UES Swoop Scoop
September 5, 2023
MRPS & The Equity Leadership Group
MRPS has partnered with The Equity Leadership Group to conduct an equity audit of our current systems and we want to hear from YOU! Please visit https://www.mrpsvt.org/diversity-equity-and-inclusion to learn more about the audit and two opportunities for caregiver and community member participation: attend a focus group in person or virtually on Thursday, 11/2 or Friday, 11/3 (please RSVP!) and/or complete an anonymous survey.
LETRS Training at UES - Update!
First a quick refresher from the August 28th Swoop Scoop about what LETRS is:
LETRS is a professional development course of study for instructors of reading, spelling, and related language skills. LETRS is NOT a literacy curriculum. It provides knowledge and tools that teachers can use with any good reading instruction. LETRS contains:
In-depth knowledge based on the most current research regarding what, when, and how language skills need to be taught
Ways to assess student language development for prevention and intervention
Guidance on how to plan and balance word recognition and comprehension instruction
Information on how to differentiate instruction
UES is adopted a collaborative training model, in which faculty will engage in this work alongside their colleagues on a weekly basis.
Educators at UES have recently completed Unit 1 of their LETRS training and we are already seeing this training have an impact on teaching strategies across the building. Every Monday afternoon, classroom teachers, special educators, literacy interventionists, multilingual educators and speech language pathologists have been meeting in Collaborative Teams to complete an asynchronous lesson. Unit 1 was about the Challenge of Learning to Read. Throughout 8 sessions, educators took a dive into the following topics:
- #1 Why Is Reading Difficult?
- #2 How Are Language and Literacy Related?
- #3 What Does the Brain Do When It Reads?
- #4 What Skills Support Reading Proficiency?
- #5 How Do Children Learn to Read and Spell?
- #6 What Are the Major Types of Reading Difficulties?
- #7 How Can Assessment Be Used For Prevention & Early Intervention?
- #8 How Can Assessment Be Used to Differentiate Instruction?
Curious to hear more? Be on the look out for the next, MRPS "In The Schools" Podcast!
MRPS PIE New Executive Director
MRPS PIE (Montpelier Roxbury Partners in Education) is excited to announce that we have hired our first Executive Director! Vic Guadagno is our new Executive Director. He will work to better build the organization's day to day operations, support the MRPS PIE Caregiver groups, build and support the MRPS PIE Board, be a strong advocate for our students and develop a strong fundraising strategy.
Here's a bit about Vic:
Victor Guadagno is an Emmy-award winning producer and founder/managing director of the media non-profit, Bright Blue Ecomedia. He holds a BS in industrial engineering from Northeastern University and an MS in leadership for sustainability from the University of Vermont. He produces the Bordertown podcast, which recently turned its attention to stories of the Central Vt. flood and the rebuilding effort. The father of a MSMS 8th grader, he is excited about contributing to the wellbeing of our community and school district, with a particular focus on storytelling and ecological design.
To learn more about MRPS PIE check out the following website:
Or email Vic at ed@mrpspie.org
News From Nurse Megan
The updated Covid vaccine 2023-2024 is slowly becoming more available at pharmacies, primary care practices and some vaccine clinics. It is recommended for children age 6 months and up. Below are dates of three Covid and Flu vaccine clinics that are walk in only. They are put on by Waterbury Ambulance:
November 8th: 4:00-8:00pm Spaulding High School
November 18th: 9:00am-4:00pm Montpelier High School
November 19th: 9:00am-4:00pm Harwood Union High School
For more information on the clinics see this website:
https://www.waterburyambulance.org/vaccinations.html
Vision screening will be happening for the rest of October and November. I will be doing vision screening on preschool, Kindergarten, 1st, and 3rd graders. If your child is in 2nd or 4th grade and you would like their vision screened, please email Nurse Megan at Meganspaulding@mpsvt.org. The SPOT screener is an accurate screener that can be used on all children including the very young and non-verbal children. It is non-invasive and screens the child at a distance of three feet. It generally takes only a few seconds. The SPOT screener can detect several vision problems. If your child does not pass the vision screening, you will get a phone call and a letter in the mail. If your child passes, then you will not be notified.
