Champlain Valley Union High School
  • CVU

December 2013

12/18/2013

 

Celebrate the Arts Night

PictureArtwork: Miranda Selinger, CVU Senior
Champlain Valley Union High School will be hosting its fifth annual Celebrate The Arts Night on Tuesday, January 7th!  From 6:00-7:30 p.m. you can enjoy a visual arts show of over 450 pieces created by students currently enrolled in arts courses.  Every student from CVU’s Intro through Advanced Placement Studio Art will be showing a piece they feel best represents their work from the semester.  Also on view will be practical art work made by Technology Education and Fashion Design students.  At 6:00, there will be demonstrations in the Technology Education rooms.  At 6:15, Film and Video Production students will present a few short films in the CVU Theatre.  Following this, at 6:30 in the Café, there will be a musical performance by student CVU’s fabulous Jazz Ensemble.  At 7:30, in the CVU Theatre, notable performances will be given by the CVU Madrigal Singers, Men’s Chorus, Women’s Chorus, Symphonic Winds, Jazz Ensemble, and Acting students.  Family and Consumer Science classes will provide refreshments.  There will be art activities for the whole family!  All events are free to the public.  For more information, contact abowker@cvuhs.org 

CVU Debate and Speech Teams Need Your Help

CVU DEBATE and
SPEECH TEAMS NEED YOUR HELP

Champlain Valley Union High School will host the largest debate/speech tournament of the year on Saturday, January 11, 2014. Over 150 students from across the state will compete in this event.

We are putting out an appeal for citizen judges. No experience required. We provide training and
nourishment.  The time commitment is 8:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m..  If you are interested in helping out, contact Chris O'Donnell  at  codonnell@cvuhs.org 
 
Thanks for your consideration of this request. It is a very rewarding experience for all!

Spring Drama

All those interested in participating on a Tech Crew for this Spring’s Student
Directed One-Acts, there will be a Tech Crew Sign-up meeting on Friday, January 3 from 3:15 to 5:45 in the theatre.   We’ll be looking for crew members to work on Sets, Props, Costumes, Lights, Sound, Scenic Design and Stage Management.  Please plan to attend the Tech Crew Sign Up Meeting.

Click HERE for the January 2014
mid-year exam schedule
.
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Cafe For A Cause

Thank you to all who visited or contributed to the charity fundraiser on December 11.  Through your generous support and contributions, the Redhawk Café and students and staff at CVU were able to contribute $7,900 to the Our Community Cares Camp.  Thank you all for supporting this great cause that the student council chose for this year's charity!

The following people or businesses donated either money or items for a Raffle. Thank you for your generous support:

Fox Family Maple, Hill Top Honey, Distler's Pretzels, Garuka Bars, Ramunto's, Yolo Snacks, Koval's coffee, Vermont Coffee Company, Reinhart Food Service, Farrell's Distributing, g.housen Beverages,
Scuffer Steak & Ale, Green Mountain Gringo, Church Street Tavern, Bolton Valley Ski resort,
Green Mountain Farm to School (Specifically Harvest Hill Farm, Joe's Brook, & D&S Farm Direct).

Past Cafe for a Cause charity recipients (to date over $42,000 has been raised):
2004-2005 Unicef-South East Asia Tsunami family relief                                    
2005-2006 American Red Cross-Hurricane Katrina relief                                 
2006-2007 Santa Night-gifts for children in Burlington                             
2007-2008 Heifer International & Greece Orphanage                                 
2008-2009 COTS-Shelters for the homeless in Burlington                           
2009-2010 Operation Tribute-gifts for children of military parents
2010-2011 VT Refugee Resettlement Program             
2011-2012 Hurricane Irene VT Relief Agency
2012-2013 Vermont Food Bank
2013-2014  Our Community Cares Camp

CVU Engineering Teams Do Well

Picture(L-R) Thomas Stevens, Steven Roberts, Charlie Maitland, Forrest Hamilton, Russell Fox, Ewan McNeil, Jack Dilley, Dan Isreal-Meyers, Ben Fox, Wesley McEntee, Noah Allen, Will Colomb, Ben Langdon, Matt Beer, Ben Ogle, Noah Mintz-Roberts, Tyler VanDyk, John Thrailkill, teacher Olaf Verdonk (in front)
Earlier this month, 18 CVU students in three separate teams from the CVU Design TASC Engineering class taught by Olaf  Verdonk competed in the annual UVM Engineering TASC Competition.

Against  45 other engineering teams from local schools, CVU hauled home TEN  awards in seven categories. CVU earned Six 1st place trophies, three 3rd  place trophies, and an honorable mention. One CVU team dominated, taking  home the best overall team award in the competition, but
all three teams  earned awards!

