November 20 Rotary Meeting
Thanks to Greeter : Mona Williams
Volunteer for next week’s Greeter
Volunteer for next week’s Greeter
Scribe + Speaker
https://www.brattleborosunriserotary.org/sitepage/newsletter-scribe
This week scribe – Debra Cox, Jen stepped in for Debra
Next week’s scribe – 11/27 no meeting next week
This week’s Speaker – Chris Stoner
Next week Speaker – Valerie Stewart – no meeting next week
https://www.brattleborosunriserotary.org/sitepage/newsletter-scribe
This week scribe – Debra Cox, Jen stepped in for Debra
Next week’s scribe – 11/27 no meeting next week
This week’s Speaker – Chris Stoner
Next week Speaker – Valerie Stewart – no meeting next week
This Day In History
https://www.historynet.com/today-in-history
1945
The Nazi war crime trials begin at Nuremberg.
https://www.historynet.com/today-in-history
1945
The Nazi war crime trials begin at Nuremberg.
1955
The Maryland National Guard is ordered desegregated.
The Maryland National Guard is ordered desegregated.
1962
President John F. Kennedy bars religious or racial discrimination in federally funded housing.
1971
The United States announces it will give Turkey $35 million for farmers who agree to stop growing opium poppies.
President John F. Kennedy bars religious or racial discrimination in federally funded housing.
1971
The United States announces it will give Turkey $35 million for farmers who agree to stop growing opium poppies.
1974
The United States files an antitrust suit to break up ATT.
The United States files an antitrust suit to break up ATT.
2008
Dow Jones Industrial Average sinks to lowest level in 11 years in response to failures in the US financial system.
Dow Jones Industrial Average sinks to lowest level in 11 years in response to failures in the US financial system.
Rotary Minute
https://rotary1.org/101-things-about-rotary/
Rotary has a seat in the General Assembly of the United Nations in recognition of the efforts of its membership to foster goodwill and peace across national boundaries
Rotary has the world's largest non-government Foundation providing educational and humanitarian aid
https://rotary1.org/101-things-about-rotary/
Rotary has a seat in the General Assembly of the United Nations in recognition of the efforts of its membership to foster goodwill and peace across national boundaries
Rotary has the world's largest non-government Foundation providing educational and humanitarian aid
Guests:
Kelly Dias Principle from Academy elementary
Jeff Morse from River Valley Credit Union and member of the noon club
Richard Davis from Windham Country Heat Fund to whom we will be presenting a check this morning.
Kelly Dias Principle from Academy elementary
Jeff Morse from River Valley Credit Union and member of the noon club
Richard Davis from Windham Country Heat Fund to whom we will be presenting a check this morning.
Anniversaries & Birthdays
Birthdays
Birthdays
Justin Thompson – our breakfast chef! Thanks for the yummy eats.
No Anniversaries
Announcements:
Toni: Time to hand in and sell your raffle tickets. We have three weeks left and we’re not even half way there. There’s a Trivia night coming up in December we can sell at. Put it on your facebook page, send out emails.
Mona: The volunteer book we voted to adopt is now on the table. There’s an overflow shelter on December 3 for which we need volunteers. If you’ve offered to pick up for Project Feed the Thousands, you can see the schedule in the tab behind the overflow shelter sign ups.
Katja: We currently selling tickets for the New Year’s Eve gala from on December 31st at 6:30 for $65. On December 1st the price increases. But now – dress up in the roaring twenties theme or come as you like. Proceeds benefit the Boys and Girls club of Brattleboro.
Will: Friday January 31st we have a social outing with the noon club bowling. Bring family or come by yourself. Get a team together or join one when you arrive. Save the date: 1/31/20 from 5:30-7:30pm.
Michelle: Vernon motorcycle group gathers toys for a holiday toy drive but needs help distributing them to families in Vernon. Anyone willing to help organize this please contact Michelle Pong.
