February 24, Newsletter

The Compass School Newsletter February 24, 2010

No School WEDNESDAY FEBRUARY 24 Snow

COMPASS SCHOOL OPEN HOUSE

SCHEDULED FOR WEDNESDAY MARCH 3 7:00

IF YOU KNOW OF FAMILIES THAT ARE INTERESTED IN COMPASS SCHOOL PLEASE ASK THEM TO ATTEND.

A GREAT CHANCE TO MEET CURRENT STUDENTS AND TEACHERS

TOUR THE BUILDING, VISIT THE CLASSROOMS, SEE THE PROJECTS.

Driver Education at Compass

Mike Henkle of the Westminster Driving School would like to offer driver ed at Compass starting in April if there is enough interest. You can email him at mhenkle@sover.net  and you can register at http://www.drivewds.com/Teen_training.htm  Please contact him if you are potentially interested, as he will only run the course if there is sufficient enrollment.

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. 

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

Lunch Menu

Monday

2/22

Pasta & veggie sauce

Tuesday

2/23

Deli sandwiches

Wednesday

2/24

Pizza & Salad

Thursday

2/25

ski lunch if its a ski day....

Friday

2/26

fajitas 

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.

Middle Schoolers Need to Return Books: Borrowed copies of The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian  need to be returned ASAP. Students will be billed for books that are not returned by the end of this week.

Writing Workshops with Kathy Izzo!  Students are invited to participate in a free series of writing workshops with writer Kathe Izzo from NYC. Sessions will be held from 2:30-4:00pm on the following Fridays: March 5, March 19, April 9, and May 7. (Students may attend some or all of the sessions.) Writing will explore the teenaged voice and will be developed for use in the VOICES Project radio show to be broadcasted in May from Bellows Falls. Please contact Lauren (lauren@compass-school) with questions.

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

February Dates

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.  Help support the students at Compass, still great gifts.

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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.