Swift Flyer~ October 13th
2021-2022
Important Dates
- Wednesday, February 2nd- Virtual Swift Open House ~ Independent Project Presentations
- Mon, Feb. 21 - Fri. Feb. 25 - Winter Break
- Fri, Mar. 18- No School- Professional Learning Time
- Mon, Apr. 18 - Fri, Apr. 22 - Spring Break
Swift Theater Unit
While we don't know what type of audience will be allowed, we have jumped into a full production as an important learning and team-building experience. We have asked for guidance from our CVSD health directors and will share performance details as soon as possible. Final performances will happen on the last Thursday or Friday of October. Stay tuned!
In the meantime, please see our costume "Base Layer" requirements. Once students bring these layers in we will start outfitting them with special costume pieces here at school. Click here to see costume requests for each cast member.
WCS Student Opportunities
There are so many ways your child can be involved in school-based opportunities beyond the classroom. We know many Swifties are highly involved in clubs, teams, and other fabulous organizations outside of school as well, but if they are not, please consider the opportunities we have to offer here at WCS!
These opportunities have been shared in the Flyer and School Bell. If you need any help finding more information, please reach out to us.
PS Of course COVID-19 restrictions have minimized opportunities over the past 18 months. We understand that you may not be comfortable having your child take on more activities at the moment. Please know that many of these opportunities, particularly Spark, sports, and chorus, have open enrollment times throughout the year.
Curriculum Updates
Fifth and sixth graders are exploring properties of matter, from defining characteristics like mass and density, to the products created during a chemical reaction. Last week Swifties experimented with liquids of the same volume with different masses, figuring out how to "layer" them through careful measurement. We are working towards writing scientific explanations using our data as evidence.
Seventh and eighth graders are learning about the forces which cause natural disasters and the technology used to warn us ahead of disasters. They are analyzing data to look for correlations between earthquake size, depth, and location with the formation of tsunamis.
Humanities
The 7th and 8th grade students continued their work with social justice this week by taking a critical look at what history is and exploring whose story is told most often. We watched Nigerian writer, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, give a Ted Talk about the 'danger of a single story' and reflected on the importance of exploring multiple sides of a story in order to avoid critical misunderstanding.
The 5th and 6th graders explored a variety of grade level Newsela texts about indigenous people. Leading up to Indigenous People's Day, this provided students with some context by bringing awareness to the experiences of Indigenous communities and their resiliency and success, while reflecting on the systems in place that cause harm to this population.
NEW LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES FOR STUDENTS WHO ARE QUARANTINING
WCS is pleased to announce that starting the week of 10/4, the Williston Schools will offer optional daily learning opportunities for students who are quarantining without their class and teacher. On each school day there will be two types of learning opportunities that can be accessed by students: “Meets” with teachers and learning menus. The activities completed during the “Meets” and through the learning menus will not directly connect to the lessons happening at school, but they will allow students to access productive and engaging grade-appropriate learning opportunities.
This slide deck contains more information about these opportunities including the “Meet” schedule and links to math, science, and literacy activities:
This Year's Schedule
Book groups will meet the 2nd Tuesday of the month:
- Oct 12, Nov 9, Dec 14, Jan 11, Feb 8, and Mar 8
- Grades 5-6 meet 1:10 - 1:50
- Grades 7-8 meet 1:50 - 2:30
NEW 4-H Fall Programs - Discover GIS and more!
Discover GIS
Join us to learn all about Geographic Information Systems (GIS) - a key technology now and for the future! In this two session virtual workshop you will start your journey into learning GIS by creating your own StoryMap and more. Learn more and sign up today! Space is limited to 20 youth in grades 7-12, November 3 and 17, 7:00 - 8:00 pm online.
Exploring Vermont Dairy
Curious about how dairy farmers in Vermont use technology on the farm or ever wonder how a diet for a cow is formulated? Participants will have an opportunity to delve into these and other questions about dairy farming. For ages 12-18; online. Learn more here.
VTeen 4-H Science Pathways Cafes
Our Fall Schedule is now available. Click here to view. We are offering both in-person and virtual cafes! The first in-person cafe is on October 16 from 5-7 pm at UVM. Our guest scientist will discuss Cellular Agriculture and Tissue Engineering. Learn more and register here.
Teen science cafes are open to youth in grades 7-12; teens will meet a scientist, learn about their work, explore different science pathways, engage in informal discussions and ask questions. All virtual sessions are recorded for asynchronous at-home learning. You can view recordings here.
Face Mask Requirements: Everyone is required to wear face coverings over their nose and mouth when inside UVM buildings, regardless of vaccination status. All users of UVM buildings must continue to monitor themselves for symptoms of COVID-19 and not come to campus, nor participate in UVM in-person activities, if they are experiencing symptoms or have tested positive for COVID-19 in the past 10 days.
Youth Environmental Summit
YES is an annual event for youth in grades 6-12 who want to learn about environmental issues and find ways to take action.
Learn more about this year's real-time virtual kick-off on Friday, October 29 from 9 am - 12:30 pm. We will have several workshops focused on a theme of Climate Change. Click here to view the event flyer and workshop descriptions.
We are also opening us our YES Flipgrid for the entire month of November where you can explore, learn, and engage in a wide variety of topics from pre-recorded workshops. Youth can also participate in the YES Scavenger Hunt and win prizes! Learn more and register here.
Teens Reaching Youth (TRY) for the Environment
TRY stands for Teens Reaching Youth and is an environmental leadership opportunity for students in grades 7-12. It is an environmental education program taught by teens and designed to increase environmental literacy and responsibility in younger youth. TRY for the Environment connects young people to real-world environmental problems by allowing them to be key change agents contributing to real-world solutions. Learn more here. Applications are due no later than November 8, 2021.
VTeen Leadership Weekend
VTeen Leadership Weekend, November 19-21, is a fun-filled weekend developing important skills and traits that will help you stretch and improve your leadership, communication, problem solving, teamwork and other transferable skills to take back and use in your club work, school and community. Open to all youth in grades 7-12. Learn more here and register.