This Valentine's Day, CVA's Board of Trustees and I wish to extend our heart felt appreciation to our extraordinary teachers, coaches and staff. Below is a letter of gratitude from Lindy MacKinnon Gruen ’92, Chair, Board of Trustees.

Kate Webber Punderson '89

Head of School

CVA's annual Scholarship Bash is a critical piece of the Academy’s fundraising efforts to raise scholarship money for current and prospective student-athletes. Each year, Carrabassett Valley Academy awards scholarship funds to over 55% of our student-athlete population who demonstrate financial need and exceptional potential in their athletic discipline and academic performance.

Traditionally held at the Bill and Joan Alfond Competition Center, this year’s event will be held live online at 6pm. The online event will include a raffle drawing for a $10,000 cash prize winner as well as a paddle raise cash giving opportunity. To purchase a raffle ticket, go online to www.gocva.com/tickets. Tickets can also be purchased at various local businesses including: The Bag, Ayotte’s, The Antigravity Complex, Mountainside Real Estate, Alfond Competition Center, and at Carrabassett Valley Academy. Ticket holders need not be present at the event to win. Only 500 raffle tickets will be sold. The link to the live event will be shared with the CVA community a few days before the event.

An online auction of special “priceless” items will begin at the conclusion of the virtual event including a ski locker in the Alfond Competition Center and events and experiences that can’t be purchased anywhere else. More items will be offered at a follow-up online auction in the spring. There will be plenty of big-ticket items to bid on. Win equipment, tickets, getaways to the rivers, mountains and coastline of Maine, and other unique experiences.

You can help support student-athletes by becoming a sponsor, donating an auction item, purchasing a raffle ticket, bidding in the online auction, or raising your paddle for a cash donation during the online event.

Support the CVA Scholarship Fund by buying raffle tickets online. Buyers will receive a limited edition CVA / Sugarloaf buff while supplies last. Limit two per household. Tickets must be purchased online to be eligible for the buff. Buffs will be mailed in 3-6 weeks.

For more information, please contact Melissa Fogg at CVA at (207) 237-4505 or mfogg@gocva.com.

During the thirty minute open house, you’ll learn more about what makes Carrabassett Valley Academy unique and gather information about whether it's the right option for your family. At CVA, your student-athlete will benefit from rigorous academics taught in a robust community, where being outdoors is built into the daily schedule.

After a live introduction and behind-the-scenes video tour, CVA teachers and coaches will be available to answer all your questions. Bring your whole family to discover what being a Big Dog means!

The Virtual Schedule:

Pre-registering will give you access to the zoom meeting link, text reminders, and provide us with information so we can mail you a limited-edition, CVA/Sugarloaf neck gaiter buff after the event. Learn more or register at www.gocva.com/open-house

Enrollment is now open for the 21-22 school year. Start here, stop at nothing. Contact Erin Whipple, our Director of Enrollment, to ask questions, gather information, or arrange a virtual tour. She can be reached at ewhipple@gocva.com, office (207) 237-4466 or cell (207) 671-8976.

Aquaponics, the combination of aquaculture (growing fish for food) and hydroponics (growing plants for food), is the practice of growing fish and plants in symbiosis and is the area being studied recently by students in Jessie's Environmental Science class. Fish produce waste that bacteria in the system convert into nutrients for the plants, and the plants in turn ‘filter’ the water which is returned back into the fish tank. In theory this self-contained cycling system should never need to be cleaned and water is not wasted.

The class has split into 4 teams and each team has created their own aquaponics system. There are three main types of systems; floating raft system, flow through system and an ebb and flow system. Teams are growing a variety of plants including lettuce, kale, spinach, herbs, ghost peppers and strawberries. Rainbow trout will be brought in from two Maine state fish hatcheries with the approval of the Department of Inland Fish and Wildlife.

Honors students in Ainsley's English III class are assigned an independent novel study each term. Students choose a book that is related to the core college prepatory assignments in the class. Upon completion of their novel, students received an assignment to create a one-page summary of the book.

Photo: Drew Hooker's one-page summary of The Haunting of Hill House: Greatest Gothic Horror Novel of the 20th Century by Shirley Jackson.

Alpine: Teams have been training slalom, dual panel slalom, GS, and Super G at Sugarloaf this month. The regional race schedule is reduced from what we would see in a traditional year, but some events are being held at local mountains including Sunday River and Titcomb, and athletes are rising to the challenges.

At the GS race hosted by Sugarloaf on February 7th, U19 women Josie Alexander '23 and Summer Saifee '23 placed first and second. U16's Althea Noyes '23, Charlie Koenig '24 and Elli Andrus '23 swept the women's podium, and Will Roy '23 and Kaden Theriault '23 reached second and third place on the men's podium. Academy and Weekend Program U14's are also seeing much success with many top 20 finishes this month.

Freestyle: Two of our teammates travelled west this month to compete in national competitions.

Drew Hooker '22 competed in the Futures Tour at Park City. She finished in 6th place. Her run consisted of a difficult rail section up top followed by a 540 to unnatural switch 540 to 360 tail to 720.

Dory Michaud '23 skied in her first FIS level mogul event at US Selections in Winter Park, CO. Coach Jesse Lowell '14 reported, “Her comp runs were both clean top to bottoms with a 360 on top air and big back X on bottom air (giving her near excellent scores), earning her a 21st and 29th place out of 56 women for the 2 comp days. Her 21st place finish meant she missed qualifying for finals by only 4 points! It is notable that this is a high level event, the top 5-7 athletes are US Ski Team members, and the event hosts the top 60(ish) male/female athletes in North America. Lots of talent there and Dory did great! Her results also qualified her for the NorAm events which is awesome!”

