SCS Community Newsletter

Dear SCS Families, Caregivers, and Shelburne Community,

School is back to its familiar rhythm, kicking off with two days of full faculty and staff in-service and a three-day week for students. This helped everyone—students and staff alike—build up their stamina for the year ahead. When asked about their first week back, students enthusiastically shared how they loved being back with friends and teachers from previous years.

This week, our main focus was helping students get to know each other and settle into new routines. We built connections through fun activities, team challenges, and opportunities to explore and work together. Teachers and students worked side by side to establish classroom routines for learning, playtime, and transitions. Students also started to understand what's expected of them as readers, writers, and mathematicians. Most importantly, they began learning what it means to be a valued member of our school community. Connection is a key pillar of student engagement, and it’s one that we put a particular emphasis on at this time of year.

Thank you for your patience as we've made some significant and unexpected changes to our transportation plan. We've been working tirelessly to update bus routes, and we understand this may cause confusion. We'd like to extend our deepest gratitude to the staff who spent countless hours updating our databases and to our drivers for their flexibility in adapting to these new routes. We also appreciate our families, as always, for your understanding as we navigate these changes together. We've got this, and we're looking forward to seeing your kids again on Tuesday, September 2. Enjoy the long weekend!

In Partnership,

Antonia, Jen and Brett

9/16 CVSD School Board Meeting (6:00 - 8:00 pm, CVU)
9/15-17 - School Picture Days (more details to follow)

CVSD 2025-2026 Calendar

As we previewed this summer, September is National Attendance Awareness Month. We’re pleased to report that over our first three days of school, our student attendance rate is 99.19%! Thank you for all your efforts in helping your kids start the year off with consistency. Our attendance team will be working hard as the year continues to build on that pattern and support students in maintaining strong school attendance.

A small group of 5th grade students on Blue Team harvested basil with SLP Caroline. They planted it back in the spring. The beautiful basil will become pesto for the school cafeteria. Thank you to Becky Mashak & the cafeteria staff for processing this delicious garden-grown food, to MLL teachers Erika and Robyn for coordinating the school garden, and to the PTO for grant funding!

Thank you to the PTO for hosting an amazing back to school appreciation breakfast for our faculty and staff on Monday morning. A huge shout out to Holly Klawiter, PTO Committee Appreciation Lead, and her team of volunteers for organizing the breakfast. What a great way to kick off the year!

The Parent Student Community Engagement group meets once a month throughout the school year. This is an opportunity for ongoing dialogue between parents, caregivers, and the school. All are welcome!

1. The focus area of the first meeting will be behavior systems and restorative justice practices at SCS. Date and time coming soon.

2. Other possible topics for the year include: student clubs; supporting multilingual learners; curriculum planning; data and systems; planning for potential school-based health clinic; CVSD Special Education Parent Advisory Council (SEPAC), engaging with local resources such as the Rokeby Museum, Shelburne Farms, and Clemmons Family Farm

3. Participants can join in person in the SCS library or remotely.

4. If you have topics of interest or concern that you would like to share with the school administration directly, you can fill out the CVSD Connect With Us Form.

To join the group’s email list, please fill out this form.

If you are interested in volunteering, mentoring, and/or chaperoning at SCS for the 2025-2026 school year, and have not completed the necessary paperwork, please begin the process now.

• CVSD Volunteer and Chaperone Procedures

• CVSD Consent for Release of Information Form

Questions? Contact Jane Graham, 383-1101

We are still missing key people for:

We are looking to hire an a.m. and/or p.m. crossing guard to support a safe arrival and dismissal at School Street. Hours would be 7:30-8:00 and 2:30-3:00. If you are interested, please reach out to scsinformation@cvsdvt.org.

Are you interested in having some fun learning alongside our students as a guest teacher (aka sub)? If so, please reach out to CVSDHR@cvsdvt.org or Louise Michaels.

Click here for more information on becoming a sub!

Shelburne Community School Administrative Team

Jen Roth, PreK-4 Principal

Brett Cluff, 5-8 Principal

Antonia Trono, Director of Special Services