Dear U-32 Families, Students, and Caregivers,

Despite the snow on Thursday, the show went on Friday as we hosted the Winooski Valley Jazz Festival. This music experience for young musicians across our region reflects the dedication of our students, teachers, and community to the Arts. Students had the opportunity to work with renowned musicians from as far away as New York City. Thank you for all who came out on Friday to support this great event.

Collaboration and contribution are integral parts of our vision for education here at U-32. One of the joys in my week is spending time in the Atrium during Callback when our Peer Mentors are meeting together, and occasionally even getting to join in to learn a new card game! These moments shape our culture into one of inclusion and community. You can get a glimpse of the joy that time brings in the pictures below.

Best,

Becca

• WHEN: Saturday, February 15 - 8:00 - 10:00pm in the U-32 Gym

• WHO: High School Students ONLY

• COST: $5 (see Krista for help with this cost if needed)

• WHERE & WHEN TO BUY TICKETS:

• Tickets are on sale from Thursday, Feb 6 to Thursday, Feb 14 in Student Services.

• See Autumn before school, during lunch, or after school only…

• If you are bringing a guest who is not a U-32 student, you MUST have a complete guest form in-hand to purchase a ticket. (See below for more information)

• Limit of 2 tickets per U-32 student.

• All students must have a ticket to attend. No students will be allowed in without a ticket so don't forget it!

• The last day to buy a ticket is Thursday, Feb 13th.

• PICK UP/DEPART TIME: Your ride must be here at 10:00 PM to take you home.

As in previous years, our school board has chosen to participate in the Winooski Valley Regional Public School Choice Collaborative for 2025-2026. Through this program and the state school choice program, students may apply to go to any public high school in Vermont at no cost. The Vermont Legislature passed a law in May 2012 (Act 129, Sec. 34. § 822d 2A) which allows high school students to apply through school choice to any public high school in Vermont. This law sets rules for school districts regarding the number of entering and exiting student slots allowed through school choice. Students are chosen by lottery from all the applicants for each school district based on the number of open slots. You may view school choice information at the Vermont Agency of Education website:

http://education.vermont.gov/vermont-schools/school-operations/public-schools/public-high-school-choice.

If your student is interested in attending a high school outside of your district next year, please contact U-32 Student Services to obtain a school choice application by calling 802-229-0322 or emailing tmartin@u32.org. Completed applications must be received in Student Services by Friday, February 21, 2025. You will be informed of the outcome of the lottery by April 1, 2025. You will need to confirm whether your student will accept or decline the placement by April 15, 2025. If you do not confirm placement by this date, your slot may be given to another student if the school has a waiting list. If you have any questions, please call Tracy Martin at 802-229-0322 or email tmartin@u32.org.

**Parents are responsible for providing their student's transportation if they are chosen.**

2024-2025 Scholastic Art and Writing Awards!

Three students won awards at this year's Scholastic Art and Writing statewide competition for their work made in the Pilot program. Congratulations to Leela, Malya, and Ella for their creative writing and graphic novel work. Excerpts of their work are included here.

Leela McCann

Honorable Mention | Novel Writing | Fia

Silver Key | Science Fiction & Fantasy | Untitled

An Excerpt from her Untitled short story

The vial sits on her desk, and a scroll next to it. She sits, writes her message upon the scroll in black ink, the words she wrote together with the boy. It’s addressed to a shopkeeper in the city center, now a poison-master, who would distribute it.

When she’s done, she bites her tongue. Blood leaps to mind, wild yet comforting. She pictures this often when she’s alone, and she feels too raw inside to discern her anger from her loneliness, she imagines the vial completing what it’s meant to do. Hundreds of people falling over each other, grabbing their necks, as their skin cracks and turns blue.

She’s fantasized about it a thousand times. Mercy, mercy. The few that are spared will come to her, begging. It was all a mistake, when we made the pyre. It was all a mistake when we laughed as we watched them burn.

She will refuse.

Mayla Landis-Marinello

Honorable Mention | Novel Writing | Water Whisperers

An Excerpt from Water Whisperers

Mystic sighed. This was harder than she had expected. “Our powers come from the selkies. Hundreds of their skins are here in the palace, hidden in a dusty closet and sustaining our Water powers. All of the stories about how the first Queen and her followers were given Water powers are lies to hide how horrible our ancestors were. Queen Aqua didn’t suddenly become gifted with her power, she stole it from the selkies.” Mystic paused, glancing up at the Queen sympathetically. “Queen Rain, I’m sorry, but your queendom was built on lies. It’s about time we acknowledge the truth: the first Water Whisperers trapped the selkies in servitude and stole their skins so that they could control the Water.”

