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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,
The modern holiday season is synonymous with cold snowy nights, sleigh rides, bells, greenery decorated with white lights, presents wrapped up with bows, Santa Claus and his eight reindeer, cookies, and of course family. It's so easy to get wrapped up in the hubbub of the holiday season, that sometimes it's hard to remember that the holidays are about being with our families -- whether biological or otherwise.
Last Tuesday evening, the student body gathered together as a family to celebrate the holiday season at our Community Dinner. As Santa's helpers passed out gifts, students slowed down for a second, engaged in conversation with one another, and enjoyed each other's company. As they took off in a flurry of happiness headed toward the Doug Parker Center for holiday crafts, their laughter lingered along with their discarded wrapping paper.
Juxtaposed with that image is the one we heard about yesterday during Assembly. As we prepared to wrap 100+ gifts for the Lund Family Center, their Director of Adoption, Wanda Audette, told stories of children who don't know what it means to be loved unconditionally, who don't expect to receive gifts over the holidays, and for whom "family" is an elusive term.
Families come in many shapes and sizes. And, in almost all of the conversations I've had with alumni and staff over the last few months, they've used the term "family" to describe GMVS. Over the last six months, I've come to understand what they mean by that. The ties that bind families together are the same that tie gumbies together.
So whether your holiday "family" gatherings include brothers, sisters, parents, and grandparents, or whether they're made up of fellow ski racers and GMVS graduates, take time to enjoy one another and celebrate all the holidays have to offer.
Happy Holidays and we'll see you in 2018!
Tracy Keller
Head of School
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Greg Burt and Nick Wilkerson in the train during the 10k Classic Mass Start |
XC IS ROLLING:
EASTERN CUP #1 IN THE BOOKS
The XC Team returned from the first NENSA (New England Nordic Ski Association) Eastern Cup late Sunday night after a busy -- and cold -- weekend in Fort Kent, ME.
All of our summer and fall training hours appear to be paying off: the Gumbies came out charging with their race bibs on this weekend. The team made the long haul up to Aroostook County in the far north woods of Maine and we were greeted with perfect ski conditions -- hard tracks, lots of snow and
two days of fierce competition with a Skate Sprint on Saturday and a Classic Mass Start on Sunday
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Carl Kellogg raises his hands in victory after winning the U16 Sprint |
There is nothing better this time of year than reuniting with close friends on the ski trails and kicking off the racing season. At the end of the weekend there were smiles all around, and vans full of tired coaches and kids as we made the trek back to the Mad River Valley. The Nordies were back just in time to finish up the last three days of classes before holiday break.
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USING HUMOR TO HIGHLIGHT ACADEMIC HABITS
With the busiest months of ski travel ahead of us after the holiday break, we enter the time when students are in and out of classes for race travel, and the communication and organizational skills we work to foster in our students become most important. In an effort to remind everyone what it takes to thrive academically through race season, a group of teachers and coaches took to the stage. In
A Winter's Tale: A Play in Three Acts, students watched three conversations between a teacher and a student, each with his and her own hilarious inside voice contributing to the dialog. The coaches on stage played the student roles and each was recruited for the job because of their expertise: Dan Bell, Adam Julius, Peter Kling and Andrew McNealus brought special insight to the role! The three conversations take place before, during and after ski travel. Key takeaways? Direct communication about travel schedules and class expectations is key. Demonstrated effort and commitment buys flexibility and support. And when things get tough, Gumbies know how to push themselves to get things done! So much of our success as a program stems from open, supportive communication and a shared desire to see students succeed, and the teachers' play was a celebration of what makes GMVS work so well.
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USST NATIONAL PARALLEL SYSTEM
Grace Braun, Ariana Welter and Nevin Vilandrie earned an invitation to a USST NPS (National Parallel System) Super G and GS training camp in Copper, Colorado earlier this month. Here are some thoughts from coach Bart Bradford about the camp:
"The venue at Copper is world class with a group of world class coaches. The ability to have the best U16s in the country come together for these projects is outstanding."
"Grace, Ariana, and Nevin all came away feeling really good about being in this great environment. The group was very focused and committed to bringing their very best everyday."
"GMVS athletes were prepared for this challenge and opportunity and came away having a successful camp.
