A newsletter from Stowe Elementary School

PO Box 760, 254 Park Street, Stowe, VT 05672 USA
P: 802­.253.­4154 F: 802.­253.­6915 W: www.stoweschoolsvt.com

Thursday, February 23, 2017

February 24

Happy Winter Break!

Student-Led Conferences

Families will have an opportunity to participate in a new experience in March as our school engages in parent/teacher conferences with a new component - student voice!  Your child will attend the conference to share his/her learning.  Student-led conferences are an important part of helping children take ownership of their learning.  This level of personalization has a strong, positive impact upon students, both in and out of school.  If you'd like to learn more about proficiency-based learning and connections to personalization, please visit our website at this link:  The Road to Proficiency

 Here are a few hints for families as we prepare for conferences:
  • Express positive interest and anticipation about the upcoming conference.
  • As you listen, direct your responses to your child, rather than the teacher.
  • Express pride in growth and progress.
  • Ask questions.
  • Be positive, offering to help in areas where improvement is needed.
  • Recognize that students need to develop independence in communicating progress.
  • If you have more than one student, please have only the student who is leading the conference come into the classroom.  We're working on providing supervised play in the dining area during conferences - more news on that later!
Possible questions for the conference:
  • Can you explain this to me?
  • How have you grown in this area?
  • How can you improve in this area?
  • What was important to you about this?
  • What future goals do you have as a student?
Thank you for your support, as we learn and grow together as a school community!


PTO POSTS
  • Chess:  The PTO has organized chess lessons for students in kindergarten and first grade on Wednesdays, March 22 - April 12 in the library.  Please sign up here: http://www.signupgenius.com/go/4090948A4AA2FABFD0-kindergarten
NEWS AND EVENTS
  • Community Meeting:  Friday, March 10 at 8:20.  Mrs. Greene's class is our main presenter.  You're always welcome to join us!
  • Running Start Celebration:  Friday, March 17.  We'll celebrate our young readers with a "read in" and other activities.
  • Student/Parent/Teacher Conferences:  Thursday, March 16, 3:20 - 7:00 and Friday, March 24, 11:00 - 7:00.  Please go to the SSD website to sign up on PTC wizard.
  • Food Service Survey:  Please complete this survey to provide valuable feedback regarding our food service.  Negative or positive, your feedback is very important to us. Please take the time to do this, even if your child does not participate in the school lunch program. The survey only takes about 2 minutes to complete. We'd love to hear from everyone!  Food Service Survey  
  • Incoming Kindergarteners:  If you have a child who will be entering kindergarten this fall, please let us know.  Contact Sue O'Grady or Dot Hayden in the SES office. Thanks!
  • Preschoolers:  Do you have a preschool age child who will be 3 before September 1st?  If so, Lamoille South Early Education would like to invite you to our FREE developmental screening day.  Professionals from our early education team will be available to discuss your child's development and provide hearing and vision screenings.  We can also provide you with information on our public preschool options in Morrisville and Stowe.  Child Development Day will take place the morning of March 10th.  To RSVP, call 888-6707, ext.1, and leave a message with your contact information to RSVP.
  • Stowe Youth Hockey:  All students and families are invited to attend the "Pack the Jack for Stowe Youth Hockey" Exhibition Game of SLugs (with famous hockey players like Graham Mink, Brady Leisenring, and Ian Smith) vs. Stowe High School Boys Ice Hockey Team on Friday, March 10th at 6:00 PM at Stowe Arena.  This event is a fundraiser for Stowe youth Hockey, with the money raised going to make ice hockey available and accessible to all youth in the community.  Tickets are $10 per person and $20 per family.  This will be a fun and exciting event.  Please come and support the players and the youth hockey program!
  • Fun Fact:  As a school, we've collected 475 lbs. of batteries to be recycled this year.
  • Parent Night at SMS:  Tuesday, March 21 from 6:30 - 8:00, SHS Auditorium. "If I Could Have a Do-Over" presentation by John Halligan.  Mr. Halligan's presentation will cover the lessons learned too late for his family regarding how to deal with bullying, cyberbullying and teen depression.  Please contact SMS Guidance Counselor, Lauren Conti, with any questions at 253-6913. 
  • Spring Soccer:  Registration is February 5 - March 5.  In order to meet Vermont Soccer Association's spring league deadline, please ensure your child is registered no later than March 5.  We cannot guarantee we will be able to accept any late registrations.  Check out more information, the latest news and the link to register on our website.  http://www.stowesoccer.org/.    The Stowe Soccer Board.
  • Miles for Smiles:  Save the date for the 2nd Annual Miles for Smiles fundraiser - June 5, 2017.  

 Important Dates

February 27 - March 7:  Winter Recess
March 7:  Town Meeting Day
February 22 - March 15:  Girls on the Run Registration
March 16:  Student/Parent/Teacher Conferences
March 23:  Early Release for Students
March 24:  Student/Parent/Teacher Conferences

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