December 16, 2021
Dear Otter Valley Families,
We want to make you aware of an incident that occurred at Otter Valley yesterday. Students under the direct supervision of an employee made cookies in a class. Unfortunately one of those students chose to share cookies with peers despite restrictions of sharing food due to Covid. A concern arose that these cookies may have been tainted with some other ingredient and caused a physical reaction to students that ate them. Upon investigation, this information was not able to be verified. The school continues to investigate the situation.
This is a good time to remind your child that they should not be sharing items and that they should be extremely cautious about accepting food items.
James Avery Kristine Evarts Geoffrey Lawrence
Principal Associate Principal Associate Principal
Coord. Special Ed. Middle School
Check out the recap from Dec 10th's Varsity girls basketball open at Middlebury!
https://www.rutlandherald.com/sports/roundup-cu-advances-to-final-in-shootout/article_adab5fc0-c98f-58f0-b163-f279f4c9c39b.html?utm_source=sports-newsletter&utm_campaign=local-sports&utm_medium=email&utm_content=headline
REMINDERS : December & February Vacation Dates Confirmed! Here is the link to the full district calendar as released last year. https://tinyurl.com/vy56p2wk.
➤ Dec break begins on Thursday, December 23rd
➤ The correct February vacation is the week of February 21st
Magnetic calendars distributed to staff at the start of the school year indicated Feb 14. That was an error. We apologize this was not caught earlier!
School Board Meetings and Board Openings: Board meetings returned to in-person meetings with a zoom option for those who wish to attend virtually. Meeting information can be found on the district calendar.
➤ Current School Board meetings are largely focused on developing the budget for next school year. Attend or watch on Peg TV!
➤ RNESU Board meets this Wednesday, December 15th, 5 pm at OCA/ Leicester Central School and online
➤ BUU Board meets Dec 20, 6 pm at Barstow School and online
Interested in serving on a school board? Go to the school board page on rnesu.org to learn what seats are open and to get a petition.
FORMS NEEDED - Test to Stay! To access this program:
➤ We need to have no more than a class or two affected at one time (we are limited in capacity in how many we can test at once)
➤ We must have parent consent for the test
➤ We must have parental agreement to either stay with their child when tested or return to pick them up if their test is positive.
In order to give parental consent for this program, please fill out this form. We cannot use the tests on your child without it and your child will need to quarantine as they do now. Please give consent on BOTH forms:
FORM #1 (all students must have - same form for all schools) VT AOE COVID Response Testing Consent Form: https://www.cognitoforms.com/.../SY22COVID19TestingProgra...
FORM #2 (all students must have for THEIR school) School Based Consent
➤ Barstow - https://www.simplereport.gov/register/WMN72
➤ Lothrop - https://www.simplereport.gov/register/Z2M73
➤ Neshobe - https://www.simplereport.gov/register/BJYUU
➤ OCA - https://www.simplereport.gov/register/AMYCD
➤ OV - https://www.simplereport.gov/register/KUZ8A
Virtual Academy 2nd Semester Enrollment Deadline Dec. 22
Applications for Virtual Academy are now open for the second semester! If you are interested in having your student(s) enrolled from January-June, please visit the RNESU website to access the mandatory recordings and application. Please note that applications are due by December 22nd. This is a pilot program for the 2021-2022 school year only.
Check out today's announcements!
Vaccination Clinic Reminder - SPOTS AVAILABLE AT NESHOBE CLINIC DEC 14
Pfizer vaccine for students 5-11 @ Neshobe Elementary School. 1st DOSE: Tuesday (12/14) Neshobe School (with 2nd dose scheduled for Jan. 4)
Interested? Register below or by calling VT Dept of Health @ 855-722-7878. Spots are limited.
https://vermont.force.com/events/s/selfregistration
Check out today's announcements!
December 6, 2021.
