Shoreham School Family Newsletter

Dear Shoreham Families & Community,

First, we wanted to give a big THANK YOU to those who came to our community meeting this week. It was a great chance to connect, answer questions and brainstorm ways to move forward. If you didn't have a chance to attend this one, no worries! We will schedule another in the nearby future.

Also, Matthew & I want to invite feedback from the community as we develop a shared discipline belief statement to help build a unified approach to addressing misbehavior at school.

As mentioned before, ACSD, and specifically Shoreham School is re-centering our efforts to renew Responsive Classroom practices. Responsive Classroom is a student-centered, social emotional learning approach to teaching and discipline. It offers this definition of discipline:

Discipline is the way in which kids are taught self-awareness and self-control.

The next step in our process is now crafting a shared discipline belief statement. This statement will guide the practices and procedures we develop to support students’ learning at school. We recognize that there are diverse views about discipline in our classrooms, school, and at home. We believe that a shared belief statement will ensure the systems we develop are responsive to our students’ needs and community values.

Together as a staff We now invite families to inform our shared discipline belief statement. We hope you too will take the time to fill out this survey: https://forms.gle/KBrzj9yU7ANKtJhQA by Friday, March 1st Thank you for your contribution.

Link to survey: https://forms.gle/KBrzj9yU7ANKtJhQA

Looking forward to hearing from you and have a GREAT BREAK! We hope you can relax, spend time with family and find joy.

Jenny & Matthew

For the month of February, SES students will be participating in Kindness Month! Each day there will be a challenge for classes to try, as well as activities and books to explore. More info below about how to participate at home!

Did you know that all children in Addison County from birth through age 5 are eligible to receive a free book each month?

Hello! My name is Heather Stafford and I’m a volunteer who works with Addison County Readers, your local affiliate for the Dolly Parton Imagination Library.

Dolly Parton's Imagination Library is a book gifting program that mails a free book every month to eligible children from birth to age 5. Inspired by her father’s inability to read and write, Dolly started the Imagination Library in 1995 for the children within her home county in East Tennessee. Today, the Imagination Library operates in participating communities across five countries.

To participate, each community must have a local non-profit affiliate to enroll children and cover the wholesale cost of the books and shipping fees. Addison County Readers is your local affiliate. If you live in Addison County your child is eligible to receive one free book a month from birth to age 5. This effort allows all children in the county to build their own free library so that all families can read together with their children.

Enrollment is quick and easy and can be done through a paper form which is available through your school office, or via an online form (English version) (Spanish version).

If you have a child in your household age 0 - 5 or know of a child in Addison County in this age range I hope you’ll encourage them to enroll in this program. I’d also be happy to speak with anyone about the program and can be reached at hstaffo@gmail.com. Thanks so much for your time and happy reading!!

Shoreham Congregational Church:

Restorative Justice Publicity

What is Restorative Justice? It is an item found on the ballot at many town meetings in Addison

County, one of a list of local organizations asking for funds. But what does it do and whom does

it help?

Its goals are to provide an opportunity for program participants to fully appreciate the impact of

their offenses and behaviors, so that they can develop empathy for victims and the community.

Some of its programs include Court Diversion, Reparative Panel, Conflict Resolution, Victim

Services, and much more.

Jean Stone, the Executive Director of Addison County Restorative Justice Services, will

explain the program more fully at 2 PM on Saturday, February 17, 2024, at the Shoreham

Congregational Church. Everyone is welcome to attend this free program. Come learn more

about this program that you will be asked to vote on at your town meeting.

Shoreham Athletics

March Activities

Molly Kerr – Shoreham Recreation Director – Shorehamrecdeptvt@gmail.com – 802-558-2977

Pre-registration required & there will be a cap on the number of

students allowed per group.

 Masonic Hall 2/28 & 2/29 from 5pm-5:54pm

 Waiver and Fee due prior to first class.

o Waiver can be sent home at Shoreham School, emailed to you,

or picked up at ARK Shoreham afterschool/ARK Whiting

Childcare

o Payment options: Check, Cash, Venmo – Shoreham Athletics

Coach Neon

Grade: Kindergarten-2nd grade Dance

Date/ Location: Every Wednesday in March- Shoreham Elementary Gym

Time ; Price: 4:30-5:15pm $30

Coach Neon

Grade: 3rd -5 th grade Cheer/Dance

Date; Location: Every Wednesday in March- Shoreham Elementary Gym

Time; Price: 5:30-6:30pm $40

Coach Larissa

2 years-4 years Dance/POM

Date ; Location: Every Thursday in March- Shoreham Elementary Gym

Time; Price: 5-5:45pm $30

Shoreham Congregational Church Publicity Voter Information Panel

Each year at Town Meeting in several Addison County towns, local organizations seek funding.

from the towns. Generally, the only information available to the voters at Town Meeting is the

name of the organization and the amount of money requested. Some organizations are well-

known, while others are not.

This year the Shoreham Congregational Church is hosting a Voter Information Panel, and invited

these organizations to give a brief overview of their work in advance of Town Meeting. This

Voter Information Panel will be held on Saturday, February 24, 2024 at 1 PM

at the Shoreham Congregational Church, 28 School Rd, Shoreham, VT.

Several of the organizations have accepted our invitation to provide more. information about

their work in our communities. They will give an oral presentation, and may also have printed

materials available, as well as opportunities for volunteers.

Many of these organizations work across Addison County, and may be on the Town Meeting

Ballot in your town. This is an excellent opportunity to learn more about them. This event is

free and open to the public.