Dear Families,

Holiday festivities will be in full swing at the Village School next week. Please take a look at the calendar events below for school-wide happenings and stay tuned to classroom communications for activities taking place at each grade level. ‘Tis the season!

• Annual Food Drive for local families in need. The second graders are preparing to bring food to the community food shelf at St. John the Baptist Church in North Bennington on Monday, December 19. If you wish to give, please place your food items on the table in the lobby of the school. >> Click here to see the Annual Food Drive flier.

• Winter Ensemble Concert on December 13th at 6:30 p.m. in the gymnasium. Members of the Village School Band, Chorus, and Strings Program will perform festive holiday tunes. Families and friends are welcome to attend. >>Click here to see the Winter Ensemble Concert flier.

>> Parents/Guardians of students in Band, Chorus, and the Strings Program are asked to read Holiday Concert Instructions —a note from Miss Perri and Teacher Carla. 

• Holiday Bazaar on December 14th (during the school day, with the snow date of December 15th). This year the sixth graders are organizing the Holiday Bazaar, which is a wonderful shopping experience for all students and it also raises funds for charity. Donated gift items are needed and can be dropped off in the Bazaar Bin located outside the main office. For more information about the types of gift items that we are seeking, please click here.

>> If you would like to volunteer to help wrap gifts during the Holiday Bazaar, please email friends@vsnb.org.

• National Ugly Sweater Day (December 16th): The third Friday of every December is National Ugly Sweater Day! Students and staff are encouraged to celebrate this fun day by wearing their ugliest, wackiest, or tackiest sweater to school. Homemade ugly t-shirts, vests, dresses, etc. are more than welcome too!  >>Click here to see the flier.

COMMUNITY ANNOUNCEMENTS:

The Village School Pre-K Program is now enrolling three, four, and five-year-olds for the 2023-2024 school year. Full-time and part-time spaces are currently available. The early deadline for enrollment is January 3, 2023. For more information and an application, please contact info@vsnb.org or call 802-442-5955. 

• Prospect Coffee House and McCullough Library are having a Story Hour and DIY Ornament party on Saturday, December 10th at 11 a.m. Make an ornament for home and one to hang on The Village Tree, while enjoying free snacks and hot cocoa.

• A Pop-up Check Mates Chess Program for kids 6-14 years-old will be happening at the Bennington Free Library on Saturday, December 10, with Chess Coach Trevor Plizga. A “Learn to Play Chess” session will take place from 1:00-2:00 p.m. There will be a session for Experienced Players from 2:00-3:00 p.m. Email: children@bfli.org or call (802) 442-9051 for more information.

 • JISP (Junior Instructional Ski Program) Announcements

The deadline for picking up passes is December 12th. Please visit the Bromley Outing Club (BOC) website for more information and details about passes and the upcoming JISP.

Heather Bullock, the North Bennington/Bennington area JISP Town Chair, said that things have changed a bit this year at the BOC and they are putting ALL the information, from pass pickup deadlines to rental fitting times, on the BOC website.

Heather is looking for volunteer drivers to assist with driving students to JISP. Please reach out to Heather if you can help and include your child’s first and last name AND THEIR SCHOOL when responding. Heather can explain “driver benefits.” Contact Heather at vtjisp@gmail.com.

• Hair’N’Now Salon, located in North Bennington, would like to offer a 20% discount on services to all staff and students of The Village School! You can find them at 5 Main Street, right on Lincoln Square. Give them a call at 802-442-7872 or text 802-379-2777 for appointments.

 

• “Open to the Public” is a sculpture series by Dylan Spencer Kenney that promotes inclusion and is an active invitation to all of the Bennington College events, which are already established and opened to the public (simply use the QR code on the sculptures for more information). Dylan’s sculptures consist of welded metal and wood, and they are installed at the Village School (located in the lobby outside of the main office), Powers Market, and the North Bennington Variety Mart. For anyone interested in developing a relationship with open-to-public opportunities at Bennington College, contact Dylan at dylankenney@bennington.edu. Dylan is a VSNB parent, community member, and Bennington College student with a double concentration in Visual Arts and the Center for the Advancement of Public Action.

Lake Paran is now enrolling for its 2023 Winter Break and Spring Break Outdoor Recreation Camps. These are perfect for 6-12 year olds to explore and have fun over the vacations! Click here for more details and to register.

Winter Break Recreation Camp: February 20th-24th | 8:30am-3:30pm
Camp activities will include sledding, nature exploration, learning about hibernation, snowshoeing, making comfort-food soup in our kitchen, and more!

Spring Break Recreation Camp: April 17th-21st | 8:30am-3:30pm
Camp activities will include canoeing, meet and greet baby animals, planting seeds, discovering insects, and more!

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2022-2023 Business Partners in Education

Thank you to the following businesses for their commitment to the Village School!

PLATINUM LEVEL:

Williams Financial  LLC:  https://williamsfinancial.net/

GOLD LEVEL:

Bank of Bennington:  https://thebankofbennington.com/

D.B. McKenna & Co., Inc.: https://www.dbmckenna.com/

RCS Consulting: https://www.rcs.consulting/

BRONZE LEVEL:

Adam’s Lock & Security: https://www.adamslockvt.com/

Danielle D. Fogarty, PLC: https://www.ddfplc.com/

Madrus Masonry: madrusmasonry@outlook.com  

Pangaea: https://vermontfinedining.com/

Power Guru: https://www.power-guru.com

Powers Market: https://powersmarket.com/

The Studio on Main: https://www.idenabeach.com/

West Oil Company: https://westoilcompany.com/

SPONSORS:

Bennington Express Car Wash and Repair:  https://www.benningtonlubeandwash.com/

Bennington House of Tile and Carpet: https://bennington.abbeycarpet.com/

Bolio Propane Service, LLC: https://www.facebook.com/BolioPropaneServiceLLC/

The Bennington Bookshop:  https://www.benningtonbookshop.com/

The Richards Group: https://therichardsgrp.com/