Last Saturday, six student-athletes graduated from Carrabassett Valley Academy at the Richard Bell Chapel, at the base of Sugarloaf Mountain. We also saluted our Winter Term Seniors Ben DiBiase, Oscar Horovitz and Gannon Stewart. Congratulations to the resilient and remarkable Class of 2021!

 

Head of School Kate Punderson remarked during the ceremony "While the road to getting here was not the path that we had expected, nonetheless, it was an extraordinary year. There were challenges. There were obstacles. There were many moments of triumph. Today we will celebrate all of the moments that have brought us here together, with a new sense of gratitude toward this special gathering. 

 

The Valedictorian, Arden Velenchik and Salutatorian, Brighton Bradford addressed the class during the ceremony, along with Senior Class Choice speaker Sam Osgood and Faculty Choice speaker James Holahan.

 

Other award recipients recognized at the ceremony:

 

The H. King Cummings Service Award was given to Steve Sitz, Director of Finance, in honor of his seventeen year career with CVA.

 

Benjamin Bisson ’09 inspired and celebrated the graduates as the key note speaker.

The annual Senior Banquet was held at the Sugarloaf Base Lodge Friday night, with a reception on the Beach and dinner in the Maple Room.

During the ceremony, The Denny Flag Award was presented to Acy Craig and Angelique Labelle in honor of their commitment to excellence and CVA. 

The evening ended with the Senior Slideshow - a fan favorite walk down memory lane.

Students completed projects, labs, and a rigorous final exam schedule during the last week of school. In addition to daily workouts, they cleaned and prepared to move out of their dorm rooms amid study blocks. It was a busy week with warm temperatures and the Big Dogs persevered!

Final projects for the Spanish and French classes included producing videos in groups. Each language level made videos appropriate to their curriculum, some more fundamental and some more advanced. The lip sync videos were shown in the Atrium at CVA’s annual Foreign Film Festival. Congratulations to the winners, and great job to all the students. The videos were creative, joyful and very entertaining!

Final projects for the Art classes included submitting projects to the annual Art Show. The 2020-21 CVA Art Show was on display in the Webber Academic Center during the last week of school and can still be viewed online at cvaartshow.myportfolio.com

In addition to multiple dryland sessions per week, CVA’s student-athletes who attend Spring Term participate twice a week in an additional sport of their choosing. It’s a chance for high schoolers to try something new or dive deeper into an activity they enjoy.

About CVA Spring Sports:

CVA Middle School athletes enjoyed a variety of activities together during their spring sport blocks. The focus was on having fun, developing life skills such as sportsmanship, showing respect, and being prepared, learning new skills, and building a strong athletic foundation. We had 22 athletes this semester, which gave us a proper number for field games and an increase in the fun factor! The middle school spring coaching team includes Alpine Coach Jeff Beauregard, Snowboard Coach Tristan Clegg, Freestyle Coach Jesse Lowell, and Alpine Coach Jeni Conover.

Prom was hosted by the Student Council on May 15th. Students from ninth to twelfth grades started with photos at the Webber Academic Center, then to the Outdoor Center for more scenic photos, and then to the Alfond Competition Center for dinner and dancing. Thanks to Beth Hamblet and the Student Council for organizing and decorating, Waylon Wolfe and Jack Michaud for photos, and the other staff members who helped make it a special and memorable event.

Last Friday, about 250 students, family members, coaches and faculty gathered outside Murfey Hall to honor students from all grades and disciplines with academic and athletic awards at the Big Dog Awards Ceremony. In addition to the awards, every student received a personal note card signed by CVA staff. 

Kate Punderson offered these words: "Hello and Welcome to the 2021 Big Dog Awards Ceremony. It has been almost 2 years since we have all been together as a school community. Two years! I am so so happy that we are back together.

Congratulations to each and every Big Dog for your many accomplishments this year!

Announcing 2021 National Honors Society inductees Dahlia Saifee, Summer Saifee, Drew Hooker, Sasha Jansujwicz, Dory Michaud, Kai Glidden, and Althea Noyes. Advisor Ainsley McClachrie and Kate Punderson hosted the new members in a ceremony at the Carrabassett Valley Library last Friday. Congratulations on this tremendous accomplishment, you’ve worked hard and you deserve it!

