White River Valley High sent 15 students to learn and perform at the Winooski Valley Music Festival on Thursday and Friday, November 21-22.  Can you spot the seven WRVHS students on stage in this photo?

Our students showcased their hard work on stage at the Festival’s Friday evening concert.  Logan Burbank, Hayden Howe, Colin LaFromboise, Julia Morse, Rachel Poupolo, Ellie Prestridge, and Caleb Thornton sang in the chorus.

Hannah Clavelle, Grace Collins, Maria Gray, Taryn Nelson, Kendrick Madore, Danny Smith, Ryan Smith, and Sean Smith gave instrumental performances in one of the bands.  I wish all of you could have heard the wonderful music they made together with the most talented high school musicians in our region.

Thanks to all the winter sports families who came out on Friday evening, November 22nd!  While not everyone could be there we were pleased with the turnout and the valuable sports nutrition information shared by Dietician Alison Felipp.

The Spring Musical is in the works! Our cast of WRVHS actors, actresses, and stage crew met with our new Spring Musical Director Natasha Troop last Monday to start selecting a show.  Look for info on auditions soon as we hope to have the cast set and a first reading completed before we go on Christmas break.

Finally I’d like to wrap up by saying thank you to everyone for participating in our Wildcat Gratitude Circle on the Tuesday before Thanksgiving.  I appreciate all of you for what you bring to our community.

 

 

This past weekend we enjoyed the White River Valley High School Drama Program’s production of Oscar Wilde’s The Importance of Being Earnest.  I have so much admiration for our actors and actresses who confidently step out into the lights with everyone focused on their every word!  Classes stopped on Thursday afternoon for a performance for the entire high school and the show opened to the public on Friday for two evening shows.  Dressed in costumes of Victorian England, our troop brought laughter to the audience with their witty dialogue and physical comedy.

Kudos to our Theatrical Director Molly O’Brien who has worked tirelessly coaching our students to get them ready for this performance. From performing on stage to working behind the scenes nearly 15% of our student body contributed to the show’s success.

And kudos to the stage crew who handled the make-up, lights, sets, and everything else that goes on behind the scenes!

Special thanks to the supporting cast of volunteers and staff who made this all possible:   Abbey Goodrich, Julie Mabey, Bonnie Vanfossen, Katie Collins, Jim Hewitt, Lori Eggum, Bridgett Taylor, Andrew Smith, Wyatt Slater, and Ramsey McLaughlin Papp & the Chandler Center for the Arts. 

Finally, fill out this Google survey so we can get your thoughts on what you’d like to do for our spring musical.

 

Today we remember our veterans!  White River Valley High School paid tribute to the veterans who have served our country last week at our Veteran’s Day Seminar.

Last Wednesday WRVHS students met nine former members of our armed forces who shared their experiences and answered questions as part of a panel discussion.  Students had the chance to meet, eat, and share stories with these members of our local community.  Students learned why we celebrate 11/11 each year; and they learned about the sacrifices made during war and peace, and from Afghanistan to Vietnam.  In addition to our panel discussion–complete with patriotic music from the WRVHS band–students read and discussed a short essay about war, made thank you signs, and wrote cards for veterans at the VA hospital.

Coming up this week is our fall production of The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde.  Students will perform for the general public on Friday, 11/15 and Saturday 11/16  at 7 pm.  This is a one act show.  It is exciting to be in the audience as our student performers show us their best stuff after months of rehearsals.  

Also coming up on Friday, November 22nd from 6-7 will be our Winter Sports Parent-Athlete meeting.  Our featured guest will be Alison Felipp, a registered dietician, who will discuss the importance of healthy eating and diet for optimal sports performance.

On November 1st our Halloween Hall Dance was fun-filled with great friends, music, and costumes.  Thank you Student Council for sponsoring this free social event!

And finally this past week we wrapped up our Fall Sports season with an awards ceremony in the gym.  Congratulations to all our athletes who took home Coaches’ Awards, Good Sportsmanship Awards, and All-State Honors!  We are proud of our student athletes, especially our boys’ soccer team who could have gotten demoralized after a 0-4 start, but came back to win 8 of their last 10 games.

Congrats to our Wildcats Soccer student-athletes for making this year’s VPA playoffs. Here is the latest information for you all about playoffs! (As of noon Monday 10/21).

• Our Varsity Lady Wildcats who are ranked 9th in D3 will travel to take on the number 8th ranked BFA-Fairfax Wednesday, 10/23 for a 3 PM start.  The bus will depart at noon.
• Our Varsity Mens’ Wildcats who are ranked 6th in D4 will take on the 11th ranked Richford on Wednesday at 3 PM right here at White River Valley High School.

