
CVU Celebrations
December 20, 2024
Dear CVU Community,
An NPR article I recently came across offered some excellent advice on wintering-”...embracing the season, not just weathering it”. This idea resonates deeply, not just as we navigate the darker, colder days but also as we approach the hustle and bustle of the holiday season.
As we head into the shortest day of the year, I find myself with a renewed appreciation for the humor and hard work I witness daily at CVU. From cozy pajamas and matching outfits to festive sweaters, this week has been filled with moments of joy and connection. These simple yet meaningful gestures bring light and warmth to our lives, even as daylight wanes.
During the upcoming break, I hope we all find moments of peace and relaxation amid the activity. And perhaps, we can take a moment to embrace the season for its unique gifts—whether it’s quiet reflection, cherished time with loved ones, or simply the beauty of winter itself.
Happy Wintering. May you welcome the season with joy, patience, and humor.
Upcoming Dates
12/23-1/1 - Early Winter Break, no school
1/3 - End of Snapshot 2, Semester 1
1/6-1/9 Wrap-Up/Assessment Week
1/9 - Celebrate the Arts
1/10 - Harbor Day
1/16 - Winter Talent Show
Student Council
Happy Friday, Hawks! This week, Student Council continued working on upcoming events before hearing about budget-related issues from Superintendent Adam Bunting. The spirit week group is excited about how much CVU pride everyone showed this week; good work, Hawks!! The CVU Talent Show is coming up on January 16th in the Theater. Putting yourself out there is scary, but that’s what high school is all about! SIGN UP ASAP using this link.
This is an awesome opportunity to showcase the unique talents that you don’t get to show off in regular classes. Student Council continued work on 8th Grade Parent Night and Anti-Bullying Week, both coming up after break. Additionally, talk about budget cuts and reductions can be scary. If you have any questions or want to learn more about these issues, check out the CVU website; more info is coming soon. We’re in this together, CVU. Have a wonderful holiday break!!
Student Celebrations
From Jacklyn Whittier: On Tuesday, December 17th during C3, the student-led clubs SJA (Social Justice Alliance) and ASAAP (Abuse, Sexual Assault Awareness, and Prevention), hosted a walkout to spread awareness for reproductive rights and abortion bans. We were happy to see such an incredible turn and amazing support from our CVU community.
CVU Leadership Team was out making sure our students were safe.
RoboHawks Work With Middle School FLL Teams
Several RoboHawk members celebrated the mentoring of several CVSD school district First Lego League teams at the FLL Northern Robotics Qualifying competition that took place last weekend at Shelburne Community School. This mentoring work included a successful scrimmage earlier in the week and several extra days of focused practice. The WCS First Lego League robotics students, coached by team members James Haines and Clay Nicholson, were ready and pumped to compete. Other RoboHawk members involved in mentoring 7 teams at all four CVSD middle schools reaching 115+ students include Danica Bostwick, Benjamin Gordan, Lydia Eshete, Gavin Blackburn, Griffin Hengelsberg, Leo Fleury.
The CVSD teams were excited to show off what they had learned after working hard on their coding skills, their final innovation project, and presentation skills. Competing alongside 23 other teams, they all had the chance to demonstrate their teamwork, creativity, and problem-solving abilities. At least each CVSD school was able to have a team advance to the state championships! The State Championship will be held at the Global Foundries on Saturday, January 19th!
RoboHawk Alumni Reconnect:
The RoboHawks were excited to welcome back former members Jack Gourlay and Crawford Phillips to CVU last week to check out the new robot and reconnect with the team. They had the chance to see how the team has grown and the development of this year’s robots. They were super excited to find out that RoboHawks have grown to 3 separate teams this season! It was a great opportunity to catch up with them, show them around, and get their feedback too!
Check out the RoboHawk website for more information about our team and club activities. https://www.robohawks5741.com/
From Michelle Snow - I happened upon this on my afternoon break on Monday. Jayden received a special delivery from his Mom for his birthday. HAPPY 18th BIRTHDAY JAYDEN! How lucky we all are to know you.
