Current Announcements

Posted 3/3/23  

Dear Families:

Many thanks to so many of you for rallying over the last week to write to Vermont legislators in support of the Village School and the value of school choice for our community. Your outreach will continue to make an important difference, and you can use the resources available on our website at this link to aid in your advocacy. Yesterday, Vermont Secretary of Education Dan French strongly opposed S.66 and H.258 in his written testimony to the Senate Education Committee. I will continue to update you as we have more information in the weeks ahead. 

TOMORROW (Saturday, March 4) the North Bennington Graded School District Annual Meeting will be held in the Village School gymnasium from 9-10 a.m. The meeting will be held regardless of the expected snowstorm. Community members are invited to this open public forum to hear about and discuss the key issues facing our school and community and to learn more about the 2023-2024 budget for the district and our school.

Town Meeting Day will be Tuesday, March 7, with voting taking place at the North Bennington Railroad Depot, from 7 a.m. – 7 p.m. The Village School’s budget will be on the ballot with a proposed tuition increase of 4% for the 2023-2024 academic year. The needs of the budget have been considered carefully and prudently, and the budget will be explained in detail at the NBGSD meeting. Your support of the Village School’s budget makes it possible for us to continue providing students with a high-quality education. Please note: Shaftsbury D1 residents will need to vote for the Village School budget at the Railroad Depot, and all other Shaftsbury D1 voting will take place at the Town Garage on North Road on March 7, from 7 a.m. – 7 p.m. 

Copies of the Village School Annual Report (2023) and the Village of North Bennington Annual Report (2022) were sent home with students this week. Thank you to Village School faculty and staff contributors, student contributors, as well as Board Member Judie Brower for designing the Village School report; and to Village Clerk Lori Elwell for production of the Village of North Bennington’s report. 

Please see information below about two upcoming After School Workshops for Robotics and Chess. 

Warm regards,
Tim Newbold

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Chess After School Workshop

Trevor Plizga, founder of Chess on the Hill, will be running a 4-week After School Chess workshop at the Village School on Tuesdays, March 21 and 28, and April 4 and 11 (from 3-4:30 p.m.). The workshop is for students in grades 2-6 (beginners to advanced players are welcome). The cost is $44 for the 4-week session (scholarships may be available by emailing info@vsnb.org). To register, contact Trevor by calling or sending a message to 586-744-1712 or email him at chessonthehill@gmail.com.

>> Click here for a flyer with more details.

Robotics After School Workshop 

We are excited about the tremendous interest in the Robotics Workshop, which was offered to students in grades 1-6 for Wednesdays, March 22, 29 and April 5, 12 (from 3-4:30 p.m.). Thank you to Village School parents Kathryn Montovan and Hugh Crowl for volunteering to run this workshop. The workshop can only accommodate 22 students at a time, as there are a limited number of Finch robots available for use. Due to the strong response, Session 1 is FULL. We hope to announce the dates for a second workshop after the April break for students who are on the waiting list. All parents/guardians who sent in a reply-form or emailed friends@vsnb.org will receive a follow-up email on Monday, March 6th.