CVU Celebrations

Dear Community,

Last night, we hosted our annual 8th Grade Family Night—a wonderful evening highlighting exactly what makes the CVU community so special. It was a joy to see families come together to support their rising 9th graders as they prepare for this next big step.

Between the informative sessions led by our teachers and counselors and the energetic welcome from our Student Council ambassadors, the night was a perfect mix of preparation and Redhawk spirit. (And of course, the cookies didn't hurt!)

My favorite part of the evening is always the student perspective. Hearing our upperclassmen reflect on their journeys and offer heartfelt advice to the incoming class is a powerful reminder of the growth that happens within these walls.

If you’re looking for a conversation starter tonight, ask your student: "What is one area where you’ve grown since you first arrived at CVU?" Whether it’s social connections, fitness, math skills, or the confidence to try new things, it’s a great "warm-up" for our student-led conferences on March 19th!

Students in Unified Art create plaster sculptures inspired by artist Jim Dine.

The Unified Art class has just completed its pop art sculpture project inspired by the work of Jim Dine and Claes Oldenburg. Our artists created individual candy heart sculptures and contributed to our collaborative sculpture of a candy heart box. On our final day of the project, we created an installation of our pop art sculptures while reflecting on our artistic process.

CVU Scholars Bowl sent three teams to the Vermont NAQT tournament on Friday, February 6th at Spaulding High School.

Our varsity "A" team won all seven matches in winning the tournament, including tight games in the semifinals against Essex and in the championship game against a talented Burlington squad. These were great team efforts, but the team was led individually by Charles Redmond, who was the tournament's 7th highest overall scorer.

Our B and C teams also represented CVU well, winning several tight games and answering several timely tossup questions. All teams had a good time interacting with other teams in friendly competition.

Representing CVU today were seniors Charles Redmond and Leah Rauch, juniors JD Kogut, Zephyr Haines, Anthony Lamb, Sydney Hoehl, Willow Hayes and Willcox Elliott, and sophomore Finn Etter.

Congratulations to the CVU Neuroscience Club! On February 7th, the CVU Neuroscience Club was treated to a keynote speaker focused on cellular waste and its role in neurodegeneration and disorders like Alzheimer’s, as well as a mock psychology assessment where competitors decoded symptoms of a patient and predicted outcomes. This was followed by the Brain Bee Competition. Our very own Elle McAvery took first place, followed by Jack Daly in second, and Gabe Milne earning 7th place and thus secured CVU's finish in the top spot overall! Elle's first-place finish will take her to California to compete in the National Brain Bee in April at the University of California, Irvine. Other CVU competitors this weekend include Yuri Grass, Townsend English, and Rowan Natale. We are so proud of all the hard work these members put in!

On Thursday, Feb. 5 and Friday, Feb. 6, select students from the CVU Choral Program attended the District Chorus Festival at Colchester High School. They joined singers from Colchester, Winooski, Burlington, South Burlington, Essex, and Rice and put on an amazing concert! Congratulations!

Participating Students:

Olivia Searson

Nia Mount-Namson

Seven Pincus

Raea Coakley

Alex O’Brien

Abby Tyler

Nora Brady

Harrison Melo

Bill Fidler

Sarah Thant

Niki Say

Kieran Coolidge

Rowan Williams

Members of our multilingual program visited the Community College of Vermont this week.

During C3 this week, Kendama Club hosted a Kendama competition. Judges Rex McCoy, Samantha DiPietro, and Club Advisor Gavin Vontzalidis evaluated competitors on trick difficulty, consistency, flow, and overall control (including drops).

Pictured left to right: 1st Place - Clayton Wilhite-Keene; 2nd Place - Rian Carroll; 3rd Place - Teigen Holmes; Honorable Mention - Leo Dooley

Special thanks to Rian and all club members for organizing the event and continuing to grow Kendama Club into such a strong and welcoming community at CVU.

Celebrate and support the CVU Unified Basketball team this season by making

a purchase from JV Embroidery. The store is open through March 1st.

https://cvuunifiedsports2026.itemorder.com/shop/sale/

Happy Valentine's Day birthday to Malashie!

Spreading kindness this week ahead of Valentine's Day

Modern band is my new favorite C3. What a crew of talented musicians.

Learn More: Proposed FY27 CVSD Budget & Voting Information

On January 20, the CVSD School Board approved a $107.9M FY27 budget to support and operate the district. Voters will consider this budget on Town Meeting Day—Tuesday, March 3, 2026. You can also vote or absentee beginning Wednesday, Feb. 11, by requesting a ballot online at sos.vermont.gov/elections.

The proposed $107.9M budget carries forward the current year's level of services and programming into the 2026-27 school year, recognizing that further cuts to programs would affect the core mission of the district.

Learn more about the budget at www.cvsdvt.org/budget and at the upcoming informational meeting:

Virtual Community Budget Meeting

Monday, February 16 at 7 p.m.

