Cvu Newsletter - Dec 08

Champlain Valley Union   High School  Parent Newsletter

www.cvuhs.org 

December 2008 

NEWS FROM THE HOME/SCHOOL OUTREACH COORDINATORS

Home­School Outreach      1  Eighth Grade Parents      1  Princeton Model Congress     2  Direction Center News      3  2008­09 Yearbook News      4  Math League Season Underway    4  “Bring Your Water Bottle to School”  4  Advisory/PLP Update      5  Attendance Reminder      5  School Choice        5  CVU Redhawk Café      5  School Calendar        5  Friends of CVU        6  CY Aw Shucks Recipients and Great       American Smokeout Campaign    7  CY LEAD (Leadership Education)    8  Music Program Offers New Programs  9  Parent for Success Seminar    9  Engineering Design TASC Competition  9  Student Store                     10  Dance Marathon                                           11         

COST OF LIVING GETTING YOU DOWN? Have you applied for food stamps before but been turned down because you were "over income" (even by just $10?). Good news is here for many of us - in January, the income guidelines will be expanding considerably. For example, right now a family of four must earn $2,297 per month or less to obtain food stamps. In January, that amount will increase to $3,269 per month. If your family receives food stamps then your children will qualify for free breakfast and lunch at school! Not only that, but you may be eligible for other financial services, such as fuel assistance. If you don’t meet the income guidelines, there may be another way - if you file for the Vermont Earned Income Tax Credit you may also receive assistance. For more information go to vermontoodhelp.org, call 833-7365, or go to the office of Economic Security at 101 Cherry St, Suite 101 (in the Burlington Square Mall). You can also call us, Meg Howard 482-7182 or Meredith Visco, at 482-07180, here at CVU. HELP OUT YOUR NEIGHBORS THIS WINTER Thanks to those who have so generously donated funds and grocery store gift cards to our Home/School Outreach Sunshine Fund. This includes a very generous grant and clothing vouchers from SCHIPS for the families C V U in Shelburne, Charlotte, and Hinesburg last year, and we will be reapplying for another grant in January. In the meantime, we continue to receive requests from families for winter coats, food assistance, and holiday gifts for their children, We welcome your contributions of grocery store gift cards, gas cards, and cash donations (for us to purchase items) to distribute to CVU families in need. Make checks payable to the CVU Home/School fund. Please contact Meg Howard 482-7182 or Meredith Visco 482-7180 at CVU for more info.

P ARENT

Eighth Grade Parents

N EWSLETTER

CVU will have the first of several eighth grade orientations on Wednesday, January 7, at 6:30 p.m. We will gather in the CVU gym to begin the evening. Please mark your calendars.

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. (for the whole group picture) PMCModel 2008: Addie Peterson, Alex Hopkins, Princeton Congress Anika Ades, Anna Allen, Anthony Jordick, Brice Guerrier, Caleb Ladue, Chris Beaton, Colleen C. McCarthy, Colleen E. McCarthy, Ditra Backup, Forty-two CVU students attended Princeton Model Congress, Ellen Muehleck, Ellie Beckett, Emily Loisel, Emily Shaw, Emma Volk, NovemberLoyer, 20-23, in Washington, D.C. Jack this Jesset, year. The CVU Emmaleigh Harrison Gatos, Henry Haller, Jackson delegation the John onlyBrooks, delegation Vermont andJustin the Waller, Jacob was Hinsdale, Josephfrom Trotter, Josh Olson, Small, Kameron Clayton, Kate Farley, Kelsey Jensen, For Kendra Haven, second-largest delegation in attendance. their Kristina Myers, Margaret Schultz, Mattnine Metz,CVU Matt Zahn, Molly walked Vatis, participation in the Congress, students Nate Reese, Quinn Gilbert, Rachel Cross, Ryan Nick, Sidney Hilker, away with ten awards, including both a gavel (the award for Stephanie Burns, Zach Pete.

most effective committee member) and an honorable mention Highlights of the trip included a visit with Senator Leahy in the Russell Senate Office Building, tours of the Supreme Court, and visits to the museums and monuments on the Mall, including the recently reopened Museum of American History.

award won by Jacob Hinsdale. (for the award winners picture)

PMC award winners, from front left: Brice Guerrier, Sidney Hilker and Anika Ades; from back left, Quinn Gilbert, Jacob Hinsdale, Matt Metz, Ellie Beckett, Jackson Waller, Justin Small.

