Programs | CSD Spotlight

Cooking Up Care and Compassion

17 May 2013 Comments Off

by CSD Spotlight in Colchester High School, Colchester Middle School, Community, General, Programs, Student Spotlight, Vision Summit/Vision and Strategic Plan

The Caring Cougars (formerly Advocates for All) at Colchester Middle School recently reached out to offer support to an important area organization.

CMS Caring Cougars at the Ronald McDonald House

The Caring Cougars, a group that aligns closely with CHS Cares at Colchester High School, are students who work hard to make a difference in our community. The group’s overall philosophy is akin to the concept of paying it forward, whereby good deeds are repaid by passing them along to others who need them.

Under CMS faculty advisor Patty Ward, the Caring Cougars do a considerable amount of community service and volunteerism, regularly meeting to brainstorm ideas for how to make a positive impact in our community—everything from raising funds to support the Toys for Kids initiative to coordinating food drives to support the Colchester Community Food Shelf.

Most recently, the group got together after school to make a meal for the Ronald McDonald House in Burlington. On the menu? Homemade lasagna using a tasty spaghetti sauce made from scratch, as well as freshly baked cookies and cupcakes for dessert.

Parent, Community, and School Partnerships Among Lifelong Learners is one of the pathways in the Colchester School District Vision and Strategic Plan 2012–2017, and the school community works hard to that end. If you would like to learn about just some of the many other examples of our students serving our community, please click here (spoiler alert: our students step up and make a positive impact again and again!).

There is a lot of good that goes on in our community. This is a great place to be!

Do you like CSD Spotlight? If so, please encourage your family and friends to subscribe! We are working hard to engage our community and keep everyone informed. Please help us spread the word!

CHS Scientists Win Recognition for Contributions to Climate Change Research!

15 May 2013 Comments Off

by CSD Spotlight in Colchester High School, Curriculum, Instruction, and Assessment, General, Programs, Student Spotlight

Three Colchester High School students have been recognized for their contributions to climate change research as a result of their extensive and impressive work with the University of Vermont’s Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR): Research on Adaptation to Climate Change (RACC) project!

CHS students and teacher Kara Lenorovitz at the 2013 symposium

CHS students Denir Djozic, Grace Yasewicz, and Andrew Pike and teacher Kara Lenorovitz at the 2013 symposium

As a result of the warming global climate, scientists anticipate that Vermont will experience more frequent and more intense storm events, potentially resulting in increased phosphorus pollution in Lake Champlain.

The CHS RACC team—CHS seniors Denir Djozic and Grace Yasewicz and sophomore Andrew Pike—focused their efforts on understanding how storm events impact phosphorus levels in streams in various areas of different land uses. Under the tutelage of science teacher Kara Lenorovitz, the student team worked with EPSCoR—a National Science Foundation (NSF)-funded collaborative research effort between university researchers, graduate and undergraduate students, and high school teams throughout New England, New York, and Puerto Rico—beginning in July 2012 to better understand how climate change will impact the Lake Champlain Basin. Specifically, the researchers hoped to better understand the impact of global climate change upon Vermont and how we can best prepare for it.

Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

At the April 4 fifth-annual VT EPSCoR Center for Workforce Development and Diversity (CWDD) 2013 Vermont EPSCoR Student Research Symposium in South Burlington, a panel of post-doctorate judges deemed the CHS team as having created and presented the best scientific poster! (To view the poster, please click here.)

CHS has been involved with the EPSCoR RACC and Streams projects for more than five years. Next year, Andrew Pike and rising juniors Hannah Rogers and Maddy Powell will continue in the RACC research effort.

Congratulations, Denir, Grace, and Andrew!

For more information, please call CHS at (802) 264-5700, or e-mail CHS science teacher Kara Lenorovitz (lenorovitzk@csdvt.org).

Do you like CSD Spotlight? If so, please encourage your family and friends to subscribe! We are working hard to engage our community and keep everyone informed. Please help us spread the word!

Welcoming the Coming of Summer with Music

13 May 2013 Comments Off

by CSD Spotlight in Colchester High School, Colchester Middle School, Community, General, Malletts Bay School, Programs

It’s hard to believe that we’re already starting to approach the point at which we wind down the school year and gear up for summer. And what better way to do that than with music?

There are a number of upcoming musical events to which you are cordially invited. 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.

