In case you haven’t yet seen it, please take a few moments to check out this mini-film!

As a friendly reminder, parent-teacher conferences are coming up!

• On Monday, March 3, grade K–8 parent-teacher conferences will take place from 12:00 p.m to 4:00 p.m.
• On Tuesday, March 4, grades K–5 parent-teacher conferences will take place from 11:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.
• On Tuesday, March 4, grades 6–12 parent-teacher conferences will take place from 12:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.

Parent-teacher conferences are a really important opportunity for parents and teachers to forge partnerships in students’ education. They help to foster positive, ongoing communication with all stakeholders in our students’ academic experience, and research has repeatedly demonstrated that, when parents and community members are actively engaged with students’ education, the students reap significant benefits.

To get the most benefit from their conferences, we encourage parents to:

• write down in advance any questions or concerns that they may have;
• consider developing a plan with the teacher to facilitate the student’s learning; and
• feel free to take notes.

Please remember that parents are always welcome to contact their child’s school at any time to discuss any questions or concerns they may have—not just during parent-teacher conferences! We encourage, welcome, and value your partnerships at all times, as is affirmed in the Colchester School District Vision and Strategic Plan 2012–2017.

Please also feel free to contact your child’s school with any questions or concerns.

Thank you for partnering with us!

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Two Colchester High School students recently participated in the fifth-annual Vermont Brain Bee at the University of Vermont’s College of Medicine.

Junior Andrew Pike and sophomore Katie White represented CHS in the all-day event—the first time that CHS students have competed in this event—which was described as “part competition and part learning” for the twenty-three high school students from around Vermont who participated.

Students Katie White and Andrew Pike represented CHS at the fifth-annual Vermont Brain Bee at UVM’s College of Medicine on February 8

The competition consisted of written and practical tests followed by two rounds of oral questioning in front of the audience. Highlights of the day included several opportunities for the students to interact with UVM faculty and doctors in the neuroscience field through neurological disorder interactive case presentations and a keynote address about the latest research on the prefrontal cortex that included a live experiment on a student subject. To round out the day, students engaged in a question-and-answer session with a panel of undergraduate and graduate students of neuroscience who shared their experiences and reasons for entering their fields.

In preparation for the Vermont Brain Bee, Andrew and Katie received copies of Brain Facts, a text published by the Society for Neuroscience, in order to conduct relevant, independent reading.

The Colchester School District Vision and Strategic Plan 2012–2017 emphasizes the importance of high standards and expanded opportunities for our students along with innovative, flexible approaches with a commitment to excellence. A Framework for K-12 Science Education: Practices, Crosscutting Concepts, and Core Ideas and the Vermont Science Curriculum and Standards also emphasize the critical importance of up-to-date learning environments.

Well done, Katie and Andrew!

For more information, please contact CHS science educators Marijke Reilly (reillym@csdvt.org) or Andrea Boehmcke (boehmckea@csdvt.org) or call (802) 264-5700.

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• Want to know where to vote on March 4?
• The Assessor’s Office might soon be paying a visit to your home. Would you like to know more?
• You are invited to a free community dinner! Would you like to know more?
• Would you like to know where the Town stands with regard to its to-date budget summary?

Please click here to find out more—access the Town of Colchester’s update for the week ending February 28, 2014.

When we’re all informed, we make a stronger community! Please encourage your friends and family to subscribe to the Spotlight.

On Monday, March 3, the Colchester School Board and the Colchester Selectboard will host a free community dinner at 5:30 p.m. before their annual meetings.

Please join us—along with your legislators—in the Colchester High School cafeteria to ask questions, learn more about what is happening in Montpelier, and discuss any issues you may have in an informal setting while enjoying lasagna, salad, and garlic bread.

Please bring a potluck dessert to share.

The annual meetings will start at 7:30 p.m. in the community theater at CHS.

Please join your friends and neighbors in this annual community gathering!

When we’re all informed, we make a stronger community! Please encourage your friends and family to subscribe to the Spotlight.

