CVU Mock Trial Team Earns Second Place

 Thank you to CVU Business Teacher, George Schock, for this guest post. 

CVU competed in the Vermont State Mock Trial Competition held at Vermont Law School. I’m thrilled to announce that the team (Sunny Francis, Ava Nnochiri, Derek Allen, Xander Olszewski, Lily Gruber, Gabriel Dartt), in only their second year competing, took SECOND PLACE in the competition. The team is incredibly proud of the fact that CVU was the first non-MMU (Mt. Mansfield) team to make it to the final round in 5 years!

In addition to the second place trophy, Sunny Francis took the honors of Best Defense Attorney, while Xander Olszewski walked away with the Best Defense Witness award.

The format of the event includes (2) consecutive trials where teams face opposing counsels from other schools. The (2) top scoring teams from these rounds get to compete in front of a packed house in the main court. Each team is made up of (3) attorneys and (3) Witnesses. Attorney’s are scored on how well they deliver opening and closing statements, as well as their ability to conduct direct and cross examination of witnesses. The witnesses must fully embody their character, by not only delivering credible and convincing responses to direct examination from their CVU peers, but also hold up to the intense cross examination coming from the competing team. Each member of the team is scored by sitting state and federal judges, and each member’s performance contributes to the team’s overall score.

Sunny Francis (Attorney) demonstrated an incredible ability to deliver engrossing opening and closing statements that not only convinced the judges of our defendant's innocence, but kept the spectators hanging on his every word. Ava Nnochiri (Attorney) crafted nuanced direct examination questions of key witnesses, while keeping the prosecution's witnesses on their toes during the cross. Derek Allen (Attorney), displayed incredible confidence and charisma when leading each witness through his line of questioning. His confidence was even more impressive since he joined the team just a week before the competition! Xander Olszewski (witness) played a vital role as the defendant during the trial. His character was accused of murder, and the sincere emotion shown Xander showed on the stand, along with his confidence during cross, was unreal. Lily Gruber (witness) served as a witness who had to convince the jury of the defendant's alibi and showed unflinching poise and composure. Lily’s talent for acting really was on display as she played an actress in her role! Finally, Gabriel Dartt (witness), stepped into the role of a used car salesman, effectively spinning a tale describing his expertise while confidently supporting our side of the story.

This competition is an incredible challenge. It requires the ability to manage intense stress while thinking on your feet - not to mention an insane amount of reading and research. I’m incredibly proud of what the team has accomplished thanks to their focused dedication and hard work.

Free Summer Meals!

 

Dear CVSD Community,

We have an amazing opportunity to help families in our district to bridge the food gap during the summer by providing 7-day meal boxes for free for any child 18 or under. The boxes will include everything needed to make 7 breakfast meals and 7 lunch meals for one child. They will be simple, delicious and nutritious. Again, these boxes are available for any child 18 and under. We are able to offer this service thanks to some recent changes in USDA regulations for Summer Food Service Programs.

Feeding children is our main priority and this gives us an opportunity to continue through the summer. Distributing these meal boxes this summer will help families stretch their food dollars. It will also help our school district in several ways. We will be able to keep a few of our food service staff employed and using their skills during the summer. The revenues from federal reimbursements can also help to offset costs that we will incur in the food service department when school begins. The more meal boxes we can serve, the better it will be for families in our district and for our food service department. We hope that many families will take advantage of this opportunity and that we can help meet the needs of many children during the summer like we do during the school year.

There is a catch. Meal boxes must be picked up in Hinesburg at the St. Judes Church on our scheduled distribution day which will be Mondays, starting on June 24th and going every Monday through August 19th. We will have 2 distribution times on each of those days. 7:30 AM - 9:00 AM and 2:30 PM - 4:00 PM or until all of the boxes are gone. We will not be able to deliver any meal boxes. All meal boxes must be picked up at the distribution site, during the approved distribution hours.

In order to make sure we are prepared to help as many families as we can this summer we need your input. Below is a link to a survey which will simply ask if you are interested in picking up meal boxes for your children this summer and how many you would need each week. This will help us determine the need / interest in our district and help us put the team together to handle the job. Please complete the survey by Monday, May 6.

Summer Meal Boxes Survey

Please note, this is not the order form. You will need to order meals for your children each week on a special meal order form that will be on our website during the summer. We will also send the link out to all families each week and ask that you plan a week in advance so that we can order food etc. and work on your meals and have them ready for you on the distribution day.

We understand that you may have questions. Please use the Food Service topic on Let’s Talk to submit those.

Thank you!

Gary Marckres

CVSD, Chief Operations Officer

Thank You from CVSD

Dear CVSD Community,

Yesterday, the Champlain Valley School District community voted in favor of our FY25 budget, with 4,358 voting in favor and 2,947 against. First, and above all else, thank you. With the passage of the proposed budget, the school district can return to focusing on preparation for the end of this school year and the beginning of the next one.