PMC 2008: Addie Peterson, Alex Hopkins, Anika Ades, Anna Allen, Anthony Jordick, Brice Guerrier, Caleb Ladue, Chris Beaton, Colleen C. McCarthy, Colleen E. McCarthy, Ditra Backup, Ellen Muehleck, Ellie Beckett, Emily Loisel, Emily Shaw, Emma Volk, Emmaleigh Loyer, Harrison Gatos, Henry Haller, Jack Jesset, Jackson Waller, Jacob Hinsdale, John Brooks, Joseph Trotter, Josh Olson, Justin Small, Kameron Clayton, Kate Farley, Kelsey Jensen, Kendra Haven, Kristina Myers, Margaret Schultz, Matt Metz, Matt Zahn, Molly Vatis, Nate Reese, Quinn Gilbert, Rachel Cross, Ryan Nick, Sidney Hilker, Stephanie Burns, Zach Pete.

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Direction Center News Grade 12 – Julie Dimmock and Jane Krasnow have been working to meet with every senior to help in formulating post high school plans. Please encourage your senior to schedule an appointment today! The VSAC Unified Scholarship Application Booklets are now in. Please stop by the Direction Center to pick up this useful application. It is the key to applying to over 100 scholarships administered by VSAC. All VSAC scholarship applications are due this year by March 1, 2009. We’ll also be adding scholarship information into Naviance as we receive it. Application note: Many application deadlines are January 1, 2009. Counselors will be out of the office during the December break, so please make sure that all requests come to us before December 15.. 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. In January, we will have a forms night for all senior parents who would like assistance completing the FAFSA (Federal Financial Aid) Form. Some colleges require the CSS profile forms which can be found on www.collegeboard.com. Please check specific college requirements. Grade 11 –While Julie and Jane have been visiting Writing Prose classes this fall to talk about selecting colleges, second semester kicks off our official Junior College Program. Although it seems that 2009 is far away, we have already scheduled our popular College Night Panel. This night, open to both parents and students, offers valuable information from expert college admissions counselors. Mark your calendar for:

January 29, 2009 at 6:30 p.m. in the Auditorium Juniors and parents are encouraged to attend, but the program is open to everyone. We’re still waiting for PSAT scores to come in as they usually arrive in December. When they do arrive, we’ll send a copy home and stop into U.S. History classes to present a brief overview to the 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. Registration for the tests is on-line. Please see the chart below: SAT I & II www.collegeboard.com Test Date Jan. 24, 2009 March 14 May 2 June 6

Registration Deadline Dec. 26 Feb. 10 March 31 May 5

Late Deadline (extra fee required) Jan. 6 Feb. 24 April 9 May 15

Test Date Feb. 7, 2009 April 4 June 13

ACT www.act.org Registration Deadline Jan. 6 Feb. 27 May 8

Late Deadline (extra fee required) Jan. 16 March 13 May 22

Grade 10 – Russ Aceto, Sara O’Hare-Hughes, and Naomi Williams will be visiting the English 10 and/or Making of the Modern World classes before December break to review the PLAN results and how to interpret the academic and career portions of the test. The test results will be mailed home in early January. Grade 9 - During the second quarter, Russ, Sara, and Naomi will revisit the health classes to review CVU graduation requirements, introduce a CVU transcript, set up an account in the Naviance online educational planning program, and complete a learning styles inventory.

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2008-2009 Yearbook News The 2009 Janus Yearbook is now on sale for $50. Every household should have received a flyer outlining prices and other items available for purchase. A second flyer will be mailed home to those households who have not yet purchased a yearbook. After February 2, 2009, the yearbook price will increase to $60, so it pays to order early! There are three options for ordering a 2009 CVU Yearbook: o Books can be ordered online at jostensyearbooks.com, and there is also a link to the Yearbook web site on the CVU home page. OR o Mail your check to: CVU 369 CVU Road Attention: Colleen Wedge, Yearbook Advisor Hinesburg, VT 05461 OR o Send in a check or cash with your son or daughter to the Yearbook Advisor, Snelling House. Parents of the Class of 2009: Watch your mail for an order form for a Yearbook Recognition Ad for your 2009 graduate. Details on prices, ad sizes, layout, etc. will be included in the order form. To create your own parent ad online, visit Josten's web site: www.JostensAdService.com The artists at Josten's will help design your ad exactly the way you want it. There is no charge for this service. There will also be a link to the Web site on the CVU home page.

