CVU Celebrations
December 9, 2022 (Last Celebrations until December 22)
Dear CVU Community: For the record, I don't recycle Celebrations openers from one year to the next...with one exception; I have published the reminder below every December for the past eight years. So, with the risk of being repetitive (and potentially annoying), here is my annual holiday message:
Years ago, as a new teacher, I learned the phrase "the week before the week before." It’s a statement educators know well as it describes the zaniness of a school community before holiday break. Behaviors ramp up. Anxiety ramps up. Why? Aren't the holidays and vacation supposed to be a happy time? There's nothing like the pressure and expectation of "happy" to deter actual happiness. Whether you just found out that you didn’t get into that early decision college...or whether your family doesn’t resemble that Hallmark Card on the shelf of CVS...or whether you just really miss someone who won’t be there this season...please know you are not alone! The holidays don’t have to be the BEST days of the year. Know that it’s okay for the holidays just to be kind of okay. And, yes, some years it’s okay for the holidays just to stink. So take the pressure off. Make the most of whatever comes your way. And maybe, just maybe, the holidays might live up to all the hype!
Finally, check out the whole-school holiday card we made in 2017. If you expand it, you can see how irritated everyone is at me for forced family fun. Sometimes I have good ideas...sometimes....well...I don't.
Upcoming Events
December 13, 15 @7pm (Theater): Join our music programs for two Winter Concerts next week that highlight the skill, hard work, and learning of our students!
December 22: The Tacky Holiday Sweater Competition is back. Students, wear your tackiest sweater to school to compete for top prize. The more homemade the better! (Please do not hesitate to contact me for funds if you need assistance purchasing supplies. Also, Russ has a few sweaters you can borrow:)
January 11 @ 6pm (virtual) Parents and students are invited to our Virtual College Panel Night for Juniors. College admissions representatives from a variety of colleges including UVM, Middlebury, St. Lawrence, Champlain, Castleton, and Saint Michaels will provide a panel discussion. We will include experiences from current seniors. We will also offer a question and answer session about the college application process, campus life and more. Hope you can join! Here is the link to our event:
Spring Semester: Drivers Ed requests for the 22-23 school year are now closed. If you are interested in taking Drivers Ed at CVU, please have your student request it when they meet with their school counselor during Spring Scheduling for the 23-24 school year. If you have previously requested Drivers Ed and did NOT get the class for the 22-23 school year, you will need to request it again during Spring Scheduling.You must be able to show your permit to your teacher on the first day of class, no exceptions. There are 3 times that students will be added to classes: Spring Scheduling, Fall Add/Drop and Winter Add/Drop. Besides the class portion, students must have a free block to drive with the teacher. If slots open up during the Add/Drop periods at the beginning of each semester, we will call in the oldest on the list and offer them a spot in the class.
Student Celebrations
From Dan Lyons: Joe Soares interviewed four staff members from the Vermont Center for Independent Living on Tuesday. Joe is working on a project focused on Self Advocacy, and this is just one installment of interviews he conducted. Got something to say about Self Advocacy? We would love to hear your thoughts. Reach out to Joe at JosephSoares@cvsdvt.org or Daniel at djlyons@cvsdvt.org.
CVU Counselor Podcast: This week we spoke to Jess Hoskins and Fern about CVU's MTSS (EST's, 504's and IEPs) and more. Spotify, Apple Podcasts
Congratulations to Alex Provost for being named BFP's Vermont Player of the Year!
Scholars Bowl achieved a significant victory on 12/2 by winning the annual P.H.A.T (aka Pre Holiday Academic Tournament) at Essex High School. This event is the largest of the Vermont Scholars Bowl season, with 28 teams from 3 states participating this year. Our varsity "A" team started as the 5th seeded team in the playoffs but defeated 3 higher seeds to win the tournament. This included a big semi final win over Hanover! The team's record of 6-1 also included 2 wins over Essex and brings our overall record to 17-5 on the season. This was the first time we have won this particular event since 2010. Our other teams had significant team and individual successes. CVU's "B" team finished 6th overall in the varsity bracket with a 4-3 record. CVU's "C team went 5-2 and finished in 2nd place in the JV-A bracket, while CVU's "D " team finished 2nd in the JV-B bracket. We also had 2 players combine to make a JV team with Burlington, making for a total of 18 CVU students participating in the event. Elias Leventhal finished 2nd in overall individual scoring, with Colin Ravlin 5th and Kai Mui 10th out of 118 players. Our tournament champion "A" team was comprised of Jacob Graham, Sam Kunin, Elias Leventhal, and Ava Rohrbaugh. Other team members included: Dylan Elder, Leo Elder, Skylar Francis, Maya Girard, Keegan Jewell, Kai Mui, Zoe Mui, Leah Rauch, Colin Ravlin, Keaton St. Martin, Nolan Sandage,Charles Schramm, Chandler Turner, & Grace Warrington. Congratulations to all for a great night of achievements for our Scholars Bowl program, and thanks as usual to Kiran MacCormick for his assistance Friday. Our Scholars Bowl teams will be next in action right here at CVU on Friday January 6.
