Winter is back - and so are we!

We only got a few inches of snow in the storm last night, but it surely makes for a beauteous day on campus. It is good to have all the students and staff back on campus after the holiday break!

Sugarloaf Eastern Cups

Plenty of Burkies' went home for Christmas with lots of prizes from the Men's Sugarloaf Eastern Cup Series. The first day of GS was especially sweet as we took home five of six possible podium positions! The boys continued to be strong throughout the four day series garnering plenty of fine glassware to be packed for the holiday break.

12/19/13 Men's EC GS
(Left to right) Aleck Sullivan 14', Henry Tomlinson 14", Fredrick Maurstad 14', Chris McKenna 13' (currently Middlebury College), and Jake Gougeon 14'.

Meanwhile, back on campus...

We are busy hosting the annual December Development Camp, formerly known as Christmas Camp! We have 64 kids on campus aged 9-14, and several esteemed alumni coaches. The second photo here is Cate Kistler and Makenzie doing push-ups for being late to our team meeting tonight...

U16/14 Men calendar - public URL

I've just made the U16/14 Men's Calendar public.  It contains training and race schedules for the 2013/14 season.  It can be accessed via this URL: https://www.google.com/calendar/embed?src=949c1ll2gd65d2j603qabmpe48%40group.calendar.google.com&ctz=America/New_York 

Unit circle redemption

We have the most wonderful backyard...

What a beautiful morning to be out on cross-country skis! The Nordic team enjoyed a training session on the freshly groomed campus loop.

Small group work

Here's a shot of the Physics class solving momentum problems in small groups.

Holiday Treats in Heib House

 Some Heib House dormies (plus Gigi) getting into the holiday spirit, and satisfying their sweet teeth...

Brrrr...it's cold out there!

In case there was any question, it is fully winter here in the NEK. Here are some happy (chilly) faces from the Warming Hut as the girls were getting ready to head down to school and the boys were just about to start their session. Face tape/bandaids are to help with frostbite.

Tall Matt, Small Bridget, Crazy Anna

Happy Anna, Happy Bay

Forest, Paige, JJ

Max and Jack

Kai

Megan, Lizzy, Liam

Viv/DI, can we get a verification on this temperature?!

Hour of Code

Some of BMA's math students got a chance to try coding in recognition of computer science education week.  The Hour of Code was created by Code.org to get every student to try at least one hour of code.  Different organizations created different tutorials for students.  Viv liked the Khan Academy tutorial because it relied heavily on the understanding and manipulation of coordinates in a plane.  Her Algebra 1 and Geometry students were part of the 8+ million who have already participated this week.  Below are some pictures of students writing code and their results.  The ultimate goal was a holiday greeting card.  We had a visitor this week who had gone through the tutorial yesterday in his home school so he worked on perfecting his card.  Many of Viv's current students graduated from making an H to creating "It's a beautiful day."

 

 

8th graders go to school too!

Training

H.O.P.E. Part II

We had pod meetings this morning and students worked together to wrap all of the gifts they purchased for local children whose holiday we hope will be bright this year.   Certainly we can spread good cheer!  Special recognition to the folks at H.O.P.E. in Lyndonville who seek, manage, and distribute resources in order to Help Other People Everyday.

US Nationals DH

Today we had the men's and women's US National championship, Moriah Wilson 2014 was 7th overall and the 3rd junior and Ronnie Berlack 2013' was 11th and the 2nd junior.  Way to go Burkies.  

In the Ski Room

The ski room is a busy place these days! Here Anna B, Cole, Gigi and McKenna work on their skis.

H.O.P.E.

40+ students and staff went shopping on Friday afternoon to provide Christmas gifts for 22 local children sponsored by H.O.P.E., a community service organization in the Northeast Kingdom.  In addition, many bought food for their Backpack Program that sends students home with a backpack full of food for the weekend.  I only had time to get the one shot below of some female student athletes looking for superhero stickers, but more photos to come as we wrap and deliver the donations.  I did see a couple of students leaving the store with a cart load of groceries for HOPE worth $250!  HOPE indicates that the Backpack Program is their largest expense.  Thanks to all families for the support!

Wreath making with Viv

Viv hosted a post-dinner wreath making party tonight for the BMA community.  A good time was had by all!

A big thank you to Viv for providing the festive energy and supplies.