Solon Salutes

• The Spring Fling is a semi-formal dance that brings together students in our Central Vermont community to foster connection and camaraderie between different schools with a night of dancing, music, and fun!

This year the event is being held in conjunction with Harwood Union High School, U-32 High School, Spaulding High School, and Twinfield Union School, and is open to students from grades 9-12.

The dance will happen at the VCFA Alumni Hall (36 College Street, Montpelier) on Saturday, March 30th, from 8:30 pm to 11:00 pm- (see this map for more detailed directions)

Reminder- The Spring Fling is a MHS Sponsored event. All school rules apply. No bags will be allowed in the event, and any bag found will be searched. We expect students to follow the MHS tenets of Take Care of Yourself, Others and the Place to be in the forefront of fun.

• Due to the Eclipse, and school being closed on April 8th- April 10th is now a GREEN DAY and April 17th is now a WHITE DAY.
• There is a planned student Protest on Wednesday. Some students plan to walk out of MHS at to the State House to protest the conflict between Israel and Palestine. While MHS values student voice, agency and leadership we also respect the right to protest respectfully. Students who walk out of class are responsible for the remainder of the material. If students do not return to MHS they will be marked ABU, and MHS cannot extend our lunch time. Students may miss their lunch period. Students may also be walking over to the State House unsupervised, as we are working on a plan to have some supervision. Please let me know if you have any questions.

Dear MHS Community,

I hope you are well and had a wonderful weekend despite the snowy weather. This week officially starts Spring Athletics, Saturday Night is the MHS Spring Fling, and next week is the Masque Production of "12th Night." Please be sure to get your tickets.

Next Friday, the 5th, is the end of the third quarter, and progress reports will be mailed home the week of the 8th. Please be sure to continue to check Power School with your students and review their progress so far this year.

Thank you for connecting with our teachers and staff last week during conferences. We look forward to our continued learning together.

We hope you all have a wonderful new week.

Sincerely,

Jason

This year students across Vermont will participate in the Vermont Comprehensive Assessment Program (VTCAP). This will be computer based, and all three subjects will be adaptive (responsive to individual student levels) and will assess our state standards for English/Language Arts, math, and science. These assessments include: VTCAP Language Arts and Mathematics for Grades 9 and VTCAP Science for Grade 11. The testing is required for students in grades 9 and 11. The schedule for testing in our schools is as follows and please reach out if you have any questions.

Students are required to use a MHS Chromebook and Cell phones are not allowed at all during the exam, including when a student is finished. Students are required to remain in the testing room when done. Please bring a book or assignments to work on.

April 2, 2024

8:20-10:15 a.m. Mathematics Grade 9

8:20-10:15 a.m. Science Grade 11

April 3, 2024

8:20-10:15 a.m. Grade 9 English Language Arts

April 4, 2024

Make-ups as needed.

*Only students who are testing are expected to be at school at this time. MHS will run on a delayed start schedule for all students, beginning at 10:20 am. Students will be provided extended time to continue testing in a quiet space in order to complete a test in one sitting. Grade 11 CVCC students must be at MHS on April 2nd for testing, and a bus will take them to the Career Center around 10:30. Any student who is absent on a testing day, including CVCC students, will be required to attend on April 4th and/or rescheduled until testing is completed.

Click the buttons below for your class! Review to-dos and helpful info!

• April 1 Poet Steven Willis will be at MHS during Solon Block to present and speak with students. The first week of April, spoken word poet Steven Willis is returning to Vermont, and we will have him at MHS on Monday, April 1. He was last here in 2020, so this will be a new experience for all of our students. His performances evoke powerful emotions. His poetry writing workshop is incredible. He published a book of poetry last year, and we have it in our library collection.

• I encourage you to take a few minutes to watch one or more of his performances (most are roughly 3 minutes).
  

  From his bio: "Born and raised in Chicago, Illinois, storyteller Steven Antoine Willis uses his poetic and theatrical background to embark on the daunting task of creatively articulating African American culture. With art heavily influenced by urban life and religion, Steven mixes elements of hip hop poetics and theatrical performance with formal teachings of anthropology and political theory to help express his eclectic personal narrative."

• April 2-4 VT State COGNIA Testing- ELA and Math for 9th grade, Science for 11th grade
  

• April 4-6th- MHS Robotics at New England Championships!
  
