THE WINOOSKI BRIDGE
7/5/2012 - Vol. 1 No. 2
E-News for Winooski / e-mailed first
& third Thursdays / Guy Page, editor & publisher
School choruses, bands invited to perform Star
Spangled Banner!
At the opening of the June 25
school board/city council meeting, Mayor Michael O’Brien invited the school
board to ask school music groups to open council meetings with a performance of
the U.S. national anthem, “The Star Spangled Banner.” At present the city
council salutes the flag with the Pledge of Allegiance.
The request was the first of
many joint school-city initiatives discussed at the meeting. First on the
agenda was an official resolution to work together effectively and without
duplication for the benefit of Winooski’s diverse citizenry. Described by one participant
as “our marching orders,” the draft resolution (see below) was discussed, “tweaked”
and approved.
Resolution
on Commitment to Collaborate on Issues surrounding Children, Youth, and
Families
Whereas,
the City of Winooski and the Winooski School District share in the
responsibility to create a healthy, safe, and encouraging environment in which
to raise children, and
Whereas,
the City of Winooski and the Winooski School District each provide programming
for children, youth, and families, and
Whereas,
Winooski is proudly home to a diverse citizenry including families who have
resided here for generations, new residents, and a broad array of cultural and
ethnic identities, and
Whereas,
consistency in approach and expectations is critical to developing a strong
community.
Therefore be it resolved,
The
City of Winooski and the Winooski School District will make every effort to:
- Design and carry out programming
and services for children, youth and families in partnership, through
collaborative planning and implementation, and
- Ensure that programs and services
in Winooski are innovative and exemplary, and incorporate best and
promising practices in child and youth development, and
- Work together to engage our
citizenry and offer programming and services that are relevant and
respectful of cultural differences, and
- Ensure that community resources
and revenues are effectively utilized and duplication is minimized
Specific
school/city initiatives discussed at the June 25 joint meeting include:
City-Wide Social Thinking Initiative
– Middle School Principal Mary O’Rourke said it is well-known that some students
need help learning to share their social space with others. (“Social Thinking”
is a new term for social skills training.) School board member Tori Cleiland will
share her social thinking training with teachers at in-service in August. The
school district hopes students will bring this training home and in their
interactions in after-school centers.
“I
think this is a great idea. One of the things we have been lacking in this
city, is when kids leave school, what is expected of them,” Mayor Michael O’Brien
said. It was agreed that this training will help students have the same
expectations of social behavior inside and outside of school.
School strategic planning
– this effort continues at a subcommittee level. Action plans are being written
for flexible learning, school facilities, parent-community engagement, and
other areas of interest. Drafts will be completed by this fall, and then with
the help of a facilitator the school planners will present one comprehensive
document. A school representative stressed that “it will be a living document
and it will need to change.”
Municipal planning
- discussions for a new municipal plan began last month. About 30 people spoke
about their vision for the future of Winooski, City Manager “Deac” Decarreau
said. For example, zoning in some single family neighborhoods prohibits the
opening of a food market. Does Winooski want to encourage localvore practices
and if so, does it make sense to allow neighborhood food markets to give
residents closer access to food? This question, and many others like it, will
be threshed out at meetings later this year.
School board opposes F-35 and F-16 flight paths
The following resolution was adopted by the Winooski School Board in June
and posted on the district website:
Resolution of
Vermont Air National Guard Aircraft Paths
Whereas, the Winooski School
District's mission is to offer a safe and supportive educational environment
that is conducive to learning for all of its students;
Whereas, the Winooski School District seeks to create conditions for its students that will maximize learning;
Whereas, the Winooski School District seeks to create conditions for its students that will maximize learning;
Whereas, research shows that excessive
noise affects cognitive performance and interferes with learning;
Whereas, F-35A Vermont Air National Guard jets based at Burlington International Airport will be flown in the vicinity of the District and during school hours;
Whereas, F-35A Vermont Air National Guard jets based at Burlington International Airport will be flown in the vicinity of the District and during school hours;
Whereas, the flight path of the
current F-16 Vermont Air National Guard jets based at Burlington International
Airport already have an adverse impact on the learning environment at the
Winooski schools; and
Whereas, it is expected that F-35A
jets would follow this same flight path, and will have an adverse effect on the
learning environment.
Now therefore, be it resolved by the
Winooski School Board as follows.
Resolved:
That the Winooski School Board
opposes a flight path for F-35A jets that would impact the learning
environment. Further, the Winooski School Board opposes the current
flight path for F-16 jets that impact the learning environment.
Church to offer free basketball clinic, dinners next week
at West Allen Park
A free youth basketball clinic will be held Monday-Friday July 9-13 4:00-6:30 p.m.
at West Allen Park in
Winooski.
Dinner will be served each evening following the clinic. All participants must be entering 6th
grade or higher. The clinic is sponsored
by Burlington City Church. For more info call Kevin at 802-448-2898.
Improve bike paths near Winooski River, Bridge? Take
survey
The City of Winooski is taking a survey to determine
how best to improve the bike path facilities in Riverwalk/Casavant Park east of
the downtown core, including possibly connecting with the Winooski Bridge.
According to a statement on the city’s website, www.onioncity.com, “all possibilities are
being examined.” From the website you can click on a survey to express your
opinion.
Congratulations to Winooski’s newest U.S. citizen!
As reported in the July 5 Burlington Free Press, Arafa Arbab of Winooski received her U.S.
citizenship at a ceremony at the Ethan Allen Homestead in Burlington July 4.
Ms. Arbab is a native of Sudan. According to the Free Press, she is a caregiver for the daughter of revered
Burlington rabbi Max Wall, who was himself an immigrant, arriving in New York
in 1921.