Gertrude Chamberlin School

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We will let you know which day your child's class is getting their pictures taken as the date gets closer.

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View this calendar for in-school dates, early dismissal dates, and school vacations.

It was great to see so many of you at our Kindergarten Playdate and Open House! It was also a wonderful first week of school! In classrooms, students learned about our school-wide expectations across school settings...We are Responsible, We are Kind and We are Safe. We spent time building our classroom and school community as we come together for another great year of learning. Here are some photos from the Kindergarten Playdate and the first week of school!

THANK YOU FOR BEING PATIENT WITH THE ARRIVAL AND DISMISSAL PROCESS! As parents and staff become familiar with the process and matching up students to cars, it will improve! On Tuesday, we will have our South Burlington preschoolers starting for the first time.

• Please be sure to check the bus schedules again, as many have updated times!
• Please follow the directions of the staff in the parking lot, as there may need to be a change based on traffic flow.
• When driving up to the curb to pick up your child, please pull up as far down as you can so we can get other cars behind you.

• Please be ready to say a quick good-bye to your child.
• If you need to park, please pull out of the drop off lane and park in a designated parking spot. There will be staff at each drop off spot to help, and lots of caring staff inside to make sure your child gets to the correct classroom.

Also, if you are trying to turn left out of the school driveway onto White Street, you will be backing up the traffic, unless there are crossers in the crosswalk, and then it's easier to turn left. If it's not clear right away to turn left, please turn right and make a loop to get to your destination. This will help us keep the flow of traffic moving.

Arrival:

7:45 - busses drop off out back

7:50 - 8:00 - walkers and drop off students arrive - please do not drop your child off before 7:50 AM, as there may not be an adult outside. For safety reasons, we do not want children outside alone.

Announcements at 8:00 - students arriving after 8:00 will be marked tardy.

Dismissal:

If you have a dismissal change, please call the school by 2:00 PM. If you call after this time, it's very challenging to get the information to the classroom teacher as the end of day routines are very busy.

2:25 - staff will pick up students from their classrooms who are going to the School's Out program

2:30 - bus dismissal

2:35 - walker and pick up dismissal

Please do not arrive before 2:35 to pick up your child. We need to get the busses in and out before cars enter the driveway...otherwise traffic gets backed up onto White Street. If you arrive too early, we will ask you to continue along White Street and come back at 2:35.

If you have an older sibling of a preschool or kindergarten student, remind them to exit out the preschool/kindergarten exit door instead of the front door, so you can pick up both of your children in the same spot.

If you have a dog or other pet that is coming at arrival or dismissal, please leave your pet in the car or wait by the rocks with your pet for your child to come to you. We have students with allergies and different comfort levels about dogs and other pets.

Breakfast is available until 8:10 each day. Students will get their breakfast and then eat in their classrooms.

Thanks again for all of your help as we work to make arrival and dismissal a smooth process!

Hello my name is Benjamin Clark I am a scout in troop 611 based in South Burlington who is fundraising for a new sport equipment shed at Gertrude Chamberlin School for my eagle project. GCS will use this shed to store recess and PE equipment for outdoor learning experiences for our students. Below is the design of the shed that I plan to build. Please click the link to his Venmo profile. link to learn more if you would like to donate! I am also doing a can and bottle drive on Saturday, August 29th from 10:00 AM to 1:00 PM. Please feel free to drop off your cans and bottles, or call/text to arrange a pick up. Thank you!

TODAY, your kindergarten child will be coming home with a special scratch off postcard to find out who their homeroom teacher is, Mrs. Bahrenburg or Mrs. Preska! You can use a coin to scratch off the sparkly circle and reveal one of the teacher's photos! Placements will officially begin on Monday. I hope you enjoy this fun way of discovering which one of our awesome K classrooms your child will be in for the year! Here's what the postcard looks like - check your child's backpack!

At our South Burlington School District Convocation, awards were given out and we celebrated professional milestones of educators. Ms. Zimmer is our 2026 UVM Outstanding Elementary Teacher of the Year for our school district! Sally Zimmer has been an educator in South Burlington for 31 years and she was nominated and voted for this honor by the GCS staff. Ms. McGrath and Ms. Blanchard received their 30 year certificates and our School's Out Director, Allison Thomson received her 20 year certificate. Congratulations to these outstanding educators...we are grateful for their dedication and commitment to our GCS community!

What is the GCS PTO? The PTO's mission to enrich educational experiences of all students, to provide support and assistance to Gertrude Chamberlin staff and families, and to enhance the sense of community at the school through socialization events remains strong. The PTO families are working on fundraising events like the Fall Festival, movie nights, the gift catalog, and the Fun Run. These fundraising efforts help us fund field trips, playground upgrades, and many other enrichment opportunities for our children! Did you know that as a GCS parent, you are automatically a member of our PTO? Come join us as we support our children at GCS!

