District Communications

Vermont has so many swimming pools, lakes and rivers. When it is hot outside you might want to go to the swimming pool, a lake or river with your family to stay cool and maybe swim. Here is some advice to stay safe when you are by the water or choose to go swimming. The safest places to swim have a lifeguard. Lifeguards are expert swimmers, and know how to save a person who is drowning or who has hurt themselves while swimming. The lifeguard has equipment to help if there is an emergency. Never swim alone. Always swim with a friend or family member. Never allow someone to swim alone. Anyone who does not know how to swim should stay in water no deeper than their waist. Never trust a child to watch another child. Make sure there is an adult who is always watching every swimmer to be sure they are safe. Make sure the adult is not looking at their cell phone, eating or reading a book. For younger children and children who are not good swimmers, get in the water with them. Even if you are not swimming but there is water nearby, always keep your children close by. Do not put yourself in danger if someone in the water needs help. Even a strong swimmer cannot help someone who is panicking in the water. Stay safely on land if possible. Use a rope, board or floating object between yourself and the struggling swimmer. If a swimmer has become unconscious, get them out of the water and immediately call 911 for help. When you swim in a river or the ocean, the current can be strong enough to make a strong swimmer struggle and pull them under the water. It is best to always swim where there is a lifeguard on duty. Heavy rainfalls can make it dangerous when swimming in streams, rivers, lakes and waterfalls. Stay away from them for several days after the rain has ended. Check the water temperature and weather conditions before going into the water. it’s not safe to swim in the rain, particularly if there is thunder and lightning. If the weather changes, swim back to land. Lake and river water can be too cold to swim safely even as late as mid-June. You need to be able to stay calm and think well when you are in water, so never swim when you have been drinking alcohol or taking drugs. When on a boat every person should have a lifejacket on at all times. Children need a lifejacket that is the right size. A lifejacket or swim aid is not a replacement for knowing how to swim. The BEST way to prevent a person from drowning is for them to learn how to swim. Learning to swim should be a priority for every family. The YMCA is one place that offers swim lessons. Children, and their parents, need to learn how to swim so that spending time by the water is safe and fun!

Transition to Middle School

• When: Thursday, May 25th at 5:30 PM
• Where: Middle School East Commons
• Who: All current 5th-grade students and families

• Where: High School Classrooms
• When: June 9, 12, 13 (make-up day on June 14)
• Who: All high school students

Middle School Camp Abnaki Trip

• When: Friday, June 9, all-day
• Where: Camp Abnaki
• Who: All middle school students

JFK All-School Celebration

• When: POSTPONED TO Wednesday, June 14th, all-day
• Where: WSD, Landry Park, and Myers Memorial Pool
• Who: All JFK students
• More Information
• Family volunteers are needed, see the linked form to sign up

8th Grade Moving Up Ceremony

• When: Wednesday, June 14th at 6:00 PM, doors open at 5:45 PM
• Where: WSD Performing Arts Center
• Who: All current 8th-grade students and families

Middle School Dance

• When: Wednesday, June 14th, 6:45 PM – 8:15 PM
• Where: WSD Black Box Theater and Main Lobby
• Who: All current middle school students

Senior Lunch

• When: Friday, June 16th at 11:00 AM
• Where: Waterworks Restaurant
• Who: All seniors

Sports Awards Ceremony

• When: Friday, June 16th at 6:30 PM
• Where: WSD Performing Arts Center
• Who: WHS student-athletes and families

High School Graduation

• When: Saturday, June 17th at 1:00 PM
• Where: WSD Main Gym
• Who: Graduating seniors, families, and supporters

*Updated 6/7/2023

The Winooski School District has selected several dates throughout the summer to open the Necessity Store and hold Veggie VanGo. These resources are completely free to the community and all are welcome to come. 

WSD Necessity Store Summer Hours

WSD Veggie VanGo Summer Hours

 * School is in session, family and community members must wait until 10:00 am to go through the line.

On top of the Necessity Store and Veggie VanGo, there are lots of other food access resources available to families and community members in Winooski and the surrounding areas. These resources consist of food pantries and shelves, free prepared meals, and so much more. For more information including a full list and map of locations, follow this link or scan the QR code.

On the evening of Tuesday, May 2nd during a special board meeting, the Winooski School Board announced the selection of Wilmer Chavarria as the next Superintendent of Schools for the Winooski School District (WSD). Chavarria will assume responsibilities on July 1, 2023. He will succeed Sean McMannon, who served the Winooski School District as Superintendent for 10 years and will be moving to a position within the Kingdom East School District. 

