Message from WCSU School Start Time Subcommittee

A message from the WCSU School Start Time Subcommittee Chair, Karen Bradley:  The Washington Central Supervisory Union committee on school start times has held 2 public forums. At the first one, held March 26, participants viewed a TED talk (CLICK HERE FOR TED TALK) and then discussed in small groups the research and information available about student learning and sleep and the associations with what time school commences on these. The question was asked, if we were to change school start times in our district so that middle and high school students start later (like 8:30 or 9) what information further would you need? 

During the second forum, held April 11, participants worked in groups to explore options for shifting school start times and identified further areas that will need to be addressed in order to serve the most students. Transportation is an obvious question and the district leaders understand that we have quite a bit of flexibility in this area. Extracurricular activities were also identified as something that is important to accommodate including reviewing how far our students travel for sports events and when (weekdays or weekends). Importance of considering special needs and underprivileged students in a school start time change was also identified as important. Another point that was raised is that sixth graders are actually considered middle school students yet they do not currently attend our U-32 middle school and are instead kept at the elementary schools.  Some families rely on older siblings to care for younger ones after school was also discussed.

At both forums, the consensus was clear that middle and high school students should start school later. Research supports that this change results in many positive benefits: lower tardiness and absenteeism rates, lower rates of depression, higher graduation rates, higher test scores, better athletic performance, in general—better student outcomes. CLICK HERE for the WCSU School Start Times webpage.

Another forum meeting will be held on Monday, April 23 from 5:30-7:30pm at U-32 rooms 128-132. Information will be provided on options for school start time changes and further community input gathered. Students, teachers, parents, and community members are invited to attend and participate. 

~  AFRICAN LIBRARY PROJECT (ALP)  ~

U-32 7th grade students are working with an organization called the African Library Project (ALP) to raise $1,000 and collect 1000 books to help build a Community Library in Malawi, Africa. Please bring your extra change and donate to oneof the change jars scattered around the school including in the Front Office. Similar with books - if you have any books that fit the donation guidelines you can drop them in ALP boxes located around the school including outside the Front and Middle School Offices. For detailed information about where to find the jars, boxes, and book guidelines, please visit Our Slideshow. Additionally, keep up to date with the project at Our Website.

~  SCHOOL EMERGENCY INFORMATION GUIDE  ~

A school crisis can take a number of forms including an environmental event, such as a chemical spill or gas leak; a weather emergency, such as a tornado warning; or an intruder in or near the school. The nature of a school crisis dictates whether school officials will put in place a lockdown, lockout, shelter-in-place, evacuation or any combination of these protocols, as a means to ensure the safety and well-being of students and staff.

CLICK HERE to see how U-32 responds to these emergencies.

~  U-32 2018 ANNUAL BUDGET REPORT & SCHOOL REPORT  ~

CLICK HERE for 2018 U-32 Annual Budget Report.

CLICK HERE for 2018 U-32 School Report.

CLICK HERE for 2018-2019 U-32 Proposed Budget Presentation.

~  U-32 FEATURED IN AGENCY OF EDUCATION VIDEO  ~

Last year, u-32 was evaluated by a team of teachers, administrators, students and members of the Agency of Education to see how well we were meeting the educational goals of the state.  From this evaluation, U-32 was chosen as a school with a "promising practice."  Our Teacher Advisory, TA, system and our overall school culture was chosen as an example to be shared with others.  A video was produced to show what we do here at U-32. It really showcases what is great about U-32.

CLICK HERE for AOE video link.

~  NINTH GRADE INFORMATION NIGHT  ~

CLICK HERE to view the PowerPoint Presentation that was presented at the Ninth Grade Information Night Meeting.

~ SCHOOL CANCELLATIONS, DELAYED STARTS & EARLY RELEASES ~

As we move into the time of year when the weather can impact our daily commutes, I would like to assure you that the safety of our students is my highest priority. I would like to explain how we make determinations about school cancellations, delayed starts, and early releases in general. 

