Hurrah for snow!! Happy winter to all!

Dear Friends and Families, 
       I hope you all have found an opportunity to play in the snow a bit, despite the short hours of daylight and busy-ness of this time of year. There's no question that winter weather brings challenges, but along with them comes the snowy playground that are the woods and mountains around us.
       When we return from the winter break, our winter ski & ride program will begin, wherein all students in 1st - 6th grade spend Wednesday afternoons skiing or snowboarding at our local ski mountains. Here are just a few of the many reasons I think this program is terrific: 1) While we live in a resort town, costs and lack of experience prohibits some of us from accessing the opportunities that are literally outside our back door. Our ski & ride program is funded to make the mountain accessible to everyone, from the funding of equipment rentals for those who couldn't otherwise access it to providing certified instructors to all students.  This program is just one of the ways that our schools support equity and access to all of our children.  Thank you to Sugarbush & Mad River for their provision of tickets and to the PTA for their very generous funding of all aspects of this program.   2) With the hours of daylight being so short, its difficult to get in our dose of vitamin D and outside time, which we all need to be balanced and our best. Wednesday ski/board afternoons are part of how we attend to the whole needs of the child.   3) While we have an experienced, top-notch staff, they still need time for professional dialogue and learning. It can be challenging to fit such work in around our time working directly with students. The upcoming ski/board afternoons allow our staff time for some important professional work without any need for substitute teachers or early dismissal. Staff strategically rotate time spent on the mountain with students so that we can accomplish shared professional work tasks.  4) The cross-grade groups that students are generally placed in provide them with an opportunity to be with students with whom they might not typically interact. These new experiences and interactions strengthen us as a community and individuals.
     For all these reasons, and many more, I'm hoping for a great snow year!
  Respectfully,      Kaiya Korb



Open Hearth After School Kids: Winter Wonderland
     The Open Hearth Afterschool program has exciting opportunities planned for the next week.  Now that we are fully staffed, there are spaces for students to drop-in any day of the week to join the fun!

Email ohaskprogram@gmail.com to sign up.