RISE at CVU 2024

The last two weeks took on a distinct character as the academic year wound down at Champlain Valley Union High School. The regular class schedules and programming gave way to a flurry of final projects, presentations, and assessments. Once these culminating activities were complete, the school transitioned into RISE, an enrichment program that occupied the remaining two weeks before summer break.

RISE stands for Reflective Interest-based, Student Experiences. Students attended either two sessions a day, morning and afternoon, or chose to participate in a full-day session each day. Students might also have explored an Independent Learning Seminar. RISE is a part of the academic school year and attendance is a graduation requirement.

An excerpt from the RISE 2024 Catalog: 

Our current educational model needs regular, system-wide, and equitable opportunities for student to develop and cultivate interests. We believe that RISE better accounts for the whole student (their interests and values), connects to the pursuit of lifelong learning, and will increase engagement and a desire to learn. Our model shows that, as a student-centered school committed to personalization, proficiency, and social-emotional wellbeing; we value the fusion of conventional and flexible learning opportunities to meet the needs of all students. 

Thank you Peter Booth, Carly Rivard, and Luke Dorfman for your incredible efforts to make this experience happen. And thank you to all staff for sharing your interests and passions with students in an enriching way.

Here's a small sampling of some of the varied offerings this year.

• Art and Activism: Puppets, Power, Protest, and Paint

Puppets? Protest? Join us for an integrated creative and theatrical experience. One of the many uses of art is to communicate, to express thought, to educate, and to motivate. Art and Activism explores the historical and contemporary use of images to create platforms for social issues through art and community engagement. While gaining perspective and context through examination of contemporary artists, we will work together to bring our own passions and interests to the masses. How will we do this? Through the creation of larger-than-life puppets! We will conclude with a theatrical presentation created entirely by participants. 

• Explore Non-Traditional Career Pathways

The intention for this RISE session was for students to be exposed to a variety of career pathways that may not require a 4-year college degree. We explored regional workplaces and career and Technical centers, with a focus on the fasted growing careers in Vermont, especially the trades. We did some career development work to explore interests and abilities and visited different workplaces that aligned with those interests. The goal was to visit a different place of employment daily off campus so that we could explore all of the careers involved and figure out next steps after high school. 

• Sports Analytics

Sports Analytics offered an exciting introduction to the world of data-driven sports analysis. Participants learned statistical techniques, explored data visualization, and applied their skills to analyze performance data from various sports. They unlocked the secrets of sports succedss through data-driven insights!

•  Game Programming

Students learned how to write code to create games of different types. They grew to understand that programming a game is a different experience from playing a game. They looked into the creativity and logic behind creating games. They learned through tutorials, experimentation, and examples from professional game developers. 

• Linguistics: The Art and Science of Language(s)
• Why is it so hard to say "She sells seashells by the seashore?" (Phonetics)
• What's the difference between a tapping bot and a dabbing pod? (Phonology)
• What is the "cran" in cranberry? (Morphology) 
• You this sentence can understand - but how? (Syntax)
• How did 'hlafweard' become 'lord'? (Historical Linguistics)

Participants explored these questions (and more!) by completing linguistic puzzles, investigating word histories, playing language games, composing metrical poetry, and digging into examples from the world's 7000+ languages. 

One session at RISE was called Documenting RISE: Photojournalism in Action. Facilitated by Olivia Gatti, CVU librarian and a Pulitzer prize-winning photographer, a group of students branched out to visit and capture the essence of various RISE offerings, in and out of the school building. See their photos below. (The names on the slides are the photographers.)

Thank you to everyone who helped make RISE a success once again! 

Past posts about RISE: 

2023

2019

The Origins of RISE

WCS Students Win a National Competition

Williston Central School's Equinox team is comprised of third and fourth graders. Two of the teachers, Jamie Coffey and Karin Ward, each adopted cows through the Discover Dairy program. They both got calves from the Gervis Family Farm in Enosburg, Vermont. Jamie and Karin shared photos over time with their combined classes to watch the progress of Aurora and Tawny.

Aurora is the heifer on the left and Tawny is the Brown Swiss on the right

Then they received an email with a challenge to make a video to go with the Discover Diary song. Students helped to choreograph the movements and started learning the words to the song as fluency practice. Thanks to other adults in the building, Tara Weegar and Jessica Wilson, the video was created and submitted. They won the award for the grades 3-5 category, nationally! 

The students won an ice cream party with heifer-patterned décor and lots of Vermont ice cream from Wilcox Dairy, a farm that sits at the base of Mount Equinox. 

Congratulations! 

An Exciting Finish at the State Geo-Bee Finals

Here's a guest post from Sam Nelson, SCS educator and Geo-Bee coach. Thanks also to Josh Roof, WCS Geo-Bee coach. Congratulations to both of you and thank you for your support of these students. 

On May 8th, students from schools around the state gathered at Montpelier High School for the 5-8th grade Vermont State Geography Bee. After a COVID-related hiatus, the Bee returned this year to offer the opportunity for students to flex their knowledge while answering quiz questions centered on state, national, and international geography and culture. The format is simple: sitting in rows of four, students answer individual questions to accumulate points for their teams. The team with the highest point total at the end of 12 rounds of questions is the winner.

