Veazie Community School

Happy Tuesday! VCS morning announcements by Avery: *Subscribe to her Youtube channel. Morning announcements will be scheduled to upload at 6 a.m. each school morning. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0sPlj1fbiCg

Maddie & Maizy, these two beautiful therapy dogs, were supposed to visit VCS this week. I think we can all agree that the timing is uncanny as we are all in need of social/emotional support right now. We will reschedule the visit....but for now, enjoy this great pic!

VCS 8th Grade student, Avery Messer asked if she could continue with morning announcements "until we come back to school." ABSOLUTELY, AVERY!!! Thank you for your leadership! Morning announcements: 4/6/20 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qi6_T-l4pxY&feature=youtu.be

Please stop by school today to pick up your child’s cubby and locker belongings. Your help with this today will be greatly appreciated.

Mr. Cyr and Mrs. Thibeault are up and at em this morning making breakfast and lunch meals for Monday’s delivery! We hope you all have a great weekend!

April 2, 2020 3:00 p.m. EST COVID-19 MEMO #7 REMOTE LEARNING EXTENDED THROUGH MAY 1, 2020 Dear Parents and Caregivers, As I am sure you are aware, Governor Mills has announced that beginning at 12:01 a.m. today, April 2, Maine residents will be prohibited from traveling outside their homes for all but “essential personal activities” and also ordered all schools closed for classroom-based instruction until May 1, 2020. This extends our current remote learning model of instruction until at least that date. All school employees are considered “essential employees” and will continue to safely travel to and from school in order to help your children to learn and grow while enhancing our capacity to provide remote learning. We will also continue to provide meal delivery with the same Monday/Wednesday schedule but are presently examining a once per week delivery for reasons of safety for all involved. Grade Level Advancement: I want to emphasize that students in good standing will move to the next grade level for the 2020-2021 school year, as would normally be the case. All receiving high schools are committed to enroll our graduating 8th grade students, regardless of end of year circumstances. We are also exploring options for how we can creatively honor our graduating 8th graders should this closure extend through the remainder of the school year. Returning Student and School Property: We are presently cleaning out student lockers/cubbies and placing all belongings into clearly labeled plastic bags. Beginning Monday, during the hours of 8am and 2pm, we will have these bags set up outside under the school entrance canopy for pickup. We will bring unclaimed bags inside each evening and begin contacting parents towards the end of the week if there are items that have not been collected. If you are concerned with how your child is doing emotionally, you can contact NAMI MAINE HELPLINE at 1-800-464-5767—Press 1. Please continue to use your children’s teachers as resources for support with remote learning. Do not hesitate to contact me personally should you have further questions. Acadia Cares Parent Forum: VCS will be hosting a live Zoom session with Northern Light Acadia Hospital’s Chris McLaughlin, LCSW. Chris hosted our parent forums earlier this winter. He will share valuable information and resources on how to best manage your child’s anxiety, as well as offering ideas and suggestions that may be helpful in keeping your own parental worries in check during this unprecedented global COVID-19 crisis. There will be an opportunity for you to ask questions. Tonight’s parent forum details: Thursday, April 2 from 5:00 - 6:30 p.m. Join Zoom Meeting Link: https://emhs.zoom.us/j/9371670089 Meeting ID: 937 167 0089 Thank you for your continued support. Please take care of each other. Sincerely, Matthew D. Cyr Superintendent & Principal

VEAZIE COMMUNITY SCHOOL STUDENT COUNCIL SPIRIT WEEK!!! Monday, April 6 - Friday, April 10

Thursday, April 2 5-6:30pm Join Zoom Meeting https://emhs.zoom.us/j/9371670089 Meeting ID: 937 167 0089 Veazie Community School will be hosting a live Zoom session with Norther Light Acadia Hospital's Chris McLaughlin, LCSW. Chris hosted our parent forums earlier this winter. Chris will share valuable information and resources on how to best manage your child’s anxiety, as well as offering ideas and suggestions that may be helpful in keeping your own worries as a parent in check, during this unprecedented global coronavirus crisis. Chris will share tips, facts, and recommendations on how we all can make it through this pandemic as successfully as possible and will be open to hearing any questions you may have in how to support your child (and each other!) through this challenging time.

Pete the Cat has been caught reading in the VCS library! We want to see our students reading at home, too. Share your pictures with Mrs. Shannon at mshannon@veaziecs.org.

Parents should pickup student work between the hours of 8-12 on Thursday and Friday of this week. Work will be on tables in the lobby as we had setup last week. Please be patient as we restrict the number of people entering the school. You can help by waiting in your car until the person in front of you has left. If you are taking a Chromebook, please sign and leave the attached form. Mrs. Hathaway will be buzzing people into the building.

