CESU PreK Parent Night at Richmond Elementary School:

Come join us for a Pre-Kindergarten Parent Night at Richmond Elementary School on Wednesday, January 13th from 5:30-7:30.  Dinner and childcare will be provided.  For more information and registration please go here:   https://www.smore.com/mx7vh

CESU PreK Parent Night at Jericho Elementary School:

Come join us for a Pre-Kindergarten Parent Night at Jericho Elementary School on Thursday, January 14th from 5:30-7:30.  Dinner and childcare will be provided.  For more information and registration please go here: https://www.smore.com/pt51m

Pre-Kindergarten Opportunities

For residents of Bolton, Huntington, Jericho, Richmond and Underhill for the 2016-17 School Year

Your child must be at least 3 by September 1, 2016

http://prek.cesuvt.org

Did you know? You may be eligible for a $3,000 tuition credit for your 3, 4 or 5 year old (not attending kindergarten) to attend a pre-qualified Private Community Pre-K (Act 166).  

Did you know?  CESU has free School-based Pre-K classrooms for 3 and 4 year olds at Brewster Pierce Memorial School, Smilie Memorial School, Richmond Elementary School and Jericho Elementary School.

Did you know? CESU is offering a tuition free, full day, 5 days a week classroom option for 4 year olds at Richmond Elementary School and Jericho Elementary School.  Participation for this classroom requires proof of income eligibility and your child must be 4 by September 1, 2016.  If you are not eligible for this classroom you can have the option to be entered into a lottery process for available slots.  See guidlines on our website:  http://prek.cesuvt.org

How do I apply?   

Online Enrollment:  https://goo.gl/yG31nE

Printable Enrollment Form: https://goo.gl/9encS5

More information visit: http://prek.cesuvt.org

Questions:  lianne.petrocelli@cesuvt.org or 434-2128

Deadline for Enrollment is January 30, 2016

Just a reminder....

Smilie School's 4th Delayed Opening is on Wednesday, December 9, 2015. School will begin 2 hours later than normal.

School will officially begin at 9:30 a.m.

Vote for Browns River Middle School!

Don't forget to vote for Browns River Middle School on Wed. , Nov. 18th on Facebook so they can win $100,000 for their school lab.  They are going against 20 big schools so every vote counts!

Emergency Notification System and 2 other items

Dear Parents and Community Members,

Smilie Memorial Elementary School, as well as the other schools of Chittenden East, are replacing its old emergency notification system with Schoolmessenger as of November 18th.

We will test the new emergency notification system on Wednesday, November 18th, at 6:00PM. The system informs you of urgent information such as school closures, delays or emergencies.

You may have received a test two weeks ago from the old system. We apologize for any inconvenience that a second test may cause.  The new system was not available to us in August, and we had to keep the old and tested system in place until now.

Phone calls, emails and/or text messages will be sent you.  Posts will be made to the school's website, Facebook and Twitter accounts.

Note: If you requested text messaging, you will receive a text message from Schoolmessenger or Chittenden East on Tuesday, November 17th asking you to accept future text messages.  You must accept that request in order to receive future text messages.

If do not wish to be in the system, please contact us at 

802.434.2757.

Also, the SCA's  "Mixed Bag" fundraiser is ending on Tuesday, November 17. Please have all of your orders in at that time. Thanks for supporting Smilie School! 

Our next SCA Meeting is on Monday, November 16, at 5:30 in the gymnasium. Everyone is welcome and pizza will be served. Children are welcome. Please come and join us.

Late Start Early Bus Route  

November 10, 2015

6:48 a.m. 5430 Stage

6:50 a.m. Jct Stage/Notch

6:51 a.m. Jct of Country Club Drive

6:53 a.m. Jct Leary / Stage

7:03 a.m.  456 Duxbury Road

7:20 a.m. top Bolton Mtn

7:23 a.m. Jct Bear Run

7:28 a.m. Fernwood

7:30 a.m. Smilie

Just a reminder....

Smilie School's 3rd Delayed Opening is on Wednesday, November 11, 2015. School will begin 2 hours later than normal.

School will officially begin at 9:30 a.m.

During the month of October, we wanted to honor our bus drivers for all that they do on a daily basis for us. So, we invited our bus drivers to have lunch with us. Two bus drivers were able to come in and have lunch. The students created  giant thank-you cards for each of them. We are hoping that our other two bus drivers will come in for lunch during the month of November! Please extend a thank-you when you see them.

3rd Delayed Opening

Delayed Opening on Wednesday, November 11, 2015

School will start 2 hours later than usual.