The  students worked on this project from mid-September, repeating the trial  and error process until they felt that they had a good working  solution. Students used robots, RC cars and many other solutions to be  able to navigate through multiple hazards and targets. Scores were based  on the type of cargo used and what hazards and targets each game piece  scored. Each team did a computational analysis on the scoring formula  and determined a game strategy based on the easiest way to score the  greatest amount of points. All three teams designed and built robots  able to carry predominantly foam blocks through the course. One team  created a mechanical launcher as a backup as well as to boost their  score.  The engineering students’ hard work paid off in the competition.  They racked up an impressive amount of awards in every category  consisting
of:
Best Overall: 1st place
Engineering Presentation: 1st, 3rd,
Honorable Mention Top Calculated Score: 1st
Most Game Pieces Scored: 3rd
Testing & Documentation: 1st, 3rd
Most cargo to farthest target: 1st
Playoff Award: 1st.

UVM  Engineering Design TASC Competition has been running for the last 15  years.  CVU has participated in this competition many times with lots of  success.  The Design TASC Engineering course gives the students an  opportunity to compete in this competition and the chance to experience a  real-world, hands-on engineering experience. Students are asked to use  math and science to solve design solutions and to use the technology  and skills learned in other Design &
Engineering Technology courses  to construct a working prototype to solve a new problem each year. 

Any  students interested in Engineering should contact Olaf Verdonk and look  to sign up for Design and Engineering Technology courses offered at  CVU.

CVU students involved:
RedHawk Chili Peppers (RHCP): Charlie Maitland, Ben Langdon, Russell Fox, Thomas Stevens, Matt Beer, Steven Roberts;
RoboKnights: Noah Mintz-Roberts, Tyler VanDyk, Wesley McEntee, Jack Dilley, Dan Isreal-Meyers, Ben Ogle;
Error 404: Will Colomb, Noah Allen, Forrest Hamilton, Ben Fox, John Thrailkill, Ewan McNeil.


Scholar Bowl Shines

PictureCVU C with their trophy
CVU's Scholars Bowl team turned in an excellent performance on December 6 at the annual Pre-Holiday Academic Tournament (PHAT). This event, held at South Burlington High School, is the biggest one of the year in New England and this year drew 60 teams from schools from four states.  CVU entered four teams in the tournament (three in the varsity and one in the JV bracket), and all did very well. CVU's C team, which had won the JV bracket last year, entered the varsity bracket and finished in 3rd place overall with a 7-1 record. Our A team finished 6-2 in 7th place and our B team also went 6-2 and finished 13th place. CVU's  D team  swept all 3 playoff matches to win the JV bracket, coming all the way from the 8th seed to win it. CVU's Charlie Yarwood was the 3rd overall scorer of 266 players, while Jacob Parker finished 10th in overall scoring in the JV bracket.

The 25-7 overall record gives CVU teams a 68-24 combined record so far this season.

Eighteen students took part in the event for CVU-  Will Keve, Fiona Higgins, Bennett Cazayoux, Owen Hudson, Ian Campbell, Peter Roy, Brendan Murphy, Cameron Harris, Wes McEntee, Parker Dunn, Emily O'Brien, Brandon Tieso, Charlie Yarwood, Will Hodgson Walker, Sarah Nelson, Henry Mohn, Jacob Parker and Alex Merrill.  The team will next be in action in a meet right here at CVU on January 10th.


Computer Club Busy

Picture
Congratulations to the the Computer Club who participated in the second round of the CyberPatriot Cybersecurity Competition.  They competed (online) against some 600 teams from across the country.  The goal was to find and fix system vulnerabilities in a six-hour period.  After the first round (a few weeks ago), we were tied for 52nd.  The top 36 teams advance to the semifinals, so we're definitely in it. Congratulations to Zuhair Chaudhry, Forrest Dodds, Aubrey Wiederin, Casey Silk, Joe Kolk, Mark Wheater, and Phillip Nguyen for their hard work and success!


CVU Environmental Club

PictureLeft to right: Seniors Cally Braun, Miranda Selinger, and Cameron Harris, speaking to the audience at the Vermont Energy Star Schools Recognition Awards
CVU Wins National Recognition for Energy Efficiency
CVU has been named one of Vermont’s first ENERGY STAR® schools. This achievement places the school in the top 25% of energy efficient schools in the country and signifies that it meets stringent U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) standards for healthy ventilation, year-round comfort, and lighting quality. 

CVU was recognized at an award ceremony on November 7th at Camel’s Hump Middle School in Richmond, along with 10 other Vermont schools that achieved ENERGY STAR designation. The ceremony also marked the launch of Project Green School, an initiative that aims to put all Vermont schools on the path toward ENERGY STAR designation by 2020. 
 
