NOTES FROM THE HEAD OF SCHOOL
 
Dear Members of the GMVS Community,
 
The RPC was quiet and tables and chairs were stacked up against the wall as I wandered toward the dish pit on Saturday night. Expertly concealed and staged just outside the back door, three bare-chested students clad in aprons and rubber gloves greeted me with smiles. They'd been washing dishes - over 2000 of them -- since 7:00pm. They were tired, ready to head home, but eager for the same job next year.
 
Putting students to work, whether during our annual Gala, on dish crew, or simply when we need an extra hand has a long history at GMVS. Through conversations with alumni, I'm learning just how deeply held the tradition of "doing pots" really is. It appears to be one of those things that, despite in the moment complaining, our alumni truly value.
 
Turns out our alumni are on to something -- something documented by a group of researchers at Harvard University who, in the longest longitudinal study ever conducted of humans, found that professional success in life comes from having done chores as a kid. The Harvard Grant Study suggests that a roll-up-your-sleeves and pitch-in mindset helps children see the work that needs to be done around them. As a result, children who do chores go on to become adults who work well with others while simultaneously becoming independent, creative, and reliable.
 
Having to do their own laundry, scrub the bathrooms, take out the trash, and wash dishes might not be the highlight of a student's day, but it is an integral part of the GMVS experience -- and one that provides a far greater value than simply converting the RPC from a ballroom back into a gymnasium.
 
In closing, I want to thank those of you who attended this year's Parents' Weekend. I thoroughly enjoyed meeting so many of you on the golf course, during various meetings, and at Saturday evening's gala, and I look forward to our next community-wide gathering - Theater Weekend.
 
Warmly,
Tracy Keller
Head of School
 
JOIN US FOR STOWE MICRO BREWERY TOUR 

Kick off Theater Weekend on Friday October 27 with an afternoon of Vermont craft beer tasting. Stowe Tasting Tours' HOPS-MOBILE leaves GMVS at noon and will take you to 3 different breweries. 

Spend time together with your friends from the GMVS community. Price- $250 per person, value- priceless!

Email Jen White to sign up or for further details: jwhite@gmvs.org.
 
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.
Photo of the Week: 
Gumby alumni get lift off at the Alumni soccer game during Parents' Weekend!
 
 
 
 
 
Last Week's Photo of the Week from teacher Ray Cinti: The biology crew takes a closer look at estimating worm populations!
 
PARENTS' WEEKEND: GOLF AND GALA

A beautiful fall day for golf.
We've just wrapped up another very successful Parents' Weekend here on campus. Events kicked off on Friday with our 16th Annual Golf Tournament. This year 96 players came out to support the school. It was a beautiful day, and great to see so many alumni, alumni parents, current parents, current students, and GMVS supporters out enjoying the Sugarbush course.
 
An alumni event held at Rumble's Kitchen in the Lincoln Peak base area followed the golf tournament. It's always great to catch up and hear what our alums are up too. Alumni fun didn't end there though; Saturday morning featured an alumni soccer game. While some alums were under the impression this was just going to be an easy, low intensity match, they were quickly reminded of the competitive spirit we all embody.

Alumna with Andrea Harris
On Saturday, we held mini classes and coaching group meetings for current parents, as well as a boys' varsity soccer game versus our local rival, Harwood. While the boys lost 0-1, they didn't disappoint.

Finally, Saturday was capped off with our annual Gala. Students did a wonderful job greeting, plating, serving, and cleaning up. We all had a fun evening raising money, enjoying each other's company, and ushering in a new Olympic year.
U.S. Ski Team member Drew Duffy kicked off the Fund-a-Scholar.
Our scholarship fund is a critical part of what we do, and its support of students makes us who we are. We can't thank our donors, volunteers, sponsors and supporters enough for such a wonderful evening.

If you were not able to join us, or you just want to watch it again, here is a link to this year's Gala video, created by Tucker Marshall '08. This video captures GMVS at its essence, Gumbies old and young will recognize themselves in it, so enjoy!
VERMONT ALPINE RACING ASSOCIATION HONORS

Back Row L-R: Gavin, Hayden, Nevin, Sammie, Moro; Middle L-R: Erica, Lydia; Kneeling: Jackson 
The VARA community will gather to celebrate its own on Sat urday, October 14 at Sugarbush's Gate House Lodge. Marking the kickoff of the winter season, the VARA gala honors past and present Vermont alpine ski racers. This year, VARA's honorees include a large GMVS contingent.   
 