Student Rotarians – no student rotarians today
Cards: $40 prize, 6 of clubs drawn, it’s in the deck, no winner today
Brags:
Tristan talked about his heart attack three weeks ago. He was shopping with his Mom at the Springfield Costco. While in his car and getting ready to leave he felt dizzy then suddenly “awoke” to his wife shaking his arm asking if he was okay. He called his doctor and then headed to Baystate Medical Cardiac unit. After 2 days he was in the cardiac cath lab. He had a 100% blockage of the left anterior descending coronary artery, often called “the widowmaker”. They cleared the blockage and the next day he felt better. A week later he was on a business trip to Vancouver. He’s feeling grateful and starting the Cardiac Rehab Program at Brattleboro Memorial Hospital.
Tristam said the coffee shop is closed, but we spent $140 to earn a gross of $264 this year to benefit our scholarship student San Pedro Sula Honduras.
Mona thanked everyone who helped with the first overflow shelter of the season. Laura who runs the program said it went very well. The group was out by 7:30 and Mona hopes the next one goes just as smoothly.
Turner welcomed Tristan back to Rotary.
Jim said his sister from South Carolina and cousin from Florida are both visiting to help him put in a new kitchen. They are almost done with the install.
Marcy fined herself for failing to produce meeting notes from a couple weeks ago. She thought she had lost them, but they’ve been found and she will get them out soon.
Justin thanked his wife, Jessica, who found coverage for his shift yesterday so they could go out for his birthday.
Tristan talked about his heart attack three weeks ago. He was shopping with his Mom at the Springfield Costco. While in his car and getting ready to leave he felt dizzy then suddenly “awoke” to his wife shaking his arm asking if he was okay. He called his doctor and then headed to Baystate Medical Cardiac unit. After 2 days he was in the cardiac cath lab. He had a 100% blockage of the left anterior descending coronary artery, often called “the widowmaker”. They cleared the blockage and the next day he felt better. A week later he was on a business trip to Vancouver. He’s feeling grateful and starting the Cardiac Rehab Program at Brattleboro Memorial Hospital.
Tristam said the coffee shop is closed, but we spent $140 to earn a gross of $264 this year to benefit our scholarship student San Pedro Sula Honduras.
Mona thanked everyone who helped with the first overflow shelter of the season. Laura who runs the program said it went very well. The group was out by 7:30 and Mona hopes the next one goes just as smoothly.
Turner welcomed Tristan back to Rotary.
Jim said his sister from South Carolina and cousin from Florida are both visiting to help him put in a new kitchen. They are almost done with the install.
Marcy fined herself for failing to produce meeting notes from a couple weeks ago. She thought she had lost them, but they’ve been found and she will get them out soon.
Justin thanked his wife, Jessica, who found coverage for his shift yesterday so they could go out for his birthday.
Check Presentations:
We presented a check to Jeff Morse for Project Feed the Thousands who thanked us for our work doing the food pick-ups for so many years and for being such a great Project Feed partner. We donate more cash than the noon club! Jeff and Kelly Corbeil have been co-chairs of the program since 1994 and our club has been a partner since our conception in 1995. Their goal is to raise $85,000 in funds and provide 125,000 meals/non-perishable food items to 17,000-18,000 families/individuals in need.
We presented a check to Richard Davis of the Windham County Heat Fund. He told us very little work needs to be done because of community organizations and donors like us. Each year they raise $30,000-50,000 to help 100 families/individuals in need with fuel assistance. Sometimes there are even more in need due to unexpected emergencies. The money is given directly to the fuel companies with 0 administrative costs. Thanks for our donation!
We presented a check to Jeff Morse for Project Feed the Thousands who thanked us for our work doing the food pick-ups for so many years and for being such a great Project Feed partner. We donate more cash than the noon club! Jeff and Kelly Corbeil have been co-chairs of the program since 1994 and our club has been a partner since our conception in 1995. Their goal is to raise $85,000 in funds and provide 125,000 meals/non-perishable food items to 17,000-18,000 families/individuals in need.
We presented a check to Richard Davis of the Windham County Heat Fund. He told us very little work needs to be done because of community organizations and donors like us. Each year they raise $30,000-50,000 to help 100 families/individuals in need with fuel assistance. Sometimes there are even more in need due to unexpected emergencies. The money is given directly to the fuel companies with 0 administrative costs. Thanks for our donation!
Guest Speaker: Kelly Dias, principle of Academy School
It’s great to see what Rotary does because our initiatives align with those at Academy School. They are currently identifying families who need holiday gifts and families with food insufficiency who need help with food.
