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GREEN MOUNTAIN VALLEY SCHOOL
Notes from Campus
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NOTES FROM THE HEAD OF SCHOOL
Dear Members of the GMVS Community,
"Closed for Stick Season." That might be the most commonly seen sign around the Mad River Valley this week. Yes, soccer season is over, Theater Weekend has come and gone, the leaf peepers have gone home, and gloomy, grey November has set in.
I have to admit, I was a little worried about my first "stick season" back in Vermont, especially when anticipating the end of daylight savings. Who, in their right mind, likes November in Vermont?
Well, a lot of us do.
There's something special that comes with plummeting temperatures, the sound of snow guns, and sunsets before 5:00pm. It's the anticipation of winter. We imagine what's to come: dressing in speedsuits and bibs, sipping hot chocolate in the lodge, nursing frostbite, and awaiting our turn to show the world what we've been up to since the race season ended last April.
Just as old man winter makes his arrival here in Vermont, over 120 eager GMVS students are kicking off the 2017-2018 ski season out West. For them, winter has already arrived, and it's time to focus on what's right in front of them and what brought us here in the first place -- skiing.
While our campus in Fayston might very well be closed for stick season, GMVS is open for business in Colorado, Sun Valley and West Yellowstone this month.
Think Snow!
Tracy Keller
Head of School
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PHOTOS OF THE WEEK
Each week we select a "Photo of the Week" to share throughout GMVS communications. Anyone can submit images! Email images to:
photos@gmvs.org.
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| This week's Photo of the Week is a little flashback to Halloween from Kerry Jackson: Tim and Andrea got in on the costumes for our trick-or-treating hour! |
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| Last Week's Photo of the Week from PG/FIS men's coach Nate Bryant! An early morning hike up Mt Ellen at the tail end of last week brought some good looking views on Lookin' Good and Rim Run! |
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Rena on her way to the win! |
Schwartz Crowned X-C State Champion...Again
Senior Rena Schwartz finished her high school cross-country career in style in the State Championships at Thetford Academy, winning the 5k Division I race by nearly a minute and a half. This is the fourth title for Rena, who won the DII races in 2014 and 2015 as a student at U-32.
Rena won last year's DI race, and this year's time of 18:59.6 was a personal best on the tough, hilly course, considered to be one of the best and most challenging trails in New England. Rena started out fast, tearing away to a 30-second lead after just 1K. She then pulled away over the climbs of the second part of the course, and there was nary a competitor in sight as she broke the tape for the win.
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Soccer Teams Rebuild
Well, this was a season that both teams will like to put behind them, as neither team was able to manage a win. That being said, both squads played very difficult schedules, made tougher by the interruption of the fall camps, the demands of Theater, and nagging injuries to several key players.
There were many bright spots, though. The girls played one of the most exciting matches in recent memory in the final game of the regular season, as they dropped a 3-2, double-overtime loss at heavily-favored Harwood, a team that beat them 4-0 in the first game of the season. Lydia Riddell and Emma Austin each were the beneficiaries of passes from Erika Wiebe for the GMVS goals, and Sophie Rosen made many key stops in net to force the extra time. In the playoff at #1 seed Rice Memorial, GMVS kept the game close at 1-0 at the half, before some untimely penalty calls allowed the hosts to pull away to win 4-0 (the same score they beat Mt. Abe by in the semifinals, btw).
The boys also had an outstanding final match, and despite taking a 1-0 first-half lead, dropped a tough 3-2 match at Mt. Abe. Stunning goals set up by Peter Laino and Johann Meyer were hammered home by Christian Riis and Casey Segal, and the team showed great spirit throughout. The regular season highlight was certainly the lively game against Harwood on Parents' Weekend, when our local rivals came away with a tough 1-0 win (and this is a team that won its State semifinal match 7-0...).
Finally, senior team captains Lindsey Crowell and Max Martin were voted by the Vermont Soccer Coaches' Association to the All State team for Division II, earning the right to vie for a spot on this summer's Lions' Cup game versus all stars from New Hampshire. For Lindsey this marks a record 4 years in a row that she earned All-State honors.
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| Senior team captains Lindsey Crowell and Max Martin |
The teams next year will look to the large number of young players that each roster featured this season, in the hope of once again returning to prominence on the state soccer scene.
Jere Brophy (Athletic Director) sent an inspiring email to the student body on October 25, right after the girls returned from the playoff loss at Rice. We thought you might like to read it:
Soccer Seasons in Perspective.
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ALL SCHOOL OLYMPICS AND SENIOR LEADERSHIP
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The Senior Leadership Class organized an all school Olympic event for last Tuesday's training blocks. Senior Leadership is an elective that roughly half of this year's senior class took during the 1st Quarter of the fall. Their final assignment was to plan and facilitate an all school activity to take place prior to departures for Colorado and West Yellowstone. This year's group decided to utilize the "families" that already exist for Community Nights as the teams. There are 12 families, randomly comprised of 9 students across all ages, boarding and day, alpine and Nordic.
The class then decided on 6 games (Basketball, Dodgeball, Volleyball, Touch Football, Soccer, and Relay Races) that would be played, and a rotation of play that allowed each family to play against each other at some point in the rotation. Teams received points based on whether they won or lost their match up. Families organized themselves with team colors, making the spirit of the activity come alive. Coaches helped by managing stations and reporting scores. Prizes included a dish crew off for the winning family and ice cream sandwiches for the 2nd and 3rd place families.
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Family 8 in Action
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1st Place -- Family 3:
Lindsey Crowell, Hunter Kendig, Raymo Blancato, Sammie Gaul, Hayden VanAlstine, Tanner Ketchel, Grace Braun, Erika Wiebe and Jack Despres
2nd Place -- Family 4:
Allie Davis, Will Francis, Abi Jewett, Grace Cisler, Ariana Welter, Cristian Riis, Andrew Postal, Julia Brophy, and Sofia Yubero
3rd Place -- Family 8:
Alex Cossette, Nick Wilkerson, Abi Guimond, Markus Basciano, Riley Kern, Ryan Beardsley, Carly Elsinger,
and Tomas Barata.
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G7 PROGRAM BEGINS
The 7th grade program started last Wednesday, November 1 when five seventh graders joined us from around Vermont and New Hampshire.
They are here for one week of classes and training before heading to Colorado with other U14s for an on-snow training camp.
Welcome G7s!
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CHICAGO, THE MUSICAL -- IT SPEAKS FOR ITSELF
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Congrats to this year's cast, crew, and volunteers for four fabulous shows!
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NEW GMVS BIKE KITS
Treat yourself (or your loved ones) to a GMVS bike kit. In collaboration with Panache, the new bike kits are available for order through November 15th.
To place an order follow this link:
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A FEW SNAPS FROM OUR RECENT ADVENTURES
Check out great photos of GMVS activities on SmugMug, a photo-sharing website where we post pictures from races, games, camps, theater and other weekly campus events.
The website is gmvs.smugmug.com and the password is: GMVScommunity (it is case sensitive).Visit
GMVS SmugMug now!
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| Karl hard at work prepping skis for Colorado |
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8th Grade APC Students Prepping for the Egg Drop Experiment
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| A couple of proud coaching dads. |
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| New friends on the way home from Burlington |
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