November 25

Engineering Challenge

WCS science teachers are hosting an Engineering Challenge again this year, with the addition of a 5th and 6th grader competition.  All students will be participating via their science classes and then during daytime competitions held on the following dates:

March 12- 5th and 6th Grade
March 13- 7th and 8th Grade

There will be more details about the challenges later this winter.  In the meantime, we are looking for donations of any materials that parents may have at home.  Please send in any quantity of any of the following materials to Amy Skapof by January 14th.  Thank you!

MATERIALS NEEDED:  Foam core, cardboard, toilet paper tubes, paper towel tubes, CDs, fishing line, dixie cups, skewers, rubber bands, straws, egg cartons, note cards, coffee filters, plastic bags, marshmallows, plastic wheels, army men, masking tape, duct tape, hot glue, paper clips, popsicle sticks, string, rubber tubing, construction paper, toothpicks, washers, hole punch, brass fasteners, aluminum foil sheets.

Parent Teacher Conferences

Students are wrapping up their electronic portfolios and will be ready to share them with you after December 5th. We would like to schedule a conference to meet with you and your child to review the portfolio, personal goals, class reports. Please click here for links to each core teachers' conference calendars. Thank you!

SPARK Class

MC Baker is looking for motivated, responsible, focused students to help with the Swift sign during the SPARK program after school on Thursdays starting after break.  We need to let her know ASAP! If your son or daughter is interested they should sign up here by clicking on the "Other" option and entering "Swift Sign with MC Baker."

Poetry

Swift House students will explore poetry during the month of December.  The 5th and 6th graders got a head start by writing haikus.  See Ms. Donnelly's class haikus by clicking on the image below.

Jeff Kinney Presentation

Fifth and sixth graders were excited to see author Jeff Kinney speak at WCS last week.  He shared his experiences with writing his Diary of Wimpy Kid series and how he became an author.  To get an idea of the presentation you can see the video from Middlebury below.

Brayden in front of Jeff Kinney's tour bus!

Why is Math Different Now

Just FYI, click on this link for an 8 minute video about strategies that our students use!

CVU Nordic Ski Team Online Auction

The CVU Nordic Ski Team annual online auction is now open for the 2014-15 season. The Nordic Ski Team is fundraising to cover the costs of equipment, waxing, coaching staff and uniforms. We have been the largest public high school Nordic team in Vermont state for several seasons. Raising funds to help provide equipment, waxing, coaching, and uniforms for all our skiers, at all levels of ability is a big undertaking. Please help support the CVU Nordic Ski Team by participating in our online auction that is graciously made possible by local businesses.

November 14, 2014

Coat Drive for Vermont Refugee Resettlement Program

From Evs Rocheleau, CVU student and former Swiftie:

This year CVU's sophomore class partnered with Vermont Refugee Resettlement Program in helping those in need of winter coats stay warm this winter. We are hoping that the community of Williston will aid us in our mission by bringing in your gently used winter wear and leaving it in the box in the WCS lobby. Our drive will be ending the day before Thanksgiving Break, with possible extension. Thank you for all your help in support!

Parent Potluck Follow-Up: 

Service-Based Field Trips

We had great discussions at the Parent Potluck and are following up on topics one at a time.  Our first follow-up is based on a suggestion from parents to find more ways to involve students in community service.

We would like to set aside a day for a service-based field trip.  We imagine that we could find opportunities for students to help others in the Williston Community while working in small groups.  Students could rake, cook, stack wood, weed gardens, prepare food, etc.  We would love to have a committee of parents to help organize this by finding service opportunities appropriate for middle schoolers. A day in late April or early May (around Green-Up day) would work well for the team.  Any interested parents? Please contact askapof@cssu.org to start forming a committee.

Special Tours Survey

We want to let you know that we only have 36 responses to the Special Tours Survey, which is just over half of the students participating. If your child wants to go on one of these special tours (especially the White House, Pentagon, or Capitol Building), the survey MUST be completed by the end of the day today (Sunday). Otherwise, they will not have these options during our trip in June.   Please sign-up here interested.

Bottle Drive

As part of our Washington, DC Fundraisers, we will be having a bottle drive on Saturday, December 6th from 9am-12 noon. Our bottle drives are most successful (and much faster than three hours) when we have about 20 drivers and at least two students per car. It can also be fun for two parents to take one car together, drink coffee and mingle while the kids do the heavy lifting! Larger vehicles or those with lots of space in the trunk/back work best.  Please sign-up here.

Let it Grow

Thanks to all of your generous support, we immediately surpassed our second goal of $500! We can't thank you all enough for your contributions and support. We are now hoping to raise $750 towards this cause. It's not too late to join the team and/or donate.

If you'd like to join on, you can do so here. Again, thank you so much! You all are amazing people.

~Kevin and Matt
# Let it Grow

Matt and Kevin with donor, Mr. Smith

Phosphorous and Lake Champlain

Fifth and sixth graders have been learning about how storm water run-off entering Lake Champlain affects the water quality.  A major chemical of concern is phosphorous which over-fertilizes the lake, causing algae blooms.  Students created Public Service Announcements (PSAs) to teach others how they can protect the lake.  See examples below.

November 7th, 2014

Theater Festival

Phew! The performances went off smoothly!  We hope you all enjoyed the show.  We are posting many photos on our photo site (password: flyforever) but here are just a few to get you started:

"What misadventure is so early up that calls our person from our morning's rest?"
~Prince Escalus (aka Camille)

"What light on yonder window breaks."
~Romeo (aka Isaac)

"When we get closer to Skeleton Island, we all be gentlemen of fortune."
~Captain Long John Silver (aka Bennett)

"Mutiny, men!" Joe leads the round up.

No Shave November

Dear WSD family,

The time is upon us for No Shave November. Matt Glass and I have created a team and are hoping to raise at least $300 to donate to the American Cancer Society. There are a couple ways to participate:

1. If you have the luxury of growing any facial hair, you can let it grow wild for the next month and donate to the cause.

2. If you do not have the luxury of growing facial hair, you can sponsor a beard and still donate to the cause. 

Any other questions about participation, feel free to email Matt or Kevin at mglass@cssu.org khunt@cssu.org.

*If you choose to grow a beard for no shave November  click here to donate or join the team! Donations anywhere from $1 and up are greatly appreciated. Thank you for helping us get the word out and fight cancer!

Sincerely, Kevin and Matt

PS Thanks to the Theater Festival we got some serious extra facial hair growth overnight!  See photos below...

FAP Bookfair

The FAP bookfair begins Monday, November 10th, after school. It is then open from 8:00 am-8:00 pm Tuesday through Thursday and shuts down on Friday, November 14th at 11:00 am.  We will be attending the book fair with our core groups on the following days:

Thursday, 8:00-8:30: Ms. Laberge's and Ms. Skapof's cores
Friday, 8:00-8:30: Mr. Hunt's and Ms. Donnelly's cores

If your son or daughter wishes to purchases books they should bring money on the appropriate day.

New Important Dates

• November 10th~ New literature groups begin
• November 10th~ First Continental Math Meet, 9:45-10:15
• November 19th~ Author Visit-Jeff Kinney-from 11-12 pm in the new gym
• December 16th~ World Language Open House 7:15 am-8:00 am
• March 24th! April 3rd: Swift House SBAC Testing Window *Headphones needed