Thursday, October 02, 2008

 

October News

Please note there are a couple of important messages from the town at the end of this email along with a couple of attachments.

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POTATOES - Minda still has a few bags of fresh local Vermont potatoes from Chappelle's in Williamstown. She is selling them for $5 for a 10lb bag to raise funds for her Washington, DC trip next year. Let me know if you'd like any... corinne.s@comcast.net
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Native Tongue at Gusto's in Barre Friday evening, October 3rd
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Saturday, October 4th CHEERLEADING CLINIC for girls and boys ages 3-16. $5 per child 10am-noon at U-32 High School gym. Learn cheers, motions, jumps, and more. Help the Varsity Cheerleaders raise money for new uniforms. Questions? Contact Sara Giacherio U-32 Cheerleading Coach at sgiacherio@hotmail.com
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Wednesday, October 8th U-32 Middle School Concert with I believe a meeting regarding the 8th grade trip to Washington DC prior to the concert.
Thursday, October 9th - Middle School Parent Teacher Council 6:30-7:25 followed by U-32 High School Concert at 7:30pm
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October 10th -12th Baked Beads Jewelry Clearance in Waitsfield 10am-5pm PTNA receives 10% of any sales slips collected from this sale. Prices starting at $2. Earrings, bracelets, necklaces, rings, toe rings, beads, hair accessories, displays, scarves, eyeglass chains, pouches, cell phone charms and more. Look for the tent on Route 100 at 46 Carroll Road, Waitsfield. Ask your friends and family who also attend this sale if you can donate their sales slips to the Berlin PTNA. http://www.bakedbeads.com
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Saturday, October 11th - Community Day at Sugarbush. Mary Kay tells me the summer event they had was fun... check out the details at: http://www.sugarbush.com/funandevents/event.asp?id=713&utm_source=mtviews&utm_medium=email&utm_term=oct2008&utm_campaign=numbersgame
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Saturday, October 11th - Oktoberfest in Barre, includes Native Tongue performance in the afternoon.
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Next PTNA meeting is Wednesday, October 15th at 6:30pm.
The PTNA is in need of more people being involved, both as officers and for specific projects. There is a very real concern that PTNA will no longer exist if more don't become involved.
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Saturday, October 25th Ski & Skate Sale at Montpelier High School 9am - 2pm Bring in items to sell on Thurs Oct 23 4-7 or Friday Oct 24 9am - 7pm Volunteers needed call 223-5141
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A FREE Button Up weatherization workshop will be held the evening of October 28th at Berlin Elem. from 7-9pm.
At 5pm the Berlin Fire Dept. will put on a spaghetti dinner as a fundraiser for a Winter Fuel Fund that will be managed by the Central VT Community Action Council. $8 adults, $5 children 10 and younger with children 3 and younger free. Family of four $20. Reservations are appreciated but not required, contact Pat McDonald regarding reservations 476-8411
The FREE Button Up Vermont workshop to be held from 7 to 9 p.m. that will focus on some of the most cost-effective solutions for saving energy, an understanding of what individuals can do themselves and when a professional is recommended, some basic weatherization and energy conservation tips, health and safety issues associated with improving efficiency and available technical and financial resources. Button Up Vermont’s specially trained presenter will lead a slideshow to illustrate hands-on tips, bring samples of energy saving materials, and provide free educational materials for everyone attending. Babysitting services will be available during the workshop as well as refreshments and door prizes.

See more details at the Berlin Energy Resource Page http://www.berlinvt.org/Energy%20Resource.htm
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VT Council for Gifted Education On The Road - Saturday, November 1st, 2008 9a.m. – 11:30 a.m. At Berlin Elem. School *Pre-registration is required* Central Vermont public and private elementary schools, home school students, and parents are invited to a Saturday morning full of opportunities to learn & connect with others! Students in grades 1-6 are invited to join instructors to investigate exciting concepts in science, math, problem solving, creative dramatics and writing. Each student will have the opportunity to join two of the eight sessions. Parents are invited to attend a discussion group where they can learn more about the social, emotional, and learning characteristics of gifted students and have an opportunity to network with each other on ways to meet their children’s needs in a rural area. Please contact Mrs. Jen Nye at school or at home (802-244-8063) for information & registration.
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Violin Lessons - The Vermont String School will continue to offer violin lessons at Berlin Elem. on Fridays from 9am-1pm. The fall semester is Sept 8-Dec 12. There is a fee for this and the student must have a violin, however, every effort is made to make it possible for any interested student to participate. Violin Lesson Details
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Here's a link to a fun puzzle. The goal is to drive the car from one side of the screen to the other. At each intersection, you can only turn in the direction(s) that the arrows allow. It seems impossible but is indeed possible. The instructions are in Russian, but don't let that bother you!
http://members.iinet.net.au/~a.koepke/carpuzzle.swf
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Try to complete all 10 stages of this frog jumping - HAVE FUN!
http://www.2dplay.com:80/frog-jump/frog-jump-play.htm
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PTNA FUND RAISING COLLECTION PROGRAMS


These are the fund raising collection programs that BES is currently participating in. Please keep this information handy and if you should have any questions, please contact Julie Pryce-Kelley at 223-1590.

Box Tops for Education - Box tops coupons can be found on hundreds of food and paper products that we buy. Some companies include General Mills, Pillsbury, Yoplait, Betty Crocker, Hamburger Helper, Nature Valley, Huggies, Ziploc, Hefty, Scott, Kleenex, Cottonelle and many others. They are worth 10 cents each and we submit them to the General Mills Co. A check for the value is then sent to our school PTNA. Please look for the pink Box Top Coupons!