January Exam Schedule January 20–26, 2009 The last week of the semester should be used for formative or summative assessment purposes. The expectation is that all classes will meet during the time that is scheduled for them. In other words, if your student isn’t having an exam, s/he will still attend a regular classroom activity during that time. Students will not have a “day off” because their respective classes are not giving an exam. Busses will run normal routes in the morning and at 12:40. Tuesday, 1/20 W1 R1

Wednesday, 1/21 W2 R2

Thursday, 1/22 W3 R3

Friday, 1/23 W4 R4

Monday, 1/26 Make Ups

8:15-10:15 10:30-12:30 Teachers who teach Early Block classes may choose to give their exams at a convenient time for them. MATH LEAGUE SEASON UNDERWAY On November 12, the Math League team journeyed to Vergennes for the first meet of the year. In one of the closest finishes in memory, they placed third out of eleven teams, just behind South Burlington and Essex. It was a great team effort with some outstanding individual performances, including perfect papers in geometry by Andrea Blood, Caitlin Chirgwin, Anne Bertolet, and Krysta Dummit, and two perfect papers (in both Algebra and Advanced Math) by Shirlee Wohl. Ben Bond, Luke Metz, Luke Dorfman, and Holly Bertolet also contributed to a great performance. There are four more meets this year, and new students are always welcome. The team meets every Friday morning at 7:30 a.m. in room 231.

“Bring Your Water Bottle to School Week” Champlain Valley Union High School hosted its first “Bring your water bottle to school” week from December first to fifth. The Thayer model engineering class sponsored this week and project. The student body learned of the danger of plastic, disposable, water bottles. Students learned that three fluid ounces of crude oil is used to produce a single plastic, disposable water bottle. Permanent water bottles were sold for discount prices by students in the CVU Redhawk Café to encourage the use. There was even a ‘coolest water bottle competition’ that had candy prizes. It was considered a great success, and the word got out about the destructive nature of disposable water bottles. However, CVU doesn’t want to stop there. The thought is that we can attack this as a community. Tap water at CVU is free as well as significantly healthier than bottled water.

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Advisory/PLP Update November has been a busy month in Advisory. A host of school-wide initiatives, sponsored by a variety of organizations, has had students providing non-perishable food items for local food shelves, collecting winter clothing for refugee resettlement programs, and creating posters in conjunction with Connecting Youth’s (CY) “red ribbon” week. These activities and many others are all part of helping us achieve our Advisory purpose statement which is, “Advisory provides the opportunity for every student to develop meaningful relationships, focusing on personalized academic, civic and social growth.” November also saw the third annual Advisory Pride Emblem (APE) project. The project asks each Advisory to make a visual representation of their Advisory and what is important to them about Advisory. The emblems are all made on similar six-sided sheets of poster board and are hung on a wall. The emblems all “tessellate:” symbolically showing that while each Advisory is unique to itself, we are all part of the larger CVU community. The completed emblems are on display in the “Four-Corners” stairway and are an impressive sight. The talent and creativity of our students is amazing and these emblems are just one more example of that! During October, time was provided for 10th grade students to meet one-on-one with their Advisor to complete the MAPS 10 questionnaire. Not all Advisors were able to complete that process during the time given, so those meetings may still be taking place. Parents of 10th grade students will soon be receiving a similar questionnaire. We ask that you complete and return the questionnaire either electronically or by mail. During the next few weeks, we will begin the groundwork that will eventually lead to creation of schedules for next year. During Advisory, we will start with next year’s seniors to complete MAPS 11. We will review their credit sheets and graduation requirements as well as review “where they are at” and “what their future goals might be.” We will be encouraging all juniors to meet with Julie Dimmock or Jane Krasnow in the Direction Center as they are the “future planning” counselors. As we move into December and January, the scheduling process will begin in earnest. We encourage you to discuss scheduling of classes with your child. General questions about courses and your child may be directed to your child’s Advisor; however, specific questions about course requirements, prerequisites, or other similar type questions are best handled by the Direction Center.

Attendance Reminder

School Choice

Please remember that when your student is out due to illness, appointments, or any reason, a call to his/her house office is required on the day of the absence. Please call if your student will be arriving late, leaving early, or even if s/he is leaving and then returning. (If your student is leaving during a free block, a call is still needed). Calls should be received in the house office by 9:30 a.m. whenever possible. If your student will be missing school due to extended family vacations, etc., please notify the house office in advance so the proper paperwork may be filled out and early notification given to the teachers. Cyndi Labelle, Chittenden House 482-7130 Deb Seaton, Fairbanks House 482-7140 Vicki Roberts, Nichols House 482-7160 Susannah Erikson, Snelling House 482-7150

CVU participates in a school choice agreement with South Burlington H.S., Burlington H.S. and Winooski H.S. Spaces for students who reside in the CVU district and who wish to attend one of those other schools are allotted on a space-available basis in a lottery in early February. Students who are interested in participating in the school choice program need to obtain an application form at the CVU Direction Center, complete it, and return it by the deadline: February 6, 2009. Results of the lottery will be available, and students will be notified by February 13.

