Time of the 2023-2024 school year. During this assembly, learners in grades 1-4 gathered together to learn about our school wide expectations: We are Kind, Responsible & Safe. They also listened to "The Dot" by Peter Reynolds, read aloud by Principal Barea and Assistant Principal Beaupre. Next month, our Kinder learners will join us once they have had a chance to practice and learn about these fun school wide events.

Following the assembly, last week, we participated in International Dot Day as a school community. Check out this video to hear more about this year's event!

Dear Caregivers,

It is important that you make sure your learner's permissions are updated in PowerSchool. We sent home your PowerSchool login information on the first day of school. If you need assistance logging into PowerSchool you can email Taylor Fair - taylorfair@mpsvt.org. Please see the descriptions below for some additional information on what we need permission for.

MEDIA / NEWS RELEASE

Throughout the year, there will be opportunities for students to be interviewed by news media (television, radio, newspapers, blogs) for their thoughts on a variety of educational issues. Some examples might be having a students' comments and name used in a newspaper story, appearing in television news programs, images used on school blog(s)/websites/social media, a photograph in the newspaper, or interviews on local radio.

CAREGIVERS ALLIANCE RELEASE

UES has many opportunities and events for you to support your learner(s) throughout the year. Please let us know if you would like your contact information to be shared with our Caregivers Alliance. This includes name, address, email and phone number(s).

FIELD TRIP PERMISSION

Field trips extend and enrich the scope of many of our curriculum goals at MRPS. Your learner's teacher will notify you when field trips are planned out of the city. Please verify if you give permission for your learner's participation on field trips as well as on walking recesses or field trips within the vicinity of UES. Be aware that notice of trips outside the Montpelier city limits will be sent home prior to the scheduled trip. At that time, you have the option to withhold your learner from that particular trip by notifying the school in writing.

EARLY DISMISSAL INSTRUCTIONS

When school closes early, due to an unexpected circumstance, such as inclement weather or power outage, we will need to know how you would like us to dismiss your learner(s). You can select how we should dismiss them in PowerSchool.

Thanks,

Taylor Fair, UES Registrar & Attendance Specialist

The Backpack Program is available again this year. Each week throughout the school year, the Montpelier Rotary Club provides small bags of non-perishable food for any family at no cost. These bags are distributed to classrooms to go home with students on Thursdays. The Backpack Program is available to all families who would like to participate and those with more than one child can receive multiple bags Sign Up HERE!. For any questions, contact Diana at dianakoliander@mpsvt.org.

If you have yet to fill out an Annual Health Questionnaire, please do so and return it as soon as possible. If you are in need of a new form feel free to contact Nurse Megan or see the link below to print out a new copy.

Annual Health Questionnaire - 2023-2024

My school office hours are 7:30am-3:00pm Monday through Friday. You can reach me by email: Meganspaulding@mpsvt.org or by phone at 802-225-8206. The fax number is 802-223-9219.

If your child becomes sick after school hours or on the weekends, please call your child’s pediatrician or primary care provider. Someone on call can walk you through the next steps. If your child has MILD symptoms, they may come to school. I do recommend that you test them for Covid with symptoms. Antigen kits come with 2 tests and are meant to give one right away and then the next antigen test, given 24 hours later.

UES Students should not come to school with cough drops, lozenges or hard candies. These are a choking hazard and make it really challenging to manage during the school day. We encourage you to send in a water bottle to help quiet a minor cough or sooth a mild sore throat.

For moderate to severe symptoms, please keep your child home until they are feeling better and are ready to learn. If a child develops a fever of 100.4 or more or is vomiting, please keep them home until these symptoms are gone for a full 24 hours without using fever reducing medication before having them return to school.

Please feel free to contact me with any questions that you have and I’ll get back to you during school hours. I look forward to working with you to support your children’s health care needs.

Nurse Megan Spaulding

We have a few openings not yet filled for the 2023-2024 school year.

