October 29, 2019

Important Dates

• Theater Festival~ Thursday, November 14th @ 6:00 pm
• Swift Hosts WCS Dance~ Friday, December 6th
• Bottle Drive~ Benefits NYC Trip~ Saturday, December 7th ~ Save your bottles.  Spread the word!  
• Polar Express Volunteer Opportunity~ 11:30-4:00 on Sunday, December 15th
• No School - Thanksgiving Break ~ November 25th-29th
• No School - Early Winter Break - December 23rd- January 2nd
• Dining for a Cause at Grazers to Benefit NYC Trip~ Thursday, March 19th
• Bottle Drive #2~ Benefits NYC Trip~ Saturday, March 21st
• Big Basket Raffle Fun Night~ Saturday, March 28th

Links

• Costume List- Details costume needs for characters in both Alice and 12th Night
• FAP Meeting Notes ~ October 12th
• Spark Session #2 Workshop Descriptions
• Spark Session #2 Registration Link
• Swift Sustainability Action Projects Website

Critical Need for Craft Fair Volunteers 

House Families,

We still have a critical need for volunteers for the FAP Craft Show that takes place this Saturday, November 2nd.  This fundraiser helps to pay for events, activities and grants that benefit all students in the Williston schools.  Please share some of your time and volunteer for a shift during the show on Saturday, Nov 2. (Most shifts are only 1 to 2 hours in length). The sign-up link is: https://signup.com/go/kYomFsu  You will need to enter your email address to sign up for a shift but you do not need to create an account with Sign-up.com.

If you have any questions, please email Karen Olson and Paula LeBlanc at wsdcraftshow@cvsdvt.org.

Thank you!

Swift Fundraising Efforts

Thank you to the many who gave their time and donations for Fun Night on Friday night.  We set a new all-time record for Fun Night:

$3111.71!

Between Fun Night and Agave "Dining for a Cause" we have an excellent start to our NYC fundraising.  Thank you all again for your hard work.  It was a fantastic team effort.

School Days 

View this post on Instagram

Our chicks head home to @secondchancefarmvt on Monday. We’ll be so sad to see them go. Let’s hope the duck eggs hatch soon!

A post shared by Swift House (@swift_flyforever) on Oct 26, 2019 at 5:21pm PDT

7th & 8th graders isolating strawberry DNA

Strands of DNA

Moving DNA to microscopes slide

Trotting of the Turkeys

The 6th Annual Trotting of the Turkeys, a benefit for Feeding Chittenden and Burlington Sunrise Rotary.  Grab a frozen turkey and trot it down Church Street. Each turkey will be donated to Feeding Chittenden upon completion of your trot.

It’s a fundraiser both for Rotary (we use the money for our early childhood literacy program, Imagination Library) and Feeding Chittenden (formerly the Chittenden Emergency Food Shelf).

The event is at 11 am on Sat., Nov. 2, starting on the top block of Church Street in Burlington. It’s a quick parade down Church Street with frozen turkeys and led by the UVM pep band. It’s a fun and short community service event. People are encouraged to dress in costume, so it’s another opportunity to wear costumes another day. Click here for more information.

Modeling Heredity

Nate C's animated slideshow, created with Scratch program

FAP Notes

The second monthly FAP meeting for school year 19-20 was held on October 10th. FAP is Williston's equivalent of a parent-teacher organization. We ‘s meet each month, our meetings are open to all, and you will receive an email like this every month with highlights of the meeting and a link to the FAP website for the full minutes. Check the full minutes in a PDF format by clicking here.

If you have not already, please consider donating to the Annual Fund here

Volunteers Needed! Please help us with the Fall Craft Show on November 2nd. Volunteers are needed for set-up on Friday evening November 1st and during the event on Saturday November 2nd.   Find more information and available shifts on the sign-up link: https://signup.com/go/kYomFsu  or contact Karen and Paula at wsdcraftshow@cvsdvt.org.  Thank you for helping with this important school fundraiser!

Please note..when signing up for a shift you will need to provide your email address, however you do not have to setup a signup.com account.

There are several jobs/shifts that need to be filled but among those, parking attendants may be the most important!

Parking attendants are the first friendly face of the Craft Show that customers encounter; parking attendants get to work outside, wear reflective vests, use a walkie talkie and are integral in keeping the traffic flow organized (because during the show Central School Drive is one way traffic only).


FAP Notes

Welcome – Emily
·        Meeting called to order at 8:24
·        Total grants available - $10,000
·        Request brought forward for $7880.65
·        Karen Olson motioned to approve package, seconded by Karen Boutin
·        Motion was approved as presented

New & Upcoming Events

Craft Show: Saturday Nov 2 from 9am – 4pm

• Committee Members need help with promotion and setup.  Please contact Karen Olson wsdcraftshow@cvsdvt.org
• Volunteers needed during Craft Show – sign up here.

Book Fair: November 18 – 21
o   Only Monday-Thursday this year - sign up here.
o   ABS will not be bussed this year; Spring ABS Book Fair date TBD.
o  There will be an ABS specific night for the fall and WCS specific night in Spring.

Speaker Series

o   Michelle Spaulding is interested in doing a whole series (a day) in January around how current technology affects our kids
o   Looking into a speaker regarding self-care

Administration Report – Greg Marino

·        The Leadership Team would like to express their appreciation for the FAP’s support of grants to support enriching and innovative experiences for our students
·        Jackie Parks will be presenting at next Month’s meeting about the learning and work we are doing in Restorative Practices at WCS.
·        The Williston Safety Committee is seeking a parent member. Please see the note and brief survey in this week’s Bell.
·        There was a parent Forum at CVSD on Monday evening for the shift to an “Options Based Response to an Active Threat”.  Greg and Jeanne Jensen presented to approximately 10 parents, the school board and a group of administrators. Greg will use the December meeting to provide an overview of this shift in safety preparedness and a general overview of Safety initiatives happening in Williston.
·        The Leadership team encourages parents to take an active role in the Budget process and reminds them that all budget meetings are open meetings and that their involvement is welcomed.