Annual Family Support Fund - Please Donate and/or Share
Every year, the MRPS PIE community raises money to directly support families in the Montpelier Roxbury School District. This is a meaningful way for neighbors to support neighbors and to share the love during the cold days ahead.
Our goal this year is to raise $10,000 by December 8th! If you can help, please donate here. And consider sharing this page - on social media, email, or any way you can! You might share with friends and family who live out of state, as our community has been supporting one another throughout the flood recovery, and while the need is greater, the resources may be depleting.
The Future of MRPS Facilities
MRPS has partnered with TruexCullins to conduct a robust community engagement process and help the district assess future options and opportunities for the facilities within our school district. We are hosting two community workshops in the coming months to gather thoughts from our community. Please visit www.mrpsvt.org/future to learn more and to RSVP to attend. Childcare will be provided at the workshops.
News From UESCA
The UES Caregivers Alliance (UESCA) is a collective of caregivers who support a welcoming, inclusive UES community. If you are a caregiver of a UES student, you are a UESCA member! We provide support for all caregivers, educators, staff, and family-centered school activities. You can access UESCA materials and notes on our webpage, here. Most of our coordinating activities are done through our Slack channel, which is open to all. This year, we will periodically meet in person to coordinate specific events and activities. Have a question or need? Have an idea you want to share? Email us at ues.families@gmail.com.
Coordinating Meetings-October Notes & Next Meeting
At our October 26 coordinating meeting, we discussed the results from our school year priority survey (details below) and next steps for planning upcoming fun, free, family events and advocating on behalf of all caregivers. You can read the brief notes here (the most recent meeting notes are at the top of the page). Our next meeting will be on November 30, from 6:30-7:30pm in the UES cafeteria. We’ll focus on food coordination for this year’s Lip Sync event (January 19). Childcare is available. All are welcome. If you can’t make it, but would like to join in coordinating activities, join our Slack channel.
Caregiver School Year Priorities
Based on your feedback, UESCA will be focusing on four (4) areas this 2023-2024 school year:
Advocating on behalf of families and students
Organizing staff appreciation activities
Coordinating free, fun community events for UES families
Funding programs and supplies for kids during the school day (in coordination with the school)
UESCA will be open to any emerging issues and opportunities throughout the year. Want to support or lead these efforts? This could be baking something for a staff appreciation event, volunteering for one of the fun events or bringing supplies to school. Email us at ues.families@gmail.com or join our Slack channel. Thank you!
November Kindness Club
Kindness Club Returns! Kindness Club at UES is a group that meets once a month on Wednesdays after school from 3-4pm in the school library. Our mission is to spread kindness throughout our school community, and beyond. We start each meeting with a light snack, and discussion, and spend the rest of our meeting time engaged in a kindness project. Learners sign-up for each individual meeting that they are able to attend.
Any student in 2nd-4th grade is welcome to attend. Sign Up Here for the November 15th meeting.
Join the 2023-2024 MRPS Caregivers Council
Join the 2023-2024 UES Caregivers Council
If you are interested in becoming a member of The UES Caregiver Council, please take a moment to fill out this form.
Meeting Information
For the 2023-24 school year, all meetings will occur on the first Wednesday of each month from 11:00am-12:00pm. Meetings will be held at UES in the Conference Room. Meeting dates for the 2023-24 school year are: 11/1, 12/06, 1/03, 2/07, 2/15, 3/06, 4/03, and 5/01.
Next MRPS School Board Meeting
The MRPS Board of School Directors is meeting Wednesday, November 1, 2023 at 6:30pm at MHS. Everyone is welcome to attend. Find the meeting agenda, minutes from past meetings, information about the work of the various School Board Committees, and more by visiting www.mrpsvt.org/school-board