Within 72 hours of a potential inclement weather event, we start to receive information from both the Burlington office of the National Weather Service and local meteorologist Roger Hill warning us that there might be a chance of difficult driving conditions. The day before the event, we receive updates from both of our weather services with storm models that predict the timing, the intensity, the duration, and the types of precipitation and the temperature. Approximately 10 hours before we have to make the school closing decision, we receive an updated model package and check-in with the town road crews to ascertain their readiness for the storm. On the day of the event, at 4:30 am, we start a communication protocol with all five town road crews, First Student bus company, and Roger Hill to see if anything has changed from the night before. By 5:40 am we have to make the determination to run our regular schedule or to delay or cancel school. If we are any later than this time, the bus company and the town road crews cannot ensure that students will arrive at school safely.

If the predictions are different than what a bus driver experiences while on the road, our drivers are instructed to stop where they are and wait for support from the town road crews to help improve the driving conditions. At the same time, the buses are in constant communication with both the bus garage and the supervisory union office. 

I am thankful that First Student and the town road crews work with us to always make the safety of our students their first priority to ensure that everyone stays safe while on the roads.

If you have any further questions or concerns, please let me know.

Bill Kimball  |  Superintendent of Schools  |  Washington Central Supervisory Union

Our school uses Tandem for Schools to manage all school calendars and events.  It will be THE place for you to find all school event information.  Sign up for FREE to get great benefits such as all the calendar information you need in one place; integration of school calendars with other tools like Cozi, Outlook, Google or iCal based on the groups you specify and so much more!

CLICK HERE for the link to the U-32 calendar.

IC PARENT PORTAL SECURITY UPDATE - Washington Central Supervisory Union is updating their security protocol  in the IC Parent Portal to better protect the privacy and security of the users. All users will be required to add additional security preferences when registering a new IC account or logging into an existing IC account.  Security preferences are another layer of protection for your account and will allow you to reset your password should you ever need to.  Users can log in up to three times before these settings will be required.

Here our security changes document that will walk any user through this one time process.  

|  APRIL HOME GAMES  |

Apr. 5  |  V Girls' Lacrosse vs. St. Johnsbury  |  4:30 p.m.

Apr. 6  |  V Boys' Tennis vs. Colchester  |  3:30 p.m.

Apr. 9  |  V Girls' Lacrosse vs. Harwood  |  4:30 p.m.

Apr. 10  |  V Boys' Lacrosse vs. Harwood  |  4:00 p.m.

Apr. 11  |  V Girls' Lacrosse vs. Vergennes / Mt. Abe  |  4:30 p.m.

Apr. 14  |  V Softball & Baseball vs. Randolph  |  11:00 a.m.

Apr. 25  |  V Girls' Lacrosse vs. Stowe  |  4:30 p.m.

Apr. 26  |  HS Track  |  3:30

Apr. 26  |  MS Softball & Baseball vs. Barre Town  |  4:30 p.m.

Apr. 27  |  V Girls' Tennis vs. Harwood  |  3:30 p.m.

Apr. 27  |  MS Girls' & Boys' Lacrosse vs. Lamoille  |  4:30 p.m.

Apr. 28  |  V Softball & Baseball vs. Lake Region  |  11:00 a.m.

Apr. 30  |  V Boys' Lacrosse vs. Mt. Abe  |  4:00

|  COFFEE / TEA WITH THE PRINCIPAL  |

|  8th GRADE WASHINGTON DC TRIP INFORMATION UPDATE  |  

THURSDAY, APRIL 4 - FINAL PAYMENTS DUE. All Students need to have $660 in their account.

THURSDAY, MAY 24 - CHAPERONE MEETING / POTLUCK DINNER at 5:30 in Middle School Room 15.

WEDNESDAY, MAY 30 - MEET YOUR CHAPERONE - 8:15 a.m. in the auditorium.

MONDAY, JUNE 4 - Leaving U-32 at 7 PM for DC.

SATURDAY, JUNE 9 - 6 AM estimated return time.