Thanks to all of you who joined us for our Open House two weeks ago.  We hope you were able to get a taste of what your student’s schedule is like.  The event also gave us a chance to officially open our new stage curtains for the first time.  This year the music program features:

• Twice as many planned performances
• Formation of WRVHS Pep Band – The Wildcat Pride
• New Chamber Singers Ensemble
• New Drumline Ensemble – The WD

Plus we’ve seen a 200% increase in jazz band participation, a 40% increase in concert band, and a 44% increase in concert choir.  Thanks to music director Josh Pauly and accompanist Dale Post for all their hard work and our first Wildcat Fall Music Sampler.

For a more in-depth look at your student’s learning and progress please join us on Wednesday, November 6th for our Parent Conferences.  This will be the earliest opportunity for you to see your student’s Quarter 1 Report Card.  For those of you who will be attending for the first time, teachers will be available at tables in our gym from 1:30-6:30 to meet individually with you.  No appointments are needed; you can see as many of your student’s teachers as you like.

Finally I’d like to you share with you a short presentation I gave to our student body in Morning Meeting today.  The presentation shares the value of a high school diploma in economic terms based on median personal income figures collected for 2015 by the US Census Bureau.  I came across this data in presidential candidate Andrew Yang’s new 2019 book: The War on Normal People.  His discussion of trends in the workforce expanded my thinking about the future facing our students.

Finally I’m going to sign off with some pictures of our girls’ soccer team that were shared with me by parent Jennifer Morse.  If you come across pictures of our students or campus life, I’d love to be able to share them.

 

This issue of The Wildcat Roars brings lots of images from last week’s pep rally and bonfire games.  But before the pictures, please put Thursday, October 3rd on your calendar for our Open House.  From 5-5:30 will be a Wildcat BBQ; pick up food in the cafeteria…eat outside in the courtyard weather permitting.  At 5:45 there will be a presentation in the large gym for 9th-11th grade parents while there is an info session for senior parents in the library.  From 6-7 pm, you’ll have a chance to walk through the schedule, meet teachers, and learn a little about your child’s classes.  Then we encourage you to head to the small gym at 7pm for a musical sampling from our band and chorus.

Now for the pictures…

The Wildcat in Action

Boys & Girls Soccer Introductions

2019 Softball and Baseball State Championship Banner Unveiling

Team Dodgeball

Staff Highlights

The Cheering Section

Girls’ Soccer

Boys’ Soccer

Bonfire

This weekend the newly formed Wildcat Varsity Bass Fishing team competed in the Vermont Principal’s Association Fall Classic Bass Fishing Tournament in South Hero.  Representing the Wildcats from left to right are Tyler Ballentine, Garrett Laskowski, Caleb Covey, and Eddie Staples.  I also want to give a special thanks to coaches Paul Feeney and Jeff Barry for making our team possible.

Also this past week,  a group of Wildcats left our den and traveled to St. Michael’s College in Colchester for their annual College Fair.  Many of our juniors and seniors visited with college representatives and turned up the volume on their college admissions process. Throughout the year we encourage students to visit with college reps at organized events like this, as well as more personal visits on campus.  We also plan to take one trip out of state in the Spring to visit several colleges.

Finally this week is our Fall Spirit Week which culminates on Friday with a Spirit Assembly followed by girls’ and boys’ soccer games against rival Rivendell.  The girls play first at 4:30, followed by the boys at 6:15 under the lights.  This is followed by a White River Valley High School tradition: our annual bonfire built and lit by our seniors.

 

 

 

Our second year as White River Valley Wildcats is off with a roar! Wednesday, August 28th began with all students meeting in the gym for Morning Meeting where important messages and announcements are shared.  Students got their schedules which are being fined tuned this coming week as we wrap up our Add/Drop Period.

Many students brought back their signed registration forms.  Thank you for taking the time to update your information and authorizations.  We also encourage you to apply for Free and Reduced Lunch; this funding source helps us provide nutritious meals three times a day to all of our students.

Our sport season kicked off on August 24th with the rebirth of an old tradition: the pre-season Soccer Jamboree.  Nearly a dozen schools came to South Royalton over the course of the day to compete in girl’s and boy’s soccer.  Click here for this upcoming week’s schedule.

 

Finally I’d like to introduce two of our newest staff members; Heidi Wright (left) is our new Co-Curricular Director and Kate George (right) is now our Front Office Assistant.  Many of you have met Heidi as she is in charge our our athletics programs, while Kate will be your primary contact re: attendance matters.