Superintendent's Message

Earlier this week I attended a conference hosted by the Vermont Superintendents Association and Vermont Association of School Business Officials. During these two days, we discussed the State’s new education funding formula modifications outlined in Act 127. Our Senior Director of Finance and Operations and I were able to meet with business officials and superintendents around the state to collaborate on how to best support our communities and work together as a state. We will continue to present our budget and provide all the context in our explanations of the budget numbers.

This WCAX clip has more general information about Act 127 that provides helpful information: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZpWR34Xtj98

I have been grateful for the opportunity to hear directly from community members at our recent Donuts and Discussion as well as the Public Budget Forum held during the school board meeting last night. If you haven't done so already, please consider filling out our Equitable Budget Survey by December 11th. The top priorities being discussed for FY25 are academic supports and school safety supports. I want to assure our community that our schools are safe. I feel confident in our crisis plans and our school and district safety teams. With the new requirements outlined in Act 29, and off the back of our safety audits with help from SBPD performed at each school, we are discussing the implementation of visitor management software and intercom upgrades.

We also had seven Vermont legislators attend the meeting to discuss issues impacting our district, Martin LaLonde, Chittenden-12; Emilie Krasnow, Chittenden-9; Kate Nugent, Chittenden-10; Brian Minier, Chittenden-11; Senator Ginny Lyons, Chittenden Southeast; Senator Tom Chittenden, Chittenden Southeast and Noah Hyman, Chittenden-8. We had a wide-ranging conversation that touched on school construction funding, PCBs, Act 127, vaping, firearm safety, school safety, and Pre-K. I appreciate the partnership with our legislators and thank them for taking the time to collaborate on school issues.

There are more opportunities to provide feedback as well as follow along throughout budget season leading up to Town Meeting Day in March. The Equitable Budget Feedback form allows you to provide thoughts on the budget. Please fill it out before December 11, 2023.

The full timeline for budget presentations is here, but highlights include:

December 20: School Board Meeting

Second presentation of FY25 Budget

January 3: School Board Meeting

Third presentation of FY25 Budget

January 10: Special School Board Meeting

Final date for board to adopt FY25 Budget

January 22: Steering Committee meeting

All School Board Meetings are held virtually or in person at 577 Dorset Street at 6pm. Zoom links are posted a week prior to the meeting and can be found at sbschools.net/schoolboard. All budget information and copies of the presentations will be available at sbschools.net/budget. As well, full recordings of school board meetings are available through The Media Factory Facebook and are posted on Thursday morning following the meeting.

Due to the driver shortage, we will have to begin rolling cancellations for certain bus routes. We know this puts an incredible burden on families to find alternative transportation, but hopefully, the advanced notice will provide more time than a day of cancellation. This is likely to continue on a rotating basis at least through the upcoming school vacation. We apologize in advance for the great inconvenience on the affected families and students.

Monday, December 11: There will be no service for Bus 10

Tuesday, December 12: There will be no service for Bus 30

Wednesday, December 13: There will be no service for Bus 20

Thursday, December 14: There will be no service for Bus 18

Friday, December 15: This is a late start/early release day and we do not anticipate requiring any cancellations at this time.

If you have any questions or concerns contact Kathy LaRock at klarock@sbschools.net or Sean McKenzie at smckenzie@sbschools.net. You can also visit the Transporation Dashboard for updated information.

Tim Jarvis, Sr. Director of Finance and Operations, will be meeting with Green Mountain Transit and City leadership to discuss a partnership where our older students could be bussed by GMT, as has been implemented in Burlington. We’ve reached out to GMT in the past and they have not been able to modify their routes due to driver shortages, however, they will be modifying rider requirements in the near future and may benefit from having student riders. As this partnership develops, I will provide updates on what to expect.

As I mentioned in my last newsletter, over the next several weeks, students and teachers will be asked to reflect on their experiences in school in online surveys with our tool, Panorama. Additionally, to better understand the needs of our community at large, we are asking families to also participate.

