Whether you’re excited to get out and enjoy the snow, or are looking forward to staying cozy indoors, there’s no doubt about it: winter is here. I wanted to share information so you can be prepared for a school closing or delayed start.

If road crews need extra time to make the route to school safe for students, we may call for a 2-Hour Delay. In this instance, school will begin at 10:00am. For a regular snow day, school will be closed for all students. We don’t have plans to use a “Remote Learning Day” option instead of a school closing.

Normally, the communication for a school closing or delay goes like this in the morning:

• Information is shared with local press outlets such as WCAX, WPTZ, Local 22 & 44. This info will be on their websites and on television.
• Phone calls and emails go out around 6:30am to all families.
• Info will be posted on our Twitter, Facebook, Instagram (@WinooskiLearns), our website, and on our electronic sign in front of the school.

Please watch the video below to learn more about our plan for winter transportation for students. Here’s to a fun and safe winter for all!

Take care,
Sean McMannon, Superintendent

• December 15 at 12:15pm – Early Dismissal for all students
• December 23 through 31 – No School
• Updated 2021-2022 Calendar

We are excited to announce that WSD Instructional Assistant Justice Palmer will be accompanying students on their bus ride to and from school. While we are doing our best to provide supervision, to ensure more comprehensive coverage we are still hiring for another person to ride the bus with students in the morning and afternoon. If you are interested in this paid, part-time position, email Nicole Mace (nmace@wsdvt.org).

For the winter months, the Winooski Police Department also plans to have an officer on Winooski Falls Way to support traffic control so students can cross the street safely.

Watch the video above to learn more about when and where to find your stop (and meet Justice)!

Here is our current plan for riding a GMT bus to school.

Our COVID-19 clinic this week went very smoothly. Over 180 students got their second dose and a few staff got their booster shots. We are so proud of how brave our students were and grateful to the staff and parents who made it all possible.

Getting vaccinated will keep you and your child safe and healthy, and help stop the spread of COVID-19 in our community. Find a local clinic to get your or your child’s FREE 1st, 2nd, and booster doses!

There have been eight positive cases of COVID-19 reported to the WSD COVID Coordinators since last week. Two of the COVID-positive individuals were infectious while at school. All close contacts have been notified. If you were not contacted that means your child is not considered a close contact. A third positive case is being investigated by the COVID Coordinators and the Vermont Department of Health to determine whether contact tracing is required. Remember to answer your phone if you get a call from the WSD COVID Response Team.

In our learning community, 55 people are out because they are considered a close contact of a COVID+ person or because they have COVID-19 symptoms, and may return to school once they receive negative test results or finish their 14-day quarantine.

Mandatory COVID Testing for Student-Athletes

All middle and high school basketball players must be tested weekly for COVID-19, regardless of vaccination status. Students will be tested on Monday mornings at our weekly surveillance testing event in the health office. If students miss the at-school testing event they must provide their negative PCR test results to the COVID Coordinators (nurses@wsdvt.org) and Athletic Director Sam Jackson (sjackson@wsdvt.org) by Wednesday of that week. As a reminder, no student with any COVID symptoms should come to school or participate in afterschool activities. Sign up your student-athlete for surveillance testing here.

Surveillance Testing

Surveillance testing will continue next week. If you would like your child to participate in this free program, you may sign up here. You only need to sign up once for ongoing participation. Results will come through a software program called Binx, which requires creating an account.

Low-Risk Exposure

While the term “close contact” has been used frequently and is clearly understood by most of us (“a close contact is anyone who was within 6 feet of an infected person for a total of 15 minutes or more over a 24-hour period“), low-risk exposure is less clear. Some parents received notification of “Low-Risk Exposure” this week due to a positive case in our district so we wanted to explain.

A low-risk exposure means that your student may have been in contact with a COVID+ person for less than 15 minutes, unmasked, and more than six feet away. According to the Vermont Department of Health (VDH), the risk of your student contracting COVID through this exposure is low, therefore termed a “low-risk exposure”. The notification sent out is based on a template created by the VDH and used by schools across the state. The WSD COVID Response Team evaluated the usefulness of this notification and has decided not to continue with this practice. Please remember to continually monitor your children for any COVID symptoms, and keep them home if they are unwell. Call the COVID-19 hotline with any questions: 802-556-2243.

Test to Stay

We are planning to begin Test to Stay in the coming weeks. This means asymptomatic, unvaccinated students who have been exposed to a COVID-positive person while at school may be tested via a rapid antigen test in the morning at school. If the result is negative, the student may attend school in person. This is great news because it will reduce the number of students who miss school due to quarantine requirements!

