Principal Matthew DeBlois

Principal's Corner

We look forward to seeing families and students on Wednesday, September 25 from 5:00-6:00 pm for Open House. Our teachers (and our students) are excited to share their learning, their learning spaces, and the adults with whom they interact daily. We encourage everyone who can to walk and others to leave some time to walk, since our parking is fairly limited. A couple of other groups will be here as well that have school affiliation including the ANWSD Community Engagement Committee and the VUES Community Group. Make sure to check in with them as well.

We continue to have a great start to school. Our students are learning routines and expectations, practicing them daily, and getting into a good learning groove. We focus on routines, expectations and safety so that students know what to do in typical and atypical situations. We are halfway through our Options Based drills with students and will wrap up next week. Students have been attentive, asking great questions and appreciative of their learning. We completed a bus evacuation drill as well this week that went well. 

Other routines that students continue to practice include our comfortable cafeteria expectations. Many of our students have never eaten in a cafeteria prior to this year due to some grades previously having eaten in the classroom. We are happy to have three lunches this year and introduce some new ideas to the space including a relaxed atmosphere that allows students and adults to enjoy meals together. Our students seem to be engaging well with the offerings. 

Related to the cafeteria, we do have a request. Although breakfast and lunch are provided at no direct cost to students this year, it is helpful to have accurate information related to our eligibility requirements for free and reduced lunch. Many grants and other awards request this information from schools and school districts as part of the application process. We will have some forms available during Open House, but encourage folks to complete them online in the portal. 

Hoping to see you all on Wednesday,

Matthew DeBlois, Principal

 

Important Dates Upcoming

Wednesday, September 25  VUES Open House from 5:00-6:00 pm

Friday, September 27           VUES Fun Run in the afternoon, see details below

Monday, September 30        VUES School Picture Day 

 

VUES Store

Looking to purchase some VUES gear? Check out this link for t-shirts, sweatshirts and more!

Please note that if you have a Kindergartener or a student who is new to VUES this year, VUES will be providing a ROARS shirt for those students!!

The online store closes Monday, September 23rd. 

 

Safe Arrival

Dear Families, 

At ANWSD, one of our greatest priorities is ensuring that all students arrive safely to school every day. Part of this is the use of the student absence reporting system called SafeArrival. This system reduces the time that it takes to verify student attendance, making it easier for you to report an absence and easier for our staff to respond to unexplained student absences. 

You can report your child’s absence quickly and conveniently in one of three ways:

1. Parents/Guardians can call the toll-free number 844-880-5323 to report an absence, delayed arrival, or early dismissal using the automated phone system.  

2. Parents/Guardians can log on to our SafeArrival website https://go.schoolmessenger.com to report an absence, delayed arrival, or early dismissal. The first time that you use the website, you will need to select Sign Up to create your account. 

3. Parents/Guardians can download the SchoolMessenger app through the Apple App Store or the Google Play Store onto their mobile device and use that to report an absence, delayed arrival, or early dismissal. The first time that you use the app, you will need to select Sign Up to create your account. 

The system and each of the above options are available 24 hours/day, 7 days a week. Future absences can be reported at any time, but please note that you will not be able to report more than three consecutive days of absences using this system. An extended absence of more than three days should be communicated to school directly. 

In addition, we will also be introducing an automated notification system to contact parents/guardians when a child is marked absent and it has not been reported by parents/guardians ahead of time. The automated notification system will attempt to connect with parents/guardians at multiple contact points until a reason is submitted for the absence. Notifications will be similar to those that may have been received in the past with some notable differences: 

• Notifications will come earlier in the day so that school personnel and parents/guardians are all on the same page when it comes to a student’s whereabouts.

• Parents/Guardians will be able to customize their notification options through the app or on the website. They can choose where they want to receive their notifications and allow them to excuse the absence right from the notification. 

If our system is unable to reach the designated contacts after 30 minutes, office staff will follow up and your child will be marked as absent - unexcused. 

If you report your child’s absence or late arrival in advance using the toll-free number, website, or mobile app, you will NOT receive these notifications. Schools will continue to monitor the channels previously used for any reported absences. 

If you have any questions or issues, please reach out to your school. 

Thank you, 

Melissa Strong

Data Manager & PowerSchool Administrator

802-377-1564 

 

We have had a busy first few weeks at VUES. We continue to work on building community and a sense of belonging through our morning meetings, focus on our ROARS expectations and emphasizing the importance of transferable skills. Growing our sense of belonging and building community is built in deliberate ways through our school wide morning meeting plans. These plans permit us to focus on the different aspects of our ROARS expectations - next week, we will spend time considering respecting ourselves and considering the relative differences and similarities between wants and needs. Having these classroom based conversations with adults we hope will build community and understanding. 

Our classrooms continue to build community further through ROARS celebrations. Each classroom has a PAW Chart (we are the Thundercats after all). These charts have 50 opportunities to notice when classes and individuals are effectively and demonstrably meeting the expectations agreed to by the class. When the classroom completes their PAW chart, they celebrate their success. These look different in different spaces, but the students take ownership of their celebrations by suggesting ideas and voting on how they will celebrate. Relatedly, when each classroom completes two PAW charts, we will have a whole school celebration. 

