SCS Community Newsletter

Dear SCS Families, Caregivers, and Shelburne Community,

At Shelburne Community School, one of our most fundamental shared goals is to ensure every student feels a deep sense of safety, belonging, and connection. We know that real safety isn't just about physical security—it’s also about fostering the emotional and social well-being that allows our children to thrive as active learners and community members.

We know we can't do this work in isolation. As partners with you, our goal is to make sure every caregiver feels equipped with resources to support our students’ diverse needs—both inside the classroom and at home.

We are actively working to build a safe, supportive environment at school right now:

• State-Level Safety Standards: On a physical and procedural level, we follow comprehensive guidelines provided by the Vermont School Safety Center (VT DPS). This site highlights the state-wide training, emergency procedures, and protocols we use to handle a wide range of safety situations.

• Proactive Expectations & Bullying Prevention: Safety also means knowing how to treat one another. Right now, our student support teams are conducting our annual Hazing, Harassment, and Bullying (HHB) presentations. These conversations empower students by teaching them about our policies, defining respectful interactions, and reminding them of the many trusted adults in our building who are here to support them. We are grateful to have CVU students, including SCS alumni, coming to facilitate those presentations.

• Listening to Student Voices: To continuously understand and support every child’s experience, all PK–8 students will complete the CVSD Student Engagement Survey by the end of October. This quick self-assessment gives our educators crucial insight into how students are feeling across four core areas: Identity, Connection, Direction, and Proficiency. We use these results directly to deepen relationships and ensure every child feels engaged in our community.

Beyond what we do in the building, we want to share some resources, ideas, and conversation starters you can explore at home:

• Essential Needs & Community Support:

• Chittenden County Food Resources: A comprehensive list of free community food resources throughout the county, including location details, hours, accessibility, and eligibility.

• Connecting Youth: Local initiatives and programming dedicated to supporting healthy youth development and decision-making.

• Digital Safety & Home Environment:

• Be Smart for Kids: Practical guidance on secure gun storage and child safety at home.

• Common Sense Media: The premier guide for navigating age-appropriate movies, games, media, and technology with your kids.

• Emotional Resilience & Parenting Tools:

• Good Inside (Dr. Becky Kennedy): A fantastic overall parenting resource offering actionable strategies through podcasts, books, social media, and their app.

• What Actually Helps Young People's Mental Health: A thought-provoking perspective reminding us that building internal coping skills—rather than just eliminating stress—is the real key to fostering long-term resilience in kids.

We are deeply grateful for your partnership in making Shelburne Community School a place where every child can grow safely and feel like they truly belong. Please take a look at these links, use them as conversation starters at home, and know that our doors are always open if you ever need support or have questions.

In Partnership,

Jen, Brett and Tania

• 10/10 - Pancake Breakfast and Newbury Cup (SCS Cafeteria & Soccer Fields)
• 10/13 - Photo Makeup day
• 10/13 - Field Trip - Pinillos & Baird
• 10/13 - Lion's Club Vision Screening (Grades K,1,3,5,7)
• 10/14 - School Photo order forms due
• 10/15 - Field Trip - Nakhleh & Gramer
• 10/15 - Lion's Club Vision Screening (Grades K,1,3,5,7)
• 10/16 - Field Trip - West & Kozikowski
• 10/23 - No School - K-8 Parent/Teacher Conferences
• 10/26 - Field Trip - 5/6th grade
• 10/29 - Field Trip - Newman and Giles
• 10/30 - Field Trip - Reid & Moore

📸 Photo order forms are due back on Wednesday, October 14th

📸 Makeup Day is Tuesday, October 13th for any student who missed the first session or would like their portraits retaken at no additional charge. Please reach out via email to Jen Marx and your student's teacher to confirm they will be partaking in retake day.

📸 Online ordering offers the same print package & price options as the order envelope. However, there are additional tax and shipping costs when ordering online.

📸 Orders can be placed at https://V2.myproimages.com/amv-photography-2120 with your child's student ID# (found on the order form).
📸 Sibling Photo Day is on Sunday, November 15th from 9 - 11:00am in the SCS Breezeway
📸 Contact Jen Marx (jmarx@cvsdvt.org, 383-1102) with any photo day questions.

Wednesday was a great day for the annual 5-8 Mt Philo Hike!

Playing at recess fosters friendships!

Second graders in Ms. Megan's class adopted a cow (vitually!) and are looking forward to learning all about Penny this year. The Adopt a Cow Program is a free, year-long virtual interactive experience for classrooms, connecting students with local dairy farms through New England Dairy and the Dairy Excellence Foundation. Particpating classrooms get regular photo and video updates of an adopted calf, growth reports, farm-to-table curriculum (aligned with Common Core standards in Math, Reading, and Science), and a live virtual chat with the host farmer in the spring. Past and recent Vermont host farms include Laggis Farm, Gervais Family Farm, Daona Farm, and Lambert Farm.

• Sign up by texting, calling, or emailing the the Shelburne Food Shelf (contact information below).
• Please sign up before next Friday, October 16.
• When signing up, be sure to include the following:

1. Turkey, Whole Chicken, Vegetarian, or Halal
2. # of people in household
3. # children in household

• Pick up for Thanksgiving orders will be on Saturday, November 21. This is a special time to pick up pre-ordered Thanksgiving orders only.

Please note:

• Families are always invited to shop for other groceries during our regular scheduled shopping times which are the second and fourth week of each month on Tuesdays 5:00-7:00 pm, Thursdays 9:00-11:00 am and Saturdays 9:00-11:00 am.
• There is no income eligibility.
• Proof of Shelburne Residency is required.

Please contact The Shelburne Food Shelf with any questions.

We look forward to seeing you!

Shelburne Food Shelf Contact Information

Call or text 802-622-3313 (can use ext 1)

Email:shelburnefoodshelf@gmail.com

SCS has transitioned to Arbiter Registration, a new online athletics registration platform for families this year. This is the same platform that CVU has been using over the past 2 years, so many families may already be familiar with it. This is new, but once we get everything established, registration for Athletics will be a lot smoother!

• All families must complete an Arbiter registration for each student who plans to participate in SCS Athletics programs.
• Families should create one (1) Arbiter account for their household and complete a separate registration for each participating student.
• During registration, families can select the sports their student may be interested in playing throughout the 2026–2027 school year.
• Registration for SCS athletics only needs to be completed once per student each school year.
• Families may log back into their Arbiter account to review or update their student’s information and sport selections while registration remains open throughout the school year.

Here are two helpful links:

Registration link for SCS Athletics

A step-by-step guide to create an Arbiter household account