Mt. Mansfield Modified Union School District (MMMUSD) is Formed

On December 18, 2014, Secretary of Education, Rebecca Holcombe, swore in community members who were elected in November to serve on the new MMMUSD Board and officially recognized Mt. Mansfield Modified Union as a Vermont school district.  In addition, a treasurer, clerk and annual meeting moderator were elected from the floor and an annual meeting date established on the fourth Thursday in February.  This organizational meeting was formal in nature as its purpose was to solidify MMMUSD as an authorized school district entity in the State of Vermont.  However, Secretary Holcombe highlighted the historical significance of the new school district as well as her support for the work of the Voluntary Merger Committee and enthusiasm for the potential of the the preK-12 school district.

Mt. Mansfield Modified Union School District (MMMUSD) Board Retreat

The MMMUSD School Board wasted no time in beginning its work.  On December 20th, the new board gathered at Camels Hump Middle school to discuss roles and responsibilities, set priorities for the next six months, elect officers and initiate the process of forming a new governing body.  The Vermont School Boards Association supported in facilitating the meeting. The retreat was productive and resulted in the following:

• Jon Milazzo (Richmond) was appointed Chair.  Andrew Pond (Bolton) was appointed Vice Chair.  Dianne Kirson-Glitman (Jericho) was appointed Clerk.
• Peter Geiss (Underhill), Beth Racine (Underhill),  Kevin Campbell (UID), Dave Clark (Huntington), Michael Marks (Richmond) and Edye Granning (Jericho) were appointed to the Finance Committee.
• Andrew Davis (Jericho), Peter Geiss (Underhill), Michael Marks (Richmond) and Jon Milazzo (Richmond) were appointed to the Negotiations Committee.  Huntington School District Representative, Edmund Booth is also a member of the Negotiations Committee.  
• The Board will meet the first and third Monday of each month at 6:30 p.m. (Click here to view meeting schedule) 
• The January 5, 2015 meeting will take place in the MMUHS Library. Subsequent meetings will be held at CHMS until June 30th.  CHMS is the meeting location during the transition phase. After June 30, the board will determine meeting venues.
• Set preparing a 2015-2016 budget; negotiating contract agreements; transitioning supervisory union responsibilities; building a cohesive board team; develop an understanding of the assets of the new district and plan for Town Meeting 2015.  

In addition to short-term priorities, the MMMUSD Board will be working on a vision, strategic plans/priorities and community engagement plan.  To access a draft of the Board Retreat minutes, please go to MMMUSD retreat minutes.

The next meeting of the MMMUSD Board will be held January 5, 2015, in the Mt. Mansfield Union High School Library.  A primary agenda item will be the 2015-2016 MMMUSD budget development for 8 schools which include Smilie Memorial School, Jericho Elementary, Richmond Elementary, Underhill ID Elementary, Underhill Central, Browns River Middle, Camels Hump Middle and Mt. Mansfield Union High Schools.

Holiday Recess is from December 24, 2014 to January 2, 2015!  Have fun!!

IMPORTANT: 3SQUARESVT  REPLACEMENT BENEFITS DUE TO POWER OUTAGE 

With the recent winter storm leaving many Vermonters without power for various amounts of time, it is important to remember that 3SquaresVT households may be eligible for replacement benefits if food they bought with their benefits spoils due to loss of electricity for four hours or more.  

If you hear from Vermonters in this situation, please let them know they must request replacement benefits within 10 days of the loss, either orally (by calling 1-800-479-6151 or visiting the local district office) or in writing to the local district office.

More information about replacement benefits can be found here: http://www.vermontfoodhelp.com/replacement-benefits.  
Please contact asmith-dieng@hungerfreevt.org with any additional questions you may have.

Lost & Found

Lost and Found is Overflowing!!

Lots of mittens, hats, gloves and much more!

Please be sure to check out the Lost and Found table to see if anything belongs to your child!

Winter weather is approaching!

Click here to read information 
regarding school closings or delays.  

Harvest Dinner Thank You

 Thanksgiving Dinner at JES
Thursday November 20

Parents and grandparents, as well as younger siblings, are invited to join us for our special Thanksgiving Dinner.

