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What‘s Happening at School Division News
Apply now for preschool
It’s time to apply for preschool! Charlottesville City Schools offers free classes for qualifying three- and four-year-olds.
Applications are due to your local elementary school by March 1.
Questions?
Call 434-245-2813.
Para leer este sitio web en español, indica “Translate” (traducir) en la parte por encima de la página y escoja “Spanish.” La aplicación y más información está disponible en español.
Walker EDGE Club Spotlight: After-school cooking club is recipe for learning valuable life skills
The Walker Upper Elementary Cooking Club is an after-school activitiy option for fifth and sixth grade students in the EDGE program who want to learn about basic food preparation and cooking skills.
Led by advisor Becky Calvert, the group meets once a week in the school kitchen for an hour and prepares a variety of recipes such as egg rolls, tomato soup, mini-quiches, mac & cheese, homemade granola, fruit and yogurt parfaits, kale chips, crepes, open face roasted veggie sandwiches, mango salsa, cranberry orange muffins and vegetable jambalaya.
“The kids love cooking and are more likely to try something new if they made it,” said Calvert. “They are learning life skills and having fun while doing it.”
At the end of each semester, Calvert said the students receive a cookbook of the recipes they made so they can show their new skills off and re-create their favorite recipes at home.
Spring semester info and sign-ups for Walker’s EDGE clubs will be sent home on 1/27. Registration also begins on 1/27. The first club meetings will be held on 2/5. Fees are $20/semester (free for students with free/reduced lunch). For more information, check out the EDGE web site here!
Dr. Joseph Williams to host free parenting workshops on equity
Charlottesville City Schools will be hosting two parent workshops on equity-centered topics on January 11 and 18 from 1-3 p.m. at Charlottesville High School.
Led by UVA’s Dr. Joseph Williams, the workshops will address topics including implicit bias and talking to kids about race.
An associate professor in the Counselor Education Program at the University of Virginia, Dr. Williams consults with school districts, communities, associations, and corporations to improve diversity, inclusion, and equity efforts and engage people in productive dialogue and action. His professional interest include multicultural and social justice training practices for (K-12) counselors, educators, and other helping professionals. Prior to becoming a counselor educator, Dr. Williams earned his Ph.D. in Counselor Education with a cognate in Social Work from the University of Iowa and his M.S. in Mental Health Counseling from Minnesota State University.
The workshops are free and open to all Charlottesville Schools parents.
- Session 1: Implicit Bias – January 11, 1-3 p.m. at CHS
- Session 2: Talking to Kids about Race – January 18, 1-3 p.m. at CHS
For additional questions, contact Denise Johnson at johnsoD2@charlottesvilleschools.org.
Budget Development Process underway for FY2020-21
It’s time to develop the 2020-21 budget for Charlottesville City Schools! We’d like to hear from you.
Upcoming opportunities for the community to learn more and share your thoughts are:
- Thursday, December 5 at 5 pm, CHS Media Center, School Board Meeting
- Wednesday, January 8 at 6 pm, Walker/Buford PTO at Walker (open to entire community)
- Thursday, January 9 at 5 pm, CHS Media Center, School Board Meeting
- Monday, January 13 at 5:30 pm, CHS PTO (open to entire community)
- Tuesday, January 21 at 5 pm at Jackson-Via PTO (open to entire community)
- Thursday, February 6 at 5 pm, CHS Media Center, School Board Meeting
School Board meetings are the first Thursday of the month at 5 pm in the CHS media center. The January meeting is Thursday, January 9 (the second Thursday of the month due to Winter Break).
You can also check out the resources and information at charlottesvilleschools.org/budget.
City and Schools promote energy and water conservation-Winter Quarter Update
Charlottesville City Schools and the City’s Energy and Water Management Team are working together to reduce the energy and water footprint of all City schools. On April 11th, 2019 the School Board approved an Energy and Water Performance resolution, showing a commitment to achieving and maintaining high performing school facilities.
Continuing on past efforts, the City’s maintenance and development teams are specifying high efficiency building equipment, such as high-efficiency chillers and LED lighting, and are enhancing operational control through advanced building automation systems. Charlottesville Schools and the City’s Energy and Water Management Team continue to investigate ways to accelerate the installation of high performance equipment throughout our schools.