At this year's Geo Bee, Shelburne Community School competed against four other schools: Albert D. Lawton Intermediate School, St. Johnsbury School, U-32, and Williston Central School. For SCS, the four 7th grade students representing their school were Ben Gardner, Jonny Thayer, Josh Kalbfleisch, and Leo Wang. For WCS, the team included Avery Antonioli, Kai Maxwell, Charles Meisenzahl, Grayson Pogact, and Annika Scott.

After the first four rounds, SCS had a two-point lead over both Williston and U-32. Four rounds later, however, SCS was down two points to Williston, U-32 and St. Johnsbury. The audience was audibly excited as the scores were close going into the final set of questions.

By the 11th and 12th rounds of questions it was clear that the two schools competing for the win were SCS and Williston. In the final round of questions it was Leo who came through for SCS. Navigating tricky questions centered on the Middle East, Leo came away answering the final round question correctly and, after an incorrect answer from a Williston team member, the results were in: Shelburne and Williston were tied after the final round.

This forced a playoff. Teams had five minutes to calm themselves and prepare. All four members of the SCS team used the opportunity to review a classroom atlas and cram whatever geographic knowledge they could before moving back to their seats on the stage. 

A notable moment came when, before the final round of questions were presented to the two teams, students from both SCS and Williston offered each other fist-bumps, handshakes, and "good luck" sentiments. This served as a model of respect and kindness within a heated competition. 

As the final questions were presented to each student on the two remaining teams, things came down to Leo needing a correct answer to seal the victory. To the question On which of the following seas does Iran have a border: the Aral Sea, the Black Sea, or the Caspian Sea? Leo took a moment, inhaled, and correctly responded with "the Caspian Sea".

Scores were announced, students celebrated, and more congratulatory handshakes and kind sentiments were shared. The SCS team held the state championship trophy high, capping off a triumphant return of the Vermont State Geography Bee. The WCS team ultimately finished as runners up by one point.

What an exciting finish. Way to go to both teams and their coaches! Thank you for representing CVSD and for your hard work that led to this great accomplishment! 

The SCS team and state champs

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.

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.

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).

Congratulations to the CVU Robotics Teams!

 Here's a guest post from CVU Robotics Coach, Olaf Verdonk: 

Both of CVU's robotics teams competed at the Vermont State Robotics Championship held at Lamoille Union High School. Both teams performed with excellence!

The Varsity RoboHawks earned 1st place in the Inspire Award once again due to their outstanding work in STEM outreach to CVSD and the community and their ability to clearly and effectively communicate their engineering design process and growth both in writing and presentation. This most prestigious award qualifies them for the World Championships in Houston in April!

The JV RedHawks earned great reviews from judges as a rookie team and they earned the prestigious Judges Award and a 3rd place in the Connect Award.

In the competition the JV robot performed flawlessly and never had a breakdown!

The Varsity robot performed excellent in all areas and working together in an alliance with South Burlington's robot they were able to win the tournament! They sailed through the semis beating an alliance between Mater Christi and MMU. Winning best of three (in two) 193 to 68 and 103 to 55. They then went on to dominate the finals beating an alliance between Saxton River and Manchester! Winning best of three again in two 137 to 64 and 153 to 65.

EXTRA KUDOS go to James Haines for being selected as a FIRST Robotics Dean's List Finalist to represent Vermont at the World Championships! A well deserved honor!

Congratulations to both teams! 

CVU Student Recognized for Innovative App Design

Congratulations to Clay Nicholson, a 10th grader from Williston, who was selected by US Representative Becca Balint's office as this year's Vermont winner of the Congressional App Challenge. Clay submitted the video below as part of his application. In the video, Clay outlined his app called Lexiscan. Clay not only conceptualized the idea but also brought it to life by personally developing the app. In his video, he shares that his motivation stemmed from observing the challenges faced by a friend with dyslexia while reading. We highly recommend viewing the video.

This is the third year in a row that a CVU student has been recognized for this contest! Way to go CVU computer science! 

The Congressional App Challenge is an official initiative of the U.S. House of Representatives, where Members of Congress host contests in their districts for middle school and high school students, encouraging them to learn to code and inspiring them to pursue careers in computer science. Each participating Member of Congress selects a winning app from their district, and each winning team is invited to showcase their winning app to Congress during their annual #HouseOfCode festival. The program is a public-private partnership made possible through funding from Omidyar Network, AWS, theCoderSchool, Facebook, Replit, Accenture, and others.

Thank you to Becca Balint for supporting this effort. At this time, the Congressional App Challenge website has not yet been updated to showcase the 2023 winners. 

See our posts about the other CVU winners! 

2022

2021

Congratulations, Clay!

What is Harkness?

Recently, CVU's 10th and 11th grade Harkness Building Coaches traveled to Harwood Union High School to participate in Harkness discussions with their counterparts at that school. The pictures below show a trust-building warm-up activity and then discussions completely led by students. In particular, CVU and Harwood 11th graders - who have a bit more training than the 10th graders - facilitated the discussions for the 10th graders. As is typical in high-quality Harkness, all the teachers had to do was sit back and observe. Magic only begins to describe it.

CVU will host Harwood's Harkness Building Coaches for a similar summit on Thursday, December 14.