Snowboard: The boardercross team is now training on a full course at Sugarloaf. The coaches worked together with the Sugarloaf Park crew to build a start section that is believed to rival any high-level course in the world. Racers also have another full-size race course to train on at Sunday River. Our team is fortunate to have two high level courses available to add variety and additional training opportunities to our schedule.

Larger jumps and additional rail features open on Dropline at Sugarloaf this week are being explored and thoroughly enjoyed by the Freestyle team.

Alpine hardboot snowboaders traveled to Titcomb Mountain last week for two slalom races. Baran Tatlidede '23, Boden Gerry '24 and Weekend Program athlete Michael Smith got three of the four fastest times of the day for men, and Sasha Jansujwicz '23 and Kyla Harvie '25 achieved the top two fastest times of the day for women.

Ski Cross: In addition to the boarder/skier cross track at Sugarloaf, the team is enjoying a new venue in the field next to the Capricorn building on Route 27 where coaches and parent volunteers used the snow banks to create a pump track. After leaving the starting area, skiers use the momentum gained from the downhill side of each mound to "pump" themselves all the way around the oval track. We're so grateful for this opportunity to offer athletes another way to improve their skills this season.

Backcountry: A recent report from Program Director Patrick Scanlan "Glorious trip to Saddleback today. They have done an amazing job at embracing the constantly growing ski touring community by cutting a dedicated, scenic uphill trail in the woods and have started running programs for guests who want to get into the sport. What an awesome place to start! ⁣Our hat is off to you all - we will be back!! For us, we enjoyed a well cut trail, got in a few thousand vert, and had some surprisingly good tree skiing."

Shelby Downing, High Performance Director, and Brenna Huckaby Clegg, Dorm Parent, have teamed up to facilitate a new program for CVA's female student-athletes. The Body Project, offered through the National Eating Disorders Association, is a group-based intervention that provides a forum for high school girls and college aged women to confront unrealistic appearance ideals and develop healthy body image and self-esteem. It has repeatedly been shown to effectively reduce body dissatisfaction, negative mood, unhealthy dieting and disordered eating.

Shelby and Brenna introduced the program to all students, both male and female, during advisory last week. Topics related to body positivity and self-esteem were discussed in an attempt to better understand the pressures and struggles that many of us face and become a stronger more supportive community together.

We are grateful to have Brenna as a member of our community this year. She's a humble Two-Time Paralympic Gold medalist, cancer survivor, and passionate disability inclusion advocate. Brenna is married to snowboard coach Tristan and lives with their two daughters in a faculty apartment in Murfey Hall.

Liam Moffatt '15 achieved a career best 8th place at the Idre Fjall 2021 FIS Snowboard Cross World Championships. Go Dogs Go!

Approximately fifty former students and staff attended the annual CVA Alumni Reunion on January 14th. It was the first time we’ve held the event in an online video format. A special thank you to our former Head of School John Ritzo, and former art teacher Patty, for joining us and sharing the memories of funny stories with alums near and far.

Six countries were represented at the event: Canada, Japan, Korea, Netherlands, New Zealand, and the United States.

Three Canadian provinces: British Columbia, New Brunswick and Quebec

Sixteen states: Alaska, California, Connecticut, Colorado, Florida, Hawaii, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, Rhode Island, Utah, Vermont, Washington DC, Wyoming

Please join us in welcoming Jenny Piot, a recently retired World Cup speed skier from the French National Team (FFS), into our CVA family as she spends the rest of the winter with us.

Jenny grew up in the small mountain village of Bourg d’Oisans, in the high alps near Grenoble. She started skiing at the young age of 2. Her Mom was a ski instructor and Dad was a ski patroller. At 10 years old she joined the ski club in L’Alp d’Huez, one of the many local ski resorts in the area, famous as a regular stage of the Tour de France in summer. By 15, she had enough success to be selected to the Ski Academy (Ski Etude) Pôle France in Albertville, which only accepts the top 15yr. olds in France. At age 16, she was selected into the French C Team. Jenny skied in her first World Cup at the age of 17 in SG. The next year she was moved up to the B team after her first podium finishes in Europa Cup (one step down from the World Cup) events.

By the age of 20, Jenny made the French A team, and that year, in 2013, won the Downhill at the World Junior Championships at Le Massif, Quebec. At 22 she was selected to compete in the World Championships in Beaver Creek, CO, where she scored her first top 15 result in World Cup events. A few years later, at 25 she qualified for the 2018 Winter Olympics in PyeongChang, South Korea. She continued to ski at the World Cup level in DH, SG, GS, AC & Parallel events until January of this season, when she decided to retire from World Cup racing.

Upon retirement, Jenny expressed interest in traveling to the states to gain experience in the American ski racing scene and further develop her ability to speak English. One of her coaches, Alberto Senigagliesi, the Alpine Director for the French National Team Women’s Europa Cup and World Cup teams, sent her our way. Way to go Alberto!

Alberto followed a similar path back in 2000 when he retired from the World Cup. His father, a former World Cup coach of the Italian and Spanish National Teams, is a good friend of Ron Bonnevie’s and connected Alberto with Ron many years ago. As such, Alberto came to Sugarloaf where he coached at CVA for 3 years with the FIS Men’s group, mentoring many of the best in those years.

Jenny will be skiing with our Weekend Program groups at different times through the February vacation week and on various weekends when she is not racing at FIS events. She will also be providing a World Class example to our full-time academy athletes midweek until she returns to France April 15. Finally, a huge shout out to the Sevigny family for graciously hosting Jenny in their Reddington home. It certainly takes a village, and we have one of the best here at Carrabassett Valley Academy!

CVA Camps and Training Days are great ways for athletes to improve skills and learn more about the CVA experience. 1-3 day camps are available in Alpine, Freestyle, Snowboard, Ski Cross and Backcountry.