• Building Substitute
• Recess/Lunch Monitor
• Instructional Assistants

Are you interested in joining our MRPS family of passionate and dedicated educators and support staff?! Browse our open positions and reach out to Heather Michaud, Human Resources Coordinator, if you have any questions: heatherm@mpsvt.org

Purpose

The MRPS Caregiver Council is composed of caregiver representatives from each school. They meet with the Superintendent, Director of Curriculum & Technology, Director of Student Services, Director of Social Emotional Learning & Wellness, and Communications Specialist on a monthly basis during the school year. Members work together to:

• identify common needs and goals among the caregivers of students enrolled in MRPS;

• provide the District administrative team with feedback and insight from the caregiver's perspective on district processes, procedures, and system development efforts;

• ensure that the needs of caregivers are considered as decisions are made in the district particularly in the areas of special education, social emotional learning, communications, and curriculum and teaching;

• bring to the District leadership’s attention existing and emerging issues expressed by caregivers across the district;

• serve as an advisory, not a decision-making body, that makes recommendations, encourages brainstorming, and provides opportunities for caregiver involvement;

• facilitate communication between and among the caregivers and MRPS PIE;

• serve as a forum for sharing innovations and best practices from around the district.

Basis for Establishment

The Caregiver Council to the Superintendent is composed of caregiver representatives from each school. They meet with the superintendent and other district staff on a monthly basis during the school year to discuss a variety of topics, share information, and broaden understanding of school-related issues.

Meeting Information

For the 2023-24 school year, all meetings will occur on the third Thursday of each month from noon-1:00. Lunch will be provided. Meetings will be held at Montpelier High School, room 126. Meeting dates for the 2023-24 school year are: 10/19, 11/16, 12/21, 1/18, 2/15, 3/21, 4/18, and 5/16.

How To Apply

If you are interested in becoming an inaugural member of the MRPS Caregiver Council, please take a moment to fill out this form. We will be in touch at the end of September with more information regarding the first meeting.

The UES Caregivers Alliance (UESCA) is a collective of caregivers who support a welcoming, inclusive UES community. We provide support for all caregivers, educators, staff, and family-centered school activities. You can access UESCA materials and notes on our webpage, here. Have a question or need? Have an idea you want to share? Email us at ues.families@gmail.com.

Caregiver Social September 27
Come gather with caregivers for an evening of connection and play! This will be a great opportunity to meet other caregivers and talk about what’s on your mind while the kiddos play. Bring your own dinner. Light snacks and beverages will be provided. Join us on Wednesday, September 27 beginning at 5:15pm at the UES upper playground.

Caregiver Directory-Sign Up Today!

UES Caregivers Alliance is once again creating classroom directories so that caregivers can connect with the families of other children in their child's homeroom. If you would like to be included in the directory for your child's class please follow this link and enter the information you would like to share. Only those who fill out this form will be included in the directory. Click here to complete the form.

The Montpelier Fall Festival is the only fundraiser for the four caregiver/parent groups in the Montpelier Roxbury School District.

A day long celebration including Onion River Outdoors Fun Run, inflatables, face painting, music, food trucks, dunk tank and lots more! This year, more than ever, it is important to celebrate our youth and we need volunteers to make it all happen!

Sign Up!

Last year, UESCA was able to support UES Loves Books Week and visit by author Kekla Magoon, staff appreciation events, Lip Sync Battle, Literacy conversations, Jumping Beans, 4th grade graduation gifts, amongst others. This would not be possible without funds raised at the Montpelier Fall Festival.

Great opportunity to support MRPS Schools and build a wonderful, nonprofit organization, MRPS PIE (Montpelier Roxbury Partners in Education). https://www.mrpspie.org/

For the first time ever, MRPS PIE is seeking a part time Executive Director to continue to build the organizations day to day operations, support the MRPS PIE Caregiver groups, build and support the MRPS PIE Board, be a strong advocate for our students and develop strong fundraising strategy.

Here is the job description with more information.

Job Title_ Executive Director_MRPSPIE.pdf

Join us for the 1st Annual Costume Swap at Montpelier Fall Festival! Costume donations are accepted at all MRPS Schools between now and Sept. 29th. Come pick out your new costume and enjoy all the MFF activities on Oct. 1st from 12 - 4pm at the State House Lawn. (Donations to MRPS PIE are appreciated but not required.)

The MRPS Board of School Directors is meeting Wednesday, September 20, 2023 at 6:30pm at RVS. 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