// CATEGORIES
// ARCHIVES
// ALPINE
// FREESTYLE
// FREESKIING
// SNOWBOARD
// BOOST PROGRAM
// KSC/KMS PROGRAMS
// KMS CYCLING TEAM
// ACADEMICS
|
After hors d'œuvres and a few words of welcome from Tao Smith, head of school, and Mike Hone, president of the board of trustees, each department presented an academic award. One student-athlete was recognized by each department for an outstanding commitment to his or her studies and exceptional work in that subject area. For her commitment to learning in science—a commitment that extended to volunteering at the Killington Clinic—Ben Todt presented Kelly Rowland with the science department award. For excellence in the study of mathematics, including a commitment to both AP calculus and AP statistics, Steve Tuckerman presented the mathematics department award to Kenny McNeill. Pala Mostoller presented the English department award to Wyatt Queirolo, and Phil Anderson presented the history department award to Kyle Burcin. For excellence in the study of Spanish, Andrew Whyte presented the language department award to Ansel Dickey. Finally, Ami Benoit presented the arts department award to Jocelyn Werle.
Phil Anderson, head of dorm, presented the dorm leadership award to Logan Farmer. The dorm leadership award recognizes the residential student-athlete who best exemplifies the spirit of community living as shown by his positive attitude and willingness to serve others.
Tao Smith recognized Ari Schneider for the head of school award; this award is selected by the head of school and presented annually to the underclass student-athlete who most demonstrates the qualities of leadership, dedication and commitment. Dr. Schneider received it on Ari's behalf, as Ari was in Colorado for USASA Nationals.
Each team then presented athletic awards: most improved award, coaches' award and the skiing/riding excellence award. The most improved award recognizes the athlete who exemplifies the hard work and dedication required to make significant progress in his or her discipline. Results may or may not be used in the determination of the most improved award.
The coaches' award recognizes the athlete who exemplifies total commitment to the sport. While results are considered, a commitment that demonstrates a strong personal work ethic, an unselfish willingness to share with fellow athletes and the tools that produce superior personal improvement are more important.
The skiing/riding excellence award recognizes the athlete within each group that achieved the strongest results in the current season. High-pressure, high-stakes and championship series results may be given special consideration.
Many of the coaches reported difficulty making these awards, as so many athletes reached new levels in their pursuit of athletic excellence.
|
|
Most Improved |
Coaches' Award |
Skiing/Riding Excellence |
|
Men's Alpine |
Ben Scheu |
Dylan Malone |
Cameron Price |
|
Women's Alpine |
Michelle Martin |
Kelly Rowland |
Kristie Ryan |
|
J3 Girls |
Piper Jenne |
Ava Mattsson |
Alli Price |
|
J3 Boys |
Cam Heald |
Patrick Salisbury-Jennings |
Jonathan Schwartz |
|
J4 Boys |
Andrew Desino |
Dan Schwartz |
Matt Price |
|
Freestyle |
Megan Moores (J1/2 women)
Colin Lang (J1/2 men)
Jia Hong (J3) |
John Lauria |
Kayla Burcin (J1/2 women)
Darius Baradaran (J1/2 men)
Abe Studler (J3) |
|
Freeride |
Eric Unterberger |
Tec Calcagni |
Devon Savino |
|
Snowboard |
|
|
Nikki Sardelli (women)
Logan Farmer (men) |
After Tao spoke about Dr. Hasse Halley and the ways in which the KMS community is working to honor her memory, Andrew Whyte presented the inaugural Hasse Community Cup. The cup is awarded to the community team that collects the most points throughout the school year, through both arranged competitions—including bowling, last week's scavenger hunt and a series of chess tournaments—and through the recognition of unprompted actions that closely match the principles of the KMS mission statement—responsibility, integrity, leadership, excellence and respect. The Orange Fury edged the Red Rockets, 100 points to 99, and won the 2012 Hasse Community Cup.
