🐺 Welcome, Nikki Matheson! 🐺
She/Her | French Teacher (French 2, 4, 5)
Bonjour! Meet our new French teacher, Nikki Matheson! Nikki is thrilled to join the SBHS World Language program. Born in Toronto, she grew up in a bilingual home just outside New York City and spent her summers with her grande famille québécoise in northern Québec. Nikki majored in French at St. Lawrence University and the Université de Rouen, France, and later earned a Master’s in Teaching French from Bennington College.
🎶 **Nikki's Unique Journey:**
After college, Nikki moved to NYC to pursue music and costume design but soon found herself touring France and Europe with a French band—a six-month adventure that turned into 14 years living in Paris! During her time there, she worked as a translation editor, lyric adapter, and English coach, and still consults for TV, movies, and book translations from English to French.
📚 **Teaching Experience:**
Nikki’s passion for teaching brought her to Vermont, where she taught French at the elementary and high school levels, Norwich University, the Middlebury-Monterey Language Academy, and the Alliance Française. She even prepared the Vermont Army National Guard for deployment to Senegal and interpreted for Senegal’s President Sall during his visit to Vermont.
🌍 **Why Learn Languages?**
Nikki believes that learning languages opens up a world of opportunities and experiences. She’s excited to share her love for French with her students at SBHS!
🎨 **Extra Credit Alert:**
Want to earn 5 points of extra credit? Tell Nikki who the bearded man is in the painting she’s showing in class!
#sbproud #sbpresent
🐺 Welcome, Rick Turvey! 🐺
He/Him | Spanish Teacher
We’re thrilled to welcome Rick Turvey to our SBHS family as he takes on teaching Spanish 2 and 3 this year! With previous experience at Barre City Elementary and Middle School and time spent teaching ESL in Spain, Rick is eager to bring his expertise and enthusiasm to our school.
🌍 Rick's Teaching Philosophy:
Rick is passionate about equity in education, ensuring every student gets the support they need to excel. He’s excited to use Martina Bex’s Somos curriculum again, praising its engaging approach that makes learning Spanish both enjoyable and impactful.
🗣️ Language Lover:
Fluent in English, Spanish, and French, with some German skills on the side, Rick is always eager to learn more and share his love of languages with his students.
🌟 Looking Forward To:
Rick is excited to immerse himself in our school culture and connect with students in a meaningful way. He’s looking forward to a fantastic year ahead!
#sbproud #sbpresent
🐺 Welcome, Tyler Beakes! 🐺
He/Him | Math Teacher
Tyler joins us from Brooklyn, NY, where he previously taught math. His passion for being part of a tight-knit community with easy access to the great outdoors brought him to South Burlington.
🌟 **Tyler's Teaching Philosophy:**
"Learning is the most important skill we can develop. It keeps us young and excited about the world around us."
🎨 **Fun Fact:**
In the past couple of years, Tyler has taken up ceramics! He sees a lot of parallels between math and ceramics—both require creative and logical thinking. It's been a fun challenge for him to work with his hands, something he believes we don't get enough opportunities to do nowadays.
🏀 **Excited About:**
Tyler can't wait to meet his new students and cheer on all the SBHS sports teams!
#sbproud #sbpresent
🐺 Welcome, Aquilas Lokossou!🐺
He/Him | School Counselor
We’re excited to welcome Aquilas Lokossou to SBHS as a school counselor! Aquilas recently graduated from UVM and completed his internship at Tuttle Middle School, where he was introduced to the South Burlington School District community. The warm, tight-knit community is what drew him to SBHS.
🌟 **Aquilas's Counseling Philosophy:**
Equity is at the forefront of Aquilas’s work as a school counselor. He is committed to ensuring that every student has the support they need to succeed and feel valued in the school community.
🎤 **Fun Fact:**
Aquilas was a speaker at both his high school and college graduations! He also loves listening to all kinds of music and watching sports.
🎉 **Looking Forward To:**
Aquilas is especially excited for school events that highlight student achievements—whether it’s at sporting events, drama and music performances, school spirit weeks, or Talent Night. He can’t wait to celebrate the many accomplishments of SBHS students!
