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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,
Last Friday while I was on duty 15 students joined me for breakfast, 40 showed up for lunch, and 12 of us ate dinner together. The low attendance was striking, but not necessarily abnormal given our mid-January schedules. This time of year, GMVS sometimes feels like a scatterplot - we're all moving in the same general direction, but rarely in the same location at the same time.
On Monday, the lunch line was out the door and the dining hall was packed. As I watched students pile in, I was struck by two things: 1) that it was one of those rare mid-winter days when all students (save one or two) are on campus, and 2) that when our community comes back together, it really comes back together.
I witness students asking each other thoughtful questions and engaging in healthy banter. Whether fresh off a podium, discouraged about their performance, or frustrated having been sidelined by an acute or season-ending injury, it was like they'd never left. One current parent who couldn't make it to our recent Parents' Weekend summarized it well, "We miss him, but he's with his people." The cool thing about the GMVS community is that that will never change.
The friendships formed through the trials and tribulations of life at GMVS last a lifetime. In the past two years, I've watched alumni young and old, from the Class of 1980 to the Class of 2009 engage in the exact same banter. I look forward to seeing the gentle ribbing among alumni inspire generous contributions to our Annual Fund and healthy attendance at our upcoming alumni events (see below).
We are pleased to announce the recent hiring of Tyra MacGuffie as our new Director of Advancement. Tyra joins us from Sun Valley where she is currently finishing up her role as the Director of Development at Higher Ground, a non-profit organization focused on bringing adaptive sports to individuals with disabilities including those who have been injured through their military service for the U.S. Prior to her work at Higher Ground, Tyra was the Director of Development at the Community School in Sun Valley.
Tyra's familiarity with the sport of ski racing and GMVS runs deep as both of her children race for the Sun Valley Ski Education Foundation and her husband Scott was a member of the GMVS Class of 1985. She is eager to help transform our development and fundraising efforts, and has already begun work with our Advancement team. Although Tyra will be based out of Sun Valley from now until the end of April, she will be spending one week of each month on campus starting next week. Please join me in welcoming Tyra to our vibrant team and I invite you to stop by and say hello to her next week.
Lastly, I want to thank those of you who battled the nasty weather during Parents' Weekend and joined us for our battery of events. By all accounts, the weekend was positive and informative for both parents and us as a staff. If you were unable to attend, we invite you to reach out to individual teachers to schedule conferences, and we encourage you to stay tuned for alternate ways to hear about the findings of my Entry Process and to learn about the college process.
Warmly,
Tracy Keller
Head of School
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RAY CINTI WINS NATIONAL SCIENCE TEACHER AWARD
We are very pleased to share the news that biology teacher Ray Cinti has been selected by the National Science Teachers Association as the 2018 recipient of the Ron Mardigian Biotechnology Explorer Award, an award that honors one science teacher who demonstrates "exemplary science teaching skills."
Ray will be attending the NSTA National Conference in Atlanta in March, where he will be recognized at their Awards Gala on Friday evening, March 16th. As part of Ray's award, he will also receive funding from Bio-Rad, a company that supplies many of the science materials Ray uses in his biology labs on campus.
Ron Mardigian, the person for whom the award was named, was one of the pioneers of bringing biotechnology into high school science classrooms. Ray had the opportunity to meet Ron and feels particularly honored to receive this award commemorating one of the people who has been an inspiration in his own work. Congratulations to Ray! We are incredibly proud to have him on our team!
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GMVS REPRESENTS AT WORLD JUNIORS
The GMVS community is well represented at the FIS Junior World Alpine Ski Championships in Davos, Switzerland with four current or former students earning start spots in the event.
Recent alums Declan McCormack '17, representing Canada, and Jimmy Krupka '16, representing the United States, will compete along side current students Zach Roman '18, representing Ireland, and Abi Jewett '18 representing the U.S.
Abi's starts the ball rolling for GMVS competitors at Davos with the Women's GS and SL on January 30 and 31. Speed events for both genders follow, and the festivities end with Declan, Jimmy and Zach competing in the men's GS and SL on Februray 6 and 7.
Read the official press release from U.S. Ski and Snowboard about the U.S. team here!
Go TEAM GMVS!
