Lake Region Union High School

Dear OCSU Families,

 I hope your school year is off to a great start! It’s been great to see students back in the buildings and settling into the daily routines! For the rest of this month, I will be sending out one note each week as part of my Strong Start September communications. This week, I want to talk about one of our OCSU goals for the year, which is to increase our student attendance rates. We know that every day a student is in school is another opportunity to learn, to build on previous learning, participate in what’s happening in the classroom, connect with friends and trusted adults, and get support when it’s needed. Simply put, we want our students in school as much as possible because we want them to get everything they can from their time with us.

Of course, we also know that missed days can add up quickly. Missing just two days a month can mean missing about 10% of the school year. Vermont has a new attendance law that places a greater focus on chronic absenteeism, which is defined as missing 10% or more of school days, whether excused or unexcused. We absolutely have a responsibility to follow the law, but our goal is bigger than compliance. We want to notice concerns earlier, reach out sooner, and work together with families before a few missed days become a bigger concern.

To help us with this, I want to let you know that Danielle Greenwood will be working this year as OCSU’s School-to-Home Coordinator. Danielle will work with students, families, schools, and community partners if attendance becomes a concern. She can help us understand what may be getting in the way, connect families with resources, and bring the right people together to help. We know that sometimes getting to school can be difficult, for all kinds of reasons, and families don’t need to have the problem figured out before reaching out to us. That’s where we can work together.

As we get this school year underway, I’m asking for your partnership. When your child is healthy and able to be at school, we hope you will continue to partner with us and support regular attendance.

Please keep an eye on how many days have been missed and, whenever possible, schedule appointments, trips, and other activities outside of school time. Most importantly, if getting to school is becoming difficult for any reason, please talk with us. The earlier we know, the earlier we can work together to help.

If you’d like to learn more, Attendance Works has helpful information for families about attendance and chronic absence, including their quick 10 Facts About School Attendance resource, which shows how quickly missed days can add up and why regular attendance matters.

Please don’t hesitate to reach out if you have questions about Vermont’s new attendance law or the work we are doing here in OCSU, and thank you in advance for your continued partnership as we move through our school year!

Look for another note from me next week as we continue our Strong Start September! Warmly,

Jackie Ramsay-Tolman Your OCSU Superintendent

LR Spring Chorus Concert

Barton, VT - On Wednesday, April 29th at 7:00 PM the Lake Region Union HS Chorus and Select Chorus will present their Spring concert at the Barton United Church. The concert features folk music from Scotland, England, Ireland, England, Corsica, Croatia, Georgia and Spain. The concert concludes with a set of American civil rights songs. Highlights include "El Vito" from Spain, "O Danny Boy" and "Mairi's Wedding" from Ireland, "Arolo" from Georgia and the traditional spiritual, "We Shall Not Be Moved." Accompanist is Mark Violette and the music director is Dr. Sara Doncaster. Admission is free, but donations will be gratefully accepted in support of the Music Activities Fund. For further information, please call Dr. Sara Doncaster at (802) 754 - 2500 x219 or email at sdoncaster@ocsu.org

A reminder that the next OCSU PTCA meeting is March 24, 2026, at 6pm Lake Region Union High School. Here is the full agenda:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1zlPETCln_4FNPjnUD79HFaZTD-wXr29qsoWhC-4DOEA/edit?usp=sharing
This meeting is immediately following the Lake Region PTCA meeting at 5pm. People are welcome to attend either or both. We hope to see folks there!

Please join us Friday, March 13th for a Free Community Dinner and Movie Night sponsored by the National Honor Society. The film to be screened is Ratatouille, the story of a plucky young rat named Remy who dreams of becoming a chef and his partnership with a restaurant's garbage boy, Alfredo Linguine. Together they work to prove that "Anyone can cook." Doors open at 5:30. This free dinner will include ratatouille, of course, and quiche--two French classics--and linguine alfredo in honor of Remy's best friend and sidekick. The movie will begin at 6:00. The National Honor Society is also sponsoring a bake sale and concessions stand (popcorn!). Proceeds will benefit the Student Resource Center. Please join us for an evening of fun and bring your family.

The Lake Region Union Elementary Middle School Board would like to make a few announcements.

ANNUAL MEETINGS: The LRUEMSD Annual School Board Meeting will be on March 9th at Lake Region High School at 6 PM. You can grab a school report at your Town Clerk’s office, town library or on Town Meeting Day for more details. A big change this year has been our move to a sister-school model, and the feedback so far on that change has been mostly positive.

The Lake Region Union High School Annual School Board Meeting will be March 18, also at 6 PM at the high school.

SEATS: The Elementary-Middle School Board has eight elementary-middle school seats that will be up for election on March 9th, so if you or anyone that you know might be interested in joining a school board, there are opportunities available. Four of those seats have incumbents still willing to serve, but we've got vacant seats that need to be filled in Albany, Barton, Orleans and Westmore.

If you might be interested in running, come on out to the March 9th meeting - or if you can't make it, you can also try asking someone else to go and nominate you. Serving on this board is a time commitment of approximately two Monday evenings a month, either in-person or virtually, plus homework time and any meetings for committees that you join. If you're considering this and have questions about what it's like, current board members would be happy to chat with you!

PUBLIC MEETINGS: We’d also like to flag up a couple of big decisions that could come before the voters in the next year.

As our school buildings continue to age, we've been talking about going to the voters for a bond vote to finance building a new elementary-middle school building on the Lake Region High School property. You can read more about this in the Long Term Planning Committee report inside your town report! We'll be scheduling meetings to share information and get your feedback soon, so keep your eyes out for those.

We're also exploring merging the high school and elementary-middle school boards into a single board, with a single budget and single annual meeting. This is a decision that can only be made by voters. We'll also be having public forums to get input on this idea in the coming months.

ACT 73: There are also conversations happening in Montpelier about redistricting on a state-wide level, which could really shape the future of our schools. We're doing our best as a board to respond proactively to Act 73. However, like there was with Act 46, there's going to be a lot that we can't control at this level. So if you're interested in education in Vermont, keep following Act 73 and sharing your thoughts with our representatives in Montpelier.

Winter Modern Band Concert

The LR Music Department will present the Winter Modern Band concert on Sunday, January 25th, 3 pm. In the LR Gum. This is a fundraiser for music lessons and workshops. Admission is by donation. We will be having a bake sale and selling refreshments. This show will be a lot of fun and a great way to celebrate our OCSU community. Three of our bands will be presenting music by Chicago, 21 Pilots, Black Sabbath, Duke Ellington, Sublime, Stevie Wonder, Joe Cocker, Goodbye June, Lenny Kravitz, Pat Benetar and more, including three original works by students. For further information please contact Sara Doncaster at (802) 754 - 2500 x219 or email at sdoncaster@ocsu.org