Today is Town Meeting Day!

Take part in a Vermont tradition that pre-dates Vermont’s official entry into the Union!

The first town meeting in Vermont took place in Bennington in 1762—fifteen years before Vermont entered the republic. We encourage all registered voters to take part in this important civic process.

The polls will be open from 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. Please come out and cast your ballot!

As a friendly reminder:

• Voting for District 9-1 (comprised of the area east of I-89, excluding the south side of Blakely Road) is at the Colchester Meeting House on 830 Main Street in Colchester Village.
• Voting for District 9-2 (comprised of the area west of I-89, including the south side of Blakely Road) is at Colchester High School on 131 Laker Lane (off Blakely Road).

Please call Colchester School District’s administrative offices at (802) 264-5999 or the Town of Colchester at (802) 264-5500 if we may answer any questions.

When we’re all informed, we make a stronger community! Please encourage your friends and family to subscribe to the Spotlight.

Many thanks to the ever-increasing numbers of community members who participate in the annual community dinner before the Colchester School District and the Town of Colchester’s annual meetings. To view a video containing some of the highlights of the March 3 gathering, please click here.

• Would you like a quick recap of the Town Meeting Day results and how you can offer feedback?
• Would you like information about an upcoming free breakfast event?
• Want to know what will be constructed on the site of the old Friendly’s Restaurant at Exit 16?

Please click here to find out more—access the Town of Colchester’s update for the week ending March 7, 2014.

When we’re all informed, we make a stronger community! Please encourage your friends and family to subscribe to the Spotlight.

School safety is a top priority.

In the interest of proactively working to safeguard our entire school community, we occasionally find ourselves in the unenviable position of having to make difficult decisions as quickly as possible … and in making these difficult decisions—in collaboration with the Colchester Police Department—critically analyzing all of the varying and often complex information available to us becomes paramount.

Another important consideration in managing situations having to do with school safety is the manner in which information is disseminated to our community. Since there exists no satisfactory, one-size-fits-all approach to such communication—and since we must remain ever cognizant of maintaining compliance with federal privacy laws and other considerations—we occasionally face the challenge of clearly and accurately communicating sensitive and emotionally charged information in as complete and as timely a manner as possible. This challenge can be further complicated with the widespread proliferation and profound speed of social media, wherein rumors and inaccuracies can impede and complicate these efforts.

The safety and security of our schools is of preeminent importance and serves as the foundation for this work. We do the very best we can with the information we have available to us, and we appreciate our community’s support in these efforts.

How can our community help with our safety efforts?

Please partner with us in helping to increase the safety and security of our school community. We respectfully ask that parents:

• always maintain current emergency contact information with schools;
• do not attempt to travel to campus in the event of emergency—doing so would hinder emergency operations and place students and staff at further risk;
• extend us their cooperation as we work to enforce our established safety procedures;
• regularly talk with their children about how to solve interpersonal conflicts and other problems in a respectful, nonviolent way;
• encourage their children to confide in a trusted adult at school about any concerns they may have; and
• reach out to us at any time to ask questions and offer suggestions about our security policies and procedures.

We invite our community to revisit our three-part series about their schools’ enhanced safety and security features (please click here to access it) and our two-part primer about our important, longstanding partnership with the Colchester Police Department for the benefit of the schools (please click here to access it).

We greatly appreciate your patience, understanding, and cooperation in our efforts to protect your community’s schools.

When we’re all informed, we make a stronger community! Please encourage your friends and family to subscribe to the Spotlight.

With a time of 1:32.57, Colchester High School sophomore Abigail Harrington took second place in the slalom race in the March 7–9 Eastern High School Championships in Attitash, New Hampshire! The event amassed approximately 225 high school skiers from across Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, and the Southern Alpine Racing Association (SARA).

And CHS senior Ethan Thibault will compete in the New England Nordic Ski Association (NENSA) Eastern High School Championships at the Mountaintop Inn and Resort in Chittenden, Vermont, on March 14–16. He is among the top twenty-four boys and girls from Maine, Vermont, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and New York who have qualified to participate in this highly competitive event.