Each senior was then introduced to the whole community by the faculty or staff member of that senior's choice; as has become tradition at KMS, many introductions included humorous anecdotes or another unique view—such as a poem or the top 10 reasons a senior made it to the awards ceremony—of that senior's KMS experience. In a KMS first, three coaches who were working at USASA Nationals during the event presented remotely, two by video and one by phone. Although there were some small glitches, we hope to refine the process for 2013 so that all of our faculty and staff are able to participate.
After the presentation of the seniors, the three awards for the senior class—the academic excellence award, the Agresto Senior Spirit Award, and the Coriell KMS Cup—were presented. Julian Scherding received the academic excellence award, recognizing his continued academic dedication and intellectual curiosity, including a broad-based and sincere desire to learn.
Tao presented the Agresto Senior Spirit Award to Kristie Ryan and Kenny McNeill. Recently renamed in honor of beloved, long-time KMS teacher Arleen Agresto, who passed away last week, this award recognizes up to two KMS seniors—one male and one female—who display the "KMS spirit." These student-athletes display an infectious positive spirit and an appreciation for the opportunities available at KMS.
The Coriell KMS Cup is KMS' most prestigious award and recognizes the student-athlete or student-athletes who excel in all aspects of the program. Recipients of this award are those who best represent, in word and in deeds, the KMS Mission Statement. Tao Smith recognized Kayla Burcin and Ben Scheu as the 2012 recipients of the KMS Coriell Cup.
With a close race going into last Thursday's all-school fun day, the scavenger hunt proved decisive.
The Orange Fury took a win in the hotly contested scavenger hunt, finding photos for the most clues of the six teams to take the win and 30 points in the overall competition. The Red Rockets took second in the scavenger hunt, edging the Purple People-Eaters on a tie-break photo judged on artistic merit, while Yellow Korn took fourth and Blue Oyster Cult fifth. Scavenger hunt clues ranged from the straightforward—'A "Vermont Strong" license plate'—to the sneaky—"Two signs on a single post bearing the names of two ski resorts." Each team piled into a vehicle (or vehicles) driven by the adult members of the team and tried to collect 50 digital photos between Killington and Rutland. The scavenger hunt concluded at Giorgetti Park, where the primary-color teams fell to the secondary colors in a hard-fought indoor soccer match, earning five master points for each of the secondary-color teams. Finally, all six teams returned to Bowlerama, where Yellow Korn combined a strong team average and the highest individual score of the day to take 23 master points; the Red Rockets took second with 21 points, while Blue Oyster Cult (20), the Purple People-Easters (17), the Orange Fury (16) and the Green Dragons (16) rounded out the bowling results.
A last-minute protest on scavenger-hunt scoring by Blue Oyster Cult was denied, and they retained their fifth-place position and five master points from the scavenger hunt. When the day's results were totaled, the Orange Fury had eked out a one-point victory over the Red Rockets, 100 points to 99, and Yellow Korn rounded out the podium with 95 points.
|
|
Bowling |
Spirit |
Dodgeball
1 |
Sport
picks |
Rock
Climbing |
Chess |
Checkers |
Dodgeball
2 |
Scavanger
Hunt |
Indoor soccer |
Bowling 2 |
Total |
Rank |
|
Orange Fury |
10 |
7 |
6 |
2 |
8 |
3 |
∞ |
12 |
30 |
5 |
16 |
100 |
1st |
|
Red Rockets |
19 |
6 |
5 |
2 |
12 |
6 |
1 |
6 |
20 |
∞ |
21 |
99 |
2nd |
|
Yellow Korn |
17 |
5 |
9 |
3 |
∞ |
10 |
∞ |
18 |
10 |
∞ |
23 |
95 |
3rd |
|
Purple People-Eaters |
13 |
3 |
1 |
3 |
12 |
12 |
1 |
4 |
15 |
5 |
17 |
87 |
4th |
|
Blue Oyster Cult |
16 |
9 |
3 |
∞ |
10 |
8 |
5 |
2 |
5 |
∞ |
20 |
81 |
5th |
|
Green Dragons |
13 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
9 |
∞ |
∞ |
16 |
∞ |
5 |
16 |
75 |
6th |
The Killington Mountain School and the Killington community have lost a true friend. Arleen Agresto of Killington, Vt., passed away on Saturday, March 31, after a long and courageous battle with breast cancer. Arleen tackled cancer with the same indefatigable spirit with which she approached life, and her passing rends a hole in the fabric of our community; a loss that anyone who knew her feels deep in his heart's core. A history teacher at the Killington Mountain School for 25 years, Arleen loved gardening, skiing, tennis, golf and animals — especially her cats. But mostly, she loved her husband, Ted, the New York Giants, and the work she did so well: educating, mentoring, inspiring and guiding generations of students at KMS.
