New parent connection at Charlotte Central School
In an effort to make themselves as accessible as possible to families and the community, Lead Principal Barbara Anne Komons-Montroll and Instructional Leader/Principal Stephanie Sumner are collaborating with the PTO to host monthly Q & A sessions.
“We will be providing alternating times at drop-off and at pickup to enable people to come by and ask us a question or two as well,” Komons-Montroll said. “Our hope is that people will build an even greater comfort in communicating with the principals and know that our door is always open.”
At the March 22 meeting there was no agenda. The principals and PTO president Carol Blanshine were present to answer questions. One parent attended, Hilary Jordan, who asked questions about her child’s transition into middle school. “I love everything I am seeing in the 5th grade and I know everything tends to change in the 6th grade. Fifth grade curriculum is incredibly strong at CCS, and I want that to continue.”
Komons-Montroll described the number of community outreach opportunities given in middle school and explained the organizational structure of teachers and curriculum. An action plan is also in the works for a parent wish-list survey that was taken last year.
The next Q&A with the Principals will be held from 2:30 p.m. to 3:15 p.m. in the CCS library on Wednesday, April 22.
Principal adjustments
This semester brought with it new CCS responsibilities for Lead Principal Barbara Anne Komons-Montroll and Instructional Leader/Principal Stephanie Sumner. Their titles remain the same but the grades they oversee have been adjusted. Sumner is now the “go-to” principal for kindergarten through 4th grade and Komons-Montroll for 5th through 8th grades.
This is a teacher-requested change from Komons-Montroll being the “go-to” for kindergarten, 3rd, 4th and 7th grades. “When I started here my responsibilities were budget, community outreach and anything that relates to the big systems within the school,” Komons-Montroll said. “That is still the case.”
Komons-Montroll and Sumner are not now, nor have they ever been, co-principals. “I am lead principal,” Komons-Montroll said, “and we divided up the grades the way we did originally because we believed in being cohesive. We didn’t want the traditional co-principal situation that is more separated and divided. We are able to maintain a community as a whole school and not operate in siloes. Both of our hands are in everything because we work so well together.”
CVSD website revamp
Superintendent Elaine Pinckney said everything will be changed from Chittenden South Supervisory Union (CSSU) to Champlain Valley School District (CVSD), including the website. Each school in the district will still have its own page that will be part of the new CVSD website, just as it is now with the current website. A committee of administrators, integrationists and systems administrators has been exploring a new website. “This new, and much better, website will be online by July 1 when we officially shed the CSSU designation and become the Champlain Valley School District,” Pinckney said. “We’ve already started changing letterhead and job postings to reflect this new entity, which has been operational since Sept. 7.”
Odyssey of the Mind
Four Charlotte Odyssey of the Mind teams competed at the state finals this weekend at CVU, and all four won trophies. Two teams can compete at the world finals competition in Michigan this May.
First-place team: Riley DeCell, Charlie Taylor, Taylor Marchand, Wolfy Louchheim, Nik Blasius, Katie Shattie, Josh Batchelder.
First-place team: Kate Silverman, Charlie Buchwald, Ronan Evans, George Taylor, Elizabeth Nostrand, Whitley Pidgeon, Anderson McEnaney.
Second-place team: Harry Evans, Jameson McEnaney, Zachary Santos, Coco Eyre, Hadley Stockwell, Grave McNally.
Third-place team: Cassie Bastress, Tabitha Bastress, Estelle Emmons, Ella Emmons, Cessie Forero, Natalie Scriver.
This Weekend: Empower Youth Leadership Conference at CCS
The 2nd annual Empower Youth Leadership Conference will be held at CCS for students in 6th, 7th and 8th grades from 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. on April 8. The conference will focus on leadership skills. Middle school youth will participate in interactive workshops where they will learn success strategies, tips for stronger minds and bodies, how to create a vision for their future, and how to communicate more effectively with parents and peers. Lunch, snacks and drinks are included. For more information email Mary Muroski or Kathy Batty. This event is co-sponsored by the Children’s Legacy Partnership, a nonprofit organization in Vermont.