SCS Community Newsletter

Dear SCS Families and Caregivers,

There were a number of memorable events this week for both students and the adults in our community.

The third annual SCS Readathon kicked off on Wednesday. That evening, the book swap gave dozens of kids free books to stimulate their imaginations throughout the next month of reading excitement. The swap was once again made possible by the organizers and families of the PTO and the support of our student leaders. About 60 students took part in the event with plenty of good books to go around.

On Thursday, all fifth through eighth graders bussed into Burlington to cheer on the UVM women’s basketball team. The energy at Patrick Gymnasium was contagious as was the excitement when some of our SCS students saw familiar faces and friends in the crowd of 3500 people. The Cats did not emerge victorious, but our students emerged with a stronger sense of community (and quite a few new t-shirts and mini-basketballs!).

Throughout the week, the warmer temperatures allowed middle schoolers to get outside for cross-country skiing and elementary students to continue working on the colorful igloo by the main entrance. Come check it out next time you’re in the building.

We love being able to share with you our highlights from the week. Your child(ren) also have their own celebrations and highlights. Ask your child some open-ended questions and stay curious. Given the focus on kindness and caring for the month of February. Try, “What is something you did to help another human today?”or “Where did you see kindness in your day?” We tried to model this in our middle level assembly on Wednesday, when students submitted shout-outs for examples of others modeling our values of taking care of ourselves, each other, and this place.

A few things to look forward to next week - Monday is the 100th day of school and the Virtual Storytime is Thursday evening. Tune in to hear bedtime stories read from our local “mystery readers.” Pajamas are strongly encouraged.

We hope you all have a safe and rejuvenating weekend. Stay warm if you can!

Jen, Brett and Antonia

The SCS Administrative Team

2/6&7 - 6-8 Gr Musical performance(s) at CVU Auditorium (see info below)

2/10 - PTO Monthly Meeting (6:00 - 7:00pm, Green team common space)

2/12 - SCS Spelling Bee (8:30am until done, SCS Library)

2/12 - 8th Grade Family Night (6:30 - 7:45pm, CVU Gym)

2/12 - Readathon Virtual Story Time (7:00 - 7:45pm)

2/17 - CVSD School Board Meeting (6:00 - 8:00pm, CVU)

2/19 - Winter Talent Show - Shelburne Shines (5:30 - 7:30pm, Charlotte Central School)

2/20- Readathon Character Day - Dress like your favorite book character

2/23-27 - NO SCHOOL - Winter Break

3/5 - Readathon Community Read - Ghost Boys (2:00 - 3:00, Green Team )

3/19-20 - NO SCHOOL - P/T Conferences & Eid Al Fitr

CVSD 2025-2026 Calendar

To sign up for the late bus for February 9-12, please sign up by 9:00 am Monday, 2/9 if you would like your student(s) to ride the late bus.

THIS IS THE ONLY WAY TO SIGN UP FOR THE LATE BUS.

If your student is signed up for the late bus, we expect they will be on the bus. Please notify the front office if there is an unexpected change in plans.

At CVU

Tonight - 7 pm

Saturday - 2 pm & 7 pm

Family friendly and a great way to beat the cold!

We are seeing an increase in flu-like symptoms including fever, headache, chills, body or muscle aches, cough, and sore throat—consistent with what’s being reported across Vermont and the country. We are also seeing some gastrointestinal illness.

When Should I Keep My Child Home?

Families often ask when it’s best to keep a child home from school. A good rule of thumb is to ask yourself: “Is my child ready to be a student today?” If your child’s illness would prevent them from being comfortable, engaged, or productive at school, staying home is the best choice. Keeping sick children home also helps protect the health of classmates and staff.

Please keep your child home if they have:

• Fever (100.4° or higher). Children should stay home until their temperature returns to normal for 24 hours without the use of fever-reducing medication.

• Excessive coughing that cannot be controlled with a drink of water or a lozenge.

• Vomiting or diarrhea. Your child should be able to eat and drink without symptoms for at least 12 hours before returning to school.

Ways to Help Protect Others:

• Stay home while sick to prevent spreading illness.

• Rest, drink plenty of fluids, and use fever-reducing medication if needed.

• Cover coughs and sneezes.

• Wash hands often.

• Improve airflow when possible by opening windows or using air filters.

• Wear a mask if you must be around others while sick.

