CVU Celebrations

Dear CVU Community,

In this week’s edition of CVU Celebrations, you’ll notice three of the four focus areas of a student’s story that we explore. Our Robohawks crew explore a passion as well as a possible career direction through their engagement on the team. Similarly, the editors of our new print newspaper may find a career path in their work. We have a story about an aspect of a student’s identity as a nationally top-rated disc golfer. I love the image of four year old Finn on the course! You clearly see the connections students have with peers and teachers in the photos from the Fairbanks and Snelling Core activities.

We don't specifically see the fourth realm of student proficiency, but please look at your student’s JumpRope progress as we’ve come to the close of our first Snapshot/Quarter. The grade conversion is on as of Friday afternoon and report cards will be emailed home early next week. JumpRope data gives students and caregivers a picture in time of student progress on specific learning targets in each class. Beyond the overall letter grade, individual targets and habits of learning help to show a broader understanding of a student’s classroom experience.

Hello CVU! This is Mira. This week in Student Council we split into our regular groups to work on our upcoming projects: the Turkey Trot 5k (link to sign up), and the Crystal Skull Competition, as well as a new event we are planning - a school wide talent show scheduled for sometime in January! We hope for this to be a wonderful chance for students to show off their talents and feel supported and celebrated by their school community. Stay tuned for information on this event! Have a fabulous weekend, hawks!

10/30 - Picture make-up/retake day

10/31 - Crystal Skull Costume Contest

11/1 - Diwali, no school

11/15 - CVU Fall Musical, Footloose 7:00, 11/16 - 2:00 and 7:00 and 11/17 - 1:00

11/25-11/28 - Thanksgiving Break

From Meredith Visco: Spanish 3 enjoying yet another sunny day outside!

From Annie Bellerose: Essentials English took a tour of the Vermont Statehouse to celebrate nearing the end of their civics unit!

Congratulations to editors Grace Warrington, Karmen Wilbur and Lily Gruber on the publication of The Hawk's Nest, CVU's first print newspaper in many years. Well done!

CVSD School Board Chair thinks that "these guys are awesome". We agree. Pictured here: Board representative Cassandra Townshend, Board Chair Meghan Metzler, Secretary of Education Zoie Saunders, Robohawks James Haines, Leo Fluery, Gavin Blackburn and Miles Bergendahl.

Submitted by James Haines: The CVU RoboHawks robotics team has been making an impact recently! Last night we presented to the Vermont Superintendents Association and the Vermont School Board Association. We talked about the benefits of robotics education and extracurricular opportunities and even got some leaders interested in adding robotics opportunities to their schools. Below are some photos of the event.

This weekend, the RoboHawks and our JV team, the RoboRedHawks will be exhibiting at TechJam to connect with our technical community and gain interest in robotics. You should come talk to us! We are always happy to have new team members. We will be at Hula in Burlington from 9 to 3 tomorrow, Saturday the 26th.

Also, remember that you can always come by room 154 on Tuesday from 3:20 to 5:30 to build robots and have fun with your peers.

Fairbanks CORE students took their 9th grade field trip today: ice skating at Cairns Arena!

Snelling had their annual "Marshmallow Enclosure" day. Students toasted marshmallows, ran relay races, and shared plenty of gratitude and smiles.

Chittenden 9th grader Finn Etter has been playing disc golf since he was 4 or so. He won a national championship when he was younger, and he is currently the top-rated 14-year old in the country.

He was in a big disc golf tournament at Smuggler’s Notch two weekends ago, the Vermont State Championship (for adults). Finn played in the highest pro division and came in third out of 41 players.

Check out this video to see Finn in action!

From Jessica O'Brien: Brave Little State is a Vermont podcast that takes questions asked by Vermonters and then researches them to track down the answers. Nichols 9th graders, along with other Vermont students, submitted questions for a special high school edition of the podcast. Addie’s question was chosen as a top three finalist!

