December 9, 2013
"Have You Seen the Owl Today?"
Welcome to the Union Elementary Wise Owl! We hope that you enjoy this new way of learning what's going on at UES! If you'd like to have the Wise Owl sent to you, please send your email address to chrish@mpsvt.org. I'll be updating the Owl at least once a week with both news and celebrations, and I'd love to be able to send it directly to you if that's what you'd like.
4th-5th GRADE CONCERT! Those of you who attended last Thursday evening's concert were treated to some wonderful performances by our students! Special congratulations are due to the 4th grade band who were performing publicly for the first time. I'd also like to give credit to Mrs. Goldblatt and her colleagues in the MPS music department for their commitment to the performing arts for all of our children. Student participation in music at UES is as high as it's been in many years, and the kids' enthusiasm was a beautiful thing to watch. Check out these photos:
This doesn't look like "pre-show jitters"!:
The Performance:
Post performance Celebrations!:
NEW SECURITY SYSTEM AT UES! The first week of the new security system at Union has been a huge success! I'd like to thank those of you who have contacted me by email, phone, and in person to thank me and the faculty for taking these measures to keep our children safe. It's clear to me that the Montpelier community fully understands the need for these changes. For those of you who are learning about this for the first time, here are the basics:
Exterior doors will now be locked at all times before, during, and after school. Guests visiting UES will now enter the building through the main, front entrance using a video/buzzer system linked to the front office. Upon entry, guests (parents, contractors, etc.) will sign in at the front office and be given a guest ID pass. From December 2 on, all faculty, staff, and guests must have an ID or guest pass visible at all times while in the building. If you don't have an ID and are in the building, an adult (or maybe even a student!) will ask you to return to the office to get one.
We fully recognize that this is an entirely new way of allowing access to our school for the community, but we hope that you can all understand that these changes need to happen. As we all get used to this new system in the coming weeks, we welcome your questions, suggestions, and feedback. Please let us know what you think!
SCHOOL EXPERIENCE SURVEY: In an effort to get more feedback from UES families, we've put out a School Experience Survey on our website. The survey will only take a few moments to fill out, so please look at it when you have a chance. We really want to know how you think we're doing!
You can click here to take the survey right now!
RIDDLE OF THE DAY:
What do you call a pig who plays basketball?
Last week's riddle: Why did the math student do her multiplication problems on the floor? (Answer: The teacher told her not to use tables!)