This morning the Otter Valley bus transporting students to the Stafford Technical Center was involved in an accident on Route 7, south of Pittsford. The Pittsford Constable, the Pittsford Fire Department, the High School Administration, and the RNESU Transportation Coordinator all went to the scene. One student with an obvious injury was identified and treated at the scene. Students were given the choice to continue to Stafford on a new bus or to return to Otter Valley. Those students requesting to return to Otter Valley have been assessed by the school nurse, other than two who left the school property to go home. Stafford has been notified and and also was requested to check on students who went on to class there. Parents have been contacted and apprised of the incident. The other driver was also checked out and released from the scene. We continue to follow our safety protocols as we continue to look into the accident. We do ask students to let their parents or the school nurse know if they have any residual effects from the accident. The welfare of our students is our most urgent priority as we investigate this incident.
James Avery
Principal
Check out today's announcements!
Check out today's announcements!
Check out to day's announcements!
Here is OV's December Newsletter!
https://drive.google.com/file/d/13uxm45oCCBPSDWPRhHDS6kr8-QPPKsA6/view?usp=sharing
Check out today's announcements!
School Board Meetings and Board Openings! In August, Board meetings returned to in-person meetings with a zoom option for those who wish to attend virtually. Meeting information can be found on the district calendar or on the district website.
➤ OVUU Board meets Dec 1, 6 pm at OVUHS, in person and online
➤ RNESU Board meets Dec. 15, 5 pm at OCA/ Leicester Central School and online
➤ BUU Board meets Dec 20, 6 pm at Barstow School and online
ARP/ESSER Plan - We Want to Hear From You! RNESU has posted the draft ARP ESSER plans for COVID recovery funds on our website, and are actively seeking family and community input. Please visit the page below👇 for more information or to provide feedback. https://www.rnesu.org/page/covid-planning-recovery?fbclid=IwAR0oRJWiKbkS79afUCO1Cd5R3JODyCR8P0i4hT2MS_IEyOL1xxNFycyce8o
FUEL ASSISTANCE AVAILABLE TO VERMONTERS - APPLY TODAY! If your household would benefit from fuel assistance, please check out the resource page below 👇
Fuel & Energy Assistance includes:
➤ Information about seasonal fuel assistance & weatherization
➤ Crisis fuel assistance
➤ Water and electricity assistance
➤ Where/how to apply for each of the above
Vermonters who apply and are approved for seasonal fuel assistance before December 1, 2021 will receive the full seasonal benefit. Individuals can apply for fuel assistance for the 2021-2022 winter season through February 2022; however, applications received and approved after Dec. 1 will get a percentage of the full benefit: Dec = 80%, Jan = 60%, Feb = 40%. Because fuel costs are on the rise and are likely to only increase as we get deeper into winter, we encourage people to look into seasonal fuel eligibility soon.
https://vermontfoodhelp.com/fuel-energy-assistance
TEST TO STAY - CONSENT REQUESTED: We are hoping to start the Test to Stay program right after vacation! This means that if a class or a student is identified as a close contact and must be quarantined, they may instead take a rapid antigen test every day for seven days with parental consent and remain in school! This will help us to reduce the number of times a student must learn remotely. In order to access this program, we need to have no more than a class or two affected at one time (we are limited in capacity in how many we can test at once) AND must have parent consent for the test AND have parental agreement to either stay with their child when tested or return to pick them up if their test is positive. In order to give parental consent for this program, please fill out this form. We cannot use the tests on your child without it and your child will need to quarantine as they do now. VT AOE COVID Response Testing Consent Form 👇https://www.cognitoforms.com/VermontAgencyOfEducation/SY22COVID19TestingProgramConsentForm
Join Us Tomorrow, Tuesday, November 30th at 5 PM for a virtual Q&A hosted by Curriculum Director, Kristin Hubert, to review RNESU's ARP ESSER plan related to the use of COVID federal emergency aid funds. This meeting will be recorded and posted on the webpage at a later date - all are welcome to attend!
Join Zoom Meeting: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81149451429?pwd=NlVWcVRQL0dKWVJSek9QYWJQUUQyUT09