We know that the past few months have been difficult. We had to make hard decisions affecting programming and services supporting our students in our schools—directly or indirectly—every day. We value and care for all of the people who hold positions that are impacted and appreciate all they have done for our schools.

Seeing how our community came together to support our schools has been a bright spot. We would like to thank everyone who engaged in the effort - the educators who held visibility events, our parent groups who organized budget meetings, our students who voiced their concerns, community members who spoke to neighbors about the school budget, and every other person who supported our schools. Hearing what you love about the district, what you feel is most valuable to our students, and the importance of CVSD's collective work will continue to guide us.

We know we still have more work to do over the coming years to control costs. We are committed to this work and are actively working through these strategic decisions both at the district level and advocating for CVSD at the state level. We encourage you to stay engaged in this process going forward.

Again, thank you, voters, for supporting our schools.

Rene Sanchez, Superintendent

Meghan Metzler, Chair, CVSD Board of Directors

 

Lindy Gramling wins 2023 Adapted Physical Educator of the Year Award

Williston Physical Educators, Cathy Kohlasch, Dustin King and Kate Grozier congratulate Lindy Gramling (in white) for her recognition as the 2023 SHAPE Vermont Adapted Physical Educator Award.

Lindy Gramling, a school-based physical therapist for the Champlain Valley School District, has been named the 2023 Adapted Physical Educator of the Year by SHAPE Vermont, the Society of Health and Physical Educators.

Lindy has been a physical therapist for 29 years and has worked with many students and staff in the Champlain Valley School District since 2019.

Lindy is an advocate for students who collaborates and communicates thoroughly with a comprehensive team of physical educators, special education case managers, classroom teachers, families, and primary care medical personnel.

She was recognized for her outstanding work as a professional who supports students with skill work, participation, and inclusion to be sure their best interests and needs are met.

"I cherish feeling so invited by my PE colleagues into the service of these amazing kids. Whether sharing lunchtime together on the gym floor or connecting in the offices, classroom, and hallways, we always find time to share our observations, our perspectives, and creativity about helping children thrive in the PE classroom. Being part of such a collaborative and inspired team is as joyful as seeing the children I work with feel a sense of pride successfully participating with their peers."   - Lindy Gramling

"Lindy's years of experience, professionalism, smile, enthusiasm, and perseverance make for a positive connection with all. We are fortunate to have such a caring and competent person assisting the students, families, and staff in our district."   - Cathy Kohlasch, Williston Central School Physical Education Teacher

Congratulations, Lindy and thank you for all you do for students in Williston and CVSD!

CVSD Students Share Their Stories and Voices

We posted these two videos earlier on our social media channels and wanted to make it easy for anyone to access them. 

Thank you to all student contributors. You are inspiring!

Current students share their voices.

Past students share their memories and experiences.

April 11, 2024 Update

 Dear CVSD Community,

Please take a moment to read the latest district update. It includes: 

• A letter from Superintendent Sanchez
• An explanation about RIF notices
• Additional Budget Information
• Reminders and Events

Thank you so much for engaging in this process with us.

 

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

CVU Scholars Bowl Team Takes the Championship!

The team from Champlain Valley Union High School secured the state high school academic championship on Saturday, April 6th, winning the Vermont-NEA Scholars' Bowl at Montpelier High School.

CVU capped a run of four blowout wins at the April playoffs with a 505-245 victory over defending champion Burlington. The Redhawks also swept through the first set of playoffs in January, meaning they secured their third state championship overall and second in the last three years without needing to play in a championship match.

The result capped a dominant season which saw the Redhawks win every Vermont competition without losing a match. Including the regional round in the fall, the Redhawks finished the state tournaments with a record of 23 wins and no losses. CVU also won the the league's three side tournaments -- the Sue Pasco Opening Tournament in September, the Pre-Holiday Academic Tournament in December, and the Vermont NAQT Championship in March -- to finish the regular season with an overall record of 47-0.

A similar situation occurred in the JV tournament as January winner CVU B outlasted Burlington B, 330-240, in the JV championship game. CVU's JV players have now won that tournament eight of the past eleven seasons.

Scholars' Bowl is a question-and-answer quiz competition, similar to Jeopardy! but featuring teams of high school students and with a heavier focus on the academic curriculum. The tournament has been held annually since the 1983-84 school year and is sponsored by the Vermont-National Education Association.

Competing members of the CVU team Saturday included (varsity) Frank Fidler, Jacob Graham, Elias Leventhal, Zoe Mui, Colin Ravlin, Nolan Sandage (JV) Mateo Dienz- Del Rio, Dylan Elder, Leo Elder, Willcox Elliott, Leah Rauch, Charles Redmond, and Wylie Ricklefs. The team is coached by CVU teachers John Bennett and Kiran MacCormick. Some members of the CVU team will be traveling to Atlanta with their coaches to compete in the High School National Championship Tournament (HSNCT).