Important Upcoming Dates:
- Incoming Kindergarten Info Sessions – Monday, May 3 at 1pm and Saturday, May 8 at 1pm
- May 31 – No School
- June 12 at 1pm – WHS Graduation (Live streaming will be available on Facebook)
- View the updated WSD School Calendar
Dear Families,
The WSD was recently featured in an article by author Bill Schubart, titled: Winooski is a Pioneer in Diversity and Learning. Here’s an excerpt: “Why must we care about and learn from this bold vision in Winooski? The underlying rationale is an intrinsic understanding that the whole family’s security and well-being are integral to the child’s. Hungry, homeless, sick children don’t learn. The Winooski vision understands that the well-being of the family is integral to the success of the learner.” Click here to read the full article.
COVID-19 Updates
Today the WSD COVID Coordinators were informed about one probable positive individual who was in school while infectious. The Coordinators worked with the Vermont Department of Health on creating a line list of all close contacts of the infectious individual. If you were not contacted that means you/your child are not considered a close contact. During the break another positive case was reported, however, the person was not in school while infectious.
Now that many community members and some older students are being vaccinated, we wanted to share a reminder of the current health guidelines:
| Okay, now I’m vaccinated. What’s new and what’s still the same? |
| *Masks
Everyone must still wear a mask while on school grounds regardless of vaccination status. When removing your mask to eat or drink, make sure you maintain six feet between yourself and others. |
| *Social distancing Still applies to everyone. Maintain six feet (2 meters) between yourself and people outside your household to the best extent possible. Three feet is recommended between all students when learning, and six feet when eating (no mask). |
| *Close Contacts
If you have been fully vaccinated for at least two weeks you may come to school/work if deemed a close contact of a COVID positive individual, but only if you are asymptomatic. |
| *Feeling Unwell Regardless of your vaccination status, if you have any COVID symptoms, you may not come to school/work. |
P-EBT Updates
As we shared earlier this week, there was an error uploading data about WSD students for the Pandemic Electronic Benefit Transfer (P-EBT) program. Many WSD students were not included in the original list and therefore did not receive their benefit.
The Agency of Education (AOE) and the Department for Children and Families (DCF) have agreed to work with the WSD to ensure that any families who did not receive P-EBT benefits due to data upload issues receive their cards as soon as possible. Families who have not yet received their P-EBT cards were likely affected by the data issue and should expect to receive the cards by mid-May.
In addition to all of the resources listed here, the WSD also has some additional resources available.
Internet and Device Benefit for all Winooski Students
The Federal Communication Commission (FCC) is offering an Emergency Broadband Benefit (EBB) to help households stay connected during the pandemic. The EBB will provide a discount of up to $50 per month towards broadband service for eligible households. Because all students in the WSD receive free meals through the USDA Community Eligibility Provision, all students in the WSD qualify for EBB.
Eligible households can also receive a one-time discount of up to $100 to purchase a laptop, desktop computer, or tablet from participating providers if they contribute more than $10 and less than $50 toward the purchase price. Read more here.
The WSD has also extended the Internet Essentials sponsorship program. If your family currently does not have internet at home, contact Emily Hecker to learn about how to sign up for the WSD-sponsored free internet program.
Middle School Four Day Feedback
All of our middle schoolers returned to school for our new four-day per week schedule. It is great to have all the students and teachers in the building again! Generally, the transition has been smooth as teachers and students prepared the week before vacation. A big thank you to the staff and students who moved classrooms and are creating a new learning environment for our last six weeks of school.
Info Sessions for Incoming Kindergarten Students
Principal Sara Raabe will be hosting two info sessions for families of incoming Kindergarten students (for the 21/22 school year) next week. All families with incoming kindergarten students are highly encouraged to attend!
- Monday, May 3 at 1pm
- Saturday, May 8 at 1pm
- Join either meeting here: https://wsdvt.zoom.us/j/81156565870
Sign up for Summer School – Incoming Kindergarteners
Summer school will run for four weeks in July. Mondays and Wednesdays summer school will run 8am – 2:30pm and students will be off campus. On Tuesdays and Thursdays, summer school will run from 8am – 12pm and students will be on the JFK campus for the day. Sign up here!
Information from Local Organizations
Each week we will share information from non-district organizations when upon request. Click here if you are interested in learning more about:
- Listen Up Vermont seeks teen talent
- Winooski’s Beautiful Tree Competition – Win-Win Winooski!
- Sailing Diversity Access Scholarship