Newsletter February 17, 2010

The Compass School Newsletter

February 17, 2010

News from the Director

We just finished the Wintern with projects that covered a range of researching the homeless, story telling and performing at surrounding elementary schools, exploring the Wooly Adelgid in the Hemlock trees, to painting murals in the warming shelter.  I have been associated with service learning for several years and always worry about the quality of work that would be presented at the end of these two weeks.  We discuss academic quality, standards and expectations and my question was always, could we meet these standards.  After sitting through the presentations and talking with community members, I can truthfully say that during the past two weeks the student did invest into the project, did good work and was appreciated by the community they chose to serve.  

I am all for high standards and academic rigor; I believe as most educators do that we must continue to push our education system to compete in the future.  In the recent State of the Union speech, the president called for “reform” in the school systems and the identification of successful and failing schools.  There are many factors that identify good schools and most are beyond test scores.  Compass School demands academic rigor even though we use different methodology to teach students; be assured that the staff is constantly evaluating the effectiveness of the curriculum and the delivery to students and we will never stop working to improve the education delivered to your students.

Governor’s Institute

The Governor’s Institutes of Vermont enriches the lives of motivated high school students by providing intensive, hands-on educational opportunities on Vermont college campuses.

GIV seeks students from all walks of life, from the economically disadvantaged and rurally isolated to those who have had many opportunities but whom do their schools under serve.  Research has shown the importance of challenging learning activities for talented and motivated high-school students. 

GIV’s programs provide opportunities for these students to interact with their intellectual and artistic peers and be involved more intensely in an area of study with faculty who have professional expertise as well as a dedication to working with adolescents. 

High school is a vital juncture and GIV has a solid history of helping students think more critically about their high school academic program as well as raising the bar on their future horizons.  Institutes are hosted on Vermont college campuses to give students the opportunity to rehearse their futures, to try sampling college life from delving into intensive study to locating the dining hall and learning to live with a roommate. 

Many former students have called their GIV experiences “life-changing."

Following an Institute experience, GIV encourages students to engage in their communities, to become involved citizens.  Faculty and staff are available to alums as they consider their future choices.

Contact Coleen Austin, Operations Coordinator 802 229 4757 or giv@sover.net.  More information and application are available at the web site.

Arts                                                                 June 27-July 11

Asian Cultures                                                June 20-26

Current Issues and Youth Activism                 June 30-July 11

Engineering                                                    June 26 -July 3

Info Technology                                              June 19-27

Math and Science                                            June 20-25

Science & Technology                                     June 20- 27

High School Parent Teacher Conferences

Please contact Austin at the front desk 463 2525, starting February 22,  to set up an appointment for your conference.  This is an excellent opportunity to continue to interact with the Compass School staff.

Call for Art Supply Donations: After 2 museums, lots of end-of-trimester projects, and Winterm, our art supplies are starting to get a bit worn out here at Compass. If you happen to have art supplies sitting around the house that aren’t being used, we’d be delighted to take them! We’d also welcome any art supply donations if you feel like picking up an extra box of crayons, markers, glue, construction paper, paintbrushes, paints, etc. Thanks!

Call for Gallery Space

Julia and Amir are looking for a new venue for student photos/artwork in a culminating exhibit of the Art for Social Change unit 3rd trimester.  We need a gallery space, either in Bellows Falls or Brattleboro to hang work, ideally, in early May.  If you have any helpful contacts or ideas, send them to Amir or Julia.  We really appreciate it!

Seeking Lamps, Light Fixture, and Fabric Donations: The Art That Serves Winterm group is working hard to make the Bellows Falls Warming Shelter a space that cheerful, warm, and inviting primarily by painting walls and creating murals in several areas of the shelter. We are also looking for lamps and light fixtures to replace harsh fluorescent lights. If you have old lamps or light fixtures sitting around, we would love to use them! We’d also love to make some curtains, so if you have some fabric, preferably with pale blues, greens, and or yellows in it, we would welcome this contribution to our project. Any donations can be brought to Amir’s classroom.

Thanks, Lauren and Julia

The Bellows Falls Warming Shelter is looking for volunteers to staff the shelter, especially during the night hours of 1am-7am. This is a wonderful new resource in our community, a place for those without homes to get a meal and sleep in a warm place on these frigid winter nights. If you are interested in volunteering or would like to help out in some other way, please contact Samuel Neill at samuel.neill@gmail.com or 802-463-3355.

February Dates

22                        School Resumes

25                        Winter Sports resumes

March Dates

March 1              No School Parent Teacher Conferences

March 2              No School Town Meeting Day

March 3              Open House 7:00

March 5              Middle School Presentations of Learning

March 19            Winter Carnival

 Wednesday Rides to Brattleboro Needed! Will you be heading to Brattleboro around 12:30 on any of our Community Service Wednesdays? (March 3, March 17, March 31, April 14, April 28, May 12) A high school student will be mentoring a student at Neighborhood Schoolhouse and needs a ride. Please contact Lauren (lauren@compass-school.org) if you think you can help some or all of those days.

 Middle School 2^nd Trimester PoL’s:

Just a heads up that Middle School 2^nd trimester PoL’s will happen on March 5 from 10:10-12 and 12:40-2:10. They will happen in advisory groups and parents/guardians are strongly encouraged to attend. Please put it on your calendar and contact Lauren (lauren@compass-school.org) to sign up for a time!

Reminder about Snow Day Cancellation Announcements

For school closings and delays Compass School follows the call of the Windham Northeast Supervisory Union (Bellows Falls, Westminster, Saxtons River, Grafton, Athens). If WNESU is closed or delayed, we go along with that. Listen for announcements on the local radio or view school closing information on www.wtsa.net . (I’ve found that the WTSA site lists information soonest.) Eric will also send out cancellation and delay information to the “families” email list. We will also post the announcement as a news item on the Compass web site.

Additional Note: Many Compass students and families drive from far a field and from a variety roads and microclimates. We always encourage you to use your own individual best judgment in making travel decisions, and we support you staying home anytime you feel it is unsafe to drive.

Sweat Shirts/T Shirts/Fleeces

We are preparing for a second round of Compass School apparel orders.  Please find attached the order form to be completed and returned to the office by February 12 or call Austin @463 2525.  The money raised will go into the scholarship fund.

Compass School Apparel Order Form-Return to Compass School Attn: Austin

Style                      Navy            Dark Green                  Black           Maroon

Please indicate size: (child’s small through XXL) and number desired.  Thank you.