Hi Folks,

It’s that time again when we need to know your plans for the November 11, Delayed Opening. Our theme will be Thanksgiving and we will have a variety of arts and crafts choices for the students. A couple of the activities include making placemats and holiday decorations for the Senior Holiday Dinner.

Please look for a sheet to fill out regarding your plans for November 11. The paper will be coming home today (MONDAY) and needs to be returned by TUESDAY (tomorrow)

Thanks for your help!  It’s a quick turn-a-round!

SMILIE FUNDRAISER

As a Principal, I have our school participate in one fundraiser for the year. This fundraiser is called, Original Works. The Art teacher and I collaborate and students create unique pieces of art work. These pieces can be printed up as cards, mouse pads, keychains, note pads and many more momentos. These one of a kind pieces can be given as gifts. The fundraiser will begin this Friday. Look for the packets in the backpacks of your child(ren). Take a look at all of the gift options. The deadline for your orders is Friday,  November 6, 2015. The money from this fundraiser is used for student scholarships and school-wide activities.  Thank-you in advance for participating if you can.

I want to apologize for running two fundraisers at the same time. The SCA and I are working to spread out these fundraisers next year. Thank-you for your patience. 

*Community Opportunities for Families and Students

LANTERN MAKING

 -1 day lantern making workshop (these lanterns could be used in the "River of Light Community Lantern Procession" held in Waterbury, on Saturday, December 5, in Waterbury or to light up your own backyards!)

- the lanterns are beautiful and quite unique as everyone puts their own creative ideas to work

- workshop is free to attend

- all tools and materials provided (pruning shears would be helpful to bring)

- children under 8 yrs. must be with an adult-not suitable for children under 6

- limit of 20 participants

- Saturday, November 21, 2015

- Smilie Gymnasium

- 10:00 a.m.- 3:00 p.m. (one hour break for lunch

- To register, please contact Gowri Savoor at info@gowrisavoor.com or visit http://ariveroflightinwaterbury.wordpress.com/

GIRL SCOUTS

-If you are interested in having your daughter join the girl scouts, please contact them by the following: girlscoutsgwm.org or 888.474.9686

CASTING CALL for a TALENT SHOW in December 2015 at Higher Ground

Live auditions for a childrens' (5-13 years of age) talent show will happen on Saturday, November 7,2015.  Register your act at: kidsvt.com/talentshow 

Please let me know if you have any questions. It was really great to see all of you at our Open House!

LICE

* It's that time of the season when lice seem to suddenly appear. Please check out all the information about lice and how you can help with this annual issue.

Our nurse has provided some very important information about lice and how to get rid of them. Thank you for taking the time to read information on the link below. Please contact the nurse if you have any further questions.

http://nursekristenuid.blogspot.com/p/lice.html

Annual Thanksgiving Dinner

* Our annual Thanksgiving dinner will be on Thursday, November 12,2015, this year. We usually have two seating opportunities: one for grades Prek-1 and one for  grades 2,3 & 4. Invitations will follow. Please stay tuned for further  Info

Need for Your Emergency Information 

* We are moving into the season where we may have emergency closings due to the weather. Please update your information with Sherry if you have not done so already. We really need to know where your child should go or who to contact in the event of  an emergency closing.

Mixed Bag Fundraiser

Our SCA is sponsoring a "mixed bag" fundraiser. There will be packets sent home today. Please take a look at the offerings. The money helps to fund a lot of our enrichment activities. Deadline is November 17, 2015. 

Dear Families:

On Wednesday, October 14, we will have our second Delayed Opening for professional development. If you have chosen to have your child ride the early bus and attend the SCA Apple Activities Program, the bus schedule follows:

Late Start / Early Bus Route  2015 - 2016

Stage Road, Bolton Mtn.Bolton- East Main Street Richmond

6:50  Jct Stage/Notch
5430 Stage
6:53 Jct Leary / Stage
517 Stage
7:03  456 Duxbury Road
7:20 top Bolton Mtn
7:28 Fernwood
7:30 Smilie


7:35 East Main 3455 East Main
Jct Lily Pond  
7:40 Richmond Village / Lemroy  
93 East Main  
7:45 RE/CHMS

For all other students, school will start 2 hours later than usual on the day. If your child usually rides the bus, it will be 2 hours later. Parent Drop Off will also be 2 hours later. Thank you for your attention to this change in schedule.

Monday, September 28, 2015

Hi Folks,

On the last delayed opening, we asked that ONLY those who REALLY needed supervision attend the early morning supervision. We had about 20 students. We had two SCA volunteers and a sub helping out on that day. It was a great success.

The SCA would now like to open up all the rest of the Delayed Openings to ANYONE who would like to participate. Just like our SCA used to do After School Enrichment (ASE) activities, they would like there to be Before School Enrichment (BSE) activities. I wholeheartedly support these efforts!! The October theme will be chock full of APPLE ACTIVITIES.  In order to make this work out smoothly, we  need your help.

