Current Announcements

POSTED 10/13/23

Dear Families,

I’m sure the Israel-Hamas War is very much on the minds of all of us adults, and some of our children may be hearing about it in the news. Below are several informational resources that may be helpful in terms of how to talk to your children, especially older children, about this war in particular and also war in general. There are some book recommendations and websites that can help guide all of us in these sad and difficult conversations. 

There is no easy way to segue into other school news, but I do want to thank a number of volunteers for sharing their time and expertise to teach our students this week. 

Volunteers from the North Bennington Fire Department took time this week to talk to our students about fire safety as part of Fire Prevention Week. Each class also had the opportunity to explore the fire trucks and learn about the equipment that firefighters use.  Thank you to firefighters Michael Pierce (also a Village School parent), Bradley Myers, and Lonnie West! 

Many of our students in K-6 also had an engaging STEM experience learning about basic programming through introductory robotics classes with Bennington College professors and Village School parent-volunteers Katie Montovan and Hugh Crowl. Students worked in pairs and had fun figuring out how to code the robots to move in particular directions, draw shapes, flash lights, and even play music. 

Photos from both the Fire Safety Day and the Robotics courses are on our website at these links:

https://vsnb.org/fire-safety-2023/

https://vsnb.org/robotics-classes-2023/

As we look to next week, please keep in mind that Friday, October 20th will be a half day dismissal for all students, as teachers will be doing professional development for Eureka Math Squared, which is our school’s new curriculum. If you would like to learn more about Eureka Math Squared, there is an informational page for parents at this website: https://greatminds.org/math/eurekamathsquared/family-engagement.

Below are school and community announcements for your reference. 

Have a good weekend!
Tim

Resources for discussing the Israel-Hamas War with children:

Common Sense Media – How to Talk to Kids about Violence, Crime, and War 

American Psychological Association – Resilience in time of war (elementary school students) 

School Library Journal: https://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/story/Resources-for-Discussing-the-Israel-Hamas-War-with-Students 

School Announcements:

Track and Treat – Sunday, Oct. 29, 9-11 a.m.

Register for Track and Treat—our school’s annual family fun run/walk (9 a.m.) and 5K run/walk (9:30 a.m.). The family fun run will be FREE for participants and the 5K will cost $15 for each runner with pre-registration and $20 on the day of the race. Kids of all ages, family members, and friends are invited to enjoy the races, pumpkin painting, baked goods, music, face painting with Oh Hello Face Painting, and more. We are looking for volunteers to help out with the event and to contribute baked goods (homemade or store bought are appreciated). If you can volunteer or contribute a baked good, please email friends@vsnb.org. Registration forms were sent home with students and are available on our website at this link: https://vsnb.org/track-and-treat-2023/.

Hiland Hall Gardens (HHG) is Hannaford’s Program of the Month! 

With the purchase of a bouquet of flowers from Hannaford anytime during the month of October, the garden will receive $1 in funding from each bouquet purchased! If you have had the chance to experience HHG’s beautiful gardens or know about our gardening programs that teach our children at the Village School how to grow fresh foods and eat for wellness, we hope that you will make it down to Hannaford to buy one of their beautiful bouquets! 

Community Announcements:

4-H Club – Open House on Saturday, Oct. 14 from 1-4 p.m. 

4-H Club is having an Open House opportunity on Saturday, October 14th. The Open House will be held at the Hale Mountain Fish and Game Club from 1-4 p.m. The 4-H club helps youth develop knowledge, and skills, to become competent, caring, community members. The 4-H’s represent our Head, Heart, Hands, and Health. Club members have the opportunity to participate in LEGO Robotics, animal care, archery, and many more hands-on activities. Tracey Stubbins from UVM will be facilitating this open house and welcomes Village School students from age 5 and up. A flier is posted on the Village School Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/villageschoolofnorthbennington/.

The McCullough Library – October Events!

Check out upcoming events happening at The John G. McCullough Free Library, including Saturday Storytimes, an Eclipse Party (Part 1), a Halloween Make-A-Mask Workshop, and a Youth Advisory Council Meeting for students in grades 5-8 to help choose books and programs for the library’s Youth Services Department. Visit this library’s website for more details: https://mcculloughlibrary.org/events/.

Vermont Arts Exchange Annual Halloween Parade – Sunday, Oct. 29th at 3 p.m.