Wildcats Newsletter
Volume No. 1
October 12th, 2022
A bi-weekly newsletter from Principal Bowen, Principal Bradley and Principal Thomas.
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Ride the bus at no charge.
Upcoming Dates:
Oct. 14th: Early Release Day, Noon dismissal
Oct. 18th: Picture Day Royalton Elementary and WRVHS
Oct. 28th: Early Release Day, Noon dismissal
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COATS FOR KIDS- FROM THE KNIGHTS OF COLUMBUS
If you have a need for a winter coat please reach out to Nurse Becky Olmstead [email protected] or (802) 234-6607 at the Bethel Campus.
She is helping the Knights of Columbus connect with those in need.
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Welcome All to the Inaugural Newsletter of the 2022-23 School Year!
We’ve had a great and busy start to our school year together! In just one month we had an ice cream social, rebooted our school wide expectations of what Respect, Responsibility, Safety and Kindness look like, sound like and feel like in all settings throughout the school and even started our Wildcat Fridays wherein mixed age groups learn about different character traits. This month has been Gratitude! Next month we will be focusing on Respect. As you read this we will have had our second all school assembly and celebrated Students of the Month who embody our school expectations.
If your family or kids are having any issues or problems it’s really more important than ever for us to be a team and work together. I would recommend when you have a concern about some aspect of your child’s school life, you should follow this resolution process that is outlined in our school handbook:
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Concern Procedure For Students and Parents:
- Have a discussion with your child so you plainly understand what the concern/issue is.
- Is this an issue you can support your child to handle themselves or one that needs your direct intervention?
- If your child is unable to resolve the issue themselves, contact the teacher/staff member involved or the student's advisor for a discussion of the problem either by phone or email.
- If, after speaking with your child’s teacher or advisor your concerns continue to remain unresolved, contact your school’s Principal for additional support.
- If the issue remains unresolved, contact the Superintendent.
- If the issue continues to remain unresolved, contact the School Board Chair.
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We look forward to a continued great year and I also look forward to problem solving with you in the future!
Stay respectful, responsible, safe and kind ALL!
Andra Bowen
Principal
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Mrs. Gardner’s First Grade
South Royalton
The first graders in Mrs. Gardner’s class have been having fun learning about addition and subtraction. They are hearing word problems, deciding what information is given, deciding what piece is missing, and finding a strategy to solve. Recently they played a dice game with a buddy called, “What is the Difference?” where they had to write subtraction equations and find the difference. These mathematicians are really good at writing equations!
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Mrs. Russ’ First Grade
Bethel
Our first grade class has been busy since the beginning of the year learning about the sky in science class! So far our scientists have looked at how our shadows have changed during the day, we have learned why we have day and night, and how the Earth moves during the day and around the sun during the year. We are now working on learning about seasons and why we have four of them every year! Our class voted and our favorite season is FALL!! We recently listened to The Season of Arnold’s Apple Tree by Gail Gibbons and made an apple tree book to show how the trees change during each season. Science is a lot of fun!!
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Malia Timmerman's
First Grade Art Update
Bethel
Mrs. Russ’s first grade artists have been exploring materials to make art (one of the National Core Art Standards) by working on their “Art Passports”. So far they have used various drawing materials and drafting tools, done simple printmaking with rubbings, and used scissors and glue for magazine collage and 3D paper sculpture. They are also learning to take care of their art supplies, another [very important] art standard. Here is an example of some awesome art from the class.
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Nicole Lillie's
First Grade Art Update
South Royalton
The first graders in South Royalton have been working toward understanding color theory and exploring different artistic mediums. They have painted, penciled, sculpted and collaged while also learning to be respectful of our utensils and supplies. The first graders designed their own artist portfolios using block letters; this is where they will keep all of their future masterpieces! Speaking of masterpieces, pictured is a sample from their multimedia self portrait project. Enjoy!
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Welcome Back to WRVMS!
The WRVMS is buzzing with energy and activity. We have welcomed a new sixth grade class and they are just what we needed. Funny, smart and excited to join us! I am excited to get to know each one of the students.
The seventh and eighth grades have grown in physical size and they have matured into the school leaders we need. They bring a happy energy and understanding of what we do here at the WRVMS. I have seen these older students helping the new younger students and the newly transferred students adjust to our way of learning, collaborating and being together.
We have jumped into our academics by adding more Mathematics, English Language Arts, Science and Global Citizenship. We are serious about learning and having fun!
We have also welcomed several new and reassigned faculty and staff members. We are so very happy to welcome to our WRVMS team:
Dee Dee Anderson - Rejoining us as a paraeducator
Will Brooks - Tech Education and Shop
Chris Cate - 6-12 School Counselor
Jessica Dewey - 7th and 8th grade Special Educator
Ashley Grote - Student Support Coordinator
Alicia Hanford- Mathematics classroom teacher
Heather Harvey-Gibson - Rejoining us a 6th grade Special Educator
Nicole LaMothe - 6-12 School Counselor
Grace Pejouhy - Paraeducator with a focus on Mathematics intervention
Carol Post - Academic support paraeducator
Griffin Shumway - Global Citizenship classroom teacher
I am proud to be a learner with the WRVMS students, parents, community and our talented staff and faculty.