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EASTERN CUP AT RIKERT NORDIC CENTER
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EASTERN CARNIVAL SEASON KICKS OFF
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Elliot Ketchel '17 on course at Colby Carnival 2018
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The Eastern Intercollegiate Ski Association 2018 season has kicked off, with plenty of GMVS representation. Colby College hosted the opening Carnival January 13th & 14th (Nordic), January 21st & 22nd (Alpine) at Sugarloaf.
Nordic skiers got a head start on the Saint Michael's Carnival at nearby Sleepy Hollow on January 20th and 21st, and alpine racing continues this weekend at Smugglers Notch and Sugarbush. Come check out the best collegiate racers in the country on Inverness on Sunday when we'll be hosting a makeup slalom from Colby.
Be sure to check out the EISA Results throughout the season at https://eisaskiing.blogspot.com/.
GMVS is proud to have 35 alumni playing a role on their Division I Eastern Intercollegiate teams as either athletes or coaches. Good luck to all this season!
Bates |
Forrest Hamilton, Micaela Holland (Head Coach), Amelia Kaplan, Max Schneider, Josh Turner |
Bowdoin |
Elliot Ketchel |
Boston College |
Ben DeFlavio (Head Coach), Maddie Davis, Natalie Wetmore |
Dartmouth |
Walker Bean, Alexa Dlouhy, Brian McLaughlin, Mikaela O'Brien, Thomas Woolson, Hannah Utter |
Harvard |
Carter Kendig |
Middlebury |
Pate Campbell, Jack Schibli, Max Stamler, Katie Utter |
St. Lawrence |
Carter Armstrong, Ali Price, Tarrah Price |
St. Michael's |
Danny Duffy, Kara Gailiunas, Clara Lopez Costa |
UNH |
Genevieve Frigon, Maddy Pfeifer, Logan Slattery |
UVM |
David Frisk, Ryan Mooney, Ian Moore, Sandy Vietze |
Williams |
Nick Gardner,Heidi Halvorsen |
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2018 EISA Carnival Schedule
Colby Carnival |
Nordic - January 13-14, 2018 Alpine - January 20-21, 2018 |
St. Michael's Carnival |
Nordic - January 20-21, 2018 Alpine - January 26-27, 2018 |
UVM Carnival |
February 2-3, 2018
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Dartmouth Carnival |
February 9-10, 2017 |
Williams Carnival |
February 16-17, 2018 |
NCAA Regionals / Middlebury Carnival |
February 23-24, 2018 |
NCAA Skiing Championships
Hosted by University of Colorado |
March 7-10, 2018 |
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SAVE THE DATE FOR UPCOMING GMVS EVENTS
Park City Alumni Event, February 10
Gather with alumni from GMVS, BMA, CVA and Rowmark to celebrate GMVS and the Ski Academy experience. Saturday, February 10th from 5:00pm to 7:00pm at Fletcher's in Park City. If you did not get the invitation via email please contact Jen White (jwhite@gmvs.org).
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Alumni Winter Carnival, March 23-25
Join fellow alumni for our 1st ever Alumni Winter Carnival: an awesome weekend to enjoy winter at Sugarbush. Weekend festivities include skiing, a race on Inverness, apres ski, great meals and great company! For more information or to register, click HERE. If you did not get the invitatation via email with the details please contact Jen White jwhite@gmvs.org).
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ELITEAM REGISTRATION NOW OPEN
Eliteam conditioning camps, run by Doug and Kelly Lewis, are designed for young
athletes, ages 8 to 14. The camps feature workouts to help improve athletes' balance, agility, coordination, strength and power. The athletes work hard and have fun as they push their limits with a variety of traditional and unique workouts, as well as sessions on sports psychology and nutrition.
Learn more here!
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GMVS ONLINE STORE
Check out our new logowear (Big Truck hats, hoodies, and t-shirts) and gear up to support Gumbies around the world as the season continues.
Order HERE!
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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 Freshman Audrey Lafrance: A great shot of something simple yet truly beautiful! |
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Last Week's Photo of the Week from alumni parent Peter Woolson: Gumby in the Gate! |
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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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Happy U16s enjoy some sunshine at the Inverness start shack! |
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Great day for a race on Inverness: sunshine, firm snow, and a large field
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Building models of DNA in Biology class
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Ice Hockey: a great alternative on a rainy day
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