We asked Brad Miller, a CVU social studies teacher to help our community learn more about Harkness. Here are his responses in a question/answer format. Thank you for your leadership on this valuable work, Brad! 

What is Harkness?

The Harkness Method began in 1930 at Phillips Exeter Academy in Exeter, NH, and is still their primary mode of instruction today. It has since become very popular in the private school world, in large part due to Exeter’s renown.

In short, The Harkness Method asks that students be responsible for their own learning. Instead of the teacher being the sole deliverer of content, students are taught to engage with each other using the tools of civil discourse, taught to engage with content through annotation and questioning, and then taught to make sense of that content together ‘at the table’ (pictured above) using those tools of civil discourse. The teacher’s role is more to steer discussion and collaboration towards key understandings rather than leading them to those understandings through lectures.

Does Harkness at CVU look the same as Harkness in private school?

No. CVU - or any public school - can’t replicate the private school model. Instead, we teach a Harkness curriculum that operates within our capacity. We use highly scaffolded steps to bring our students ‘to the table,’ so to speak. While our version takes more time and has more steps, many CVU students at this very moment are skilled enough that they could sit down at the table with Exeter students and you wouldn’t notice a difference.

What’s the difference between a Harkness discussion and a Socratic Seminar?

Think of Socratic Seminar as one of the final steps along the Harkness process. Socratic Seminar is a discussion in which the teacher comes prepared with questions for the students to answer in order to achieve an understanding about content. Harkness pushes one step past that and instead asks the students to be the ones preparing questions. They would then engage each other in discussion, with the teacher there to provide direction and quality control.

Are Harkness discussions just freewheeling, dorm room-style riff sessions?

No. Successful Harkness teachers prepare vigilantly beforehand to make sure that their discussions are ones in which there aren’t interruptions, there is clear direction, content is the driver, and every voice matters. A student won’t be successful at Harkness simply by talking the most. The quality of their comments and their active listening are more important than their ability to talk a lot.

Is Harkness just meant for the Humanities classroom?

No, but Harkness does look different in different disciplines. For example, it’s totally reasonable for Humanities teachers to expect their students to be able to sit in circles of 10-12 and have discussions about content. That might not be applicable to, say, a math or science classroom. Instead, in that context, Harkness might look like groups of 4-6 collaborating on problems or labs. One is not more valuable than the other, especially since the same skills of civil discourse can be taught and assessed. The teacher’s goals, how students reflect, and what’s being assessed are all potential commonalities between Harkness in different disciplines at CVU.

What’s the difference between Harkness and a debate?

Harkness isn’t a setting in which students seek to ‘win’ or ‘own’ each other, as they might say. It’s a setting in which students are asked to unpack complex content together through civil discourse. Sure, disagreement is a natural part of Harkness, but ‘winning’ is not something that’s prized within the pedagogy. Perhaps a teacher might use a Harkness discussion to help their students prepare for a debate.

What's the current status of Harkness at CVU? 

An after school class to help educators learn about Harkness is now in its third year and I’m proud to say that my co-teacher, Kathy Cadwell, (from Harwood) and I have trained 27 CVU teachers in the Harkness Method. Over and over again, I have seen that Harkness allows students to be heard, to take risks, and to experience a much more equitable version of classroom discussion than I had used in the past.

How many CVU students have been trained in Harkness?

Every single 9th grader received training last year. Additionally, most current juniors participated in some degree of Harkness training during their 9th-10th grade years. The ripple effects that teachers are seeing in their 10th and 11th-grade class discussions are profound.

What do CVU students like about Harkness? 

The responses below come from anonymous surveys given to 9th graders last year.

• I liked the emphasis on including everyone in the discussions.
• I liked the passionate discussions, how it was so polite without any interruptions and I loved the vibe of the room.
• We didn't interrupt, like, at all, and that was great, as that's something I get mad at my friends for doing. I think we all had great points to share too.
• I think I did a good job listening to others and letting others talk. I have a tendency to talk for a long time, and I think I did a good job holding back and letting others have the floor.
• We had a lot of really good connections to things you would never think of connected to what we were talking about. Hearing these made what we were talking about easier to understand.
• I think it gave me some new ideas and a deeper understanding of the units than I would have learned on my own.
• I liked to hear everyone's ideas, and I liked to see my classmates growth.
• It was a good way to get ideas for the LEAF formatives and summatives. I also think it was a good way to get comfortable with sharing your ideas to a group and potentially disagreeing with others.
• I felt like I was heard and my opinions were valued. I didn’t feel embarrassed when I messed up or stumbled over my words. I felt very included.
• It is really hard to be actively in the discussion if you are not prepared.
• I really liked how we had a lot of control as the students.

A Unique Look at the CVU Class of 2002

Through a series of recent events, we discovered that there are a number of CVSD (and what was formerly CSSU) alumni working in the district. We reached out to those that we know of from CVU's class of 2002 and asked them to share a few memories. Here's what they shared, in their own words. 

