Updates from U-32

Dear Families, Students, and Caregivers,

It is spirit week this week and we are excited to welcome families to campus on Friday for family conferences. If you have not already signed up please do. The information can be found below. As we lean into spring, these conferences provide a good moment of reflection for how to support young people between now and the end of the year.

Best,
Becca

Dear U-32 Community,

It is time for our Spring Parent/Teacher Student Conferences on Friday, March 20. We will have virtual and in-person time slots available for families to meet.

Friday, March 20 ~ VIRTUAL (8:00 - 10:15) and IN-PERSON (10:30 - 3:15) time slots for students/parents in 8th Grade Core (Cedar, Maple, Spruce), 9th & 10th Grade Teams, and all other middle and high school teachers who teach classes off-core or off-team.

**Please choose your timeslot carefully because some are in-person and some are virtual!

Additional Grade level Information:

• 7th Grade families will only be able to sign up for Conferences with off-core teachers (Visual/Performing Arts, World Language, Health/PE) for classes in quarter three. Families can also sign up to meet with the TA. 7th Grade students should attend their conferences.

• 8th Grade Core conferences will take place within 15 minute time slots, and each conference will last roughly 12 minutes to allow for transition time. 8th grade students are expected to attend and conferences will be 'student led.' 8th Grade families should only sign up for one Core time slot. It will be with two of the Core teachers who will have information from the other two Core teachers. This allows the Core Teachers to meet with more families. Please only sign up for one meeting with the Core team. In-Person meetings will occur in one of the Core classrooms.

• 9th & 10th Grade families will sign up for one meeting with their student's team. It will be with two of the team teachers who will have information from the other two team teachers. This is so that we can see more families. Please only sign up for one meeting with the team. If you are coming to an in-person meeting, they are meeting in classrooms on the second floor. Our hope is that our 9th & 10th grade students will attend the meetings as well.

• 11th and 12th Grade families will sign up for meetings with individual teachers. Please note that teachers who teach 9th and 10th grade students AND 11th and 12th students may have limited slots due to their team conferences.

You can find your child's teachers and sign up at this link: https://ptcfast.com/schools/U32

At the Performing Arts Concert on Thursday night, U-32 Music Teacher, Anne Decker, was presented the Vermont Music Educator Association "2026 Music Educator of The Year Award".

The U-32 Robotics teams competed at the State Championship this past weekend. All three teams had great competitions!

Team 4946 earned an invitation to the New England FIRST Premier event at the Eastern States Exposition in Springfield MA, from April 15-18! After the matches, ranking and judging, they were the 9th ranked team out of the 25 teams present at the FTC Championship event on Saturday in South Burlington. They made that rank despite a battery failure moments into a driver controlled period that stalled their robot for the remainder of the match, and in another match, a hard reboot caused by another team’s robot accidentally crashing into theirs.

Team 24782 wound up as the 10th team in the Premier Event rankings, only narrowly missing the cutoff for event invitations. That means they’re the first alternate team – so if any of the invited teams can’t go or decline the invitation then the RoboRaiders 2 will be asked to go in their place. Their robot turned in solid matches and was one of only a few that could consistently make shots from the back field. And theirs is the only U32 robot that used sensors to track their position on the field, which is a pretty amazing accomplishment on its own.

Team 18351 pulled an absolute rabbit out of their hat, and managed, with literally seconds to go before their first match, to get their launch motor coded and working. We want to specifically recognize the middle school team for their hard work in the last sprint to the championship, and the incredible heart they showed in getting their robot functional. They didn’t squabble, argue or bicker, they just got down to work, asked for help when they needed it and were able to participate in all of their scheduled matches.

One Book, Two Generations: Join Our "Light Pirate" Community Read

Thursday April 30, 2026

What does it mean to adapt to a changing world? What will our

community look like in 50 years? How do we hold onto what

matters as the world changes?

The U-32 Library invites you to a special community event

centered on Lily Brooks-Dalton’s novel, The Light Pirate, a VT

Reads selection. Thanks to a generous grant from Vermont

Humanities, we are bringing 32 students and 32 adults

together to share a meal, a book, and a collaborative vision for

our future.

Join us as we come together to share our hopes and resilience

in an intergenerational community event. All are welcome!