Parental Notification Requirement Under Act 139

In July 2024, the Vermont State Legislature passed Act 139, a new law aimed at strengthening reading instruction for young learners. Officially titled “An Act Relating to Supporting Vermont’s Young Readers Through Evidence-Based Reading Instruction,” this law is designed to improve reading outcomes for students in kindergarten through third grade.

We are pleased to share that CVSD’s current curriculum already aligns with the law’s emphasis on evidence-based, systematic reading instruction. Thanks to our dedicated educators and strong literacy practices, 87% of CVSD third graders were reading at or above grade level at the end of the 2025 school year.

One key component of Act 139 is a new requirement to notify caregivers if their child is significantly below grade level in reading. CVSD has already begun this process, ensuring that families are informed and supported. Please know that we are committed to providing every child with the instruction and resources they need to develop strong reading skills. If your child qualifies for additional reading support, you will receive communication from us with more details. In addition, we have resources for families to support literacy on our website at cvsdvt.org/Academics/Caregiver Literacy Resources.

If you have any questions about this law or our reading instruction practices, please don’t hesitate to reach out. We appreciate your partnership in supporting our young readers.

Celebrate the Arts, Tuesday, March 24

New Time! 5:30-8:30 p.m.

Join students from across the Champlain Valley School District for an evening of entertainment and celebration, showcasing performing and visual arts from the district’s six schools. This annual tradition returns to CVU on Tuesday, March 24, 2026, transforming the high school halls and theater into a vibrant gallery of learning, innovation and inspiration.

The 14th-annual Celebrate the Arts Night brings together art, music, theater, media, arts, foods, business, design and technology in a one-night-only exhibition of student creativity.

For those who celebrate Ramadan, school meals are available for take home. To request meals from February 17 through March 19, students or caregivers should email CVU Food Service Director Colleen French (cfrench@cvsdvt.org) in the morning, and meals will be available for pickup in the afternoon.

It is the time of year for students to request courses for RISE!

RISE is CVU’s Reflective Interest-based Student Experience that runs this year from May 28 - June 10. The purpose is to provide students with opportunities to have new experiences, and there are many opportunities to choose from! We welcome you to look at the offerings in our NEW RISE Catalog, and help your student select choices that will maximize their engagement and open new doors. Students will receive an email to select their top choices on Monday, February 16, with selections due by Thursday, February 19. A very special thank you to Charlie MacFadyen and Aiden Walker for their help with the online catalog!

Here's the January and February issue of our school paper, The Hawks' Nest! Our newspaper staff has been working hard to get you articles on such topics as the censoring of our chromebooks and this winter's unusual weather, as well as a new selection of cartoons. The paper copies will be distributed next week, for now, click on the link to check out the PDF.

January/February 2026 Hawks' Nest

Donate here: https://www.paypal.com/donate?campaign_id=V4LHA2JEGT2HQ

CVU offers a wide variety of travel opportunities, both domestic and international, with the goal of providing enrichment opportunities for our students. We value the richness of experience and the personal growth students gain during travel.

We strive to make travel opportunities available to all CVU students. To this end, we have started a Travel Scholarship Fund with a generous gift from the Class of 2025. This fund will help ensure that financial circumstances do not create barriers for students pursuing travel experiences and will help families access opportunities in a confidential and respectful manner.

So far we can only send 3 students on a trip. We are expecting at least 10 to need funds. Help us, help them! Goal is to raise 20K by 2/20/26.

All of the impact, none of the work. NO HASSLE FUNDRAISER: No selling. No volunteering. Just 100% support for CVU student travel.

NEWS:

• Spirit Week kicks off on Monday, February 16! Show your CVU spirit & earn points for your class. Wear the outfit below and sign into the iPad at the campus supervisors’ desk to earn points.
  Mon: PJs & Stuffy Day Tues: Students dress like Faculty Wed: Decade Day - choose your favorite Thurs: Alpine Day
  Fri: Olympic Color Day 9th: Yellow 10th: Green 11th: Blue 12th: Black Faculty: Red
  Classes are abbreviated on Friday and then…Winter Carnival fun begins!
• The UVM Prize Exam in Mathematics will be offered at CVU on Tuesday, March 10th from 8:30-10:30am. If you’d like to learn more and/or participate please fill out the form.
• Penguin Plunge: Looking to support our community and have some fun? Sign up to participate in and fundraise for the Penguin Plunge. Brave the cold and take the plunge on Saturday, March 14th at the Burlington Waterfront at 11am. This event helps raise money for Special Olympics Vermont and Unified programming. Check your email for a link to sign up today!
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DIRECTION CENTER:

*CVU will offer the SAT to all Juniors on Friday, March 27th. If your child will NOT be taking the SAT, please complete this Google form as soon as possible and we will not purchase one for them. If your child WILL be taking the SAT, nothing further needs to be done. They will automatically be scheduled for the test. If you have any questions, please contact your school counselor.

*VSAC’s College & Career Pathways Program (CCP): The CCP Family Event is Saturday, March 14 at the UVM Davis Center and via Zoom. After the event, the video of the presentation will also be available on the CCP website and YouTube channel. Register for this event at vsac.org/ccp