    

Mariel Adsit (CCS and SCS school psychologist)

I grew up in Charlotte– I attended CCS K-8 and then CVU. I have many fond memories of both CCS and CVU. At CCS, I forged strong connections with peers and adults and discovered some of my strengths and vulnerabilities as a learner. I got the support I needed to develop my weaker skill sets, even if it meant going to a room in the basement to get extra help (the room is no longer!). Luckily I was allowed to bring a friend! I think this early experience ultimately inspired me to help others figure out their learning profile and to get the necessary support (as a School Psychologist). At CVU, I enjoyed my time on the tennis and Nordic ski teams and expanded my interests. Sadly, Psychology was not a course option at the time.

Doug Pierson (CCS special educator)

Memories from CVSD schools:

Being completely confused that in the middle of our math class all of a sudden we would start doing Tai Chi with Mrs. Heatherlee

Walking in to Mr. Mares class and having him announce to the entire class that an average student will get a C in my class. Being an athlete and getting a C didn’t really work so I remember turning to Pete Cernosia and thinking this is going to be a really long semester. It turned out that after a hard few weeks he was one of my favorite teachers and he had this great ability to push students to pay attention and give everything their best in his class. This class helped me the rest of my years at CVU.

For some reason, I was nominated to be the class Marshall (I think that is what it was called) and I don’t enjoy being the center of attention but as part of being the Marshall I had to walk the senior class (class of 2001) down and light a candle with a match in front of everyone (the entire class, parents etc.) My hands were shaking I was so nervous being up on stage that I was having a hard time lighting the match. It took me some time but once I finally lit the match and the candle I took a deep breath of relief and ended up blowing out the candle.

At SCS, I was on the Delta house and I remember Mr. Carlson would sit/stand on tables and sing to you in his Elvis voice happy birthday.

For sports, I was fortunate to have Shep all four years at CVU for my soccer coach and I’ll never forget him driving us to play North Country. We were close to the top of this big hill and all of a sudden we heard a giant pop. He pulled the bus over and we were all wondering what was going on and what happened until we looked behind us and saw all the soccer balls rolling down the road. The loud pop was us running over a ball but we also all had to get off and run down to retrieve all our soccer balls.

A small connection I have from then to now would be I remember being a big brother while at CVU and coming back to SCS to read to a young boy in 2nd grade. I also remember doing a project around teaching the first grade and going into HCS to help out for a semester. I remember having to teach my own lesson at the end and thinking back I had a great time doing this. I also had some family personal connections in special education and going into college didn’t know what else I wanted to be so decided education it was. I am now in my 14th year at CCS as a special educator working with the 3rd and 4th grade teams.

Laura Dyer (ABS teacher)

My memory would be of working in Carmen LaFlamme's class for WISH (Williston Student Helpers) in 8th grade (Mr. Ford would drive us over to the newly-built Allen Brook School from Williston Central in his car!). Mrs. LaFlamme told me I would make a great teacher and that I could have her job someday, which was the highest compliment from my very own kindergarten teacher! I went on to get my degree and come back to teach kindergarten at ABS, but I missed Carmen's retirement by one year.

Of course, a highlight was meeting Mariel Adsit in Justin Chapman's lit class at CVU and making a friend for life!

Brett Cluff (SCS 5-8 principal)

My favorite part of CVU was the purposeful community-building activities and structures. Coming from Charlotte, I felt like a small fish in a big pond. Some of the memories from CVU that come to mind first were the time I spent in advisory. Chris Hood was my advisor! I loved the relaxed atmosphere and the chance to get to know kids across grade levels. Climbing the wall in Project Adventure and all the field trips we took in Nichols Core were also really helpful in making us feel like part of the same team.

I got to learn from some amazing educators in my time at CCS and CVU. I think my favorites were usually the ones who really listened to what kids had to say and brought some humor into the classroom. I've tried to reflect that in my own career. As a school principal, I may not always be able to solve every problem, but I can at least listen with empathy and try to connect with kids and adults through laughter.

Laura Rice (CVSD Director of Human Resources)

As I think back to my time as a student in CVSD, there is one person that always comes to mind. Ms. Downer was a school counselor at CCS for many years. She is a beam of light and every time I saw her, she would make it a point to stop and chat. I always enjoyed the opportunity to spend time with her. Ms. Downer was never a downer, even in some dark moments when she had to give me bad news. She was a rock for me and I am forever grateful for her patience, kindness, and welcoming attitude. I ran into her this past spring at a restaurant and when I told her who I was, it was like no time had passed. We picked up in conversation. I hope that someday there is a person who thinks back fondly to my interactions with them in this same light.

When I was a kid, I often thought I would be a teacher mostly because of the awesome teachers I had at CCS and CVU. There was a culture of kindness and support that felt like an extension of home. I wanted to be in a place where I could support people the same way I felt supported. In college, I discovered my passion for supporting adults and it has now all come full circle with being in HR in education.

Dianna Fletcher (transportation)

I am a proud alumni of both CVU and CCS and would love to share! There are so many wonderful memories from my time as a student here.

One of my most cherished memories was when I was in the CCS Jazz Band. We were playing on Church Street on the very last day of my 8th-grade year. As we all came down the stairs to leave, all the teachers and staff had gathered in the lobby to send us off since we wouldn't be there at dismissal time. It was so heartwarming and special. And now, even after all these years, there is still a wonderful sense of warmth and caring flowing through the halls.