Stay Safe!
Owen Bradley
Principal
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WRVMS Students Enter Sheep and Wool Festival Fiber Arts Contest
with Malia Timmerman, Art, and Bonna Wieler, Outdoor Ed
Second block art and outdoor ed classes at WRVMS have joined forces to explore fiber arts with Bonna and Ms. Timmerman, both fiber arts enthusiasts themselves. Students have tried wet felting, needle felting, sewing and embroidery, which made a beautiful exhibit for the Open House last week, and have also built wooden looms for weaving. Sixth graders Dash Ballou, Landon Cronan, Viviana Fink, Naomi Kinsley, Evelyn Reilly, and Kenzley Townsend-Barcomb represented WRVMS in the “Next (Woolly) Generation” contest at the Vermont Sheep and Wool Festival at the Tunbridge Fairgrounds last weekend. They all took home well-deserved blue ribbons and made us proud!
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Community Connections Essentials Class Explore the Benefits of Afterschool Clubs and Power of Connecting with Reading Buddies
6th graders enrolled in the Community Connections Essentials Class identified two ways that they want to contribute to making connections in our community. After studying the benefits of afterschool clubs, they created, in partnership with Mary Schell, our Community+School Coordinator, October Community Connections Afterschool Club offerings. Since there have not been afterschool clubs at WRVMS in a few years, we were excited to see the number of students that are interested in signing up for clubs, that the idea meets a need for students and can offer so many benefits. One student noted that “Clubs can also sprout creativity and teamwork in a child's brain!”
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This group of sixth graders are also exploring the benefits of reading buddies with our librarian, Angela Smith and one of our pre-school classes. Our goals are to foster positive relationships, share the love of reading and experience the many adventures found within the pages of our library’s wonderful picture book collection with preschool wildcats. The middle school students reflected on what they thought the experience was going to be in contrast to what they experienced. They noted how they were happy to discover how they enjoyed having a reading buddy and how well behaved the 4 year olds were. One student reflected “I enjoyed asking them to predict what was going to happen in the story” and another student noted that what she liked about reading to her buddy was that she “could see him smile and I can make a little friend.”
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NEW!
Community Connections
Afterschool Club Schedule
WHITE RIVER VALLEY MIDDLE SCHOOL
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October Monthly Clubs
Starting Tuesday, October 11th-
Ending October 31
For students in grades 6-8
Snacks will be provided.
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Stay tuned for November Monthly Club registration
If you are interested in offering a monthly club in the future, have questions and/ or have ideas please contact Mary Schell, Community+School Coordinator at [email protected].
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Rock Star Pumpkin People at White River Valley School
In conjunction with the Forward Festival in Bethel this year, elementary and middle school students created Pumpkin People to add to the rock stars that are placed on lawns and along our streets. It has been a popular part of the community celebration and we hoped to contribute and make it even bigger this year. Members of the Forward Festival committee including Mary Floyd, Barbara Smith and Cathy Day awarded all entries with a cash prize and have asked students to contribute ideas to the Pumpkin People theme for next year. First Prize winner went to Kathy Fechter’s 5th grade and their Elvis Pumpkin Person. Additional awards went to Natalie Williams’ Preschool 3rd grade “The Boss- Bruce Pumpkinsteen,” Mariah Cleveland’s Pod “Blondie” and Andy West’s Pod “Prince” pumpkin people. One WRVMS facebook comment noted hope for humanity is restored knowing that middle school students know of Blondie. Congratulations to all who participated and thanks to the Forward Festival planners for including us in the celebration!
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It has been a great start to the 2022-23 school year! We began the year with a 9th grade orientation day that allowed our amazing 9th grade students to get comfortable with locations of their classes and lockers, and to meet their teachers. The first day of school brought a kick-off assembly and a cookout. As we enter the second month of school, our school community is bursting with positivity and optimism. There are a lot of Green personalities in the hallways, referring to the Lead ‘Em Up program we have. Our staff are in the hallways greeting students into their classrooms, and I see lots of smiles for adults and students alike!
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Each Friday we have an assembly in the gym where we do a small activity and learn about clubs, sports, drama, and school news. Some of these Fridays, we've had guest speakers who have included Adam Bradley from Lead ‘Em Up, and John and Wendy Hiers from the Trees and Seeds organization (https://treesandseeds.org/home).
Most recently, we had our homecoming weekend. It started with a Friday night semi-formal dance followed by athletic events on Saturday. The boys' soccer team played at 3:30 and the girls' soccer game was held under the lights at 7:00pm. The seniors built a bonfire, and we all enjoyed the warmth after the game...once it finally got going! It was a great community effort led by activities director Tim Perreault and supported by the boosters, the fire department, and all the teams. The golf team had a chipping contest, and how many soccer games have you been to where there is a bass boat parked and you can practice your casting while watching the game?
Finally, some of our seniors have started a Kool Kats podcast that you can listen to each week, that discusses important or interesting things happening at school or within the school community. The podcasts are on our new website (https://wrvsd.org/).
Jeff Thomas
Principal
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White River Valley Unified District
Bethel, Vermont &
South Royalton, Vermont
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