#sbproud #sbpresent
🐺 **Welcome, Mikayla Spring!** 🐺
**She/Her | Special Educator**
We’re thrilled to have Mikayla joining us as a Special Educator at SBHS! Mikayla will be working with ninth graders and co-teaching English. She just graduated from UVM and completed her student teaching in our very own English department this past spring. She's excited to see some familiar faces!
🎨 **Mikayla's Teaching Philosophy:**
Mikayla loves to paint and enjoys incorporating art into her lessons whenever possible. One of her core values as an educator is helping students learn more about themselves—their strengths, their goals, and how they can find joy both in and out of school.
🌟 **Looking Forward To:**
Mikayla can’t wait to reconnect with the students and staff she’s already worked with and to make new connections this year. She’s excited to meet everyone this fall!
#sbproud #sbpresent
August, the Sunday of summer, is here, and we’re gearing up for the 2024-25 school year! Check out our Daily Schedule and Blue/Gray Calendars—links are in the bio. Stay tuned as we introduce our new staff over the next few days on our socials. Plus, keep an eye out for a 'Welcome Back' email from Mr. Craig early next week! #SBProud #SBPresent
There is plenty of summer left, but it's time to start thinking about back to school! On August 15th, please join us for a Welcome Back Social to meet members of the admin team and enjoy an ice pop! 4:30 pm at FHTMS!
Volunteer Opportunity to join the SBSD Finance Committee!
Apply at https://forms.gle/HiCyMsJP8KnC8DQ89 or visit www.sbschools.net/schoolboard for more info! Applications due by Friday, August 30th at Noon.
Former @sbhsvt student Will Bradley recently wrote to Sinyoung Evans who he took Japanese with for 2 years. He has been in Japan the past month with other SBHS alums Noah Robertson, Gio Stazi and Rowan Nenninger visiting Tokyo, Nagoya, Kyoto, Osaka, and Hiroshima. They also climbed Mt Fuji. He wrote to Evan Sensei, “Japan is a beautiful country, and I am grateful to have taken your class because the 2 years of Japanese has helped me communicate and get around and it inspired me to come visit Japan and now, I plan to study abroad here for college!” Thanks for sharing these pictures Will! Glad you are using what you learned from Evans Sensei and having a terrific summer! A great reminder of the importance of foreign language studies and the strong impact our teachers have on our students.
This fall, The International Experience (TIE) will celebrate the 50th anniversary of the exchange program with Schiller Gymnasium Hameln in Germany! It is the longest continuous exchange program, lasting through many changes in leadership. In addition to the German students visit this fall, there will also be several events to celebrate, including an all-school assembly on September 30th and a formal dinner on October 3rd. All TIE Germany alumni are invited to attend these events!
Donations are welcome for the event on October 3. Please make checks payable to: SBHS TIE and send to Theresa Mazza, South Burlington High School, 550 Dorset Street, South Burlington VT 05403
More details will be updated on the TIE website as they become available: https://sites.google.com/sbschools.net/the-international-experience/home
The first basketball camp session for Grade 4-7 girls starts on Monday, June 24 and the second session starts on July 22nd. No advance bookings are necessary, just bring payment to the first session.
Some end of the year sports highlights from @sbhsvt! Congratulations to the SB Baseball team for winning the D-1 State Championship title last week! And congratulations to Hammad Ali for being named Gatorade Vermont Soccer Player of the Year! 🐺@sbhswolves @sbhs_boosters
Congratulations to our 2024 graduates! We are excited to share that photos and a video from Friday's graduation ceremony are now available. Please find the details and links below.
Beltrami Studios captured each senior receiving their diploma. These photos are FREE and can be downloaded from the following link: http://bsnap.hhimagehost.com/SBHSGraduation2024 Password: SBHS2024 (case-sensitive)
You can also watch the South Burlington High School Graduation of June 14, 2024: https://www.mediafactory.org/sbhs
⚾️🐺🐺SB Wolves Vermont Division 1 State Baseball Champions 🐺🐺⚾️
Quick Hit Announcement: One thing in less than one minute.
https://youtube.com/shorts/-rVjdEIe7sQ?si=YWacQVnP2w3OYbFE
Way to cap off your time @sbhsvt Class of 2024! 🎉🎓
Game on!
Cap Week Looms People!!! (Thursday is Make up Day and Friday is Graduation!)
Attention Seniors! Stop by the lobby to register to vote and pick up your caps gowns!