A detailed description of this program can be found on the Agency of Education Test to Stay website.

Parents/Guardians must complete both parts below if you want your child to be part of our district’s Test to Stay program. We request that you sign your child up by December 15 to make sure they can participate.

• A student can only participate in Test to Stay if their parent/guardian has given consent. If you would like your child to participate in the response testing, including the antigen Test to Stay program, please complete the Consent webform as soon as possible.
• Vermont will be using SimpleReport to report the results of antigen tests. This reporting system allows for parents/guardians to receive their student’s results instantly. Sign up for SimpleReport here.

Students will only participate in our TTS program IF they were exposed to a COVID+ person while at school. You will be notified if your child is considered a close contact and will be informed about the timeline for conducting Test to Stay if you would like them to continue coming to school in person. If the rapid antigen test result is positive, your child must be picked up from school right away.

Read about JFK Afterschool Opportunites here.

Read about WMHS Afterschool Opportunities here.

During the 12.6.21 Winooski City Council meeting, a COVID-19 indoor mask mandate resolution was unanimously passed. All individuals in the City of Winooski shall wear face coverings while indoors at locations that are open to the public. View the approved resolution and details

• Guide to Masks and COVID-19 (Vermont Department of Health)
  • Arabic / Burmese / Chinese / English / French / Kirundi / Nepali / Somali / Spanish / Swahili / Vietnamese

• Wearing a Mask and Taking Care of it (Vermont Language Justice Project Videos)
  • Arabic / Burmese / French / Maay Maay / Nepali / Spanish / Somali / Swahili / Kirundi / Vietnamese

The WSD School Board is working with the district Leadership Team on creating a budget for the next school year. The process began this week with an ENDS presentation, programmatic information about Special Education and Multilingual Learners Programs, and a presentation of the first budget draft. Read more about the school board’s budget process on the WSD website.

If you would like to share your input about the next year’s budget, you may attend any of the following meetings and share a public comment at the beginning of the meeting:

• Wednesday, December 15, 2021 at 6:30pm during the regular board meeting
• Wednesday, December 22, 2021 at 6:30pm
• Wednesday, December 29, 2021 at 6:30pm (if needed)
• Wednesday, January 5, 2022 at 6:30pm – Final review of the budget
• The budget will be adopted on Wednesday, January 12, 2022 at 6:30pm, during the regular board meeting.

WHS students Khellmar “OJ” Daring and Joseph Abdallah will be part of the upcoming Racism in America Forum, hosted by Rev. Dr. Arnold Isidore Thomas. The forum will be held on Wednesday, December 15 at 7:00pm.

In the forum, Black high school students will share their experiences on a topic of their choice related to being Black in one of the whitest states in the nation. The Racism in America Forum offers monthly occasions where topics of importance to people of color are shared and discussed with the hope of attracting allies and fostering positive change for all Americans.

Register for this Forum:

https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_VAFccvDoSpqlgU6GgUIhsQ

This weekly program runs on Saturdays from January 8 to February 12 from 9:00am to 12:00pm at the Bolton Valley Nordic Center. This program is FREE and includes: equipment, instruction, and ski passes are all provided and transportation is provided from the O’Brien Community Center in Winooski to and from Bolton Valley. This learn to ski program is open to all youth in grades 3rd and up; come ski, play games, and have fun in the snow!

To enroll in the program please fill out a program waiver at https://forms.gle/bAFC2MTAVLxqbp1SA. If you have questions please reach out to catamount.outreach@gmail.com or call 802-864-5794.

Ski Cubs Saturday Program Schedule

7:55am – Bus pick up (Sustainability Academy, meet in school parking lot)

8:15am – Bus pick up (O’Brien Center)

9:00am – Program start at Bolton Valley Backcountry and Nordic Sports Center

12:00pm – Program ends

12:45pm – Bus drop off (Sustainability Academy)

1:00pm – Bus drop off (O’Brien Center)

Tuesday’s in-school COVID-19 vaccine clinic administered 174 doses to Winooski students, which is almost half of our entire elementary student population. Getting our students vaccinated will keep them safe and healthy and will grant them the freedom to live their young lives with less worry. The relief we’re all feeling cannot be overstated.

Tremendous work went into preparing for an on-campus clinic during a busy school day, so I have a long list of people to thank. Thank you to the staff at the Agency of Education (AOE) and the Vermont Department of Health (VDH) for all their work preparing for the clinic in Winooski and across the state. I want to share my gratitude for all of our young students who bravely stepped up to get their vaccine even though the needle made many of them very nervous.