Colchester Middle School’s band and chorus ensembles will present their final musical performances for the school year on the following dates:

Wednesday, May 15 at 7:00 p.m.—the CMS sixth-grade chorus, seventh- and eighth-grade chorus, and select choir will perform a TV/pop/movie-theme concert (think “Count on Me,” “Scarborough Fair,” “Stayin’ Alive,” “Celebration,” “Maybe I’m Amazed,” “Hawaii Five-O,” “Rhythm of Love,” and “The Muppets”) in the community theater at Colchester High School.
Thursday, May 16 at 7:00 p.m.—the CMS sixth-grade band, seventh- and eighth-grade band, and the jazz band will perform in the CMS gymnasium. In addition to many other pieces, this spring concert features the seventh- and eighth-grade clarinet section with a beautiful arrangement of the Irish folk song, “Loch Lomond,” and a brand-new Hunger Games piece will be played by the seventh- and eighth-grade band. The sixth-grade band will perform a band favorite, “Bryce Canyon Overture,” and the jazz band will play a steady and driving arrangement of “Seven Nation Army” and the ever-so-sneaky “Pink Panther.”
And on Thursday, May 23 at 6:30 p.m., all chorus and band members and their families are invited to attend the second-annual CMS Solo Night in the CMS cafeteria. Twenty-five acts will perform for three judges, and prizes will be awarded for the best acts in three categories. Join us for light refreshments and to enjoy the performances by various solo singers, instrumentalists, and group performances from the middle school level. CMS has talent!

Malletts Bay School’s upcoming musical performances are as follows:

On Tuesday, May 21 at 6:00 p.m., the third-grade spring concert will take place in the MBS gymnasium, followed immediately by the fourth-grade recorder concert beginning at 7:00 p.m.
On Wednesday, May 22 at 6:30 p.m., the fifth-grade spring band and chorus concert will take place in the community theater at Colchester High School.

And at Colchester High School …

On Tuesday, May 28 beginning at 7:00 p.m., Colchester High School will hold its pops concert at CHS. This is the event during which CHS recognizes seniors and exceptional students, complimented by fun music that many people recognize. This year’s pops concert will include a Star Wars medley, classic jazz funk/pop from the 1970s, and more.
On Friday, May 31 beginning at 7:30 p.m., the Performing Arts concert will be held at Colchester High School as part of Colchester’s 250th celebration. The event will feature a historical skit performed by the Colchester Theatre Company, a performance by the Colchester Community Chorus, a performance by the CHS band and Colchester Community Band, and a performance by the CHS chorus. (The choruses and bands will also perform combined music pieces featuring a musical composition by Jacob Morton-Black, written specifically for this occasion entitled “Toward Familiar Shores.”)

The concerts are free and open to the community! For more information, please visit the Friends of Colchester Music’s website, or contact your schools.

Remember that Colchester School District posts a district-wide calendar of events, as well!

Do you like CSD Spotlight? If so, please encourage your family and friends to subscribe! We are working hard to engage our community and keep everyone informed. Please help us spread the word!

The Science of Soil

09 May 2013 Comments Off

by CSD Spotlight in Colchester High School, Community, General, Programs, Vision Summit/Vision and Strategic Plan, Wellness

Colchester High School students in Melanie Laquerre’s health class recently visited Shelburne Farms to engage in hands-on exploration and study of soil.

Students collected, analyzed, and compared soil samples from various locations around the farm, searched for earthworms, and visited with the animals among various other related activities.

Designed for students interested in exploring the various aspects of food, the health course covers an eclectic assortment of subject matters like nutrition and obesity, conventional versus organic agriculture, food miles, sustainability, the treatment of animals in food production, and the global implications of the production and transportation of our food supply. Real-world connections to abstract classroom learning are important because they pique student engagement and attention—thus encouraging out-of-the-box thinking. Field trips often serve to strengthen students’ observational skills and allow them to become more actively engaged in their learning, providing additional sensory activities and expanding their curiosity.

This exploration and discovery speaks directly to some of the Colchester School District Vision and Strategic Plan 2012–2017′s pathways, including Pathway A: High Standards, Expectations, and Individual Engagement for All Learners; Pathway C: Learning Outside Our Four Walls; Pathway E: Parent, Community, and School Partnerships Among Lifelong Learners; and Pathway F: Wellness-Oriented, Balanced, and Healthy Learners.

Please take a moment to check out the classroom blog here for more pictures and information!