Here is the NEW episode of The CVU Show for your weekend viewing.
This week's episode features an interview with Mr. Brownell about next week's concerts, as well as other CVU News and Events.https://youtu.be/Ky2f5WrVFsI
From Marie DiBenedetto: This is Emma of the Nature Connection Community. She built a fire using all materials from the property including birch bark, cat tail fluff and wood collected from dead, off the ground branches.
From Amanda Terwillegar: "Recent Journalism posts to the CVU Chronicle include student podcasts and articles about tardiness, cow crashes, the GSA, and more!" http://press.cvuhs.org/cvc/
Thank you to Amnesty International for inspiring so many letters today in the Write for Rights campaign. And the waffles were awesome!
From Dan Lyons: Tim Duvernoy's AP Art class paired up with students working with the Community Skills program to do a watercolor activity. The products may be showcased in a hallway near you. Be on the lookout. A special thanks goes out to Tim, all of the students who attended, and all of the staff that helped make this opportunity happen, including Tom, Bambi, Nate, and Taylor. Thanks, All!
Faculty/Staff Celebrations
Tim Wile retired as our Lead Counselor last year, and he continues to model growth and exploration in his post-CVU life. Tim sent this picture of his students in Tanzania. It sounds like he's having an amazing experience!
No classroom? No problem. Jason Fearon inspires in the hallway!
Okay, I don't often shout out standardized test scores, but our Cafe Staff crushes every health inspection with TOP scores. We ALL appreciate your diligence!
Community Celebrations/Notes
Does the thought of holiday wrapping make you break out in hives? Don't know when you are going to find time to do everything you need to do AND wrap those gifts? Let the Volunteer Outreach Club help take the pressure off with our first ever holiday gift wrapping fundraiser!
When: Saturday, December 17th
Where: CVU in room 120
How it will work:
- Drop your items at the school in room 120 between 11:30 and 3:00 Saturday 12/17.
- All items must be contained in a box(es), laundry basket(s) or covered tote(s) labelled with your name!
- Bring the rolls of wrapping paper you would like us to use for your gifts, we will have some limited choices available as well.
- Members of CVU Volunteer Outreach Club will wrap and ribbon your gifts while you enjoy an afternoon of leisure! You can return to pick up your gifts between 3:00 and 4:00.
- We will appreciate the donation you give us for our wrapping services! All proceeds will fund the VOC second semester activities!
Any questions? See Amy Wardwell in room 120 or email at awardwell@cvsdvt.org
CVSD Virtual Town Hall: The December CVSD Virtual Town Hall will be focused on diversity, equity, and inclusion. DEI Director Dr. Asma Abunaib will provide an update on our plan to implement recommendation #1 from the equity audit (developing DEI shared understanding for the school district) and Superintendent Rene Sanchez will talk about how DEI is a part of the strategic planning process. Wednesday, December 14 at 6:30 pm. The Zoom information can be found on the district's website calendar and on the DEI site.
CVSD invites all community members to learn about and join in on the budget development process by attending upcoming School Board meetings. All members of the CVSD community are always welcome to attend Board meetings. See the topics and schedule in the image above and on the Budget page of the district's website. https://www.cvsdvt.org/budget
Links to join the virtual meetings will be available on that page and on the website calendar. We will also post the presentations on the Budget page afterward for those that cannot attend.
The Charlotte Central School (CCS) Holiday Market is back and we hope you can join us on Saturday, December 10th! The holiday market will be open from 9am to 3pm. We will have two gyms filled with artisans, as well as several on site food options. There will be a kids zone with free art projects for kids to create while you shop. We are excited to welcome back former CCS art teacher, Mrs. B, who will be leading spin art projects for kids.
New this year is our silent auction! The auction will open up online Saturday, December 3 at 8am. The auction features a week-long stay at Claybrook, Sugarbush, VT and artwork by Jessica Scriver. We have many other items from local businesses including, Elli Parr, Saratoga Olive Oils, Red Barn Kitchen, Mysa, The Gilded Elephant, and many more. To access the silent auction, please go to ourschool.auction/CCSholidaymarket
Silent auction and raffle proceeds will go directly to the CCS PTO to support a variety of student enrichment programs including STEM, Theater, Athletics, as well as our community Emergency Care Fund. We look forward to seeing you on December 10.