School News

Addison County: Local Opportunity to Learn about Vermont Day School

Thinking about school options for your child?  Join us for a casual information session to learn about Vermont Day School on Thursday, October 28th @ 5:30 pm at the home of current VDS parents, Sam Prouty and Melissa Kobelin. The conversation will take place outdoors, and all attendees are asked to wear masks and socially distance.

R.S.V.P. to Libby Macdonald, Director of Admissions (lmacdonald@vtdayschool.org) to receive event address details. 

Vermont Day School is an independent school offering exceptional education to pre-K-8th grade students in Shelburne, Vermont. Learn how their academically oriented, project based curriculum can bring out the joy of learning in your child! See why students are working at grade level and beyond. Students participate in STEM, outdoor education, service learning, Spanish/French, the arts, field trips, athletics and more. Transportation options and financial assistance are available.

Can’t make it? Consider attending the Fall Open House on Saturday, November 6 @ 3 pm at VDS, or contact Libby to schedule a private tour. 

  Join us for our Fall Open House!

Date: Saturday, November 6th

Time: 3:00pm-4:30pm

R.S.V.P. Libby Macdonald, lmacdonald@vtdayschool.org or (802) 495-5150

Learn about our programs from Preschool, Junior Kindergarten, and Kindergarten through 8th grade.

Visit classrooms and meet the wonderful faculty and staff at Vermont Day School. We look forward to seeing you!

Congratulations to Emily Creller, Director and Lead Teacher for the Vermont Day School Preschool classroom! Vermont Day School has achieved 4 STARS – the maximum able to be achieved in a program’s first year of operation.

STARS is Vermont’s quality recognition system for child care, preschool, and afterschool programs. Programs that participate in STARS are stepping ahead — going above and beyond state regulations to provide professional services that meet the needs of children and families.

STARS recognition is assessed in four areas:

1. Staff qualifications and training;
2. Interaction with and overall support of children, families, and communities;
3. How thoroughly providers assess what they do and plan for improvements; and
4. The strength of the program’s operating policies and business practices.

With this recognition comes eligibility for the Act 166 Universal PreK funding, which reimburses families for up to 10 hours of quality preschool programming. Vermont Day School is proud to be added to this list of providers!

Vermont Day School is pleased to announce the launch of its new Learning Support Program for the 2021-2022 school year! The Learning Support program is directed by Special Educator, Katie Goodrow, and is intended to maximize learning and academic progress for students at Vermont Day School.

Click Here to view the recording of the Learning Support Program Info Session from June 2nd.

Benefits of the Learning Support program:

Personalized Instruction is provided for one class period each week (approximately 45 minutes/week). Instruction is guided by the specific needs of the learner and aligned with the content and skills being taught in the classroom. Areas of focus include reading, writing, math and executive function strategies. Within classroom support for students enrolled in the Learning Support program may also be provided. 

Coordination with VDS Faculty members to ensure that all classroom teachers are knowledgeable about each student’s unique learning profile, and that helpful accommodations and differentiation strategies are in place in the classroom environment. 

Communication with parents regarding student progress, strengths and areas of growth. Katie is available to parents as a resource and will participate in VDS parent and teacher conferences and meetings. 

Documentation of each student’s individual learning plan.

Enrollment in the VDS Learning Support Program: 

All VDS students are welcome to enroll in the VDS Learning Support Program. However, it is specifically geared towards students who benefit from additional one-on-one instruction in reading, writing or math, and/or explicit instruction in executive function strategies and study skills, such as organization and time management. 

Students with diagnosed or suspected mild to moderate learning disabilities, such as dyslexia, dysgraphia, dyscalculia, ADHD and or executive function challenges, and strongly encouraged to enroll in the program. Enrollment in the VDS Learning Support program may be required for newly admitted students, based on the recommendation of the Admissions Committee. 

The fee for the Learning Support Program is $3200 per student. 

For more information on the VDS Learning Support program, please email Sage Bagnato, Head of School (sbagnato@vtdayschool.org). 

About Katie Goodrow:

Katie comes to VDS with a Master’s Degree and Certification in K-12 Special Education. She has ten years of experience designing and implementing individual and small group instruction in the areas of phonics, phonological awareness, reading, writing, mathematics and study skills. Additionally, Katie is able to conduct diagnostic assessments to identify student learning profiles and needs. She has presented at several workshops and trainings, and is well versed in collaborating with teachers to support learning.

We are thrilled to welcome Katie to Vermont Day School’s faculty. 

For their most recent Global Studies unit, Middle School students have been studying economics and entrepreneurship. They began their project unit by finding out what problems they could solve for VDS students. They conducted market research by interviewing 3rd-5th graders. They then designed products to meet the needs identified in that research. The problems identified were “organization” and “fidget and focus.” Students were given a budget for their product development and used recycled materials in their designs. On Market Day 3rd-5th grade students used play VDS money to purchase their favorite items. The middle school product team with the greatest profit margin will have the opportunity to make a donation to the charity of their choice!

In STEM, Middle School students demonstrated their understanding of scientific research methods in which they designed their own experiments in chemistry, biology, and physics. They conducted their experiments and drew conclusions based on their findings. The students then worked on displays and put on a traditional science fair for a panel of faculty and peer judges. Impressive work by all!

As part of their “Towards Equality” unit in Global Studies, VDS 5th graders created timelines to show connections between the Civil War, Civil Rights Movement and Black Lives Matter. Then they presented their timelines to parents and community members via Zoom during a virtual learning share. Impressive work 5th grade!

Our Middle School students have enjoyed weekly outdoor classes at Shelburne Farms this winter and spring. Most recently, they participated in a unit on orienteering, which culminated in scavenger hunt around the Farm!

For our Winter CLIC Week, VDS students created a student made Winter Carnival! Students in PreK through Middle School put their design thinking and engineering skills to the test as they created homemade games using recycled and repurposed materials. After their games were complete, classes exchanged games so that they could give each game a trial run. This project was full of creativity, collaboration and problem-solving!

Vermont Day School is pleased to announce a $25,000 grant from an anonymous family foundation to further STEM education and enhance the newly built STEM Lab.

STEM education is a primary component of the mission and vision of Vermont Day School. This funding will make a tremendous difference in the school’s ability to outfit the STEM lab with up-to-date equipment and learning tools to take VDS students’ learning to the next level. 

“Hands on, project-based, STEM learning is at the core of what we do . This grant will help us fund the 3-D printer, a ceramic kiln, and the exciting robotic tools that we have always dreamed of,” said Sage Bagnato, head of school. “We are so grateful to this donor for recognizing Vermont Day School in this way. This will make a significant difference in our ability to provide high quality STEM education to all of our K-8 students.”

Vermont Day School is a nonprofit and relies on philanthropy to provide high quality learning and financial aid for all students. Each gift truly has a direct impact and makes a tremendous difference. To inquire about making a gift, contact Faith James, Director of Development, at fjames@vtdayschool.org