Three precepts which guide school

For the broader Charlotte community, it may be useful to understand the precepts which guide their local school. Simply stated, the core beliefs at Charlotte are: We take care of ourselves; we take care of others; we take care of this place.

We take care of ourselves. Throughout the building, students are developing their skills for self-advocacy to meet their physical, emotional and academic needs — taking a walk, grabbing a snack, finding a quiet space to read or write, getting help with a math problem.

We take care of others. Classrooms in grades K-4 are gathering donations for Thanksgiving food baskets. This has been a tradition for many years as we partner with our local food shelf to gather the necessary fixings for community members.

We take care of this place. Charlotte Central School middle level students took time to plan and implement a project to care for their community, including fundraising for the Charlotte Central School library, fundraising for the Humane Society, reading to first grade students, holding a food drive for Charlotte Food Shelf, writing letters to seniors in isolation.

Vermont Kids Against Tobacco club
Amy Sayre, student assistance program counselor at Charlotte Central School, is starting a Vermont Kids Against Tobacco club for fifth and sixth grade Charlotte Central School students after school on Mondays. Sayre received a grant from the Vermont Department of Health to launch this program throughout the district, which promotes health education for students interested in teaching their peers and community about the dangers of smoking or vaping. The first meeting will be on Dec. 5, 3-4 p.m. in room 211.

Music news
Please mark your calendars for the Winter Concert featuring the Charlotte Central School Jazz Band and the fifth-sixth grade bands. This special event will take place on Monday, Dec 19, at 6:30 p.m. in the multi-purpose room. The concert is free and open to the public.

2022-23 Champlain Valley School District budget meetings
Champlain Valley School District invites all community members to learn about and join in on the budget development process by attending upcoming School Board meetings. All members of the Champlain Valley School District community are always welcome to attend board meetings. See the topics and schedule on the budget page of the district’s website.

Links to join the virtual meetings will be available on that page and on the website calendar. Presentations from the meetings will be posted on the budget page afterward for those who cannot attend.

Charlotte Central School holiday market
Don’t forget the Charlotte Central School holiday market on Dec. 10. There will be two gyms filled with exhibitors, a children’s DIY craft table, as well as on-site food available. All proceeds from the holiday market will go directly to the Charlotte Central School PTO to support a variety of student enrichment programs including STEM, theater, athletics, as well as the community Emergency Care Fund.

Penny jar celebration
At the November whole school morning meeting, students celebrated reaching the first goal in the 3-foot tall glass penny jar in the school lobby where students are challenged to deposit pennies. Students voted about how they would like to celebrate their accomplishment. An hour of board games beat out the other options — a whole school dance party with Champ or schoolwide bingo.

So, on a Thursday, the school paused to play an hour of games with peers and adults.