Dear Families,

Spring is here! 🌷🔆 Afternoons are bringing sunshine and great energy in our after-school programs. Girls on the Run have been training for several weeks now, and Finding Our Stride did their color bracelet run last Monday to kick off the season. Garden Club starts on Wednesday, April 30, and we still have some spaces available in the Wednesday session. (Sign up here.)

We are looking for volunteers to help with set-up and pizza pick-up at our last two SPARK Community Science Nights of the year, including this Wednesday, April 30! Details and sign up here.

Finally, we have been preparing for several months for our Better World Day celebration on Friday, May 2. We hope you can join us! Check out the information and RSVP below!

Have fun and stay safe,

Amelia Donahey

Principal

4/30: Picture Day; SPARK! Community Science Night, 5:30-6:30 (pizza at 5:00)

5/2: Better World Day - Families Invited, see below to RSVP!

5/28: SPARK! Community Science Night, 5:30-6:30 (pizza at 5:00)

5/29: Spring Concert 5:30-6:30pm

6/16: 5th Grade Celebration 1:30-2:30

6/17: Step Up Day

6/18: Field Day

Please join us!

• 9:30-10:30 Whole School Puppet Show Performance
• 10:30-12:30 Lunch and button-making
• 12:30-2:00 Service learning workshops
• 2:00-2:30 Closing circle

If you are a registered volunteer and would like to assist in one of our afternoon workshops, please sign up here.

Are you able to pick up pizza or set up tables for Science Night this month or in May? If so, please sign up here!

Congratulations to Nalah Taylor, Carter Potwin and Noah Potwin, who presented to the Hartford School District Board of Directors this week about the OQS Wolf Way! They were among 7 students that the 5th grade teachers nominated as exemplary leaders of Den Meetings within their own classes. During the presentation, they showed amazing courage and perseverance. Congratulations! Check out their entire presentation here, and view our fourth graders' Wolf Way testimonies below. (All the testimonies are entirely student written.)

Teacher & Staff Appreciation week is May 5th -9th! We are very excited to show our incredible teachers & staff at OQS how much they mean to the entire school community! There are several ways your family can join in on the fun and help make the week super special! See below:

NOTES OF GRATITUDE! While gifts and special treats are always appreciated, the simplest way to show someone in our school your appreciation is with a note! You can send a note HERE, and the PTO will make sure it gets to your recipient during appreciation week!

DONATE ITEMS: Throughout the week, the PTO will be organizing a breakfast (Tuesday), a Cookie Cart (Wednesday), and lunch (Thursday) along with other special surprises. We will also be "stocking the fridge" for the week! Please consider signing up to donate items HERE!

VOLUNTEER: We have several slots for folks to come into the school to help make the week special! Please consider signing up for a slot HERE.

WISH LISTS: If you are looking for something special for to gift your teacher or staff member, the PTO requested wish lists! These include some of their favorite things (like candy & drinks) and also items that they need for their teaching spaces! You can find the lists by person HERE.

Thank you for your support. Let's make this week as special as our Teachers & Staff truly are!

Week 27: The Power of Stories

Stories hold immense power, shaping our understanding of the world, fostering empathy, and inspiring action, all while being a fundamental part of human communication and cultural transmission.

The Hartford School District began the school year with a welcome by Superintendent Caty Sutton telling her origin story of becoming an educator. Superintendent Sutton said, “This year will be about storytelling, It will be about sharing ourselves and enabling others to share themselves. It will be about sewing the patches of ourselves to the patches of others to start to begin the process of enveloping ourselves in the warmth of the blanket we weave together, one that is a part of all of us.”

Our keynote speaker, Dr. Luvelle Brown then shared, “When we tell these stories, when we talk about our legacy, you can note and recognize the gains and then you can also use that story to talk about where you still have to go.” Rewatch his keynote here.

In March we revisited the theme of storytelling with Ferene Paris, a storyteller from Vermont. She said, “I feel that the way I try to invite people to wrap their minds and hearts around racial equity and stuff like around anti-blackness; and it’s a lot, so what I do is I tell stories. All I can do is share with you what my lived experience was in this particular circumstance. It’s my story. It’s my truth.” Rewatch her keynote here.

For the remainder of this year, the Curiosity Corner will be sharing stories from Hartford students and community members whose lives are directly impacted by the tenets of the HSD Anti-Racism and Gender Inclusivity Policies. We hope these stories will help all of us expand our understanding, consider multiple perspectives, and experience joy, wonder, and connection with other human beings.

Resources:

https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2020/04/11/815573198/how-stories-connect-and-persuade-us-unleashing-the-brain-power-of-narrative

https://www.nationalgeographic.org/society/storytellers-collective/the-power-of-story/

We have a growing group of OQS teachers and parents who have applied to attend SCRAPI this summer in the interest of launching a school composting program. Click the flyer to learn more, and reach out to Amelia Donahey if you're interested in joining the team.

