Stowe High School
Week in Review
“Hope is being able to see that there is light despite all of the darkness.” -Desmond Tutu
November 6th, 2020
We certainly experienced a true Vermont November week. We started with snow, wind, and much cooler temperatures and ended with blue skies, sun, and temperatures in the 60’s. Students were missing opportunities to go outside on Monday and Tuesday but yesterday and today students and teachers were outdoors taking in the sun, taking breaks, teaching lessons, and eating lunch. We are hoping the warmer weather stays around for a little while longer.
Today does mark the end of quarter one for high school students. Many students will be continuing with their semester one classes while others will be completing a class and starting a new quarter-long class on Monday. If your student needs help with their schedule, please have them reach out to their advisor or school counselor.
As we start our next quarter and get closer to the November and December breaks along with watching the number of COVID cases increasing all around us, please continue to be vigilant with your safe and healthy practices. We are so proud of our students as they continue to follow our safe and healthy protocols in the school. They also come prepared with masks and are mindful of their distancing in classes, outside, and in the hallways. However, we do want to remind everyone that it’s important to ensure students are coming to school with clean masks. If a student does need a new mask, we have a supply of masks available to them. Also, during family drop-off in the morning, please help by modeling healthy practices and be sure all passengers and the driver are wearing a mask and please turn off your car’s engine while waiting to be cleared to leave.
Lastly, as we remind each other of the importance of following safe and healthy practices, it is also important to follow the state guidelines regarding travel and social gatherings. Vermont Health Commissioner Dr. Mark Levine said that we need to “reset” safety measures. We all should keep the following in mind:
It is best to keep celebrations local. While Vermonters are allowed to travel to other states, they must quarantine when they return from a red or yellow zone. Out of state travel puts our community at risk.
It is best to keep celebrations small. Dr. Levine remarks “We know each other well, but we cannot know for certain each other’s possible unintended exposure to the virus.” The recent outbreak in Central Vermont was tied to gatherings of friends and family members. Large holiday gatherings put our community at risk.
As you think about your plans for the upcoming breaks, think about having the COVID talk. No matter where you celebrate or take a break from our busy schedules, set boundaries for social gatherings in advance. Click here for tips on having the COVID talk and here for more resources from the Vermont Department of Health’s Tips Before You Get Together.
Upcoming Events:
Friday, November 5: Last Day of Quarter 1
Wednesday, November 11: No School for Students- Veteran's Day (Teacher Professional Development)
November 17th, Tuesday, 7:00 PM- SHS Junior Meeting - Planning for Post-Secondary Options
School counselors will discuss what juniors should be doing now, resources for getting started, how to begin the college search, the latest college admissions statistics, financial aid and scholarships.
Where: Google virtual meeting
Why: To begin planning for post-secondary options
Who: All juniors and their parents/guardians
RSVP to: Anna Vasseur through email or in person by Nov. 13th
A meeting link will be sent on Nov. 16th to all that RSVP'ed
Friday, November 20: Early Release Day (end of trimester 1)- Schedule to be out soon
Student Announcements:
This year our Student Leadership group is creating student announcement videos for all students. These videos are shared with advisories each Wednesday. Watch the most recent videos below.
September 30 Video October 7 Video October 21 Video October 28 Video
More Student News: Virtual College Tour Opportunities CLICK HERE
Snow Days will be School Days:
As the colder weather approaches and we already saw snow this week, we need to plan for the possibility of school closings due to inclement weather and unsafe road conditions. In the event we need to call for a snow day, we have developed a remote learning plan so that students can continue with their coursework. When we have a snow day, we will follow our current schedule . For example, if we need to call a snow day on a Tuesday, the students that were scheduled for in-person will have their classes remotely via Google Meet. Students who were already scheduled for a remote day will continue with the plan that was outlined by their teachers for remote learning.
Photography Student taking advantage of the nice weather.
Fall images from Studio Art.
A snowy health screening morning!
Earth science class discussing the atmosphere.
Former students from our Human Rights and Genocide class came together and continued with a yearly tradition of planting tulips at Peace Park with our Social Studies teacher Ana Schafer.
Girls Soccer Heads to the Finals tomorrow!
Go Raiders!!!
Good luck!!!
Congratulations to our Field Hockey team on a great season. They lost to Windsor in the finals game last Saturday 2-1.
QR Code for Health Screening
Health screening stations in the main lobby.
Numbered parking spaces outside
Technology News:
*This year (2020-2021) we are using a new content filter for student devices. The product is called Securly. Securly is designed to block sites and content that are not suitable for school. The biggest difference students and families will see this year is since the filter is on the device, the content filtering that we use in our buildings is now applied to our devices when they are at home. Also, Securly has parental controls that we will enable and communicate more about later in the year. At this point, there is nothing parents need to do. If you have questions, please reach out to our SMHS technology manager Jake Goss (stowetech@lsuu.org). If your student experiences any technology based issues related to Securly, you can submit a ticket to our ticket system by emailing lsuutech@lsuu.org.
Family Resources:
*Please help the Health Department spread the word about the new video, "How Contact Tracing Slows the Spread of COVID-19." The brief video (1 minute, 42 seconds) is to help educate people about how contact tracing works, why it’s an important tool to slow the spread of COVID-19, and to encourage people to answer the call if they are called by a contact tracer.
*Assistance for overdue utility bills information
*Suicide Prevention Information from our school counselors
*Flu Shots
Now is the time to get your flu shot. Local pharmacies and primary care physicians are providing flu shots. The Community Health Team through CHSLV can help people navigate the medical system, including transportation to flu shots. Call 888-6017 or email cht@chslv.org.