CHS’s Ethan Thibault (BFA St. Albans hosted the race)

(Last fall, Ethan and fellow CHS classmate Nigel Sarrazin organized a community 5K event to support the Colchester Community Food Shelf—a highly successful venture raising $4,022 and received 228 pounds in food donations.)

And it isn’t just at CHS that students are garnering attention for their athletic prowess. In December, CMS student Myla Jacobs competed in the 2013 USATF National Junior Olympic Cross Country Championships in San Antonio, Texas.

For more information about your schools’ academic and/or extracurricular programming, please contact your schools at any time.

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Did you know that one pint of blood can save up to three lives?

Colchester High School will host a blood drive on Tuesday, March 18, from 9:00 a.m to 2:00 p.m. in the CHS gymnasium. All school and community members seventeen years of age and older are welcome to participate (click here for other eligibility requirements).

“Each year at CHS, we hold a blood drive to help save patients’ lives,” CHS’s Deb Deschamps, RN, said. “Almost 20 percent of the millions of blood donations made yearly come from young donors at high school and college blood drives. It is our hope that community members will join with our eligible high school students to make this year our best yet.”

Blood is used for patients undergoing many surgical procedures, organ transplants, trauma, and chemotherapy. For some patients, such as victims of automobile accidents, the need for blood is sudden. For others, ongoing transfusions are needed to sustain medical treatment.

The blood drive is sponsored by CHS Cares, a volunteer organization that works within the school and community to create a caring environment, making a difference in the community in which we live. Of the students helping to coordinate the event, Deschamps said, “The CHS students help with many facets of the drive and gain valuable leadership skills while performing this community service. From publicity, set up, and registering donors to working as donor aides and offering refreshments to the donors, students are vital in keeping the drive operating smoothly.”

What is important for donors to know?

“During the registration process, donors are instructed on the importance of getting eight hours of sleep the night before the donation, eating a healthy breakfast, not skipping meals on the day of the donation, and drinking a few extra glasses of water each day in the days prior to the donation,” Deschamps said. “Most students have a good donation experience and feel good about donating. If they follow the above instructions, students should expect very few ill effects; most reactions are mild symptoms, such as dizziness and light-headedness, that resolve quickly.”

To be eligible to donate, donors must be healthy, at least 17 years old (16 with signed Red Cross parental/guardian consent form), weigh at least 110 pounds, and not have given blood in the previous fifty-six (56) days. High school students and other donors eighteen years of age and younger also have to meet certain height and weight requirements.

Those interested in donating can locate the March 18 CHS blood drive on www.redcross.org and register for an appointment time, or they can call Deb Deschamps directly at 264-5724.

Donors are asked to bring their Red Cross donor cards if they have one and/or a photo ID.

Click here to read “A Student’s Guide to Blood Donation,” which is provided by the American Red Cross. The American Red Cross also provides a great deal of information about blood donation on its website. First-time donors can click here to learn about the process, donation FAQs can be found here, and for still more information about the blood donation process, click here.

For questions or to sign up, please e-mail Deborah Deschamps at deschampsd@csdvt.org.

When we’re all informed, we make a stronger community! Please encourage your friends and family to subscribe to the Spotlight.

Please mark your calendars!

The last day of school for all students will be on Friday, June 13, as a result of three snow days.

Colchester High School’s graduation will be held on Saturday, June 14, at 10:00 a.m.

We encourage our community to call (802) 264-5999 with any questions or concerns.

When we’re all informed, we make a stronger community! Please encourage your friends and family to subscribe to the Spotlight.

At the recent Vermont Debate and Forensic League’s State Forensics Tournament at the Vermont State House, Colchester High School junior Tom Condon took the top spot in the radio announcing competition.

It is Tom’s first year on the team, and he was among the top two competitors from among students representing sixteen schools around the state to advance to the final round in his category.