For more information, please contact CHS at 264-5700 or e-mail Melanie Laquerre (laquerrem@csdvt.org).

Do you like CSD Spotlight? If so, please encourage your family and friends to subscribe! We are working hard to engage our community and keep everyone informed. Please help us spread the word!

Author and Illustrator Michael Garland Visits Our Students

02 May 2013 Comments Off

by CSD Spotlight in General, Porters Point School, Programs

Author and illustrator Michael Garland recently visited with students at Porters Point School.

Author Michael Garland with Meg Terrien’s first-grade class at PPS

Best known for his widely beloved “Miss Smith” books (including Miss Smith Under the Ocean, Miss Smith and the Haunted Library, Miss Smith’s Incredible Storybook, and others), Michael Garland has illustrated more than thirty of his own books and nearly forty books authored by others.

Author Michael Garland and PPS first-grade teacher Meg Terrien. Terrien's favorite book when she was a student at Union Memorial was Garland's "My Cousin Katie."

Author Michael Garland and PPS first-grade teacher Meg Terrien. Terrien’s favorite book when she was a student at Union Memorial School was Garland’s “My Cousin Katie.”

Garland met with students in five separate sessions, describing how he writes and where his ideas come from, showing students a dummy copy of one of his books, and doing some illustrations for them. The students worked in advance to read a number of his books and to prepare compelling questions for him.

Garland’s visit was funded by proceeds from two years’ worth of PPS book fairs (to learn more about book fairs and why they are important, read this CSD Spotlight post). PPS librarian Mary Ann Kadish has also purchased assorted classroom technology with book fair proceeds; she recently purchased a digital camera and will soon acquire two iPads with the book fair funds.

Speaking of classroom technology, a group of second-grade students created a book trailer based upon Michael Garland’s books using iMovie; the students summarized their books of choice, selected illustrations to accompany their summaries, and recorded their voices to create the complete project. (Please click here to view it and to hear the students’ excellent reading!)

PPS students Sean Boyd, Maeve MacAuley, Sarah Bokleberg, Jeannine Bourassa, and Charlie Walsh created a trailer of author Michael Garland’s books. Garland and Mary Ann Kadish are also pictured.

Students have also used iPads and the app Haiku Deck to create slideshows to facilitate their learning and understanding.

Additionally, Ms. Kadish uses a document camera in her work with the students so that the students can benefit from seeing the pages in a much larger format, allowing them to better appreciate the artwork and to more fully engage with their various literacy-related activities, including connections with geography, celebrating different cultures, critical thinking, and more.

As part of their study of literacy, the students have also studied parts of a book, including such elements as spine labels, title pages, and dedication pages. “We have looked at dedication pages and noticed connections to family, teachers, and others who have influenced Michael’s life,” Ms. Kadish said. “We have also noticed that he uses people’s names and situations he is familiar with to write about.”

To read a recent interview with Michael Garland, please click here.

If you would like more information, please call Porters Point School at (802) 264-5920, or e-mail librarian Mary Ann Kadish (kadishm@csdvt.org).

Keep current with CSD’s news and other education-related information by subscribing to CSD Spotlight. Enter an e-mail address into the field under E-mail Subscriptions in the upper right-hand side of this screen and click “Sign me up!”

Add Some Color to Spring—Art Shows and Contest Abound!

01 May 2013 Comments Off

by CSD Spotlight in Colchester High School, Community, General, Programs

I found I could say things with color and shapes that I couldn’t say any other way—things I had no words for.
—Georgia O’Keeffe

Please join us for the 2013 Colchester School District Art Show Tuesday, May 7 through Friday, May 10 in the Colchester High School gymnasium from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. each day. There will also be a reception—with refreshments served—for students, family members, and the community on Thursday, May 9 from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. The reception will provide an opportunity for the artists to discuss their work.

The CSD Art Show features works of art from every grade level in the district. Throughout the show, attendants may vote for their favorite piece of artwork from each school; winners of the People’s Choice awards receive art supplies and may showcase their work in the main display case in the CHS lobby. 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.

In related news, the Thirty-Second-Annual Congressional Art Competition, championed by Congressman Peter Welch and originally initiated by former US Senator Jim Jeffords, will feature the work of five Colchester High School students—Marie Bouffard, Nick Bezio, Lucie Stein, Sarah St. Amour, and Carina Sobel. All five students are currently completing Advanced Placement Studio Art portfolios. Student work from high schools across the state will be on exhibit May 1-13, 2013, at the Vermont College of Fine Arts in Montpelier, concluding with an awards ceremony at 10:00 a.m. on May 13.

