4850 Water Tower Road, Richford, Vermont  05476   T: 802 933-2290  F: 802 933-2812


IMPORTANT UPDATES

March 12, 2024

March 3, 2024

Hello Berkshire Community, please review the following to learn more about this year’s proposed budget. The vote on approving it will be this Tuesday, March 4th. Please do not hesitate to reach out to Mr. Roddy with any questions. 

February 19, 2024

February 14, 2024

Hello Berkshire Community. It is with great pleasure that we name Jennifer Deuso as our staff member of the month. Ms. Deuso is a longtime special education teacher at Berkshire Elementary School and has devoted herself to creating a caring, collaborative environment that supports the learning needs of all students. She has been a tireless advocate for supporting her students by frequently partnering with other teachers to support best instructional practices. In addition to this, she also serves as the acting administrator whenever the principal is off campus and has been a consistent mentor to her colleagues. Thank you so much for all that you do, Ms. Deuso! 

January 29, 2024

Dear Parent or Guardian:


Berkshire Elementary School 8th graders will participate in the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) on Friday, February 2, 2024. NAEP is the largest nationally representative and continuing assessment of what students know and can do in various subjects. NAEP is administered by the National Center for Education Statistics, within the U.S.Department of Education. NAEP is different from our state assessments because it is a common measure of

achievement across the country. The results are released as The Nation's Report Card, which provides information about student achievement to educators, parents/guardians, policymakers, and the public.


Your 8th grade child (will/may) take a mathematics or reading assessment. In addition to subject-area questions, students voluntarily complete NAEP survey questions. These questions provide valuable information about participating students' educational experiences and opportunities to learn both in and outside of the classroom. Additionally, American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) students will be included in the National Indian Education Study (NIES).

NIES describes the condition of education for AI/AN students in the United States. More information about NAEP survey questions is available at https://nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard/parents under the section "What Questions Are on the Test?"


The assessment takes about 120 minutes for most students, which includes transition time, directions, and completion of survey questions. The information collected is used for statistical purposes only. Your child's grades will not be affected. Students may be excused for any reason, are not required to complete the assessment, and may skip any question.  While the assessment is voluntary, NAEP depends on student participation to help policymakers improve

education. However, if you do not want your child to participate, please notify me in writing by Friday, January 26, 2024.


There is no need to study in preparation for NAEP, but please encourage your 8th grade learner to do their best. Contact Tricia McFadden at  tricia.mcfadden@fnesu.org if you have any questions.


We are excited that our school is participating in NAEP. We know that Berkshire Elementary School's 8th grade students will show what our nation's students know and can do.



Sincerely,



Gavin Roddy



January 17, 2024


Hello Berkshire Families,


Today several of our buses left about 20 minutes late due to an issue with one of the buses. This means that many students will be arriving home late today. I want to first apologize for any inconvenience this delayed departure might have caused. Furthermore, I also want to apologize for the delay in communication. I will be working with our front office team to ensure that communication regarding late departures is faster going forward. 


Thank you for your support and please do not hesitate to contact me directly if you have any further questions that I can answer.


Sincerely,


Gavin Roddy



January 12, 2024

Please note:  Only eighth graders will be participating in the NAEP on February 2, 2024. 

January 3, 2024

We are excited to announce that Cynthia Teague has been named the Berkshire staff member of the month. Ms. Teague is a longtime faculty member at Berkshire and has become an integral part of our campus community. In addition to devoting an incredible amount of time and energy towards helping our 3rd and 4th graders become mathematically and scientifically literate, Ms. Teague also embodies the definition of being a lifelong learner. She has been actively involved with All Learners Network, helping to ensure that she is using the most up-to-date strategies for teaching math and has served as a mentor new teachers entering the profession. Thanks for all that you do, Ms. Teague.



December 23, 2023 NO AFTER SCHOOL /LEAPS TODAY 

December 15, 2023


We are very excited to name Randi Chagnon as our Berkshire staff member of the month. Ms. Chagnon serves many roles at Berkshire Elementary School (planning room coordinator, athletic director, PTO president, and parent) and has been a tireless advocate for our community.  This past year alone she had taken on a leadership role in holding our trunk-or-treat event, helping to oversee Project Happiness, and supporting our athletic program. Ms. Chagnon has also gone above and beyond to work with students, faculty, staff, and parents alike to help create a caring and inclusive community that ensures our students' emotional and physical safety. Thanks for all that you do, Ms. Chagnon!

December 11, 2023

Berkshire Elementary and all FNESU schools are closed today due to the weather/road conditions.  



December 4, 2023

Good morning, this is a reminder that tomorrow, December 5th, is an early release day for all FNESU Schools. All Berkshire students, Preschool - 8, will be fed lunch and dismissed at noon. There will be no transportation provided after the noon dismissal. 