From December 4th- December 22nd families can respond to a Social Emotional Learning survey about you and your students’ experience with school. This 15-20 minute online survey will help inform us on a systemic and individual school level of how to best support students and families socially and emotionally.

Below are the survey links. Please fill out one survey for each building your student attends. For example, if you have two students at Orchard, just fill Orchard out one time. If you have one student at Orchard and one at the High School, please fill in both Orchard and the High School.

Gertrude Chamberlin School

Orchard

Rick Marcotte Central School

Frederick H. Tuttle Middle School

South Burlington High School

SouthPoint Program (High School)

(Teachers and Staff: Please do not use these links. You should receive a link from your building administrator.)

I have multiple children who are enrolled in the South Burlington School District. Do I have to take multiple surveys?

If you have students in multiple buildings, we ask that you fill in multiple surveys to capture the unique experiences of each school.

What if I don’t want to take the survey? What if I don’t want my student to take the survey?

If you choose not to take the survey, no need to respond to the link via email. If you do not want your student to be surveyed, please let their classroom teacher or building administrator know.

Is the survey anonymous?

Yes, the family survey is anonymous meaning that there is no way to identify what you responded to in the survey.

Who can I reach out to with questions?

You are welcome to contact Monica Desrochers, the Director of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, Anti-racism and Social Emotional Learning at mdesrochers@sbschools.net or your students’ building administrator.

As we head into the winter season and the weather that it brings, you can familiarize yourself with how the decision for school closures is made here. Please also make sure all your information is up to date in PowerSchool so you can receive notifications for school delays and closures, as well as changes to bus routes.

Last night, Orchard hosted a talk on technology use in adolescents. Social Emotional Learning coach Abby Hill-Armell and School Counselor Kristen Billings went above and beyond in putting this event together, organizing transportation for folks, and providing childcare and food.

In addition, Abby and Kristen are also co-leaders of the Student Leadership Council, or SLC, and help connect the students with resources to accomplish their goals. The group includes 25-30 students who are all working on their own passion projects to make our school a better place. Their projects cover a wide range of topics including holding a food drive for Feeding Chittenden, organizing student leaders to act as mentors to our younger students, advocating for ways to elevate student voice and collect student feedback, working to share ideas for after-school clubs that would bring opportunities to all of our students, and organizing a school spirit week centered around kindness.

Thank you Abby and Kristen for being such wonderful advocates for your students and their families and for being such valuable presences at Orchard.

meeting last night. It is always an important reminder, especially during budget season, to see students

Directed by Aimee Bushey and accompanied by Lindsey Rusnock, a UVM Student Intern for Music Education, these students gave an amazing performance including a very impressive interpretation of the Spice Girls’ Wannabe.

12th Grade:

Earl Aguila

Hawthorne Hughes

Katie Ford

Kenyon Smith

Braden Paquin

Simon Hall

11th Grade:

Sophie Warren

Audrey Warren

Ashton Kinney

10th Grade:

Gretchen Wertlieb

Molly Leavey

Max Frostman

Peyton Borick

9th Grade:

Natalia DelleChiaie

Gracie Martin

Leola Vantine

Aidyn Peters-Smith

Levi Duteau

Evie Lorentz

Libby Gabel

Kairi Lawler

Cedric Minier

If you would like to hear them in person (which I highly recommend), the High School Chorus Concert is on Sunday, December 17 at 2:00 pm in the SBHS Auditorium, and the Middle School Chorus Concert is on Tuesday, December 19 at 7:00 pm in the SBHS Auditorium. Both of these performances are free and open to the public.