Marie Bouffard’s “Aztec Fox”

Carina Sobel’s “Clouds”

Lucie Stein’s “Clelia of the Digital Age”

Sarah St. Amour’s “Leap of Faith”

Nicholas Bezio’s “Let the Games Begin”

The Congressional Art Competition celebrates artistic talent in every congressional district in the nation. Winning entries selected at the district level are displayed at the US Capitol Building for one year.

For more information about any of these events, please e-mail CHS art teacher Anne Cummmings (cummingsacsdvt.org).

Do you like CSD Spotlight? If so, please encourage your family and friends to subscribe! We are working hard to engage our community and keep everyone informed. Please help us spread the word!

A Place Where Academics, Collaboration, and Interests Meet

29 Apr 2013 Comments Off

by CSD Spotlight in Colchester Middle School, Community, General, Programs

Counting change for the Big Change Roundup to support the Vermont Children's Hospital

CMS’s Community Service club counts change for the Big Change Roundup to support the Vermont Children’s Hospital

What happens to the level of positive energy and active participation in engaging activities when students are encouraged to interact much more readily and work with others who share similar interests?

Colchester Middle School’s schedule includes a weekly opportunity for students to participate in a wide variety of teacher-directed clubs in an academically oriented effort to further promote a positive climate and a comfortable learning environment. The clubs also provide additional opportunities for students to work collaboratively with others to learn a new skill and make a positive contribution. In this way, students from across houses and grade levels can work with one another toward common goals.

CMS’s Caring Cougars making bracelets to support their fundraising goal of $1,500 for Relay for Life

Students can select from an array of clubs ranging from those designed to hone a particular skill to others focusing upon giving back to the community through various outreach projects, including:

Art;
Art 2/Farm to School;
Basketball;
Caring Cougars;
Community Service;
the student journalism group Cougar Chronicle;
Football;
French;
Knitting;
Naturalists;
Peer Mentors;
Science and Engineering;
Student Council;
Study Hall;
Technology; and
Yoga.

CMS’s Science club

For more information about this initiative or about any of these programs, please call CMS at (802) 264-5800, or e-mail Assistant Principal Peg Gillard (gillardp@csdvt.org).

Do you like CSD Spotlight? If so, please encourage your family and friends to subscribe! We are working hard to engage our community and keep everyone informed. Please help us spread the word!

CHS’s Project Checkpoint Attracting Attention from Surrounding School Districts

23 Apr 2013 Comments Off

by CSD Spotlight in Colchester High School, General, Other Important Information, Programs, Vision Summit/Vision and Strategic Plan, Wellness

In collaboration with Centerpoint Services, Colchester High School has created a research-based partnership called Project Checkpoint, a screening and brief intervention program designed to assist students with substance abuse issues.

As a result of the partnership, students will have increased access to a variety of supports aimed at fortifying school success, addressing substance abuse and/or mental health concerns, and promoting well-being and personal health.

CHS Assistant Principal Justin Brown said of the partnership, “Some exciting aspects are that we have been able to design this service from the ground up so that it is based in research. It comes with its own funding stream so that it costs the district virtually nothing for three years, and despite just starting, we are already receiving inquiries from surrounding school districts asking how they can copy our model.”

This partnership speaks directly to the Colchester School District Vision and Strategic Plan 2012–2017 which has important pathways to which this effort directly relates, including Pathway E: Parent, Community, and School Partnerships Among Lifelong Learners and Pathway F: Wellness-Oriented, Balanced, and Healthy Learners.

For more information, please call CHS at (802) 264-5700 or e-mail Assistant Principal Justin Brown (brownj@csdvt.org).

Do you like CSD Spotlight? If so, please encourage your family and friends to subscribe! We are working hard to engage our community and keep everyone informed. Please help us spread the word!

PLEASE READ: Important Budget Information

17 Apr 2013 Comments Off

by CSD Spotlight in Accountability, Budgets, Community, District Office, General, Other Important Information, Programs

We are working hard to make the revised Colchester School District FY 2014 budget information as widely available and accessible as possible. We ask everyone to review the budget materials, ask questions, and generate dialogue as you consider your vote.