Please use this form to reserve your spot!

Lunch times are as follows:

1st Grade 11:00 - 11:25

Kindergarten 11:30 - 11:55

2nd Grade 12:00 - 12:25

3rd Grade 12:30 - 12:55

4th Grade 1:00 - 1:25

Book Fair

 http://bookfairs.scholastic.com/homepage/jerichoelementaryschool1

Upcoming Jon Gailmor and JES Student Performance

 JES students are excited to perform their songs they have composed with singer/songwriter, Jon Gailmor during his artist in residency at Jericho Elementary School.  

Their performance will be on 

Thursday evening, November 13 at 6:30pm 

at the Mount Mansfield Union High School Gymnasium.

For the evening performance students will need to arrive at MMUHS between 6:00-6:15pm and be in the gym to get ready for the performance.  They will also need to wear a school colors t-shirt (blue or gold/yellow) and dark colored pants or jeans. 

CD's featuring the student's work with Jon can still be purchased in advance. Please return this form to your child's teacher no later than Thursday, November 13.  CD's will also be available for purchase after the evening performance.

School Wide Meeting on Tuesday November 11

Please Note  

Schedule change for Tuesday

so Jon Gailmor can join us during the school wide meeting. 

The meeting will be at 10:00.

Eat Well Play More

Check out this video we made about our wellness program!

Jericho Elementary Eat Well - Play More from JES on Vimeo.

We made it last week for the Eat Well, Play More grant proposal.

Way to go JES students!

Coffee with the Principal

Coffee with the Principal

Join Vicki for Coffee and Conversation

November 7, 2014

7:30 - 8:00am

JES Music Room

Topic: PBIS 

The current plan has three tiers of intervention in order to support all students at JES.  Vicki and Tim Lane will share aspects of each level of intervention and also answer your questions.

School Board Meeting

The next School Board Meeting will take place on 

Wednesday, November 12 at 7:00pm in the JES library.  

As always, the community is invited to attend.

CESU Proposed School District Unification Vote
on November 4, 2014

Dear Community Members,

Over the course of the past 11 months, the Chittenden East Voluntary Merger Planning Committee (VMPC) has been studying and discussing unifying Chittenden East Supervisory Union’s (CESU) eight school districts into one unified school system.  As part of its work, the VMPC has prepared a Report and Articles of Agreement outlining the framework of a proposed unified school district.  The report and articles were submitted to the Vermont State Board of Education on July 29, 2014.  After review and an affirmative recommendation from the Vermont Agency of Education, the State Board of Education approved the report and articles on August 19, 2014.  The action of the State Board of Education established a date for the electorates of Bolton, Huntington, Jericho, Richmond, Underhill Incorporated and Underhill Town School Districts to vote on unifying CESU’s eight districts.  This vote will take place in conjunction with the state and federal elections on November 4, 2014.  Per state statute, the unified school district can look different depending on how many towns approve the unification article.  If the unification article passes in all of CESU’s member municipalities, a Unified Union School District will be formed.  If the article passes in a majority of CESU’s municipalities (i.e. four out six), a Modified Union School District will be established.  Under a Modified Union School District, one or two towns that do not pass the unification article will continue as an independent elementary district and have proportional representation on the new Modified Union School District Board. 

As specified in state law, elections of board directors must take place on the same date that the unification article is voted.  Community members interested in serving on this new union school board can pick up petitions at their local town office.  Residents of the following school districts can find petitions at these locations:

School District	School Director Positions	Petitions Available at:
Bolton:	One 3-year term	Bolton Town Office, CESU Website
Huntington:	One 2-year term One 3-year term	Huntington Town Office, CESU Website
Jericho:	Two 1-year terms One 2-year term One 3-year term	Jericho Town Office, CESU Website
Richmond:	Two 1-year terms One 2-year term One 3-year term	Richmond Town Office, CESU Website
Underhill ID:	Two 2-year terms	Underhill ID Elementary School,CESU Website
Underhill Town:	One 1-year term One 3-year term	Underhill Town Office, CESU Website

For more details on the work of the Voluntary Merger Committee and contact information for committee members, please click on the following link: CESUVoluntary Merger Committee.