How can you find out more? Attend one of our meetings! Our meetings occur from 6-7pm in-person in the GCS library or online via Google Meet on the second Tuesday of each month (except December) from September-May. Our first meeting is September 9th. We hope to see you there!

Is there an easy way to help now? School pictures and on Thursday 9/17/2026 and Friday 9/18/2026 and we need your help! Volunteers assist the AMV staff with following the outline schedule and organizing the students for their pictures, and volunteers get 50% off of their photo purchase! Click on this link to sign up! https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0C45A8AD2CA5FFC43-65284533-picture

What's the next PTO event? We are once again hosting the Fall Festival! This year's festival will take place on Sunday, September 27th from 12-3pm. There will be a number of local food vendors to purchase including Black Forest Bakery, Crazy Cotton Candy Lady, Cub Scout hotdogs and chips, Matt Folts food truck, Texas Roadhouse , This.Sourdough, and Yum! Snow Cones. We will also have a photo area, inflatables, face painting, and lawn games! Our Fundraising efforts will include a 50/50 raffle and a silent auction! We will be asking for volunteers to help supervise the bounce houses! Be on the lookout for a sign up genius.

The GCS PTO uses Konstella to strengthen our school's sense of belonging and help families connect. This private, secure platform helps you get to know other parents and stay engaged. Whether you want to coordinate a playdate with a classmate's family or join a school committee, Konstella makes it easy to communicate and get involved.

With Konstella you’ll be able to:

• View PTO announcements and events.
• Access a school directory to connect with other parents.
• Easily sign up for volunteer opportunities.
• Message other families directly or in group chats.
• Choose your own notification and privacy settings

Joining is easy! It only takes a few minutes.

1. Download the Konstella app on your device.
2. Click on Register
3. Enter the invitation code: IY6J3Y
4. Check your email and tap Join

Existing Konstealla users-How to update your student’s teacher:

1. Open the App: Open the Konstella app on your mobile device.
2. Go to Settings: Tap the Gear icon (or your profile picture) in the upper-left corner of your screen.
3. Select Your Children: Tap on Your Children.
4. Choose Your Child: Tap on the name of the child whose teacher you need to change.
5. Update Classroom: Tap on the current classroom which will bring up all classroom teachers then select the new teacher/classroom from the provided list.
6. Save: Tap Back and then make sure to hit Done or Save to apply the changes.

Looking to label your child's clothing, water bottle, lunch box containers and other belongings? You can purchase labels from Mabel's Labels and earn money for our school! Mabel’s Labels tag mates are the perfect solution for your child's clothing, including outdoor gear! They are laundry-safe, peel-and-stick clothing labels that will keep your kids’ stuff out of the lost and found. Head over to campaigns.mabelslabels.com and search for our organization - South Burlington School District - Chamberlin PTO - to support us when shopping for your back to school labels.

The PTO has an awesome vendor for all of your SB gear needs! There are a variety of logos (see photo below) and items to choose from - you go online and pick your items and the logos you want on them, and then they will be shipped to your home for a flat fee of $4.95...and sometimes they run specials for free shipping! The PTO earns a portion of all sales which goes to support our school. This link will be open all year long, so you can order whenever you want! Click on the link below and get ready for our next spirit wear day!

South Burlington School District students have access to one complete reimbursable breakfast and one complete reimbursable lunch at school each day, FREE of charge.

Students who bring lunch from home can supplement their home lunch free of charge with a trip through the fruit and veggie bar as long as they take ½ cup of fruit, ½ cup of vegetables and a milk.

• Individual extra meal items and a la carte items, including "just" milk, fruit, juice do not count as a reimbursable meal and are not part of the Free Universal School meal program. If your student brings lunch from home and wishes to purchase "just" milk, juice or fruit, the cost is $.50 each. We are no longer using the online payment system, MySchoolBucks.

• Individual extra meal items and a la carte items may not be charged; a student must have funds in their account or pay cash at the register.

• All students will be assigned a pin # to be used for making a purchase from their lunch account. Don't worry! if your child can't quite remember their pin # yet, we can credit the account by name.

There are no community snacks or birthday snacks in our school, so please do not send in food on your child's birthday. Students are asked to bring in a daily snack and to follow any allergy guidelines that you received from Nurse Farrell and the classroom teacher. We also encourage healthy snacks and ask that you do not send in candy. We do not share snack or lunch items, due to allergies. For more information, please refer to the GCS Family Handbook.

We have some wonderful additions to Team Chamberlin for the upcoming school year!

Hello, my name is Linda Spellman and I am excited to be the new lunch room monitor! I worked in Nutritional Services for South Burlington schools for 9 years. My children went to GCS many years ago. In my spare time I enjoy doing crafts, painting and spending time with my 5 grandchildren. I look forward to meeting all of the students as they enjoy lunch in the cafeteria!

