Mark Chaplin is a year round coach - coaching cross country in the fall, Nordic skiing in the winter, and track and field in the spring. He also teaches in our Science department, teaching Chemistry, as he has done for years. Mark has been coaching cross country since 1973, as well as track, and Nordic skiing. He also coached girls' basketball for the first two decades of his work at U-32. During this span of 45 years, Mark’s teams have been in the top two in the state over sixty times.

The U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) announced the state-by-state winners of its fourth annual High School Coach of the Year award for cross country on January 4th. USTFCCA honored one boys coach and one girls coach from each state, selecting winners based on their team’s performance during the 2017 season. The performance criteria includes team score and placement at state championships, among other things. Mark will receive a trophy from the USTFCCCA recognizing his achievements and will be considered for the association’s National High School Cross Country Coach of the Year award. (http://www.ustfccca.org/2018/01/featured/2017-ustfccca-high-school-cross-country-coaches-of-the-year)

RunVermont, an organization that promotes a lifelong commitment to running, recognized Mark Chaplin in 2016 calling him “the dean of high school running in Vermont.” They noted his years of service as likely the longest for anyone currently coaching in a high school and the fact that he has spent all of his years coaching for one school, U-32! We’re proud that Mark continues to

Coach and teach for us. His cross country, track and field and nordic skiing teams have won over 35 state championships!

https://www.runvermont.org/public-relations/runvermont-announces-2016-hall-of-fame-inductees/

Kathy Topping, friend and colleague, shares, "Mark devotes countless hours to his programs. Long after practice is over, Mark is still working to support his teams. He stays late to run pole-vault practice because he is needed to coach sprinters and jumpers during the regular practice times. In Nordic skiing, Mark is also our groomer spending hour after hour, often in the dark, creating a course our skiers and many others in the Central Vermont Community can use. Mark is part of the Nordic postseason wax teams for both U-16 and Eastern High School. His organizational skills proved an invaluable resource to both groups. I have worked with Mark for all of my career at U-32. I always tell the athletes that they can’t possibly thank Mark enough for everything he has done to make our programs and their careers a success."

If your son or daughter has not signed up for a spring sport – now is the time. Signing up now allows me to get information out to interested athletes and also allows me to prepare for numbers of players. If you haven’t already done so earlier in the year, please have your son or daughter see me in my office next to the weight room or drop me an email to sign up.

We will be sponsoring Girls/Boys Lacrosse (MS & HS), Girls/Boys Track (MS & HS), Boys Baseball (MS & HS), Girls Softball (MS & HS) and Boys/Girls Tennis (HS only).

Important Upcoming Dates:

Thursday, March 8 High School Winter Sports Dessert – 6:00pm in the cafeteria.

Monday, March 12 High School Baseball Pitchers and Catchers start practice

Monday, March 19 6:00pm Spring Sports Meeting for all high school and middle school parents and athletes who are interested in playing a spring sports.

Come meet your coach and receive information about tryouts and the season plan!

Tuesday, March 20 High School Spring Sport Practices begin

Practices for Middle School Students will start when the weather allows - generally sometime between April 2 & 13.

On Friday, February 23rd Athos students shared out their research in the U-32 Cafeteria. Students had been researching a country of their choice to investigate the question, “How does geography influence culture?” Students participated in two rounds of sharing what they learned and, in many cases, sharing food from the country they studied. Parents were invited to participate and students took notes on cultures they hadn't studied.

This spring my production of King Lear will be presented as Stage 32’s mainstage show, and attending the Vermont One Act Drama Festival. I spent last year working with King Lear, creating cuts and visioning for the production. This year I have continued to do so.

Recently I have been reading about tragedy, madness, and gender in Shakespeare to inform the production. In addition I have been exploring movement techniques and styles, as well as aesthetic qualities that I hope to employ during the show. This quarter I created a very rough cut to begin the creative process with.
The challenge of this piece will be the fact that King Lear is a play that simply does not fit into an hour and retain all of its glory. I have to let things go that I love no matter what. But I have decided to call this “a play about King Lear” instead of a production of King Lear, this gives me much more flexibility with how I frame the production and what material I actually present. Currently I believe that my production will be movement based, and draw from sections of the script, synthesizing sound, movement and spectacle to create a politically charged and angry performance. I plan to work with the actors to devise the performance, and not rely heavily on the script that I begin the process with.

See https://nwmpilot.weebly.com/ for more about this Pilot work.

Upcoming testing:

April 3rd - SBAC testing for grades 7,8,9

- No school for grades 10,11,12

May 24th & 29th - VTSA testing (replaces Science NECAP testing) for grades 8 & 11 during extended TA.

AP Testing: students interested in taking AP Exams need to see Lauren in the U-32 Student Services by March 27th to register.

