Thetford Elementary School

News and Views

December 21, 2006 Issue 8

FROM THE PRINCIPAL’S DESK:

PLEASE NOTE:

THERE IS NO SCHOOL ON FRIDAY, DECEMBER22nd. Thetford Academy, however, will be in session for a half day.

Have a Healthy and Happy Holiday Season!

You will recall from a previous Newsletter that on Wednesday November 15th, we hosted a meeting with our Thetford town safety personnel, a Vermont State Trooper from the Bradford barracks and two members of the Vermont School Crisis Team. The purpose of the meeting was to discuss our safety protocols and tour the school to ensure that the safety personnel could support us in the event of a threat and to get advice from these experienced professionals. During that review, several recommendations were made to us that would “tighten up” our security and enable us to provide a safer school for our students and staff. Our Healthy Schools Team reviewed those recommendations and determined how best to proceed at this time, balancing the need to meet the goal of safety and our own desire to provide an open school environment. In addition, as we worked through the security issues, we took the opportunity to be clearer about the start of the school day, which you will see below. We brought forth the following plan, which we will implement after vacation, to the staff and then to the school board for their approval on December 12th

Beginning Tuesday January 2nd the only doors that will be open for entrance to the school will be the lobby door and the gym corridor doors. At 8:30 Am all doors, except the lobby door, will be locked and will remain locked throughout the school day. At 8:25, a bell will ring to announce that all children should be on their way to their classrooms and a second bell will ring at 8:30 announcing the start of school. A child who is late must come in through the lobby with his/her parent and sign in at the office. The cafeteria doors will no longer be used for entry to or exit from the school at any time. Please help us by not requesting that staff or students open these doors. Prior to 8:30, students should enter school through the gym corridor doors to avoid foot traffic by the buses in the front of the building. We continue to ask parents not to use the front circle, where the busses are delivering children, to drop students off in the morning.

From The Thetford Board of School Directors: The Thetford Board of School Directors and Strategic Plan Committee are seeking public input and review of the proposed 5-year Thetford School District Strategic Plan as the plan approaches adoption in February 2007.

The plan is available online by first selecting the “Strategic Plan” link on the Thetford Elementary School website http://www.thetfordschool.org

Hardcopies of the Strategic Plan can be found at the Elementary School, Town Hall, as well as the Latham and Peabody Libraries.

The Board and Committee have encouraged comments and questions from the public. Communication may be submitted to the Board by sending correspondence to the individuals listed below. In addition, the public is once again encouraged to participate in Strategic Plan discussions by attending School Board Meetings in the month of January (Tuesday 1/9, Tuesday 1/23). Comments concerning the Strategic Plan will be accepted until the School Board meeting on Tuesday, January 23rd with adoption of the plan scheduled for the February 13th Board meeting.

The Strategic Plan Committee spent approximately 5 months working to develop a strategic plan using a vast amount of community input and a wide array of relevant data to best represent members of the community and priorities for the school district. The Strategic Plan has appeared on the agenda, and has been an item for discussion, at every School Board Meeting since a draft from the committee was submitted on June 27th 2006.

Members of the School Board and the Strategic Planning Committee are always willing to offer more information on this topic – their names are listed below, as well as the upcoming meeting schedule.

Comments regarding the Strategic Plan may be sent to either

Andy Boyce

Thetford School Board

andy_boyce@yahoo.com, (PO Box 57 Post Mills, Vt 05058)

Darrin Clement

Strategic Plan Committee

dclement@maponics.com (468 Garey Rd, East Thetford, VT 05043)

___________________

Thetford Board of School Directors: Robin Brown, Kristen Downey, Jennifer Reining, Susan Weider, and Andy Boyce.

Strategic Planning Committee: Darrin Clement, Alice Worth, Keith Thompson, Wanda Vaughan, Paul Twerdowsky, Ann Swanson, Bethany Thompson, Lelia Mellen, Kathleen Cunneen

School Announcements:

A huge Thank You to all who supported this year's "Trick or Treat for Unicef" campaign. We raised a grand total of $739.06. Your generosity and your child's efforts will make a life changing difference for hundreds of needy children around the world. (Mary Corrigan)

Community Announcements:

Full Circle, a 22-voice chorus directed by our music teacher, Jennifer Yocom, will present their annual Christmas concerts this weekend. The group will perform music of Distler, Bach, Durafle, along with spirituals and carols. As usual, there will be opportunities for audience participation. Concerts are Friday, Dec. 22 at Grace Methodist Church in Bradford, VT and Saturday, Dec. 23 at Lyme Congregational Church. Both concerts are at 7:30 p.m. and free of charge, though donations are gratefully accepted. (Jennifer Yocom)

Thanks to Julie Mullen, coordinator of the Thetford Consignment Ski and Skate Sale, and everyone who volunteered their time and expertise to make this sale a success. More than $1,500 was raised to support the Thetford Alpine Ski and Snowboarding program. (Lisa Celone)