GMVS athletes named to the 2017-18 VARA Team, based on results from last season, are Moro Bamber, Gavin Dewey, Sammie Gaul, Lydia Riddell, Hayden Van Alstine and Nevin Vilandrie. Current USST members Drew Duffy and AJ Ginnis  have also been named as Honorary Members of the VARA Team .
 
Two current GMVS students and one alum will be recognized for their accomplishments in ski racing. Erika Wiebe will receive the Ginny Hunt Award, which is presented to one girl and one boy from a college or club program at the U21-U16 level who exhibit sportsmanship, dedication and commitment to the sport of ski racing at all levels. The George Tormey Award, presented to an athlete who excels at a second sport and best displays a strong work ethic, strong character, and a deep love of sport, will go to Jackson Jewell.  
Jimmy Krupka (GMVS '16) will be honored as this year's recipient of the Ronnie Berlack Award. To be selected for the Berlack Award, Jimmy exhibited drive and determination. He also thrives on the experiences of the journey and has a true love of the sport.
U16 Boys' Head Coach Tim Curran will be awarded VARA Development Coach of the Year honors. Tim believes in developing ski racers who have a balance of strong free skiing skills as well as technical and tactical skills. He has been an integral part in the continuing coaches' education program, and his expertise on the National Team and NCAA level brings invaluable skill and knowledge to VARA's coaching community and to his athletes.
 
GMVS alum Kelly Brush will be inducted into the VARA Hall of Fame. Kelly is the embodiment of the GMVS mission. She has always been relentlessly positive, disciplined, responsible, respectful and hardworking. In that spirit, Kelly is being inducted into the VARA Hall of Fame for the great contributions the Kelly Brush Foundation has made to increase ski racing safety and awareness.
   
 
 
Congratulations to all of our 2017 VARA honorees!  
RENA SCHWARTZ TRAINING WITH US SKI AND SNOWBOARD IN PARK CITY, UTAH
 
 
Rena training in Park City.
GMVS Senior Rena Schwartz qualified as the top female XC skier from New England this past June at the NENSA Elite Group Dryland Training Camp. This ranking gave her the opportunity to attend the U.S. Ski Team's National Elite Group (NEG) Training Camp Oct 8-16 in Park City. She is one of 5 NEG females in the country invited to train alongside the U.S. Ski Team. 
 
Congratulations, Rena!  
 
 
ALPINE COACHES PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
 
Mikaela Shiffrin's coach, Mike Day discusses technique and tactics with GMVS coaches.  
Mike Day, currently Mikaela Shiffrin's coach, treated GMVS alpine coaches to an in-house professional development opportunity the past two weeks, in which he shared his experience of coaching the world's best ski racer and offered some insight on world class technique and tactics as they apply to developing ski racers.

In two, two-hour interactive seminars, Mike led discussions which proved to sharpen our staff's technical and tactical messaging and on-snow progression. After sharing and reviewing video clips of Michaela in a recent prep camp, we looked at clips of GMVS athletes and discussed fixes for common technical and tactical mistakes. The seminars also reaffirmed that we are on track and doing the right things with our athletes.  
SNEAK PREVIEW: CHICAGO THE MUSICAL
Ariana Turner and Allie Davis sang a preview from Chicago at Gala
 
With just over two weeks to go until the Opening Night performance of Chicago The Musical, Director David Kent is feeling optimistic. He's run the show on Broadway, "approximately 5000 times, give or take a few," so he has a clear sense of what he needs to do. "There's quite a lot of dancing in this show," David says, "so it will be interesting to see it all come together. The students are doing quite well."

During the fall camps, alpine athletes in Chile had 15 rehearsals, making good use of the pub space, that doubled as the study hall, on the top floor of the building where they all stayed-a big open space with lots of light. Four Nordic athletes also have roles and they were sent to Italy with clear goals and recorded music to aid their practice sessions. On-campus rehearsals have been contained to daytime hours primarily but, in these last two weeks, cast and crew are scheduled for evening rehearsals.

We asked David what he loves about the show, and he was quick to reply: "The writing! It's lean, there's not one single extra word, and this requires actors to be precise. And, because it has a Vaudeville style, the rhythm of the script is really important. The stage is pretty spare in terms of setting and the success of the show relies on the talent of the kids who are up there. They all move pretty well; part of the battle is to get the kids to believe they can actually do it, and they can, for sure!"

