Mt. Mansfield Modified Union School District (MMMUSD) is Formed

On December 18, 2014, Secretary of Education, Rebecca Holcombe, swore in community members who were elected in November to serve on the new MMMUSD Board and officially recognized Mt. Mansfield Modified Union as a Vermont school district.  In addition, a treasurer, clerk and annual meeting moderator were elected from the floor and an annual meeting date established on the fourth Thursday in February.  This organizational meeting was formal in nature as its purpose was to solidify MMMUSD as an authorized school district entity in the State of Vermont.  However, Secretary Holcombe highlighted the historical significance of the new school district as well as her support for the work of the Voluntary Merger Committee and enthusiasm for the potential of the the preK-12 school district.

Mt. Mansfield Modified Union School District (MMMUSD) Board Retreat

The MMMUSD School Board wasted no time in beginning its work.  On December 20th, the new board gathered at Camels Hump Middle school to discuss roles and responsibilities, set priorities for the next six months, elect officers and initiate the process of forming a new governing body.  The Vermont School Boards Association supported in facilitating the meeting. The retreat was productive and resulted in the following:

• Jon Milazzo (Richmond) was appointed Chair.  Andrew Pond (Bolton) was appointed Vice Chair.  Dianne Kirson-Glitman (Jericho) was appointed Clerk.
• Peter Geiss (Underhill), Beth Racine (Underhill),  Kevin Campbell (UID), Dave Clark (Huntington), Michael Marks (Richmond) and Edye Granning (Jericho) were appointed to the Finance Committee.
• Andrew Davis (Jericho), Peter Geiss (Underhill), Michael Marks (Richmond) and Jon Milazzo (Richmond) were appointed to the Negotiations Committee.  Huntington School District Representative, Edmund Booth is also a member of the Negotiations Committee.  
• The Board will meet the first and third Monday of each month at 6:30 p.m. (Click here to view meeting schedule) 
• The January 5, 2015 meeting will take place in the MMUHS Library. Subsequent meetings will be held at CHMS until June 30th.  CHMS is the meeting location during the transition phase. After June 30, the board will determine meeting venues.
• Set preparing a 2015-2016 budget; negotiating contract agreements; transitioning supervisory union responsibilities; building a cohesive board team; develop an understanding of the assets of the new district and plan for Town Meeting 2015.  

In addition to short-term priorities, the MMMUSD Board will be working on a vision, strategic plans/priorities and community engagement plan.  To access a draft of the Board Retreat minutes, please go to MMMUSD retreat minutes.

The next meeting of the MMMUSD Board will be held January 5, 2015, in the Mt. Mansfield Union High School Library.  A primary agenda item will be the 2015-2016 MMMUSD budget development for 8 schools which include Smilie Memorial School, Jericho Elementary, Richmond Elementary, Underhill ID Elementary, Underhill Central, Browns River Middle, Camels Hump Middle and Mt. Mansfield Union High Schools.

colonial candle making

Second graders experiencing first hand the process of making candles; creating tapers one dip at a a time. 

Please join us for our annual

Holiday Sing Along

Tuesday, December 23rd

** 1:30 pm **

**please note corrected time

special events reminder, today and tomorrow

Kindergarten Parents 
1:00 pm today, Monday
Kindergarten Tea

All Parents
1:30 pm tomorrow, Tuesday
Holiday Sing Along

Free nutrition/ cooking educational opportunity in January

The Farm at the Vermont Youth Conservation Corps is excited to offer a free cooking & nutrition class to students. Parents and siblings are welcome. Join us for The Learning Kitchen, a six-week class designed to teach all youth how to cook, eat and celebrate food. We try new recipes, learn new skills in the kitchen, and share farm fresh vegetables!

Classes meet for 2 hours once a week at VYCC’s West Monitor Barn in Richmond. All students go home with a vegetable share from The Farm at VYCC each week. There is no cost to participate, only a willingness to have fun in the kitchen!

For more information, or to sign up, please contact Cae (“Shay”) Keenan at caelan.keenan@vycc.org or by phone 248-882-0634. The deadline to enroll is December 29, 2014. Classes begin in January 2015.

Yummm! Kale chips

Nutritious, delicious, homemade kale chips are frequently a part of our colorful lunch menu. It's no problem for the students at BPMS to EAT more kale! Yum!

young writers blossoming as teachers gently water, tend and nurture

https://animoto.com/play/qJjnOFuz2afqGEQBe1xOTg

Ask your writer to share something new they're writing about! click the link to see our teachers and writers in action

Huntington Cookbooks are now ON SALE at school!

Can we help?

While many of you have had heat and utilities including phone service, restored; many people are still without. If you know of a family that needs our support, or children and families that were challenged over the last five days that we can reach out and help physically or emotionally; please let Sue or Sally know. We understand that this has been a difficult week. The heavy snows caused a tremendous amount of damage to trees, homes, cars and even some livestock and it will be days or even a few weeks until everything returns to normal. As we return to school today we would like to support students and families; please let us know if we can support you.

Storm Passes...

As a very unusual week comes to a close, we hope that you and your children are safe, warm and returning to a regular routine. While Mother Nature's snow halted our daily work and school routines, the crews have been out restoring power and phone service. Our hope is that throughout the weekend all utilities come back on and we'll be ready to go Monday morning.

Tues. 12/9 School Board Meeting POSTPONED

Tonight's School Board Meeting has been POSTPONED

Rescheduled meeting TBD

12/9/14

Weather Conditions on school days UPDATE

Dear Students & Families: November 21, 2014

Once again we are approaching the time of year when weather might influence the school day.  The primary factor in determining whether to alter the school day in response to weather conditions is student safety.  The day may be affected in three ways.

1. School delayed one hour
2. School delayed two hours
3. School closed

If we are able to open school, we seldom close early due to inclement weather.  The local and state road crews know when the afternoon buses depart from school.  We need to allow them an opportunity to service the roads.

The following factors will be considered when making a decision about the school day due to inclement weather:

1. Are the roads/highways safely passable?
2. Can pedestrians (on the way to and at school) move around safely?
3. Can the building exits be cleared in the event we need to evacuate?  Being able to get into a building does not necessarily mean we can efficiently evacuate a building.
4. Can the buses travel safely?

There will be occasions when school remains open in less than ideal weather conditions. When this happens, we have particular concern for the welfare of our teenage drivers.  We know that icy and snow covered roads are a challenge for any driver.  Please be very deliberate before allowing a young driver to leave for school in inclement weather.

When school is in session, if you feel road conditions are unsafe to send your child to school, you always have the freedom to keep your child home for the day.

When there is a change in the school day, the announcement will be broadcast on radio, local TV and online at www.sover.net/schoolclosings and www.cesu.k12.vt.us .  A message will also be delivered via email and/or phone to individuals who have signed up for the Blackboard Connect 5 Emergency Notification System.  Please contact your school to specify phone numbers and email addresses to be used by the Emergency Notification System, if you wish to participate or have a change in contact information.

Sincerely,

John R. Alberghini

Superintendent of Schools

Shadow Puppet Performance, Monday Afternoon

Please join us for a Shadow Puppet Performance of Swimmy 

a favorite Leo Lionni story

Monday, December 8th 

K,1,2 at 12:30

3,4 at 1:15

Best Celebration EVER!

This week we celebrated 5,000 positive acknowledgements! We began the day with Jazzercise, laughter, smiles and FUN!
Thank you Emily Donovan for providing us with this awesome start to the day!

Stone Soup performance by Ms. Motta's third and fourth grade students

Please take a few moments to enjoy the short play put on by Ms. Motta's third and fourth grade students at yesterday's All School Morning Meeting!