CAMELS HUMP MIDDLE SCHOOL
Sports Update - We are still awaiting directions from the State of Vermont and the Department of Health to notify schools as to if, when, and how will we be able to commence our winter basketball season.
Winter Break - Our winter break will start on Wednesday, December 23, 2020. We will be holding our regular school schedule on Monday, 12/21 and Tuesday, 12/22. Students return to school on Monday, January 4, 2021.
Letter From the Superintendent
5th and 6th Grade Full In-person Beginning January 4, 2021
BRMS and CHMS are excited to welcome 5th and 6th graders back to full in-person instruction on January 4, 2021 and follow the same weekly schedule as preK-4 students. The following factors and considerations influenced our decision not to alter the 5th and 6th grade plan we shared with the school community on November 13th:
BRMS and CHMS have the routines, protocols and staffing in place to implement all of Vermont’s COVID-19 health and safety guidelines.
School staff are prepared for this transition.
The health science supports returning 5th and 6th grade students back for full in-person instruction. This week we contacted decision makers from the Vermont Agency of Education (AOE) and Vermont Department of Health (VDH) to inquire if the conditions support bringing back 5th and 6th grades students. These representatives shared that if MMUUSD is able to follow the necessary health and safety precautions, there are no health science reasons to delay. They added the increase cases in Vermont are nominal compared to other states where schools have remained open, COVID-19 cases in VT have leveled off, VDH data indicates VT is not experiencing an increase in cases due toThanksgiving and full in-person instruction far outweighs the current health risks.
The VDH reported no positive COVID-19 cases of students or staff while infectious at school after the Thanksgiving break at BRMS or CHMS.
A strong majority of 5th and 6th grade families support the return to full in-person instruction.
January 4th is a natural transition.
Full in-person instruction is better for the social, emotional and academic well-being of students.
We understand that this transition may concern some families due to the holiday season and we want to ensure the school community that we are utilizing and following the most up-to-date and reliable health science information available. It is important to note that if COVID-19 conditions change in our region or state or our middle schools are unable to implement state level health and safety procedures due to staffing shortages, CHMS and BRMS may need to return to the hybrid model or full remote learning.
Morning Drop-Off/Afternoon Pick - With grades 5/6 students returning to in-person learning on January 4, 2021 morning and afternoon traffic flow will increase significantly. We will continue to use our current structures of 5th grade families using the “back” of the building for pick-up/drop-off and grades 6, 7, 8 using the front of the building. Grade 6, 7, 8 families please remember to pull as far forward as possible when directed into our traditional parking area. This will hopefully provide the extra drop-off spacing needed with the increase in traffic. Please be aware of this increase in traffic and plan accordingly. Mr. Carbone continues to appreciate the active engagement during this morning activity. Music requests can be forwarded to Mr. Carbone directly.
Report Cards - First trimester Report Cards will be distributed to families on Monday, January 11, 2021. Our young people need to be applauded for their efforts both academically and socially. They have demonstrated flexibility, determination and compassion.
Parent/Teacher Conferences - We will be conducting Parent/Teacher Conferences during the second and third weeks of January. Our school-wide conference schedule will be:
Wednesday, January 13, 2021
Grades 7/8 - 8:00 - 4:30
Grades 5/6 - 12:30 - 4:30
Thursday, January 14, 2021
All Grades - 3:00 - 8:00
Wednesday, January 20, 2021
Grades 7/8 - 8:00 - 4:30
Grades 5/6 - 12:30 - 4:30
We are hoping that with this schedule we can accommodate the vast majority of our families. Individual teams will be working with their families to arrange these virtual parent conferences.
Movie in a Bag - On Monday, December 21 and Tuesday, December 22, 2020 our PROSPER group will be distributing “Movie in a Bag” parcels. Each bag contains the makings for a family movie night - minus the movie. Mr. Carbone has challenged students (actually assigned homework) to students to watch the Star Wars series or the Return of the King trilogy over the upcoming break. If your child will not be attending school on 12/21 or 12/22, please stop by on those days, during school hours (7am-3pm), to pick up your "Movie in a Bag".
FUTURE PLANNING
As the school or District works under the guidance of the Agency of Education and Department of Health, we may be required to move to remote learning in one or more of our schools with very little forewarning. Therefore, I want to share with you our current plan in regards to the event that necessitates our moving to remote learning. Hopefully, this plan will allow us to make this transition as smooth as possible for everyone.