If your child is already enrolled in LEAPS on Tuesdays, they will participate in enrichment activities from 12:00 PM - 3:00 PM and then join their usual LEAPS program until 5pm. Please direct any LEAPS related questions to Mikayla Bean, mikayla.bean@fnesu.org.


October 10, 2023

Today we were thrilled to have the National Guard pay us a visit with one of their Blackhawk helicopters. Students got to witness the helicopter land and take off, and even were able to get close up and climb in. A huge thank you to our courageous and caring service members who helped create this unforgettable experience for our students.  


October 9, 2023

October 4, 2023


We are thrilled to name Tricia McFadden as our October staff member of the month. Ms. McFadden is a longtime ELA interventionist who has played a crucial role in closing the reading gap for our scholars. Furthermore, she has devoted a tremendous amount of energy both inside and outside the class towards building our campus culture. This past month alone she was crucial in organizing field trips to the ECHO Center and Arbortrek, as well as investigating other ways to bring community organizations into our school to help enhance student learning. In addition to this, Ms. McFadden has been a tireless advocate for students and teachers alike, serving as a true mentor to the community. Congratulations, Ms. McFadden!


September 21, 2023


Hello Berkshire Families,


This is a notice that Berkshire Elementary School will be performing an evacuation drill tomorrow. Part of this drill will involve students practicing how to evacuate the building and meet at designated rally points located on the campus. Teachers have been working with their classes to prepare them for this drill throughout the week. Thank you for all that you do and please do not hesitate to reach out if we can be of any assistance.


All the best,


Gavin Roddy



September 20, 2023


Hello Berkshire families,

This is a friendly reminder that energy drinks are prohibited on campus as we have found that consumption of them can be detrimental both to the student's health and ability to be successful in the classroom. Furthermore, we also want to encourage families to send students to school with healthy snacks that will be both nutritional to the students and also help them concentrate in class as opposed to candy, chips, and other sugary items. If a student is ever in need of a healthy snack, Berkshire Elementary School also provides classrooms with a fruit or vegetable snack each day. 


Thanks for all that you do, and please do not hesitate to reach out if we can be of any assistance.


All the best,


Gavin 





September 10, 2023


Hello Berkshire Community,


It is with a heavy heart that we announce that Rachael Hardy will be departing her role as Berkshire nurse effective Wednesday, September 20th to pursue a rare employment opportunity. Although we will all miss her presence tremendously, we are also excited for her to start this next step in her career. She has made a tremendous contribution to the Berkshire community, and we will be forever grateful for the time she spent with us.


In the meantime, we will begin our search for our next school nurse. In the interim we are in the process of finalizing plans with a long term substitute nurse who will be able to support our students in the immediate future.


As always, please do not hesitate to reach out if we can be of any assistance. 


Sincerely,


Gavin Roddy


September 8, 2023

We are very excited to name Anne Larivee as our staff member of the month. Ms. Larivee has embodied our core value of kindness through her tireless generosity towards faculty, staff, students, and parents alike. This past school year she graciously volunteered her library to serve as a temporary classroom and regularly volunteers to provide extra supervision and support to our students. Ms. Larivee has deep ties to our Berkshire community and our students are truly fortunate to have such a caring and passionate advocate. Congratulations, Ms. Larivee! 

Berkshire is excited to see students return on Wednesday!

August 15, 2023

Good morning, per Superintendent Lynn Cota's End of Year Letter that she emailed to families on June 21st, our students will be dismissed one hour early every Tuesday this year. Please see Early Release Tuesdays below for more information. 


Also remember to refer to the school calendar (see link above) which has important dates for when the school is not in session due to Teacher inservice, holidays, vacations, and conferences, as well as our early release days.


Early Release Tuesdays

Given the shortage of substitute teachers, we no longer have the human resources to cover classes for teachers needing to attend professional learning in their grade level or content teams. As a result, we have had to redesign our model for providing teachers with time for professional learning and professional meetings. This year, all schools will dismiss one hour early every Tuesday in order to provide time for our teachers to engage in both professional learning and professional team meetings (i.e. student support team meetings, intervention planning meetings, and common planning time). Buses will depart each of our schools one hour early every Tuesday. Additionally, like last year, we will have three half-days for students throughout the year in order to have extended time for professional learning. Those are also scheduled on Tuesdays: (12/8, 2/9, and 5/10). Students will be able to sign up to stay and participate in our LEAPS afterschool program as usual. The LEAPS program will begin an hour early on regular Tuesdays, and right after buses on the half-days. Each quarter there will be registration information that goes out to families. You will have the option to sign up as you usually do and you will also be able to choose the Tuesday only option. We understand this is a change in our normal schedule, however, the benefit of educators being able to meet in order to plan, collaborate, and learn will have a tremendously positive impact on student learning.