Go to http://apcentral.collegeboard.com/apc/public/exam/calendar/index.html for the calendar of when each AP test will be administered.

Dual Enrollment

As a current Vermont high school junior or senior, students across Vermont 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.

Students must meet the following requirements to participate in dual enrollment:

• Students must get approval for their participation from their high school principal or designee
• Students wanting to participate in dual enrollment must include it in their Personalized Learning Plan

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.

There are rumors of other opportunities for using dual enrollment vouchers toward learning. For example, you may be able to use your dual enrollment voucher for an LNA program offered by Tender Loving Care (TLC) Nursing at Central Vermont Career Center or toward the Stone Arts School at the Vermont Granite museum in Barre, VT. If either of these are confirmed, the information will be shared.

Early College

Vermont's Early College Program (ECP) allows students who are accepted into full-time college programs in one of the Vermont State Colleges or an accredited private college in Vermont (must be approved by the Vermont Secretary of Education) to attend their first year of college and complete their final year of high school concurrently.

Students must meet the following requirements to participate in early college:

• Students must get approval for their participation from their high school principal or designee in order to assure that the student is academically ready for college courses and to ensure that the high school graduation requirements will be met through college courses.
• Students wanting to participate in the Early College program must have the program documented in their Personalized Learning Plan.

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

This free conference guides students and parents through the college process—from thinking about how to find colleges that meet the student’s needs to outlining the specific steps of applying to programs and getting financial aid. Wondering where to start your search, how to prepare and apply, or strategies for paying the way? If yes, then this event is for you.

High school juniors, sophomores, and parents – Save the date for College & Career Pathways 2018, a great day of workshops to help you plan for your future after high school.

• March 17, Saint Michael's College, Colchester, 9:00 AM - 1:30 PM
• March 24, Northern Vermont University @ Johnson, 9:00 AM - 12:30 PM
• April 7, Castleton University, Castleton, 9:00 AM - 12:30 PM

NEW THIS YEAR: workshops for students who want to go directly into the workforce, with resources on apprenticeships and skilled trades.

Registration opens February 1.

Here's what others shared about the event:

· "I was so confused and anxious about my future. This workshop gave me many helpful tips. Thank you!" (student)

· "The SAT/ACT prep blew my mind." (student)

· "Thinking about college is overwhelming ... but now I know where to begin. You provided excellent guidelines & resources." (parent)

Register online at vsac.org/CollegePathways

Web Resource for Students www.gotocollegevt.org is a website that was launched by CCV, the State of Vermont State Colleges and VSAC through a College Access Challenge Grant. The website presents a variety of resources on dual enrollment for high school students and parents in a lively format, focusing on the big questions teens face as they transition into adult.

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 go to https://www.sss.gov/Registration/Register-Now/Registration-Form

Failure to register can present significant road blocks 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!

Look over the list of college fair participants. Use Naviance College Search feature to find colleges that match your interests. Choose the colleges you most want to find out more about. If you have time, research those colleges by checking their Web sites.

Write up a short list of questions to ask admission representatives. To compare several schools plan on asking the same questions at each table. The questions you ask should be unique to your interests and not easily found in standard college materials:

• What are the two or three most popular majors? (This can give you a good idea of the main interests of a majority of the students.)
  
• Ask about the availability and quality of the program(s) or major(s) you are interested in. What are the opportunities for undergraduates to participate in research with faculty members or to do internships? What courses would you take your first year in a particular major?
  
• Students who are undecided should ask about what services and support are available to help them explore various majors.
  
• Ask about: extracurricular activities, what kinds of students the college is looking for, what percentage of students receive financial aid (not including loans), are merit scholarships available, how do they look at AP scores, and other concerns unique to your interests and situation.
  

Make sure you have the following supplies:

• A small notebook and pen or a handheld device with your list of colleges and questions
  
• Print up a sheet of self-stick address labels. Include (in small font, as much as you can of the following): your name, address, phone number, e-mail address, high school, year of graduation, intended major(s), and any extracurricular activities you’re interested in. At the fair, slap the address labels on the college information cards to save you time in filling out the same information over and over at each college. You may want to create an email account just for college purposes that you and your parent/guardians can access. You can delete the account after you choose which college to attend. Thus not cluttering your inbox!

The U-32 Math Team is traveling to CVU on March 21 for a meet of the Greater Burlington Math League (GBML). There are five meets held each year where students can challenge themselves with rigorous math problems.

If you are interested in participating or just want to know what the math league is all about, see Kendra Christiana in Room 225.

Here is a sample question from a recent meet:

What angle do the hands of an analog clock form at 4:20?

(look for the answer at the bottom of the newsletter!)