This year’s moto at Academy is Equity, Access, Rigor, and Engagement for all kids. They encourage the students to be the best they can be. This is in light of state initiatives which sometimes make it more difficult, such as the cut in funding to ACT 173 which provides funds for special education. Now that these kids cannot go out for services the school is addressing how they can help all kids in the classroom. It’s also difficult in light of the transiency of the student body. There is a 30% turnover of the student population each year. The school’s core beliefs are to advance learning and achievement for all students by providing a socially productive environment which is also academically rigorous.
Ms. Diaz was a student at Academy since kindergarten and now her daughter is a kindergarten student there, so it’s coming full circle. Although she taught in Rhode Island after attending UVM she realized she love the Brattleboro schools and ultimately returned to the area.
They work toward their goals be starting with Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. On the bottom of the pyramid are physical needs: food, clothing, shelter – necessary for physical survival. Next is safety. This is followed by love and belonging – they try to provide the ability to get and give love. 4th is esteem toward which they work by providing care and support. All this will open the way for self-actualization, a stage at which students will feel complete and be able to experience the joy of life.
Many of the kids at Academy are on the first level – physical needs. The school provides universal free meal at breakfast, lunch and afterschool snacks for students participating in afterschool programs. 50 students get food backpacks sent home on weekends. Once a month the Veggie Van Gogh program provides fruits, vegetable and other food items with recipes on how to use them. Their nurse is always busy taking care of the students’ health. She rarely gets lunch. The kids often need to be cleaned, get lice treatment, need clean clothes, medications or just hugs.
To provide safety they work on prevention and emergency planning. There have been more school shootings than weeks in the year in 2019. Academy has partnerships with the Fire Department and Police Department to help keep the kids safe. The work with DCF to keep kids safe when not at the school. They encourage consistent expectations of a culture of safety. They provide an increasing number of afterschool clubs to keep kids in a safe environment and provide a sense of belonging. To promote love and a sense of esteem they celebrate students’ successes and talk about the power of yet to teach persistence.
Their initiatives this year are to develop the Wellness Team which consists of a counselor, social worker, HCRS clinician, a board-certified behavior therapist, the nurse, special educators, the planning room coordinator and the assistant principle. They identify and make plans for kids who need assistance to succeed. One Rotarian asked if there was a wellness program for the staff. Kelly responded they provide regular staff lunches, offer workshops for wellness strategies and plan to have a mindfulness workshop taught by a local yoga teacher.
The school works through universal instruction within the classroom, rather than tiers of instruction which is the old model of instruction. The Wellness team helps teachers focus on the social and emotional health of each child. They all help students express their feelings, advocate for themselves and teach them the tools of good health. There is an increase in the number of kids who experience self-harming thoughts which is alarming. The wellness committee is working on procedures to deal with these events.
Another initiative for the school is to participate in the Towns Schools’ Green Street Sabers initiative to address emotional stressors. They have identified that 38% of the Town Schools population deals with emotional stressors. One Rotarian asked if that’s an increase. Ms. Diaz responded this is the first year they are collecting the data so it’s hard to know. She did comment that October is always the highest month of behavioral referrals in the school year. The group has been discussing that this year’s 5 and 6 year olds are the first class of children of the opioid epidemic.
The way Kelly works to meet the initiatives is by doing lots of check-ins with the student body. Her favorite part of the day is greeting kids at the door in the morning and afternoon, which either she or the assistant principle, or both, do everyday. Recently she learned at this time about one student who didn’t have a winter coat and another who had an emotionally stressful experience over the weekend that was out of the ordinary. It’s also just fun to see all the kids.
The school’s HCRS clinician is on-site full time to work with clients and other students on targeted goals. She provides the “If Men” positive masculinity group for 5th and 6th graders. She provides parent coaching for families in need. The school’s social worker is also on site. They use money from the state through Title One funds to help increase achievement. The school has created two clothing pop-up shops this year to provide free clothes to those in need. Soon they will have the “Share Shed”, created by funds from the Thompson Trust to provide donated clothing and supplies on a regular basis for anyone who needs them.
