Family Newsletter- 8.26.22

Harwood Families -

Five years ago, a group of Harwood students engaged in a partnership with staff and administration. They did so out of a desire to have a learning community that reflected high expectations and a culture of respect. This partnership resulted in crafting what they called, “Harwood’s Non-Negotiables.”

This summer, Harwood staff and administrators met to reflect on the data and results stemming from the climate survey data given to our community last spring. The data reflected a need and a desire for expectations to be clearly communicated, and upheld consistently. As we begin the 2022-2023 school year, we are excited about our recommitment to Harwood’s Non-Negotiables and our continued work to be a community where all:

1. students, staff and families/caregivers feel safe - seen, heard, understood, and respected.

2. students have access to a rigorous and robust academic program that provides meaning for ALL.

3. students, staff, and families/caregivers are proud to be a part of.

​Harwood Middle/High School Non-Negotiables

• I will use respectful language and actions throughout the school.

• I will be present in the classroom and prepared to learn when the bell rings.

• I will engage positively with the people in my learning community.

• I will leave the classroom at an appropriate time, sign out, take the hall pass and sign back in.

• I will keep my Chromebook and personal technology away and only use as directed by the teacher.

We are grateful for your collaboration as we begin another school year and continue our work collectively,

Laurie, Meg and Duane

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Calendar:

• August 29th - Smart Start - 7th/9th graders 8:40 a.m. - 3:20 p.m.

• August 30th - First day of school for ALL students 8:40 a.m. - 3:20 p.m.

• September 2nd - NO School

• September 5th - NO School

Please note - the building will be open starting at 8:15 when the first bus arrives. High School students are asked to go to the cafeteria after entering the building and Middle School students to the gallery until the bell rings to dismiss for advisory.

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Safe - seen, heard, respected & understood:

Topics	Information/Links
2022-2023 Bus Routes	Bus routes can be found here: https://huusd.org/bus-routes. There is now a table of contents to help families navigate the route information. The table of contents is organized by elementary school routes first, then middle/high school routes organized by town of residence. Late bus info is at the end of the file. Routes are similar to last school year with no significant changes.
​School Safety reminders for families and caregivers

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Rigorous & Robust Academic Program:

Topics	Information/Links
Bell Schedule	Last spring, we sought feedback from students, families, and staff on aspects of the Harwood bell schedule. Thank you to everyone who took the time to fill out a survey and give us your perspective! After consideration of our school goals and the data, we have made a few changes to the schedule for the 2022-2023 school year. The biggest differences you will see are: ELO (Extended Learning Opportunities) time is now spread out across the week Wednesday is a 7-block day where students have all their classes Flex block is no longer in the schedule (although some of the opportunities of flex block will be offered through ELO) Here is an outline of both the middle and high school schedules. There are a few modifications for the first two weeks of school, and that schedule can be found here. These schedules were shared during our welcome conferences, and will be reviewed with students next week in TA. Please note that the Harwood Middle School structure has changed. Beginning this school year we will offer two teams of 7th/8th graders combined. The team names are team Aqua and Terra (a reflection of the amazing water and land features that make Vermont a great place to live). We will follow the school bell schedule, however, our core team time may vary based on our middle school program.
Extended Learning Opportunities	ELO stands for Extended Learning Opportunities and is in all students’ schedules in both the middle and high school. The main purpose of ELO is to provide students the time for both support and enrichment within their current courses. Depending on the needs of individual students, each student’s ELO blocks over the course of a week could include small group instruction for support or extension in a specific course or skill individual work time clubs, school-wide assemblies, and other activities that support social/emotional wellbeing and community In the High school, the schedule includes six ELO blocks spread across the week. Students will book their ELOs twice a week in TA. More details on high school ELO can be found here and will be shared with students through TA. In the Middle school, the schedule includes four ELO blocks every week, with an additional two blocks that will be a mix of ELO and flexible team time. Students will book their ELOs with the support of their team teachers.

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Positive school climate and culture:

Topics	Information/Links
22-23’ Harwood Family Handbook	​We ask all families and students to review Harwood’s Handbook in order to understand our expectations and procedures as we start a new year.
Free & Reduced Lunch application	​In School Year 2022-2023, all students will receive free breakfast and lunch at school. The State of Vermont has provided money to do this for one year through the Universal School Meals Act. Please remind your student(s) that meals are limited to one meal per person. We need your help to keep providing free meals to all students in future years, as well as making our school and community eligible for other benefits. Please review this application for free and reduced price school meals and complete it if you believe your family might be eligible. If all eligible families fill out and return this form, we will get more money from the federal government for free school meals now and in the future. Please find the application on this site. Please print and return to Harwood. Applications will also be sent home at the start of the year.