Don't forget to vote YES for the school budget on or before April 16th!
Be sure to check out the events for the rest of the year. There may be more to come (and some details might change), but we'll keep you updated!
THIS MONTH...
Schools and the Budget, April 15, 12:45-1:45 pm in the Charlotte Senior Center. All community members are invited to share their thoughts and concerns regarding the CVSD school district and the budget. We are a group of families deeply committed to ensuring the success of CVSD and we are here to listen, learn, and take action. Representative Chea Evans will join us!
Stand with the teacher's union, April 15, 2:45 pm - 3:15 pm in front of CCS.
Stand with the teacher's union, April 16, 2:45 pm - 3:15 pm in front of CCS.
Vote YES, April 16, 7 am - 7 pm in Charlotte Town Hall. Ballots are now available in town offices for those who would like to vote early. They will not be automatically sent to you if you voted by absentee ballot on Town Meeting Day unless you had previously requested absentee ballots for all elections for calendar year 2024. You may request ballots by phone, email, or stopping in your town offices. You may request ballots for family members who are eligible to vote as well.
CCS & Community Safety Discussion, April 18, 6:30 - 7:30 pm in the CCS Library.
CCS Board Membership 2024-2025. You’re already a CCS PTO member, so take the next step and be an ACTIVE member! And for those inclined, we're actively looking to find new leadership for the next school year. Reach out to Jen Banbury and Damaris Herlihy to find out more!
Volunteer Needs. If you'd like to be an integral part of the CCS community, here are 10 ways you can volunteer in the school! We encourage parents, grandparents, and all caregivers to go through the necessary process to become a volunteer. The CCS PTO has made it easier than ever to become a volunteer. Here is what you need to do.
A parent in the Hinesburg asked us to share this important letter with our community. ... Hello Parents, Caregivers, and Friends of Children with special needs, My name is Erin Bingham. I am the mother of 2 at HCS - a second grader and a preschooler. My youngest has a rare genetic condition, Williams Syndrome. I am interested in both creating a network of individuals who care for kids with special needs that can serve as a support and working together to establish a Special Education Parent Advisory Council (SEPAC) that would serve the entire district. SEPACs advocate for the interests of any child with any kind of special need at school. Although there is a commitment from CVSD administration, this is the first step in a long process to gauge interest and commitment, but there is no timeline yet. ... If you are interested at any level in either connecting with others who support kids with special needs, or in understanding more about what would be necessary to start a SEPAC, please email me at bingham.erin@gmail.com. Warmly, Erin
COMING IN HOT...
PTO Board of Director's Meeting, Thursday May 7 at 6:30 at the CCS Library. At this meeting, we will focus on our goals for next year and choose new leadership. Reach out to one of our amazing Board members (scroll down toward the bottom) to find out more! Please find the May agenda here. ... Please find the January summary here, the November summary here, the September summary here, and the March summary here.
Staff Lunch, May 10. Stay tuned for more information from Chantal!
Fun Run and Open House: Celebration of Learning, June 4. Stay tuned for more details!
Lake Monsters Game, June 6. Stay tuned for more details!
Omega (grade 7 and 8): Science teacher Andrew Lounsbury is looking for parents of 7th and 8th graders who are interested in coming into the classroom to talk about what they do. He's very open to working with family members to create a really cool learning experience for the students. Here is the 7/8th Grade Unit Overview. Even if the parents' science field is not quite the same as the unit, there are still ways I can integrate what they do into my lessons. If you are interested in helping out in those areas, please add your name along with your area of expertise to this spreadsheet. We're pumped to see ways in which you & the teacher will make a connection between the science lesson and your talents and skills. All volunteers would need to be at least CORI'd (see the Caregiver Volunteer Requirements).
WRAP UP
Budget Q&A with CVSD School Board Chair and Charlotte parent Meghan Metzler! Thursday April 4 at 6:30 in the CCS Library! Charlotte CVSD school board member and school board chair Meghan Metzler and CVSD COO Gary Markres sat down with us to help us all try to understand the CVSD budget. Please find notes from this meeting here!
PTO Board of Director's Meeting, March 28. Please find the March summary here. Please find the January summary here, the November summary here, and the September summary here.
Math Night, April 3, 6:00-7:30, CCS MPR. Back for a second year in a row, families of all ages are invited to this event! You'll find games, raffles, prizes, and fun! If you'd like to attend, an RSVP with your child(ren)'s name(s) would be helpful for planning purposes!
Community Connection Series: Thank you to all the teachers and our community for participating in the Community Connections Series this year. We will not be hosting the fourth and last one, but we wanted to be sure you all had easy access to the notes for each of the three meetings we hosted. Part 1 meeting notes are here (with special guests Jen Roth and Amanda Riggleman), Part 2 meeting notes are here (with special guests Rene Sanchez, Meghan Metzler, and Meghan Siket), and Part 3 meeting notes are here (with special guests from the CCS mental-health team).
THINGS TO ALWAYS REMEMBER...
Amazon Wishlists! The CCS community would love to give back directly to CCS teachers. Consider a donation directly to your child's teacher or another staff member! You may hear from your teacher directly with an amazon wishlist, but there are some teachers or staff you won't hear from because they are not the lead teacher for a specific class. We have collected the staff wishlists we have so far!
Please consider making a donation to the CCS PTO. The PTO's mission is to support the school community by providing the means to enrich the learning experience of faculty, staff, and students at CCS. To that end, we gave out $5,000 in grants to teachers this fall; we have a second grant cycle in the Spring. We pay for equipment such as sleds, musical instruments, art supplies, STEM learning kits, sports uniforms, theater sets, recess equipment, and more. We have an EMERGENCY FUND that provides support when members of the community need a little help during lean times (please see the next bullet for more info!). We host and fund beloved community events like STEM Night, Math Night, and the Fun Run. We've been running fingerprinting drives to cover the costs of background checks so parents/caregivers can volunteer in the school; we are working toward connecting volunteers with opportunities. The PTO is a nonprofit, so your donations are tax deductible. CLICK HERE TO LEARN MORE AND DONATE.
DON'T FORGET! $25 GIFT CARDS AVAILABLE TO CCS FAMILIES: The PTO Emergency Fund is there to provide support when members of the community need a little help during lean times—at any time of year. If you could use a $25 gift card to places like Healthy Living, Hannafords, Healthy Living, Target, or elsewhere, please reach out to School Counselor Betsy Lloyd or 802-425-6691. No questions asked and totally anonymous! ... In order to keep this fund going, we need contributions. Please contributing to the Emergency Fund (scroll down)! We are grateful to Healthy Living (owned by a CCS family!) for donating cards directly to the school. The PTO purchases all other cards so all donations are appreciated!
Instagram and Facebook: Follow us on Instagram and Facebook. But we could use some help keeping it updated! Feel free to let us know if you're social-media savvy and interested in helping out a bit!
CCS Garden: The school grounds has a beautiful garden. It is not affiliated with the PTO. It has been managed for many years by Deirdre Holmes, even after her daughters had moved on from CCS. Rodney Centeno (dad to a 7th grader and CVU sophomore) has graciously volunteered to step in as her replacement and to coordinate future volunteers from the community. If you would like to participate in the garden at some point in the future, please let Rodney know!
HELPFUL LINKS
If you have a hard time finding links when you need them, here are a few...
If you have any questions, comments, or concerns, always feel free to reach out to us!
Best,
CCS PTO Co-Presidents Jen Banbury and Damaris Herlihy
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