Campbell's Labels for Education - With this program, the portion of the label that is now essential is the entire UPC code. Some are worth 1 point and some are worth 5 points. (If there is any doubt regarding what to submit, please send in the entire label). In addition to Campbell's soups and products, the eligible UPCs can be found on products such as SpaghettiO's, Swanson broth and Pepperidge Farm Goldfish, cookies, crackers and breads. For V8 juices, please submit the cap. The UPCs, caps and bonus coupons are submitted to Campbell's and the value is used to purchase school merchandise.

Hood Sox Tops (Milk Caps) - This year's program began on April 1, 2008 and will end on October 31, 2008. Qualifying Hood Sox Tops for Kids caps can be found on Hood Milk in the Light Block Bottle. This includes all caps from Gallon, half gallon, quart and 14 oz. containers of any variety (fat level) of Hood Milk in the plastic Light Block Bottle. Any caps that have 2007 on them are NOT eligible. We may redeem caps without the Hood Sox Tops for Kids logo, provided they are clearly caps from Hood Milk in the Light Block Bottle (bearing the Hood logo). The eligible caps are worth 5 cents each and a check for the value will be sent to our school PTNA.

Price Chopper "Tools for Schools" Program - If you have a Price Chopper Advantage Card, please go to www.pricechopper.com to register your card for our school. You may also register your card at the service desk at Price Chopper. ** Our school code is 15281. ** If you do not have Internet access, please fill out the attached form and return to school as soon as possible. You may also take the form to family, friends, co-workers & neighbors to get as many signed up as possible. From the date of registration to February 14, 2009, every purchase made using your PC Advantage Card earns our school credit. Featured Bonus Point Items earn extra points when purchased. Lottery tickets, alcoholic beverages, tobacco products, gift certificates, postage stamps and money orders are excluded from earning credit. The credit is used to obtain school merchandise.

Hannaford Helps Schools Program - From September 4, 2008 to December 4, 2008, if you purchase participating products in the Hannaford Helps Schools program, our school will earn "school dollars" that can be used to purchase merchandise for school. If you receive a "school dollars" coupon at the cash register, please deposit it into the appropriate slot for Berlin Elementary School at the Hannaford store in Barre. There is a collection site in the front of the store. You may also want to write the word Berlin on the back of the slip to ensure that the credit goes to BES. You can also send in the "school dollars" to school and we will coordinate the submission with Hannaford. An information booklet is also being sent home.

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BERLIN RESIDENTS -

As many of you know The Berlin Selectboard and Emergency Management Team are holding a series of meetings concerning the impact of fuel, food and transportation on residents this coming winter. The Legislature and the Administration are working on various statewide proposals and the Central Vermont Food Fuel and Transportation Coalition is working on regional initiatives.

Projections for this coming winter are not very encouraging and the Board and Emergency Management would like to identify what the Town could do to minimize the impact of the cost of heat, fuel and food on friends and neighbors. The Board and Emergency Management felt that at the very least all available services should be identified and information communicated to the community. Other initiatives to be considered might include arranging to have firewood available for those in need, raising funds for the purchase of fuel, making sure that people understand the potential hazards of space heaters, informing people about weatherization tips, and so forth. The Town also wants to make sure it is prepared to open up a shelter when temperatures drop.

We are sending you copies of the minutes (attached) from the Berlin Winter Preparedness Team's recent meeting as well as a copy of the Winter Preparedness Card in an effort to communicate with as many residents as possible and to encourage you to consider participating in this important effort.

We would like to prepare a listserve to communicate with you on a regular basis to highlight events and to report on local, regional and state activities. If you want to be included on this, let us know. Information is also available through the energy resource page on the Town's website at http://www.berlinvt.org.

If you are interested in finding out more, the next meeting of the Berlin Winter Preparedness Team is October 16th at 7 p.m. (location to be announced).



Thank you!

Pat McDonald patmcdonald8411@charter.net

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LOOKING FOR A CHAMPION

The Town of Berlin has offered to host the State's Wood Warms program, which is being coordinated by Brendan Cosgrove, Organizational Development Coordinator for the Agency of Natural Resources. In order to ensure a successful program, the Town is looking for a CHAMPION (or champions) – someone to take charge of the program (with help, of course)!


Tate Tetrault, Berlin’s Highway Superintendent, has already cleared out a location at the municipal offices for the wood. Tate feels we can handle from 30 to 50 cords of wood. Berlin is the only identified site in the area for this year so we are truly hoping that we can find someone to help “lead the charge” in this worthwhile effort. This is a State-sponsored program and we will be working closely with the State to get the word out about accepting donated wood. There is also a fund available to cover some transportation costs for wood pick up and delivery. Next year we will be able to focus on our ability to use wood from state- and town-owned lands.


The champion job description will include coordinating the program, organizing a volunteer work day(s), maintaining a roster of volunteers to handle chopping and stacking, being the liaison between residents and Tate, ensuring donated wood is appropriate for this purpose (only hard woods), ensuring coordination of reimbursement for hauling and delivering wood, and coordinating the pick up and delivery of wood, as necessary. We have calls into several organizations so hoping for volunteers from around the community. This year, the effort will only last from 8 to 10 weeks (until the snow really sets in). There is wood ready and waiting to be picked up in Waitsfield for the Berlin site.


Please call the Town Offices at 223-4405, Andrea Chandler at 229-4411 or Pat McDonald, 476-8411 if you are interested in taking lead – or would like to volunteer in some other capacity. Many thanks!

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