Congratulations to longtime U.S. Ski Team coach and CVA Alum Forest Carey ’94 on being promoted to the men's head coach role for the upcoming season.

From the U.S. Ski & Snowboard article: "The men's team is evolving in a positive direction with Forest Carey taking on the men's head coach role. He brings great operational expertise and coaching knowledge as well as respect from the current staff and athletes to the position. Filling in his footsteps as head tech coach will be his long-standing assistant Ian Garner. Forest and Ian have been the backbone of the World Cup tech side for many years, and their knowledge and experience will be embraced by the whole men's team."

A well deserved honor for Mike Day, CVA Class of 1989! As published by U.S. Ski & Snowboard on May 22nd:

"Winning at the highest level requires attention to detail and anticipating every scenario. Under coach Mike Day’s leadership, Mikaela Shiffrin won four World Championship medals. Congratulations to Mike for being named Alpine Team Coach of the Year!"

The CVA Big Dog Development Summer Camp fosters new skills in a high-energy environment, where athletes work together with their camp group to achieve their individual goals. The physical demands of ski & snowboard competition require amazing strength, power, agility, endurance, and balance. Elite technical skill is supported by- and developed on the foundations of great athleticism. Well-developed physical capacities contribute directly to long-term sporting success.

This camp will be held July 10-14 and is open to any individual interested in advancing their athleticism, having fun and making friends. Campers will have their choice of developing individual goals on the trampolines, in the skatepark, in the weight room or in the gym while enjoying a fun and supportive team environment with CVA’s world-class coaches. Campers choose one of two primary areas of focus: Strength and Conditioning or Acrobatic.

There are additional opportunities for campers to go straight from camp in Carrabassett Valley to overnight trips to the Air Bag in Bethel, Maine, Water Ramps in Lake Placid, NY or Ocean Explorers in Camden, Maine.

Information about other camps can be found at gocva.com/camps

The CVA Annual Fund is the mainstay of our fundraising activity. The school relies on donations to the Annual Fund to supplement the annual operating budget and offset the gap between tuition and the true cost of the CVA experience. Annual Fund gifts also supply special resources for student scholarships, and other resources for CVA staff which maintain and enhance the high quality, unique CVA experience. Unlike events, special project funds, or the capital campaign which are used to fund a specific initiative, the Annual Fund impacts every CVA student.

CVA’s fiscal year ends June 30. If you haven’t already made an Annual Fund gift, please consider making a gift before June 30, 2021.

Contributions to the Annual Fund touch every part of the school, providing additional resources to support our academic program, supplement athletics and to enhance our responsible community living curriculum. The Annual Fund also provides scholarship support to make the CVA experience possible for a wide range of families; over 50% of CVA students receive financial aid. The ability to offer support to deserving student-athletes helps to keep us competitive but also to maintain a culturally and socio-economically diverse community, which was a key facet of our founding vision, and remains a priority today.

Ways to give:

FMI: Contact Melissa Fogg at mfogg@gocva.com or (207) 237-4505

The very nature of CVA’s program and culture develops resilience, hope and a never-give-up attitude. Thank you for your support!

A new CVA pop-up online store is now open. Sweatshirts, t-shirts, sweatpants, shorts, hats, and face masks are available in adult and youth sizes. Online orders can be placed until Tuesday, June 17th, 2021 at midnight. More information and store link can be found at gocva.com/apparel  

Another opportunity is also now open with Sync. Families can get ahead of the Fall season rush and order team jackets during the summer. Dryland gear is also for sale during the summer. More information and links to both online stores can be found at gocva.com/apparel  

Take a short survey about CVA and be entered for a chance to win $1,000. Open to students, parents, and recent alumni. The submission deadline for the prize is June 30, 2021. The results of the survey will be used to increase CVA’s visibility online and help prospective families find the information they’re looking for about CVA.

Want a great job this winter? Now hiring coaches for our popular Weekend Program. Excellent benefits. For more information, please contact Kate Punderson at kpunderson@gocva.com.