News & Events

The culmination of our Playwrights Project happened on May 12th at the Flynn Theater. The Vermont Young Playwrights' Festival is a day long event where students from across the state participate in workshops on acting, writing, and directing plays.

Our May 5th Art Show was a huge success and a ton of fun! Art teacher, Jean Waltz, worked her usual magic to plan and execute the show, while teaching the students the executive functioning skills necessary for planning an event. Josh, a sophomore, took on a lot of the kitchen prep, while other students helped to hang the show. Several local artists donated pieces, including Lawrence Ribbecke who worked with Kathryn, a junior, to create a large stained glass piece for the show. Susan Stewart donated a beautiful textile piece made with water color fabric and Sheila Sprague donated several paintings, including one of Lone Rock Point.

Take some students and staff who love to bake, some students and staff who love to eat, a whole bunch of people who love a challenge, and... Rock Point School's Banana-palooza is born! The first Banana-palooza was the brain child of Caleb, a junior, who loves to bake. His vision was a baking contest/party with a banana theme.

Our annual Art Show is right around the corner! Join us for an evening of snacks, art, and fun. This year, in addition to our student art, we are holding a silent auction including work from local artists and alumni (stay tuned for more information) as a fundraiser for our scholarship fund.

Despite a big snow storm and some inclement spring weather, our maple production has been trucking along this year. In fact, we've made more syrup than usual! Our favorite part of the program continues to be giving tours of our sugaring operation to school groups. Our "Maple Ambassadors" are Rock Point students who have not only learned about the process of maple sugaring, but have also learned about the science and history of making syrup. These student leaders then teach groups of preschoolers, elementary school students, and even other high school students about maple sugaring, while showing them our sugarbush and sugar house. This year, we've had groups visiting from Heartworks Preschool, Burlington Early Childhood Education program, CP Smith Elementary, and an ESL class from Burlington High School, among others! This program continues to be a great opportunity for students to experience place-based education, practice public speaking, and gain confidence in themselves. Not to mention all the delicious syrup we get to enjoy all year!

Sam Slottow, an RPS graduate, and her parents, Marie and Tim, came to present on energy work and how it can help relieve stress and anxiety. Marie became interested in energy healing when Sam was struggling in early adolescence. She began studying different techniques, such as Qi gong and Reiki, and became certified in several different kinds of Energy Medicine. Sam began to use energy healing techniques to help her cope with anxiety and created a daily energy healing ritual. We were so lucky to have them come present to our students and staff and share their experiences!

Our group set off to the Bahamas from frigid Burlington, spent the night in Boston with a student's family, and landed in 80 degree weather on February 25th! Shortly after their arrival, they traveled to South Andros by tiny prop plane, where they spent the week. Students spent time at South Andros High School, where they learned about their agricultural program which includes hydroponic systems (drip and water culture), one bee hive, 300 chickens, six goats, and a 10 lbs cabbage. Rock Point students and staff helped set up some bee frames and the new honey extractor at the school, while getting to know some students.

The culmination of our Project Based Learning focus was a series of four plays performed on February 23rd. The plays were written, performed, directed, and produced by students. Our students conceived of everything from the make-up to the lighting to the music during scene changes and we are so proud of all of their hard work.

For the sixth year in a row, we will be hosting a Maple Brunch and 5k Race! Come taste the maple syrup we make here at Rock Point and drizzle it on everything from pancakes to bacon to yogurt! If you'd like to work up your appetite before brunch, we will have a fun 5k race through our beautiful lakeside property. As usual, tours of our sugaring operation and sugar house will be available throughout the morning. See the schedule of events below. We hope you can join us!