It is so amazing to connect with old peers that you haven't seen since graduation. They are your coworkers and the parents of the students you work with. The result is a community that feels more like family than individual groups and a real connection to where we all came from. I feel truly blessed to work where I grew up and to give back to the community.

Jennifer Goodspeed (SCS food service)

I remember one of my teachers at Charlotte Central School, Catthy Folly. One of her family members worked with my mom after I had been in her class. When she heard through the grapevine that I was having a baby, she made me a baby blanket and I still have it.

For my CVU grad challenge, I learned how to decorate cakes. It didn’t lead to what I’m currently doing, but now I see the connection!

I am happy to be doing this job as the hours align with being able to be there for my daughter, who is now a student at CVU.

Amanda Laberge (WCS teacher)

I attended Shelburne Community School from K-8th grade. My fondest memories there are of teachers and projects that I enjoyed, like the Pioneers unit with Ms. Morrissey (yes, Marybeth Morrissey, a current colleague at WCS was my 5th-grade teacher) and the Salem Witch Trials unit with Dick Carlson. I also remember the teachers that I connected with most and stayed in touch with long after graduation from SCS and CVU, like Meg O'Donnell, Dave Ely, and Carl Recchia.

Some of my favorite memories at CVU were from events with the Madrigal Singers, and the performance of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat my 9th-grade year, during which I was thrilled to wear gold go-go boots and play the honorable part of the Camel's Second Hump.

I also remember an English course at CVU in which our teacher asked each of us to perform part of a song. I don't remember which song I performed, but I do remember Brett Cluff's rendition of "Turn the Page" by Bob Seger and the Silver Bullet Band. I think in my young mind, it was Grammy-worthy!

I remember exactly where I was and what I was doing at CVU for almost the entire day of Tuesday, 9/11/01 when we were just starting our senior year.

Overall, I remember finding my people in both my peers and teachers; they were people who supported and accepted me and who I'm grateful to have known. I feel very fortunate to work with several of them now, and to catch up a little bit at every district inservice and hear about their families and experiences living and working in.

When I was a student at SCS and CVU, I learned the value of teachers who care deeply about who their students are as human beings; that is the most important lesson that I have carried with me into my role as a middle-level classroom teacher. It is a lesson that transcends time and all of the changes we've seen in our society over the past 20+ (!) years.

Thank you for being a part of our community in so many ways, from student to employee! We value what you bring to our district and its schools.

Students at CVU Awarded National Recognition!

We’re celebrating fourteen Champlain Valley Union High School (CVU) students, representing some of the 72,000 students from across the country who earned academic honors from College Board’s National Recognition Programs! The National Recognition Programs honor the strong academic achievements of underrepresented students. They’re an easy way for students to showcase their hard work in high school. The programs not only benefit students. They also benefit colleges looking to recruit diverse, talented students.

There’s so much that makes students like these unique. That’s an asset to colleges and programs. The National Recognition Programs help students like these find ways to celebrate that. Eligible students apply on BigFuture. They have a GPA of 3.5 or higher. They’re the top 10% of PSAT/NMSQT® or PSAT™ 10 assessment takers in each state for each program or have earned a score of 3 or higher on two or more AP® Exams. They either attend school in a rural area or small town, or identify as African American/Black, Hispanic/Latino, or Indigenous/Native. They’re invited to apply during their sophomore or junior year. 

Awardees (as of August 17) from CVU High School include:

• Abby Niquette: NRSTA
• Ava Bouchard: NRSTA
• Brendan Fellows: NRSTA
• Charles Sprigg: NRSTA
• Charles Simons: NRSTA
• Elias Leventhal: NRSTA
• George Fidler: NRSTA
• Hannah Kuhlmeier: NRSTA
• Jacqueline Goldsmith: NRSTA
• Kaylee Bliss: NRSTA
• Kyle Stewart: NRSTA
• Lily O'Brien: NRSTA
• Veronica Miskavage: NRSTA
• Zorah Ngu: NAARA

Award Key:
National African American Recognition Award (NAARA)
National Hispanic Recognition Award (NHRA)
National Rural and Small Town Award (NRSTA)
National Indigenous Award (NIA)

Congratulations!

STEAM Works at WCS

Allan Miller and Abbie Bowker, WCS educators, shared this guest post and video about a powerful STEAM project that took place in the latter part of the school year. View the video to learn more about the experience that integrated  many elements of STEAM, and which included ways to support our multi-lingual learners and families. 

This spring a small group of WCS 5th, 6th and 7th graders with a strong interest in art and design were invited to be part of a special pilot project that was part of a Vermont Agency of Education STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Math) grant. Nine Vermont middle and high schools were selected for the project, based on their original idea for addressing a local school or community problem. The WCS STEAM Team, led by Art Teacher Abbie Bowker and Design Tech Teacher Allan Miller, proposed that a group of students could improve school climate and teacher morale by having students create a multilingual entryway welcome and individual teacher name signs using laser and vinyl cutting technologies. This video is their project summary, highlighting the process the team used, as well as the positive impact their efforts had around the school. As a pilot it was extremely successful, and the team is exploring how it can continue to make the school community even more welcoming and inclusive through student STEAM creations.

The Return of RISE

It was four years ago that we last wrote about RISE at CVU. You can learn more about the origin of RISE and see some highlights of the 2019 program. CVU took a hiatus from RISE after 2019 due to COVID and the many adjustments to school and schedules. Happily, it has returned and it is off and running as of June 1! 

Given that it's been four years, it's likely new to most students and families in our district. Here's a bit of a refresher.

RISE stands for Reflective Interest-based, Student Experiences and is taking place during the last two weeks of the school year. Students attend either two sessions a day, morning and afternoon, or choose to participate in a full-day session each day. Students may also explore an Independent Learning Seminar. RISE is a part of the academic school year and attendance is a graduation requirement. It culminates on June 14 with a Presentation of Learning Day. 

Peter Booth, a Nexus teacher at CVU, is also the coordinator of RISE. Thank you Peter, and all CVU staff, for your incredible efforts to make this experience a reality once more! 

Here's a small sampling of some of the varied offerings this year followed by photos from some of the sessions.

• Empowering Women in Business
• In this session, we will explore the challenges and rewards women face as they enter the workforce. Topics around gender equity, finding your leadership voice, balancing work and life, self-care, and the importance of self-advocacy will be the focus of our class time.
• What participants will gain from this session is confidence in their thoughts and ideas, the skills to implement ideas, a knowledge of the resources available to support women in business, a deeper understanding of what it is like to work in business, and strategies for self-care as they balance the demands of work and life.
• Strategies to reach these goals will include guest speakers, field trips to local businesses, a job shadowing opportunity, and a potential trip to New York City to meet and network with women in business leadership positions.
• Wilderness Leadership and NOLS Wilderness First Aid
• In this full-day offering, students will develop their self-reliance, group-work, and leadership skills in a wilderness setting. They will come to understand the CVU motto of “Take care of yourself, take care of each other, and take care of this place” in a whole new context. 
• Students will become NOLS Wilderness First Aid and CPR certified, do their own leadership inventory and training, hike the trails in the region, and do community service for the Green Mountain Club and Vermont Youth Conservation
• Fractals, Ferns, & Formulas
• In this session, we will explore fractals, the infinitely complex mathematical shapes that are found all around us! After an introduction to fractals and their creation, we’ll investigate the connections to geometry, nature, art, architecture, technology, and more.
• The Science of Happiness
• Based on the most popular course at Yale, The Science of Happiness will focus on the question, “Why do I feel the way I do?”
• In this RISE session, students will grapple with strategies designed around how to increase their own happiness and build more productive happiness habits. We will examine misconceptions about happiness, annoying features of the brain that guide us to think the way we do, and the research/strategies that can help you change. By the end of the session, students will be prepared to successfully incorporate a specific wellness activity (or more) into their life.
• Come join us for a RISE focused on finding happiness and joy!
• Painting and Poetry
• Painting AND Poetry? It’s a win/win combination! The focus of this school-appropriate twist on the “Paint & Sip'' phenomenon is to encourage all students, regardless of artistic or writing ability, to engage in activities where they will be asked to think about varied subject matter, paint it, and then write about it using multiple forms of poetry. The culminating activity will be to participate in an in-house "Paint & Sip" (on age appropriate beverages, of course) class by a local artist who will guide students through a class-selected painting.
• Cooking for Independent Living
• Do you love a home-cooked meal? Do you have a sense of what you love to eat, but you are not sure how to prepare it? Would you like to leave this course with a menu of meals you have already prepared once, and are prepared to make again?
• In this course, we will work collaboratively to prepare meals (some in one pot preparation!) that you can return to time and time again once you are living independently, or for your current living situation! Impress your friends and parents with these go-to meals. Designed for first-time cooks, you will learn some basic techniques for preparing some main meals, paired with sides of vegetables and starches. Important- Many or most of these dinner entrees will not be vegan or vegetarian friendly…Please consider this course only if you are comfortable preparing and consuming fish, beef, pork, and chicken.
• Celebrating Culture and Diversity: A Project-Based Learning Experience
• Are you fascinated by the beautiful diversity of human cultures? Do you want to learn more about your cultural heritage, or are you curious about other cultures?
• In this RISE course, we’ll explore, celebrate, and experience the range of elements that make up culture: language, food, clothing, art, music and dance, spirituality, gender roles, etc. We’ll also open up avenues for you to explore your own cultural interests more deeply.

Click on the three vertical dots below the slides for a larger view/full screen.

SCS and Their Special GOAT Guests

Shelburne Community School has some special guest visitors for the next few weeks... goats! The goat visitors are from New Village Farm. Five Nigerian Dwarf goats are stationed in the breezeway at SCS for the next two weeks. 5th grade "Goat Ambassadors" are available to meet with classes and small groups to share more about these animal friends. All classes have the opportunity to sign up for a visit.

Thank you to Jess Howard, Vasanthi Meyette, Devon Morrill, and Sean Murray for helping this partnership come to life. And thanks to 7th graders for helping to build the goats an enclosure last week. If all goes well they hope to bring the goats back in the fall.

Constructing the enclosure

Celebratory Events at Charlotte Central School

Last week there were two events that took place at Charlotte Central School (CCS) on the same evening. In the gym, about 150 people came to enjoy a math night. There were a variety of games and activities run by both adults and students. 

In another space, seventh and eighth graders shared their Personal Interest Projects (PIPs) with families and friends. There was quite a variety! 

Please enjoy this short video which captures a few elements of each event. 

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!

Students Shine at the VAMLE Conference

Here's a guest post submitted by Lynn Camara. Lynn is a student assistance program (SAP) counselor at Williston Central School (WCS). 

Students from Charlotte Central School and Shelburne Community School also attended the conference.

On Thursday, March 16, WCS sponsored a group of twenty-six 6th, 7th, and 8th graders to participate in a day-long conference at Champlain College. The event was hosted by the Vermont Association for Middle Level Education (VAMLE) and featured workshops relevant to adolescents. It was an incredible conference with 350 middle school students from all over the state. Our students were very engaged in the learning opportunities, they took positive risks, and were terrific ambassadors of WCS.

Jared Bailey, a 5th & 6th grade Sterling House teacher at WCS and the president of VAMLE, gave an opening welcome speech to all of the conference attendees. Then WCS Sterling House 6th grader Eisley Devitt read the Land Acknowledgement to the large crowd. Later in the day Mr. Bailey, Eisley, and other Sterling House students, Anna Thorley-Doucette, Annika Scott, Teague Flattery, and Varian Theriault facilitated a workshop on “Implementing Social Courage.”

The guest speaker was Bennett Townley from Special Olympics Vermont. Bennett is a graduate of WCS and Champlain Valley Union HS. He spoke of his experiences being treated unkindly and being excluded as a middle school and high school student. He found a wonderful sense of community in the Unified Sports program at CVU and shared his excitement about being part of a basketball team. Audience members found his talk to be inspirational and heartwarming.

Later in the morning students participated in a variety of workshops relevant to middle school students. In addition to the “Implementing Social Courage” workshop presented by a group of WCS students, other workshops included: Alternatives to Hazing in Athletics, Creating Change in Your School, Responding to Social Media, Unified School Communities, Organizing Against Racism, Learning About Gender, Pronouns, and Sexuality, among others.

The students returned to WCS excited to share what they have learned with their peers.

               

Nora Brady, a WCS 6th grader, said "It was a really fun experience. It was amazing to see students from all over Vermont. There were a lot of people there all learning from each other.” "This conference was a great learning experience," said 8th grader Malashie Tonokie. "It reinforced that when students can express themselves, they can become leaders. Student voices make student leaders!"

Seventh grader Orion Power-Freeman said of the day at Champlain "It was really great to see the diversity of students from all over Vermont. I loved knowing students all over are working on the same issues we are here at WCS." These students were terrific ambassadors of WCS and did a great job jumping in and participating in the conference!

Note: VAMLE is the Vermont chapter of the Association for Middle Level Educators (AMLE). WCS educator Jared Bailey, the president of VAMLE, added this perspective, "It was our largest conference ever. It's also the only AMLE chapter conference that is run by students for students. It was great to see students from all over the state come together to share concerns, learn from each other, and leave with ideas on how to make their communities better! We hope to see many of this year's attendees back as presenters next year!"

Seal of Biliteracy, Part Two

The Seal of Biliteracy at CVSD

Contributed by: Johanna Shaw-Daniels, Robyn Suarez,

Susan Simpson, and Melita Sedic-Lawton

Last May we wrote about the CVSD Pathway to the Seal of Biliteracy Program. The following is an update to that post.


The Seal of Biliteracy is a fairly new award given by the Vermont Foreign Language Association, under the authorization of the Agency of Education. It recognizes students who have studied and attained proficiency in two or more languages by high school graduation.

Since 2020, CVU High School has had two recipients of this award, and our program is growing. This year, so far, we have five seniors graduating with this award. In CVSD's elementary and middle schools, there are approximately 30+ active participants working towards this achievement through our Pathway to the Seal of Biliteracy program. The Pathway program is designed specifically for our younger multilingual students, with classes focusing on their heritage languages.

This year, classes are being offered at WCS in Nepali, Chinese, Russian and Vietnamese. Some of these classes will be offered at SCS as well. At the high school, students are participating in French and Spanish classes, forming conversational groups in the CLD Center, and studying independently. Students’ enthusiasm for participating in the Pathway program has been wonderful to see! Before the 8-week sessions began, students frequently asked when their heritage language instruction would begin. In addition, ABS has launched Lunch Bunches, an opportunity for students to eat together while chatting with a volunteer in their heritage language. The warm relationships students develop with their language instructors and with each other as multilingual learners has been invaluable.

Please view this graphic to learn more about the many benefits of multilingualism, and the photos of CVSD students enjoying their heritage language learning.

Russian Heritage Language Class

Practicing Chinese characters

Vietnamese Heritage Language Class

Nepali Heritage Language Class

Robotics in Action

We are thrilled to share the positive news about the expansion of robotics in CVSD. CVU's Robohawks have led the way on many levels. First, they garnered well-deserved attention for their own success as the Vermont Robotics Champions, which we wrote about last spring here. They traveled to Houston to compete in the FIRST Robotics World Championship. That was an amazing experience, where they connected with and learned from other robotics teams and represented CVSD well.