“We are working hard to make CVU more sustainable, and a large part of this effort is emphasizing the importance of energy conservation. Students are leading this work with our Whole School Energy Challenge project, and this award reflects the commitment of everyone—students, faculty, staff, and administrators – working together to reduce our energy use,” said Jeff Evans, CVU Principal.

Among those in attendance at the award ceremony were Congressman Peter Welch, Vermont
Secretary of Education Armando Vilaseca, and representatives of the EPA, the Vermont Superintendents Association’s School Energy Management Program (VSA-SEMP), and Efficiency Vermont. Three CVU students, members of CVU’s EnACT Leadership Team, spoke at the event: Cameron Harris (Shelburne), Cally Braun (Charlotte) and Miranda Selinger (Hinesburg). EnACT Adviser Katie Antos-Ketcham.  Sophomore EnACT member Carmen Fisher-Olvera (Williston) and facilities staff member Tom Mongeon attended the event as well. 
 
“The 11 schools we are honoring today have done great work,” said Jim Merriam, Director of Efficiency Vermont. “But the steps they have taken are within reach of any school in our state. With focused effort and enhanced support through Project Green School, we are looking forward to helping every community in Vermont provide a healthier and more energy efficient environment for their students.”


Trash on the Lawn Day
Environmental Action Club (EnACT) members led by junior Rachel Slimovitch hosted its annual “Trash Audit” in late October. EnACT members sorted the “trash” from the cafeteria and throughout the school in order to determine what is “true trash” versus what should have been composted or
recycled. 

Here's news to celebrate:

*We reduced what we send to the landfill by 21% in just one year
. On Oct. 23, 2012 (last year) we produced a daily, school-wide total of 333 pounds of trash (not including bathroom waste) that we sorted on the 24th.  On Oct. 24, 2013 (this year) we produced a daily, school-wide total of 262 pounds of trash (not including bathroom waste) that we sorted on the 25th. That's 71 fewer pounds from one year to the next. The new sorting stations in the cafeteria plus the educational assemblies led by EnACT have certainly helped make a positive difference. 
       
There were no bowls or trays or plates in this year's trash. Two years ago we found 31 bowls, 8 plates, and 3 food trays in the trash. Last year we found 5 bowls and 2 plates. This year, there were none. 
     
We are realizing financial savings, too.  We pay Casella for our landfill-bound waste by the ton ($106.39/ton). Using a projected daily savings of 71 lbs. and multiplying this by 180 school days, we can reasonably assume we will divert 12,780 lbs. of waste from the landfill this school year and save the school $680 this year alone. 

The trash audit also helped us see what work we need to focus on next, like promoting proper sorting in the classrooms where the recycling option exists.


Family & Consumer Science News

Students in Cooking and Eating Well classes made pies to donate to families in our district through our social worker, Mary Munns.  Classes will also be making cookies to donate for the Holiday baskets that Mary puts together.  Supplies for the pies and cookies were donated to the class.

Students in Clothing Construction are in the process of making garments which they will wear for a showcase at Celebrate the Arts Night, January 7th.  The Cooking and Eating Well class will also make refreshments for guests to enjoy that evening. 

Before Clothing Construction students started working on their garments, they made a bag out of a feed bag.  We are lucky enough to be taking these reusable animal feed bags out of the waste stream.  Students cut and sew the bags into shopping/grocery bags.  We are selling the bags for $5 each.  The money that the class makes will be donated to our area food shelves.  If you are interested in purchasing a bag or making a donation to the class to donate to the food shelf, please contact Eleanor Marsh at emarsh@cvuhs.org   

Half-Day Inservices for 2013-2014

There are half-day in-services throughout the school year with students dismissed at 12:30 p.m.  Below are the remaining dates for in-services for the 2013-2014 school year: 

Tue Feb 11, 2014 – Curriculum work
Wed March 12, 2014 – Curriculum work
Tue Mar 25, 2014 – MAPS 10 Advisor/Advisee/Parent meeting
Tue Apr 8, 2014 -Grad Challenge Reading Days
Wed Apr 9, 2014 -Grad Challenge Reading Days
Wed May 21, 2014 – Curriculum work

CVU Calendar for 2013-2014

Please check out the CVU School Year Calendar on our homepage.  This calendar has the Red and White day schedule, early dismissals, vacation days, sporting events, etc.  Please check it on a regular basis.  We will update it as needed.  You can also access it by clicking the following link:   http://www.cvuhs.org/school-calendar.html

Direction Center

Picture
Much of the information posted in announcements by the Direction Center can be
found on our website, including:

REGISTRATION IS OPEN FOR SPRING CLASSES!