I need to know:

a) if you want your child to attend the early morning BSE program

b) if your child will need early morning bus transportation

c) if you will be transporting your child to the BSE program

or 

d) if your child will come to school 2 hours later and need bus transportation

e) if your child will come to school 2 hours later and you will transport

Please be thinking of your answer to these questions. I will be sending home a sheet on Monday asking you to tell me your plans. Our bus coordinator needs to know by this Wednesday, who will be needing early transportation. So, I will need your slips back by Tuesday, September 29. It's a quick turn-a-round!

Please look for this special sheet of paper in your child's backpack on Monday. Thank you in advance for being prompt with your answers and returning the paper by Tuesday, September 29. 

Please call the school (434-2757) if you have any questions.

Thank-you!

Tuesday, September 29- PICTURE DAY!

Don't forget!

Hello Everyone!

Thanks for all of your efforts in making our first delayed opening a success! Our teachers were engaged in powerful learning experiences and used the entire time collaboratively. 

All students were accounted for and there didn't seem to be any major issues. Please let me know if you experienced any problems on that day.

Our next Delayed Opening will be on Wednesday, October 14. Please let Sherry and I know if you have any change of plans from the first delayed opening.

You will find information on the following in this memo.

*Contact Information

*End of Day Plans for Your Child

*Bus Notes

*Price Chopper Points for Smilie

*Picture Day

*Open House

*Welcome Part 2-The Early Years Child Care Program at Smilie

Contact Information

Please return contact information to Sherry as soon as possible. If there is no change in your contact information, please come in and sign the sheet with Sherry, for the new year.

End of Day Plans for Your Child

If you have a change in plans for your child at the end of the day, please call the office BEFORE 2:00 p.m.You can also send a note to school with your child. Students get ready to leave and are walking out to the buses at 2:15. It can create a great deal of anxiety for your child to have to quickly change gears and do something else. Please do not rely on email as there is no guarantee that your email will be read in time. Notes and calls are best. Thank you for your help with this matter.

Bus Notes

When you are writing a bus note for your child, please be sure to write down the exact address of where he/she is going. At times we get notes saying that "Emily is going to her Grandma's house after school today." Most bus driver's will not know Emily's Grandmother and we are stuck trying to figure out the address! thanks for your help with writing the exact address on your note.

Price Chopper Points for Smilie

Please consider going online to  price chopper.com to register your store card. Each time you shop at Price Chopper, you will get points for our school to buy special school items. Our school code is 15323. If you registered last year, you do not have to re-register. Thanks!

Picture Day

Picture day is on Tuesday, September 29. We will take a photo of the whole school, including Preschool, at 10:35, when both Preschool programs are present. The a.m. Preschool bus will be held up for approximately 10-15 minutes on that day.

Open House

We will have Open House on Thursday, October 8, from 6:00 p.m.to 7:00 p.m. Please plan to meet in the gymnasium around 6:00 and I will introduce staff members to everyone.

Welcome Part 2-The Early Years Childcare Program

Part 2-The Early Years Education program at Smilie provides quality childcare from 7:15 to 10:30 for children enrolled in the four year old preschool class.  Part 2-The Early Years Education program also provides an after school program for preschool and kindergarten students at Smilie. Children in grades 1-4 ride the bus after school to the Part 2 program held at Richmond Elementary School. There are currently openings for full and part time childcare in all of the programs. If you are interested in learning more, see the Part 2 link on the Smilie Memorial School webpage or talk with Jeanne Agner, the director of the Early Education program at our school.

Please stop by for a visit!

Sincerely,

Barbara

Wednesday September 9th

Chittenden East: all schools in Bolton, Jericho, Huntington, Richmond and Underhill

Reminder: All school start times will be exactly 2 hours later on Wednesday September 9th

For parents who have signed up for limited childcare at the school during the two hour late start, there is a modified bus schedule that only picks up at central locations.  Please check the school website for the limited bus pick up times and locations.

Smilie School's First Delayed Opening is on Wednesday, September 9, 2015. School will begin 2 hours later than normal

School will officially begin at 9:30 a.m.

Smilie Community Association (SCA), will be providing child care, free of charge, for those in need.

There will be limited bus service for those students needing a bus ride into school for the 7:30-9:30 a.m. child care purposes. The schedule for this limited bus service will be posted here on Friday, September 4, 2015.

Regular bus service will take children to school after the delayed start.  Routes will run 2 hours later than normal.

The Four Year Old Preschool Program will be in session at their regularly scheduled time: 10:35-2:15 on the delayed opening days.