Another intiative is the “restorative practices” initiative, lead by Assistant Principle John Sessions. They identify student leaders and offer restorative justice training, recently provided by Mel Motel. They create a student circle lead by students to dialogue about restorative practices that can help change the behavior when there are behavioral referrals.
Kelly then presented a Case Study on a student now in 6th grade for which they began an intervention when she arrived at the school in 3rd grade. This was her last stop before being sent to a special behavioral program school. In 3rd grade she recognized only 3 letters of the alphabet and could only count to 4. She was constantly acting out, was unable to be independent, had no friends and spent much of her days with staff. They started by addressing her basic needs. They did a functional analysis, created a differentiated curriculum, and got outside providers involved for therapy. She was then partnered with the younger classes as a student leader. This gave her a sense of belonging. Her amount of time in general education increased. Her skills increased. She now has no behavioral incidents, spends allher time in general education, has friends and enjoys being at school. A Rotarian asked what the school can do if the outside environment does not meet the needs of the child, as this child’s did. Ms. Diaz responded that is when they get DCF involved.
Academy also emphasized learning through the natural world. They have a community garden and have hiking trails created through the donation of land to the school. The school recently went on a school wide hike through these new trails. When the students are outside they have zero behavioral incidents and there is an increase in helping and talking amongst the students.
Kelly took questions from Tristam who asked what the school does for the summer vacation when interventions are not ongoing. Kelly answered there is a significant learning loss over the summer, but they have a 6 week summer session and they try to provide help getting kids in summer camps, often through the Rec camp or HCRS camps. They also have a summer food program. They’re hoping to get their school social workers to have summer hours to provide full-time access. Another questions was if the school has concerns that all the progress will be lost when the students head to BAMS. Kelly responded there is always a little fear for all 6th graders heading to the middle school, but they meet with the middle school providers to help coordinate the plane. At some point they just have to trust and let go though. REMINDER: The February trivia night will benefit the Academy School PTO so get the word out and attend.
It’s great to see what Rotary does because our initiatives align with those at Academy School. They are currently identifying families who need holiday gifts and families with food insufficiency who need help with food.
This year’s moto at Academy is Equity, Access, Rigor, and Engagement for all kids. They encourage the students to be the best they can be. This is in light of state initiatives which sometimes make it more difficult, such as the cut in funding to ACT 173 which provides funds for special education. Now that these kids cannot go out for services the school is addressing how they can help all kids in the classroom. It’s also difficult in light of the transiency of the student body. There is a 30% turnover of the student population each year. The school’s core beliefs are to advance learning and achievement for all students by providing a socially productive environment which is also academically rigorous.
Ms. Diaz was a student at Academy since kindergarten and now her daughter is a kindergarten student there, so it’s coming full circle. Although she taught in Rhode Island after attending UVM she realized she love the Brattleboro schools and ultimately returned to the area.
They work toward their goals be starting with Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. On the bottom of the pyramid are physical needs: food, clothing, shelter – necessary for physical survival. Next is safety. This is followed by love and belonging – they try to provide the ability to get and give love. 4th is esteem toward which they work by providing care and support. All this will open the way for self-actualization, a stage at which students will feel complete and be able to experience the joy of life.
Many of the kids at Academy are on the first level – physical needs. The school provides universal free meal at breakfast, lunch and afterschool snacks for students participating in afterschool programs. 50 students get food backpacks sent home on weekends. Once a month the Veggie Van Gogh program provides fruits, vegetable and other food items with recipes on how to use them. Their nurse is always busy taking care of the students’ health. She rarely gets lunch. The kids often need to be cleaned, get lice treatment, need clean clothes, medications or just hugs.
To provide safety they work on prevention and emergency planning. There have been more school shootings than weeks in the year in 2019. Academy has partnerships with the Fire Department and Police Department to help keep the kids safe. The work with DCF to keep kids safe when not at the school. They encourage consistent expectations of a culture of safety. They provide an increasing number of afterschool clubs to keep kids in a safe environment and provide a sense of belonging. To promote love and a sense of esteem they celebrate students’ successes and talk about the power of yet to teach persistence.
