News and Events

Vermont Day School is pleased to welcome Sarah C. Merrill MSN, APRN, JD to the Board of Directors.

Sarah has been a part of the Vermont Day School community since 2018 and is the parent of two current VDS Middle School students. Sarah is a strong believer in independent schools. She attended Indian Mountain School and The Hotchkiss School, both in Connecticut, where she grew up as a faculty child to her educator parents. She values the opportunities that a private school education afforded her both academically and athletically and is eager to inspire the same for all students who attend Vermont Day School. 

In addition to her enthusiasm for independent school education, Sarah brings to the Board her experience as a child and adolescent psychiatric nurse practitioner at the University of Connecticut Health Center. She also served as an attorney specializing in health care law and medical malpractice defense at a firm in Waterbury, Connecticut and health care quality and risk management for the State of Vermont Department of Mental Health and BCBSVT.  Sarah lives in Fayston, Vermont with her husband and two children who are deeply involved in hockey, baseball, skiing, horseback riding, and soccer.

Students at Vermont Day School loaded boxes of donations onto their school bus and delivered 1,043 pounds of food and hygiene items as well as 200 handmade, kid-friendly snack bags, and fresh banana bread to the Shelburne Food Shelf. The Food Drive, led by the 4/5 Class, and the VDS Day of Service are annual events for Vermont Day School, which were combined this year to increase awareness and impact. 

The VDS Day of Service, in honor of Martin Luther King, Jr. is a day “on” for students in Pre-K through 8th grade at Vermont Day School.  The tradition began two years ago and has become a meaningful day for the school community, families and students alike, to come together and reflect on the work of Martin Luther King, Jr. and the importance of service to others.

During the month of January, students learned about the concept of food insecurity. They invited Shelburne Food Shelf Board Members, Georgine Grover, and Dana Valentine to a Zoom assembly to talk about the Shelburne Food Shelf, who they serve, and how it all works. Students learned that before the Pandemic, about 1 in 10 Vermont families were food insecure. That number is now 1 in 3 families. This emphasized the importance of the Food Shelf in the community and inspired Vermont Day School to collect as much food as possible. 

”The Food Drive is an authentic leadership opportunity for our students, and a great way to teach students to be active and supportive community members”

Vermont Day School’s 6th Annual Gingerbread Festival structures will be on display at the Pierson Library. This year’s theme is “Oh the Places You’ll Go” with a nod toward travel and our desire to get out and see the world, post COVID. Students and families in grades Prek -8th grade designed and built the structures, which are entirely edible. The festival was judged by local “celebrities”, Kevin Clayton of Village Wine and Coffee, and Courtney Mulcahy of Shelburne Farms. The structures are now on display at the Pierson Library for the community to view until December 21st.