Nov 1, 2021

K-Flash Update

It is hard to believe, but October has come and gone in the blink of an eye. The leaves have changed and many have fallen from their branches, and we have seen teasers of the snow guns being turned on at Killington. KMS student athletes have been working hard preparing for their first day on snow at Killington and are ready to get those first turns when Mother Nature gives the go-ahead.

The month of October brought the return of many fun events and traditions from prior KMS years. We saw the return of the KSC/KMS Golf tournament and Community Weekend, House Cup challenges such as Lip Syncing and Costume Contests, and finally a few of our athletic teams were able to travel to Europe to get some crucial on snow training before the mountain opens here in Killington. Browse the K-flash below to read more about what has been happening at KMS this past month.

Academics

We are excited to announce the members of the 2021-2022 KMS National Honor Society (NHS). To be eligible for NHS students must be in grade 10, 11, or 12, carry a minimum GPA of 3.5, engages in 2-3 leadership roles within the school or community and completes 10 hours of service at school or within the community. Members will also be completing an individual service project throughout the school year. The purpose of this chapter shall be to create an enthusiasm for scholarship, to stimulate a desire to render service, to promote worthy leadership, and to encourage the development of character in students of Killington Mountain School.

Join us in congratulating the following students for being inducted into National Honor Society

Lucy Attebury	Owen Ballard
Lenci Bodgan	Conner Dinn
Jessica Duda	Shelby Grabes
Emily Gray	Kian Hauschildt
Aidan Herguth	Chanah Katz
Rhi Lubaszewski	Benjamin McKenna
Jason Sullivan	Evan Tighe
Madelyn Wickless	Jamie Hamlin
Ray Lamlein	Tucker Schultz

Student Life

House Team Challenges

October had a fun array of House Team Challenges that allowed students and faculty to work together, expand their comfort zones, and ultimately walk away with points for their hose team.

Rock Climbing: A large number of students, coaches, and teachers participated in the 1st Annual KMS House Team Rock Climbing Competition at GMRCC in Rutland on the Friday before the holiday weekend. Steve Lulek taught us about climbing as a sport and the importance of proper belay technique. We then paired up with a teammate to try climbing routes, ranging from a 5.5 to 5.11 rating. Climbs were given a point value and then added up for a final score--the math was certified by Allison:) On the faculty side, Brendan, Marissa, Bastian, and Mazie had strong individual showings. We all agreed that climbing is a lot harder than it looks, and it is also a great workout! Results of the comp were as follows: Bear Peak 32.8, Snowden 31.5, Skye 31, Ramshead 28 points.

Cellphone Challenge: The Cell Phone Challenge was a house challenge, designed to get faculty & students aware of their screen time. Each participant had to drop their devices off at 8am and pick them up at the end of the academic day. Each day completed earned points for the participants house team.

Lip Sync Battle: Lipsync battle was a house challenge that brought our the creativity and showmanship of each house team. Each team had to pick a song and lipsync it to the best of their ability. Songs included, Jump Around, Pocket full of Sunshine, the YMCA, and Ain't No Mountain High Enough. Skye Peak's performance of "Pocket Full of Sunshine" took the gold medal for this competition.

Black Bear Award: Matt Krimmel

This year the KMS faculty is proud to bring back our Black Bear Community Award! This award was created as a way to recognize the student-athletes, who go above and beyond through both action and word for their school community. These individuals embrace a genuine passion for community, seeking without thought of recognition or award to leave a place better than they found it. This award is nominated by the KMS faculty, and is awarded when warranted. This week we are proud to recognize Matt Krimmel as this year’s first Black Bear Community Award recipient! Matt is a Senior Downhill MTB athlete, who comes to KMS from Norwich, VT. Matt was nominated for this recognition by several of the KMS faculty, each of which highlight this young man’s overwhelming generosity as well as his selflessness.

Putting forth the first nomination for Matt is Freestyle Mogul Program Director/Head Coach Kris Pepe. Kris states, “The "Krim Dawg", Matthew Krimmel, loaned me his race bike for the Freestyle Team's first ever DH MTB practice. Matt's generosity not only made it possible for me to participate in the practice, but also ensured that I would be outfitted with the very best equipment (I was told many many times by many many people how "sick" the bike was. I also learned that Jason isn't even allowed to ride it). Though I'm not sure I gave the bike the ride it deserved, we had a blast. When I returned the bike to Matt and thanked him, he said "That's what it's all about- sharing what we love so others can enjoy it like we do." Pretty cool.”