Thursday morning sunshine. Some pics of our youngest learners doing sorting and letter work at home. And one of our middle school parents shared the at-home schedule she devised to keep her daughter on track. Keep up the good work, parents! Right now you are our heroes!

Our food delivery bus just left. Parents have been picking up student work since 7am as scheduled. Thank you for all the kind words of gratitude and support we have been receiving on a daily basis!

3/16/20 10:15a.m. EST COVID-19 MEMO #4 STUDENT WORK AND BREAKFAST/LUNCH DISTRIBUTION Tuesday, March 17 from 7am - 3pm Wednesday, March 18 from 7am - 3pm Dear Parents and Guardians, STUDENT WORK: The Veazie Community School will be open for the next two days for parents to pickup student work and technology devices (Chromebooks and iPads) Tuesday, March 17 and Wednesday March 18 from 7am - 3pm. In the school lobby, individualized student packets and technology devices will be clearly marked on tables organized by grade level. CHROMEBOOKS & IPADS: Parents taking home Chromebooks and iPads (with chargers) will need to sign a waiver attached to the device. It is important for parents to know that they are fully responsible for any and all damage to the device and/or charger. BREAKFAST/LUNCH DISTRIBUTION: At this point in time, we will continue to provide breakfast and lunch for students qualifying for free & reduced lunch. The bus will leave VCS at 8am with a Veazie police officer on board and make a trip using normal bus routes. It will be expected that students or parents meet the bus at the road or normal bus stop….we will not be going door to door. VCS staff will be directly contacting qualifying families today. Our kitchen staff will create brown-bag meals for multiple days at a time in an effort to minimize social interaction. We will send home 2 breakfasts and 2 lunches on Tuesday, March 17, and 2 breakfasts and 2 lunches on Thursday, March 19. Next week, we will send home two breakfasts and 2 lunches on Monday, March 23 and 3 breakfasts and 3 lunches on Wednesday, March 25. We will continue with this Monday/Wednesday schedule should the school closure go beyond two weeks. INSTRUMENTS: Mr. Arell has placed student instruments on the benches in the lobby for parents to pickup. Keyboard students should have already received home practice instruments. Percussion students should have already received at-home practice pads. Please email Mr. Arell marell@veaziecs.org if you have any questions. We will do our best to stick with planned and announced schedules, but ask for your flexibility and understanding if new information, guidance or direction forces us to revisit these decisions. Lately, all of our focus has been on making sure our students have school work, but we must not forget the social-emotional needs of our students. Take care of each other. Talk with your child. Play a game. Go for a walk together. A hug, a smile, and reassurance goes a long way. Thank you for your continued support. Sincerely, Matthew D. Cyr Superintendent & Principal