A quick fact sheet about your schools and about the proposed budget can be found here.

Information about expenditures can be found here.

Information about revenues can be found here.

Information about the tax impact can be found here.

All of this information can also be found on Colchester School District’s website. You may also call our administrative offices at (802) 264-5959 or stop in at 125 Laker Lane to request copies of the materials and ask questions.

We are working to continue the critically important work of strengthening our schools and our community. Please vote on Tuesday, May 7.

Do you like CSD Spotlight? If so, please encourage your family and friends to subscribe! We are working hard to engage our community and keep everyone informed. Please help us spread the word!

CSD Award-Winning Composer Attracting Considerable Acclaim

12 Apr 2013 Comments Off

by CSD Spotlight in Colchester High School, General, Programs, Student Spotlight

The National Association for Music Educators (NAfME) has selected Colchester High School senior Jacob Morton-Black’s composition “Chapter 1, Bar 60″ for string quartet as one of fourteen award-winning pieces. As a result, Jacob participated in a forum and panel discussion of young composers, and his composition was performed at the NAfME Eastern Division Conference in Hartford, Connecticut, on April 5.

(Jacob was also on the student team in the recent sixth-annual Battle of the Brains competition; if you missed that article and video, you can access it here.)

CHS’s Jacob Morton-Black

He also applied for a composition scholarship through the Vermont Music Educators Association’s All-State Festival, and “Chapter 1, Bar 60″ was selected for one of three scholarships.

The piece, which was composed over a two-week period as part of the String Quartet Project in collaboration with the Burlington Ensemble, includes parts for a cello, a viola, and two violins. The Burlington Ensemble performed the piece on April 6 at College Street Congregational Church, and the piece will also be performed as part of the Town of Colchester’s 250th anniversary celebration on May 31 beginning at 7:30 p.m. in the CHS gymnasium.

Jacob, who plans to pursue higher education in music composition and conducting, often draws inspiration from the work of Czech composer Antonín Dvořák, particularly when writing quartets. “Every piece is unique in its creation process, but they all start with a nugget—and that nugget can come at any time,” he said.

Please join us in congratulating him!

Aspiring musicians abound throughout your school district. Jacob and other fellow CHS musicians also recently participated in the New England Music Festival—a prestigious opportunity to perform with New England’s best high school musicians under the direction of nationally recognized directors and master conductors. Along with Jacob for this opportunity were Lauren Zwonik, Ian Flores, Isabella Bertoni, Andrea Trudeau, and Teremy Garen.

Lauren Zwonik and Jacob Morton-Black

Back: Ian Flores
Front, from left to right: Andrea Trudeau, Isabella Bertoni, and Teremy Garen

At Colchester Middle School, more than sixty students are involved in the April 18 and April 19 production of Willy Wonka Junior, which will begin at 7:00 p.m. on both nights in the community theater at Colchester High School. The students’ extensive preparations for this musical production include memorizing lines, singing, and creating artistic sets. Eighth grader Sam Dickin will play Willy Wonka, seventh grader Ethan Goedken will portray young Charlie Bucket, and eighth grader Mario Houle will play the role of Grandpa Joe. “I am so proud of how hard the students have worked on this,” said Emily Desautels, CMS band and musical director. “They’ve been rehearsing for the past five months after school … they give it so much energy and dedication. They’re all very excited to perform for the Colchester community.”

For more information about the upcoming Willy Wonka Junior production, please contact Emily Desautels at (802) 264-5800 or e-mail her at desautelse@csdvt.org.

Do you like CSD Spotlight? If so, please encourage your family and friends to subscribe! We are working hard to engage our community and keep everyone informed. Please help us spread the word!

CSD Spotlight

Cooking Up Care and Compassion

CHS Scientists Win Recognition for Contributions to Climate Change Research!

Welcoming the Coming of Summer with Music

The Science of Soil

Author and Illustrator Michael Garland Visits Our Students

Add Some Color to Spring—Art Shows and Contest Abound!

A Place Where Academics, Collaboration, and Interests Meet

CHS’s Project Checkpoint Attracting Attention from Surrounding School Districts

PLEASE READ: Important Budget Information

CSD Award-Winning Composer Attracting Considerable Acclaim

E-mail Subscription

Twitter Updates

Categories

Archives

Important Links

Meta

E-mail Subscription

Follow “CSD Spotlight”