Forensics, more commonly known as “speech team,” involves competition in a wide variety of events. In the radio category, for example, participants create and deliver a radio broadcast about local or national news, weather, and sports and even include a thirty-second commercial with only thirty minutes of preparation. The impromptu category involves drawing a topic and delivering a two- to three-minute speech with only one minute of advanced preparation. Other categories include original oratory (which involves memorizing and presenting a speech on a controversial issue), extemporaneous (delivering a speech with only thirty minutes of advanced preparation), prose and poetry readings, and so on. There have been a number of state champions from Colchester High School in past years.

In addition to Tom Condon, CHS was represented at the February competition by senior Matt Lucier, who competed in the impromptu category, junior Rob Chase, who competed in the extemporaneous category, sophomore Alex Gardner, who competed in the prose category, and sophomore Peri Kate Navarro, who competed in the poetry category.

And in the March 10 Vermont 2014 Public Forum Debate State Tournament, CHS students Lauren Hutchings and Summer Colley qualified for the May 23–25 National Catholic Forensic League (NCFL) Grand National Tournament in Chicago, Illinois!

CHS students Lauren Hutchings and Summer Colley with Coach Bob Hall at the Vermont State House on March 10

The NCFL supports US and Canadian public, private, and parochial high school speech and debate activities. Lauren and Summer will compete in five preliminary rounds in front of three judges. The top entries in each event will advance to subsequent rounds until the final elimination round.

Last year, Lauren and Summer qualified for the National Forensics League’s National Speech and Debate Tournament in Birmingham, Alabama—the first time a CHS debate team had participated in the national event.

Fundraising efforts are under way to assist the Summer and Lauren with their participation in the competition; those interested in contributing may contact CHS’s Mark Ellingson at 264-5702.

Very well done, CHS!

For more information, please contact Bob Hall in CHS’s Guidance department.

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Last month, we wrote about Colchester High School’s upcoming first-ever Variety Night … and here is some evidence of the recent event!

Science teacher Chris Lang, student Tom Condon, and science teacher Dusty Scheuch served as MCs (Photo credit: Paul Lamontagne, http://www.vtsportsimages.com)

Freshmen Mario Houle and Alana Plumb with members of their class (Photo credit: Paul Lamontagne, http://www.vtsportsimages.com)

Sophomore Patrick LaCroix and members of his class (Photo credit: Paul Lamontagne, http://www.vtsportsimages.com)

About 130 students participated.

Juniors Alison Pilcher and Steven Sonntag (Photo credit: Paul Lamontagne, http://www.vtsportsimages.com)

Senior John Blake and members of his class (Photo credit: Paul Lamontagne, http://www.vtsportsimages.com)

Three judges scored the skits based on a number of criteria—including set, costumes, dance, music, organization, and so on—and scores were tallied to determined the overall winners. Individual awards were collaboratively decided by the judges.

Teacher and co-organizer Aimee deLaricheliere (Photo credit: Paul Lamontagne, http://www.vtsportsimages.com)

And the winners are …

1st Place Skit—Grade 11
2nd Place Skit—Grade 10
Best Actor—Ninth-grader Mario Houle
Best Dance—Grade 11′s “The Numa Numa Dance”
Best Set—Grade 12
Best Participation—Grade 12
Judges’ Choice Award—Ninth-grader Katie Pierson
Judges’ Choice Award—Tenth-grader Nate Hoffmann

Thanks to everyone who participated, and thanks to all of the community members who attended the performances!

And if you haven’t seen the video of the 2012 CHS faculty flash mob (which has been seen nearly 19,000 times!), it’s worth a look; please click here to watch it. As we’ve discussed before, working hard to improve school climates has important, far-reaching implications for entire communities.