Hello! My name is Nicola and I am one of the new interventionists here at GCS! I graduated from the University of VT with a Bachelor's degree in Psychology. I have worked at a local daycare for about 3 years and have loved working directly with kids! In my free time I love to spend time outside gardening, swimming, or soaking up the sun. I also love reading and playing with my cats! I am so excited for this upcoming year!

Hi, I’m Julie Marshall, and I’m so excited to be joining GCS this year as the Howard Center School Services Clinician! I have a Bachelor’s degree in Writing, Literature, & Publishing from Emerson College; received my MAT in Secondary English Education from Boston University; and graduated with my MS in Clinical Mental Health Counseling from Vermont State University in May. I started my career in therapeutic education at Centerpoint School, supported neurodivergent college students for almost a decade, and most recently worked as a graduate intern clinician in Howard Center’s Early Childhood & Family Mental Health and Perinatal Support Services programs. I love working with children and families, creating a warm and safe space for children to learn and grow, and developing strong relationships with students and all the members of their team to support them both in and out of the classroom. Outside of school, I love to read, make music, take walks in the woods, and spend time with my family and friends in our beautiful state!

I'm Ms. Prescott and I am excited to join the GCS community! I am a Multilingual Teacher (ELL) and I have a Master's Degree in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages. I enjoy getting to know my students (they're always honest about how my French is!) and creating an encouraging space where they feel like they can do their best work. Outside of school, I enjoy skiing, kayaking, and visiting historic houses and castles.

Hi, I’m Melissa O’Brien, and I’m excited to be joining GCS this year as a Speech Language Pathologist in Pre-K! I am a Vermonter that received my Bachelor's degree from UVM and Master’s degree in Speech Language Pathology from Northeastern University. I have been fortunate to support communication with ages 3 through 90+ over the course of my career. Along with supporting communication, helping every child feel heard and feel a sense of belonging are core values of mine. I love language and books and have a passion for supporting literacy across all ages. Outside of school, I enjoy biking, reading, and spending time with my husband, daughter, son and new dog, Penelope. I’m looking forward to a great year and am excited to get to know the students, families and staff in the GSC community!

My name is Melissa Conchieri (I also go by Mrs. C) and I’m very excited to be joining the wonderful community at Chamberlin School as a Special Educator! I worked as a long-term sub Special Educator for 4th grade for the Colchester School District last school year while finishing my licensing program. Previously, I worked as a Certified Occupational Therapy Assistant for several years in that district and got to enjoy preschoolers through 5th graders! I have 2 teens at home and have had lots of experience as a parent of kids receiving special education (13 years' worth!). I work hard to build trusting relationships with my students and enjoy using student’s special interests to engage them! I enjoy skiing, biking, and live music! I can’t wait for the school year to begin!

Hello, I'm Annabelle Cressy, and I can't wait to be a part of the GCS community as a Special Educator this school year! I have my Bachelor's degree in Elementary Education and recently got my Master's in Special Education. I have worked with students in both preschool and elementary settings. I love creating a safe, inclusive and kind learning community where all students have the opportunity to thrive! Outside of school, I love to read, spend time outside, and do crafts. I am so excited to get to know the GCS community!

Hi, I’m Susmitha Cinthala, and I’m very excited to be joining GCS this year as a Paraeducator! I hold a Bachelor’s degree in Economics with a minor in History. I have worked as a business analyst and a private music teacher, teaching students of all ages. I enjoy teaching and have made a career shift to pursue this passion. I love creating a supportive, positive learning environment where children feel seen, heard, and encouraged! I enjoy hiking, baking, playing the violin, and connecting with others! I look forward to getting to know the students, families, and staff, and becoming a part of the wonderful GCS community!

Hi, I’m Lindsay McQueen, and I’m delighted to join GCS as a Paraprofessional! I have a Bachelor’s degree in Biology and a Master’s degree in the Science of Instruction. My experience working in schools spans math, science, and health education, all connected by my lifelong curiosity into the process of learning. Outside of school, I like to read, run, cook, and travel, especially if the travel includes seeing my 8- and 10-year-old nieces. I’m grateful to become part of the community and look forward to building connections with the students, families, and staff who make GCS such a welcoming place.

Hi, I am Kaitlyn McGrath and I am looking forward to working as a paraprofessional at GCS this school year. I have a Associates degree in Liberal studies at CCV Winooski. I have gained more and more experience working with kids over the past few years, and I am excited to see where this profession in education takes me. I am a former Chamberlin student, and last year, I was a recess monitor and substitute at GCS.

