CVSD Update, April 2023

 

We are excited to share our latest newsletter with you. Viewers will notice a new table of contents feature on the left side. That should help you go right to the elements that are of immediate interest to you. However, we hope you'll read it all of the way through so that you don't miss anything!

Reminder- next week is the April school vacation week.

As always, reach out via Let's Talk to share questions, comments, concerns, suggestions, or kudos!

African Drummers and Dance at Allen Brook School

Thank you to Jen Canfield, a kindergarten teacher at the Allen Brook School, for submitting this post. She also wrote the grant to the Williston Families as Partners (FAP) organization that funded this incredible opportunity. The FAP's fundraising efforts provide grants to teachers and programs within the Williston schools. 

Funded by a generous FAP grant, Allen Brook students have had the privilege of learning from Burlington's Jeh Kulu West African Dance and Drum Ensemble. "Jeh Kulu" means community in the Bambara language of Mali and Jeh Kulu's Guinean American teaching artists brought our school community together in the celebration of West African dance and drumming.

Over the course of this week, each class learned a traditional West African dance and, at the end of the residency, we will gather together in a schoolwide celebration to share the dances we learned. We were honored to work with dancer Khadija Bangoura and drummers Ismael and Ibrahime Bangoura. Thank you to these amazing teaching artists for joining our school community for a week!

We can't wait to hear about the final celebration!

CVU Math League Accomplishments

 Thank you to Charlie MacFadyen, CVU's Math League coach, for providing this update. 

The CVU Math League Team has wrapped up a very successful year! We tied with South Burlington High School as co-champions of the Greater Burlington Math League, capping off CVU’s best season ever! And we did it in style with our new T-shirts! Of the 14 awards given out for individual performances in the league, 5 of them went to CVU students.

Team members who competed this year included Anna Dauerman, Patterson Frazier, Thomas Garavelli, Jacob Graham, Alyssa Hill, Joe Jacobs, Dan Knight, Georgia Knight, Elias Leventhal, Jacob Medici, David Merchant, Veronica Miskavage, Clay Nicholson, Lily O’Brien, Wylie Ricklefs, Keaton St. Martin, Julia Shrier, and Sam Yager.

In addition to our league competition, students also participated in the American Mathematics Competition, the UVM High School Prize Exam in Mathematics, and the Vermont State Mathematics Coalition Talent Search Contest (coordinated by CVU math teacher, Kiran MacCormick).

The results for the UVM Prize Exam just came out and CVU had three students in the top ten statewide (Elias Leventhal in 2nd, Jacob Graham in 3rd, and Keaton St. Martin tied for 8th) and six students receiving Certificates of Merit. Earlier in the year, Elias and Jacob also qualified and sat for the prestigious American Invitational Mathematics Exam, based on their scores on the AMC.

Most importantly, this is a fun, collegial group of students who just love to solve problems and it's a pleasure to work with them.

Thanks again to Kiran MacCormick for all of his help with the team and to the CVU math department for all you do!

Congratulations math superstars!

Welcome New CVSD Board Members

 We are thrilled to introduce four new members to CVSD's Board of Directors!

Dr. Cassandra Townshend is the Co-Director of Building Effective Supports for Teaching (BEST) and VT Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports (VTPBIS) Project at the University of Vermont. She has over 20 years of experience in education and has spent that time advocating for the needs of all families/caregivers, children, and the community. As Co-Director of
BEST/VTPBIS, she provides consulting, coaching, and training to school and district staff across Vermont to develop inclusive and equitable systems and practices to support all students'; social, emotional, and behavioral health and well-being. Before joining UVM, Cassandra worked in various roles in education, including an elementary/middle school paraeducator, high school social worker, behavior specialist, outpatient adolescent clinician, director of special education (Charlotte Central School), and director of behavior systems (CVSD). Cassandra enjoys juggling the busy schedules of her 3rd and 4th graders at HCS, talking about education with her husband (a teacher at a local career and technical education high school), coaching and serving as a board member of the Iroquois Soccer Club, and hiking in the Hinesburg Town Forest with her family, and fun-loving yellow lab, Cheddar.

Megan Siket: I currently work as an attorney in the Office of General Counsel at UVM. I earned my law degree from Columbia University School of Law and practice in the areas of education law, labor & employment law, and related litigation. I was born and raised across Lake Champlain in Clinton County, NY. Before coming to UVM, I was a partner at a law firm in Providence, Rhode Island. I also taught employment law and employment discrimination as an adjunct professor at Roger Williams University School of Law.

I have a fifth grader and eighth grader at Charlotte Central School. The 8th grader will be at CVU next year.

Dave Connery is returning to the school board after a three year break, having previously served for 8 years on the board. A graduate of UVM’s School of Engineering, he works as a helmet design engineer for Burton. He lives n Shelburne with his wife, his two kids who both attend CVU, as well as their Boston Terrier, JJ Abrams. In his spare time, he loves to ride bikes, referee ice hockey, and hike with JJ.

Erin Henderson: I am excited to join the CVSD School Board as a representative from Williston.

I was a high school teacher for 15 years and have held other jobs within the education field. I currently work for the Department for Children and Families as their Workforce Development Director. I am the mother of three children who have gone through Allen Brook, Williston Central, and CVU. My sons graduated from CVU in 2020 and 2022, and my daughter is currently a sophomore at the high school.

I think that my background, both professionally and personally, gives me a lot of insight to our district and schools. I recognize the many things that CVSD does well and the places where we can continue to grow. I am really proud of our school district, and I look forward to guiding and supporting policies and systems that work for our community, staff, and students.

We look forward to working with you on behalf of CVSD's students and schools.