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On April 3 and 4, Colchester Middle School’s Drama Club will present The Phantom Tollbooth Jr. at 7:00 p.m. in the community theater at Colchester High School. The Phantom Tollbooth Jr. is a one-act musical based on the novel The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster, with music by Arnold Black and lyrics by Sheldon Harnick. “We’ve been working since mid-November after school three times a week,” said Emily Desautels, CMS’s instrumental music director. Performed by approximately forty CMS students in grades 6–8 (with even more students helping backstage), bedazzled with original sets and props created by CMS students, and aggrandized with choreography by Jen Barden, this show is sure to be fun for the entire family. “Jen Barden has graciously offered her choreography skills once again to bring even more life and energy to the show. Her dance numbers always make the show full of enthusiasm and teamwork,” said Desautels. Tickets are $5 for adults, and $3 for students and senior citizens; tickets will be available at the door the nights of the show and are available at the CMS main office beginning Tuesday, April 1.

On April 9 and 10, all kindergarten through second-grade students at Porters Point School will perform the musical Hats! by John Jacobson and John Higgins in the community theater at Colchester High School. The performance is a culmination of several weeks of learning for the students that includes reading the script and learning songs, speaking parts, and dances. Half of the students will perform on Wednesday, April 9, and the other half will perform on Thursday, April 10. Both performances will begin at 6:30 p.m. and last approximately thirty minutes. The PPS Hats! performances are free and open to the community.

“Musicals provide a great opportunity for the children to learn and explore on so many levels,” said Martie Mutz, CSD music teacher at both Porters Point School and Union Memorial School. “There will be speaking and dancing parts, and every child will be a part of the chorus … for many of our children, this is their first time on a real stage.”

More than 450 Colchester School District students district-wide include band and choral curriculum in their studies, providing them with a well-rounded educational experience and offering them a host of benefits associated with music education.

For more information about these performances, visit Martie Mutz’s blog at ppsmusicwithmsmutz.blogspot.com and/or the CMS music department’s blog at cmsmusicdepartment.weebly.com. You may also call PPS at (802) 264-5920 or CMS at (802) 264-5800.

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One in five Vermont children lives in families struggling with hunger.

And yet many families are unaware that receiving the Vermont Earned Income Tax Credit provides access to food and nutrition benefits as well—including free school meals for their children!

Families who receive the VT Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) and have dependent children are likely financially eligible for 3Squares VT without having to meet the income test typically required to establish eligibility—and once receiving 3SquaresVT, their children are eligible for free meals at school.

Hunger Free Vermont has developed an informational flyer about this subject; to view it, please click here.

This information is also available on CSD’s website; please click here to access it.

For more information about 3SquaresVT or EITC, or for printed materials, please contact Faye Conte at fconte@hungerfreevt.org, or call (802) 865-0255.

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2014 CSD Annual Art Show Announcement

We are pleased to announce that the 2014 Colchester School District Annual Art Show will begin Tuesday, April 15 and run through Friday, April 18 in the Colchester High School gymnasium from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. each day.

And on the evening of Thursday, April 17, we invite the community to join us at CHS for the Artist Reception event from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. The reception is for students, family members, and the community, and it provides an opportunity for the artists to discuss their work. Refreshments will be served.

(Please note that the show is approximately three weeks earlier than usual this year because of the construction schedule for CHS’s revitalized science labs and classrooms.)

The CSD Art Show features works of art from every grade level in the district. More than 500 works of art are expected to be showcased by Colchester High School students alone, covering Art 1 and 2-D Art, Photography (film and digital), Pottery 1 and 2, and 3-D Art. In addition, all CHS art students will write an artist statement reflecting upon their work and the creative process, which not only hones their writing skills but also helps the viewers to understand the specialized artistic techniques the students learned through the art program.

For more information about the art show, please e-mail CHS art teacher Anne Cummings or call (802) 264-5700. Please join us for this free community event!

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At Colchester Middle School, part of eighth-grade Spanish students’ curriculum includes topics like Nicaraguan weather, food, and school schedules as well as more complex topics, such as Nicaraguan challenges of poverty and of creative solutions to improve such poverty.

(Last year, a Nicaraguan native—now a Colchester resident—addressed Spanish students at Colchester High School about her experiences; please click here to read that article.)

