Wise Owl: 1-1

January 1, 2014

"Have You Seen the Owl Today?"

HAPPY NEW YEAR UNION ELEMENTARY!

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 every few weeks 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.

C.A.R.E.S. ASSEMBLY! The latest outstanding, student led C.A.R.E.S. assembly was put on by Mrs. McGuiggan's 5th grade class on the 18th. What a terrific job the kids did! Empathy was this month's theme, and many of us were treated to Superman-style "E" emblems to wear for the day. The show included sketches demonstrating empathy and a dance number performed with Mrs. Closter's 1st graders. Below are some highlights:

                    

Check out this video of the dance performance:

UES STUDENT REPS AT THE SCHOOL BOARD MEETING Representatives from grades K to 12 (the MHS Classes of 2014 to 2026!) shared their thoughts on what makes a great school with our school board and the Montpelier community at last month's board meeting. I had a wonderful opportunity to work with our middle school students, while Mrs. Arnold worked with students from the high school and Mr. Bunting worked with our children. The result was a presentation that beautifully put into perspective the notion that everyone who works for the Montpelier schools works for all of our kids. You can catch the whole presentation on the Orca website, but I took some footage of the K-5 segment of the presentation with Mr. Bunting, and it's well worth your time to check out. It's difficult to hear the younger children at first, but the audio improves as it goes on. 

UES DELAYED OPENING PROCEDURES: Winter is in full gear, and with the unpredictable weather comes the possibility of cancellations or delayed openings for school. There has been some confusion in recent years about the exact time school opens at UES on delayed opening days, so here is what you need to know in case Mother Nature throws a snowball at us one of these mornings:

UES DELAYED OPENING PROCEDURES 

9:30     Teachers arrive 

10:00   UES doors open; IAs arrive; buses begin to arrive; we're open for business!

10:00-  Students will begin arriving to class; transition time; Morning Meeting.

10:25

10:25   UES schedule officially begins.  Students will proceed as normal where the schedule would be normally at 10:25.  Lunches will not be effected.

UES WORLD CHORUS OPPORTUNITY Union Elementary School, in partnership with Community Connections, is launching a wonderful after school opportunity for Union students: The UES World Chorus. Students will meet weekly for an hour long choral instruction class led by the wonderful John Harrison, and will build a repertoire to perform at the end of the school year. John will be selecting traditional music from around the world, as he challenges the students with harmony and rhythm. Students will learn why people make music, why people sing, and how songs are created, as they themselves learn to raise their voices together to create beautiful and meaningful musical stories.

When: Thursdays 2:45-3:30 optional supervised before care/snack 3:30-4:30 UES World Chorus
Where: UES Auditorium
Dates: January 17-May 27 (Performance in June)
Cost: $180 + $54 optional before care ($10 per class + $3 for before care & snack)
Scholarships available for students with Free and Reduced Lunch. A staggered payment plan will be available as well. CC students will pay a prorated rate.
Registration: Registration will begin on January 3rd. Please look for hard copy flyers as well as online registration/payment options. 

To register online, click here

SCHOLASTIC BOOK FAIR From the UES Parents Group: "The Union School Parents Group would like to thank all the volunteers, families, students, and staff who helped make the Fall Scholastic Book Fair a success!  We had about 20 volunteers helping to set up, run the book fair and pack up everything.  We couldn’t have done it without all of your support!  Although we do not yet have the final numbers from Scholastic, it looks like this Book Fair earned the USPG  over $2000 in cash to directly assist the students and teachers of UES through field trips, art projects, classroom activities, etc.  In addition, we earned over $400 in free books for students and classroom libraries!  Thank you all for your support!   See you at the Spring Scholastic Book Fair!

Suzie Smith, Angie Buckley, and Sidney Collier, Co-Chairs of the Scholastic Book Fair"

4th GRADE BAKE SALE From Ms. Lloyd and the 4th grade team: "I want to thank all of you who sent in items for the Craft and Bake Sale.  Today, we raised nearly $250 to donate to The Water Project, a non-profit that provides sustainable sources of clean water to communities in Africa.  You can read more about The Water Project here:

http://thewaterproject.org/

Students were professional, engaged, excited, cooperative, flexible, and very proud of what they accomplished.  What a worthwhile way to spend a day at school!  Thank you for your support.

-Morgan"

Here is a great photo of the students tallying the results:

GREEN MOUNTAIN YOUTH SYMPHONY AT UES The UES community was treated to a wonderful performance by the Green Mountain Youth Symphony on the 19th! Thanks to Mrs. Goldblatt for organizing the concert, and to the talented musicians for sharing their love of music with all of us.