Preschoolers are exploring their new outdoor playscape in the rain this week after reading the book "Worm Weather", by Jean Taft! We hope to be spending time exploring our new space throughout each season of the year.

Miss Pam has done an amazing job in her second year at Walden of providing the students with so many healthy options for lunch and breakfast. This year, Miss Pam, with the help of the Food Service Director, Tanika Stewart, and Assistant Director, Emily Snodgrass, was able to get a new salad bar serving station that has taken things to the next level. The picture below is an example of the daily salad bar that is available to students on top of the main entree or sandwich. Students are loving the multitude of healthy choices on the salad bar and walk away with nutritious, loaded trays and full bellies!

Meet the Walden students on the St. J Raiders 7th and 8th grade football team. Players wore their jerseys to school the day before their rivalry game against Lyndonville. The Raiders are 2-1 on the season and according to Chris Douglas, "about to be 3-1!" When asked what their favorite part of football is, Chris responded "tackling people!", Camden Wendel said "hitting kids", Kaiden Willey thought "being a linebacker and tackling people is the best", and Camden Goguen said "being a lineman and tackling people". I think you can see a theme here! The boys all said they would encourage younger students to play football when they grow up, but make sure you have good endurance. A big highlight so far in this early season was a high scoring game vs. North Country that they won 58-55!

Pictured from left to right is Chris Douglas, Kaiden Willey and Camden Wendel.

During the first couple weeks of PE, we participated in team building games! In Cross the River, students had to get their entire team over the toxic river to the island with the same number of rocks as teammates. During Don’t Drop the Dog, students had to use their hands, elbows and knees to move a stuffed animal around the circle without dropping it or they had to start over again. These activities inspire students to strategize and think outside of the box as they be only way to accomplish the goal of the activity is to work together as a team and collaborate. There were definitely lots of laughs to go around!

The sound of the old Walden Star School bell from 1911 rang out and alerted students that we filled the fish tank and earned our first school-wide celebration of the year! This Friday, September 22nd, during the morning of our early release day, students will get to rotate around from station to station participating in fun and exciting activities to celebrate demonstrating our values of being Safe, Responsible and Respectful!

In the age of technology, choosing what’s best for children is becoming more and more challenging with some questionable content being available to anyone with access to the internet. Here are some alternatives that might be useful for your littles!

PBS Kids

PBS KIDS is committed to making a positive impact on the lives of children through curriculum-based entertainment. With a 360-degree approach towards learning and reaching children, PBS KIDS leverages the full spectrum of media and technology to build knowledge, critical thinking, imagination and curiosity. By involving parents, teachers, caregivers and communities as learning partners, PBS KIDS helps to empower children for success in school and in life.

Nick Jr.

Nick Jr. is a kids' entertainment app dedicated to making your little ones learn and play at the same time. The platform has some really exciting content to entertain and educate your kids. Designed specifically for toddlers and preschoolers, the app is free to use and works well with iOS and Android devices.

KiddZtube

KiddZtube is another remarkable platform for younger kids and teenagers to access informative online content ahead of YouTube. The app is loaded with a huge diversity of handpicked educational videos for teaching geometry, elementary English and Mathematics, colors, etc. The app is suitable for kids from kindergarten to 8th standard and works well with Android devices.

GoNoodle

The GoNoodle app is dedicated to all-round development of your kids, ahead of brain-teasing exercises and elementary concept practices. Your child can learn a variety of extracurricular activities, like dance, yoga, and workout exercises, such as stretching, deep breathing, etc. These can go a long way in improving your little one's physical and mental health.

Youtube Kids

YouTube Kids is a kid-targeted version of YouTube that features curated, ad-supported TV shows, music, educational videos, and user-created content. It's designed for kids preschool age to age 12 and is available as an app and a website. YouTube Kids allows you to create individual user profiles for each of your kids, so they can each log in and watch videos geared toward their age. One of the best features of YouTube Kids is the timer, which lets you set a limit (up to an hour) for your kids to play on the app.

Thanks to a grant we received last year, we were able to purchase an umbrella for our playground area to provide a little relief from the hot sun.

Sept 21: 3rd grade field trip to Harvest Hill Farm @ 1:30

Sept 22: Early release day (noon) for teacher in-service

Oct 6: No school, teacher in-service

Oct 9: No school, Indigenous Peoples Day

Oct 9: CCSD School Board Meeting 6pm @ Walden School

Oct 16: School picture day

Oct 25, 26: Parent-teacher conferences, sign up coming soon

Oct 27: No school

The Walden Community Library is open to the public during the school year! Open hours are Monday to Wednesday from 10 AM to 5:30 PM, and Saturday from 10 AM to 1 PM. We have a wide selection of children’s, young adult, and adult books to choose from, as well as free WiFi, free passes to parks and museums, and more. Story hour for young children and their caregivers is on Mondays from 10:30 to 11:30 AM, and includes songs, stories, snacks, and crafts. Information about a new adult crafting club is included below. See you at the library, located in the building behind the school.

Email: anthony.fontana@ccsuvt.net
Website: https://walden.ccsuvt.net/
Location: 135 Cahoon Farm Road, West Danville, VT, USA
Phone: (802)563-3000