February started with a special presentation by Dr. Jeffrey Rettew of the UVM Wellness Environment.  During his hour long February 1st presentation, he shared practical advice for developing healthy living habits.  He focused on the development of the adolescent brain and encouraged students to take three minute “mindfulness” breaks to help them focus and deal with stress.  His dialogue with students included a question and answer session that expanded students’ knowledge of how different substances effect their brains.  Afterwards a group of students and staff started meeting to address how we can make our WRVHS a healthier community!

Auditioning for this spring’s drama production of Arsenic and Old Lace is complete and practices have started after school.  This spring’s shows will be April 25-27th; mark your calendars as you’ll want to see this.  Stay tuned for more teasers as the plot develops.

This week we’ll be working on our first Wildcat Personal Learning Plans which we are calling MyPlan!  All 9-11th graders will begin work on their own Google Slide presentations that speak to who they are as learners and what their goals and aspirations are for their education.  This on-going effort will get students thinking about the direction of their studies as they look at the WRVHS course offerings and sign up for classes later in March.

Although we have a few weeks left in our winter sports seasons, we ready ourselves for spring and can finally announce that:

• Sandy Gates—Whitcomb’s former softball coach—has been hired to lead the inaugural Wildcat softball season.
• Devin Cilley—last year’s South Royalton baseball coach—has been chosen to lead the Wildcat baseball team.
• Shannon Palone—returning South Royalton Track and Field coach—awaits another exciting season with both the boys and girls.

In other news, our boys and girls basketball teams continue to show growth and have success on the court.  Here are some photos from their victories against Mid Vermont Christian School last Tuesday.

The New Year @White River Valley High School started with a ROAR.  All of our teams turned out in their new uniforms on January 5 for the renewed tradition of Cancer Awareness Day.  Playing before a packed crowd, teams played in the gym from 9 am to 9 pm as well as in the bowling alley and on the cross country ski trails.

All of the team work and determination was impressive!  Our Wildcats performed well collectively and individually.

A huge thanks goes to everyone whose efforts went in to making this event a fantastic success, especially our Wildcat Athletic Boosters!

In other news—as we start a new semester—we set out to the Vermont Law School to celebrate the life and achievements of Dr. Martin Luther King.  The Honorable Jimmie Edwards will be presenting from 12:45-2:00 in an event that is free and open to the public.

This Friday promises a double whammy of fun for our high school community.  From 6:30 – 8:00 pm,  the WRVS Music Boosters sponsor their annual Pie Night.  The White River Music Boosters (WMB) work to support our wonderful music program.  Pie Night will be followed by the first WRVHS Yule Winter Ball sponsored by the Juniors!  This semi-formal event runs from 7:30-10:30 pm.  

And speaking of supporting school programs, The Wildcat Spirit Store has been updated.  Check out the new styles!  Sunday, February 3rd is the next order deadline.  All proceeds support the WRVS athletic program.

Several crock pots did not make their way home after Cancer Awareness Day.  Are you missing one of these?

Note:  If you happen to catch any of our Wildcat action (especially bowling or Nordic) please send your pics to rmccracken@wrvsu.org for an upcoming newsletter.

Coriolanus: On November 29th we journeyed as a school to Dartmouth’s HOP theater for a performance of Shakespeare’s Coriolanus.  Between the introduction to Shakespeare’s English, students’ learned about the Roman leader Coriolanus, and were asked to draw their own parallels to contemporary civics.

WRVS Newsletter: Take a look at everything going on in the White River Valley School in our Second WRVS Newsletter.  Contents include the December Food Service Menu.  A recent highlight that missed the newsletter deadline was our Music Department’s first Jubilee Concert featuring our new Jazz Band, Choir, and Concert band.

Wildcat Weekly: Click Here for this week’s athletics schedule.

Mark Your Calendars: 

Friday, December 14th is a 1/2 Day.  Students may leave campus at noon; buses will depart around 12:30.

Tuesday, December 18th we host our fall drama production.  The Drama Club will be presenting an Improv Night at 6:30 pm.  This fun, evening of entertainment will showcase the acting skills our students have been working on for the past three months.

Mid-Term Exams start on January 15th which is 18 school days away.  Friday, January 18th is scheduled for students to come in for make-ups.  Students who are caught up are not required to come to school that day.

The Wildcat Roars now comes out bi-weekly.  Look for the next issue on January 7th! 

Welcome Back from the Thanksgiving Holiday!

Last week’s Morning Meeting featured lots of compliments from our “Compliment Box” and a series of Thanksgiving readings.  Students regularly express gratitude for others in our community via our “Compliments Box”.   We also made a circle in the gym for Thanksgiving readings and additional expressions of gratitude.

Other recent fun projects on campus included work on the Robotics class lander and this snowman.

 

Finally, civic minded students may be interested to compete in the following contests:

The American Legion Oratorical Contest: Deadline 11/30. ($18,000 first prize)

Bernie Sanders State of the Union Essay Contest: Deadline 1/9/19

Additional information can be found in the office.

The Wildcat Roars blog is now published bi-weekly. 