Outside of work I love being active, being outside, enjoying time with friends and family, traveling, and enjoying good food. I am very excited to meet the team, staff, students, and families who are all apart of the GCS community.

Hi, I’m Sara Colantuoni. I am excited to be joining the GCS community this year as an

Interventionist. I have a Bachelor’s degree in Liberal Arts and am currently getting my

Master’s degree in elementary education! Last school year, I worked for an after-school

program, and I am excited to take what I’ve learned into the classroom. I strive to create a

welcoming environment where all students feel safe to express themselves and

collaborate with their peers. Outside of school, I enjoy spending time in the mountains,

reading a good book, and spending time with friends and family. I’m looking forward to

working with and getting to know fellow staff members, as well as students and their

families

We are hiring for a few support positions for this year! Training will be provided for all new hires. Please contact me at hrussell@sbschools.net, (802)652-7403.

Recess Monitor - 3 hours a day, supporting recess. Starting pay is $19.28/hr. We are looking for someone 5 days a week, and also substitutes.

Lunchroom Monitor - 3 hours a day, supporting lunch periods. Starting pay is $19.28/hr. We are looking for someone on Wednesdays, and also substitutes.

Interventionists - Working with one or two students who have Individualized Education Plans with support from our Special Educators. This position comes with a comprehensive benefit package. Starting pay is $21.86/hour. We are currently looking for a full time interventionist, and a long term substitute interventionist to cover a maternity leave at the end of September.

Please go to https://www.schoolspring.com/ and search South Burlington School District or call 802-652-7403 if you are interested!

Rhythm & Reels – Lilo & Stitch: Join us for Rhythm & Reels on Friday, August 28 at Orchard School for a free evening of live music, family fun, food, and a movie under the stars! Enjoy live music from Ursa and the Major Key (6:30-8:00pm), dinner from Skinny Pancake, yard games, inflatables, and a free caricature artist before settling in for an outdoor showing of Lilo & Stitch at dusk (8:00pm). Bring your lawn chairs or blankets and enjoy a fun summer night with friends, family, and neighbors!
Link: Rhythm and Reels Sponsored by DR Power | South Burlington, VT

Color Fun Run - Get ready to get colorful at the SBRP Color Fun Run on Saturday, September 12 at 1 PM at Veterans Memorial Park, sponsored by Associates in Orthodontics! This family-friendly event features a fun one-mile loop with colorful stations along the way, plus a half-mile option for younger participants. After the run, stick around for a dance party, ice cream, inflatables, sand art, lawn games, and more.

Link: https://secure.rec1.com/VT/south-burlington-vt-recreation-parks/catalog?filter=c2VhcmNoPTQxNTMwMzM=

Bring the whole family to the historic Wheeler Homestead on Tuesday, September 1st, for farm-fresh BBQ, live music, and interactive back-to-school fun with kids' interactive games

Event Details

Location: Wheeler House / Wheeler Homestead, 1100 Dorset St, South Burlington, VT

Date & Time: Tuesday, September 1, 2026, 4:00 PM – 6:30 PM (with an additional date on Friday, September 25, 2026) RAIN OR SHINE under the big tent

Admission: Free and open to the public; food and meals are available for purchase to support the nonprofit.

Food & Highlights

Farm-to-Fork BBQ: Available to purchase for $18.

BBQ ribs OR chicken
Farm Fresh Ratatouille
Corn on the Cob
Tossed salad
Vegetable orzo salad

Kids Back-to-School Lunch Box Building Buffet: Available for $8

Kids learn about nutrition and a building a healthy meal, and then choose the items to build their own lunchbox (Includes a reusable container and fun, healthy lunchbox choices like fresh veggies, cheese, organic chicken or ham, local hard-boiled eggs, and wraps.)

Activities:

*Live music! *Interactive Kids' Games *Stroll the community gardens *Walk the nature trails

All in a beautiful outdoor setting backdropped by an expansive view of the Green Mountains

Click here for more information about this event! OR go to https://www.commonroots.org/event-details/kick-off-the-school-year-a-family-fun-bbq-with-fresh-lunchbox-inspirations-for-the-kids

South Burlington's Cub Scout Pack 678 is a place where all students in kindergarten through 5th grade can flourish and have fun. The program offers fun and challenging activities that promote character development, love of the outdoors, and physical fitness. Cub Scouting helps parents make the most of the time they have to impact the lives of their children.

We are having an Open House on Thursday, September 3rd where families can explore all our Pack has to offer. It will take place at Veterans Memorial Park from 6-7:30pm and will include bottle rockets, Gaga ball, and lots of other fun activities as well as a chance to learn more about Cub Scouting!

Email: hrussell@sbschools.net
Website: https://vt01819219.schoolwires.net/Domain/10
Location: Chamberlin School, White Street, South Burlington, VT, USA
Phone: 802 652 7403