As part of that learning, the Spanish students, along with members of the Caring Cougars and Community Service clubs, will team up with the Pulsera Project, a nonprofit organization dedicated to bettering the lives of Nicaraguans.

“In essence, Nicaraguan artists make bracelets—pulseras in Spanish—by hand, and the Pulsera Project sends them to us so we can sell them and raise money for their efforts back in Nicaragua,” said CMS Spanish teacher Meghan Tiernan-Fisher.

The students will sell the pulseras during lunch periods from April 14 through April 18; the sales will return to the Pulsera Project to further the organization’s work, which—per its website—involves efforts to “create sustainable jobs, empower Nicaraguan communities, and provide engaging educational programs both in the US and Nicaragua” and to “bridge cultures, bring people together, and color the world with beauty and awareness.” (It is a sort of precursor to some of the work that the students will do as high school students regarding the study of globalization; please click here to read out article about that subject.)

To learn more about the Pulsera Project’s mission, which—in addition to explaining how the sale of pulseras impacts Nicaraguans—calls attention to worker exploitation and to the idea that rampant global consumerism has an impact on real lives, please click here to view a short explanatory film.

If you would like more information, please contact CMS at (802) 264-5800, or e-mail Meghan Tiernan-Fisher at tiernanfisherm@csdvt.org.

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Two Colchester students have recently returned from a trip to Washington DC, having participated in the United States Senate Youth Program (USSYP) as recipients of the William Randolph Hearst Youth Senate Scholarship. They were among the 104 delegates from around the nation—two from each state, two from the District of Columbia, and two additional students associated with the US Department of Defense—who were selected as outstanding high school students interested in pursuing careers in public service.

US Senator Patrick Leahy talks with CHS’s Chris Prado and Colchester resident Katrina Derderian in Washington DC. Photo by Jakub Mosur.

Colchester High School senior Chris Prado received one of the scholarships, which not only funded the Washington experience but also includes $5,000 to facilitate undergraduate studies. He is a recent inductee into the National Honor Society, and in 2011, he spearheaded a school-wide, grant-funded sustainability project called Net Impact High School. “The USSYP an amazing program and a wonderful opportunity not only because of the scholarship but also but because of the incredible experiences that it makes possible,” he said.

Colchester resident Katrina Derderian, who is an honor student and the president of the student council at Rice Memorial High School, also won the scholarship.

“To have Colchester represented by two such outstanding young people is terrific,” said Mari Miller, who has served on the William Randolph Hearst Youth Senate Scholarship Committee for the Vermont Principals’ Association for the last nine years.

The highly competitive opportunity to visit Washington DC as part of this program, which was established in 1962, included visits to the US National Archives and Records Administration, Arlington National Cemetery, the National 9/11 Pentagon Memorial, and a visit to NASA Headquarters to hear NASA Administrator Charles F. Bolden, Jr. speak. And as a special surprise, the delegates enjoyed a question-and-answer session with astronauts aboard the International Space Station via live video! (Did you know that a 1988 Colchester High School graduate is a flight controller for the ISS? Please click here to read that story.)

The delegates also visited the Supreme Court of the United States and heard Associate Justice Antonin Scalia, who advocates for originalism in constitutional interpretation. They spent time at the US Department of State to hear Macon Phillips, the coordinator for the Bureau of International Information Programs, attended a discussion led by Christine Lagarde, the managing director of the International Monetary Fund, visited the Abraham Lincoln Memorial, and attended a performance of the National Symphony Orchestra at the Kennedy Center.

And that isn’t all. Prado and Derderian heard policy addresses by senators, cabinet members, officials of various executive departments, and others, met with President Obama, and enjoyed a dinner reception that included the opportunity to meet nearly seventy-five of the one hundred United States senators. “We spoke with Senator Levin of Michigan, Senator Corker of Tennessee, and Senator Tester of Montana, as well as Congressman Gardner of Colorado,” Prado said.