Our amazing Multilingual Liaisons Tul Niroula, Padam Thapa, Mukhtar Abdullahi, Dalib Bulle, and Faridar Ko put in hours of work to register students for the clinic. Without our liaisons, an inclusive and accessible clinic wouldn’t have been possible.

I also want to recognize the tremendous work of Principal Sara Raabe and guidance counselors Sarah Murphy and Grace Holcomb for getting students calmly to the clinic; Nurse Liz Parris for her health expertise and compassion for students and families (and for wearing the Hippo costume!); Shannon Fountain and Katharine Monje who tended to the health needs of our students throughout the day while also managing parts of the clinic; and Emily Hecker for working with the VDH and the AOE to make the clinic run smoothly and for making the experience as pleasant as possible for students.

Happy Thanksgiving to those of you who celebrate. I hope you all enjoy the school break and take time to refresh and enjoy time with your loved ones.

Thank you for taking the time to read the information below as we strengthen our school-family partnership.

Take care,

Sean McMannon, Superintendent

• November 18 and 19: Early Dismissal at 11am for all students (JFK Family/Teacher Conferences)
• November 19 – Veggie VanGo (community members may pick up produce from 10:05-10:25am)
• November 22 through 26 – No School
• December 7 – In-School COVID-19 Vaccine Clinic for Children ages 5-11 (2nd dose)
• Updated 2021-2022 Calendar

The Winooski School District COVID-19 2nd dose clinic will take place at school on December 7 from 9am to 3pm. Your child has been automatically enrolled if they attended the first clinic at our school.

Do you still have questions about the vaccine for this age group?

Read more about the COVID-19 vaccine for kids and find out where to make an appointment.

There have been no positive cases of COVID-19 reported to the WSD COVID Coordinators since last week. In our learning community, nine people are out because they have COVID-19 symptoms and may return to school once they receive negative test results or finish their 14-day quarantine.

Surveillance Testing
Surveillance testing will continue on November 29. If you would like your child to participate in this free program, you may sign up here. You only need to sign up once for ongoing participation. Results will come through a software program called Binx, which requires creating an account.

The Multi-Stakeholder Group has completed their final report to the community about their recommendations to the board about school safety models and the role of the School Resource Officer (SRO).

As stated in the MSG’s report, “After extensive and careful review of concerns and perspectives from various public participation fora, school and SRO practices and policies, interviews with students, teachers and community members, as well as a literature review on school safety models and data nationally, in Vermont and in Winooski, the group recommends shifting the SRO model to a combination of a District Liaison Officer (DLO) model with a school safety coach (SSC).”

Superintendent McMannon formally notified the City of Winooski that the WSD would like to retain the services of the SRO for the upcoming 2022-23 school year. Between now and June 30, 2023, our district will continue to work with everyone involved to make the following improvements:

• Develop better governance and accountability mechanisms to review and understand the SRO’s interventions at school and referrals to law enforcement.

• Improve data collection about disciplinary incidents of all kinds regardless of SRO’s involvement and ensure that such data includes demographic data such as race and gender.

In his memo, Superintendent McMannon affirms the district’s commitment to continuing a community consultation process and implementing an updated school safety and security model for the 2023-24 school year that continues to provide a high level of school safety and security and reduces the unscheduled amount of time an armed officer spends on the school campus during regular school hours.

Read the MSG full report and Superintendent McMannon’s memo below.

Last year, the WSD School Board approved funds to provide winter transportation this school year. Unfortunately, due to a severe statewide bus driver shortage, local school bus companies are unable to fulfill our request to provide winter transportation. This is not because of a lack of money, but because there are not enough trained drivers to drive the buses.

We are very disappointed that we are unable to provide school bus transportation this year because we know this is important to our students and their families. So, we have worked with Green Mountain Transit (GMT) on a plan to provide public bus transportation to and from school. Riding the GMT busses is FREE for everyone this year.

Here is our current plan for riding a GMT bus to school:

• Winooski students catch #9 bus when it loops through Elm/Hickock neighborhood around 7:21am, and then get off the bus at Winooski Falls/Spinner Place at 7:26am

• Students will wait at the Winooski Falls/Spinner Place stop for 10 minutes

• Winooski students catch the next outbound #9 at 7:39am, and get off the bus at Normand St around 7:45am

We highly encourage all students to use this GMT route to and from school. Our hope is that through increased ridership by Winooski students, we could discuss options with GMT to add routes or reconfigure the route so students do not have to change buses.

Please see the map below for more information about where and when your child should board the bus to get to school on time.

This Seven Days article by reporter Alison Novak clearly outlines the ongoing work to address inequitable school funding in Vermont. Well worth the read!

