Bolton Valley Ski Program Session 2 Registration

Session 2 Deadline for Forms and Payment is Monday, January 11, 2016

Welcome! BRMS is skiing, Session 2, on Thursday Evenings. Session 2 dates are: February 11, February 18, March 3, March 10, March 17, and potential make-up day of March 24. 

The bus will be picking up at BRMS at 3:00pm with a stop at MMU after, and will leave Bolton at 7:30pm

Everyone must complete the After School Program 2015-16 Enrollment Form. All forms will be posted on the BRMS website.  Email me if you have any questions (Theresa Gingras,  teltag@aol.com).  Even if you have a season pass, you must complete and return the "After School Program" form and pay only for transportation. 

Please be sure that your student watches the online videos, “Know the Code” and “Smart Styles.” They can find this at www.boltonvalley.com/knowthecode.  Please print the certificates at the end and mail them to me.

Check the appropriate box(es): Ticket $90.00, Lesson $55.00 (optional)--if your child is taking lessons, they need to be present for the first lesson, Equipment Rental $55.00 (optional), Helmet Rental $25,00 (optional), Transportation Fee $60.00 (optional).

Make checks payable to BRMS, with "Bolton Ski Program" on memo line.

Please indicate on the form if your child has a Season Pass. *Due to the low enrollment on the bus for Session 1, the bus fee has increased and I need a minimum of 30 students enrolled on the bus*. If I don’t have 30 students enrolled on the bus, I will be looking for more people to carpool, and the bus will be canceled. The kids are responsible for their belongings and their behavior. We reserve the right to suspend any child from the program for unsafe behavior on the bus, on the slopes, or for breaking the rules. Bolton also reserves the right to suspend anyone for behavior that is reported to them.

If your child is renting each week (not leasing), you need to send me;

• The Rental Form, filled out completely, and
• The Bolton Valley Resort Equipment Rental Agreement (which you must read and sign). 

I need all forms and one check for all fees, including Transportation, made out to BRMS by Monday, January 11, 2016, so I can meet the Bolton Deadline. If your name or the name on the check differs from your child’s name, please put your child’s name on the memo line.

Please mail everything to:

     Theresa Gingras

     291 Poker Hill Rd 

     Underhill, VT 05489

Make sure your child has a helmet! They are available to rent.  

• Skis and boards must be in a ski bag.  Edges do a lot of damage, and we need to respect the parents who so graciously transport our equipment in their vehicles.
• Chaperons are expected to contribute to the program by helping in the lodge, and supervising on the slopes, supervising loading and unloading of bus, and in general be an adult presence at a school based function. Everyone and anyone is more than welcome to chaperon, and volunteer in any capacity, but please contact me directly about chaperoning and volunteering.
• Lodge chaperons are asked to stay in our designated area to make it easy for Bolton staff to locate you in the event of an emergency.
• Ski chaperons are asked to make sure kids are not being reckless on the slopes and to look out for anyone that might need assistance
• Departure chaperons are asked to look after an assigned group of kids while waiting for the bus
• Ski chaperons, do ski for free; (For every 10 students enrolled, one chaperons can ski for free.) However, if we have more chaperons than free tickets, you can get a discounted ticket for $22.00. These adult chaperon tickets may be picked up at the guest services window.

Anyone that can drive gear is especially welcome! (Gear cannot go on the bus.)  Also, let me know if you can drive/carpool. Even if you can only drive on certain dates, or one way, please let me know. If you would like to drive/carpool you will be required to submit paperwork. If you are driving your student only, you do not need to submit that paperwork.

Thank you for participating in the Bolton After School Ski and Ride Program!

     Theresa Gingras
     teltag@aol.com
     802-233-3339
     802-899-2962

Fab Lab Update

BRMS was not selected as one of the 5 finalists for the Norhrup Grumman Foundation Fab Lab contest.   We would like to thank everyone who supported our efforts to upgrade our lab.  The amount off support for this process was amazing and we are lucky to have a community that is truly invested in the education of the children of Jericho and Underhill.  Please see the note below from the NG Foundation.   We will be receiving a $2,000 grant from the foundation for our Tech Lab.  Thanks again for your support and we hope you have a happy and safe holiday season with your friends and family

On behalf of the Northrop Grumman Foundation, we would like to thank Browns River Middle School for participating in this year’s Fab School Labs contest and making it to the semifinals. Your teachers, students and community showed tremendous enthusiasm throughout in support of STEM and your school.