Artist in Residence

Jon Gailmor

Jericho Elementary School Unified Arts Team is pleased to announce that our Artist in Residence at JES will be singer/songwriter Jon Gailmor.  His residency will begin on October 31.  Individual classes will have four songwriting sessions with him over the ten day residency.  In Jon's own words:

"These groups of novice songwriters will have given birth to eloquent, elegant, artistic renderings of their themes.  They will have built every lyric, every note, with Jon as catalyst.  The participants will know the power of collective creativity, and feel consummate ownership of their work.  And what songs!"

Students will premier their songs during an evening performance on

Thursday, November 13, 2014   6:30pm

at

Mt Mansfield Union High School Gymnasium

For more information about Jon Gailmor please visit his website at www.jongailmor.com .

We would like to thank P.I.E. in supporting this residency.

Harvest Dinner

THANK YOU

for the AMAZING response to the upcoming

HARVEST DINNER!  

We are now at capacity!

Looking forward to a fun evening and a yummy meal

on November 6th!

If you would like to help prepare the food,

or help the night of the event, contact

Beth Gaillard bgaillard416@gmail.com or

Jamie Lofy jamielofy@gmail.com

We would welcome your help!

(If you intended to sign up and missed the deadline, we are sorry

and want you to know that we are working on a plan for next year

to seat more than 200 people)

Pawsitives Celebration

    Join our Pawsitive Points celebration!

Tuesday 

October 28!!

PreK-12 School District Proposed Merger Vote

PreK-12 School District Proposed Merger Vote

November 4, 2014

Who: All voters in the Chittenden East Supervisory Union.

What: Vote to replace the six town school boards, Mt. Mansfield Union School Board and the Chittenden East Executive Committee with one PreK-12 unified governing board. If one or two towns vote no, vote to create a Modified Unified Board with unified governance for all Towns voting yes.

When: November 4, 2014, by Australian ballot.

For fifty years, our communities have united in a grade 5-12 single school district and school board—Mount Mansfield Union School District—to educate our children in middle and high school.   After a long and extensive study process, the CESU Voluntary Merger Committee has recommended that our communities unite in a PreK-12 single school district and school board to provide better education opportunities for all of our children and to more efficiently manage our resources and tax dollars. 

If the proposal is approved, the State of Vermont will provide property tax reductions for each community voting yes for a period of four years. The amount of the reductions is described in the Voluntary Merger Report.

The details of the proposal, supporting report, and dissenting views are in the Voluntary Merger Report that is posted on the CESU website.  In addition, the website contains links to studies and background information considered in this process. We encourage all voters to study this important question.  The last informational meeting to be held at Jericho Elementary School is on the following date.

Stone Soup!

We will be serving

at lunch on Thursday, 10/30 to

CELEBRATE HARVEST TIME!

Stone Soup is a magic soup made by

SHARING!

Please bring in a vegetable to share

on Tuesday, 10/28.

Any vegetable is fine such as a carrot, zucchini,

green bean, pepper, kale, or potato.

We will also add some of the harvest

from our JES garden.  

Stone Soup is the hot lunch entree for the day on 10/30. If your child brings lunch from home, or chooses the option, he/she will be offered a sample like on taste test day.

Thanks so much!  The Farm to School Committee

Artist in Residence

Artist in Residency

Jon Gailmor

The Unified Arts Committee is pleased to announce that singer/songwriter, Jon Gailmor, will be at Jericho Elementary School from October 31st through November 13th as an artist in residence.  Students will be composing original songs during the residency and will perform them for you at 6:30pm, Thursday evening, November 13, 2014 at the Mount Mansfield Union High School Gymnasium.  We will be recording their completed work and compiling a CD of the music.  If you would like one of these CD’s, they can be purchased in advance and they will also be available for purchase after the residency. Please return this form with payment to your child's teacher by November 13, 2014.

VT's Universal Pre-K

OUR FARM TO SCHOOL HARVEST DINNER CELEBRATION

Come Celebrate Together!

We invite you to join us in celebrating the local harvest, and our growing Farm to School program at JES.  Let’s all enjoy a locally sourced meal prepared by staff, students, and parents.  

