Williston Observer

Dec. 23, 2009

Off to a glittering 5-0 start to the season, the Champlain Valley Union High boys basketball team has a bunch of Bobwhites and then some Seahorses to contend with over the holiday break.

First up, at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, is a visit from Bellows Free Academy of St. Albans. The BFA Bobwhites are no doubt smarting from a 93-57 licking last Thursday at Essex High, where the Hornets are 4-1.

Next Wednesday at 7:30 p.m., Coach Scott Bliss and his cagers travel to Burlington High for a crack at the Division 1 runners-up, who took a 5-0 record into this week.

Last Thursday, CVU made it two-for-two against Missisquoi Union, bopping the Thunderbirds 62-51 in their Swanton cage.

Robert Russ, who had some fine moments (14 points and 10 rebounds) in the Dec. 14 victory over Vergennes Union, fired up 23 points in the latest triumph. Jake Donnelly notched 16 and Mike Clayton chipped in 10.

— Mal Boright, Observer correspondent

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Dec. 23, 2009

By Mal Boright

Observer correspondent

Just call them The Lamplighters.

The Champlain Valley Union High girls hope to continue their thus-far prolific hockey sniping Wednesday at Cairns Arena, when they put their 6-0 record up against visiting Burlington High (1-4) in a 7:30 p.m. contest.

On the following Wednesday, the Redhawks travel to Highgate for a match with 4-3 Missisquoi Valley Union at 6 p.m.

Starting a week ago this Wednesday, coach Tom Ryan’s aggregation outgunned three foes in six days by a combined 26-5 scoring advantage to hike their season goals for and against mark to 46-10.

The latest triumph came Monday afternoon, an 11-1 victory over Rice Memorial at Cairns Arena.

Molly Howard (three goals, two assists) snapped a 1-1 tie early in the first period and the Redhawks unleashed a torrent of rubber at Green Knights goalie Sydney Carney-Knisely for the remainder of the game. The Rice net minder wound up with 56 stops.

KK Logan and Amanda Armell each potted two scores while Addie Peterson, Maggie Ryan, Sasha Gunther and Hannah Johnson each netted one.

Gunther also passed off for three assists while Ryan, Armell and Johnson got two apiece.

CVU net minder Nicole Sisk made nine stops, including a third-period beauty off Rice’s Annie Maheux on a breakaway.

Ryan was especially pleased with the Redhawks’ 5-2 Saturday win over Hartford on the highly regarded Hurricanes’ home ice.

Sophia Steinhoff paced the victors with three goals, her second chapeau performance in two outings. Two of the scores came with the Redhawks shorthanded.

Armell and Logan also tallied and Howard chipped in with two assists.

Sisk came up with 21 rejections between the CVU pipes. The Redhawks took 23 shots at the Hartford cage.

Last Wednesday, Howard cranked out four goals and Steinhoff added three in a 10-2 bopping of Burr and Burton Academy in Manchester. Logan produced two scores and Armell got one.

Assist leaders were Ryan (three), Logan and Howard (two each).

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Dec. 23, 2009

By Tim Simard

Observer staff

Could the future of high school education include a virtual and global world where students learn alongside peers from all over the planet?

Students at Champlain Valley Union High School will find out next school year, when they’ll have the opportunity to take online high school courses in a variety of subjects.

In 2010, CVU will launch a pilot program and offer its first online course through Virtual High School, a nonprofit online education organization based in Massachusetts. Students will have the opportunity to log on to a virtual class and complete lessons and group assignments.

A few students have already taken college-level online classes for extra credits in their senior year, but this will be CVU’s first virtual class tailored to high school.

As more and more education, especially college and graduate-level courses, takes to the Internet, CVU officials believe that offering online classes helps students become more in touch with 21st Century learning.

“Online learning is a key component to high school transformation but must be tempered with the appropriate developmental level of the individual student,” Principal Sean McMannon wrote in an e-mail to the Observer. “We must grow our online learning programs with the needs of all students in mind.”

But will online learning replace old-fashioned, face-to-face instruction? McMannon doesn’t think so and believes there may be a way to blend online instruction with traditional classroom learning.

Officials with Virtual High School, also known as VHS, agree, stating online classes are complementary.

“We’re not out there to replace person-to-person education,” said Carol Arnold, spokesperson with VHS.

Arnold said VHS offers 140 courses per semester, most of them advanced placement and enrichment classes. Many schools that become members of VHS generally lack certain AP classes in their curriculums, but want students to get the chance to take these courses, she said.

Only students in VHS member schools can take the organization’s online classes. VHS has 644 member schools in 31 states and 34 countries.

Guidance Counselor Russel Aceto is CVU’s online class site coordinator. He recently completed a four-week instruction course with VHS on how to work with students in choosing the best online coursework that fits their learning. If CVU decides to move forward with VHS on a more permanent basis, Aceto would organize the high school’s program.

“Personally, I enjoy technology,” Aceto said. “I do not pretend to try and understand all of it, though. The concept of online learning and VHS becomes more and more exciting as ease of access and functionality increases.”

The first online class offered by CVU will be international business. Business teacher Tamie-Jo Dickinson will teach the class and is scheduled to take a course through VHS this spring on how to best administer the virtual classroom.

Dickinson said there will be 25 slots within the class reserved for CVU students, with the possibility for students from other VHS member schools to enroll. The number of spaces for students outside CVU has yet to be determined. Students will be required to complete assignments on deadline and work with fellow classmates on virtual projects, communicating through e-mail and online messaging.

Because it is a pilot program, the international business course at CVU will be the only VHS offering at the high school. If successful, CVU may allow students to take other VHS online classes in future years.