Part 2-The Early Years will be in session, from 7:15-10:30, for those students currently enrolled in the program.

Please contact the school by phoning 434-2757 or sending a note to Sherry Mahoney, for any schedule changes for your child.

 Dear Parents and Guardians,

August is here and in just 8 more days we will once again have the wonderful sounds of student voices filling the hallways here at Smilie School. Since I was a child, the appearance of black-eyed Susans have always heralded the beginning of the school year.

Our first school day in August for students in grades K-4 is Wednesday, August 26.

Our first school day in August for students in Preschool is Tuesday,  September 1.

Many of our staff members spent at least part of their summer attending trainings to enhance their professional development. Teachers participated in learning about best practices in writing, math and reading. I, myself, took a class taught by Chrisitian Courtemanche, called Math Menu. Instead of teaching first grade math this year, I will be teaching second grade math. I am very excited to be continuing with my former first grade students. Math menu is a strategy to differentiate within the math period and offer students opportunities for enrichment, extra practice and time to explore special interests.

We recently received a grant from the Agency of Education to work with professionals from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill to promote some initiatives of  FirstSchool. To that end, Steve Menz, Helen-Anne Cafferty, April Thompson, Tina Cole, Janet Gill and I attended a four day summer institute at the Lake Morey Inn, in Fairlee, Vermont. FirstSchool has as one  of it's focus areas to make the transition from Preschool through all the ensuing grades more seamless. We will be working this year to identify all the strengths of our Preschool program and developing ways to continue these positive practices throughout all of our classrooms and school. In addition, we will be identifying specific classroom practices that are effective and efficient and promote cultures of caring, competence and equity. I will update you over the year as we learn more about this exciting professional development.

Please take a moment to check out the letter from our transportation coordinator and the bus routes this year.

August 11, 2015

Dear Parents and Students:

Welcome to the 2015-16 school year.  

Please take a moment to review the bus schedule at www.cesu.k12.vt.us under the General and Parent Info tab, the select Bus Information.  Most routes remain the same as last year; if there has been a change it is highlighted. Times are provided for fall and spring. During the winter season, buses may begin their routes five minutes earlier due to road conditions.  If any permanent changes occur, you will be notified. Students should be at the bus stop, ready to board the bus at least five minutes prior to the expected arrival of the bus. This will avoid unnecessary delays for the students further along on the route. Please be aware that drop-off and pick-up times may vary during the first weeks of school.

Students will be picked up and dropped off at their designated stop unless a written, dated request is given to school personnel. The school will provide a bus pass that specifies the bus number, address, and date to the student.  The student will then give the bus pass to the bus driver.  Students without written parental permission and school bus pass will not be able to ride an alternate bus.

Preschool and kindergarten students will only be released into the care of a parent or other authorized person at their designated stop. The person must meet the child at the bus door. If the person is not present to receive the child, the child will be returned to the school, and the parent contacted to arrange transportation for the child. Parents of preschool students will be notified of the bus schedule through their school or by the Transportation Department.

Safety is our first priority. To ensure a safe ride, students must follow the expectations that are posted in the bus.  In addition, bus expectations are outlined in Student Handbooks and posted on the Chittenden East website (www.cesu.k12.vt.us).  Please review the bus rules with your child.

For safety reasons, skateboards are not allowed on school buses. Large items and sports equipment are allowed only on a space available basis. If room for these items is not available, parents will need to arrange alternative transportation for these items.  DOT regulations prohibit items in the aisle.

Sports equipment (e.g. skis, hockey, football and lacrosse) must be placed in equipment bags.

We look forward to safe and pleasant travels this school year.  Please contact the bus garage at 899-4840 or transportation@cesuvt.org if you have any questions.

Sincerely,

Ray Staskus, Transportation Supervisor

  

Congratulations 4th Graders and their families!! We have enjoyed your love of learning and sense of adventure over your past years with us.

We wish you the very best at Camel's Hump Middle school! 

Newest Update on Bus Situation

 from Ray Staskus, Bus Coordinator

Friday, June 12, 2015

If there are questions, to call Ray and Holly at the bus garage at 899-4840.  As you can see, any adjustment to the bus schedule is complicated. Thank you, 

Ray

Dugway Road and Leary roads have reopened to bus travel. Also I’ve just gotten word Bolton Valley Road an Notch Road are also open now for bus travel.

 So we are down to just Wes White closed to bus travel.

Bus Service Wes White Road for June 12th - Richmond

Buses cannot travel on Wes White Road.  

Wes White Road pickup and drop off will be at intersection with Cochran Road, pickup at 7:00 a.m. and drop off for CHMS and RES will be 3:04 p.m. and High School will be 12:45pm.