The room was quiet for a moment, air heavy with the weight of history. “I don’t….” Queen Rain started, and then trailed off again.

Mystic jumped in again. “It’s horrifying how this atrocious history has been covered up for so many generations. When the selkies started to revolt, our ancestors punished them by doing a complete selkie skin purge and taking their powers. If we were to return the selkie skins now, our powers would be gone, but they would be returned to their rightful owners. Our entire queendom was built on these ideals of servitude and stealing, and if we don’t change that now we will live with the guilt of knowing we did nothing for the rest of our lives.”

“I didn’t know.” Queen Rain said, almost pleadingly, like she had to convince Mystic of it. “The skins are really all here in the palace?” Mystic suspected that the Queen was resistant to accept what she was telling her because she didn’t want to deal with what it meant.

Mystic nodded. “I can show them to you now.” She moved to stand, to take the Queen there to prove that she hadn’t been making it all up, but Queen Rain shook her head and gestured for her to stay seated. She looked exhausted and quite overwhelmed, but at least she was letting Mystic finish.

Ella Thomas

Silver Key | Comic Art | A Monster in the Tower

(4 pages of this piece are included as an excerpt)

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Montpelier’s Basement Teen Center:

The BTC is a drop-in space that welcomes all folks ages 12-17.

We have games, art and craft supplies, computers, hang-out space, and FOOD!

Come participate, or just hang out with friends, meet new friends, and grab a snack.

The BTC is for everyone, and there’s never a fee.

LGBTQIA, BIPOC, and you are welcome at the BTC!

Open every Thursday 3-6, and every Friday 3-8, in the ‘Cardboard Teck Instantute’ space on Barre St.

Learn more at basementteencenter.org, or on Instagram at the_btc_123

2025-26 Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) is Now Available!
Do you have students that need help filing their FAFSA for the 2025-26 school year? VSAC is offering 1:1 appointments, virtually and in person, now through February. Visit the VSAC calendar for a full listing.

STUDENT/PARENT Resources

IC PLP courses- all students have a course called PLP in the AS (After School) slot in their IC schedule. There is a lot of info so we hope you will check it out.

Naviance - Remember to frequent Naviance as this site helps U-32 students explore post high school planning options, build a resume, manage timelines and deadlines for making decisions about colleges and careers. This is also where all of the scholarship opportunities are housed. Each student will work with his/her TA and school counselor in Naviance to create his/her Personalized Learning Plans (PLPs).

If you have forgotten your password, you can reset it yourself. If you have misplaced your registration code, please notify Student Services.

IMPORTANT GRADING INFORMATION

Report Card Dates for 2024-2025

Semester 2

Quarter 3 HS/MS Progress Report - Available Monday, April 7, 2025

Quarter 4 HS/MS Report Cards - Available TBA mailed pending snow days

COURSE SELECTION for 2025-2026

Current students in grades 7-11 received a U-32 Program of Studies on March 12th during TA/Callback. Students should work with their TAs and parents/guardians to finalize their course requests by March 26th. Scheduling conferences will be held for students in grade 8 and 10. Parents/guardians of 8th & 10th grade students, please contact your student’s TA if you have yet to schedule a meeting.

Current 6th grade students received a U-32 Program of Studies, a course selection sheet and health forms on February 1st. 6th graders need to return their course selection sheets and health forms to their elementary school no later than Feb 21st.

Incoming high school students will receive their schedules in May. Times will be allotted in May for students to make any changes to their schedules.

Move Up Day (for incoming 7-12 graders) is scheduled for June 10th and additional information will follow.

Finalized schedules will be mailed home in June with Quarter 4 report cards.

SAT TESTING DATES (register online at www.collegeboard.com)

Test Date Deadline to Register

March 8th February 21st

May 3rd April 18th

June 7th May 22nd

ACT TESTING DATES (register online at www.actstudent.org)

Test Date Deadline to Register

April 5th February 28th

June 14th May 9th

July 12th June 6th

UVM Summer Academy

Designed for motivated high school students who have completed 10th, 11th, or 12th grade, the University of Vermont’s Summer Academy is an outstanding, academically challenging 4-week program (2 weeks on-campus, 2 weeks online) that provides students with the opportunity to earn credits, explore a specific area of career interest, experience college life and showcase their talent and ambition to college recruiters.

DUAL ENROLLMENT

Vermont high school juniors and seniors can take one FREE college class during their junior and senior year. Dual enrollment gives students the opportunity to experience college while still in high school, and they can earn credit toward a college degree (saving hundreds of dollars in tuition fees).