Addie’s question was this: How did Champ become a thing?

Please support her by participating in the public voting process and help her question win! It’d be amazing to have a CVU student featured in this great little podcast.

Attention to any student (or parent/caregiver of a student) who is applying to any college for the upcoming 11/1 deadline:

Please remember to update your Scoir account so that your counselor is able to submit your forms which include your letters of recommendation, transcript, school profile, and a secondary school report. If you have any questions, counselors will have open hours next week for any final questions regarding their applications, essays, or if you would like help submitting your application.

Here are a few things to remember:

Once you submit your application, be on the lookout for an email from the college. This email will confirm your submission and usually offer a link and login credentials to an Applicant Portal. It is important that you activate this portal, keep track of your application documents, and submit any additional information the college may need to complete your application.

It can sometimes take colleges up to two weeks after their deadline to process your forms. If you see that your counselor has submitted your forms (you can check the status in your Scoir account), you can ignore those emails and keep checking your portal. If two weeks after the deadline your portal still shows something is missing or you receive an email from the school, please reach out to your counselor who will then follow up with the school.

A note from Jessica Hoskins, Director of Special Services, on behalf of CVSD's SEPAC:

Last spring, the CVSD Special Education Parent Advisory Council (SEPAC) was formally launched. Many thanks to the parent members who helped to form this collaborative group. CVSD’s SEPAC is currently made up of a dedicated group of parents and administrators and is open to all; please spread the word! For more information or to join, please contact Erin Bingham at bingham.erin@gmail.com.

CVSD SEPAC Mission
The mission of the Champlain Valley Union School District Special Education Parent Advisory Council (SEPAC) is to facilitate authentic and effective communication, understanding, and mutual respect that is meaningfully inclusive of all students, caregivers, educators, administrators, school board members, and the community at large to guide the school district in providing access to and delivery of high-quality equitable services and instruction for students who qualify for additional support.

Dear Parents and Caregivers,

This October is Substance Use Prevention Month. It reminds us that everyone plays a vital role in prevention, whether in the home, at school or in the community. Students across the district are engaged in and beyond October in various prevention, education, harm reduction, and wellbeing learning opportunities. And, research shows that as caregivers, you have the strongest influence on your child's decisions about substance use, starting with meaningful connection and conversations.

To support these discussions, Connecting Youth shares these two important prevention resources:

1. Family Conversation Guide: A practical tool to help you navigate discussions about substance use with your child in an age-appropriate, trust-building way.

2. National Rx Drug Take Back Day, Saturday, October 26! Dispose of your unused medications—a simple yet powerful step in prevention. Find your nearest collection site here

Remember, our Student Assistant Professionals (SAPs) are here to partner with you, offering additional support and guidance as you build on these relationships with your kids.

Together in prevention,

Connecting Youth

CVU Post High School Training and Career Panel
When: Wednesday, November 13th, 6:30-7:30 PM

Stream YouTube link for viewing (For Audience):

Overview:

Learn about a variety of short term training programs and educational pathways which can lead to well-paying careers in Vermont and nation-wide. This virtual event is open to students and families across Chittenden County. Panelists will introduce themselves and provide an overview of their work. Some of the following questions will be addressed and the audience will also have time to ask their own questions:

• What are the most employable jobs in Vermont and elsewhere and what is expected in the years to come?

• How does a high school student learn more about the training and work opportunities in Vermont?

• What incentives do students have to pursue these programs?

Panelists:

Thomas Cheney, Executive Director, Advance Vermont, MyFutureVT

Michael Keogh, CCV Director of Workforce Development, ccv.edu/workforce

Lily Lukaszevicz, Apprentice Carpenter, VT Works for Women Trailblazers

Sarah Knight, Senior Program Administrator for Apprenticeship, VT Registered Apprenticeship Program

Questions? Please connect with Susie Moakley or Fern Aguda-Brown in the Direction Center.