The Best Hour Of The Week: CY Mentoring At Williston Central School

The Best Hour Of The Week: CY Mentoring At Williston Central School

Ben Press

Connecting Youth of Chittenden South (CY), Created CY mentoring in 1990, in the Chittenden South School District. In the past years, many kids have had and currently have mentors. What is the commitment? Who is in charge? What can you do at the mentoring room? How do people get involved? Let’s find out.

The name mentor comes from Greece, meaning “steadfast and enduring”. Kids 5-8th grade are children who need more adult attention. With the mentoring program, people have been proven with mentoring to navigate through adolescence, with healthy, outstanding lives. With this also causes more self confidence, improved attention in classes, and increased choices in doing good.

What this means to me

The commitment to be a mentor/men-tee is very special. Think of it as two places, that use a bridge. The bridge is that connects the two places together. My mentor John and I, are the best of friends. Nobody in mentoring does not like their mentors. Again, the commitment of everyone in the program, is more of bonding, like a brother hood. At my school, Williston Central School, Nancy Carlson, the mentoring coordinator, is a very close friend to everyone in the program. She runs the whole thing! The amount of crafts, snacks, toys, ingredient’s for cooking, everything! I personally don’t know how she keeps up.

For my 8th grade challenge, I will help Nancy with the program, at the mentoring kick off, the mid year Edge day, and the closing BBQ, this will help her out a lot and will give me many hours of service for my 8th grade challenge.

Expectations for the program

With adults that want to apply to be a mentor, they have to go to a FBI background check, to make sure that everything is O.K. They also need a complete written application, three complete references, complete personal interview, and to attend CY mentoring training.

The Expectations of the program include: “participating in a careful screening and matching process, attending mentor training from Connecting Youth and school staff, making a commitment of at least one school year, developing an understanding of expectations with the student men-tee respecting the men-tee’s confidentiality”. The expectations for the mentees are to have fun!

The benefits for mentors, mentees and parents

The benefits of mentoring for the children are having a caring adult in their lives, students look forward to the favorite time of the week, spending time with their mentor. Within that time, student can explore interests, or practice what they’re good at. This also teaches students to have good, wholesome relationships with not only students, but adults as well. Parents benefit by having more support for their child.

Adult mentors benefit by “…how much the mentoring process enriches their own lives.  The satisfaction of being an important presence in a child’s life is a significant reward.  Working with a young person is a creative process, and a fun one.  Learning how best to be no more and no less than a supportive, caring friend can be a great challenge, and a great gift”.

Picture from http://www.wsdvt.org/domain/228

Visiting the Food Shelf

Parker listens carefully at the Williston Food Shelf.

The Food Shelf
by Kindergarten Reporter, Parker

     Ms. Davison’s class walked to the food shelf. Some of the things we brought were Cheerios, fruit snacks, macaroni and cheese, soup and beans.
    If people need food, they can come there. You can only come twice a week. They have a list of how many people you are feeding. They have a lot of food in a different room. When the shelves get empty, they replace the food.
    They have a lot of healthy fruits and vegetables. They have diapers and they try to have dog and cat food.
    We went to the food shelf to learn new things and so they can have more food and never run out. That’s being kind.

SCoop

November 2011 The SCoop

The Scoop is a periodic publication published by the WCS Student Council. It contains information and updates on the work of the WCS Student Council.  The Scoop can be found in several places including the school website (under Curriculum,  Enrichment, Student Council) and also on The Blue and Gold (see sidebar on website front page).

