NOTES FROM THE HEAD OF SCHOOL
 
Dear Members of the GMVS Community,
 
I was a J3 racing in a Mid-Vermont Council race at Middlebury Snow Bowl during the 1994 Lillehammer Olympics. This was before smart phones and live-timing, so news of results traveled a bit slower than it does today. I still remember seeing the whiteboard at the bottom of the chairlift after the men's downhill, "Tommy Moe got the gold!" Everybody who skied by that sign en route to the start was elated. It was a great day for American ski racing, and it inspired confidence in all of us.
 
On Friday, the world will turn its eyes to PyeongChang, South Korea for the XXIII Olympic Winter Games. We'll become enraptured with seemingly obscure sports and root for athletes we've never heard of before. We'll watch Olympic dreams come true -- and we may also witness heartbreak and disappointment.
 
This week, we celebrate the fact that the Olympic dream has come true for current sophomore Arabella Ng who, as Hong Kong's lone Winter Games competitor will soon become their first on-snow Olympian. Let's rally behind Arabella, watch her carry the flag for Hong Kong on Friday, and be proud of what she's accomplished for the sport of ski racing, for Hong Kong, and for GMVS.
 
Stitched into every U.S. opening ceremony jacket is the Olympic Creed: "The most important thing in the Olympic games is not to win but to take part, just as the most important thing in life is not the triumph but the struggle. The essential thing is not to have conquered, but to have fought well."
 
As we watch the Olympics over the next couple of weeks, let's remember that whether our goal is to make the Olympics, ski at U16 nationals, get accepted to a specific college, or just make the flip at our next slalom, the end result matters less than the effort we put into trying to attain those goals. Let's fight well in everything we do. Go Gumbies!
 
Warmly,
Tracy Keller
Head of School
 
GMVS IN PYEONGCHANG

Congratulations to Arabella Ng '20 and Thomas Walsh '13 who will be representing their countries (and GMVS) in Pyeongchang, South Korea. 
 
Representing Hong Kong, Arabella will be competing in both the Slalom and Giant Slalom at the Winter Olympic Games. She is only the 6th athlete to represent the Chinese territory at  a Winter Olympic Games, and the first to compete on-snow. Read more of Arabella's story here.


Alumnus Thomas Walsh '20 will be competing in his first Paralympic Winter Games in March, skiing on the U.S. Team. Walsh, a cancer survivor, attended the Sochi Olympics thanks to the Make-A-Wish Foundation and watched his childhood friend Mikalea Shiffrin compete. Watching Olympic races rekindled his love of ski racing and he realized he could qualify  to be a Paralympic athlete. He joined the U.S. Para Alpine ski team in 2015, has enjoyed much success and is looking forward to Pyeongchang. Read this great article about Thomas here.
 
  Best of luck to Arabella and Thomas!!
RENA SCHWARTZ NAMED GATORADE XC RUNNER OF THE YEAR

For the third time in her career,  senior Rena Schwartz was named the Vermont Gatorade Cross Country Runner of the Year. This award, which Rena won as a freshman and last year as a junior, honors the top athletes in each state for their outstanding athletic achievements, as well as academic and character excellence. Rena put in a dominating performance at the Vermont state championships in Thetford last fall, winning the Division 1 race by well over a minute. This was Rena's 4th State Championship victory, as she won the Division 2 race for U-32 in 2014 and 2015, and the Division 1 race for GMVS in 2016.
 
Rena has been accepted at Dartmouth College and plans to race for the Big Green's Nordic ski team.

 
THE ELUSIVE WIN
Josh Valentine skis his way to a win
It's never easy to win a ski race. On any given day, the multitude of variables racers face can throw off even the most confident favorites. Snow conditions, course sets, ski preparation, start lists, weather, clothing...you name it. No one's unbeatable on any given day. That's what makes Marcel Hirscher, Mikaela Shiffrin, and Lindsey Vonn the phenomes that they are. They make winning look easy, but so many top NCAA and World Cup athletes have won very few, if any, races in their lives.
 
In the last month, GMVS had 41 athletes on the podium and 18 Gumbies captured the elusive win either in the overall or in their respective age groups.

Congratulations To:
Cailin Apple
Brian Bushey
Moro Bamber
Victoria Clancy
Cody Curran
Katie Fleckenstein
Romeo Giudici
Penelope Hughes
Abi Jewett
Carl Kellogg
Sydney Mason
Samantha McClellan
Johann Meyer
Andrew Postal
Rena Schwartz
Josh Valentine
Nevin Vilandrie
Erika Wiebe
PODIUM SWEEPS
U19 Girls at Smuggs: 1st - Samantha McClellan,
2nd - Sydney Mason, 3rd - Katie Fleckenstein

If winning is hard, sweeping the podium is even harder. When GMVS sweeps the podium it says something bold about our athletes and our program.
 
Our U14 boys have done just that a few times already this season by going 1-5 in their opening panel slalom at Smugglers Notch and following that up with podium sweeps in the Burke GS, the Stowe GS, and the Stowe SG. Look for more strong results from this group of boys as the season continues.
 
