nichols news

october 16, 2026

Hi Nichols Families,

Please remember that next week is a short week for students at CVU, as we will be hosting Caregiver Conferences on Thursday, October 22nd and Friday, October 23rd. We would love to meet with all of you to discuss your student's progress so far this school year! Use this document to choose one slot of time that will work for you and your student to meet with us. It is important that students are present for their conferences to add their own voice and to be part of the conversation. Sign ups will close on October 21st, so be sure to sign up before then!

Please note that there will be no Nichols Newsletter next week due to the short week and the class updates that will be provided in conferences.

Please reach out to us at nicholscore@cvsdvt.org with any questions!

Nichols Core Teachers

Check out the Daily Announcements for more details on upcoming events.

October 22nd & 23rd (Thur & Fri) - No School - Student & Family Conferences. Sign up here!

October 23rd (Friday) - End of Snapshot Quarter 1

October 28th (Wednesday) - Picture Retake Day

October 30th (Friday) - Crystal Skull Costume Contest

November 10th (Tuesday) - No School - Diwali Holiday

November 13th-15th - Spamalot!

November 18th (Wednesday) - Meet the Coaches Night

November 23rd - 27th - No School - Thanksgiving Break

Environmental Science - Sam Parker

This week in Science class we...

Used data taken from the Northern Pacific to understand the regulatory role of sea otters in kelp forests.
Introduced the skills of evidence and reasoning
Analyzed data taken from several ecosystems to identify wolves, wildebeest, termites and native bees as keystone species.

Next week students will begin looking at the movement of matter and energy through food webs.

If you have any questions please feel free to communicate with at sparker@cvsdvt.org

Math 1: Mark Pogact

Summary of Week 7:

Big Review!
Unit Summative

Next Week

New Unit! Solving Equations

This week, students reviewed all of the skills we practiced this unit including writing linear equations from patterns, combining like terms, the distributive property and factoring. Students practiced in stations, working on different skills every 10 minutes. Then Wednesday, students took the unit summative. Those grades are in Jumprope and will be discussed during conferences next week.

Next week, students will start a new unit on solving equations, where we will also revisit some of the skills that were practiced and assessed last unit.

Questions? Email me at mpogact@cvsdvt.org

Math 2

Summary of Week 7:

Garett's Paperclip Factory Problem
Formative #3/ Summative

Next Week:

Linear Programming Practice
Wrapping up the unit

Is this a Right-Handed or Left-Handed Paperclip? I can never tell...

This week, students practiced finding viable solutions in the task, Garett's Paperclip Factory, while also graphing and solving systems of equations. Students did some independent practice to prepare for the formative on Friday. The graphingpart of the formative will count as a temporary summative grade so that there is a grade in Jumprope for the end of the quarter next week. The unit summative will replace that grade the following week.

Next week, students will practice solving Linear Programming Problems by graphing inequalities and solving systems of equations.

Questions? Email me at mpogact@cvsdvt.org

Wellness: Project Adventure

This week in Project Adventure we completed our second Summative activity of the year called the Cross the River Challenge where students utilized a rope and a scooter trying to get everyone from one end of the gym to the other using teamwork and collaboration. It was a wonderful experience for the students, their ability to collaborate and use teamwork was on full display during the activity which was my main focus when doing the activity. We also had the opportunity to collaborate with another core on friday and play some fun games which also allowed us to see some of the people in the other cores we do not get to see a whole bunch. Next week the White day classes will get the same opportunity and get to collaborate with the other cores. Overall this week was another awesome experience for Project Adventure and I cannot wait to build more relationships in the next upcoming weeks. Have a great weekend!

Any questions please feel free to reach out to me at any time: bolson@cvsdvt.org

Humanities

English

We had a great week in English this week. Students are getting into their new books and working well with their book club members. They learned a bit more about their writing assessments in this unit, and they got started with their annotated bibliographies. I am very impressed with how focused students have been during independent work time! Next week, we will continue their book clubs and they will officially finish their first scored annotated bibliography. To support your student at home, make sure to check in on their reading and take a glance at their planners! Students are able to work on their annotated bibliographies at home, but they should not be getting any help on it. I want to be able to see what students can do indpendently so that I can give them accurate feedback.

Social Studies

We wrapped up our 9/11: It’s Complicated unit this week. Students completed their flowcharts and chose evidence to support the connections they made. Both the flowchart and the evidence work were assessments. Students grappled with some really challenging content and complex historical connections. It was great to see them pull everything together and show what they learned.

Next week, we are heading in a completely different direction as we begin our new unit on The Neolithic Revolution and the Rise of Civilization. For students who feel the 9/11 unit didn't go as well as they had hoped, this is a good opportunity for a fresh start.

Dinner Table Talk

Tell me about your book club. How are things going? How do you organize your group reading?
Your annotated bibliography sounds complicated. What do you need to do?
How are you feeling about your workload? Should you make a point to sign up for Nichols HW Club or PM Connect next week?