Thursday, November 6, 6:30 pm at JES

MENU:

• Your choice of soup:

Misty Knoll Chicken & Stars, Chili, or Vegetable Minestrone

• Freshly baked bread and local butter
• Crunchy apple cabbage coleslaw
• Seasonal pies and apple crisp with whipped cream

Last year’s Harvest Dinner was a huge success and filled up fast!  We have limited space so if you would like to attend please RSVP as soon as possible.  

COST:  For this event, we ask that you support Farm to School with a donation.  The suggested minimum donation is $5 per person or $20 per family.  If your family cannot give at this time, we have a limited number of free tickets; contact Nurse Amy for more information (amy.beckwith@cesuvt.org)

Proceeds of this event will go towards:  the JES Learning Garden, purchasing local healthy foods for the cafeteria, continuing our popular Taste Test Program, improving our indoor grow lab, and implementing Farm to School curriculum in each classroom.

RSVP: Please email bgaillard416@gmail.com  to save your spot, or use this form and send it back to JES

If you would like to help with this event please contact Beth Dezon-Gaillard at bgaillard416@gmail.com

Thank you in advance! We can't wait to celebrate with you!!

Partners in Education...

Only 2 more days to order from fall fundraiser catalog Genevieve’s and help bring Jon Gailmor to JES!

Please take a look and help us raise the $3500 we need to help provide the John Gailmor artist in residence this fall. 

Sale closes Wednesday October 15^th (extended deadline) 

If you would like to save on shipping expenses, please look through the catalog and order using the yellow and white forms, write a check to

JES PIE and hand the forms and check into the school by Wednesday, October 15.  Your orders will be delivered to the school in November.

OR - If you or family or friends plan to purchase more than $80 worth of merchandise you can shop online and pay no shipping expenses.  Orders submitted online will ship directly to your home and (those under $80 will charge shipping costs….)   Online orders do not require you to submit the yellow and white forms to the school or a check to PIE.

Both methods earn JES 40-50% of the profit margin.

If you choose to shop and pay online with  home delivery…..

·         Shop directly online at http://www.genevieves.com/

·         Click ‘shop’ and input our school’s number : 5918

·         Click ‘go’ and shop from product categories (lunchbags, scarves, wrapping paper, kitchen utensils, local chocolate and more!)

·         Order this way for delivery directly to your home – orders over 80$ get free shipping!

Old Toys Needed

We will be "toy hacking" this year as part of the Enrichment Program. We are asking for toy donations. The ideal toys are battery operated, have moving parts and make sound. Please drop donations in the front office or visit the Enrichment Room with them and say hello. 
Here is a video from the series "Across the Fence". There are a few JES students in the video! 

School Board/Merger Informational Meeting

The next School Board Meeting will take place on 

Wednesday, October 8 at 7:00pm in the JES library.  

A Merger Informational Meeting will also take place on 

Wednesday, October 8 at 6:00pm in the JES music room.

 As always, the community is invited to attend.

 Thursday, October 2, 2014

6:00 - 7:00pm

Light Refreshments will be served in the cafeteria.

Based on your feedback, Open House will be a time for families to visit classrooms on your own schedule.  In addition, we will provide information about Fast Math and our Enrichment Program.  Other topics of interest will be addressed during Coffee with the Principal meetings.

Cardboard Challenge

The Cardboard Challenge is just around the corner!  Next Tuesday October 7th, JES students will join over 94,000 students from 34 countries in a day of creative design.  We are all set with cardboard, but would appreciate any hot glue sticks or masking tape donations.  A big thanks to the parents that have been pre-cutting cardboard.  Enjoy the sights and sounds from last year's challenge.


JES Global Cardboard Challenge from JES on Vimeo.

JES Harvest Dinner

SAVE THE DATE

   for the 2nd annual

 JES Harvest Dinner!!

**November 6th**

                             

Bring your kids for this delicious, homemade and locally-sourced meal to celebrate

 Farm to School with the entire JES community.

Are you interested in helping us organize

 this community event?

There are lots of ways to help, both at the event and before.

If you would like to help please contact:

Jamie Lofy - jamielofy@gmail.com

Kim Cleary - kimberleigh@comcast.net

Beth Gaillard - bgaillard416@gmail.com