Student Council currently has three main goals they are focusing on for this school year. The individual goals, actions and plans are outlined below. Items in BLUE are things YOU can DO (or have already done)! Goal 1: Increase Student Voice in School Procedures and Policies What Student Council is doing to achieve this goal… Feedback boxes are stocked with forms and a copy of The Scoop will be posted at each box.  Please read and share your thoughts and ideas using the website, feedback boxes or talk with a SC Representative. On-line surveys will be coming as we are seeking student input on school issues.  Watch for them and be sure to complete them – it’s your voice!  Please provide your input on how we should “Cellebrate” (see https://docs.google.com/a/cssu.org/spreadsheet/viewform?formkey=dEd1U0REU1lBOTBrV1VSOXhoN1hISlE6MQ) Kiva meetings and other methods of communicating will take place soon.  Please be respectful listeners and contribute to the conversation appropriately. Students need to be informed and Student Council is doing it’s part by utilizing bulletin boards, the school website, The Blue and Gold** and The SCoop.  These are all excellent sources for school  information.  Read them regularly and be in-the-know! In order for Student Council to actively address school issues, students are asked to complete and turn in feedback forms and surveys. **The Blue and Gold is an ongoing news blog at  http://wsdblueandgold.wordpress.com/ Goal 2: Provide Service to our Larger Williston Community What Student Council is doing to achieve this goal… Money raised from first dance ($400) will be used to support the Student Council  Holiday Family.  The holiday family is a family in need in our community that Student Council will shop for (wish list provided) during the holidays. Student Council likes to participate in this activity because not only does it give back to our larger Vermont community but it also supports one of our local families.  You helped by attending the dance and buying food and drinks! THANKS! At the October Dance, Student Council collected four large boxes of food for the Williston Food Shelf.  THANKS for being so thoughtful and generous! Student Council will be putting together a Thanksgiving Basket for a local family.  This activity is similar to the holiday family except that the basket is full of food items specifically for Thanksgiving. Please watch for announcements in the event that we need donations. Later in the school year, Student Council will participate in the Big Change Roundup. The money raised with this fundraiser specifically goes to the Vermont Children’s Hospital. Please save your change in anticipation of this event!  Student Council may also participate in other local fundraisers but they have not yet been determined. Do you have a suggestion for how we can give back to our community?… Submit your idea(s) using the website, feedback boxes or talk with a SC Representative. Goal 3: Build School Community What Student Council is doing to achieve this goal… Student Council sponsored the first school dance and successfully raised money for our Holiday family and food for the Williston Food Shelf.  Way to Go WCS Student Body! Student Council has been asked to assist the school with the new PBiS program.  The school administration has asked us to come up with “Cell”ebration ideas.  Students can submit their “Cell”ebration ideas using the website, feedback boxes and the idea sheet posted at the brain display.  Student can also talk with a SC Representative.  Here is the link to the “Cell”ebration idea spot on the school website (see https://docs.google.com/a/cssu.org/ spreadsheet/viewform?formkey=dEd1U0REU1lBOTBrV1VSOXhoN1hISlE6MQ) Student Council is planning a theme week with school-wide culminating event. Watch for more information.   Let your “Wildcat” Out – Show your school spirit! Thanks for supporting  your Student Council !

Williston Sweeps the District Spelling Bee

7/8 Spelling Team (left to right): Janina Cuneo, Cassidy Price, Kathy Joseph, Summer Bishop, Brigitte Durieux, Jake Kahn

By Kathy Joseph

Thursday, October 4^thwas an exciting day for the Williston Spellers. The Spelling Bee District Competition was held last Thursday, and took place in the Williston Central School auditorium. Both the Williston 5/6 and 7/8 teams had been practicing and working hard for the Bee, and they’re glad to announce that it all paid

5/6 Spelling Team (left to right, then front to back): Ananth Malladi, Sam Gelin, Baxter Bishop, Joe Warren, Julia Neeld, Tommy Zych

off. The 7/8 team won by a landslide, earning 92 points out of a perfect score of 96. They only misspelled one bonus word during the whole competition- emphysema! The Williston 7/8 team competed against the two other 7/8 teams in the district, Hinesburg and Shelburne. Shelburne came in second with 68, and Hinesburg finished last with 54 points.

The 5/6 team had quite a different story. There were three other schools to compete against, and they were racing neck and neck against them until the end. The Williston team started strong, but until the final round (there are 8 total rounds), they were always either tied or a little behind another team. Charlotte was fully expecting to win, having been in the lead since the beginning, but the Williston team had an exciting finish and made no mistakes for the final two rounds. They won by just two points. The final score was Williston in first place with 82 points, Charlotte with 80, Shelburne with 76, and Hinesburg with 56 points.

For the first time in several years, both the Williston Spelling Bee teams are excitedly preparing for the regional meet that will take place on Saturday, November 5^th. We wish them both the best of luck!

