News from Charlotte Central School Students

Charlotte Central School changes since pandemic

Louise Brines
Charlotte Central School student

From the perspective of parents, it may not seem that Charlotte Central School changed since the pandemic, but from the perspective of students and teachers it really has changed, both good and bad.

Michelle Filardi, a first-grade teacher, said, “Offhand, I can only think of a few things — No. 1, hand sanitizer is available all over the school; No. 2, masks are available, and it doesn’t seem strange to see someone wearing one; No. 3, Google meetings or hangouts are now done much more often as an option for meeting.”

Third-grade teacher Sophie Hatch said, “During the pandemic we had two groups of students, Group A on Mondays and Tuesdays, and Group B on Thursdays and Fridays. Wednesdays were remotely at home and we didn’t get through all of the usual curriculum. Social distancing influenced how many students were allowed in our classroom and arrangement of desks or furniture. Post-pandemic we spent the first two years making sure third graders were caught up with some second-grade learning targets, classroom spaces were used to their maximum potential and many teachers retired early because of the unknown health risks linked to COVID, so there was an increase in hiring teachers, especially younger, new teachers.”

“Parent involvement and access to school changed drastically during the pandemic, so it has taken a lot of work to build our community back and regain parent involvement,” said Katie Fraser, a fourth-grade teacher. “Over the last few years our budget has been chipped at, and this has had a huge impact on additional staff to support students and less EA time for students. Over the years our world language program and music program has drastically reduced. Expressive arts classes are so important; I wish we could have more of them. Social-emotional learning has been emphasized and students show they need more explicit instruction in this area. There is more instructional focus on math and literacy to support student learning and any gaps from the pandemic.”

Now that’s some good information. This is just one side though. Let’s see what students have to say about this.

“I think that our school just is more blank. There’s not enough color; it’s just gray,” said fifth grader Lucinda Smith, who was a kindergarten student when the pandemic hit.

An adult in the school said the change in color was not a result of COVID but was due to construction.

Tips for being recycling expert and keeping planet green

Jocie Jacobs
Charlotte Central School student

What’s green and smells like red paint?

Green paint!

However, we must be serious about helping the planet stay green.  I have been thinking about recycling and helping our planet. Here’s a few tips to make you a recycling expert:

When in doubt, throw it out; you can throw out  trash and you can recycle.

Donate items that are still in good condition to charity or charity shops.

To recycle effectively and help the environment, put your waste in recycling bins and make sure your recyclables make it into the bin. Make sure items are clean and empty, and learn about our local recycling programs’ specific guidelines.

Be aware of items that are not recyclable, such as contaminated food containers, certain types of plastic bags and some types of electronics.

Avoid putting non-recyclables in your recycling bin, as this can contaminate the entire bin and prevent it from getting processed.

Tell others about these tips.

Those are our tips for recycling. I hope you use them and keep them in mind. And remember, if you see someone littering, remind them what can happen when they do that and remind yourself too.  

Instructions on how to produce sweet, sweet maple sap

Amelia Akselrod & Lucinda Smith
Charlotte Central School students

Maple syrup is a sweet, thick syrup that tastes great on pancakes or whatever your heart desires. Vermonters make lots of maple syrup because there are lots of sugar maple trees in Vermont. Sugar maple trees are maple trees that produce a sweet sap; this sap is clear and sticky.

To get sap from a tree you have to tap the tree. You can tap many types of trees such as sugar maple trees, black maple trees, red maple trees, silver maple trees, birch trees and boxelder trees. Even though you can tap all these trees, it doesn’t mean they all taste good; some trees like sugar maple and birch make good syrup but others don’t. 

If you want to tap a tree, follow these simple directions: First, find a healthy sugar maple tree, then drill a hole in the tree. Take a spile and put it in the hole, then hang a bucket from the spile and wait for the sap to start flowing.

Spiles come in all different shapes and sizes, some metal, some wood and some plastic. Whatever you use they all work the same. Once you have sap you can boil it over a fire for a long time, and it boils off into maple syrup.

Fun facts: Did you know that Vermont is the top producer of maple syrup in the United States? In 2024, Vermont made 20 million gallons of maple syrup. Did you know that you can make tea with sap? Try putting a tea bag in hot sap then wait a few minutes for the tea to steep but don’t put honey in because the sap already gives it a sweet flavor. 

Now that you know all about maple syrup you can use homemade syrup on pancakes and try adding edible glitter to the syrup to make sparkle syrup.

School lunches: To free or not to free, that is the question.

Lincoln McLaughlin
Charlotte Central School student

I think the proposed change from free lunch to student paid lunch has some pros and some cons, but do the pros outweigh the cons?

The Charlotte Central School lunch program is funded through a mix of state and federal funding. On Town Meeting Day 70 percent of voters supported the school budget, which includes free school lunch.

Pros: The biggest pro for the school community is the low cost for student families. The price helps support a successful school lunch program and a well-fed community. In addition, the free school lunch program keeps kids well fed all year including during breaks and summer. They serve lunches at parks, churches and playgrounds. 

Cons: A free lunch program is very expensive for the district. Pressure to keep costs low can lead to lower-quality food high in preservatives. Governor Phil Scott proposed that he would drop the free lunch program because he claims it is regressive. Hunger Free Vermont says it would harm many families, students and farmers.

In conclusion, I would recommend having a hybrid of a paid lunch but at a very low price with a mix of state funding and self-funding. Lunch should still be free during breaks for those who need it. This controls taxes, supports school families and provides enough funding for high-quality food. Furthermore, I think if we had paid lunches it would result in higher-quality food and less waste.

Charlotte Central School variety show big hit

Louise Brines
Charlotte Central School student

The variety show was a big hit on Thursday, March 27. The acts were the big hit of the night.

There were dances, songs and tricks. Parents, friends and family came to watch this awesome show. Some highlights of the show were piano players, singers, dancers and performances that were awesome, like two people putting on makeup, Julius Caesar speeches and speed Rubick’s cube solving.

We interviewed Jocie and Lucy who did a dance in the talent show. Our first question was: How did it feel being on the stage?

Jocie said, “We weren’t that nervous because we have danced in front of thousands of people before at the Flynn.”

Our next question was: How did you think your dance went?

Lucy said, “We thought it went well and maybe we could’ve been closer together and in sync more.”

Jocie added, “It was really fun, and fifth grade or younger has never been in the talent show as long as I’ve been at Charlotte Central School, so it was nice to be up there, and it was fun to see the smiling faces on people and the joy of the audience to bring great spirits to the stage.”

The PTO ran the variety show and at intermission they held a bake sale which raised a bunch of money for the school’s funding.

State spelling bee: A speller’s point of view

Lucy Palmer
Charlotte Central School student

On March 21 at Saint Michael’s College, 81 champions faced off in the 2025 State Spelling Bee.

As a speller myself, I competed for the second time, and here’s how it went. I arrived there at about 2:30 p.m. As usual, the judge went over the rules of the spelling bee. I sat towards the back, and waited nervously for about 20 minutes. For the first round, I was given the word “exaggerate.”

Though I had thoroughly studied the word, and would have for sure known it, I got very nervous. I ended up spelling the word, E-X-A-G-E-R-A-T-E, missing the double G.

My twin sister, Annie Palmer, did go on to the second round, but then got out on the word “tase,” though she spelled it T-A-Z-E, which is an acceptable spelling in most dictionaries. Scripps did not recognize the alternate spelling and she was eliminated. Though I did have a little bad luck this year, it was a great experience, and I hope to go back next year.