Moving from our current hybrid model to remote learning:
Day 1
In-person is cancelled for that day and students do not have school or classes
Virtual group classes our conducted/held as scheduled
Day 2 through return to In-person instruction
Virtual instruction for all students, Groups A and B, commences.
Student daily schedules will remain the same
All core classes will be held
Teachers will provide students with new links for “new” remote learning classes
Classroom instruction will remain synchronous.
There will be some adjustments made to Unified Arts classes. These will be communicated at a later date.
Over the next couple of weeks, teachers will be preparing to move to remote learning if the need arises. Below is what to expect:
Teachers will be working with students here in the building to organize and model for students the potential changes that will impact students
Exploratory Arts teachers will be reviewing their Google classrooms and access with students.
Teachers may be communicating with families with any additional classroom links that may be used if we need to move to a fully remote learning environment.
School Administrators will communicate updated instructional timelines(virtual, hybrid, full in-person) with families
We recognize the challenges that transitioning to remote learning may cause a family. Please reach out to us with any questions or concerns. We are committed to supporting our families if we need to transition to remote learning.
Phased Approach to Full In-person Instruction for 5th and 6th Graders
A message from the Superintendent and BRMS and CHMS Administration
BRMS and CHMS have collected feedback from families and staff, closely examined the revised Vermont Department of Health (VDH) and Vermont Agency of Education (AOE) A STRONG AND HEALTHY START Safety and Health Guidance for Reopening Schools, Fall 2020, evaluated staffing and resources and studied COVID-19 infections in VT and our region in planning for 5th and 6th graders to return to full in-person instruction during this pandemic. Based on our assessment of the aforementioned information and factors, we plan to bring 5th and 6th graders back to full in-person instruction at BRMS and CHMS on January 4, 2021. This timeline allows us to hire the staff necessary to align with state health and safety directives, carefully assess the notable increase in COVID-19 infection rates in Vermont and our region and meet the key benchmarks that we set at the beginning of this school year. Additionally, taking this step in January offers us an opportunity to analyze the results of voluntary employee COVID-19 surveillance testing that will take place next week in our District as well as school districts across VT.
If the VDH and AOE continue to support and encourage full in-person instructions for 5th and 6th grade students and we can meet our benchmarks, 5th and 6th graders will follow the same schedule as students in grades K-4 beginning January 4, 2021. Students in grades 7-12 will remain in a hybrid learning model and continue with their current schedule.
Based on feedback we’ve received over the past several months, we understand that some in our school community may feel the District is moving too fast in implementing full in-person instruction for 5th and 6th graders and others who believe we are not proceeding fast enough. The methods and components used to make decisions in this pandemic are complex, evolving and dynamic. We greatly appreciate the patience, support and sacrifices students, families, staff and community members have made to keep our schools safe. Please know that we are doing our very best to proceed in a prudent, informed and careful manner.
It is important to note that the plan for 5th and 6th grade students to return to full in-person instruction on January 4th may need to be altered due to COVID-19 conditions and revisions to state level guidance and requirements. We will inform the school community of any changes to our plan prior to the December school break.
On Sunday December 13, four Camels Hump Middle School students raised $777 through a socially distanced and masked baked sale in downtown Richmond. The students individually wrapped baked goods and other items such as tree ornaments and dog/cat toys. The students decided to split the money three-ways: Richmond Food Shelf, Richmond Elementary and Camels Hump Middle Schools. The proceeds will be used to support food programs.
Information from the Vermont Department of Health
802-863-7200 www.healthvermont.gov
Celebrating the Holidays and Winter Break
The number of people with COVID-19 across the U.S. is growing, and experts expect these numbers to rise in the next few months. Governor Phil Scott put temporary measures into place to slow the spread of the virus in Vermont. This will protect hospitals from getting overwhelmed, help schools continue to offer in-person instruction, and keep as many people working as possible. We have revised this toolkit based on the Nov. 13 executive order, and we encourage you to share these messages with families before the winter break.
Looking into a Hopeful Future
It has been a long and difficult time for families this year, and the pandemic is going to continue to challenge us in 2021. While the COVID-19 vaccine should offer protection from the virus, it will take time to vaccinate enough people to make a significant impact. When enough people in a community are immune to a disease, they protect others who are not vaccinated because there are fewer chances for the disease to spread. For the latest information on vaccine in Vermont, visit healthvermont.gov/covid19-vaccines.
What Families Need to Know
The Health Department strongly advises against non-essential travel, even within Vermont. All travel to and from Vermont requires quarantine.