“Quite honestly, Washington week was the best week of my life,” said Derderian. “I think it was because I was with like-minded people who were just as interested in public service and this nation as I am.”

To access a Colchester Sun article about these two outstanding students and to read more about their accomplishments, please click here.

This is not the first time that students from Colchester have made their way to Washington DC to engage with the political process. In 2012, CHS student Hanna Orselet represented Vermont at the Girls Nation event and met with President Obama.

So what were some poignant takeaways from Vermont’s delegation in this extraordinary opportunity?

“One of the main things that a lot of the speakers stressed was to not be cynical and not get jaded by our political system,” Prado said. “The media often promotes the idea that there’s no bipartisanship in government, but the leaders with whom we spoke encouraged us to do what we could do and to remain positive. Even President Obama’s main takeaway was ‘Don’t be cynical, and keep an open mind and a good outlook on the way things are going.’ That is a powerful message,” he said.

“It was so refreshing to see how passionate a group of seventeen- and eighteen-year-olds could be, and it was truly inspiring,” said Derderian. “I am convinced that one day I will turn on the TV and see at least one of my fellow USSYP delegates on C-SPAN or CNN.”

This outstanding scholarship opportunity is open to Vermont high school students in their junior and senior years. Interested in applying for the 2015 event? Please contact Ken Page, the executive director of the Vermont Principals’ Association, at kpage@vpaonline.org, or click here to learn more.

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(Adapted from CHS Principal Amy Minor’s letter in the April Laker View.)

Many, many thanks once again to the taxpayers of Colchester for the opportunity to renovate the science labs and instructional center. Construction will officially begin on Friday, April 18, at 2:45 p.m.!

All CHS science classrooms will be closed following students’ return from spring recess; these classrooms will be under construction for the last six weeks of school, and general contractors will be working in those classrooms throughout the day. Please note: any individual hired to work on the renovation project will have undergone a background check in order to do so.

A considerable amount of construction equipment outside of the building on the side that is closest to Colchester Middle School, near rooms 109 and 111 (far left-hand side of the building if looking at CHS from the front) is anticipated. CHS respectfully asks that all students and parents stay away from that area of the building during construction. Visitors attending sporting events are asked to not walk around that side of the building; instead, please park in the large CHS parking lot and walk around the back side of the building to access the softball field, or park at CMS, as it is closer.

Design of revitalized classrooms and laboratories

All CHS science teachers have been relocated to other spaces at CHS for the final six weeks of school (to view the temporary classroom relocation plan, please visit the Laker View online by clicking here). In order to avoid the costly renting of mobile classrooms, CHS worked hard as a school to coordinate the use of every possible space in order to relocate science classrooms for the remainder of the school year.

If the project goes smoothly, our hope is that it will be completed on or before August 22, 2014. We look forward to sharing future updates about this project!

Your schools and your town are working hard to engage our community. Please encourage your friends and family to subscribe to The Spotlight. When we’re all informed, we make a stronger community!

Among the musicians performing in the recent New England Music Festival—the eighty-seventh year for this prestigious event!—were CHS band students Chris Triplett, Matt Waters, and Connor Zwonik.

Senior Matt Waters, senior Chris Triplett, and freshman Connor Zwonik at the eighty-seventh-annual New England Music Festival in Bennington

All three musicians auditioned in December for this highly selective ensemble featuring the best high school musicians from all over New England. Senior Chris Triplett was selected for euphonium, and senior Matt Waters and freshman Connor Zwonik were selected for percussion. They performed under the renowned Dr. Peter Boonshaft, a professor of music and director of bands at Hofstra University, director of the graduate wind conducting program, and conductor of the Hofstra University Wind Ensemble and Symphonic Band.

CSD’s student musicians have long commanded attention regionally and nationally. A number of CSD students perform with the Vermont Youth Philharmonia (VYP) Orchestra (please click here to watch a short video of the VYP’s recent performance at Colchester Middle School). In 2012, former CHS student Lauren Zwonik was the only Vermont student to participate in the Macy’s Great American Marching Band. In 2013, the National Association for Music Educators selected a composition written by former CHS student Jacob Morton-Black for a prestigious honor.

