photo credits: Alex Pintair, Ambient Photography
On Monday, October 28th, Vermont Day School held a heartfelt Groundbreaking Ceremony to mark the building phase of a new addition. Attendees included key community partners including Lee Krohn, Shelburne Town Manager and Lou Natale, of Shelburne, who served as a community advisor on the project. Bob Bickford, Project Manager for Wright & Morrissey, and David Epstein of Truex Cullins were on hand to celebrate the milestone as well as Rich McClean of Lakepoint Property Management and Rob Wheeler of Northfield Savings Bank.
Sage Bagnato, head of school, introduced and thanked all of the community partners involved in bringing the project to fruition. Board Chair, Ed Wilkens, remarked on how far Vermont Day School has come in just five years and how proud he is to be involved with the school. Lee Krohn, Shelburne Town Manager, spoke of the impact a small school can have on a child’s future and congratulated Vermont Day School on its milestone.
Students and faculty marked the occasion by singing the school song and sharing their “hopes and dreams” for the new space. Remarked one middle school student,
“The old building ties us to our roots and the past while the new addition shows how the school is willing to grow with the times. I’m very excited that each class will have their own space to grow and learn.”
Vermont Day School, located near Route 7 in Shelburne, has nearly outgrown its current space and will build a 7,000 sq. ft. addition, nearly doubling its size, to accommodate new classrooms, a dedicated space for STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math), and a community gathering space.
“We are growing with intention,” says Sage Bagnato head of school. “We are in need of a larger space to accommodate student demand and to fully realize our vision for building community partnerships, high quality STEM curriculum, and high quality project-based learning.”
In 2015, Vermont Day School opened its doors with 12 students, 4 faculty, and a powerful vision. Today, that vision is being realized, and continues to grow, as the school celebrates its 5th year of operation with 63 students enrolled in grades K-8. The new space will allow the school to grow to about 100 students.
The mission of Vermont Day School is to foster skills, knowledge, personal attributes, and work habits that enable children to thrive effectively, meaningfully and joyously in the world of today and tomorrow. The school realizes this mission through high quality project-based learning, which not only is a rich and engaging learning experience, but also prepares students to be 21stcentury creative thinkers and problem solvers. Community partnerships with organizations like Shelburne Farms, Ben & Jerry’s, Lake Champlain Chocolates, Seventh Generation, and Burton have enhanced the student learning experience outside of the classroom.