If your child’s symptoms are not improving, please reach out to their healthcare provider. When calling or emailing your child out sick, we appreciate you sharing symptoms so we can help track trends within our school.

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact the SCS Health Office at 802-383-1108.

Thank you for helping keep our SCS community healthy and well.

We are just three days into the SCS Readathon, and we’ve already read more than 10,000 minutes. So far Ms. Emerson’s class is in the lead for K-4, and Mr. Madden’s class is in the lead for 5-8. Join this weekend and log your minutes to help us achieve our goal of 200,000 minutes as a school!

Book Swap Winners!

Thank you to all who attended the book swap on Wednesday evening. There were 601 letters and numbers in the jar. The winning guesser was Summer from Mr. Cadwell’s class with a guess of 592, winning a gift card to the Flying Pig Bookstore. The winner of the joke/riddle drawing is Maggie from Mr. Badillo’s class, winning a joke book. Congratulations!

Coming Up:

• Virtual Storytime Thursday, February 12 at 7 PM

Join us virtually on Google Meet https://meet.google.com/nic-nxqk-cbr for some bedtime stories with mystery SCS readers! Who will they be this year? Wear your pajamas if you like, and snuggle up for some fun read alouds.

• Community Read Thursday, March 5 at 2 PM

Parents, caregivers, and 5-8 students are invited to a community conversation around the book Ghost Boys by Jewell Parker Rhodes. Start reading now! Books are available to borrow in the SCS main office, the SCS library, and the Pierson library. Learn more at https://bit.ly/SCSCommunityRead2026

Quick Links:

• Register now directly in PledgeStar!

• Learn more about how the Readathon works!

• Get the full info packet!

Questions? Email: readathon@shelburnepto.org.

SCS sports registration is NOW OPEN for the 2025 - 2026 LATE WINTER (Volleyball) and SPRING (Baseball, Softball, Track & Field, and Ultimate Frisbee) season.

Registration will close on FRIDAY, February 20, 2026.

If you have a student interested in playing:

• co-ed volleyball (grades 6-8)
• baseball (grades 6-8)
• girls softball (grades 5-8)
• track & field (grades 5-8)
• co-ed ultimate frisbee (grades 5-8)

Volleyball will begin on Monday, March 2, and run through Friday, April 3.

Spring Sports will begin on Monday, April 6 and run through Tuesday, June 2.

Please complete our registration for SCS athletics and submit a Wellness Exam - Sports Participation Form. Student-athletes will not be allowed to participate until their registration and wellness forms have been completed and submitted.

The SCS Athletics website has all of the information for families.

If you have any questions, please reach out to Leigh Petrucelli, SCS Athletic Director.

On January 20, the CVSD School Board approved a $107.9M FY27 budget to support and operate the district. Voters will consider this budget on Town Meeting Day—Tuesday, March 3, 2026. You can also vote or absentee beginning Wednesday, Feb. 11, by requesting a ballot online at sos.vermont.gov/elections.

The proposed $107.9M budget carries forward the current year's level of services and programming into the 2026-27 school year, recognizing that further cuts to programs would affect the core mission of the district.

Learn more about the budget at www.cvsdvt.org/budget and at the upcoming informational meeting:

Virtual Community Budget Meeting

Monday, February 16 at 7 p.m.

Join via Zoom, Meeting ID: 287 287 5018, Passcode: cvsd11

Children entering grades PreK-8 who live in the towns of Charlotte, Hinesburg, Shelburne, St. George and Williston may exercise school choice. Our goal is to both allow options for families and also make balanced class sizes to provide a positive learning environment for all of our children. Processes for intra-district choice of school will be guided by the needs of students, space availability, and existing resources. Given this, we will work to meet as many families’ needs as possible. Guidelines and Application

The SCS PTO is excited to host our first-ever Shelburne Shines: A Winter Talent Show on Thursday, February 19, and we’d love for families to come cheer on our talented students and staff!

Tickets will be available at the door only.

To make the night a success, we’re looking for volunteers to help make the event run smoothly. Roles include tickets/front door, bake sale, stage wings, backstage and dressing room support and of course we’re also gratefully accepting donated baked goods — cookies, brownies, bars, cupcakes, or any favorite treats for our bake sale. If you’re able to help, please sign up here. Thank you for supporting our performers and helping bring this special night to life!