CVU Redhawk Cafe Please check out the most recent issue of the CVU Redhawk Café newsletter. To view, please click on the link provided.

http://www.cvuhs.org/Cafeteria/newsletter.pdf uhs org/Cafeteria/newsletter pdf

CVU School Calendar for 2008-2009 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/Calendar/CVUSCHOOLCALENDAR.html

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Friends of CVU The mission of the Friends of CVU is to foster a sense of unity among parents, students, staff, and the community involved with Champlain Valley Union High School. Friends of CVU is a parent-run organization that provides grants supported by funds raised through membership, concession stand sales, and clothing sales. Last year’s grants awarded totaled $3500. Our 2009 goal is to support the renovation of the auditorium.

Last week, a meeting was held as a follow-up to the well-attended “Dessert with Principal” meeting held in November in which over 60 parents discussed the issues surrounding student safety with Sean McMannon and other CVU administrators. Student safety is a priority issue, and we need parents to be involved to ensure all our children learn and practice safe behaviors. If you were not able to attend one or both of these meetings, please feel free to contact me if you would like more information. The meeting also included information regarding the CVU Student Council Dance Marathon on February 7th and 8th to support the auditorium renovation. Once again, we need parental volunteers to get involved to make the auditorium project a reality.

For more questions, please contact Lori Smith at 985-9415/ [email protected] or visit cvuhs.org

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CY Honors Volunteers at Annual Aw Shucks Celebration "Aw Shucks! Who me? I haven't really done anything special!" This is what people often say when they are nominated for CYConnecting Youth's annual volunteer recognition award. But in truth, they have given countless hours of volunteer time to support youth and families in the Chittenden South District. On November 18, CY honored many unsung heroes from our communities. Recipients of the "Aw Shucks" award for 2008 include: Chris Davis, Kay Gault and Tracy Simmons from Charlotte; Ann Thomas and Kristy Johnson from Hinesburg; Tim O'Brien and Ruth and Charlie Magill from St. George/Williston; Randy Sweeney and Gabriela Meyer from Shelburne; Rahn Fleming from CVU High School; SCHIPS from the CSSU business community; and Micaela Wallace for the Brian O' Regan Mentoring Award. Please join CY in thanking these volunteers for helping to create a safe, healthy environment where youth can thrive!

CY Promotes "Great American Smokeout" and "Your Quit, Your Way" Campaign Throughout November and December, CY is working with the Vermont Department of Health to support smokers who think of themselves as "independent quitters," interested in giving up cigarettes in their own way, on their own terms. Most of the 50,000 Vermonters who tried to stop smoking last year wanted to quit on their own, so local and statewide organizations are providing a variety of tools to help these self-directed Vermonters. Overcoming tobacco addiction can be a big challenge, and almost everyone needs some sort of support to be successful. People who are trying to quit smoking say what works is encouragement and great tools. The new "Your Quit. Your Way." products offered by CY and the Vermont Quit Network were designed to be accessible where quitters live, work and play (online and offline), and are available with no obligation. As part of this smoking cessation campaign, CY LEAD students also led Great American Smokeout activities on November 20th, soliciting stories from former smokers to serve as inspiration to those who might want to quit. Look for displays with these stories throughout Chittenden South or visit the website at www.seewhy.info. Smokers thinking about quitting can get quit tips, free quit tools, or sign up to have free nicotine gum, patches or lozenges delivered directly to their homes, by visiting VTQuitNetwork.org and clicking on "Your Quit. Your Way." Those interested in extra help or advice can call 1.800.QUIT.NOW (784-8669) to setup an appointment with a phone or in-person quit coach.