Peace One Day!!!

Peace One Day!!!

Written by Abby Rosenthal    

Peace one day.  Peace one day, that’s pretty crazy!  How can one person create a day of peace?  They can’t.  It takes many willing people for a day of peace.  One idea can grow like a flower but only you can help it bloom.

In class we worked on Peace Makers.  The first question we were asked was, “What does peace mean to you?”  At first we got tie dye, funky big glasses, hippy guitar people and then we began to get somewhere with one person’s answer:  Non-violence. Then it hit us, a peace maker fights with the brain, sneaky-ninja stealth, and knows fighting is never the answer (Does that sound like somebody you know, maybe your mom? No fighting-blah, blah!).

Jeremy Gilley is a person who had a dream like Martin Luther King.  His dream was not fighting for equal rights.  He fought for Peace One Day. Jeremy had an idea that he could make a day of peace.  We could make a day without threats, killing, or hurtful ways. A day where if your sister steals your clothes, you say “Give it back when you’re done.”,  day of agreement.

Jeremy Gilley began by holding a press conference to get people interested, kind of like a big parent teacher conference.  After that, Jeremy went to schools around the world and to big events and spoke about this idea.  September 11, 2001 was when the first Peace One Day was supposed to be.  That was the horrible day of destruction of the World Trade center and other places in America.  September 21^st is the new calendar date for Peace One Day.  Peace One Day has come a long way.  Now, Peace One Day is a non-profit organization that works to build this idea of a day of peace.

Learning about this story inspired many people.  After hearing this news of Peace One Day celebrations, more people began to celebrate it!  During Social Studies in Sterling House, we learned about Peace One Day.  This happens every September 21^st.  The activities we’ve done included the A.B.C project.  This project has us find words for each letter in the alphabet.  The words tell us what Jeremy Gilley did and where he went.  We also did the five W’s and the one H.  We chose a famous peace maker and found out what they did, how they did it, who they are, when this happened, where it was, and why they did what they did.

Peace One Day has been achieved in many areas throughout the world with over 20,000 people celebrating.  To keep the peace and archive the greatness, do something on September 21^st -Peace One Day.  The day without fighting, the day is amazing, a day like Superman.  What will you do next September 21^st?

Warm Buzzies at ABS by Harmony Students Rory and Peyton

Links for Student Activities and PBiS information…

For more information on the Student Activities and PBiS that Katie and Maddie wrote about below see…

Student Opportunities

http://www.wsdvt.org/site/default.aspx?PageType=3&ModuleInstanceID=817&ViewID=047E6BE3-6D87-4130-8424-D8E4E9ED6C2A&RenderLoc=0&FlexDataID=3630&PageID=860

PBiS

http://pbisvermont.org/

Williston Central School students are SMART!

Maddie Collins & Katie Usher
Friday, September 2, 2011

On the first Friday of the school year, all of WCS went to an assembly regarding the school environment. It was lead by many of the school’s leaders. In the beginning of the assembly we discussed school activities and opportunities for students. We also discussed the new expectations called SMART.
There are many opportunities for students in the school in which to participate.  Some of them are sports related while others are extracurricular activities. Also, there are leadership groups that help make the school a healthier environment. Some of the leadership groups are LUCA (Leave Us Clean Air)and VKAT (Vermont Kids Against Tobacco) deal with drugs and alcohol. AWOD (A World Of Difference) deals with school wide issues, and LEAD (Leadership Education Against Drugs) which covers many topics relating middle school issues.  Those are only a few of the many options for students.
The new expectaions called SMART stand for Safe, Mindful, Accepting, Respectful, and Truthful. As a reward, if an adult in the school notices a student being SMART they will  give you a “SMART cell”. “SMART cells” are small marbles. When you receive a “SMART cell” you put it in a receptacle in your classroom. When your classroom receptacle is full it then gets poured into “The Brain”. The Brain is a large brain shaped container that gets filled with “SMART cells”. When The Brain is full the entire school gets to celebrate with a special reward. The first time the brain gets full, the school gets to have extra recess. Then the reward will be chosen by the student council.

This assembly introduced new ideas to the school. We think that the new changes will be excellent for our school environment. So far, it has had a great turnout.