CVU juniors and seniors now have access to virtual seats in the VHS Consortium. This non-profit, global network includes over 500 high schools and enables students to consider 200 online courses. Now that CVU is a member school, students can pursue specific areas of interest with other students from around the globe.

We have 25 spaces available each semester to supplement our CVU course offerings.  Sound interesting? Students can check out the catalog at www.govhs.org.  Spring registration has now begun. Encourage your student to consider a January course. Classes begin on January 29th. Call Jane Krasnow in the Direction Center for more information.

Dual Enrollment Opportunities

Attention Juniors and Seniors! 
Don’t miss the opportunity to earn college credits while still in high school!  Juniors and Seniors can
enroll in college courses (online or on campus) during the academic year or during the summer. Study in core areas such as Math, Science, English, Languages, and the Arts. The programs available are:
 
  • Dual Enrollment Program, which is through the State of Vermont and allows juniors and seniors  to take one tuition- free college course a year. CCV, Champlain, UVM, and Burlington
    College all have Dual enrollment programs.
  • The Academically Talented program through the University of Vermont offers Vermont high school students to take courses at  50% reduced tuition until they graduate. Some restrictions apply, and you  do need to be approved by your guidance counselor
Another great college option: 
     Community College of Vermont – Introduction to College Studies
    Wednesdays, starting in January from 4-6 PM.
 
The class focuses on all the skills that are needed to be successful at college: study/test taking skills, organization, financial aid, and communication skills. Although this does not offer college
credit, students who complete the course can earn ½ English credit and ½ elective credit at CVU. This is a great class for sophomores, and it is FREE! See Jane Krasnow, call 482-7137, or email: jkrasnow@cvuhs.org in the Direction Center to get more information or to sign up today!
 
Juniors
Although it seems that college is far away, we have already scheduled our popular Junior College Night. This program, open to both parents and students, offers valuable information from a
panel of college admissions counselors. Mark your calendar for Wednesday, January 8 at 6:00 PM. 

After this initial kickoff meeting, we would like to encourage students to come in for an individual counselor conference. Parents are always welcome.

PSATs are in!
We’re sending a copy home and we’re going to U.S. & the World classes the week of December 16th to present a brief overview to students. We’ll take a few minutes to meet individually with
students to see if they have questions or concerns. We encourage all juniors to take the SAT and the ACT in the spring and use the information they receive from the PSATs to help them prepare. In addition, a few schools may require the SAT Subject Tests. Please check college requirements carefully and give us a call if you have any questions at all.

Sophomores
Counselors completed their visits to the 10th grade English 10/Making of the Modern World classes to meet individually with students to review PLAN results. Earlier this month, counselors facilitated a Sophomore Parent Coffee to review the purpose of the PLAN test.

Vermont Student Assistance Corporation

The Vermont Student Assistance Corporation was created by the Vermont Legislature to help students and parents obtain information about colleges, financial aid, as well as to help with the distribution of grants and loans.  On Thursday, January 23rd at 6:00 P.M., we will facilitate a forms night for all senior parents who would like assistance completing the FAFSA (Federal Financial Aid) Form. Please email Julie Dimmock at jdimmock@cvuhs.org for more information.
 
Seniors
Please note that VSAC scholarship booklets are now available in the Direction Center. This booklet lists over 100 scholarships for students who will be attending college in 2014-2015. 

Advanced Placement Course Roundtable
“Can I get into college without an AP course?“  How many AP’s are too many?”

Each year parents and students work together on planning a course schedule that balances academic rigor with all the other activities high school students love. The challenge is often in wrestling with conflicting information and advice. Join us for a roundtable discussion on Wednesday evening, January 22nd,  at 7:00PM. We’ll meet to discuss AP courses and student schedules. Come hear our panel of AP teachers, a college admissions professional, and a student who has
successfully weathered the process.

Please RSVP to Jane at jkrasnow@cvuhs.org or call 482-7137.

Technical Center Visit Days

We're already thinking about 2014 - 2015 and bringing information to students who will benefit from the great extended learning opportunities offered by the Technical Centers. Representatives from
Burlington Technical Center and the Center for Technology Essex will present their programs to all sophomores on Tuesday, January 7th  during the first 45 minutes of each Eng 10/MMW class.

We're also organizing two days on which students can visit the tech centers.  Students
need to sign up in advance for two programs they would like to visit and bring in a parent permission slip. A visit is required for all students who would like to enroll in a technical program next year. If your daughter/son is interested, please have the student stop by the Direction Center to sign up and get a permission slip.

The Pre-tech application process for interested 9th grade students will start a bit later in the spring. Feel free to talk with Jane Krasnow in the Direction center if you have a son/daughter who may be interested. 482- 7128 or email jkrasnow@cvuhs.org.


 


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