As there has been significant media attention on in-person instruction and we have not provided information on 7th and 8th graders returning to full in person, we want to offer an update before the February break. Current CDC guidelines as well Vermont Agency of Education (AOE) and Vermont Department of Health (VDH) instructions continue to emphasize the need for our older students (i.e., students in grades 7-12) to have at least 6 feet of physical distance while in school. The physical space of our building does not allow us to safely meet this guideline with all 5-8 students in the building. These requirements also present a problem for staffing our building with enough qualified people to support our students.
MMUUSD administrators have been in communication with the AOE to inquire about the possibility of modifications to the 6ft distancing for 7th and 8th graders. In our communication, we learned that transmission conditions will need to improve more before Vermont makes any changes to the current guidance. However, national trends indicate things are improving and moving in the right direction. Additionally, health experts have conveyed that the distribution of more vaccines may accelerate this trend, too.
Our hope is to have our 7th and 8th grade students return to school as soon as safely possible and when we can meet all of the expectations for a Strong and Healthy Start. We will continue to monitor these guidelines over the coming weeks and adjust our plans accordingly based on any new expectations. Thank you for your continued support in this extraordinary school year. Please do not hesitate to contact us with any questions.
We hope students have a fun, safe and relaxing break!
Sincerely,
Wilhelmina Picard
Assistant Principal
CAMELS HUMP MIDDLE SCHOOL
Morning Drop-Off/Afternoon Pick-up
It appears that we survived pretty much unscathed by this week's snowstorms and wintery conditions. We are working on knocking back some of the snow piles and making sure we maintain two lanes of travel. I appreciate all of your patience this past week. For families arriving after 7:50am please remember that drop-off is moved to the main entrance as staff can’t maintain other entrances as they need to move to their assigned morning teaching assignments. Lastly, just a point of clarification - I did not know that there is such a fine line between dancing with grace and athleticism and having a medical emergency. For all those concerned - grace and athleticism abound in the morning.
Winter Break
Winter break will begin on Saturday, February 20, 2021 with students returning to school programming on Wednesday, March 3, 2021.
Mount Mansfield Girls Lacrosse Club – 2021
Program is for girls fourth grade through eighth grade. Season starts at the end of March (depending on snow) and runs through the first week of June. Practices are held Monday and Wednesday from 6:00-7:30 at Mills River Park. Games are Sundays in May and the first Sunday in June. Please contact Melissa Mutolo melissamutolo@live.com for registration information.
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.
Blog: Music Musings at Camels Hump
Post: Winter Wonderland!
Link: https://chmsmusicmusings.blogspot.com/2021/02/winter-wonderland.html
Volleyball will begin the week of March 8th and end on April 2nd. This is an opportunity for players to engage in some fun with other students. We are still working out the details and a schedule but look forward to an exciting season. We are hoping to have end-of-the-season scrimmages for 7th and 8th grade students with BRMS -- stay tuned!
Hello CHMS families,
We have a limited number of refurbished PC(6) and Chromebox (4) desktops.
These are all over 5 years old but in good working order.
These are good for basic computer use.
They include a clean version of the operating system - Windows 10 for PC and ChromeOS for Chromebox. They come with a monitor, mouse, and keyboard.
There is no tech support provided for these machines.
We are asking for a $20 donation to CHMS. Cash or check made out to CHMS accepted.
If you are interested in one of these please email: Jean.burke@mmuusd.org to arrange pickup at school.
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.