Lonnie Holley with Mourning [A] BLKstar at Next Stage

Next Stage Arts presents improvisational artist and musician Lonnie Holley in performance with multi-generational, gender, genre non-conforming amalgam of Black culture Mourning [A] BLKstar at Next Stage on Friday, January 19 at 7:30 pm 

Since 1979, Lonnie Holley has devoted his life to the practice of improvisational creativity. His art and music, born out of struggle, hardship, but perhaps more importantly, out of furious curiosity and biological necessity, has manifested itself in drawing, painting, sculpture, photography, performance, music, and filmmaking. Holley’s sculptures are constructed from found materials in the oldest tradition of African American sculpture. Objects, already imbued with cultural and artistic metaphor, are combined into narrative sculptures that commemorate places, people, and events. His work is now in collections of major museums throughout the world (The Museums of Fine Arts, San Francisco; The Metropolitan Museum of Art; The Philadelphia Museum of Art; The Smithsonian American Art Museum; The National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC, and many others), on permanent display in the United Nations, and been displayed in the White House Rose Garden.


BCTV Schedules – Week of December 18, 2023

Monday, December 18, 2023

6:00 am Windham Solid Waste Management District Presents – Food Scrap Diversion: Basics for Businesses

6:15 am Vernon Selectboard – Vernon SB Mtg 12/5/23

8:00 am The David Pakman Show – The David Pakman Show – Weekly Broadcast

9:00 am Windham Elementary School Board – Windham Elementary School Bd Special Mtg 12/8/23


Windham Southeast School District (WSESD) Policy and Amendment Committee Meeting Minutes Dec 5

• The following policy was presented for a first reading on 11/28/23 and will go for a second reading on 12/12/23:
o F32 Student Distribution of Literature
• The following policy went for a second reading on 11/28/23 and will be presented for adoption on 12/12/23:
o D1 (Personnel Recruitment, Selection, Appointment and Background Checks)


Harris Hill To Add Stairs, Adjustable Take-Off in 1922

When Brattleboro’s  ski jump was first built, there were no stairs! Ski jumpers and anyone else hoping to reach the top had to climb the hill.

This Vermont Phoenix article from Dec 15, 1922 explains the many improvements being made at the hill shortly after it was built. In addition to the stairs, the committee was planning to build a small building at the top of the hill for ski jumpers to sit and await their turn, plus add a really neat mechanical innovation to allow and encourage others to start their ski jumping careers with ease. The take-off of the jump was to be made adjustable, so beginners could simply slide down the hill before raising it a bit and trying to jump.

Interesting, too, to note that they had scheduled two events (January and February) for jumping, and that they were considering building a skating rink in town.


Windham Southeast Supervisory Union School Board Meeting Minutes – Dec 6, 2023

Tate introduced the team who discussed their areas of focus for improvement and the work they continue to do to meet the Continuous Improvement Plan goals. Brandy discussed the pre-school area and the new classroom being added at the Canal Street facility. Whitney spoke of her elementary groups focus on literacy and how changes in the law allow special educators to spend more time on teaching reading. According to a recent survey, the new case management model is working very well. Kevin also discussed how the case management model is working at BAMS and their desire to expand it to BUHS. They will use a vacancy to add a case manager, without adding to the budget, to build more capacity to keep kids in classrooms and work toward the CIP goal of 80% of students spending 80% of their time in core classes.


WSESD Communications Council Meeting Minutes – Dec 8, 2023

The committee discussed the best way to utilize the shared drive that was created for board members. Beyond the use for creating a resource of publications to subscribe to, which was voted on at the 11/14 WSESD meeting, the drive could be used to house orientation and meeting documents for board members to read.


DiTrani Brothers and Jason Scaggs at Next Stage

PUTNEY – Next Stage Arts Project and Twilight Music present roots, ragtime, and jazz quartet DiTrani Brothers plus Jatoba’s multi-instrumentalist /singer Jason Scaggs at Next Stage on Saturday, January 6 at 7:30 pm. 

DiTrani Brothers, by way of bent melodies and driving rhythms, play perilous tunes for the hopeful, with elements of Balkan music and early American jazz/swing. They deliver both wistful and raucous performances at venues ranging from The House of Blues in New Orleans to DIY backyard stages. Originally from North Bend, WA, brothers Bobby and Walker DiTrani began writing songs together while traveling across the country, playing music on the streets. Since then, they’ve recorded two albums and toured throughout the US with drummer Eddie Gaudet. Now a quartet with acoustic bassist Benjamin Richards, they just released their third album “Dust Harvest.” 


Greg Worden on “Here We Are”

Greg Worden is a mainstay of downtown Brattleboro, bringing beauty and ingenuity through art and crafts at Vermont Artisan Designs. A tireless advocate for Brattleboro, Greg serves the community with heart, insight and experience.


WSESD Board Meeting Agenda

AGENDA
I. Call to Order [6:00 to 6:05]
II. Student Issues [6:05 to 6:15]
III. Administrative Report [6:15 to 6:50]
– Social Emotional Learning [35 Minutes]
IV. Education Tax Rate – Budget Impacts & Legislative Action [6:50 to 7:35]


WSESD Board Meeting Minutes – Nov 28, 2023

Superintendent Mark Speno, Curriculum Coordinator Brin Tucker, BUHS teacher Celena Romo, Oak Grove Principal Mary Kaufmann, Putney Central School Principal Jon Sessions, and Academy School teacher Laureen Reavey presented an update on the implementation of Multi-Layered Systems of Support (MLSS)


WSESU Board Meeting Minutes Nov 29, 2023

CALL TO ORDER—6:03 p.m. – Anne Beekman, Chair

On a motion by the chair the board voted to amend the agenda to include retirements.

On a motion by Deborah Stanford the board moved to approve the minutes of November 8, 2023.

Mark announced the upcoming retirements of Sue Mitchell, a Special Education para at BAMS, and Paul Smith, the WSESU Curriculum Coordinator.


WSESD Finance Committee Meeting Minutes Nov 28, 2023

WSESU Business Administrator Frank Rucker shared and reviewed a document: “Windham Southeast School District General Ledger – Elementary FY25 Proposed Budget [By School].” Highlights included:
• This document is on the website.
• It contains two different summary formats: by school site, and detailed.
• An explanation of how the two different summary formats are organized.
• The total spending on this part of the proposed budget is $26,450,000, up from the current year’s budget of $26,437,000. This is for all three secondary school sites: BUHS, BAMS, and WRCC. This budget is almost level-funded.
• FY25 goes from July 1, 2024 to June 30, 2025.


BCTV Schedules – Week of Dec 4, 2023

BCTV Channel 1078 Weekly Listing for 12/4/23

Monday, December 4, 2023

5:55 am BUHS Athletic Hall of Fame – BHS/BUHS Athletic Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony 10/28/23

8:00 am Democracy Now! – Democracy Now! Daily Broadcast

9:00 am Energy Week with George Harvey – This Week’s Energy News

10:00 am Veterans Events – Veterans Town Hall 11/5/23


Alt Brattleboros

An enigmatic Chinese proverb goes something like this: A farmer and his wife have a newborn son, and the neighbors come over to congratulate them. “Now you have an heir to work the field, how great!” The farmer says…”We’ll see.” The child grows to be a strong young man, he indeed was a helper to his parents, but one day he falls off a horse and breaks his leg. The neighbors converge to offer their sympathies, the farmer simply says, “We’ll see.“  Soon thereafter state officials arrive to conscribe all young men of the region into military service. The farmer’s son is deferred because of his disability. The son says to his father, “I guess that was a blessing in disguise.“ ”We’ll see…”

The Esplanade: