CVU Celebrations

Dear CVU Community: I believe the Direction Center termed next week as Scheduling-palooza (which really means Opportunity-for-the-future-palooza...which doesn't quite have the same ring, I suppose). Every advisory and many courses will engage in guided discussions around course selections for 2024-2025. Following those conversations, students will meet with House Counselors between February 1-9. Please spend some time checking out our course offerings listed here. It's fun. I promise!

Tomorrow is International Holocaust Remembrance Day. Here are resources and information our DEI team shared with students, staff, and faculty: The United Nations General Assembly designated January 27—the anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau—as International Holocaust Remembrance Day, a time to remember the six million Jewish victims of the Holocaust and the 5 million additional victims of Nazi persecution. It is important to recognize the critical lessons of Holocaust history as we commemorate the victims and honor the survivors. Additionally, in the United States, The Days of Remembrance of the Victims of the Holocaust (DRVH) is an annual eight-day period designated by the US Congress for civic commemorations and special educational programs that help citizens remember and draw lessons from the Holocaust. A National Civic Commemoration is held in Washington, D.C., with state, city, and local ceremonies and programs are held in most of the fifty states, and on U.S. military ships and stations around the world.

United States Holocaust Museum

United Nations

Teaching the Holocaust Grades 7-12: Holocaust Literature Guide

1/30 - Seniors: Deadline to check name spelling for diploma

2/1 - 8th Grade Parent Night - 6:30-7:45

2/10 - Penguin Plunge, Burlington Waterfront

2/10 - Winter Ball, Hula - 7:00-11:00

CVU Winter Ball tickets are on sale in the house offices. Tickets are $35 each and you can pay with cash or check (made out to CVU). If you plan on bringing a guest from another school, you will need to get a Guest Form from your House Office Administrative Assistant. The guest form needs to be returned no later than Wednesday, February 7th.

The Winter Ball will be on Saturday, February 10th, at Hula Lakeside (50 Lakeside Ave) in Burlington. There will be beverages, light snacks, DJ, dancing, photo booth, and lots of fun! The Dance will run from 7:00PM-11:00PM.

From Eva Fewell: Yesterday during C3 we had our kickoff info meeting for the CVU Spring One Acts! This year there are three One Acts directed by our amazing senior directing team; Alice, Black Comedy, and Antigone Now. If you missed the meeting or could not attend and would like to learn more, go to the CVU Performing Arts website or scan the QR code on the poster below! Hope to see you at the auditions!

On Tuesday, January 30th, Students for Election Education will be hosting Robyn Palmer from the Secretary of State's office to discuss voting opportunities, registration, and youth civic engagement. This is an amazing opportunity for anyone interested in politics, or who have questions about how to register to vote and their options for voting (SENIORS! if you're wondering about your options for voting next year while you're at college, this meeting is for you too!) Make sure to sign up in adaptive scheduler!

Hi CVU! This is Mira. This week in Student Council your student leaders broke into groups to plan a few upcoming events: Cultural Awareness Week, Book Swap, Kindness Week and 8th Grade Family Night. At the end of our meeting, those presenting to the 8th graders tested out our presentation on the rest of the group and got feedback. We have so many exciting events coming up and can’t wait to share more information! Have a great weekend Redhawks!

Our Unified Hoop game on Monday was a fantastic way to kick off the week. Turn the volume on this clip up to hear the reaction of our crowd to the first basket. It's pretty cool that the most attended game of the year is one to promote Penguin Plunge.

This is an un-Celebration to Pat Burke, principal of SB, for trying to recruit these loyal Redhawks (who decided to remain enrolled at CVU--woot!).

From Andrew Scott: Pics from around the shop.

Pictured right and below - Clay and James at work on robotics.

From Charlie MacFadyen: On Wednesday, the Math League team traveled to Colchester for Meet 3 of the season. There were 11 schools at the meet and we placed 2nd. SB won the meet and Essex took third. But I'd like to think that we placed first in team enthusiasm and camaraderie-- what a great group of kids!

Representing CVU at the meet were: Georgia Knight, Dan Knight, Gwen Irwin, Anna Dauerman, Leo Fluery, Veronica Miskavage, Julia Shrier, Henry Shrier, Ava Nnochiri, Olí Guiterman, Clay Nicholson, Jacob Graham, Elias Leventhal, Alyssa Hill, Wylie Ricklefs, Alex Gutierrez, Max Raynes, and Oscar Anderson.

Individual honors for high scores went to Elias and Jacob, and we tied SB for high score on the team test. Thanks as always to Kiran MacCormick for all he does for the team and to the Math Department for their support. Here's a pic of the team just before the meet.

From Amy Wardwell: Colby Morehouse, Tabitha Bastress, Dylan Frere, Evan Greenfield, Anna Dauerman and Harper Doris were recognized as our club's service leaders for the first semester! These students each gave their time to community events and organizations like the Charlotte Food Shelf, The Polar Express, Reframe Thrift Shop, The CVU AcLC, CVU Unified Sports, The CVU and Williston Craft Fairs and the CVU Flight School just to name a few. Way to go VOC Stars!

From Olaf Verdonk: James Haines, CVU Robotics Team (RoboHawks) member has been recognized as a FIRST Inspires Dean's List candidate. Here is a picture of his interview (via Zoom).

James has been nominated as a candidate for Vermont's FIRST Robotics Dean's List. His interview was great! He had a lot to share about his growth as a learner, a leader, and giving back to the engineering/robotics community within our school district. James has worked hard to increase participation in FIRST Lego League Robotics and has presented in front of the CVSD principals, as well as the school board to increase funding for these incredible learning opportunities for students.

The Dean's list finalist will be announced on February 10th at the Vermont FIRST Robotics Championship being held this year at Lamoille Union High School. GOOD LUCK to James in his pursuit of excellence!

The FIRST Robotics Dean's List award is a very prestigious award that recognizes the leadership and dedication of FIRST’s most outstanding secondary school students. Students that are nominated are great examples of current student leaders who have led their teams and communities to increased awareness for FIRST and its mission while achieving personal technical expertise and accomplishment.

Check out Callyx's artwork! That's some serious talent!

From Rae Bronenkant: In my Snelling Core Time deep dive session, I delved into the profound art of observation, emphasizing the importance of recognizing signs in nature. It was awesome to watch students craft remarkable nature sketches, and observe their tracking skills during a matching game that involved comparing patterns, prints, and locations, was truly inspiring. Connecting with this group of students over our shared passion for nature was a rewarding experience, and I am looking forward to the next session!

A recent gathering of the OG's!

Carly and Jess couldn't even make it down the hall without pausing to calibrate Bio models! A shout out to our teachers who continually work together, learn together, and support students together!

Thank you to Bageshree, Christina, and Asma for developing an awesome structure for Equitable Practices learning this semester. I am in a group, led by Justin Chapman, that focuses on the works of Black Poets. This week we read and discussed a poem by June Jordan called "Problems of Translation: Problems of Language." It’s phenomenal!

From the Health Office: Now that winter is upon us, we are seeing a variety of illnesses and viruses throughout our school. In an effort to minimize transmission, we are asking for your help in keeping students home when they are sick. Please stay home if you have an excessive cough or runny nose, have thrown up, or have a temperature over 100.4 (without the use of medication) within the last 24 hours before returning. We are finding that many students are coming to school sick because they have tested negative for COVID, however, COVID is only one of the many illnesses we are seeing.

Everyone can also take these simple steps to stay healthy during respiratory virus season including: washing your hands frequently, covering your cough, staying home when sick, considering wearing a mask in certain situations and staying current on your vaccines. Our school community appreciates your efforts.

Schedule process for School Year 2024-25 - In Advisory today, students began discussions concerning the course request process for SY 24-25 classes. Next Monday, all 9th, 10th, and 11th grade students will be receiving Course Request Worksheets in their Advisory. There will be guided Advisory conversations for students to think about their progress towards meeting graduation requirements, as well as courses they have taken and courses they want to take in the future. In classes next week, teachers will be discussing course options for next year and making recommendations for students to consider. We would love for caregivers to be having these conversations at home as well - and please reference this link to research courses in next year's Course Catalog.

Students will be meeting with their School Counselors on the following dates to make course requests for next year:

Juniors: February 1st and 2nd (from US History courses),

Sophomores: February 5th and 6th (from Integrated Biology courses),

Freshmen: February 8th and 9th (from Core classes).

January is Mentor Appreciation Month

Did you know Connecting Youth Mentoring is one of the largest programs in Vermont? We serve more than160 5th-12th grade mentees. And 80% of our them agree or strongly agree that their mentor makes them feel like they matter. That’s impact!

January is Mentor Appreciation Month, and we want to acknowledge the positive impact our mentors have on our young people across CVSD. Our mentors are a special group of folks; their generosity is invaluable. One hour a week, they connect with their mentees, nurturing relationships, building trust and instilling life-long skills.

Thank you, CY Mentors for your dedication to our young people and our community. Your time, guidance, and support make a difference everyday. We are so grateful for all that you do. To learn more about mentoring and Connecting Youth, visit our site.

Connecting Youth Takes on Big Tobacco

Earlier this month, over 40 middle school students from Williston Central School and Hinesburg Community School attended the annual 802 Youth Leadership Summit to tackle a critical issue: exposing the harms of commercial tobacco and fighting back against Big Tobacco. The summit brought together kids from across the state including a mix of students from Williston’s CY Lead (Connecting Youth Leadership Education and Anti-Drug) and Hinesburg’s VKAT (Vermont Kids Against Tobacco).

These young leaders didn't just listen – they spoke up! They had rich conversations with their peers, brainstormed creative prevention campaigns, crafted impactful messages, and walked away with the confidence to bring their anti-tobacco activism back to their schools and communities.

We're so proud of our students for taking the initiative to fight for a healthier future. Their dedication and passion is truly inspiring! If you're looking to get involved in the fight against Big Tobacco, reach out to our CVSD Student Assistant Professionals here