Seconding this nomination is Student Life Coordinator and Studio Art/Graphic Design/Photography teacher Eric Kuntz. Eric reflects, “I also put forth a nomination for Matt for the Black Bear Award. Matt is always helpful in the dorm. When asked to help out with clearing/picking up after others, he does it without complaining and always goes the extra mile.”

U14 Alpine Head Coach and KMS Soccer Coach Craig Bennett also supported Matt’s nomination. Craig comments, “I will also like to nominate Matt. The other day he graciously assisted Paddy and I while we were preparing to paint one of the flex rooms. He basically said,"I have a few minutes, can I help?". A great example of a member of the KMS Community.”

Adding to this list is U19 Alpine and Downhill MTB Coach Michael Hirschbuhl. Michael writes, “I third Matt. He helped Cole Longfield rebuild his mountain bike a few days ago. He helps cook at bike races, and always makes sure his teammates equipment is ready to go, all without being asked. He’s a great team player, and I agree with Craig that he exemplifies the KMS spirit!”

Rounding out this impressive list of nominations is English Department Co-Chair Nate Clifford. Nate states, “Matt Krimmel consistently displays the collaborative care of his group. Whether it's bringing in freshly baked banana-bread loaves, or shaking his booty like he was born to perform, Krimmel is widely celebrated among his peers for his ability to pick them back up and dust them off when they need it most. The number of moments Matt has inspired me with his passion and personal interest have changed many of my lessons.”

Taking the final word, Matt’s advisor and Cultural Anthropology teacher Courtney O’Keefe offers the following: “As Matt’s advisor, the reflections above do not surprise me. Matt is an incredible community member, who is highly valued and genuinely appreciated by those around him. He is a strong part of the heartbeat that is KMS. We continue to be lucky to have such an individual within our community. Whether we call him friend, classmate, teammate, and student, he is a part of what makes this community so special. Congratulations, Matt! A well-deserved recognition!”

Academic Standout: Bridget Wilson

The KMS teaching faculty is proud to announce Bridget Wilson as our Academic Standout for the week! Bridget is a 9th grade U16 Women’s Alpine and Endurance Cycling athlete, who comes to KMS from Dunbarton, New Hampshire. Bridget received several nominations this week from her teachers. From her impactful positive attitude, to her consistent meeting, as well as, surpassing classroom expectations, to her incredible curiosity and drive to learn, to her genuine appreciation for all the opportunities presented to her at KMS, etc., there was no doubt amongst our faculty that Bridget should be recognized this week. She is a true example of the amazing talent and grit we have within our classrooms and overall school community.

Putting forth the first nomination for Bridget this week is Student Life Coordinator and Studio Art/Photography/Graphic Design teacher Eric Kuntz. Eric states, “Bridget has been my nomination for academic standout for the past two weeks. Since our first class last year, Bridget has been nothing, but excellent in the art room. Showing up on time, sometimes early, to staying late and helping with the class clean up. Bridget’s work is alway turned in on time from her in-class art projects to her weekly traveling sketchbook assignments.”

Enthusiastically seconding this nomination is English Department Co-Chair Nate Clifford. Nate reflects, “Integrity, Grit and Gratitude. Bridget Wilson exemplifies the traits that most of us spend our lives acquiring. I am consistently impressed with how she communicates often and early and attends every single class, despite travel, competitions and training. Bridgett has a sense of honor that belies her age. It is clear that learning is something she takes full ownership of. In a world littered with distractions and competing pulls for attention (Competitions, Phones, Friends, Travel etc.) Bridget seems grounded and wields an uncommon vision of how she wants her highschool career to progress. When faced with challenges she is quick to assess what she has control over, and focuses on the pieces she can change, adapting to the requirements she cannot. She has exceptional vision perhaps, able to delay instant gratification for the benefit of harder earned rewards, and often true wisdom.”

Rounding out these amazing nominations is Social Studies Department Co-Chair and Middle School Program Head Ian Groezinger. Ian writes, “Bridget has been spectacular since day one. Everyday she comes to class with a good attitude and is ready to learn; more importantly, she always shows up with an infectious smile. Since the year started Bridget has done a great job participating in class while asking thoughtful and meaningful questions in regards to the subject matter at hand. In addition, she continues to turn in high quality work on all assignments.”

Way to go, Bridget! A well-earned and well-deserved recognition! Nice work!