If you missed the Listen Up tour this summer, now is your chance to see this powerful, original musical based on the lives of Vermont teens. Winooski High School student Moseka “Don” Kiputa gives an incredible performance alongside youth from across the state. Tickets are $15 and you can reserve them by contacting Bess O’Brien at bobrien@pshift.com

Dear WSD Families and Staff,

The time between November break and December break is always bustling in our district, and this year is no exception. With our in-school COVID-19 vaccine clinic next week, the school board’s budget work, classroom changes for some middle and high school students and teachers due to construction, and the start of basketball season, there’s plenty to keep us all busy. I hope you all take time to enjoy the winter traditions that bring you comfort and joy.

Thank you for taking the time to read the information below as we strengthen our school-family partnership.

Take care,

Sean McMannon, Superintendent

• December 3 – Veggie Van Go at school (Community members are welcome from 10:05-10:25am)
• December 7 – In-School COVID-19 Vaccine Clinic for Children ages 5-11 (2nd dose)
• December 15 at 12:15pm – Early Dismissal for all students
• December 23 through 31 – No School
• Updated 2021-2022 Calendar

The Winooski School District COVID-19 2nd dose clinic will take place at school on December 7 from 9am to 3pm. Your child has been automatically enrolled if they attended the first clinic at our school. Please remind your child to bring their COVID-19 Vaccine Card to their appointment so the Health Department can complete it.

Do you still have questions about the vaccine for this age group?

Read more about the COVID-19 vaccine for kids and find out where to make an appointment.

The WSD School Board is working with the district Leadership Team on creating a budget for the next school year. The process began this week with an ENDS presentation, programmatic information about Special Education and Multilingual Learners Programs, and a presentation of the first budget draft. Read more about the school board’s budget process on the WSD website.

If you would like to share your input about the next year’s budget, you may attend any of the following meetings and share a public comment at the beginning of the meeting:

• Wednesday, December 8, 2021 at 6:30pm – revised budget presentation and Q & A opportunity.
• Wednesday, December 15, 2021 at 6:30pm during the regular board meeting
• Wednesday, December 29, 2021 at 6:30pm (if needed)
• Wednesday, January 5, 2022 at 6:30pm – Final review of the budget
• The budget will be adopted on Wednesday, January 12, 2022 at 6:30pm, during the regular board meeting.

Please join us on Monday, December 6 at 6pm for a workshop on local Family and Parent Resources. The meeting will be held in the school cafeteria. Child care and snacks will be provided.

Presenters include:

VSAC – talking about driving scholarships and adult continuing ed opportunities

Head Start – talking about programming and maternal health programs

CVOEO – VT Home Weatherization Assistance Program

CVOEO – Financial Futures Program (matched savings, business loans, and more)

Topics for the January Workshop will be voted on by attending families at the end of the workshop. Those that attend will be entered into a drawing for Shaws and Hannaford Gift Cards!

There has been one positive case of COVID-19 reported to the WSD COVID Coordinators since last week. This individual was infectious while at school and all close contacts have been notified. If you were not contacted that means your child is not considered a close contact. In our learning community, 11 people are out because they are considered a close contact of a COVID+ person, or because they have COVID-19 symptoms and may return to school once they receive negative test results or finish their 14-day quarantine.

Test to Stay

We are planning to begin Test to Stay in the coming weeks. This means asymptomatic, unvaccinated students who have been exposed to a COVID-positive person while at school may be tested via a rapid antigen test in the morning at school. If the result is negative, the student may attend school in person. This is great news because it will reduce the number of students who miss school due to quarantine requirements!

A detailed description of this program can be found on the Agency of Education Test to Stay website.

Parents/Guardians must complete both parts below if you want your child to be part of our district’s Test to Stay program. We request that you sign your child up by December 15 to make sure they can participate.

• A student can only participate in Test to Stay if their parent/guardian has given consent. If you would like your child to participate in the response testing, including the antigen Test to Stay program, please complete the Consent webform as soon as possible.
• Vermont will be using SimpleReport to report the results of antigen tests. This reporting system allows for parents/guardians to receive their student’s results instantly. Sign up for SimpleReport here.

Students will only participate in our TTS program IF they were exposed to a COVID+ person while at school. You will be notified if your child is considered a close contact and will be informed about the timeline for conducting Test to Stay if you would like them to continue coming to school in person. If the rapid antigen test result is positive, your child must be picked up from school right away.

Surveillance Testing

Over 600 tests have been administered since we began COVID surveillance testing and there have been zero positive cases detected as part of this routine testing program. Surveillance testing will continue next week. If you would like your child to participate in this free program, you may sign up here. You only need to sign up once for ongoing participation. Results will come through a software program called Binx, which requires creating an account.

