"It is the mission of Harwood Union High School to provide an educational and creative environment in which every person is valued as an individual, challenged as a learner, inspired to contribute to a democratic society, and provided a unique and personalized learning experience.”
The work of creating a Harwood community where all feel safe requires the collaboration and partnership of our entire community - students, families and staff. We seek your support as we move forward and invite you to:
assume the best and get curious by asking questions to the administration if you have wonders or concerns.
lean into this discussion with your children and ask questions to understand what is happening and why from their perspective.
reach out with concerns and support.
We want to start our newsletter this week by acknowledging the reality that some of our Harwood students do not feel safe at school because others are using the student bathrooms as places to vape and participate in other inappropriate behaviors. We are grateful to the students and families who have reached out to express their concern and seek support.
There is much work ahead. Here is what is currently happening to address this harmful and concerning reality:
Staff are using student bathrooms and redirecting and encouraging students back to class if they are found socializing.
Student support staff and administrators are routinely supervising hallways, checking bathrooms and intervening when necessary.
When concerning behavior is reported, staff immediately respond. This usually includes:
a check in with the student
a bag search
If students are found with vape or other illegal substances they are required to:
participate in sessions with our Substance Abuse Counselor
complete community service hours at Harwood before school with a designated staff member
We are encouraging students to share their concerns with staff and in a future community dialogue
In addition, we have begun considering and planning with student leaders what this dialogue will include.
*Depending on the situation additional actions are taken in order to maximize these moments as a learning opportunity.
Meeting our goals of creating a Harwood community where:
all feel safe
and we have a rigorous and robust academic program
will take collective effort from our students, families and staff.
With gratitude for your continued partnership,
Laurie, Meg and Duane
November 16th - Family/TA conferences
November 24th - November 26th - Thanksgiving break - NO school
Safe - seen, heard, respected & understood:
The Harwood Cafeteria is open again!
With new furniture students have flexible seating choices and are again able to socialize with their peers.
As we work to ensure our students remain safe as we continue through the pandemic we expect all to:
Remain seated so we can effectively contact trace
Mask up when they are not eating
Rigorous & Robust Academic Program:
Q1 Progress Reports
Friday October 29 marked the end of Quarter 1.
What that means: Progress reports were emailed to students & families through JumpRope.
Have questions? Reach out to Jessica Deane at email@example.com.
NEW Flex Blocks started with the beginning of Quarter 2!
PURPOSE: To provide students the time to practice a skill, pursue a passion, or complete a course or support a Learning Expectation from the previous semester or school year.
EXAMPLES of awesome Flex blocks:
Farm to School Cook Up
The Mindful Teen
Personal and Future Exploration
Building Interview Skills Through an Authentic Experience
9th Grade students who are currently enrolled in Personal and Future Exploration will be developing their interviewing skills in December. The innovative teachers, Heidi Turgeon-Baird and Tara Cariano, are working to create an authentic experience to practice this essential skill through a mock career fair. Are you a member of our community with human resource or hiring manager experience? We would love your help!
What: Career fair interviewer
When: December 15th
Details: Seeking community members for 45-90 minute timeframe to conduct 3-6 interviews.
HUGE shout out to all of the 9th grade TA's that participated in the 9th Grade TA Thanksgiving Basket/box making challenge. As you can see, the TA's really dove into this challenge and made some really unique and creative baskets. I am so proud of their engagement. With the help of the Interact club, all of the food will be delivered to some local food shelves in order to give others a wonderful holiday experience.
The HUUSD Nurse team has been in contact with the Outbreak Prevention and Response Team at the Vermont Department of Health this week. At this time, Harwood Union High School cases have NOT been investigated as outbreaks occurring within the school community.
We continue to see evidence that mitigation strategies including masking and distancing, are effective tools for reducing the risk of spread within the school setting. Thank you to all for your support in keeping our school community safe.
As we head into the holiday season, we wanted to make you aware of opportunities for support.
National Life and Sodexo are providing a free Thanksgiving meal to their neighbors in Washington County. They partnered with Just Basics, Hannaford, Central Vermont Medical Center, Hunger Mountain Coop, Cabot Cheese, the Vermont Foodbank, and Vermont Creamery to offer traditional turkey and vegetarian meals to-go.Since we’re still navigating the impact of Covid-19, they will once again provide a free pick-up or delivery of Thanksgiving meals to those who need one. To reserve a free meal, call 802-229-7300 or email firstname.lastname@example.org by Nov 17.