Wildcat Buzz

1. Community Budget Meeting, 7pm - Join via Zoom on Monday 2/16

2. LIttle League, Dance Camps, Girls on the Run and more... info below

3. Dorothy Alling Memorial Library CLOSED on Monday, 2/16

02/16 - Virtual Community Budget Meeting, 7pm - Join via Zoom

02/17 - CVSD School Board Mtg, 6:00-8:30pm @CVU Library

02/18 - Digital Wellbeing Series for Caregivers, hosted by CCS - Details below

02/23 - 2/27 - Winter Break - NO SCHOOL

03/02 - Welcome Back, first day back after break

03/03 - Election Day

03/10 - Deadline for new members to join Grade 4 Chorus

03/12 - Williston Families as Partners Monthly Meeting, 8:30am @WCS or Zoom

03/17 - 7th & 8th Grade Band Concert

03/17 - CVSD School Board Mtg, 6:00-9:00pm @CVU Library

03/19 - Conference Day - NO SCHOOL

3/20 - Eid al Fitr - NO SCHOOL

03/24 - Celebrate the Arts @CVU, 5:30-8:30pm

03/28 - Big Basket Raffle, sponsored by WFAP

04/01 - CVSD Intra-District School Choice applications due

visit the CVSD food service page on our website for additional information and resources

On January 20, the CVSD School Board approved a $107.9M FY27 budget to support and operate the district. Voters will consider this budget on Town Meeting Day—Tuesday, March 3, 2026. You can also vote or absentee beginning Wednesday, Feb. 11, by requesting a ballot online at sos.vermont.gov/elections.

The proposed $107.9M budget carries forward the current year's level of services and programming into the 2026-27 school year, recognizing that further cuts to programs would affect the core mission of the district.

Learn more about the budget at www.cvsdvt.org/budget and at the upcoming informational meeting:

Virtual Community Budget Meeting

Monday, February 16 at 7 p.m.

Join via Zoom, Meeting ID: 287 287 5018, Passcode: cvsd11

For those who celebrate Ramadan, school meals are available for take home. To request meals from February 17 through March 19, students or caregivers should email Food Service Director Scott Wagner (swagner@cvsdvt.org) in the morning, and meals will be available for pickup in the afternoon.

Students in our 4th Art Rotation had the opportunity to enter their design in the Green Up Day Poster contest. Not only did they learn some great art skills (like working with value, texture and the grid technique), and learn some great tips from local Vermont graphic designer Tyler Littwin, they got to learn about this iconic Vermont event and help advocate for it through their amazing art! The following book contains those pieces that the artists decided to enter in the contest. You will be able to see them on display at our local Shaw's sometime in the near future!

Open to all caregivers who live within the Champlain Valley School District—hosted at Charlotte Central School - including families whose children attend CVSD schools, private schools, or are homeschooled.

Please RSVP so we can plan for attendance and share any updates to the programming.

*Nights 2 & 3 have been combined due to a weather cancellation

February 18th @Charlotte Central School Library

Panel Discussion: Digital Well-Being & Youth Development, 5:30-6:30pm

Tools, Monitoring, and Partnership: A Practical Conversation, 6:30-7:15pm

In July 2024, the Vermont State Legislature passed Act 139, a new law aimed at strengthening reading instruction for young learners. Officially titled “An Act Relating to Supporting Vermont’s Young Readers Through Evidence-Based Reading Instruction,” this law is designed to improve reading outcomes for students in kindergarten through third grade.

We are pleased to share that CVSD’s current curriculum already aligns with the law’s emphasis on evidence-based, systematic reading instruction. Thanks to our dedicated educators and strong literacy practices, 87% of CVSD third graders were reading at or above grade level at the end of the 2025 school year.

One key component of Act 139 is a new requirement to notify caregivers if their child is significantly below grade level in reading. CVSD has already begun this process, ensuring that families are informed and supported. Please know that we are committed to providing every child with the instruction and resources they need to develop strong reading skills. If your child qualifies for additional reading support, you will receive communication from us with more details. In addition, we have resources for families to support literacy on our website at cvsdvt.org/Academics/Caregiver Literacy Resources.