Vermonters are not allowed to socially gather with people they don’t live with. This includes gathering both inside and outside, and in public and private spaces.
Visitors to Vermont can only socialize with the people they are traveling with. They cannot gather with Vermonters in their home or elsewhere.
Plan to Stay Safe
For a lot of families, holiday celebrations are built around traditions that bring people together. After an extended time being apart, we need connection more than ever. However, our individual choices can have a large impact on the health of our community in this pandemic. Last March, when schools and the economy shut down, we did not have choices about where we could go. Now we have more options, but making these decisions will affect others. All Vermonters should continue to follow this basic guidance:
When you go out, like to run errands, visit a trail or something else, a quick and easy way to measure the risk is to look for these three things: masks on faces, six-foot spaces, uncrowded places. If any of these things is missing, come back another time.
If you’re sick, stay home.
Get tested if you have: any symptoms (even mild ones), been identified as a close contact of someone with COVID-19, traveled, or attended a social gathering.
Get your flu shot
Manage Your Family’s Risk
Some families will choose to travel and some will gather with others. It’s important to protect one another. Here is the information about what to do next.
Get tested as soon as you can. Find out where to get tested here.
Quarantine. You now need to complete either a 14-day quarantine or a 7-day quarantine followed by a negative test result, as long as you do not experience symptoms.
Quarantine means staying home and away from others. Do not go to work or school, or out to do errands or recreation. This helps to prevent the spread of COVID-19 before a person knows they are sick, or if they are infected with the virus and don’t have symptoms.
Important Messages
Have compassion for people during this challenging time. It is hard to balance our risk of getting sick and our human need for in-person connection, especially during the holidays. We are asking the entire school community to break from holiday traditions with loved ones we may not have seen in-person for months. It’s been a long, lonely pandemic, and we are craving normalcy.
When to Say Yes
Find ways to adapt holiday traditions. Organize a no-contact cookie swap in your neighborhood, make a family tree and send cards to people you don’t see.
Take a holiday lights walking or driving tour around your town. Take pictures and share with the hashtag #VermontLightsTheWay.
Express gratitude and give back to your community. Find a service project for the family to do together. Check with a local food bank, or the United Way for ideas.
Practice Random Acts of Kindness – shovel a neighbor’s driveway, deliver food, books, and games to families in quarantine.
Organize a virtual book or movie club.
Go outside and play in the snow. Take a walk, hike, go sledding.
Celebrate the winter solstice or plan a winter scavenger hunt and search for different types of trees, wildlife, stars (it gets dark early!).
Questions regarding multi-household gatherings and quarantining can be nuanced and complex, so please contact the Vermont Department of Health if you have questions. You can find contact information and additional resources on the Health Department’s website.
Resources
COVID-19 in Vermont (Department of Health)
Holiday celebrations during COVID (CDC)
1. The food is free to all kids 18 and under, no questions asked. Regardless of your level of need, it saves you money on food for your kids. Also, note that need can be financial, situational, or emotional.
“I want to save meals for those who really need it.” We have heard this comment throughout our community and we want to assure you that we have enough food for all.
2. When the food is not picked up, the Mount Mansfield Nutrition Department may receive less funding, which can lead to not being able to offer as much food, as well as employee layoffs. The food is reimbursed by the federal government on a per meal basis. The more kids we feed, the more reimbursement we get. The fewer we feed, the less we get. Plus, even with all kids now being eligible for the free food, fewer meals may actually be served than during a typical school year, leading to potential shortfalls in the future.
3. It can save the food from turning to waste. In some cases, if the food isn’t picked up, it has to be thrown away!
4. It’s comforting to kids to have familiar foods from their school. Kids love eating foods they would normally get at the school, and drinking milk from the little cartons they only get there as well. It’s hard enough missing normal school life – this gives them a little “taste” of it at home, and reminds them every day that the school misses them and wants to still take care of them.
5. It saves you some stress of feeding your kids, as most of the food is ready-to-eat. There are typically individual servings of cereal, milk, sandwiches, fruit, veggies, snacks, and more. Kids can just grab it and eat it.
“It has saved me a lot of time and hassle so instead of cooking or trying to figure out what to feed them, I can focus more on helping my kids learn!”
School food service guarantees healthful options for your kids, and it can be fun for kids to drive up to their schools and see some familiar faces, if even just through their car windows!
Go to THIS link to sign up. 5 and 7-day options available.