First Branch Unified District

Weekend News

October 16th, 2026

Upcoming Events:

10/18: Capstone &Headstart Family Outing (Pumpkins!)

10/20: Friends of First Branch Meeting

10/22: Twilight Campfire at Tunbridge Campus 5-7:30 pm

10/22: Middle School Rescheduled Mtn. Day

10/23: Early Release Day, Noon Dismissal, No Prek

10/29: Book Fair Night 3:00-6:00 pm

10/30: Educational Day, Women's Hockey at Dartmouth for K-4th Grade

11/1: First Branch Community Support Holiday Letter Due.

11/3: Picture Retakes Day

11/4: Early Release Day, Noon Dismissal, No PreK

11/5: High School Info Night at Chelsea Campus 5:30-7:00 pm

11/20: Tunbridge Campus Feast

12/2: First Branch Elementary School Winter Concert " Cookie Awards"

12/10: Chelsea Campus Feast

2026 Soccer Schedule

Grades 3rd-8th: Click Here!

Grades K-2nd. Click Here!

REMINDERS:

Tunbridge Campus opens at 7:15 am.

Crosstown Buses depart at 7:40 am; be there by 7:35.

Chelsea Campus opens at 7:30 am.

Dear First Branch,

It's a wet Friday and may have knocked out some activities, but have no fear; we are rescheduling these events. We rescheduled the Twilight Campfire to Thursday, 10/22!

Also, Tunbridge Campus is heading to Dartmouth for Education Day on 10/30. We are asking all families to complete the Google Form permission slip for this event.

Finally, a huge thank you to all our families and teachers for working together on fall Parent/Teacher Conferences.

Be Well,

Janet Cash & Dan Rivers

Co-Principals, First Branch

First Branch

Community Support

Holiday Letter 2026

Due Date Nov 1

An action shot from a seventh grade physical education class.

Friends of First Branch

(Parent, Caregiver, Community Group)

Hello!

I hope your school year is off to a good start. Please consider joining us at an upcoming event - there are a variety of opportunities to support our students, staff and community in the next couple of months -

Friends of First Branch Meeting

Tuesday, October 20th, 6pm

Meet with us in the Elementary Library and get involved in planning special events, fundraisers and celebrations of our students and staff.

If you'd like to attend by zoom email friendsoffirstbranch@wrvsu.org.

(As this is our first email of the school year, if you find yourself wanting off our mailing list, please reply to let me know :)

Thanks,

Eliza, and the Friends of First Branch planning crew

🐾 Tunbridge Campus

On October 30th, Tunbridge Campus K-4th grade heads to Dartmouth Education Day! Please review the Google Form permission slip. We are so excited to be invited and we can't wait to cheer the women's hockey team!

Paper permission slips will also go home next week!

Our 3rd graders studied trail camera snapshots to investigate which animals might be roaming the woods at night, while our kindergarteners rolled up their sleeves and hauled wood to their outdoor classroom!

Rain or shine, our Tigers learn, explore, and make the most of every day!

Portrait of a Learner

Creativity and Curiosity!

4th Grade Science

Students in 4th grade have begun a science unit on erosion and deposition and have been utilizing both our local river across the street and our district's new stream table to support our learning. Students explored the velocity of our river last week by testing the rate that apples flow down a designated distance. This experience was also supported through writing and drawing observations about the river. This week students got to explore the stream table which models how erosion, deposition, and flooding can happen. The work we are doing is especially relevant as Vermonters. Next week students will continue using this tool to see how we could build housing communities near bodies of water to prevent future flooding.

This week, First Branch Elementary School welcomed WRVSU administrators and central office leaders for an in-depth EL training with Katie Sparks!

The goal of the training was to deepen our understanding of the EL framework and explore ways to support both teachers and students in its implementation. Our teachers graciously welcomed 5–6 visiting adults into their classrooms while delivering a lesson, providing a valuable opportunity for administrators to see the framework in action.

A huge kudos to our 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 7th, and 8th grade faculty and students for opening their classrooms, sharing their learning, and helping us grow together as a district!

We are proud of our teachers and students and grateful for opportunities like this to learn, collaborate, and strengthen instruction across WRVSU.

To Learn More About EL: https://www.eleducation.org/

Chelsea Campus