‘Bigger, stronger, more resilient’

Eighth graders receive inspiring send-off

BY TAYLOR ANTONIOLI Special to the Observer

When 105 eighth graders gathered at the Williston Central School gym last Thursday for their graduation celebration, Lead Principal Greg Marino employed a metaphor from many of the students’ pasts.

Seven years prior, he reminded the students, when they were in their first year at Allen Brook School, their class planted a tree on the school grounds to celebrate Arbor Day.

“The tree is easy to pick out today. It’s the tallest of the trees planted on that slope,” he said. “As we hoped, with lots of care and encouragement, that tree has grown bigger, taller, stronger, more resilient, with each passing year.”

Marino describing the adversity the tree faced from the weather and over-excited young kids who wanted to play in its branches. He encouraged the graduates to think about their own journeys and their own adversity.

“Celebrate the bigger, taller, stronger, more resilient you, being who you are today,” he said.

He then passed the mic to WCS Principal Jaqueline Parks, who said it was a pleasure to watch the graduating students grow.

“I am proud of each and every one of them,” Parks said.

The students chosen to address their class were Olivia Cieri, one of five students to receive the Allen S. Myers Spirit of Williston Award, and Hailley Hem. Cieri described her first day of the year and her readiness to move on to high school. She mentioned how different she felt upon entering WCS for the first time and how she finally felt like one of the big kids. But things change, and a lot has happened since her first day in see WCS page 4

‘Find your passion’

Retiring teacher sends off CVU grads

BY TAYLOR ANTONIOLI

Special to the Observer

Champlain Valley Union High School took over Roy L. Patrick Memorial Gymnasium at UVM on Friday to celebrate the graduation of 350 students.

Those who came to watch the graduation were welcomed by a jazz trio — seniors Connor Brien, Ethan Cook and Samuel Kunin — as well as the senior processional led by St. Andrew’s Pipeband of Vermont, including senior Ava Rohrbaugh.

Anna MacFaden welcomed the audience with a cowbell in her hand. She went on to explain that the bell was an important part of her career at CVU, as she loved to ring it loudly in support of student-athletes at their games. However, after a volleyball game during her freshman year, she was

Summer meal program shuttered

A pandemic-era program that offered free meals to Williston school children over the past three summer breaks has been discontinued.

The program was first implemented during the school closures in the spring of 2020 to fight hunger among families used to relying on school breakfasts and lunches. It continued through the summer months, with school district food service staff offering meal pickup three days a week at Williston Central School, and meal delivery in some cases.

This summer, with the federal pandemic response that the program relied on having run its course, the Champlain Valley School District can only offer school meals to students attending summer school.

“All of the USDA emergency waivers have expired,” said Williston Food Service Director Scott Wagner. “It is unfortunate because we enjoyed serving our community in the summer … and we have helped many families that were struggling with food insecurity.” only allowed to ring her bell at outdoor sporting events — until the day of graduation, when she proudly rang it in the large gym, celebrating CVU as a student for the last time.

Senior speakers Anders Erickson and Ananya Rohatgi then took the microphone. Erickson used a metaphor involving radishes and chocolate chips. While small, chocolate chips moments can always improve your day, he said, which was why he decided to make his own moment with the graduating class and threw Hershey’s Kisses into the gathered students.

Rohatgi followed by speaking about how the first thing she did when preparing was look up how to write a speech. She found that the two most important parts would be to reflect on her time at CVU and have a personality. She ended her speech by saying, “It’s not how many setbacks you face, it’s how you recover from that setback.”

Local families can find free meals this summer in neighboring communities, where the poverty rate makes them eligible for continued federal support. According to a list updated by Hunger Free Vermont (www.hungerfreevt.org/summer-meals), there are nine free meal pickup sites in Chittenden County, the closest to Williston being in Burlington and Winooski.

While the Legislature recently enacted a law making breakfast and lunch free for all students during the school year, the funding was aligned with the National School Lunch and School Breakfast Program. In order to extend free meals into the summer, funding would have to align with the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Summer Food Service Program, according to Hunger Free Vermont Executive Director Executive Director Anore Horton.

“(They) are separate federal programs with different eligibility rules,” Horton said.

Jason