The selection of Chavarria as superintendent comes after a nationwide search by the Winooski School Board in partnership with Hank Harris at Human Capital Enterprises. The search, which kicked off in January, started with a community survey and several school and community stakeholder focus groups that informed the creation of a profile of the next Superintendent for WSD. This profile drove the remainder of the process which included several rounds of applicant interviews involving the school board, school employees, students, and community stakeholders. Additional school and community involvement came through a public meet-and-greet event at the school. “I am very thankful to the community for their involvement in the process. We received very thoughtful feedback from those involved. I also cannot thank Hank Harris enough for his hard work and guidance in conducting this national search” said WSD Board Chair Allison Burlock.

Chavarria first began exploring education while he was in college through different projects and partnerships, including co-founding a study abroad program for language immersion in Nicaragua and working with refugee youth in Jordan and the West Bank on multimedia. He began his career in public education in 2015 at Espanola Valley High School in New Mexico. From there he served in multiple roles across that district and became the principal of its largest elementary school- a school with a large population of families experiencing poverty or who were first-generation migrants. Since moving to Vermont in 2020, Chavarria has worked as a school principal and district-level director, most recently with the Milton Town School District.

Chavarria earned a Bachelor of Arts in Cinematic Arts from Earlham College, followed by a Master of Arts in Education Leadership from the University of New Mexico and a Master of Education Policy and Management from Harvard Graduate School of Education, where he now coaches Master’s degree candidates.

“I am enthusiastic to begin my work in Winooski for many reasons, but especially because of the energy I witnessed during our community meet-and-greet portion of the selection process. I was impressed by the level of student engagement and by the type of questions I received. I particularly enjoyed when students pressed for specificity and boldness–when they didn’t settle for generic answers. I believe that this is the spirit and commitment that the community deserves, from students to legislators, and I am thrilled to begin to play a part in it. I look forward to students keeping me and our teams honest, humble, and innovative” said Chavarria when asked why he was excited to serve as WSD’s next superintendent.

Because representation matters, Chavarria introduces himself wearing some of his permanent and visible identities. Chavarria is a refugee, born inside a fenced camp during the Sandinista-Contra war in Nicaragua. He is a multilingual, multicultural learner, and “a migrant with an accent” who began learning English during his high school years. Chavarria expressed that his unique experiences and identities have and will continue to influence his leadership and decision-making styles.

Burlock continued, “I am extremely excited to begin working with Wilmer as the Superintendent of WSD. Not only does Wilmer bring a dynamic personality and shared experience with some of our most vulnerable students, he has a unique ability to absorb and analyze information of all kinds quickly. He has impressive policy and governance expertise that I believe will serve WSD students and the community well.”

Two Winooski Middle School artists’ submissions to the VT Wildlife Fund’s annual art competition were selected for the special exhibition at the Highland Center for the Arts in Greensboro, VT. The exhibition opening and awards ceremony will take place on April 21st from 5:30 – 7:00 PM. The artwork will be on display through April 30th with the exhibition open Wednesday through Sunday from 12:00 – 4:00 PM.

Fox in Purple Shadow by Joyce Mampuya, grade 8

Artist’s Statement:  When I was four years old, my older cousin was a good artist. He would draw step by step as I copied. When I turned nine, I began to practice drawing on my own. I got better and better as I kept drawing. Now, as a middle schooler, I’ve discovered that I love drawing realistic images in great detail. I hope to one day be able to draw photorealistically.

For this drawing, I chose to draw a fox because the fox has many different shades of one color that you don’t really see or notice unless you look closely. It was challenging finding the right colors for the fur, and coloring the white part of the ear to make a realistic texture. I chose to create a winter setting because I felt like the colors of the fox would stand out against the snowy background and purple shadow. My favorite part of my artwork is the fox’s eye because it is a different texture than the fur and looks shiny.

When I see this fox, I think of a lone fox in snow and shadows. I imagine that the fox is experiencing a moment of calm in this quiet part of the forest.

Golden Eyes by Stella Irankunda, grade 7

Artist Statement: I have been drawing and doodling as long as I can remember. If I am given a piece of paper, I will always draw things from my mind. I use art as a way to have fun, and be smart. I can use art to show people my ideas, sometimes easier than I can use words. 

In creating this piece, I sketched out my plan, and then drew it on the nice paper once I was happy with my plan. Then I layered on Prismacolor pencils for the bobcat, and added watercolor for the background. I am most happy about the eyes of the bobcat. They are beautiful and expressive, and once I got them right, I knew it was going to be a good piece. I hope people look into this animal’s eyes, and see the beauty. I want people to see something worth taking care of, and to know we share our home state with them, so we have to take care of it.