October has arrived with brilliant fall colors, some rain as well as beautiful sunshine. We are one month into the school year and it has been incredible seeing the growth and progress our students have made in a short amount of time. Growth shows up in so many ways in middle school. We’ve watched our 5th grade students’ confidence grow as they now comfortably navigate the entire school with ease. They also had a vast learning curve with understanding and remembering an ever-changing daily schedule. They have been incredibly patient, willing to ask for help and supporting one another with such a big transition. They have truly grown into strong 5th grade learners and engaged students.

This growth and transition has also been true for our 7th grade students who experienced a big shift from two team teachers to now four team teachers. They are switching classrooms every period. Their growth with staying organized and following a very different schedule from previous years has been tremendous.  They are persevering and modeling what it means to be flexible, adaptive and independent.

While our 6th and 8th grade students returned to familiar team spaces and team teachers, they also have shown growth in a short amount of time. Their second year with the team means more responsibility, more independence and adjusting to new learning. They are embracing a school year with patience, high engagement and determination. The growth they are showing by modeling our expectations, supporting our younger students in the hallway, advisory, before and after school- it’s incredible. We are so proud of each and every one of our Mountaineers.

The positive growth we are witnessing on a daily basis is due to students’ genuine curiosity in all aspects of their school day.  From learning new vocabulary, working on projects in exploratory classes, building their language skills, participating in field trips, students’ interests are peaked and they are eager to learn. All of our students have experienced one or more field trips in the first month of school where they interacted with local organizations, scientists, authors, project adventure leaders, museum curators and other community members. Additionally, students have acted on their curiosities and joined one or more after-school clubs. Students have been so eager to learn. They have been inquisitive, trying new things, pushing themselves out of their comfort zones and gaining so much experience and knowledge.

We’ve been on a positive trajectory at Camels Hump and are looking forward to another month of connection, curiosity, growth and perseverance. 

Gretchen Muller

Grant-Funded Upgrade to School Milk

CHMS recently received a generous grant from Tampa Bay Buccaneers player Evan Deckers, who has ties to Huntington, Vermont, through the NFL’s My Cause, My Cleats program. Thanks to this grant, we added a bulk milk dispenser at the start of the school year.

We’re excited to now partner with Monument Farms Dairy in Weybridge, VT, to offer 100% Vermont milk to our students. With schools now allowed to serve whole milk at lunch, we will begin a pilot of Monument Farms whole milk in our dispenser starting February 10. Hood 1% and skim milk will continue to be available in cartons at both lunch and breakfast.