Not to be bested by the boys, the U14 girls went 1-3 at the Smugglers panel slalom and the U19 girls recently captured all three steps of the podium in a slalom at Smuggs.
ATTACK FROM THE BACK
Lydia Riddell on a training run

Nobody seems to know where the term "Bibbo" originated, but hearing it associated with your name sure is a source of pride. It's the attack from the back - and best if it's an unexpected surprise. Sure, it happens more often in the early season when the top 990s make the flip and then land in the top-30. But it also happens in the highest levels of racing at any time of the year.
 
In the past month, three GMVS athletes have had notable results from the back of the pack.


Moro Bamber  Bib 69 to 15th Place  Eastern Cup SL, Waterville Valley
Abi Jewett           Bib 60 to 20th Place  World Juniors SL, Davos
Lydia Riddell  Bib 74 to 16th Place  Eastern Cup GS, Stratton
 
 
UVM PROFESSOR, ROB WILLIAMS, ON CAMPUS 

GMVS brought University of Vermont professor Rob Williams to campus last Wednesday and Friday to speak with students regarding our use of social media. A self-identified lover and user of social media, Rob believes in the power of social media, but cautioned us about its potential pitfalls.
 
Beginning with the staggering statistics presented on the infographic, "What Happens in an Internet Minute," Rob gave us his social media Top-10 with humor and honesty. He called social media "one of the most powerful tools in the world," while acknowledging that it was built to consume as much of our time and conscious attention as possible. "Likes" and "comments" appeal to our dopamine receptors (aka the happy hormone), and cause us to constantly go back for more. Rob also pointed out some of the realities that lie behind our notions about privacy and anonymity in the online world, and shared some perspective from industry insiders about their own concerns about adolescent and social media use. At the end of his presentation, Rob gave our students an opportunity to ask their most pressing questions about technology and social media; our hope is that this opportunity and the information that Rob shared has left out students better equipped to maximize the benefits and minimize the risks in their own use of social media.
 
A few takeaways from Rob's presentation:
  1. Use the "Grandma Rule." Before we tweet, post, or snapchat anything - words or pictures - ask ourselves, "What would grandma say?" Think twice if she wouldn't approve.

     

  2. Multitasking is a misnomer. Our brains aren't wired to do more than one thing at once. The speed at which it can sequence tasks makes us think we're multitasking, but to be most effective we must push things (in many cases our phones) to the side.

     

  3. Don't snuggle with a mobile phone. Buy (and use) a $3 alarm clock, plug our phones in to charge on the other side of the room. Snuggle with something else.

     

  4. Every once in a while take a "hard break" from technology.

     

  5. Use social media professionally and to improve oneself, our teams, and our organizations. What you put online can define how people/organizations that don't know you will perceive you.

     

  6. Online, nothing is truly private, and everything is permanent.
REBECCA RYAN 
MEMORIAL RACE

This past September our community lost one of its bright lights. Rebecca Ryan, Class of 2015, died while rock climbing with friends in Bolton, VT.  Becca's spirit lives on at GMVS in the theater production, in soccer, of course in skiing, but also in the hard work and passion for life  and adventure that our students embody.
 
While at UVM, Becca was an active volunteer at ANew Place, a shelter on North Street in Burlington. On Saturday, March 3, 2018 we will be hosting a Ladies Eastern Cup SL, the Rebecca Ryan Memorial Race. To honor her love of sport and her commitment to helping others, we will be donating a portion of the proceeds to ANew Place in her memory.  Additionally, we are taking pre-orders of the shirt pictured below, the proceeds of which will also go to the donation made in her name. If you would like a shirt, please submit the form below by February 15, 2018.
 
We invite all who are interested to join us for the race on March 3, as well as an on campus event on June 2, 2018.  Prior to Graduation, we will have a ceremony for Becca here on campus to unveil the memorial that is being installed in her remembrance.   
 
To order a t-shirt, please use this form:
9th GRADERS VISIT JOSLIN LIBRARY

Language Arts students traveled with their teacher, Lauren Ayotte, to local Joslin Memorial Library in Waitsfield last week to see a presentation on the impact of the Red Scare on Hollywood writers, directors and actors in the 1950s. This topic was of interest to the class based on their current reading of Ray Bradbury's classic novel Fahrenheit 451. The presenter, Rick Winston, currently teaches film at a number of area colleges, and he also founded and directed Montpelier's Green Mountain Film Festival for many years, and was the founder and owner of the Savoy Theater from 1981 to 2009. Rick's presentation, "The Hollywood Blacklist," combined historical context, with a clear timeline of events leading up to the 1950s, and numerous movie clips that were considered "anti-American" in their time. For students who have grown up on Disney movies, hearing Walt Disney, and other famous actors and directors, share opinions on communism was intriguing, and the theme of censorship struck an obvious chord with their current work in English class. 

 
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).
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  please contact Jen White jwhite@gmvs.org).
 
ELITEAM REGISTRATION NOW OPEN

Eliteam conditioning camps, run by Doug and Kelley 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!
 
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!
 
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.

This Week's Photo of the Week: Senior Maggie Beardsley captured the super blue moon (that also had a total eclipse) rising over Sugarbush

Last Week's Photo of the Week from from Junior Matt Moreau: Midday under the low Alaskan sun
 
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!
Menu from our most recent GMVS community dinner
Lots of activity during community game night
Biology class last week -- transformation of ecoli
Nighttime sledding at the USSA U14 project at Whiteface
Seventh graders taking advantage of the new snow!

 
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