Arleen moved to Killington in 1984, and there her passions for the out of doors and ancient history found their home. Whether lecturing students in her classroom, knighting squires in her elaborate and time-loved medieval ceremonies, offering advice and life-lessons (whether asked for or not), Arleen connected with her students in a way that only the most gifted teachers can. As one of her former students recently wrote, Arleen’s greatest skill and lasting contribution was her "steadfast determination to mold each of us, regardless of age or subject matter, into young adults of poise, knowledge and principle."
In Arleen's tenure at KMS, one of the most anticipated annual traditions was the annual dinner for the graduating class that she and Ted hosted at their home. In the same spirit with which she lived, KMS will honor a member of the senior class who best exemplifies the school's mission statement — Leadership, Integrity, Responsibility, Excellence and Respect — and shows a deep appreciation for the opportunities that KMS presents. This year, and every year after, the Killington Mountain School will award the Arleen Agresto Spirit Award in her memory.
One of Arleen's former students wrote the following remembrance:
I'm going to miss her prying questions that never went unanswered. Her home baked bread that, towards the end, she didn't eat but baked for company and Ted. Her perspectives on so many little things that few of us consider in daily life. Her interest in anything that excited us. Her love for watching and helping each of us grow up.
In keeping with Arleen's wishes, there will be no memorial service at this time. Letters of condolence can be mailed to Ted Olencki, 111 Little Circle, Hertford, NC 27944.
At Ted's request, contributions in Arleen's name can be made to the Killington Mountain School Scholarship Fund.
Tao Smith
KMS Head of School
 |
|
To celebrate the last week of school, the all-dorm activity on Tuesday night was a trip to the Rutland Ben & Jerry's store for Free Cone Day. |
Matt Price wrapped up the J4 season with a 13th-place finish in the Can-Am giant slalom at Maine's Sugaloaf Resort. The Can-Am event brings together the top J4 athletes from the Eastern and Rocky Mountain regions of the United States as well as the top Ontario and Quebec racers of the same age group.
KMS will formally open the new Action Sports Training Center this Saturday at 3:00 p.m. with a ribbon-cutting ceremony, sparkling cider toast and a short trampoline demonstration. The annual all-school awards and senior recognition ceremony will follow, with the light reception beginning at 5:00 p.m.
Heidi Robbins '07 is one of the Purple Knight student-athletes recognized by Saint Michael's College for National Student-Athlete Day. National Student-Athlete Day honors student-athletes nationwide for achieving excellence in the classroom and on the field, while making significant contributions to their schools and communities. At Saint Michael's, Heidi was one of the student-athletes recognized for maintaining a GPA above 3.7 while also competing in NCAA athletics.
USASA Nationals are ongoing at Copper Mountain, Colo.; KMS and KSC/KMS snowboarders have already captured a number of strong finishes, and the freeride team will be competing as the events switch to skiing. FIS racing is still underway at Panorama, British Columbia, with strong results from the KMS Men's Team, as well. Watch the snowboard, freeride and men's alpine Facebook pages for updates.
 |
| Red Rocket Spencer Stodgell dodges a ball during the year's second dodgeball tournament. For more photos from Tuesday night's dodgeball battles, find the KMS Community and Academic page on Facebook. |
With only a few point-earning opportunities remaining, Yellow Korn again dominated the dodgeball tournament, taking 18 points Tuesday night and climbing to the top of the standings with 56 points in total. The Red Rockets had a much weaker performance in the dodgeball tournament, picking up only six points, but remain only one point out of the lead. Blue Oyster Cult, with only two points on the night, fell to third in the overall standings with 50 points. The Green Dragons picked up 16 points, and the Orange Fury took 12 points; both teams are now tied for fourth with 48 points apiece. The Purple People-Eaters gathered only four points on the evening and watched in dismay as both the Fury and the Dragons passed them in the overall standings.