● The Date: Thursday, April 30th from 6:00 PM – 7:30 PM

● The Place: U-32 Library

● The Perk: Free copies of the book (funded by Vermont Humanities) are available for

the first 64 sign-ups!

● The Food: Community potluck. The library will provide drinks and serving supplies.

Spaces are limited to the first 32 students and 32 adults. Sign up here:

https://tinyurl.com/ms65zehm

For more information, please reach out to Meg Allison (mallison@u32.org)

FREE SAT Bootcamp

SELECTIVE SERVICE

Did you know it is federal law that all young men need to register with the Selective Service System when they turn 18. Good news - it takes about 2 minutes.

Failure to register can present significant roadblocks to a young man’s future opportunities. This is critically important because registration is linked to numerous federal and state benefits that can help bring funds into communities. These include access to all federal student loans and grants, job training programs, and eligibility for hundreds of thousands of federal jobs, including the U.S. Postal Service, and numerous state, municipal, and federal contractor jobs. Additionally, immigrant men who wish to become citizens will have the process significantly delayed if they don’t register.

Remember to register prior to your 18th birthday!

SAT TESTING DATES (register online at www.collegeboard.com)

SAT Test Date: May 2, 2026

SAT Test Date: June 6, 2026

Registration Deadline:May 22nd

ACT TESTING DATES (register online at www.actstudent.org)

ACT Test Date:June 13th

Dual Enrollment / Early College

As a current Vermont high school junior or seniors, you are eligible for two Vermont Dual Enrollment Vouchers, allowing you to take one free college course in your junior year of high school and one in your senior year of high school.

It’s called Dual Enrollment because your free college courses will also earn you credit towards graduation from high school.

Dual enrollment is offered through all VT public colleges/universities and some private colleges too. Go to

http://www.vtdualenrollment.org/ for a list of participating colleges and to request a dual enrollment voucher.

High School Seniors are also eligible for Early College- got to http://education.vermont.gov/student-learning/flexible-pathways/early-college for more information

SCHOLARSHIPS: Please frequent Naviance (Family Connection) often for available scholarships.

Senior Calendar

March

• Use February/March break to visit colleges.

• Some states have FAFSA deadlines as early as March 1.

• SAT Reasoning & SAT Subject Tests.

• Keep your grades up. Study hard for exams. Colleges take senior grades seriously. Colleges will want a final transcript and expect to see a strong senior year. Any serious drop in grades or level of difficulty could result in your acceptance being rescinded.
  
  

April

• April 10: Start of Quarter 4

• Regular Decision admissions letters begin to arrive.
  
  
  

• Discuss the financial aid package provided by each school with your family. If you haven’t received financial aid packages by early April call to make sure all necessary materials arrived.

• Attend admitted students’ weekends at college campuses.

• Use April break for any additional campus visits.

• If you are on a waitlist set up a meeting with your counselor to discuss options.

• Celebrate with family and friends!

• Send in the acceptance notice to your chosen school. Make sure to send in your deposit.

• Decline offers of admission from remaining colleges.

May

• May 1: Deadline for notifying colleges of your decision.

• AP Exams are administered. Be sure to send the AP Grade Report to your college.

• Send thank-you notes to your teachers, coaches, TA, and anyone else who helped you on the way.

• Fill out housing-preference forms, and check out any special living centers.

• Wait-listed students can expect more information about their status after May 1.

• Complete Graduation Survey on Family Connection

June

• If you plan to compete in Division I or Division II college sports, have your transcript sent to the NCAA Initial Eligibility Clearinghouse. More information is available at ncaaclearinghouse.net.

• June 12: Graduation…. Congratulations!

• June 30: Final deadline to submit FAFSA.

$25,000 (1 Award)

Niche Scholarships

Deadline: March 31, 2026

For Eligibility: Click Here

Want to support your U-32 community? Sign up to help run the concessions at one of the U-32 Girls or Boys JV/Varsity Basketball games this winter. The Boosters run concessions to raise money for scholarships for graduating seniors, as well as support various clubs. It's super easy work and a fun environment with great people. Whether you are a student, staff member, parent or relative, come join us! CONCESSION SIGN UP

If you have any questions, please reach out to Julie at jmckinstry@u32.org or Jodi at jparker@u32.org