A MESSAGE FROM DIANE DICKERSON, Bangor YMCA CEO OPEN FOR EARLY CHILDHOOD AND ALL DAY SCHOOL CARE FOR FAMILIES IN NEED, BUT YMCA FITNESS AND AQUATICS CENTER TO CLOSE ON TUESDAY, MARCH 17TH AT 6:30 PM UNTIL MONDAY, MARCH 30TH March 15, 2020 A MESSAGE FROM DIANE DICKERSON, CEO To our Y Family and entire region for whom we are so honored to serve, In an effort to do everything we can to slow down this national health crisis, the Bangor Region YMCA has sadly made the decision to close the FITNESS CENTER and AQUATICS CENTER at 6:30 pm on Tuesday, March 17th. This closure will be in effect until Monday, March 30th. I know many of you will be disappointed with this news, but please know we are going to try in every way to provide you with continued health and wellness activities. All members will be able to sign up for VIRTUAL FITNESS PROGRAMS and will be contacted by our Health and Wellness staff regarding this. In addition, our Y members who are participating in PERSONAL TRAINING OR SMALL GROUP TRAINING will be able to continue this with their Y Trainers virtually if they desire. Again, all will be contacted by your personal trainer here at our Y. We will also be reaching out to our members as we plan any outdoor fitness programs in the next two weeks which would allow for social distancing while getting in shape and breathing the air. Keep a watch on our website and Facebook Page. We are here for all of you and will do our best to STAY HEALTHY during this trying time. We are restricting the hours of our Y from now until March 17th when we close. We will be opening at 5:00 am and closing at 6:30 pm. Our Aloupis Pool will be our only pool open for these two days, and the hours will be restricted from 5:30 am to 12:00 noon. OTHER IMPORTANT CHANGES: 1. Group classes are cancelled EFFECTIVE IMMEDIATELY to restrict people from being close together. There will be no land or aquatic classes until after we reopen on March 30th. 2. Child Watch will be cancelled EFFECTIVE IMMEDIATELY. 3. Swim Lessons will be cancelled EFFECTIVE IMMEDIATELY and your session will resume in 2 weeks and will be extended through April Vacation. 4. Our Teen Center is closed EFFECTIVE IMMEDIATELY. 5. All SECOND WIND events and programs are cancelled EFFECTIVELY IMMEDIATELY. 6. Senior College has cancelled all of their activities here at the Y. 7. Caring Connections Support Groups are cancelled. However, our staff is available to respond to each of you individually and provide you with whatever support you might need. 8. Our LIVESTRONG program is cancelled EFFECTIVELY IMMEDIATELY until we reopen. OUR EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION AND ALL-DAY SCHOOL AGE CARE WILL BE OPEN from 6:30 am to 6:00 pm. In an effort to support our families, and especially our healthcare providers and first responders, we are remaining open. This is being offered to our existing Y Families, as well as to OUR ENTIRE COMMUNITY who needs the support. As healthcare professionals have stated, the best case situation is that everyone stays home and has a relative or friend take care of the child in their home. However, this is not possible for many people, and we need to be here for YOU. I know there are mixed feelings about this, and all I can say is that we are taking every precaution possible. Here are just a few of the things we will be doing: 1. All children will have their temperature taken as they enter the Y. 2. Hand Sanitizers must be administered at the door of the Y, and will be continued throughout the day. 3. We will use this opportunity to teach children about washing their hands, not touching their faces, not touching other children, and to try and keep space between. 4. We will have full use of the YMCA, Teen Center, and Isaac Farrar Mansion so that there will be a lot more space allowing groups to be smaller and much more spread out. 5. If necessary, we also have our beautiful Camp Jordan available for programming over the next two weeks. We have had many questions from parents: 1. Will homework help be provided? YES 2. Will kids be able to swim? YES 3. Will we need to pack a lunch for our child? YES (We are working with the school district for those children who receive free lunch from the school and will be trying to determine if we can pick up those lunches for the children. I will not have an answer on this until Monday, so please pack a lunch for your child on Monday. We will let you know for the rest of the week.) If you are needing care for your child during this time, please click on the link below, complete and submit. https://www.bangory.org/childcare-camps/before-after-school-care/full-day-care-reservation-form/ SUMMARY The best path is to stay informed on the facts which are being updated on a regular basis. Below are a list of reliable sources of information for you to read from the Center for Disease Control (CDC), the World Health Organization (WHO), and the State of Maine https://www.maine.gov/dhhs/mecdc/infectious-disease/epi/airborne/coronavirus.shtml https://www.who.int/health-topics/coronavirus https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/about/prevention-treatment.html Please don’t hesitate to contact the YMCA if you have any questions. And, don’t hesitate reaching out to me directly. We are all working together to get through this very difficult time and I am listening to all of you. Your opinions and thoughts matter a great deal to me. And, always know that we take these decisions very seriously and they are made with the most current information we have, with respect, thoughtfulness, compassion, wisdom, and a passionate desire to do what is best for this wonderful community we serve. To all, work with us during this time. Continue to see what we are trying to offer through our website and Facebook. We will do our best to keep you updated as we all travel this new path together. Be Safe, Diane Diane Dickerson CEO BANGOR REGION YMCA 17 Second Street, Bangor ME 04401 (C) 207 745 6133 (P) 207 941 2808 ext 305 (F) 207 941 2812 (E) ddickerson@bangorY.org (W) www.BangorYMCA.org (O) Facebook | Twitter | Instagram The Y: We're for youth development, healthy living and social responsibility THE BANGOR REGION YMCA 207 941 2808 | 17 Second Street, Bangor ME 04401 | BangorYMCA.org Facebook‌ Twitter‌ Instagram‌

Veazie Community School Closure Memo: March 14, 2020 6:15pm https://5il.co/dq86

In an effort to proactively slow the spread of COVID-19, I am announcing that Veazie Community School will be closed beginning Monday, March 16 through Monday, March 30th. No classes, clubs, or activities will be held, and our school will be closed to the general public. The length of this closure is subject to change as the situation develops and new information becomes available.

The Acadia Cares Parent Forum scheduled to be held Thursday, March 19 from 4:30 - 6:00p.m. in the VCS Library has been cancelled.

Internet options for families without. https://www.facebook.com/61230111980/posts/10156979053321981/?sfnsn=mo

I was asked to share the following that may impact some of our students: 2019 and 2020 Orono-Veazie Little League registrants, Adding to the quickly growing list of cancellations, we will not hold any Orono-Veazie Little League activities in March. This includes the March 28th clinic at Mahaney Dome and pitcher-catcher clinics on March 15, 22, and 29. We will send an announcement at a later date updating you on the schedule and whether we will need to make additional cancellations in April. We will keep the webpage updated and send out further announcements as the situation evolves. https://sites.google.com/view/ovll

Congratulations to the VCS Invention Convention winners!! Dalaney Horr 3rd place, Isabelle Ireland 2nd place, and Kylee Barker 1st place!! Thank you to our community judges for volunteering today!!