KMS/KSC Community Weekend

We had an incredibly successful Community Weekend and we're so grateful to all who were able to attend. We kicked it off Friday with our 33rd Annual KSC/KMS Golf Tournament. It was a beautiful, sunny day and a great chance to reconnect with community members with 28 teams participating in the golf tournament in a traditional scramble format. Our very own Eric Kuntz and Tyler Smith took 1st place! KMS Student Council ran a successful bake sale during the Golf Tournament and the Ski Swap to help fund student events. We are very thankful for all of our sponsors as well as Killington Golf Course for hosting our event.

We also held an Open House at KMS, an Airbag Camp and of course, the Annual Development Program Hike. Full-Term and Winter-Term families came to campus on Saturday to attend information sessions, meet faculty and coaches and enjoy lunch. On Sunday we met at KSC for our annual KSC/KMS community hike up K-1. Current and prospective student-athletes were then welcomed to campus for tours, lunch and some fun on the trampolines!

We are already planning Community Weekend 2022 for October 7-9 - so save the date!

Athletics

Gravity Downhill Team wraps up their season:

Written by Gabe Johnson, Henry Mix, and Liam Attebury

The 2021 Gravity Season has officially come to a close. This year has been a good one for the DH team. Especially when compared to last year when we only had 3 competitions, we were back to normal in terms of the number of events. This year the team competed in 13 events. This ESC season wrapped up at Mountain Creek Bike Park with the ESC Championship Event.

The Gravity Team at ESC Championships had several great finishes. In the Amatuer Women’s division Sarah Hamlin landed 3rd. Unfortunately on the female side teammates Riley Miller, Lenci Bogdan, and Lucy Atterbery were not able to race due to injuries during their practice runs. In the U15 Class category, Gabriel Johnson put down a solid run landing him in 1st, Henry Mix put down a satisfying run landing him in 5th and Simon Miller had a stylish run landing himself in 20th. In the Men’s 15-18 Junior Amatuer division Liam Atterbery snagged 4th, fellow teammate Eli Kinsler unfortunately was not able to put down a clean run. In the Junior Expert 15-18 category teammate Body Tracy got an impressive 3rd place with a clean run and Evan Tighe landed himself in 5th place and put down a solid run.

The KMS Academy Gravity team has had a great season with commendable overall ESC standings.

In the Amatuer Women’s Division we had Lucy Attebury, Lenci Bogdan and Sarah Hamlin all competing. All had great seasons. Sarah landed herself 3rd overall for the year, Lucy 9th overall, and Lenci 10th overall.

In the U15 class we had Gabriel Johnson, Henry Mix and Simon Miller. Gabriel Johnson has had a successful season with him landing 1st for the overall U15 class. Henry Mix has had an outstanding season landing himself in 2nd place for the U15 overall with an awesome year of racing. Teammate Simon Miller has had a great season landing himself in 17th in the U15 class series overall. Team members Liam Atterbery 25th overall and Eli Kinsler 44th overall started the year in the U15 category and found their spot more in the Amatuer 15-18 men category.

In the Junior Expert Category we had Bode Tracy, Evan Tighe, and Matt Krimmel. Evan ended up 4th Overall after having a consistent successful season. Bode only raced a few events and still ended up 8th Overall. Matt had a challenging year of racing overcoming injuries and ended up 19th Overall.

In the Women’s Pro Division we had Riley Miller who although spent much of the season competing in the Enduro Race Series she had impressive finishes when she did compete in the ESC series.

It was a great season for all Gravity Academy athletes. Would like to thank our coaches, parents and KMS for supporting us along the way.

Hello from Austria!

Members of our U16/19 Alpine, Freeski, and Snowboard teams had the opportunity to travel to Hintertux and Stubai glaciers this past month to get some on-snow time prior to Killington's opening. All athletes were able to get high volume of on-snow training that has them prepared to be on snow once Mother Nature gives us the go ahead.

Alpine Update (10/21/21): We have had an amazing trip so far with lots of high volume skiing and training. We just finished up a long block of GS skiing yesterday and all the athletes are looking forward to a much needed break. We have some snowy weather coming in today and tomorrow so we pushed through a long 7 day block, and now we are taking today and tomorrow off snow.

All the athletes have made some great improvements in their skiing throughout this project and they are all feeling very accomplished.

Today will be a good rest day for everyone and later on we are planning to take a trip to Mayrhofen so everyone can walk around and visit the local shops and get a taste of some more local culture. It's a cute little town and everyone can restock on any supplies they need to get them through the rest of the trip. We will also have dryland sessions on these days off ensuring everyone is staying strong and being as productive as possible. Everyone has done a great job keeping up with school work and will have extra time to get ahead as well.