Alan Greenspan, Condoleezza Rice, Paula Zahn, Woody Allen, and a host of others credit their musical education for their notable professional successes. (Please click here to read more about that.)

To learn a bit more about CHS’s music program and about some of the many benefits of music education, please click here.

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A Colchester champion is ready to take on fellow champions from around the nation in Kansas City, Missouri, at the end of June!

CHS student Raymond Donnelly, Jr., a Colchester High School senior who is enrolled in courses at Burlington Technical Center (BTC), won a bronze medal for collision repair and a gold medal for auto refinishing at the March 29 SkillsUSA competition. Donnelly competed against fifteen other talented students from all around the state and made an impressive showing, earning him the right to compete against other gold medalists from all across the country later this year.

Colchester’s Raymond Donnelly, Jr. at Burlington Technical Center following his receipt of gold and bronze medals in the March 29 SkillsUSA competition

The annual SkillsUSA event required a great deal of support from area organizations, including Direct Auto Body, Shearer Chevrolet, Rotunda’s Auto Body, Progressive Insurance, State Farm Insurance, and Enterprise, all of which contributed funding, volunteers, and/or event space. SkillsUSA, founded in 1965, focuses on excellence in job training and in citizenship. Ed Companion, an auto body instructor with BTC, said of Donnelly, “He’s a great kid—very deserving. He’s an excellent student; I can’t say enough good about him.”

Donnelly was not the only Colchester student to achieve recognition in the event. CHS senior and second-year BTC welding student Jordan Darrt participated in the SkillsUSA welding competition against seventeen other competitors from around the state and won the bronze medal. The all-day event was held at the Advanced Welding Institute (AWI) in South Burlington.

CHS senior and second-year BTC welding student Jordan Darrt won a bronze medal in the welding competition

And 2013 CHS graduate Nicholas Scibek, a post-secondary aviation student at BTC, earned a gold medal in the post-secondary aviation maintenance technology competition.

As we’ve mentioned in the past, arguably, one of the main purposes of education is to prepare students for life beyond the classroom—the component of daily living that involves supporting one’s self by means of employment. Certainly, the skills developed through the study of varied subject matters and disciplines plays a significant role in that. There are a number of programs and initiatives in place at CSD that are geared specifically toward assisting students with the nuts and bolts of planning for their future careers. From College and Career Week at CMS to facilitating exposure to a number of growing sustainability-focused employment fields and from providing interactive, work-related experiences in our community to championing career preparedness through extracurricular offerings, a lot of work is being done in these efforts.

At the Center for Technology—Essex (CTE) in 2012, a group of female students from Colchester Middle School got to roll up their sleeves and try out educational programs that are considered by the US Department of Labor to be “nontraditional” for females (which it defines as occupations “in which women comprise 25 percent or less of total employment”). The event—dubbed “Girls Can Too!”—was designed to encourage young women to consider the vast educational and career opportunities available to them in areas they might not otherwise necessarily even know about. The students had an opportunity to participate in hands-on activities pertaining to careers in engineering and architectural design, computer sciences, building technologies, computer animation and web design, automotive technologies, natural resources, and agri-science technologies.

Chainsaws! Heavy equipment! Pneumatic impact wrenches! Circular saws! It was a pretty exciting day.

Click here to see a video clip of the students in action.

To read our primer about college and career readiness planning at CSD, please click here.

The Colchester School District Vision and Strategic Plan 2012–2017′s pathways include High Standards, Expectations, and Individual Engagement for All Learners; Learning Outside Our Four Walls; and Parent, Community, and School Partnerships Among Lifelong Learners. Skills training opportunities such as these well complement the vision and strategic plan.

For more information about career planning at CSD, please contact any of your schools, or call our administrative offices at (802) 264-5999.

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