Cougar Chronicle
October 3, 2025
Our students have been working hard on our school rules: We are safe, We are kind, and We are here to Learn AND they are working towards earning an ALL SCHOOL CELEBRATION. We will be having an all school meeting next Tuesday, October 7th to let them know what that celebration will be which is a.... Fall Decoration Day! BUT we need your help to make this happen! We are in need of:
- Lots of pumpkins
- Pumpkin carving tools (safe for kids)
- 8-10 haybales
- Adult Scarecrow clothes (will not be returned)
- Old sheets for ghosts
- Tootsie pops 6-7 bags (for small ghost treats)
- PLAIN Brown paper leaf bags (to fill and decorate)
- Candy Corn (6-7 bags) to mix with popcorn for a fun snack
- Paper towel or toilet paper rolls
If you are able to donate any of these items, please let Ms. Danielle know! You can send things in with your child to be given to their teacher, or drop things off at the front office. We need donated items by Monday, October 20th.
With your help we can make this first celebration a fantastic, memorable event that was well earned!!
Next week, she will be at Calais on Monday 10/6, Wednesday 10/8 and Friday 10/10
10/4 - The Heat is On: Friends of Calais Inaugural Chili + Cornbread Cook-Off and Contra Dance!
10/6 - Caregivers & Allies of LGBTQ++ Young People Meeting
10/6 - Full Moon Nature Walk
10/7 - Parent Advisory Team Meeting
10/8 - Open House at East Montpelier Elementary School
10/8 - Basketball Sign Ups Deadline
10/9 - Friends of Calais Meeting
10/10 - Fall Festival at East Montpelier Elementary School and Rec Fields
10/11-10/12 - Rail City Fan Fest
10/13 -Indigenous Peoples Day - No school
10/17 - Coffee and Conversations with the Superintendent @ East Montpelier Elementary
11/7 - Picture Day Retakes
11/13 - Friends of Calais Meeting
11/21- Coffee and Conversations with the Superintendent @ Rumney Memorial School
12/19 - Coffee and Conversations with the Superintendent @ Berlin Elementary
1/16 - Coffee and Conversations with the Superintendent @ Calais Elementary
The Calais Parent Advisory Team has met a couple of times already and there are many exciting opportunities being planned for this year. Be on the lookout for sign-ups and more information, but we are looking forward to great things happening this year. If you have any questions or would like to join the Parent Advisory Team, please let Jarrod know.
Our next meeting will be on Tuesday, October 7 at 5:30pm in the Library.
Friends of Calais is a volunteer-led organization, collaborating to design fun, engaging events and programs intended to foster closer bonds within the Calais community. Click here for more information and to see a list of all of their upcoming events!
The Heat is On: Friends of Calais Inaugural Chili + Cornbread Cook-Off and Contra Dance!
Saturday, October 4th, 5:30 - 8:30pm
Memorial Hall on #10 Pond (aka Mirror Lake)
207 G.A.R. Road, North Calais
$10 Suggested Donation at Door
Strict occupancy limits. Please arrive promptly and carpool.
Share your culinary talents for a good ol' fashioned family evening of dining and dancing in Memorial Hall during Fall Foliage Festival on Saturday, 10/4!
- 5:30 - 6:30 p.m. - Chili and Cornbread Cook-Off, judged by attendees. Winners will be announced when ballots are tabulated.
- 6:30 - 8:30 p.m. -Contra Dancing! Music by Joanne Garton and Emmett Stowell, Called by Amy Cann
Calling all chili and cornbread contestants!
Please register for the chili and cornbread cookoff HERE!
There will be prizes for the varied categories and we will award the Calais Chili and Cornbread Champions!
We ask that contestants in the chili and/or cornbread contest (yes, you may enter both contests) just please complete the form twice - once for each contest.
HERE are the steps:
1.) Register your entries in the respective category
2.) Bring your entry with anything to honor your culinary feats (i.e. crockpot to keep chili warm, the likes of any toppings to be included in your tasting - cheese, sour cream, green onion etc.)
3.) Deliver your dish(es) between 4:30 and 5pm. We will have a valet-like drop-off at the hall so entries can be anonymously set-up before the contest starts.
4.) Label your entry and please disclose any known allergens and spice level. (Milk, eggs, fish, shellfish - crustaceans/mollusks, tree nuts, peanuts, sesame, gluten and soybeans.)
5.) Friends of Calais will provide serving utensils, tasting cups and spoons for chili. Small plates and forks for cornbread. Napkins for all.
Your friends and neighbors will taste test and cast votes for:
- Best cornbread - both adult and youth divisions
- Best meat-based chili (homestyle or traditional)
- Best vegetarian chili
- Best specialty chili
- Best youth chili
- Best overall - "Calais Choice" - for both Chili and Cornbread (adult and youth divisions combined)
Join Friends of Calais and the Calais Trail Committee for another Curious Calais Nature Walk, this time at the Broadview Farm Trail to view the rise of the full "Hunter's Moon". Holly Weiss will lead us on a short hike to a big open area on top of a knoll with a commanding view. It will be a great place for viewing the full moon rise (weather permitting). Please park and meet at the northern trailhead on Blachly Road. Details and map at www.friendsofcalais.org/events/curious-calais-nature-walk-full-moon
We’re excited to announce that Calais Elementary will have a FIRST LEGO League (FLL) team this year! Phil Matheson and Luke Bennecker will serve as co-mentors, and we are looking for 4–5 more dedicated students (ages 9–16) to join. FLL is not just playing with LEGOs—it’s a hands-on challenge that combines robotics, research, and engineering. Team members must commit to 2–5 hours per week with meetings on Mondays at 4:00 PM at Calais and an additional weekend meeting added later in the season as we prepare for the December competition in Montpelier. If more students sign up than we have space for, we will hold a lottery and create a waitlist. Interested students should review the FLL challenge resources (linked below) and submit a short note about why they want to join the team. If your child is interested, please contact Phil Matheson at philej@gmail.com.
Hey Families!
It is hard to believe that basketball season is just around the corner. If you have a child who is interested in playing Basketball this season please register NO LATER THAN October, 8th 2025. If you sign up later than this we will do our best to place your player on a roster. Basketball Registration Link
Also, WE NEED YOU! It takes a village to make a successful sports season happen, so we strongly encourage you to volunteer this year! Things like Jamborees are something that can really support our sports program. There will be a preseason coaches/volunteer meeting for our recreational department to meet/greet and Brainstorm! Date time and location TBD.
Sara Howard, Athletic Director Rumney/Doty/Calais
Wood Splitting Queen Kindling
Phone: 1-802-224-6718
Just Basics is partnering with Calais Elementary School along with The Humanity & Justice Calais Coalition to assist families in the Calais area with weekly food and household essentials.
Families who are interested may contact Caroline Munroe at Just Basics through her cell at: (802)917-8164 or by email at caroline@justbasicsvt.org or feel free to stop by Counselor’s Office or Main Office at Calais Elementary School or email Ruth Frisenda at rfrisenda@u32.org if you wish to complete intake form to receive items.