Our current OQS Student Leadership group is gathering materials to create Calming Jars and Stress Balls for our classrooms. As part of their project, they also would like to gather foam blocks to add to the available materials in the Wolf Den. Donations may be dropped off at the front office.

On April 3, the US Department of Education sent a letter to all states directing them to compel all district superintendents to sign a document stating that they will follow the current administration's interpretation of the 2023 Supreme Court decision, Students for Fair Admission, Inc. v. President and Fellows of Harvard College ("SFFA v. Harvard"), with regard to Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. On Monday, April 7, VSBA, VSA, VPA and Vermont-NEA asked Secretary Saunders to respond in objection to the request. Last week, Secretary Saunders responded to the federal government's request with this letter, which concludes as follows:

"Finally, we are disappointed that recent executive orders and ED guidance materials have attempted to cast “DEI” efforts as “veil[ed] racially discriminatory practices” that assign less value to certain students because of their race.That is not what takes place in Vermont classrooms, and does not accurately reflect the goals, practices, or benefits of diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts. In Vermont, diversity, equity and inclusion practices are supportive of all students, and aim to create and sustain positive, welcoming learning environments. Vermont schools do not single out racial groups for negative or unequal treatment.

"Indeed, the Department’s own guidance affirms that “DEI” practices are lawful. See FAQ, Question 8. For example, schools may facilitate student affinity groups, because such groups’ membership is open to all students, regardless of race. Schools may teach about the history of racism, because classroom instruction does not single out any student, regardless of their race, for disparate treatment. And schools may employ staff whose titles include “DEI Coordinator” because schools have important obligations, including Title VI obligations, to foster welcoming and equitable learning opportunities for students of all races, and to respond to allegations of racial harassment.

"Vermont is proud of its efforts to foster positive, welcoming learning environments for all its students. And because of—not despite—those efforts, Vermont can confidently certify— 2 See U.S. Dep’t of Educ. Office for Civil Rights, Frequently Asked Questions About Racial Preferences and Stereotypes Under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act (2025) (“FAQ”). as it has in the past—that it complies with current Title VI statutory, regulatory, and decisional law."

View current lawsuits filed by Vermont Attorney General Clark against federal executive branch agencies at the link below.

In addition, the Agency of Education created this Federal Updates page as resource for Vermonters. The website will be routinely updated as additional information becomes available.

Hi Parents and Guardians!

As you gear up for summertime, I'm excited to share with you an awesome, high-energy, hands-on experience for your child! This summer, I will be the Director of Camp Invention® at White River School July 7th-11 . It was a hit last summer and we can’t wait to do it all again!

This program is an exciting chance to introduce your young innovator to STEM concepts as they build confidence and form friendships. When your child joins us, they will team up to take on exciting real-world challenges, dive into open-ended learning adventures and expand their creativity – all while having a ton of fun! This summer, campers will explore design thinking, unlock creative problem solving and build confidence as they engage in all-new STEM learning experiences. If you are ready to register, visit invent.org/mylocalcamp and use promo code SUM15 by 5/15 to save $15 off the registration fee. There are quite a few scholarship spots available as well. We would LOVE to see your child this summer! If you have any questions, please don' hesitate to reach out!

Sincerely,

Chloe Balch, 3rd-45th grade Teacher, White River School, balchc@hartfordschools.net

Learn to read and read to learn alongside your Vermont Public and PBS KIDS friends. The media in this collection is all about alphabet, alliteration, rhyming, and more! Dive into each sub-collection and discover new ways to explore literacy and media.

The Vermont Farm to School & Early Childhood Network and the Upper Valley Farm to School Network invite you to gather in the Sharon Elementary gymnasium to connect, celebrate, and elevate what is happening in farm to school around our region. We are excited to reinvigorate our communities in the Upper Valley in the exciting place-based, farm to school world of school composting, garden-based education, taste tests, farm field trips, harvest of the month, local purchasing, and more! The gathering is 4-6pm, with an optional dinner at 6:00PM.

Join us to:

• Find support for your efforts and access resources
• Build connections with community members
• Learn from successes and best practices
• Strengthen our local networks
• Eat yummy local food!

All are welcome — we’re convening anyone who is interested in getting involved with farm to school programming in our region: teachers, students, farm to school coordinators, school nutrition staff, school administrators, farmers, families, and supporting organizations are all invited! Of course there will be free seeds, door prizes, and plenty of chances to mingle. Childcare will be provided on site. RSVP here.

Looking for quality programming for your child this summer? You can find a directory of summer camps in the area, with registration information, here: https://norwichvt.myrec.com/info/activities/program_details.aspx?ProgramID=30011