At last Friday’s morning meeting, veteran Shannon Palone gave a moving tribute to our veterans and explained the significance of the Veteran’s Day holiday we celebrate today.  Then teacher Claire Epchook delivered a message about the brain that ended with encouraging the members of our community to Change Our Story with sayings such as:

This is challenging for me. I welcome it.

If I practice I will get better.

I just need to start trying.

I need to manage my time so I can maximize my opportunities.

This is the type of thinking described by psychologist Carol Dweck in her bestseller Mindset: The New Psychology of Success.  It contrasts with phrases common to a fixed mindset such as:

I am not talented.

I can’t do that.

It takes too much time.            

I don’t like_______________.

Studies show that more successful learners and organizations approach their work with the “Can Do” type of thinking embodied in the first set of phrases.  Throughout the year we will continue to explore with students what they want for themselves and how they can get there.  Central to this work will be developing and refining student’s aspirations into a Personal Learning Plan.  This work will become more involved in the coming week.  More on this to follow.

Open House: Thank you all for coming out.  Here’s a link to our Parent Conference survey.  Informally we’ve received lots of positive feedback and a few suggestions, but we’d like the benefit of a broader sample if you’d consider filling out this survey for us.

And to wrap up here’s The Wildcat Review of our Fall Sports:

Girls Soccer
In the first year of the Wildcat Athletic program, the High School Girls Soccer team experienced the highs and lows of a competitive season, rallying to a strong finish and an overall record of 6-6-1. Despite falling in a highly contested playoff match-up with conference foe Rivendell, the team proved to be a spirited group whose persistence paved the way for their best soccer to be played at the end of the season. Consistent key performances from Emma Gillette (Sr), Grace LaFromboise (Jr), Sylvie Coltey (Jr) and Sarah Howe (Fr) combined as a force to be reckoned with at the offensive end of the field while the defense was anchored by Sophomore goalie Fiona Vaillancourt and defenders Blake Southworth (So), Lily Hudson (So), Stella Jones (So), and Kaylyn Scoskie (Jr). Junior Sylvie Coltey and Sophomore Lily Hudson were recognized with All-League Honors for their efforts.

Boys Soccer
The inaugural season for the White River Valley Wildcats boys soccer team was a great success. Finishing with an overall record of 11-3-1, the foundation of success was built prior to the season when the team started working together on their own and strengthened team chemistry. The new “’Cats!” cheer took some time to get used to but became a defining component of the team identity as the games went by. Among the season’s highlights and most memorable moments were the very first WRVS home game which ended in a 2-0 victory vs MSJ, a road win vs D2 Otter Valley, and the team swims in the river after steamy pre-season practices. Leading the way for the Wildcats were Seniors Sam Fisk, Jacob Hewitt, Gabriel Feeney, and Gavin Turner with significant contributions from Sophomores Carder Stratton and Jacob Barry. Fisk and Stratton received First team All-League recognition while Turner was recognized on the Honorable Mention All-League team.

Cross Country
The Cross Country team had a great year, competing in nine regular season meets, the CVL Championships held at Chelsea, and the state championships at Thetford Academy. Highlighted by steady improvement throughout the season, nearly every runner shaved time in each race, led by Seniors Laurel and Keegan Marshia. Alex Madden and Hayden Howe consistently performed well on the boys side while Alexis Taylor young and Taryn Nelson competed well for the girls. With a first place finish at the CVL Championships, Laurel Mashia collected top accolades for the Wildcats earning the sole All-League recognition in the CVL.

The end of Quarter 1 is upon us…Wednesday, October 31st to be precise. This will be followed by Parent Conferences on Thursday, November 8th. Starting at 3:15 teachers will be stationed in the gym for arena style, first-come, first-served parent conferences. Come pick up your student’s report card from 3:15 to 7:00 pm and meet with the teachers you like at your convenience. Folks arriving earlier in the afternoon are likely to avoid any lines.

This week’s highlights include some of the first robots rolling out of our new Robotics lab, a great student showing at our Halloween Hallway Dance, and a tremendous display of Wildcat courage as two of our runners (and fans!) fought off freezing rain and temperatures to represent the Gold and Green at the VT State XC Championships in Thetford on Saturday.

Our Halloween Dance takes place this Thursday night 10/25 from 7 to 10 pm.  There is no school on Friday 10/26.  Students are encouraged to wear costumes and will save $2 off admission if they do.  The best costume will win a prize!

Seven weeks into the semester we’ve taken many students off-site for work-based learning experiences.  (Note: that means there are only seven days left in the first marking period which ends on 10/31.)  Kudos to Mary Waterman who fosters  community connections with our valuable partners.  See if you can figure out what each of these students is learning about:

Or what about these jobs that our WRVHS women learned about at the Women Can Do Conference:

How would you like to learn how to harvest and fertilize trout eggs?

This week the Child Development Class held a Happy Face Pancake Showdown…Mr. White and I had the privilege of tasting all the entries as judges.  Entrants developed their own pancake recipes.  Which looks tastiest to you?

And finally the regular sports seasons wrapped up this weekend as the Varsity Boys Soccer team tied Thetford 1-1 in their season finale.

The Girls Varsity Soccer Team finished their last home game strong with a 6-2 victory.

And finally mark your calendars for the first White River Valley High Graduation ceremony on Saturday, June 15th at 10 am on the South Royalton Green.