Hi everyone,
Me again, still in quarantine! I miss you all – SO MUCH – and can’t wait to get back to work. This is the time of year where we really start to see signs of fatigue among our entire community; for the athletic staff, many of them have been working 6-7 days a week since November in all manner of weather and conditions, while our academic staff has been their usual heroic and flexible selves adapting to endless changes and adjustments on the fly as our kids move all over the place to find opportunities on snow. I thank them all, all the time, and appreciate that many of you do the same.
This has certainly been a trying experience to try to do my work while having to stay at home for the last two weeks. I’m always grateful for our team, but ever more so when I have to step back and watch from a distance. This is a wild and frenetic time of year: by the end of this weekend, we’ll have hosted 10 days of events so far this year, which is probably the most, or very close to the most of any Eastern program at this point in 2021. We’ve also got all of our seniors’ applications off to colleges and universities, which is cause for considerable celebration. Kudos and congratulations to all our seniors and to their teachers and Priscilla for the heavy lift to get those packages “in the mail” at the beginning of January! In addition, we just finished a marking period and grades and progress reports are out the door to families. Needless to say, we’re incredibly proud of how our students are doing; there are many students who have made phenomenal growth over their time with us this year, and we couldn’t be more proud of all that they’ve learned.
In light of, well, everything obvious, we aren’t going to be holding our annual Winter Fiesta Fundraiser this winter, with associated auction and raffle events. We are moving the fundraiser pieces of the event online, and are excited (and also a little nervous) to be holding a fully-online silent auction this year. We’ve already got some amazing items lined up, but we are soliciting a few more. If you have something you’d be willing to donate, please be in touch with Maggie! And, if you don’t have anything to donate but you’re eager to spend a little (or a lot!) to support our program, we plan on having the auction go live the first week of March – mark your calendars!
Be well, stay safe and warm this weekend, and I look forward to SEEING you all soon.
Best,
Tory
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With just a few minor inconveniences and a handful of Zoom sessions, we have been able to hold classes in person and on campus, which has been awesome! Normally we would be taking a break in another week; however, in consideration of keeping everyone safe and minimizing risk, school will continue on campus. Friday, the 12th, is our Winter Carnival which deviates from the daily grind and will provide a little change-up and a chance to be get together, in a safe manner, to have some great fun!
Hard to believe how fast time passes. We have entered into the second half of the Winter Term and the days are getting longer making it is a pleasure to have daylight as we end our academic day. It is easy to get complacent, though this is the time to dig in, work hard, and keep our focus on academics as well as training and competition. This is my favorite time of the year and hope to see you on the hill!
Best,
Gary
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WVA Winter Carnival -
February 12th
Can Drive Contest
The Can Drive continues this week! We will continue to collect non-perishable food goods up until the winter carnival on February 12th.
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FIS Men after their race at Waterville this Monday! Great job to all the athletes and thank you to all of the volunteers who made the event possible! |
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The Clay Soper Memorial Weekend has been an essential piece of WVA/BBTS culture and community bonding for the past five years. Unfortunately, due to our current global situation, Clay Soper Memorial Weekend has been canceled.
However, the Soper family wants to continue celebrating Clay’s Legacy and perpetuating his values of friendship and community. So this year we won’t be having races or gatherings to show that, but instead, every team apart of WVA/BBTS will make a one minute video depicting their version of #HaveAClayDay. This video can be anything you want that shows the values that Clay was known for #trust #adventure #kindness and #passion! A dance you guys find on TikTok, your team skiing or riding, or encapsulation of what it means to be part of BBTS. The videos will be evaluated by a group of panelists, where they will choose a winner. The winning team will get Clay Soper Merchandise, and their video will be posted on the website.
These times have been tough for all of us, but we still hope to find joy as Clay did for our community.
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The folder above will be updates through out the year with updated photos from events, competitions, trips, and more! Check back often to see the latest! |
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College Corner/ Dorm Life |
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Great news! Congratulations goes out to Gabriel Ginder who was accepted to both Castleton and his first choice Saint Michael’s College with a sizable merit scholarship over four years. Gabe is really excited about this, as is the entire faculty. We all took note of how happy he seemed all week – a good reminder that the college process is so stressful for kids. When they hear their news, it is such a relief!
Recently my email is being flooded with news from colleges about looking towards the future in the admission process. Most of the news is that for next year and the year to come, standardized testing will be optional to share as students apply. It will not be required. This is good news, as for the juniors, they will have a school day option to take the SAT this spring, however, testing has not been readily available to them either. Maybe one of the few silver linings to the COVID – 19 Pandemic.
At this point, everyone including postgraduates has completed most applications. There are still a few to do for February 1st and April 1st. Other than that, I will be submitting current progress reports for midyear reports to schools, as well as submitting the 2nd-trimester grade report. Additionally, I will submit the final transcript to all colleges that seniors and post-graduates commit to. Please help me in gently reminding our seniors to keep pushing in their effort to complete their homework and stay in good standing with their academics. This makes a difference regarding merit awards and it is a necessity to stay in good standing to secure their admitted status.
-Priscilla
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