Last year, the WSD School Board approved funds to provide winter transportation this school year. Unfortunately, due to a severe statewide bus driver shortage, local school bus companies are unable to fulfill our request to provide winter transportation. This is not because of a lack of money, but because there are not enough trained drivers to drive the buses.

We are very disappointed that we are unable to provide school bus transportation this year because we know this is important to our students and their families. So, we have worked with Green Mountain Transit (GMT) on a plan to provide public bus transportation to and from school. Riding the GMT busses is FREE for everyone this year.

Here is our current plan for riding a GMT bus to school:

• Winooski students catch #9 bus when it loops through Elm/Hickock neighborhood around 7:21am, and then get off the bus at Winooski Falls/Spinner Place at 7:26am
• Students will wait at the Winooski Falls/Spinner Place stop for 10 minutes
• Winooski students catch the next outbound #9 at 7:39am, and get off the bus at Normand St around 7:45am

We highly encourage all students to use this GMT route to and from school. Our hope is that through increased ridership by Winooski students, we could discuss options with GMT to add routes or reconfigure the route so students do not have to change buses.

Please see the map below for more information about where and when your child should board the bus to get to school on time.

Our Multilingual Academy middle schoolers recently created beautiful symbolic self-portraits that express their unique identities and interests! These 4 lovely portraits were created by Yadhira, Bora, Jafari, and Dayson. —Emily Jacobs, WMS Visual Arts

A 2019 report showed that the current Vermont school funding formula’s student weights are outdated, do not appear to be based on any scientific study, and do not reflect actual costs of educating students. A legislative Task Force on the Implementation of the Pupil Weighting Factors Report has been meeting to create a plan and proposed legislation to implement the report’s recommendations. However, opponents are still trying to correct the issue by adding additional dollars into the already massive education fund, to target aid to struggling districts.

The Coalition for Vermont Student Equity (CVTSE) is composed of school board members from various communities and districts across the state, including in the Winooski School District. The CVTSE does not support using grants to try to solve this problem. As experienced in recent years, the targeted grants are subject to change and provide districts with no certainty with which to plan their futures. Districts need certainty. And real equity cannot be realized until we correct the actual flaw in the formula. Everything else is merely a bandaid.

Read Superintendent McMannon’s recent comments to the Task Force. Learn more about the issue and how you can support Winooski students on the Coalition for Vermont Student Equity website.

Our cafeteria Point of Sale (POS) system is being updated this month. The new system, called “Titan”, offers enhanced online service features for parents and guardians. There are a few changes to be aware of during the transition period scheduled for December 7, 2021. All student meals will continue to be free. Read more about the transition here.

WHS students Kiara Mack and Joseph Abdallah will be part of the upcoming Racism in America Forum, hosted by Rev. Dr. Arnold Isidore Thomas. The forum will be held on Wednesday, December 15 at 7:00pm.

In the forum, Black high school students will share their experiences on a topic of their choice related to being Black in one of the whitest states in the nation. The Racism in America Forum offers monthly occasions where topics of importance to people of color are shared and discussed with the hope of attracting allies and fostering positive change for all Americans.

Register for this Forum:

https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_VAFccvDoSpqlgU6GgUIhsQ

This weekly program runs on Saturdays from January 8 to February 12 from 9:00am to 12:00pm at the Bolton Valley Nordic Center. This program is FREE and includes: equipment, instruction, and ski passes are all provided and transportation is provided from the O’Brien Community Center in Winooski to and from Bolton Valley. This learn to ski program is open to all youth in grades 3rd and up; come ski, play games, and have fun in the snow!

To enroll in the program please fill out a program waiver at https://forms.gle/bAFC2MTAVLxqbp1SA. If you have questions please reach out to catamount.outreach@gmail.com or call 802-864-5794.

Ski Cubs Saturday Program Schedule

7:55am – Bus pick up (Sustainability Academy, meet in school parking lot)

8:15am – Bus pick up (O’Brien Center)

9:00am – Program start at Bolton Valley Backcountry and Nordic Sports Center

12:00pm – Program ends

12:45pm – Bus drop off (Sustainability Academy)

1:00pm – Bus drop off (O’Brien Center)

If you missed the Listen Up tour this summer, now is your chance to see this powerful, original musical based on the lives of Vermont teens. Winooski High School student Moseka “Don” Kiputa gives an incredible performance alongside youth from across the state. Tickets are $15 and you can reserve them here: https://www.listenupvt.org/