This year the Booth/Kirillova advisory decided to use Ugly Sweaters as the theme for their Advisory Holiday Cards. Students spent advisory time creating their sweaters and then went out front to take their annual holiday photo.
The CVU RISE French Trip 2025 decorated Bûche de Noëls made by French teacher and group leader Lianna Reed. Students competed decorating their bûche (French for “log”) to be most realistic and most creative! Students even created their own meringue mushrooms and brought in extra decorations to make their creations stand out! Bravo tout le monde! Merci mille fois to Deb Newell-Robinson for joining our trip and helping out with this endeavor!
From Juanita Galloway: Cooking & Eating Well Students Get Creative with Gingerbread Houses
This week, Cooking & Eating Well students embraced the holiday spirit by making and decorating gingerbread houses from scratch! From rolling out dough to assembling walls and roofs, the students showcased their creativity and teamwork. The results were stunning—and delicious! Check out their amazing edible creations!
From Coach Michelle: And that’s a wrap for Unified Bowling. THANK YOU to all of the teachers and students who came out to have fun and support each other. Thank you Anne & Claire for all of your hard work in organizing it all.
(and thank you Ken B. for snapping some great photos at the bowling alley.)
From Gary Lambert: Please watch our last CVU Show episode for 2024. This week's episode includes a yummy cookie recipe, an interview with Media Teacher Gary Lambert, and CVU News, Weather, and Sports!
Thank you for watching our shows this semester. We appreciate your support. Enjoy this early Holiday present! Have a safe and happy break CVU and see you next year!
John Wulff’s science students finishing 2024 working hard.
Dave Trevithick and students welcoming our newest community member. We are adding two Angora rabbits to our Sustainability Hub in 2025!
Nick and Tomi’s advisory held their annual PLP (Pancake Loving Party) dinner today! Thank you to our advisees for all of your hard work and positive vibes this year.
“Gingerbread” House by the Chiaravalli/Marriott Advisory
Winning! Lucia Stief and Amelia Oppenheimer got all the regions in France correct. Good job!
From Leanne Morton: Latin One students learned about the Roman diet this week in class. Students tried authentic Roman bread made of spelt and finished off their "meal" with figs.
From Magali Simon-Martin: French V classes asked their peers questions about faith, happiness, truth, le Père Noël, and everyday life happenings in order to practice their French and review vocabulary. It was very joyful to see students interact in French for a full hour!
From Emily McLean: The CVU Photography Club held its third contest of the year, which was run in collaboration with the CVU student-run newspaper, The Hawk's Nest. Congratulations to faculty members Geoff Glaspie and Amanda Terwillegar, as well as students George Francisco, Roni Csizmadia, Hayden Careau, Piper Ingersoll, and Cooper Niebur for their winning entries. Here are the winning submissions: CVU Photo Contest Winners.
From Peter Booth: During advisory on Thursday, 45 different advisories across CVU participated in the Third Annual Holiday Cookie Decorating Competition put on by the 12th Grade Class Council. While there were many wonderful and creative entries, we have TWO winners! The winner of Most Beautiful Cookie was a wreath created by 11th grader, Audrey Neilson from Deb Newell-Robinson’s advisory. The winners for Most Creative Cookie were Lily Gruber and Jenny Mumley from Trish Healy’s advisory for their combination of two cookies to create The Grinch! Well done, everyone!
From Peter Booth: Thursday was the December Nexhibition celebration. Nexus student (Nexiteers) presented their learning in the library from semester one during Block 3 for students and faculty and then at 5:30pm. The range of topics and learning was wide, running from snowboard design to Nepali language learning, and from particle physics research to nutrition planning for athletes. It was a great event.
From Sharon Ogden: Friday Outing Group set up in four corners making gratitude, thank you and holiday cards for a cookie! Lots of students jumped in to participate.
From Olaf Verdonk: Students LASER Snowflakes!
Students in Olaf Verdonk and Andrew Scott's Design & Engineering Technolgy 1 courses used CAD and geometry to design beautiful snowflakes that they used a laser to cut out of white acrylic. Like Snowflake Bentley discovered, each student snowflake was a unique design!