New this year, we have a couple of new ways that we will celebrate students and staff at VUES. Each month, all staff members receive a Student of the Month nomination form. Over the course of the month, staff may complete the form. At the end of the month, we will choose from among the nominations and students will be recognized at our All School Meeting. We have a similar process for employees. Look for those being recognized here in upcoming newsletters and more.

VUES Store

Looking to purchase some VUES gear? Check out this link for t-shirts, sweatshirts and more!

Please note that if you have a Kindergartener or a student who is new to VUES this year, VUES will be providing a ROARS shirt for those students!!

The online store closes Monday, September 23rd. 

Dates of significance at VUES

Please note that we have a couple of upcoming events of which families may wish to be aware.

On Wednesday, September 18 all students will be screened for vision by the Lion’s Club. Any students who demonstrate concerns will be followed up by Shelby Sullivan, VUES School Nurse.

Our Vergennes Union Elementary School Open House will be on Wednesday, September 25 from 5:00-6:00 pm. All families are invited to come and see what’s happening in classrooms that day. Please note that we encourage as many families as possible to walk or park offsite, since our parking lot cannot accommodate a lot of additional vehicles. Note also that the middle and high school open houses immediately follow ours. 

The annual VUES Fun Run will occur in the afternoon of Friday, September 27 in the afternoon. Additional details will follow later, but know that we anticipate K-2 students running at 1:15 and 3-5 students running at 2:15. Families wishing to take their children home afterwards should use SafeArrival or email the school at vesoffice@anwsd.org to indicate that prior to that day.

From Ms. Newton:

Please help your child remember to wear sneakers to school.  Sneakers are required for PE as students will be running, jumping, climbing and kicking in PE classes.  Crocs, flip flops, slides and sandals aren't safe for these activities as they fall off, don't have traction and cause slipping or expose their toes.  If sneakers are forgotten, students will be asked to borrow a pair from the sneaker closet.  Thanks for helping our kids be active and safe in sneakers!  Ms. Newton

Here is a list of your child's PE days:

Mondays: 5 Brooks, 5 Paquette, 3 Kepes, 3 Dwinell, K-Saunders & K-Intemann

Tuesdays: 4 Bissonnette, 4 Metzler, 3 Reardon, K-Intemann, 1 Kingsley & 1 Haggett

Wednesdays: 5 Brooks, 5 Paquette, 3 Kepes, 3 Dwinell, 2 Kiel, 2 Ambrose, 2 Cavazos

Thursdays: 4 Bissonnette, 4 Metzler, 3 Reardon, K-Saunders, 1 Kingsley & 1 Haggett

Fridays: 1 Haggett, 1 Kingsley, K-Intemann, K-Saunders, 2 Cavazos, 2 Kiel, 2 Ambrose

Dear Families, 

At ANWSD, one of our greatest priorities is ensuring that all students arrive safely to school every day. Part of this is the use of the student absence reporting system called SafeArrival. This system reduces the time that it takes to verify student attendance, making it easier for you to report an absence and easier for our staff to respond to unexplained student absences. 

You can report your child’s absence quickly and conveniently in one of three ways:

1. Parents/Guardians can call the toll-free number 844-880-5323 to report an absence, delayed arrival, or early dismissal using the automated phone system.  

2. Parents/Guardians can log on to our SafeArrival website https://go.schoolmessenger.com to report an absence, delayed arrival, or early dismissal. The first time that you use the website, you will need to select Sign Up to create your account. 

3. Parents/Guardians can download the SchoolMessenger app through the Apple App Store or the Google Play Store onto their mobile device and use that to report an absence, delayed arrival, or early dismissal. The first time that you use the app, you will need to select Sign Up to create your account. 

The system and each of the above options are available 24 hours/day, 7 days a week. Future absences can be reported at any time, but please note that you will not be able to report more than three consecutive days of absences using this system. An extended absence of more than three days should be communicated to school directly. 

In addition, we will also be introducing an automated notification system to contact parents/guardians when a child is marked absent and it has not been reported by parents/guardians ahead of time. The automated notification system will attempt to connect with parents/guardians at multiple contact points until a reason is submitted for the absence. Notifications will be similar to those that may have been received in the past with some notable differences: 

• Notifications will come earlier in the day so that school personnel and parents/guardians are all on the same page when it comes to a student’s whereabouts.

• Parents/Guardians will be able to customize their notification options through the app or on the website. They can choose where they want to receive their notifications and allow them to excuse the absence right from the notification. 

If our system is unable to reach the designated contacts after 30 minutes, office staff will follow up and your child will be marked as absent - unexcused. 

If you report your child’s absence or late arrival in advance using the toll-free number, website, or mobile app, you will NOT receive these notifications. Schools will continue to monitor the channels previously used for any reported absences. 

If you have any questions or issues, please reach out to your school. 

Thank you, 

Melissa Strong

Data Manager & PowerSchool Administrator

802-377-1564