SCS Weekly Newsletter 2/11/25

Dear Salisbury Community School Families and Friends,

So I turned around and here we are: the heart of winter! It's been so great to have a year of regular snow, and the best has just arrived! It's awesome to see how much kids are enjoying winter, both here at school during recess and other activities but also outside of school: skiing, ice fishing, hockey, sledding- you name it! They bring us back all sorts of stories- and they all sound fun!

But we have some good activities coming up here too! (And don't forget our Little Caesar's Pizza Fundraiser! Fundraiser ID# 454343)

1: Skiing this Thursday: We will be skiing at Rikert again! Please remember to have your children dress warmly, and wear long socks so the boots don't chafe!

2: CLIf Literacy Night: Thursday, February 20th we will be hosting a "Children's Literacy Foundation" Family Night. Doors will open at 5:30, and we will begin with a FREE DINNER, followed by a presentation to students and families by author Ted Scheu, who spent the day writing poetry with our classes on the 4th. Come have some food, hear a great presentation, and get a free book!

3: Valentine's Day Ice-Cream Social!

A few years ago we started a new tradition on February 14th (the day folks celebrate Valentine's Day). We wanted kids to have a treat, and have fun together, and feel connected (all Valentine's Day type stuff) , but we recognized that the candy and snacks part of Valentine's Day is pretty disruptive to classes, and even to kids, who can sometimes feel anxious or left out during such events. Instead we had an all-school ice cream social, and it went great. So great we've decided to make it an annual tradition!

So please, this year, we again ask families to not send in candy or snacks on Valentine's Day. The school will instead be providing ice cream sundaes to all the students as a community event in the afternoon. We'll all eat together in the gym. Students who are lactose intolerant or who have other dietary needs will be provided with an alternative.

4: Title 1 Literacy Night Planning Meeting: This Thursday, before the beginning to our FOSCS meeting, we will hold a "Title 1 Literacy Night Planning Meeting". Any community members interested in what Title 1 is (it's a great federal program that gives extra funding for schools who are seen as needing funds because of their poverty rate) and interested in helping to create a vision for our Title 1 Literacy Night in March should attend! We will begin at 6:15 in the Library.

That's a lot of information! I better stop there. Have a great week! And check out the shirts Paisley and Parker wore to school for the 100th day- 100 buttons and 100 eyeballs- that's pretty awesome!

Best,

Bjarki

• Wednesday, February 12th: Early Release- school closes at 1:00
• Thursday, February 13th: All-School Skiing at Rikert Outdoor Center!
• Friday, February 14th: In-School Band Concert- begins at 10:00.
• Friday, February 14th: All- School Ice Cream Social
• Thursday, February 20th: CLIf Literacy Night with "Poetry Guy" Ted Scheu.
• Monday Feb 24th- Friday February 28th: February Break

On THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 20th "Poetry Guy" Ted Scheu will return to SCS to be part of an evening event focusing on poetry, writing, and using language to express ourselves. We will begin with dinner at 5:30 (It's FREE! Courtesy of the Childrens' Literacy Foundation.) Please come- so SAVE THE DATE!

Our annual fundraiser for FOSCS (Friends of Salisbury Community School) is here once again. As a school community we will be selling Little Caesar’s Kits for the next two weeks. Students have folders coming home with order forms.

Orders can be placed online (www.pizzakit.com Fundraiser ID# 454343) or by paper (payment due at time of order, payable to FOSCS) and are due back to school Friday, Feb. 14th. Kits will be delivered to school for pickup by each seller in early March-we will send home more detailed information as the delivery draws closer.

If pizza and cookies aren’t your thing, we also gratefully accept direct donations which can be made by check to FOSCS or by Venmo @FOSCSvt

Thank you for your support of our students and school community! FOSCS uses the funds raised throughout the year to put on fun events, show appreciation for SCS staff, and provide extra enrichment as needed like art supplies and field trip support.

Questions can be directed to foscsvt@gmail.com

Kindergarteners made a new page in their “Primary Colors Book”! Celebrating the happy work of Harvey Ball and the iconic smiley face.

We want to thank our thirteen ACSD School Board members for the time, collaboration, and deep investment they make to ensure a brighter future for our students, our district, and our community. We want to send a special appreciation to Chip Malcom and Joanna Doria who are leaving the Board this year. Chip has served on the ACSD board since unification in 2016 and previously served on the UD3 Board from 1985-2000, including 6 years as chair. Joanna has served on the ACSD Board since 2022. School board members are elected officials who live in one of our district towns and represent all members of the ACSD community. School board elections are held each Town Meeting day with a rotating number of our thirteen seats up each year. Learn more about the board: www.acsdvt.org/school-board/

• Do you have a child who plans to start Kindergarten in 2025-2026? Make sure they are on our incoming student list! If your child will be 5 years old by September 1, 2025 (or you know a friend or neighbor whose child will be) please reach out to our front office at 802-352-4291, or contact SCS Administrative Assistant Donna Simpson at dsimpson@acsdvt.org.

• Do you have a 3-5 year old ready for preschool? Every preschool age child in ACSD is eligible for 10 FREE hours of preschool at a pre-qualified preschool program and NOW* is the time to begin thinking ahead to the 2025-26 school year. Visit https://mbaker61.wixsite.com/uprek/partners for a list of preschools and more information. Reach out to Ashley Bessette, Universal Prek Coordinator, at abessette@acsdvt.org for support or to ask questions.
  *Most preschool programs will begin enrolling in February/March for the 2025-26 school year.

This year, we thought it would be fun to chronicle the changes of the season at Salisbury Community School by taking the same picture, at the same time, from the same spot, every week. At the end of the year it will hopefully be a fun thing to look at and share!