They were not only able to compete with their peers but make connections and friends that will be in the game for years to come."
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| Jackson, Markus, Raymo and Moro visiting DU |
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INSPIRING A SPIRIT OF GIVING WITH THE LUND CENTER
The GMVS Community held its 3rd annual wrapping extravaganza to help the Lund
Program of Vermont. Wanda Audette, Director of Adoptions at Lund, joined us again this year to talk to the students and staff about the number of children waiting for homes in Vermont. Her stories, about the children and adults we give gifts to every year, are what makes this day so special.
The Lund Program works to break the cycles of poverty, addiction and abuse by supporting pregnant and parenting teens, young adults, and adoptive families with integrated, compassionate services. The overarching goal of Lund's education, treatment, adoption and family support services is that every
child grows up in a safe, secure and loving family.
It is such an honor to give over 100 gifts to the families and children in the Lund program. We truly love this partnership and are grateful for an excuse to give, and celebrate the act of giving, during this holiday season.
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Students enjoying a wonderful meal! |
Last Tuesday we were treated to a festive Community Night. The evening began with a delicious meal prepared by Amanda and Melissa featuring Mango Lime Chicken and Coconut Rice. The tables were festively set and a few of Santa's elves (Coach Dani's sons Robby and Ollie) handed gifts out to students as they arrived. Staff volunteered for dish crew so students could enjoy the meal to the fullest.
The event then moved over to the Student Center where students decorated homemade sugar cookies, painted ornaments, and played in the snow. Community Night is a homework-free night so that students can slow down from the normal GMVS pace, catch up with friends, and relax. This night couldn't have been better planned in that it happened to coincide with the first big snow storm of the year. What better way to celebrate than a wonderful meal, no homework and a free ski day on Wednesday!
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MAX MARTIN EARNS LIONS' CUP HONORS
The roster for the annual Lions' Cup Twin State soccer all-star game was announced last week, and GMVS captain Max Martin was named to the squad that will take on New Hampshire's best next summer.
Max was selected as one of 24 Vermont seniors to take the field for the game, which will be held at Castleton University on Saturday, July 21. The players will get together for a 2-day training camp ahead of the game, before squaring off against the top players from the Granite State in what is traditionally a very exciting match.
Max impressed the Vermont coaching staff not only with his standout play during the season, but also with his performance at the Senior Classic on November 5th. At that event, Max played with and against the best players in the state, and it is quite an honor for him to be part of the group that emerged from that event to make the Lions' Cup squad. He is the latest in a line of GMVS players to be on the Vermont team, the most recent being Logan Slattery and Brian Chambers, both of whom were named to the 2015 team.
Congratulations, Max!
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Please mark your calendars for this year's Winter Parents' Weekend, January 12th and 13th. Stay tuned for additional information about the weekend's events and a sign up for Parent/Teacher Conferences. In the meantime, here is an abbreviated schedule of events:
Friday, January 12th
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8:30-12:00 PM
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Parent/Teacher Conferences and Meetings with Advisors
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Saturday, January 13th
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7:45-10:00 AM
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Registration/Continental Breakfast
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8:00-1:00 PM
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Parent/Teacher Conferences and Meetings with Advisors
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1:00-1:45 PM
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Coaching Group Meetings (Parents and Coaches Only)
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2:00-2:45 PM
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State of the School Meeting
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3:00-3:45 PM
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U14 Coaching Group Meeting (Parents and Coaches Only)
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3:00-4:45 PM
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Navigating the College Process
A workshop for parents and students of the Class of 2019
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5:00-7:00 PM
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Community Cocktail Party
Sugarbush Inn, Sugarbush Access Road, Warren, VT
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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 from Coach McNealus: he captured this beautiful shot on a race morning last week at Stowe |
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| Last Week's Photo of the Week from 8th grader Morgan Edenbach: Fresh snow on campus! |
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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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| U14s enjoying the powder day! |
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| Sally Knight Utter '87, Al Hobart, Kristen Spahr Cook '86 reconnect at the Holiday Party |
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Rena Schwartz leading the charge in the Skate Sprint with Ursula Volz not far behind
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| Nordic coaches enjoying a blue sky day |
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Biology students testing the effect of
various sucrose solutions during osmosis |
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