Learn more about dual enrollment at http://www.vtdualenrollment.org/

To create an account and apply for a dual enrollment voucher, go to:

https://dualenrollment.vermont.gov/vtde

Community College of Vermont (CCV) Spring Schedule

Community College of Vermont (CCV) Summer Schedule

Not All Colleges and Universities Require SATs/ACTs

Not all admissions processes are created equal. One major point of difference among colleges these days is how admissions officers consider your SAT scores. More schools are de-emphasizing SAT scores as part of your application with “test optional” and “test flexible” policies. One college has even eliminated SAT scores completely!

There are now over 800 accredited, bachelor-degree granting institutions that have changed their approach to standardized test scores. (Keep in mind that the majority of colleges, especially the more prestigious schools, do still require and strongly consider your SAT scores.) Let’s take a look at the different policies and which schools no longer require applicants to submit their scores for admission. Go to www.fairtest.org for more info

Looking for an alternative to college?

VSAC is a fantastic resource for college and non college bound students www.vsac.org

VT DOL Apprenticeship Site

This Web site features detailed information on Vermont Registered Apprenticeships, employer-sponsored training programs that offer both supervised work experience and related instruction.

https://labor.vermont.gov/workforce-development/job-training-education-and-apprenticeship/apprenticeship or https://www.apprenticeship.gov/

The U-32 Student Services Office strongly urges all students and parents to frequent the scholarship section on the Naviance Family Connection site. Scholarships are updated weekly.

1) Owl Scholarship - $50,000 - 50 Awards (Deadline: February 28, 2025)

To be eligible for the scholarship a student must:

A) Be a resident of any of the 50 United States, District of Columbia or US Territories.

B) Be 16 years of age or older and be enrolled in college or registered in a high school.

Applications can be found by going to:

https://studentscholarships.org/scholarship/19879/owl-scholarship

2) DAV Scholarships - $30,000 - 10 Awards (Deadline: February 28, 2025)

To be eligible for the scholarship a student must:

A) Be 21 or younger and have volunteered for a minimum of 100 hours through DAV or DAV Auxiliary.

B) Have accumulated the volunteer hours at a VA medical center or the Local Veterans Assistance Program.

Applications can be found by going to:

https://studentscholarships.org/scholarship/11980/dav_scholarships

3) National Italian American Foundation Scholarships - $12,000 - 200 Awards (Deadline: March 1, 2025)

To be eligible for the scholarship a student must:

A) Have at least one ancestor who has immigrated from Italy.

B) Be enrolled in a US-accredited institution on a full-time basis for the Fall 2025 semester

Applications can be found by going to:

https://studentscholarships.org/scholarship/12757/national-italian-american-foundation-scholarships

4) Nabi Nicole Grant Memorial Scholarship - $5,000 - 2 Awards (Deadline: March 8, 2025)

To be eligible for the scholarship a student must:

A) Be from an underrepresented minority.

B) Demonstrate financial need.

Applications can be found by going to:

https://studentscholarships.org/scholarship/33047/nabi-nicole-grant-memorial-scholarship

5) Horatio Alger Scholarship - $25,000 - 70 Awards (Deadline: March 15, 2025)

To be eligible for the scholarship a student must:

A) Be enrolled full-time as a high school junior in the United States.

B) Demonstrate critical financial need ($65,000 or lower adjusted gross family income is required).

Applications can be found by going to:

https://studentscholarships.org/scholarship/9417/horatio-alger-scholarship

6) ASME High School Scholarships - $5,000 - 4 Awards (Deadline: March 15, 2025)

To be eligible for the scholarship a student must:

A) Be a graduating high school senior interested in pursuing an engineering degree.

B) Be enrolled full-time in an ABET-accredited mechanical engineering or technology program by the fall after high school.

Applications can be found by going to:

https://studentscholarships.org/scholarship/12500/american-society-of-mechanical-engineers-scholarships

7) Scholarship For Journalism Diversity - $20,000 - 1 Award (Deadline: March 16, 2025)

To be eligible for the scholarship a student must:

A) Be a high school senior with a grade point average of 3.0 or better.

B) Be preparing to enter college and intend to become a journalist.

Applications can be found by going to:

https://studentscholarships.org/scholarship/12777/scholarship_for_journalism_diversity

8) University of the Aftermarket Foundation Scholarship - $10,000 - 80 Awards (Deadline: Mar. 31, 2025)

To be eligible for the scholarship a student must:

A) Be a graduating high school senior planning to be a full-time student in one of the following disciplines: Automotive, Heavy Duty, or Collision Repair School.

Applications can be found by going to:

https://studentscholarships.org/scholarship/15065/university_of_the_aftermarket_foundation_scholarship

9) Niche Scholarship - $25,000 - 1 Award (Deadline: March 31, 2025)

To be eligible for the scholarship a student must:

A) Be a senior in high school or a current college student.

B) Be attending or planning to attend college, university, or professional training school in the Fall of 2025.