Pictured (left) are: Anderson Howard and Ally Mast and Owen Christman (right).
From Arthur Chiaravalli: CVU students, Olivia Cieri, Hailley Hem, and Ethan St. Amour, presenting to CVSD students and staff at Williston Community School on our goals and timeline for exploring and implementing more restorative practices at CVU. Malashie Tonoki, Aly Gutierrez, Willcox Elliott, Sabina Sedic-Lawton, Peter Langella, Kevin Chiu, and Arthur Chiaravalli have all been participants in this district-wide initiative supported by Up for Learning and Vermont Restorative Approaches Collaborative.
From Katie Mack: CVU Model UN students participated in a "Cookie Diplomacy" activity during their meeting on Tuesday that modeled how the need for resources can impact international relations. Thank you to student leaders Willcox Elliott, Lark McCarron, Elle McCavey, Althea Neill, and Ava Nochiri who have independently organized and run the meetings this semester. Thank you also to TJ Mead for facilitating this event!
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On Wednesday the Senior Community Service Club organized an event at the Charlotte Senior Center. Students and senior citizens built gingerbread houses - a great time was had by all!
From Courtney Begins: Students share a thoughtful gift exchange and calibrated on making a holiday tree for the classroom!
Faculty/Staff Celebrations
The Crafts are twinning or is it tripleting?
Amie and Anne twinning!
House Directors Anthony Spagnolo and Arthur Chiaravalli, channel Jim Harbaugh on Twin Day.
Friends of CVU volunteers Sarita Baker and Jamie Cudney spreading Holiday cheer at the Friends of CVU “Sweet Send Off” to show appreciation for teachers and staff on December 19th. Thanks to all who donated treats for the event. Want to show SUPPORT for the MISSION of Friends of CVU? Send VENMO donations (every little bit helps) to @friendsofcvu
Thank you, Friends of CVU, for providing sugar love to our faculty and staff!
Community Celebrations/Notes
Need Someone to Talk To This Holiday Season?
The 988 Lifeline is available 24/7
The holiday season can be joyful and stressful. For youth, the holiday break can bring unstructured and unsupervised time away from trusted connections, leading to risky behaviors or feelings of isolation and loneliness. Remember the free, confidential 988 Lifeline is available 24/7 to provide support and local services - you don't need to be in crisis to call. Whether it’s struggling with tough emotions, substance use, or just needing someone to talk to, no crisis is too small. Read more at cvsdvt.org/988-lifeline
You're Invited: Celebrate The Arts + Community Night
Thursday, January 9, 5-8 p.m. at CVU
Families, caregivers, students, faculty and community from across CVSD are invited to join the 13th-annual Celebrate the Arts. After a six-year break, this annual tradition returns with a vibrant gallery of student learning, innovation and inspiration featuring student work from the district's six schools. New this year: Transportation will be available, with buses from Charlotte, Williston and Shelburne's schools; local restaurants will be providing food; and organizations that offer community and family resources will be in attendance to share more information. Learn more at cvsdvt.org/celebrate-the-arts
Please join our Parent Circle of Support. CVU clinician Katy Farnham LCMHC is offering a weekly meeting for CVU parents & caregivers who are intersecting with the mental health system, (and all of its challenges!). If you find yourself feeling confused, stressed, or isolated as you try to help your adolescent navigate the mental health system, this meeting is for you! Come meet other caregivers trying to navigate similar challenges, and learn more about mental health resources & systems. Participants come to share their experience, strength & challenges with each other. Discussion will be facilitated by Katy. Format: standing 60-minute meeting, offered 12-1 PM on a day that works best for most parents, accessed in-person or remotely. No fee. No commitments. If you are interested to join or learn more, please email Katy Farnham at kfarnham@cvsdvt.org If there is enough interest, Katy will offer 2 weekly Circles of Support: 1 for families navigating general mental health challenges and 1 specifically to support families with an autistic adolescent.