Parent Newsletter October 7, 2011
Dear Parents,
Our first Parent Coffee on Monday was a lovely success. Mr. Cox and I enjoyed having a few minutes to chat with parents as they dropped children off for school. We will continue to do this on the first Monday of each month. We hope that you will join us on Monday, November 7.
I want to thank two long term substitute teachers for their help this fall. Barbara Barbour has taught science in grades 7 and 8 while Ms. Colby has been out on maternity leave. We welcome Ms. Colby back on Monday and thank Mrs. Barbour for all of her hard work. Lee Fotion subbed for Mr. Pogue while he was out on paternity leave. Mr. Pogue is back in his second grade classroom. Mrs Fotion has been subbing where ever there is a need. We thank both long term subs for helping us get off to a healthy school start.
Today’s Channel 3 news report included a story about a high school girl who is suing her former school for not protecting her from bullying and harassment. We have two policies, #F1-B and F-1C that address these issues. They can be found in the student handbook and on our website. I mention them because parents often feel that we over react to “normal teenage” language and behavior. However, by policy and by law we must address this behavior. Behavior and language that may have been overlooked when parents were in middle school must be addressed today. Schools cannot prevent bullying and harassment. However, we have a responsibility to educate students about what it is, set standards for behavior, and respond to complaints.
Once again, Janie White and Deb Joslin have earned a nearly perfect score by the Vermont Department of Health for the condition and management of the school kitchen. They earned a score of 99 out of 100 points. We are very proud of their record!
At our faculty meeting this week, Alicia Jenks led a discussion about venting. We talked about the need for students and adults to occasionally vent when stressed or frustrated. The danger is in making assumptions about schools, teachers, parents, or students based upon someone’s venting their frustrations. Often after “letting loose”, the person who has just vented can put the issue into better perspective. I mention this to parents because we hear of many students who regularly vent at home. Parents then get only one picture of what is happening in their child’s day, and of course, want to make things better. When talking to the teacher, both the teacher and the parent often find the true situation is different than described while the child is in venting mode. Venting is important, but the follow up discussion is equally important. After talking things through with your child you feel the problem really exists and cannot be solved by the child, by all means, contact the teacher for a conference. We will do our best to solve the problem together.
This weekend is supposed to be spectacular. Enjoy it with your kiddos. As always, give them a hug for me.
Judy Callens