Applications can be found by going to:

https://studentscholarships.org/scholarship/25490/niche-25000-scholarship

10) Robert G. Porter Scholars Program - $8,000 - 14 Awards (Deadline: March 31, 2025)

To be eligible for the scholarship a student must:

A) Be a graduating high school senior.

B) Have at least one parent or legal guardian who is a member of the American Federation of Teachers.

Applications can be found by going to:

https://studentscholarships.org/scholarship/12605/robert-g-porter-scholars-program

11) Young American Creative Patriotic Scholarship - $10,000 – 8 Awards (Deadline: March 31, 2025)

To be eligible for the scholarship a student must:

A) Be enrolled in a public, private or parochial high school or home study program in the United States or be a dependent of U.S. military or civilian personnel in an overseas school.

B) Be in grades 9-12.

Applications can be found by going to:

https://studentscholarships.org/scholarship/9706/young-american-creative-patriotic-scholarship

12) Women Marines Association Scholarship Program - $5,000 - 9 Awards (Deadline: March 31, 2025)

To be eligible for the scholarship a student must:

A) Be a direct descendant by blood, legal adoption, or stepchild of a Marine on active duty or

B) Be a sibling or a descendant of a sibling by blood, legal adoption, or stepchild of a Marine on active duty, or who has served honorably in the United States Marine Corps, Regular or Reserve.

Applications can be found by going to:

https://studentscholarships.org/scholarship/12737/women-marines-association-scholarship-program

13) Lighthouse Guild Scholarships - $10,000 - 16 Awards (Deadline: March 31, 2025)

To be eligible for the scholarship a student must:

A) Have documented proof of vision loss.

B) Be newly transitioning to college or graduate education.

Applications can be found by going to:

https://studentscholarships.org/scholarship/15685/lighthouse-guild-scholarships

14) Sara Scholarship - $2,500 – 12 Awards (Deadline: April 30, 2025)

To be eligible for the scholarship a student must:

A) Demonstrate excellent character and active involvement with the sport of golf.

B) Identify as a female and be a senior in high school.

Applications can be found by going to:

https://studentscholarships.org/scholarship/32929/sara-scholarship

15) Lift Parts Express Scholarship - $500 – 1 Award (Deadline: April 30, 2025)

To be eligible for the scholarship a student must:

A) Be a current senior in High School and a legal resident of the United States.

B) Be enrolled or expected to be enrolled by the Fall of 2025.

Applications can be found by going to:

https://studentscholarships.org/scholarship/10417/lift_parts_express_scholarship

February

• ACT information
• SAT information
• February 4: 9th Grade Information Night for 8th Grade Parents & Students @ U-32 at 6:30pm in auditorium (in person) - More information below.
• February 11: 7th Grade Parent/Guardian Information Night for Rising 7th grade families at 6:30pm in auditorium (in person)
• February 15: Recommended FAFSA deadline.
• Contact colleges to confirm they’ve received all your application materials.
• February 21: CVCC Preview Day
• Continue the scholarship search. Check out fastweb.com and finaid.org for ideas.
• Use February/March break to visit colleges.
• Check in with your Counselor.

March

• Use February/March break to visit colleges.
• Some states have FAFSA deadlines as early as March 1.
• March 12: Program of Studies and Course Selection Sheets to students grades 7-11 during Callback
• March 14: CVCC Acceptance Letters sent out
• March 12-21: TA Advising Conferences begin - all grades
• March 12-21: Scheduling conferences with 8th & 10th grade TAs, parents and students
• March 21: Last day to make changes to course requests with TAs
• April 10: Start of Quarter 4
• Keep your grades up. Study hard for exams. Colleges take senior grades seriously. Colleges will want a final transcript and expect to see a strong senior year. Any serious drop in grades or level of difficulty could result in your acceptance being rescinded.

• Regular Decision admissions letters begin to arrive.

• Discuss the financial aid package provided by each school with your family. If you haven’t received financial aid packages by early April call to make sure all necessary materials arrived.

• Attend admitted students’ weekends at college campuses.

• Use April break for any additional campus visits.

• If you are on a wait list set up a meeting with your counselor to discuss options.

• Celebrate with family and friends!

• Send in the acceptance notice to your chosen school. Make sure to send in your deposit.

• Decline offers of admission from remaining colleges.

• Early May: Next year schedules to students
• May: Schedule adjustments

June

• June 10: Move Up Day

Here is the link to purchase your yearbook!

You can also purchase your yearbook from Sara Wolf in the technology office. Please bring cash or a check made payable to U-32. Yearbooks will be distributed in June.

If you have any questions please email yearbook@u32.org or call Sara Wolf at 802-229-0321 ext. 5107.