The music is another highlight of this show, according to David. He loves the overture at the beginning, and says "Razzle Dazzle" is a classic. The courtroom scene is another spot he says we should watch for. "Carl is going to be hysterical, again, but in a completely different way. He comes up with such interesting ideas; sometimes what Carl says intuitively is just so funny."

"Some of the characters," David points out, "have to reach from emotions that play from a life experience they haven't yet had, and they're all doing a great job."

Showtimes are 7:30pm, October 26th-28th, with an additional matinee showing on Saturday the 28th at 2:30 pm. Tickets will be available at the door. 
INTRODUCING OUR DORM PARENTS

When asked what is their favorite thing about GMVS, the common thread for Dorm Parents was the community and spirit of GMVS. Dorm parents are inspired by the diverse talents of staff and students  and how everyone works together to make GMVS the awesome place that it is. Their favorite things about dorm life are interacting with the kids without the pressure of skiing and academics, watching the kids grow and learn, and of course enjoying baked goods and game nights!
New Dorm: Murphy Neenan
Murphy was born and raised in Dover, New Hampshire, and received a BS in Recreation Management and Policy from UNH. She spent most of her professional career managing waterparks in the U.S. and internationally. She pursued a graduate education at UVM, is currently working as a Registered Nurse at the Central Vermont Medical Center in Berlin. She is now pursuing her Doctorate of Nursing Practice at UVM.

New Dorm: Murphy Nate Bryant 
Nate grew up in Lee, New Hampshire and attended Saint Michaels College where he received a BS in Business with an Accounting minor. After college he moved to Colorado. When he moved back to Vermont he wanted to continue coaching ski racing and knew that GMVS was where he wanted to be. He is currently a U19 Boys' coach. 


Poundcake: Kat Howe 
Kat was raised in Gilford, New Hampshire and attended UVM where she received a B.S. in Athletic Training. She was competing as a biathlete when she decided to start a coaching career at GMVS...as she says it was the "perfect opportunity."
This is her third year as a Nordic Coach at GMVS



Poundcake: Karl Robicsek 
Karl was born and raised in Northbrook, Illinois but spent most of his time racing while attending SMS and Gould Academy. He graduated from Castleton University with a B.A. in History and minor in Sports Science. He was drawn to GMVS because of the level of athletes and people graduating year after year, as well as the world class facilities and staff...he knew he had to be a part of it. He is a U19 Boys' Coach and Ski Technician in the winter and in the summer he works for Dana Landscaping and Water Gardens, building natural looking water features.    

Witch's Hat: Kelly Heslin

Kelly is from New Preston, Connecticut, and has a B.S. in Adventure Education from Green Mountain College.  She is the Assistant Creamery Manager and butter maker at Ploughgate Farm, which is located at the Bragg Farm in Fayston.   



Witch's Hat: Darren Dever 
Darren grew up in Ohio and moved to Vermont five years ago. He has a Bachelor's degree in Park and Recreation Management from Kent State University in Ohio. He currently works for Waterbury Parks and Rec in the summer and in the winter he manages the Mt. Ellen rental shop at Sugarbush. 


 
Clark: Amy Sessock
Amy grew up in Bomoseen, Vermont and received her Associate of Arts degree from St. Johns Rive
r State College in St. Augustine Florida. Her focus of study was Psychology. She is currently a Para- Educator at New School of Montpelier. 




Clark: Dan Bell
Dan grew up in Simsbury, Connecticut, graduated from GMVS in 2011 and went to Bates College where he studied Psychology, with a focus on sports psychology. He wanted to return to this special community to have the opportunity to work with a driven group of kids. Dan coaches U19 girls, is the mental training coordinator, is the assistant coach for Varsity Girls' soccer and will also coach Boys' Lacrosse.
 
UPCOMING EVENTS

Fall Soccer
Click HERE to view the complete soccer schedule. 
 
Theater Production: Chicago
October 26-28
 
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!
Senior Johnny Saffo explains the inspiration for the winning design for the Parlor Skis that were auctioned off at Gala
Alumni soccer game 

Students volunteered at the Mad Dash on Sunday, 
which benefits the Mad River Path

Getting ready for the big game!

Students working at Gala

Tom Mehuron and Al Hobart on the putting green

 
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