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CY LEAD Students from CY LEAD (Leadership Education the Anti Drug), worked hard and put together another successful fall retreat. Twenty six students from CVU got to spend the night at the Round Hearth in Stowe on November 14. The major themes of the weekend were stress management and understanding substance use problems, specifically binge drinking. Students met other students from CVU that they did not know, learned, and had fun in a supportive environment. Thanks to the amazing adults that chaperoned the retreat: Dayna Scott, Jen Bickel-Hayes, Seth Emerson, and Rahn Fleming. CY will host another retreat in the spring; if you missed out on the fun this time, we hope you can join us in the spring. Eleven students from CVU attended the Governor’s Youth Leadership Conference at the Sheraton Hotel in Burlington on November 24th. Along with approximately 500 high school students from all over Vermont, students attended workshops that focused on important safety issues like impaired driving, distracted driving, and understanding the teenage brain. Once again the CY Improv troupe was asked to perform at the conference. We offered a workshop focusing on media literacy and tobacco advertising. Students that attended the conference are excited to come back to CVU and implement some of the ideas that learned about at the conference. Did you know that December is National Drug and Drunk Driving Awareness Month? Sadly, impaired car crashes continue to be the number one cause of death for young people ages 15-24. Yet the real tragedy is these crashes are 100% preventable. Any time of year crashes can happen, but with the holidays upon us and road conditions often more treacherous this can increase the risks. During December, we ask drivers to place a red ribbon around side mirror to show support for sober drivers that always wear their safety belt. If you are reading this and have not had a conversation with your child about what they would do if they were in a situation where the driver was impaired, check out the web site www.sadd.org. (Students Against Destructive Decisions). Under the heading resources are great tips to starting a conversation and a great document called the contract for life. For more information about any CY program, please contact Margo Austin at [email protected] or 482-7156. Top Photo Pictured with Governor Douglas is: Alison Giroux, Shannon Ryan, Max Danis, and Kathleen Leach

Photo Left: Lauren Sheidegger, Tim Williams, Ross Glore, Callan Suozzi-Rearic, James Neiley, and Julie Ho.

 

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Music Program Offers New Classes

Parenting Tips for Success Seminar

CVU's music program now includes classes for more than band and chorus. The school offers an ensemble for string orchestra. The new program started this fall and welcomes new string students at any time during the semester. It is not too late for your child to take advantage of this new offering. String orchestra occurs four days a week during Early Block. If your child is an aspiring string player, have him/her take advantage of this additional opportunity to hone playing abilities. In addition to string orchestra, the school has also added a piano playing/music theory class. This is a chance to learn piano without extremely expensive private lessons and delve into music theory in an academic setting. Please encourage your student to take advantage of this class and the brand new piano keyboard lab that has been invested in to musically benefit the students of CVU. If you have any questions or want further information about either of these classes, please feel free to email Deanna Smith at [email protected].

CY-Connecting Youth will offer a one day seminar to help parents polish their parenting skills and give them tips on how to face some of the more challenging adolescent issues. This seminar will be held on Saturday, January 24 from 9:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. at CVU High School. The snow date will be Saturday, January 31. Throughout the day, parents will learn how to strengthen their family bonds; improve communication amongst all members of the family; set clear expectations and guidelines; express and control anger in healthy ways; increase children’s participation in the family; and help their children make healthy choices. The day is open to all parents and guardians, of children in grades 5-10, in the Chittenden South District and includes lunch and snacks. The cost is $30 per parent, and some scholarships are available. Childcare may be available upon request. Preregistration is required and space is limited, so sign up soon! For more information or to register, please call Jen Bickel-Hayes at 482-6951 or e-mail [email protected] . Additional information on CY and its programs can be found at www.seewhy.info.

Engineering Design TASC Competition Congratulations to Olak Verdonk, CVU teacher, and the following students for their participation in the 2008 UVM Engineering Design TASC competition that took place on December 6. The 15 CVU students (in three teams) from the Design TASC Engineering course competed against 40 other engineering teams from all over the state and beyond. The students did a marvelous job representing our school. These students took home some $1,600 in prize money! See the website for more info about the competition: http://www.cems.uvm.edu/TASC/2008/index.htm Team Albatross: Second Place in Uphill course, and Second Place in the Design Notebook category John Dixon (team manager) Cyrus Schenck Tommy Powers Christopher Ghazi Nick LaFrance Team Slice: Second Place in Down Range course, and Second in the Display Table category Eric Kolibas (team manager) Robert Pelletier Elliott Lutton Peter Neu Arles Netherwood-Schwesig Team Iron Shot: First in Chutes and Ladders course, and Third in the Design Notebook category Matt Mainer (team manager) Jack Heaslip Newton Hausermann Mike Bonfigli Jordan Vogler

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The Pasture CVU Student Store

Kids love….

Snow days, lunch break, and

Holiday gifts from CVU’s school store!

Shop Today Block 1: 8:15—9:45 Block 2: 10:00—11:30 Block 4: 1:30—3:00 The store is also open during all home basketball games

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