AVA News

This summer at AVA was filled with creativity, exploration, and hands-on learning across all subjects!

US History & Civics – Students journeyed from America’s founding through the Civil War, writing powerful essays from the perspective of Native Americans in the 1800s and even translating the check used to purchase Alaska from Russia. In Civics, students translated the founding documents into today’s language and celebrated 5 students who passed their Civics exam.

Disc Golf & Team Games – Students learned the mechanics of disc golf and spent time off-campus practicing on local courses, ending with advanced hand grips to curve around obstacles. Middle schoolers got creative with spaghetti-and-marshmallow towers while learning teamwork and sportsmanship.

Literature & Writing – The Middle School enjoyed The Chocolate Touch, complete with illustrations of the candy store, and sharpened their skills during creative writing time. In English, high schoolers wrapped up fractured fairy tales with a lively debate on whether The Princess Bride counts as a true fairy tale.

Math & Science – Middle school math reviewed operations with interactive activities, while Algebra students tackled exponent rules through competitive Blooket games. Science highlights included solar car races—where students doubled their cars’ speeds after redesigns—and the creation of 3D topographic models. Field trips to the Stone Arch Bridge and Chesterfield Gorge deepened the study of local rivers, while biology students investigated macroinvertebrates in nearby waterways.

Economics & Fitness – Students wrapped up Economics with entrepreneurial projects, designing business plans for food trucks. In Fitness for Life, students tracked class miles and proudly reached the east-to-west goal of “walking New Hampshire” (70 miles)!

Vocational Elective – Students explored Xello, an interactive college and career readiness program. They built self-knowledge, explored future options, and gained skills employers value, setting the stage for long-term success.

This summer was a powerful reminder that learning can be fun, active, and inspiring—inside and outside the classroom!

In the new Vocational Elective class starting this Fall for 11th and 12th graders, students will be learning a variety of vocational, employment, and business skills to help them better prepare for life beyond high school. Quarter 1 will involve analyzing interests, aptitudes, and skills, with an emphasis being placed on work ethics, team building, communication, leadership skills, and technology etiquette. Additionally, students will also write resumes and learn how to do well in an interview. In Quarter 2, students will work together to establish an AVA 3D printing store that will also serve as an internal internship. This will include learning about phases of the business cycle, supply and demand, business ethics, marketing, workplace behaviors, and communication techniques, to name a few. Part of this work will also involve creating specific jobs and roles within the 3D printing store and interviewing for those positions. At the beginning of Quarter 3, students will work cooperatively to do a soft-launch of the AVA 3D printing store, focusing on quality performance in the skill areas of organization, time management, customer service, and communication. During this time, students will acquire a variety of technical, academic, and personal skills that are needed to succeed in an ever-changing business world. Finally, by the start of Quarter 4, the AVA 3D printing store will be fully operational, with students taking full ownership of their work and the store overall (under the guidance and supervision of the teacher). The class itself will function like a real-world job, to include clocking in and out of each "shift" (class), having periodic reviews and evaluations, operating a "storefront" for other students and staff to shop at and/or visit to place orders, etc

AVA will be on vacation from Augst 23rd - September 2nd.

Ashuelot Valley Academy

31 Washington St.

Keene, NH 03431

603-506-4665