Their initiatives this year are to develop the Wellness Team which consists of a counselor, social worker, HCRS clinician, a board-certified behavior therapist, the nurse, special educators, the planning room coordinator and the assistant principle. They identify and make plans for kids who need assistance to succeed. One Rotarian asked if there was a wellness program for the staff. Kelly responded they provide regular staff lunches, offer workshops for wellness strategies and plan to have a mindfulness workshop taught by a local yoga teacher.
The school works through universal instruction within the classroom, rather than tiers of instruction which is the old model of instruction. The Wellness team helps teachers focus on the social and emotional health of each child. They all help students express their feelings, advocate for themselves and teach them the tools of good health. There is an increase in the number of kids who experience self-harming thoughts which is alarming. The wellness committee is working on procedures to deal with these events.
Another initiative for the school is to participate in the Towns Schools’ Green Street Sabers initiative to address emotional stressors. They have identified that 38% of the Town Schools population deals with emotional stressors. One Rotarian asked if that’s an increase. Ms. Diaz responded this is the first year they are collecting the data so it’s hard to know. She did comment that October is always the highest month of behavioral referrals in the school year. The group has been discussing that this year’s 5 and 6 year olds are the first class of children of the opioid epidemic.
The way Kelly works to meet the initiatives is by doing lots of check-ins with the student body. Her favorite part of the day is greeting kids at the door in the morning and afternoon, which either she or the assistant principle, or both, do everyday. Recently she learned at this time about one student who didn’t have a winter coat and another who had an emotionally stressful experience over the weekend that was out of the ordinary. It’s also just fun to see all the kids.
The school’s HCRS clinician is on-site full time to work with clients and other students on targeted goals. She provides the “If Men” positive masculinity group for 5th and 6th graders. She provides parent coaching for families in need. The school’s social worker is also on site. They use money from the state through Title One funds to help increase achievement. The school has created two clothing pop-up shops this year to provide free clothes to those in need. Soon they will have the “Share Shed”, created by funds from the Thompson Trust to provide donated clothing and supplies on a regular basis for anyone who needs them.
Another intiative is the “restorative practices” initiative, lead by Assistant Principle John Sessions. They identify student leaders and offer restorative justice training, recently provided by Mel Motel. They create a student circle lead by students to dialogue about restorative practices that can help change the behavior when there are behavioral referrals.
Kelly then presented a Case Study on a student now in 6th grade for which they began an intervention when she arrived at the school in 3rd grade. This was her last stop before being sent to a special behavioral program school. In 3rd grade she recognized only 3 letters of the alphabet and could only count to 4. She was constantly acting out, was unable to be independent, had no friends and spent much of her days with staff. They started by addressing her basic needs. They did a functional analysis, created a differentiated curriculum, and got outside providers involved for therapy. She was then partnered with the younger classes as a student leader. This gave her a sense of belonging. Her amount of time in general education increased. Her skills increased. She now has no behavioral incidents, spends allher time in general education, has friends and enjoys being at school. A Rotarian asked what the school can do if the outside environment does not meet the needs of the child, as this child’s did. Ms. Diaz responded that is when they get DCF involved.
Academy also emphasized learning through the natural world. They have a community garden and have hiking trails created through the donation of land to the school. The school recently went on a school wide hike through these new trails. When the students are outside they have zero behavioral incidents and there is an increase in helping and talking amongst the students.
Kelly took questions from Tristam who asked what the school does for the summer vacation when interventions are not ongoing. Kelly answered there is a significant learning loss over the summer, but they have a 6 week summer session and they try to provide help getting kids in summer camps, often through the Rec camp or HCRS camps. They also have a summer food program. They’re hoping to get their school social workers to have summer hours to provide full-time access. Another questions was if the school has concerns that all the progress will be lost when the students head to BAMS. Kelly responded there is always a little fear for all 6th graders heading to the middle school, but they meet with the middle school providers to help coordinate the plane. At some point they just have to trust and let go though. REMINDER: The February trivia night will benefit the Academy School PTO so get the word out and attend.
4 Way Test
Is it the truth
Is it fair to all concerned
Will it build goodwill and better friendships
Is it beneficial to all concerned
Is it the truth
Is it fair to all concerned
Will it build goodwill and better friendships
Is it beneficial to all concerned