Also, the VT Chapter of the American Choral Director’s Association is once again sponsoring the annual Madrigal Festival which features chamber choir performances from 19 Vermont High Schools with a combined choir of approximately 300 student voices under the direction of Dr. Andrea Maas, UVM as the finale to the evening. This performance is open to the public and tickets at the door are $8 Adults, $6 Students/Seniors, $20 for a family of 3 or more. The performance is tomorrow, December 8, at the Universalist Unitarian Society of Burlington beginning at 7:00pm.

Know a student who deserves to be spotlighted? Fill out this form.

And thank you to the SBHS students who helped with moving in supplies to the ZEMs!

Regina Palmer

Gage Larkin

Savana Ploof

Alonzo Butts

Channing Marshall

Earl Mugerwa

Deshano Tomblinson

Grady Brownell

Emmy McCaffrey

Saroura Britt

Spencer Higgins

Evie Lorentz

Aidyn Peter-Smith

Claire Cowan

Congratulations to all three of our elementary schools and Principals Lissa McDonald, Holly Rouelle, and Mark Trifilio and Assistant Principals Chris Shackett and Olivia Kane for having their schools recognized during the Annual Vermont PBIS (Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports) Leadership Forum in October as well as receiving congratulations from Vermont’s Interim Secretary of Education.

The World Language Wolf Pack held its second Japan Fest. Events like these contribute to diversity in our local community, raise awareness of global communication, and promote language learning. The participating students created holiday cards after sampling some sushi.

In addition, the language department received the official approval notification for their event grant application from the Japan Foundation Los Angeles. Thanks to this $1,000 grant, they will be able to continue Japan Fest with the collaboration between SBHS/FHTMS World Languages Department and the UVM Japanese program, Champlain College Japanese program, TIE Japan alumni, and their sister school in Japan. Special thanks to Sinyoung Ra Evans and Fiona Connors for helping with this event!

The Rotary Club of South Burlington is holding its 7th Annual Ugly Sweater Fun Run on December 10th from 10 a.m.-1 p.m. at FHTMS.

The beneficiaries of this annual fundraising event are the Rotary Club of South Burlington’s local charity initiatives, including the Rotary Band Shell at Veterans Park, the South Burlington Food Shelf, Little Libraries in Recreation parks, and the annual distribution of dictionaries to all 4th-grade students as well as many worldwide and national efforts by Rotary International. They also partner with the South Burlington Academic Boosters Fund. Academic Boosters support both students and teachers who seek to engage in extended learning opportunities. A new partner this year is the Champlain Housing Trust which supports the people of Northwest Vermont and strengthens their communities through the development and stewardship of permanently affordable homes and related community assets.

They encourage you to come out for a day of fun and exercise while proudly wearing your tackiest, craziest, and UGLIEST sweaters. Bring the whole family! Participants will enjoy complimentary food and beverages, a snapshot from our photo booth, face painting, and a commemorative gift! As always, prizes will be awarded to the Ugliest Sweaters!

NEW Entrance fee: $25 for Adults (18+) / Free for ALL under 18

To register, visit the Rotary Club of South Burlington website: https://www.southburlingtonrotary.org/

Our wonderful art teachers are having an art show! The show is opening on October 26th and running through January at The Gallery at City Hall. Be sure to stop in and support our art educators!

The district is hiring! Please follow the links to read the full descriptions for these roles.

Long Term 3rd Grade Substitute at Orchard

Director of Operations

Fiscal Coordinator

Bus Drivers (and Bus Aides)

Training available obtain Commercial Driver's Licenses to eligible candidates, full and part time positions available as well as van drivers and bus monitors

Interventionist (Rick Marcotte)

Interventionist (Orchard)

Interventionist (Chamberlin)

Special Ed teachers:

Frederick H. Tuttle Middle School

Lunchroom:

Middle School

Elementary

Traffic Monitors

Substitute Teachers

Full job descriptions are available on School Spring. If you have questions on hiring processes or on employment, please contact Elissa Galvez, Employment Specialist, egalvez@sbschools.net (802) 652-7247.

Thank you for reading!

Violet

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