If you have any questions about this law or our reading instruction practices, please don’t hesitate to reach out. We appreciate your partnership in supporting our young readers.

Join students from across the Champlain Valley School District for an evening of entertainment and celebration, showcasing performing and visual arts from the district’s six schools. This annual tradition returns to CVU on Tuesday, March 24, 2026, transforming the high school halls and theater into a vibrant gallery of learning, innovation and inspiration.

The 14th-annual Celebrate the Arts Night brings together art, music, theater, media, arts, foods, business, design and technology in a one-night-only exhibition of student creativity.

Children entering grades preK-8 who live in the towns of Charlotte, Hinesburg, Shelburne, St. George and Williston may exercise school choice. Our goal is to both allow options for families and also make balanced class sizes to provide a positive learning environment for all of our children. Processes for intra-district choice of school will be guided by the needs of students, space availability, and existing resources. Given this, we will work to meet as many families’ needs as possible. Guidelines and Application

The WCS 4th grade chorus is beginning its second session!

If your child is already in the 4th grade chorus, there is no need to re-enroll. Just keep coming to rehearsals!

If your child is interested in joining or even just curious about the 4th grade chorus , please review the information below.

When:

• Tuesdays after school, 2:50-4:00.

• Rehearsals for session 2 begin on Tuesday, February 17th.

• The first two rehearsals are “open enrollment.” (2/17 and 3/3)

• Students may come to one or both of those rehearsals to sit in and check it out with no obligation.

• Starting Tuesday, March 10th, students must make a final decision to be a chorus member or not. Chorus members must attend all rehearsals. Absences due to medical, religious, or family reasons are excused.

• Non-members are not permitted to attend rehearsals.

Where:

• WCS Music/Chorus room

• Students should bring a snack to eat between school dismissal and the start of chorus rehearsal. No food is permitted inside the rehearsal room. Only clear water is allowed.

• There is a 4:30 activity bus available to take students home. Supervision is provided between 4:00 and 4:30.

Other Information:

• The chorus performances for session 2 will be on Tuesday, June 2nd, 2026 at 1:00pm and 6:30pm.

• The chorus sings a variety of music from different time periods, cultures, and styles. The students will be singing in different languages, meters, and tonalities. The songs range in level of difficulty.

• No audition- just a love for singing!

• No cost.

If your child decides to be a member of the 4th grade chorus, please complete the form in this link and return it to your child’s house TA or Mrs. T-H on or before March 10th -or- you may complete the electronic version of this form.

Your child will then attend rehearsal each Tuesday afternoon. I will create a list of “official members” on March 10th for attendance and dismissal plans. I will need to know which students have decided to join and where they will be going when rehearsal ends at 4:00 each week.

For safety purposes, if your child will ever be going somewhere other than where you specify below, I need a written note or email from you on or before noon that day. Please complete the form below only if your child is interested in joining the 4th grade chorus. If your child is already in the 4th grade chorus, there is no need to fill out the form again.

Please contact me with any questions or concerns.

Sincerely,

Danielle Trasciatti-Holmberg (Mrs. T-H) dtrasciatti@cvsdvt.org

Williston Central School Athletics are open to all students grades 6th-8th. All practices start at 2:50 and end around 4:20. Students can be picked up at the rear entrance to the school, or take the activity bus.

Visit the athletics website for everything you need to know about playing on a sports team at WCS. WCS Athletics

The WCS Drama program is open to grades 6, 7, and 8 and currently includes a Fall Play and a Spring Musical.

Visit the drama webpage to learn more about upcoming productions and the WCS Drama program.

In the event that weather and/or road conditions make it unsafe for our buses to travel hill roads, we will notify parents and/or caregivers of students on those routes with as much notice as possible.

When hills are closed for afternoon bus runs, if no one arrives to meet younger students, they will be brought back to school until arrangements are made for them to be picked up. Please talk with your bus drivers to let them know if you are comfortable letting your child walk home from the drop off location.

We will use the automated SchoolMessenger system to notify families on the hill roads.

Rec & Parks, Continued...

