Governor’s Directive – VSNB Dismissed Through End of School Year
March 26, 2020
Dear Village School Students, Families, and Friends:
It is with great sadness that I write to let you know Governor Scott has dismissed in-person school through the remainder of the year and has directed schools to continue teaching students remotely.
I will miss greeting all the students each morning, some of those faces with huge smiles and boundless energy ready to start the day and others half asleep still wishing for their pillows. I will miss having lunch with students in my office and joining the kids outside for kickball games. Most of all, I will miss being in a classroom and seeing the lightbulb that goes off in the eyes of a student who has just made a discovery or learned something new; it is one of the most amazing things one can witness.
This will be a tremendous shift from the kind of instruction our little school in North Bennington has known for generations. This school has gone through many iterations over the years; it has been a public elementary school, a K to 12 school, a high school, and now an independent PreK to 6 town academy. Each of these shifts has required changes to the way the faculty taught, and this shift is no different.
I am proud of the work everyone has been doing throughout these first few weeks, and I have every confidence that our teachers will continue to put together great distance learning opportunities for all. The reason our school has been successful in each of its transitions is because of our amazing community and our belief in the school’s mission that “Children are at the heart of all we do.” The heart of the school is not the building; it is the relationships that are built and the learning that happens and that will continue. There will be many questions about how this will all go forward, and we will answer them as soon and as best we can.
The most important thing in this unusual time is that we all remain safe and healthy in the weeks and months to come.
I have no doubt that there are a lot of emotions out there for everyone. For now, I will simply say that I believe in all of you, and we will make it through this together.
Faithfully yours,
Tim Newbold
Head of School
The Village School of North Bennington
“Children are at the heart of all we do.”
phone: 802-442-5955 ext. 201
email: tnewbold@vsnb.org
Mission
Children are at the heart of all we do. We nurture a child's curiosity, ignite enthusiasm for exploring, develop tools for inquiry, for invention, for achievement. We welcome families into a community-wide collaboration to help our children grow into their best selves - responsible citizens and stewards of the greater world, makers of the future.