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May 2022 News & Highlights

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A Word from Dr. Gurley

Dear staff and families –

It’s hard to believe that we’re at the end of the year! Our schools’ calendars are filled with spring concerts, field days, and school-wide morningDr. Gurley meetings (including one that memorably culminated in a principal-turned-human-ice-cream-sundae). Stepping-up events and the CHS graduation at Ting Pavilion are around the corner. Check your school calendars for dates. Through all the moments of both effort and fun, our students are making the connections that will serve them for a lifetime.

As we wrap up this year, I want to take a moment to say thank you. COVID has been present during this school year, but thanks to our communal commitment to following protocols, we have been able to minimize COVID impacts and maximize learning and connection. We appreciate the extra effort this has required, especially from staff members like nurses, principals, and staff at central office such as Dr. Beth Baptist.

Last night I had the pleasure of attending the final concert for retiring CHS orchestra director Laura Thomas, who has served CHS for 40 years. Please join me in honoring and thanking all our retirees (shown below with location and years of service in Cville Schools):

– Paula Culver-Dickinson, Division Administration Annex (19 years)
– James Gordan, Adult Education (19 years)
– George Inge, Greenbrier Elementary School (15 years)
– Susan Muse, Buford Middle School (20 years)
– Elizabeth Petry, Greenbrier Elementary School (8 years)
– Margaret Roach, Buford Middle School (22 years)
– Eileen Sims, Jackson-Via Elementary School (3 years)
– Ramona Spinner, Jackson-Via Elementary School (31 years)
– Cynthia Swensson, Buford Middle School (3 years)
– Laura Thomas, Charlottesville High School  (40 years)
– Mary-Elizabeth Via, Buford Middle School (12 years)
– Carolyn Washington, Walker Upper Elementary (30 years)
– Karen Wilson, Charlottesville High School (29 years)

Thanks to these folks for their contributions to our schools – and thanks to all of you. Working together, we each do our part to build a strong and supportive school community.

Sincerely, 

Dr. Royal A. Gurley, Jr.

Superintendent

students in AVID

CHS and AVID Class of 2019 alum C’erra Rhodes was “the most fantastic and real tour guide” at Radford University for current AVID 9th and 10th graders. AVID is Cville Schools’ program supporting first-generation and other students to prepare for college. Click here to learn more about AVID

  • powerschool icon Online re-registration forms are now open so you can update your bus requests, phone numbers, and more to get ready for next year. (This process does not guarantee a spot on the bus next year, but it will help the City make plans for next year’s school bus routes since the bus driver shortage continues.) You can re-register your child by logging into the PowerSchool website (the app will not work for this). After you login, select your first student (at top) and click “Re-Registration” at the left. Update your old data and answer new questions. After each student, return to PowerSchool, select a new student’s name (at top) and click Re-Registration to repeat the process. Need help? Call your school. Thanks for updating your records and renewing your permissions each year!

  • care solace logo May is Mental Health Awareness Month, and to support the well-being of our community, Cville Schools is now partnering with Care Solace. If you or a family member are looking for help with mental health or substance use, Care Solace can help you quickly find treatment options matched to your needs regardless of the circumstance. This service is complimentary and confidential for students, staff and their families. They help those with private insurance, Medicaid, and no insurance, and are available 24/7/365 in any language. To learn more, click here or call (888) 515-0595.

  • Our annual student art exhibition is live online! Explore amazing student art from all schools and grade levels. Also enjoy an introductory video featuring art teachers and student artists talking about how art brings people together. Click here for Art Connections.

  • family university Check out what our elementary school students are learning in social studies! Dr. Alicen Brown, Coordinator of Social Studies and World Languages, along with other K-4 teachers will share about curriculum and provide a demo lesson. This virtual Family University takes place Thursday, May 26, 6-7 pm. See event flyer.

  • covid updates As case counts have gone up across the area and nation in the past few weeks, our COVID cases have risen, too, though they are not nearly as high as what we saw in January. We continue to update our COVID dashboard. To align our practices with CDC protocols, we have made some changes to our protocols, such as expanding access to the Test to Stay program. In addition, a student with COVID whose symptoms have resolved can now return to school on day 6 if they carefully mask for days 6-10. To learn more, review our COVID Situations Overview.

  • school board updates“Mini-Minutes” from the Charlottesville School Board provide a quick summary of important takeaways from meetings. Read the Mini-Minutes from the May 5 meeting.

  • theatreCheer on TheatreCHS as it presents its spring musical, “Bring It On.” Performances are May 25-27 at 7pm in the MLK PAC. This family-friendly musical features the writing of Lin-Manuel Miranda combined with the heart and talents of our own CHS students. Click here to buy tickets.

  • lunch icon The federal waiver allowing all students to receive free meals ends in June, so we will be returning to our pre-pandemic routines that require families to apply for free/reduced meals. During the summer, free meals will be provided at school to students enrolled in our summer school program. The 2022-23 application for free/reduced meals will be posted online this summer. Students at Buford, Clark, Jackson-Via, Johnson, and Walker will not need to apply since those schools qualify for school-wide free meals through the USDA’s Community Eligibility Program.

  • Summer opportunities There’s still time to plan your student’s summer of engagement, enrichment and fun! Check out the summer opportunities hub on our website for great ways for your student to learn and grow this summer.

  • math icon The Virginia Department of Education is hosting public engagement sessions as a part of the review and revision of the 2016 Mathematics Standards of Learning. In-person sessions are out of town but you can register for the virtual session on June 13 at 7pm.

  • 100 Best Financial Literacy Certification CHS has been named one of the 100 Best W!se High Schools Teaching Personal Finance! Congratulations to Economics and Personal Finance students as well as teachers James Daly, Deb Tewksbury, and Yumeca Webb-Jordan.

More Looks at CVille Schools

Happy Teacher Appreciation Week Banner

This banner at Clark is just one way our community showed teachers gratitude during Teacher Appreciation Week at the beginning of May. The division also partnered with the Kindness Cafe at the YMCA to provide a cafe gift card to all staff! We appreciate our staff during this one week AND all year long!

Buford students gathered around 100-year-old zelkova tree

Buford students recently gathered around this 100-year-old zelkova tree on the school’s campus with visiting artist Meesha Goldberg. They discussed ancestry and our responsibilities to the Earth, and then adorned the tree with cloth ribbons they designed. Thank you Second Street Gallery for bringing Goldberg to our schools!



Find more info and events on on our website, social media, or our Google calendars!

Find us on the web at charlottesvilleschools.org

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