In addition to the Northrop Grumman Foundation, our final review team included a national science educational organization and contest partner Flinn Scientific, along with a consultant. To determine our five winning schools, each of our 20 semifinalist schools was assessed according to a series of criteria that included how well each school’s desired dream STEM lab would allow for new teaching methods and lesson plans to be implemented, course objective suitability, overall feasibility of upgrades and plans proposed, and the expressed public support received by each school during our public online voting campaign. We also looked at existing classroom/lab resources, overall level of need, students impacted, and how well each school met contest eligibility and entry requirements.

Unfortunately, Browns River Middle School was not selected as a finalist. However, we understand that your faculty and local community work incredibly hard each and every day to inspire your students, and we are happy to award Browns River Middle School a $2,000 grant for the purchase of teaching tools, materials and equipment to improve your STEM lab.  Through the Fab School Labs contest we have learned of the incredible need for better teaching tools and equipment, and we hope this contribution will help meet that need.

Thank you again for your participation, and we hope you will consider taking part in next year’s 2016 Fab School Labs contest.  Congratulations on the work you are doing to promote and further STEM education, and we wish you and Browns River Middle School much success in the future.

If you have any questions please don’t hesitate to contact us.

Sincerely,

The Fab School Labs Team

News from the Nurses

We hope the BRMS community will have a vacation and holiday filled with relaxation, fun and maybe some snow!!

It has been a very busy fall in the health office as always. We would like to remind you of few things as we enter the season of colds, viral illnesses and flu.

The CESU district nurses want to promote healing and wellness in our schools. To that end, we ask that students who have been ill with a fever (100F or over) remain at home until they are feeling better AND have been fever free for 24 hours without the use of any ibuprofen or acetaminophen. Also students who have experienced diarrhea or vomiting should remain at home until the illness has resolved and they have been free of symptoms for at least 24 hours. We assess children all day for illness. Students can have a viral illness without a fever, vomiting or diarrhea. If a student comes to school ill or develops an illness that makes it impossible for the child to attend to school we will notify the parent or guardian. Our goal is to keep kids in school while trying to keep school a healthy place for everyone. If you are not sure whether to send your child to school, give us a “heads-up” call or email so that we know what has happened first thing in the morning.

Also, this is the time of year that we all become aware of the dreaded louse!!! Lice have been around for centuries and this year is no different. Lice only need a warm scalp and food supply--they are indiscriminate in where they take up housing; it is not related to hygiene in any way!

There are several things a parent can do to stay ahead of lice:

• Encourage your child not to share head items such as hats, brushes, ponytail ties, etc.
• Inspect your child’s head on a regular basis especially if he complains that his head or neck itch.
• Look for tiny eggs close to the scalp (resemble sesame seeds but much smaller). They are usually tanish, and difficult to dislodge, unlike dandruff.
• Eggs that have hatched are white (empty cases).
• Live lice are wingless insects about the size of sesame seed and appear reddish brown or grayish brown.

Lice are a nuisance (a big one for families) but they do not present a risk to others. They do not carry disease and are not commonly contracted at school. We do not exclude kids from school for lice or nits. Many times the lice spread at the sleepovers, or at a camp type environment where kids tend to be head to head.

Please call the nurses if you have concerns about your child and lice. We have many evidence based articles to help you make decisions on how to treat if needed. We are happy to do a head check on your student before or after treatments if requested. Thank-you for your cooperation on this matter.

Also, contact us if you have any concerns about your child’s health. Happy New Year!