Also last spring, the Robohawks were awarded a grant to support robotics teams at our other schools. That grant provided materials for teams from each of our K-8 schools, enabling them to learn about, prepare, practice, and then participate in FIRST LEGO League (FLL) competitions. The Robohawks followed that up this year by visiting the K-8 teams and offered guidance, expertise, and enthusiastic support. 

Early this fall, teams were formed and coaches and volunteers were recruited. Funding for the coaches and some additional materials was provided by a number of district grants including a Rowland Foundation grant awarded to Tim O'Leary and Charlie MacFadyen and a CVSD Innovation grant. Tim O'Leary was especially instrumental in organizing and supporting the effort to get the FLL teams underway.

We are proud to say that every one of CVSD's K-8 schools had a team this year and they all participated in the Vermont FIRST LEGO League competition at the end of January. Some photos from that event and comments from coaches and students can be found below. 

From WCS Coach Allan Miller: 

It was great to see all 4 CVSD schools field successful teams this year and a huge thank you to Tim O’Leary and Charlie MacFadyen for sharing the Roland grant funds to help support the teams and Olaf Verdonk and the CVU Robohawks for their financial and technical support. This is probably the most successful full-district initiative I’ve seen in the past 10 years.

From SCS Coach Joey Adams: 

The SCS RoboCats finished up their first season with a resounding crescendo of teamwork and joy at the First Lego League Robotics State Championships at Norwich University on January 28th. The team was composed of over forty SCS students from grades 4th-7th who participated in the after-school sport from October to January. Their dedication to teamwork, building friendships, and having fun were on full display at the competition and throughout the season. The RoboCats worked hard on building robots to solve complex missions that involved learning and applying computer coding skills while working interdependently. The competition also included an intense judging panel that interviewed the RoboCats about their team roles, challenges, and what they learned as individuals and as a team. A quote from many RoboCats during the judging panel and feedback received about this new sport at SCS is best summed up: "...we worked so hard as a team and we learned so much but we also had so much fun while making new friends..." The RoboCats and the coaches can't wait for next season where we plan to roar with joy even louder together! 

From Tim Holcomb and CCS:

The kids worked really hard in completing several missions and getting their attachments to cooperate. With lots of innovation and creativity, they were proud of (and surprised) at how well they performed at the competition. As a team, we are looking forward to growing and continuing our program.

From HCS Student Jo Reiley:

On January 28, 2023, twenty-six teams gathered at Norwich University for the FIRST® LEGO® League (FLL) Statewide Championship. Among the teams was a group of ten HCS students from 4th through 8th grade gathered at Norwich to test their coding skills and teamwork. They raced against another team’s robot to complete a set of missions in the span of two and a half minutes. They had been preparing for this moment since October, starting out by just doing a couple of team building activities then slowly escalating into building complex Lego builds including wind turbines, as well as researching a chosen community problem to face for the Innovation Project.

FLL was originally founded by Dean Kamen in 1998. He worked with the owner of the LEGO group Kjeld Kirk Kristiansen to create a fun, STEM, teamwork emphasizing competition. Since then, teams from around the country have been working to code their robot and figure out what their Innovation Project is going to be about.

The team from HCS, or “Platinum Builders,” chose to do three different missions and got set on making those perfect. Their Innovation Project on the other hand was about turbines and their ability to collect energy. No one knew each other very well in the beginning but throughout the past couple of weeks, they have created quite a bond with each other. They hope that their team will grow next year and can’t wait to partake in the competition again.

- HCS coaches are Stephanie Bruning and Sunshine Ouimette

And finally, the Robohawks did it again and defended their title last weekend as Vermont state champions! Here's a description from coach Olaf Verdonk. 

CVU hosted the annual Vermont FIRST Tech Challenge Robotics Championship this past weekend. There were 19 robotics teams from all over Vermont and this is the second year that CVU has entered TWO teams into the tournament; the varsity squad RoboHawks (#5741) and the JV squad RoboRedhawks (#22683). You may recall that last year the RoboHawks qualified for the World Championship...well this year both teams were outstanding!
This year CVU will be sending not one team to the World Championship, but BOTH teams!

The JV team managed to outplay the varsity team and led the way to the afternoon playoff stages. The JV team created an alliance partnership with the varsity team and together this CVU alliance won the tournament! The best of three finals were SUPER exciting with the CVU alliance winning the last match by only 4 points! The tournament win gives the JV team a berth for the World Championship in Houston, TX. Not to be outdone by the JV team, the varsity RoboHawks team were selected as the prestigious Inspire Award champions as the best team and robot in the tournament which qualified them for the World Championship in Houston, TX in April.

The RoboHawks won several other awards due to their outstanding work in all aspects of the competition. They vastly outscored all teams in the judged presentation, design, and engineering portfolio events of the tournament.

This document outlines all their awards, as well as description of the semi-final and final knockout stage matches.

RoboHawks:
Crawford Phillips, Jared Kennedy, Sam Yager, Violet Fennern, Jack Gourlay, James Haines, Addison Hoopes, Joe Jacobs, Jaden Parker

RoboRedhawks:
Clay Nicholson, Braden Griffin, Will Akerly, Gavin Blackburn, Jacob Graham, with support from Rhett Gardner and Sean Maynard

Congratulations and well done to all students, coaches, and volunteers!