Current Announcements

Pictured above: Third graders enjoy cross-country skiing with P.E. instructor Laura Cary.

2/26/2021

Dear Families,

We officially made it through 100 days of school as of today—a milestone well worth celebrating! We could not be providing our students with continuous education and enrichment this year without the incredible dedication of our staff, the resilience of our students, and the support of this community’s amazing families and friends. Thank you one and all!

Below are a few items of note before you head into the weekend, as well as ongoing COVID-19 health and safety reminders.

Warm regards,

Tim

Voting & NBGSD Annual Meeting (Feb. 27 at 9 a.m. via Zoom)

As with everything else this year, local voting will look a bit different. By now you should have received your mail-in ballot. If you haven’t already mailed your ballot, voters are being encouraged to do so rather than dropping off ballots at the Train Depot.

The North Bennington Graded School District Annual Meeting will be held virtually TOMORROW, February 27, at 9 a.m. The Zoom link, meeting ID, and passcode are available on our website, along with local voting information. Go to this link for more information: https://vsnb.org/notice-voter-ballots-2021.

Please keep in mind that supporting the school’s tuition and budget (at a 2% increase) makes a significant difference for our school and allows us to continue providing a high quality education for our students, particularly in these challenging times.

VSNB Read Across America with Kindness Week (March 1-5th)

Amanda Bickford, Director of Technology and Distance Learning, has been working with the faculty to organize this initiative for our school next week. As Mrs. Bickford shared: “Classes will read heartwarming stories about kindness from many different cultures and countries. Our hope is that these stories will inspire students to spread kindness and help them deepen their understanding that being kind, respectful, empathetic, and compassionate toward others can make our school and our world a better place.”

We will be engaging students in reading and practicing kindness through a variety of activities. One particularly fun activity will be making paper chains to visually represent students’ acts of kindness. For every random act of kindness that a student does, one loop will be added to their classroom’s paper chain, and, ultimately, we will connect all of the classrooms’ paper chains together, and hopefully make it around the whole school!

More information on Read Across America is available at this website: https://www.nea.org/professional-excellence/student-engagement/read-across-america

Pop-up Art Exhibit

A new pop-up art exhibit in the Thomayer building, next to Powers Market in North Bennington, features art from the pre-k and kindergarten classes. VAE Teaching Artist Caitilin McAdoo shares the following: “The kindergarten class has learned about the businesses and services in our village and has worked hard to make small versions of many of the buildings, including the library, the school, the restaurants, the post office, the fire station, the gas station, the Left Bank, and even the fountain and the new sculpture sign. You will also find the doctor’s office, hair salon, Powers Market, a church, Lake Paran and the sun and the moon represented in the show. Flying above the buildings are beautiful birds that some of the pre-k students made.”

COVID-19 Health & Safety

Governor Scott’s executive orders and recommendations are still in effect meaning that Vermonters are not allowed to gather with people you don’t live with (except for socially distanced activities outside with mask wearing); and, anyone returning to or traveling to Vermont for any purpose other than essential travel must follow the quarantine guidelines. Refer to the Department of Health COVID-19 website for prevention information and FAQs.

COVID-19 Close Contacts & Testing

If you are a close contact to someone with COVID-19, the Vermont Department of Health states: “You need to stay home and away from other people to prevent further spread of the virus.

Soon you will receive a call from a Health Department Contact Tracer. Please answer the call. The Contact Tracer will give you important information, including the date you may have been exposed and how long you need to stay home. According to the Department of Health, you should follow these steps:

Please quarantine at home. This means avoiding activities outside of your home—like going to school, work, grocery shopping, or recreation—and separating yourself from others in your home. Learn more about quarantine.
Watch for symptoms of COVID-19 and call your health care provider if you start to feel sick.
Get tested as soon as you can. It’s okay to leave home to get tested, for urgent medical care or if you feel unsafe at home. You must quarantine and follow guidance provided by the Department of Health even if this test is negative.

Testing is available at SVMC and at the Bennington Rescue Squad, which offers quick, easy, and free testing daily. Click on the following link for details about testing: https://svhealthcare.org/COVID-19/testing.

As cases have increased, the recommendations regarding who should be tested have changed. People who meet the following criteria should be tested:

Close contacts with a positive case. These include those who share a household or worksite with a positive person, and those who have attended an event with that person. Close contacts should be tested immediately and again after 7 days.
Anyone who plans to participate in a gathering/event.
Anyone who has attended a gather/event.
Anyone who travelled out of state.
Anyone who has a visitor from out-of-state.
College students returning to Vermont.

According to the Vermont Department of Health, it is also important to get re-tested 7 days after a single possible exposure, as it takes your body some time to create a measurable load of virus. Those who wait 7 days after a single possible exposure are more likely to get an accurate result. Testing too early can lead to a false negative.

Waiting for Test Results

While you are waiting for test results, follow these instructions from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and any directions you receive from the organization administering the test. The bottom line is that you should self-quarantine until your results are known.

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THANK YOU TO THE VILLAGE SCHOOL’S 2020-2021 BUSINESS PARTNERS IN EDUCATION

All of these partners are helping to support many of our school programs. You can learn more about these partners at https://vsnb.org/bpie-sponsors

GOLD LEVEL:

Bank of Bennington: https://thebankofbennington.com/

SILVER LEVEL:

D.B. McKenna & Co., Inc.: https://www.dbmckenna.com/

RCS Consulting, Inc.: https://www.rcs.consulting/

Whitman’s / Poulin Grain: https://www.whitmansfeed.com/

BRONZE LEVEL:

Adam’s Lock & Security: https://www.adamslockvt.com/

Danielle D. Fogarty, PLC: https://www.ddfplc.com/

Global Z: https://globalz.com/

Maple Leaf Realty: https://www.mapleleafvermont.com/

West Oil Company: https://westoilcompany.com/