• April 4-May 30th- After school MHS Cooking Club continues.
• April 8th No School- Eclipse
  
• April 9 Winooski Valley Concert at MHS
  
• April 10 Teen Jazz Performance during Solon Block (Will be adjusted Schedule)
• April 15 Guest Speaker for all MHS Seniors on Consent Block 3 and Solon Blocks
• April 17 Egress Drill at MHS
• April 22 - 26 No School - Spring Recess
• May 1 Norwich Early College Application is due
• May 1 CCV Early College Priority Application is due
• August 7th CCV Early College Deadline
• May 2 University of Vermont College Visit for grades 10 & 11 if interested

• May 6 AP US Govt Exam 8:00-12:00
• May 7 AP Stats Exam 12:00-4:00
• May 8 AP English Exam 8:00-12:00 & Comp Science Exam 12:00-4:00
• May 8-10 All State Music Festival
• May 8 VPA Spelling Bee at MHS 4:00-7:00 PM
• May 9 AP Psychology Exam 12:00-4:00
• May 10 AP US History Exam 8:00-12:30
• May 11 or 25th Race Against Racism
• May 13 AP Calc Exam 8:00-12:00
• May 15 AP Music Theory Exam 12:00-4:00
• May 16 AP Spanish Exam 8:00-12:00
• May 20 Early Release for All Students
• May 23 Spring Pops Concert 7:00 PM
• May 27 No School - Memorial Day
• June 7th- Senior Grades are due and finalized for graduation eligibility
• June 8 Junior Prom (At Farm House Flowers)
• June 12 Senior Breakfast, Rehearsal and Awards Assembly
• June 13 Project Grad 7:00 PM -1:00 AM
• June 14 MHS Graduation
• June 19 Anticipated Last Day of School

• District Calendar
• School Events Calendar
• School Website

• Athletics Calendar
• Athletics Website
• Student Handbook
• Cell Phone Policy
• Bell Schedule
• Program of Studies
• Power School How to Access Student Grades Video
• Where do I go for Solon Block?
• Caregiver Handbook for Special Education Services
• MHS Hazing, Harassment and Bullying Information and reporting form

• Please check out these important updates from the district

• Link to the district newsletter: https://www.smore.com/u/mrps
• Link to our calendar webpage for the 2024-2025 district calendar
• Link to our homepage for the 2023-2024 annual report (PDF of the final report)
• Wednesday, April 3rd, MRPS School Board Meeting 6:30 PM MHS Library.

• RVS Transition Committee - The MRPS Board of School Directors formed a new Roxbury Village School Transition Committee. The board is actively seeking community members and students from both towns to serve on this committee. Please visit the committee webpage to learn more. Submit letters of interest to serve on the committee by March 31st.

• Eclipse - school closed on April 8th, 2024

Vermont is predicting anywhere from 30,000-200,000 additional people to be entering our state on Monday, April 8, 2024. Local emergency officials have recommended we and our fellow Central Vermont schools close. In addition, all of these Central Vermont school districts are already noting significant staff absentee rates in anticipation of April 8th. In light of these strenuous circumstances on both our immediate school systems as well on our state's infrastructure, Montpelier Roxbury School District will be closed on April 8th. Barre, Harwood, and Washington Central are also closing for the day.

• Vote - on April 30th

• The MRPS Board of School Directors approved the new FY`25 Budget and Warning on Wednesday, March 20, 2024. Please vote on or before Tuesday, April 30th, 2024! To learn more about voting and the proposed budget please visit our budget webpage, read this 3/21/24 letter from Superintendent Libby Bonesteel, and review this budget fact sheet.

MRPS administrators have been working to improve our website for students and families! Please check out the recent updates made to the curriculum, social emotional learning and wellness, and student support services webpages. Also, a reminder that all MHS air quality testing results are posted to our facilities webpage.

GO TO COLLEGE FOR FREE AT CCV

Virtual Events:
Monday, April 8th at 6:00 PM

In-Person Events:
Thursday, March 28th at 4:30 PM at CCV Winooski
Wednesday, April 3rd at 4:30 PM at CCV Upper Valley

These events are free and open to students, families, friends, and school personnel.

We hope you will join us for our next teen science cafe!

When: THIS SATURDAY March 30

Time: 5:00 - 7:00 pm

Topic: A “Taste” of Neuroscience: From Fruit Flies to Humans (Learn More Here)

In this café, you will learn about the neuroscience behind the sense of taste and feeding behaviors as we explore this question and
demonstrate how we are able to harness powerful genetic tools in fruit flies to study neurobiology that relates back to humans. Our presenter is Molly Stanley, Assistant Professor in the Biology Department at the University of Vermont, Interim Associate Director of the

Undergraduate Neuroscience Program, and the faculty advisor for Vermont oSTEM (OUT in STEM). She has been working with animal

models to study food-brain connections for over 10 years. She completed postdoctoral training at the University of British Columbia,

completed a Ph.D. in Neuroscience at Washington University in St. Louis, and received a Bachelor’s degree at the University of Kansas.

Make sure to register ahead of time so we know how much pizza to order.

Click here to register