The City is also working with each school to raise awareness about energy and water saving practices through education and outreach efforts that include distributing educational materials and providing tips and strategies that students and faculty can use to reduce the energy and water impact at our schools.
Each quarter a different theme emphasizes aspects of energy and water efficiency/conservation. The 2019-2020 themes are:
- Fall (September – November): The Value of Energy and Water
- Winter (December – February): Understanding Our Energy and Water Use
- Spring (March – May): Smart Energy and Water Use
- Summer (June – August): Keep Going! Summertime Savings
Have questions about this program? Contact the City’s Energy and Water Management Team at EnergyWaterTeam@charlottesville.org.
Learn more about other green initiatives at Charlottesville City Schools here.
2019-20 Education and Outreach
Winter Quarter: Understanding our Energy and Water Use
Did you know that the greenhouse gases produced from energy used at all 10 Charlottesville City Schools is equal to the greenhouse gases produced by 500 homes? We know our schools need resources to operate but what exactly uses energy and water in our schools every day?
We are asking students and faculty to try to identify what uses energy and water when you walk into your classroom each day. For energy, think about the overhead lighting, computers, electronics, and air conditioning/heating. For water, think about the water fountain in the hallway and sink in your classroom. What about at home?
There are also the items that aren’t as noticeable such as leaving your phone plugged in even when it’s fully charged or not paying attention to that dripping faucet. Even when a phone is plugged in and is fully charged, it still uses 2.24 watts of energy, and that slow drip…drip…drip of a faucet can waste 3,000 gallons of water a year!
Let’s reduce our energy and water impact at school and at home by focusing on these easy habits we can do each day.
Winter Quarter Tips:
- Turn the lights off when you leave a room.
- Make an effort to unplug personal electronics.
- Turn the water off when not in use.
- If you see a water leak or hear a running toilet, report it!
Fall Quarter: The Value of Energy and Water
The energy and water that we use at home and in our school are typically provided using finite resources. In Virginia, fossil fuels (coal, oil, and natural gas) are used to produce over 60% of the electricity that we use, with nuclear and renewables making up the rest. We also use natural gas directly to heat our school and to heat our water. The water we use is pumped from reservoirs fed by rivers and is treated before coming to our homes and school as clean, potable water. Simply put, our demand for electricity, natural gas, and water (the amount we use) has a direct impact on these resources. We have a responsibility to manage what we use but we’re also empowered with the ability to make lasting change.
In many cases we use more than we need, so we already have simple opportunities to reduce our impact. The best place to start is just becoming aware of when and how we use energy and water throughout our typical day. As you do your normal activities, think about how long you leave your lights on, leave your phone plugged in, and leave the water running. Now think about how you can adjust your behaviors to trim that up a bit. It’s a game of inches, not miles, and small changes add up to big savings.
Fall Quarter Tips:
- Last one out? Flip the switch!
- Turn the water off when not in use.
Students attend “Rumors of War” unveiling at the VMFA
Charlottesville High School art students and teachers traveled to the Virginia Fine Arts Museum in Richmond, VA to witness the much-anticipated unveiling of the sculpture, “Rumors of War,” created by American artist Kehinde Wiley.
According to a media release by the Virginia Fine Arts Museum, “Rumors of War” expands Wiley’s well-known efforts to use art to include more black and brown men and women in visual, historical, and cultural narratives. The statue, inspired by traditional portrayals of white subjects in equestrian portraiture and monuments, depicts a young African American rider in urban street clothes striking a heroic pose on a muscular horse.
“As Charlottesville City Schools strives to teach a more complete history through its Changing the Narrative initiative, field trips like this one provide cross-curricular opportunities for students to engage in learning experiences through the fine arts that challenge them to think beyond the traditional historical narrative and better understand the complexities of history and various perspectives,” said fine arts coordinator Aaron Eichorst.
The VMFA release further states that Wiley’s work “powerfully repositions black youth within the classical European tradition of power and status…while directly engaging the national conversation around monuments and their role in perpetuating incomplete histories and inequality.”