Summer Camps:

Full Camps-
Enrichment Camps- Woodworking & Technology, Kids Kitchen-S1 & S2, Baking Fun, Adv Baking, Tennis- S2 (6-8yrs) & S3, Fun w/Food, Designer Art, Artist Studio, Comics & Manga, RECO Robotics, Character & Cartoon Cuisine, Horse Camp-S1 & S3, Minecraft Mania, Safe Sitters, Culinary Adv, Slimescapades, Hogwarts Express
O.U.R. Camps- 4 Day Adv, Park Around, Beach Bonanza, Aqua Adv, Discover VT,
R.E.C. Camp- Mornings- S5, Afternoons- S1 & S7,

Foundations of Magic- 3rd-6th. Discover the art of sleight-of-hand wonderment in this fun and engaging magic program led by master Magician Billy Martin. Participants will learn the foundations of classic sleight-of-hand and beginner friendly Magic with props such as Sponge balls. Mondays, March 16-April 14, 2:50-4:15p, $160. Williston Recreation & Parks, VT: Foundations of Magic- Afterschool, 3rd-6th

Indoor Soccer- 3rd-5th. This after-school program will focus on playing through different types of soccer games and scrimmages. Teams will be made up each week from the registered participants. A great opportunity for kids to stay active. Open to all levels of experience. Wednesdays, March 18-April 15, 1:50-3:15p, $30. Williston Recreation & Parks, VT: Indoor Soccer- Afterschool, 3rd-5th

Safe at Home- 4th-6th. Safe@Home by Safe Sitter? is a 90-minute after-school program that teaches youngsters how to practice safe habits, prevent unsafe situations, and what to do when faced with dangers such as power failures or weather emergencies. This is an introductory-level program to prepare youngsters to care for themselves when their parents are away for a short time. Thursday, March 19, 2:30-4:00pm, $30. Williston Recreation & Parks, VT: Safe @ Home- "Home Alone" Training, 4th-6th

Lego BricQ Motion- 3rd-5th. Explore forces and motion using LEGOs. Get into sports and determine whether design solutions work as intended by testing and then engineering a change in the speed or direction of an object with a push or pull. Create an obstacle course for a dog and compete in the LEGO Olympics in a relay race, bobsled competition, and hockey game. Fun collaborative building with a STEAM focus! Instructor: Wicked Cool For Kids Staff. Thursdays, March 26- April 16, 2:50-4:15pm, $117.

Family & Friends CPR- Age 12+. Family & Friends CPR is for people who want to learn CPR but do not need a CPR course completion card to meet a job requirement. This course is ideal for community groups, new parents, grandparents, babysitters, and others interested in learning how to save a life. The Family & Friends CPR Course teaches the lifesaving skills of adult Hands-Only CPR, adult CPR with breaths, child CPR with breaths, adult and child AED use, infant CPR, and mild and severe airway block for adults, children, and infants. Skills are taught in a dynamic group environment using the AHA's research-proven practice-while-watching technique, which provides students with the most hands-on CPR practice time possible. Instructor: Williston Fire Department. Saturday, March 28, 8:00-10:30 am, $25.

• First Call - 488-7777: phone support, crisis intervention, assessment and referrals
• In Crisis: 1-800-SUICIDE (1-800-784-2433) (National Hopeline Network: USA)
• National Suicide Prevention Life line- 1-800-273-TALK (8255), call or chat online
• Crisis Text Line - text HOME to 741741 (24 hours a day, seven days a week)
• Outright Vermont - support for LGBTQ+ community
• Vermont 211 -Vermont database of resources and services
• Society for the Prevention of Teen Suicide - Website where you can find information to help yourself or a friend who may be having thoughts of suicide.
• Trevor Lifeline - 1-866- 488-7386 - provides suicide prevention and crisis intervention services to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and questioning (LGBTQ) young people. It offers free, 24/7, confidential counseling. TrevorText—text START to 678-678; TrevorChat—instant messaging at TheTrevorProject.org/help. It also runs TrevorSpace, an affirming social networking site for LGBTQ youth at TrevorSpace.