After our break we will be getting back on GS skis for 3 days, then finishing up with 2 more days on SL skis. On the 27th we will be training in the morning and then traveling back to Munich to stay the night before we depart for our morning flight back to the States.

Freeski/ Snowboard Update (10/29/21):

It has basically been non-stop sunshine and mild temps. The wind has picked up and a storm is on its way for Monday when we leave.

To start out, we rode 4 days at Hintertux with one "off day" from the hill because of the weather. On the off day we drove to Banger Park, which is a super cool airbag facility with 3 different size bag options. The boys obviously chose the big side. We had a productive 3 hours there where everyone was trying tons of new tricks and even trying triple corks.

After riding Sunday, we drove to Stubai and checked in. Woke up and started our training at Stubai which currently has the biggest jumps in the world. Tons of pros are here as well so everyone is having a blast bumping shoulders with their idols. The amount of talent out here is insane. Also, the connections with top tier people in our industry has been an unmatchable experience. National Teams from around the globe are all standing around in a 50 square foot radius with some of the most talented athletes in the world.

We have trained for 5 days here in Stubai and tomorrow looks very windy. We will probably head back to Banger Park for another bag session instead of getting blown to Switzerland from the 80km winds. We have been filming and taking lots of photos. The park is open from 10am-2:30pm and we ride a pretty full day. After riding it takes about an hour of gondola rides and driving to get back to our apartment. After that we change and take an ice bath in the local river spots to help with recovery (the glacier absolutely destroys you). Then we head to Stubai which has a gym, trampoline center and a pool so our athletes can work out and then tramp. Then we come home and the kids look at video and media from the day while I cook dinner. Somewhere in the mix of all that, we have access to a physical trainer to work on the kids and keep them riding hard. Having our trainer Mathias has been essential for the boys to have productive sessions on the hill.

Freestyle Update from Idre Fjäll, Sweden (11/1/21): We have reached our first day off here in Idre. The athletes have been working very hard and our progress is coming fast and steadily. We have done well to keep with our camp plan with every athlete working up to top to bottom runs over the past two days. We have made one alteration to the outline making our first block four days to be followed by two, three - day blocks. This decision was made with consideration to weather, assigned training times and the number of teams training this week.

Despite some very Vermont autumn weather, the course has been skiing great for us. A quick lift turnaround has provided us with no less than 20+ runs per day spread over two training sessions. We have had nearly complete course exclusivity through this first training block sharing the run with only Team Finland. We expect an exciting change in our training environment with the arrival of teams from Sweden, China, Japan, Germany, Canada, Australia and others this week.

Off the hill, floor hockey has become our primary sport supplemented by a strength session in the weight room before today's day off. Books are open and Full Term students have been popping into class remotely whenever possible.

We look forward to a restful day today and getting back to work tomorrow.

KMS Soccer Team:

This fall we decided to offer all KMS students the opportunity to learn and continue to play soccer. As the season progressed, the interest grew, and the games became more intense.

This was a great opportunity for KMS athletes from all disciplines to showcase their soccer skills

and work on their, speed, strength, endurance and coordination outside of the gym. We held a total of fifteen sessions and based on the enthusiasm, KMS looks poised to field its first soccer team in the Vermont Principles Association League next year.

Last week we completed our KMS Black Bear Soccer Season with our first ever Student versus Faculty friendly match. Claire, head of school, was there to help the faculty in their mission to survive the unrelenting efforts of the student body and dusted off some old skills scoring 2 goals! The game was tied at 6 to 6 with standout performances from PG Aidan Bennett and Senior Bode Tracy among several other formidable student players. To the students' dismay, Coach Craig decided the game in favor of the faculty with a buzzer-beating goal.

What a great game and great fun! Thank you to all who made this happen. Now we need snow!

Upcoming Events:

We are looking forward to seeing you at the upcoming KMS Community Events:

Killington Turkey Trot: KMS has been chosen as this year's beneficiary and proceeds will go to Killington Mountain School. Please register to support KMS as you run, walk or trot 5k on November 25th! Click here to register for the event.

KMS Alumni Social: Join us at Charity's Saloon for the KMS Alumni and Friends Social during World Cup Weekend. The social will take place on November 26th from 4-6pm. Pre-Register for the event and receive a free KMS gift! We look forward to seeing you there!