~Tina Gallagher, RN

Ainee Commichau, RN

Parking Lot Configuration

Dear BRMS Community,

I want to thank everyone for their patience and feedback as we tried a different driveway configuration on Friday, December 11th.  The purpose of this work is to improve the safety and efficiency of the BRMS/UID driveway.  This is a work in progress.  We realize that there were some challenges during the pick up time.  This "dry run" gave us valuable information that will help us to make decisions before we make a large investment in our parking lot.   We will review the data and feedback from this trial as we seek a solution that works best for everyone.  We welcome feedback from parents who drove on Friday.  You can leave your feedback via an online form by clicking this link:  https://goo.gl/Omtjtt

We will return to our normal traffic pattern for the remainder of the school year.  

Thank you,

Kevin Hamilton

7th/8th Grade Dance Correction

Admission to this Friday's 7th/8th Grade Dance is $5.00.

Outdoors Club

Do you like getting fresh air and exercise in the winter? If so, Outdoors Club is starting on Thursdays beginning January 7, 2016 – March 26 from 2:45–4:00. This is for any student in grades 5-8 who would like to snowshoe, cross country ski, sled, or hike. The activity will be based on the weather.  Snowshoes can be borrowed from the school with prior notice.  We will access Mills Riverside Park through our back field.  Sign up by December 22 on Mrs. Clokey’s classroom door in the 5th grade wing. Please e-mail at robin.clokey@cesuvt.org if you have any questions.

Delay Start Tomorrow - Wednesday Dec. 9, 2015

We would like to remind you that Wednesday Dec. 9 , is our monthly delayed start day for Staff Professional Development.   All buses will be running two hours later than normal.  Please contact us if you have any questions or concerns.

7th/8th Grade Dance 

The second 7th/8th grade dance of the school year is happening this Friday, December 11.  The starting time is 7:00 p.m. and ending time is 9:00 p.m.  Super Sounds will be providing the music and admission is $3.00.  The dances are lots of fun and are well chaperoned.  Please be sure to pick up your child at 9:00 p.m. Our staff will not leave any child unattended at the end of the evening.

Guidelines for our dances:

·         All BRMS school rules are in effect at the school dances.

·         Students are to remain in the designated area from the time of arrival until the end of the dance.  Students must have written permission from a parent to leave the dance before 9:00PM. 

·         Only students currently enrolled in the 7th or 8th grade at BRMS may attend our school dances.

·         The dances will take place in the BRMS Dining Room.

·         No students will be admitted after 8:00 p.m. unless accompanied by an adult.

·         Dance styles deemed unacceptable by chaperones for reasons of safety will not be permitted.

Browns River Action Group

BRMS PTO
Join the fun!
Meeting: Wednesday, December 9, 2015 
BRMS Library 7:00 p.m.
Hope we see you there!

Delayed Start Reminder

We would like to remind you that Wednesday Dec. 9 , is our monthly delayed start day for Staff Professional Development.   All buses will be running two hours later than normal.  Please contact us if you have any questions or concerns.

BRMS T-Shirt for Sale

• A fun and fashionable way to support BRMS!
• Order your BRMS t-shirt, designed by WYATT!
• Exciting colors to choose from!
• Proceeds support BRMS students!
• Order now for the holidays!

Here's the form.  STILL TIME TO ORDER--Orders are due by December 4th.  Make checks payable to B.R.A.G. with t-shirt written on memo line.  Turn order forms with payment in to Greg Martin or Diane Border.

Kinship Care & Adoptive Parent Support Group

Are you an adoptive parent or family member other than a biological parent who is the primary caretaker of a CESU student?

If so, you are not alone!

Who: Adoptive parents, grandparents, and caregivers other than biological parents who are the primary caretaker of a CESU student

What: An opportunity to share resources, information, and support with other families who   may have similar experiences and challenges

When:  Monday, December 14, 8:00–9:00AM

This will be a monthly group.  Future dates will be determined by the group and updated flyers will be distributed.

Where: Mount Mansfield Union High School, Room 309, 211 Browns Trace Rd., Jericho

Participation in this group is free and we encourage you to spread the word and invite others to this group who may wish to participate.

It is helpful to RSVP so that we can set up to accommodate the group size. To RSVP or you have questions about the group, you can contact:  Ellen Arrowsmith, School Social Worker, at 802-338-1676 or ellen.arrowsmith@cesuvt.org.