Draft Calendar for 2020-21
UPDATE: The Charlottesville School Board voted to approve this draft in January 2020. The Albemarle County School Board will vote on the calendar (with a possible slight change) later in January.
The Charlottesville-Albemarle School Calendar Committee has created a draft calendar for the 2020-21 school year. The proposed calendar is nearly identical to this year’s.
Please take a minute to review the draft and share your thoughts with us.
A joint committee from Charlottesville Schools and Albemarle County Public Schools will review the feedback and then present a recommendation to the School Boards in December. After School Board consideration, a vote will be held in January.
Comments about the calendar:
- Spring break: Our practice is to designate the first full week of April as our spring break. We are sometimes asked, Can’t you align spring break with U.Va.’s? U.Va.’s spring break is typically near the beginning of March, which for K-12 students would make for a very long stretch without a break later in the spring. So while we recognize that this would be a good solution for U.Va. families, we feel that it doesn’t represent the interests of all our students and staff. A 2016 survey indicated that a majority of respondents favored keeping spring break during the first week of April.
- Religious Holidays: Our practice is not to observe religious holidays as school holidays (but we do try to avoid scheduling evening events on major religious holidays). Students or staff who wish to be absent to observe a religious holiday are allowed to do so. For the 2020-21 school year, a professional learning day falls on Yom Kippur. This might be a benefit to Jewish families but might present a conflict for Jewish teachers and staff (who are welcome to take a personal day off but would miss the professional learning day). We welcome your input on this draft.
- History about the calendar development: For over a decade, the Charlottesville and Albemarle County school divisions have worked together for a common calendar. A joint committee creates a draft calendar, and then we ask for input from students, teachers, administration, and parents. If necessary, the committee makes revisions to the draft before submitting a recommended calendar to the two school boards for approval.
CHS orchestra director elected new VBODA president
For the first time, an orchestra director will lead the Virginia Band and Orchestra Director’s Association (VBODA), and it is our very own CHS orchestra teacher, Ms. Laura Mulligan Thomas! This will be the third time a female has been elected president of the VBODA, an organization of high school, middle school, and elementary school band and orchestra directors within the Commonwealth of Virginia, whose mission is to help promote opportunities of music education to K-12 students.
The primary arbiter for various band and orchestra events throughout the state, the VBODA organizes many competitions and provides outstanding individual student musicians opportunities to work with renowned conductors around the United States.
Mulligan Thomas has served as the director of the Charlottesville High School Orchestra for three decades. She came to CHS after graduating with honors from James Madison University in 1982 and began immediately to develop and nourish the orchestra program of eight students she inherited. Today an award-winning group of 110, a number of CHSO graduates are professional musicians who perform with orchestras and pop, rock, and country artists in the U.S. and Europe. Still other alumni have followed in Ms. Thomas’s footsteps and pursued careers in music education. The CHSO consistently earns superior ratings and top honors at district, national, and international music festivals.
Honored as Charlottesville’s Woman of the Year in 1999 by the Virginia Women’s Forum, Mulligan Thomas was also named one of the Charlottesville Top 25 Citizens by C-ville. Numerous additional awards for her work with young musicians include Charlottesville’s Distinguished Teacher Award, the Golden Apple Award, the Piedmont Council of the Arts Award, and Outstanding Educator in Central Virginia awarded by Phi Delta Kappa. She studied orchestra conducting with Thomas Wilkins, Carl Roskott, and Ray Fowler, and earned her master’s degree from Shenandoah Conservatory in 1996. In 2002, Shenandoah University honored her with its first graduate Alumna of Excellence Award.
Mulligan Thomas spent her early years in Alexandria, Virginia, where she studied piano with National Symphony pianist Marion Herrett and learned cello in the Alexandria City Schools string program. She has guest-conducted dozens of youth orchestras throughout Virginia, and serves as secretary on the executive board of the Virginia Band and Orchestra Directors Association. She is the chair of the Fine Arts department at Charlottesville High School, and for three years directed the University of Richmond Orchestra. An active performer, Mulligan Thomas plays piano and cello with several Charlottesville chamber ensembles, and whenever possible performs with her three siblings as the Mulligan String Quartet.
November 2019 News and Highlights
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