Since many colleges are now making online classes a requirement, it makes sense for CVU to offer similar classes, Dickinson said. She said administrators are debating whether the class will be fully online, or something of a hybrid course with some classroom instruction.

Dickinson has experience with online classes; she earned her M.B.A. through Touro University International, an accredited online college. She said taking the online courses allowed her flexibility to choose when and where she’d read lessons and complete assignments.

She was surprised how the course structures made her a more active learner. The lack of classroom discussion required her to delve more deeply into assignments and research.

“I couldn’t rely on other people in the class to fill in the gaps,” Dickinson said.

Dickinson said she’s found that, in the past few years, more and more learning is taking place online. For instance, e-mail and CVU’s online network have made her more accessible to students than ever. She even gives classroom assignments only through e-mail, she said.

“I’ve found I’m doing a lot more of my teaching electronically,” she said.

While she doesn’t foresee online classes replacing traditional classrooms at CVU, she is thankful the high school is offering this unique opportunity to its students.

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Dec. 23, 2009

By Tim Simard

Observer staff

Students returning from the holiday break will notice a difference in the school district’s cafeterias. The price of breakfast and lunch will increase by 50 cents beginning Jan. 4.

The rise in costs comes as the budget deficit for the district’s food service program shows no signs of declining. Food Service Director Scott Wagner said while more students are dining with the hot lunch program, labor and food costs continue to climb.

“We probably should have raised the prices at the beginning of the school year,” Wagner said.

A lunch will now cost $3 for students and $4 for teachers. Breakfasts will increase to $1.75. Students on free or reduced lunch programs will see no change.

Wagner said that while the cost increase could be problematic for some families, the lunch prices are still a good deal for what is offered. Since Wagner was hired last school year, the menu changes daily with more choices, many of which are healthy options.

“We’ve responded to a lot of prior years’ complaints and customer requests,” Wagner said. “I’ve received a lot of positive feedback from people.”

But the program’s deficit remains high. According to Bob Mason, Chittenden South Supervisory Union’s chief operations officer, this school year’s projected deficit will run nearly $103,000. The Williston School Board has already pledged to put $25,000 toward curbing the deficit and may decide to use money from the school’s general fund to offset the remaining $77,000.

Deficits have been an annual problem for Williston’s food service program. Last school year, the deficit ran to nearly $119,000 before School Board support, Mason said.

With the 50-cent increase, Mason estimates the school will generate $35,000. It’s not enough to erase the deficit, but it will help, he said.

At a recent School Board meeting, District Principal Walter Nardelli explained the reasoning behind the increase. He said the district does not want to sacrifice quality by reducing lunch options to save money.

“We’re trying to put out very healthy meals with choices,” Nardelli said. “We’ve come so far from where we were before that we don’t want that to change.”

Nardelli added that replacements of out-of-date equipment also contributed to the deficit.

But while the School Board may need to use money from the general fund to offset the food service program deficit again this year, participation rates among students continue to climb. Wagner said November had a 50 percent participation rate among students. That means half the student body bought hot lunch last month on a regular basis.

Looking at preliminary numbers, Wagner believes December will have even higher participation numbers. He said that would make December the food service program’s most successful month in years in terms of participation rates.

At the beginning of this school year, the food service program rolled out a number of changes, including giving itself a new name the Wildcat Café. The program developed a new logo, which it has printed on a series of T-shirts and hooded sweatshirts.

Wagner said he just received the first shipment of Williston basketball shirts and sweatshirts with the Wildcat logo. Instead of saying “Wildcat Café,” the print says “Wildcat Basketball.” He hopes to sell the shirts at sporting events this winter, with profits helping to offset the deficit.

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Dec. 23, 2009

Chimney fires

> At 6:20 p.m. on Dec. 7, the Williston Fire Department responded to a mutual aid call in Richmond for a reported chimney fire. A fire had started within the flue of a woodstove in a Richmond home and Williston crews helped inspect the chimney to make sure the fire had not spread.

Six firefighters responded to Richmond on Tower 1 and Command Car 1.

> On Dec. 9 at 12:32 a.m., Williston firefighters received a call for another chimney fire, this time at a home in the Pleasant Acres neighborhood. A homeowner put a substantial amount of wood in the woodstove with the flue open, according to firefighter Sean Soper. Creosote ignited within the chimney, causing a minor chimney fire, Soper said.

Firefighters inspected the chimney, allowing the remaining embers to burn out. They then used a chimney brush to make sure a fire would not reignite. Soper said the homeowner was instructed to hire a professional chimney sweep for a full cleaning.

Ten firefighters responded to the call on Engine 3, Tower 1 and Command Car 1.

Barn fire

A barn fire was reported to the Williston Fire Department on Dec. 20 at 9 a.m. The barn, used as a woodworking shop off North Williston Road, caught fire when a chimney blaze ignited from a woodstove, according to the fire department.

Williston firefighters called for mutual aid from several neighboring departments, including Essex, Hinesburg and Richmond. Firefighters discovered a fire burning through some of the walls of the woodworking shop, but were able to stop it from spreading, Soper said. Crews tore up some flooring and inspected walls to ensure the fire did not spread throughout the structure. Soper said that considering the flames, there was minor damage to the barn and the shop could easily be repaired.

Along with firefighters from other town departments, 18 Williston firefighters responded to the scene with Engines 1, 3 and 4, Tower 1 and Hazmat 1.

Soper said this is the prime season for chimney fires, as the weather remains at or below freezing temperatures. He said homeowners should have their chimneys inspected and cleaned to reduce the chance of a chimney fire.

Chimney fires can quickly spread into a home and cause a severe structure fire.

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