The annual all-school awards and senior recognition ceremony is on Saturday, April 7, will commence following a five o'clock reception in the Revelon Dining Hall and is a required event for KMS student-athletes not out of state for competitions; please also consider joining us for the 3:00 dedication of our new Action Sports Training Center, also on April 7. RSVP to Lori Hong—lhong@killingtonmountainschool.org—if you will be joining us for the dedication.
Cycling season is once again underway; visit the KMS Cycling Team blog to check their schedule for the upcoming weeks.
Although Killington will not be holding a pond-skimming event this year, the Development and Communications Teams at KMS are hard at work to find a suitable alternative for Tao to celebrate 100% participation in the Annual Fund by current KMS families. Donate online today so we can get to full participation and then email Lori Hong (lhong@killingtonmountainschool.org) with your [mostly] reasonable alternative suggestions to pond skimming.
Members of the alpine men's team and alpine women's team will be headed to Panorama, British Columbia, and to Stoneham, Quebec, in the coming week for a few more FIS races to wrap up the season, while top J4 athletes will be racing at Sugarloaf Resort from March 30 – April 2.
On Saturday, April 7, we will hold a dedication ceremony for the new Action Sports Training Center—formerly known as the trampoline facility—at 3:00 p.m. and follow it with our traditional senior recognition and all-school awards ceremony. We hope you will join us for both events; please RSVP to Lori Hong (lhong@killingtonmountainschool.org) if you will be able to join us at the ASTC dedication.
The annual senior recognition and all-school awards program will begin with a light reception in the Revelon Dining Room at 5:00 p.m. and then proceed to mark the completion of the 2011-2012 five-month program. All parents are encouraged to join us, and all current student-athletes (except those out of state for competition) are required to attend.
 |
|
Math teacher Marissa Vennie moved her math classes into the sunshine; here, she and student-athlete John Lauria review his most recent work. For more photos from last week’s unseasonable weather, visit the KMS Community & Academic page on Facebook. |
With April 7 approaching and opportunities to earn more team points in short supply, the Red Rockets hold a three-point lead over second-place Blue Oyster Cult. Yellow Korn is in third place with 38 points, while the Purple People Eaters and the Orange Fury are three points off the podium and tied for fourth. The Green Dragons are in sixth place.
All six teams will be looking to gather as many points as possible from both the ongoing checkers tournament and the last few chess matches of the year. Next Tuesday, March 27, will be the last point-accruing gym night, and all student-athletes not traveling for competitions are encouraged to attend and support their teams.
 |
|
KMS Head of School Tao Smith enjoyed the '70s theme at the 28th Annual Auction and Dinner, as did over 200 other friends of KMS. (Barb Wood/Riverwood Photography photo) |
With over 200 attendees and almost as many great items available for auction, the 2012 KMS auction provided a fundraising boost and a night of fun at Killington Resort. All of us at KMS would like to thank our supporters who came out in '70s costumes and filled the ballroom as well as everyone who donated auction items and volunteered his or her time to make this event a success.
With all the excitement, only one item from the silent auction remains. A pair of 2012 Scott Punisher skis, size 172 cm, with Fischer X-14 bindings, did not get any bids (we think everyone was having too much fun to realize the bindings were included, making this a great package for anyone looking for a highly versatile twin-tip that handles groomers and hardpack as well as the park and pipe).
Since no one scooped up this package on Saturday, we are offering one more chance at the skis. The highest bid received via email by noon (Eastern Standard Time) on Monday, March 5 will take the skis. Email Lori Hong at lhong@killingtonmountainschool.org with your bid for the ski and bindings and you could soon be enjoying a new pair of skis!
(Thanks to the Forerunner for the skis and bindings.)
Older Posts »
|
