The Swoop Scoop

The Jumping Beans began in 2013 as a way to bring kids together in celebration of jumping rope skills, community and performance. This group forms every spring and consists of 4th grade students selected randomly from each classroom. The group rehearses twice a week for four weeks and collaboratively puts together a jump rope routine for the school. In honor of 10 years of Jumping Bean performances, a new t-shirt design challenge among the fourth grade students recently took place, with each student voting on their favorite design. Congratulations Isabelle Koblin - New Jumping Beans Logo Design Winner!

Tomorrow, our grades 1-4 learners and educators are headed on a walking field trip to MHS. There they will be joined by RVS learners, to all watch and listen together, as The Vermont Youth Philharmonia performs a special show for us. The VYP will perform Beethoven -- Symphony No. 5 Finale, arr.Leidig, Yukiko Nishimura -- Water Reflections, Rupert Gregson-Williams -- Wonder Woman arr. Lopez, and Marcia Stockton -- Prairie Dawn. Along with these selections, there will be a sprinkling of demos of the instruments for students to see as well. We are so excited for this wonderful enrichment opportunity.

COME SEE Once Upon A Wolf Friday, April 7th at 6pm on the Union Elementary School Stage. Tickets are by donation and all are welcome! Once Upon A Wolf is a 50 minute children's theater production including favorite fairy tales such as Little Red Riding Hood, Jack and the Beanstalk, and Androcles and the Lion. Presented by the Montpelier High School Acting Performance and Technical Theatre classes and shown to UES students during school on Friday, we are hosting an evening show for the community. We'd love to see you there. Doors will open at 5:40 for seating.

Many Wise Owls have been able to reunite with some of their lost items over the last few weeks but we still have many items looking for their owners. Please stop by UES if you are missing something. We will be DONATING all remaining items over April break as part of our 3 times per school year donation cycle (as mentioned in our handbook).

This year the PE Department will host our annual Family Fitness Night once again. This Spring, get ready to move through 4 stations focused on the components of fitness: cardio-respiratory, muscle strength/endurance, stretching, and a nutrition station. This year's event will be held on Thursday, May 18th from 5:00-6:30pm at UES. We can't wait to see you there!

The UES Caregivers Alliance (UESCA) is a collective of caregivers who support a welcoming, inclusive UES community. We provide support for all caregivers, educators, staff, and family-centered school activities. You can access UESCA materials and notes on our webpage, here. Have a question or need? Have an idea you want to share? Email us at ues.families@gmail.com.

March 23 Literacy Discussion & Committee Meeting Notes

Thank you to everyone who attended the March 23 literacy discussion! Click here for the full notes of the discussion. We met with Principal Barea and Curriculum and Technology Director Mike Berry Monday and hope to hold a follow-up event in the coming weeks. Stay tuned for more details! If you would like to be involved in ongoing discussions, email us at ues.families@gmail.com. To read our monthly updates/notes, click here. Our next meeting will be April 20 at UES and through Google Meet.

UES LOVES BOOKS is almost here! April 18-21

This year, UES Loves Books (our annual celebration of books & stories) will be in person! In collaboration with Bear Pond Books and using a grant from the Vermont Humanities Council, every learner will receive a free book from a diverse selection curated by Bear Pond Books. UES students will also have a visit from an award-winning guest author (announcement coming soon). Caregivers will be essential to the success of this event as we will need volunteers to help set up, oversee the fair during the school hours, help students select their books, etc. Volunteers will need to have MRPS Level 2 clearance. Stay on the lookout for the volunteer sign up. Contact ues.families@gmail.com for more information.

UESCA community event: Bingo Night

Come play bingo and eat ice cream! We are planning to bring back this fun community event in May and are looking for a few more volunteers, including someone to help assign tasks as the event nears. If you would like to volunteer, contact ues.families@gmail.com.

Staff Appreciation. Opportunities still available to participate!

UES staff are amazing! Let’s thank them for their hard work. A few caregivers have signed up to organize the annual breakfast for Teacher Appreciation Week on May 8. Sign up here if you can contribute: UES teacher Apprecition Breakfast Monday, May 8th, 2023

And there will be one more appreciation event in June. Follow this link to sign up & help out! Remember that spontaneous and simple acts of kindness (a short email, a thank you card) are all ways to show your appreciation for all their hard work.

The MRPS Board of School Directors is meeting Wednesday, April 5, 2023 at 6:30pm. 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

Email: katiebarea@mpsvt.org
Website: mrpsvt.org/ues
Location: 1 Park Ave, Montpelier, VT, USA
Phone: (802)225-8200