The Shelburne Food Shelf offers additional food for families and children during the upcoming February and April school vacation weeks as part of the Food Is In When School is Out (FIIWSIO) program.

WHAT'S NEW for February and April 2026 school vacations:
• There are more shopping dates and hours available to families
• There will not be a dedicated single shop prior to the vacation weeks for families.
• Specific hours for February school vacation FIIWSIO shopping are:

Tuesday, Feb 24 - 4pm to 7 pm

• Families who already signed up for DEC and NOV 2025 FIIWSIO are on our list of shoppers already.
• Families can sign up for regular shopping hours twice a month.

• Families already on our list of shoppers still need to sign up online for the specific date they select by going to the SFS website, shelburnefoodshelf@gmail.com then go to SIGN UP TO SHOP
• We WELCOME New families! New Families should Contact the Food Shelf and say they are interested in FIIWSIO (only requirement is to show proof of residency - such as a license, motel room key, utility bill, and the like - the first time you shop).

We look forward to seeing you and your children!

Each year, Shelburne celebrates longtime Town Clerk Colleen Haag's 35 years of outstanding service to the community via the Colleen Haag Public Service Award. The Award Team is now calling for nominations for the 2026 awardee.

Nominations must be made by a Shelburne resident. The Award Team will consider nominations based on the following criteria:

• "recognize one of its own" : The nominee should be a resident of Shelburne. However, the committee recognizes that some of Shelburne's volunteers live in neighboring towns, so exceptional volunteer service by those living outside the community will be taken into account.
• "someone who by his or her actions exemplifies the spirit of public service" : The nominee should be someone who values and exemplifies the values of our community.
• "who has shared his or her time, talent and energy for the betterment of our community" : The priority will be to select an individual who has volunteered their time, but others who have served in other capacities may be considered.
• "who inspires purpose, who drives lasting solutions, someone who makes a difference" : The nominee will most likely continue to serve the community by inspiring others.

The Award Team prefers nominations to be sent via email to HaagAward@gmail.com. If you do not have access to email, you may mail your written nominations to: Haag Award Team, c/o Shelburne Town Manager, P.O. Box 88, Shelburne, VT, 05482.

The deadline for submissions is February 9, 2026.

Please use the above criteria when nominating your candidate. Please also provide as many details about the candidate's contributions as possible, so that the Award Team has a complete understanding of the nominee.

The 2026 Colleen Haag Public Service Award Team is composed of the past three Haag Award recipients: Peggy Coutu, Pam Brangan, and Alice Brown.

For more information, contact the Award Team at: HaagAward@gmail.com

Open to all caregivers who live within the Champlain Valley School District—including families whose children attend CVSD schools, private schools, or are homeschooled. Please RSVP so we can plan for attendance and share any updates to the programming.

Purpose & Guiding Questions

This three-night series invites reflection on digital well-being and the role devices, social media, and gaming play in students’ relationships, communication, and daily lives. Grounded in curiosity rather than fear, we’ll explore practical family strategies that support kindness, empathy, and healthy boundaries—online and offline.

Guiding Questions:

• How do devices and social media shape young people’s relationships and well-being at different ages?

• What do young people need from adults to build healthy digital habits and boundaries?

Panel Discussion: Digital Well-Being & Youth Development

Tuesday, February 10th | 5:30-6:30 PM

Charlotte Central School Library

A moderated panel featuring local professionals in youth health and mental health. We’ll explore how devices and social media intersect with development and well-being, with an emphasis on practical insights and shared responsibility.

Panelists: To Be Announced.

Tools, Monitoring, and Partnership: A Practical Conversation

Wednesday, February 18th | 5:30-6:30 PM

Charlotte Central School Library

A practical session led by CCS educators (and caregivers) focused on family strategies and tools for guiding device use. We’ll explore partnership-based approaches that help adults model healthy habits and support kids with clear expectations and ongoing communication, including a look at the Bark Parental Control app.

Hosted by Howard Center’s School Services Program

No registration required. Everyone is welcome.
All sessions will include time for questions.

• Youth Substance Use – February 18 · 5:45–7:00 PM
• Improving Child–Caregiver Communication – April 16 · 5:45–7:00 PM

Check out the attached flyer!
Join all sessions by Clicking Here
Meeting ID: 835 1861 4607 Passcode: 760486

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