News & Events

On Friday, September 20, Rock Point School students participated in the Global Climate Strike. This international day of protest against climate change and the inaction of global leaders was led by young people around the world and inspired by a 16-year-old Swedish climate activist named Greta Thunberg. Many Rock Point students advocated to be allowed to take the day to participate in Burlington's strike and, as a school, we decided the strike reflected our environmental and social values. The teaching staff made it possible for the entire student body to attend the strike, either as participants or observers.

On Tuesday, September 17, local artist Emily Anderson brought her “Fairies & Demons Workshop” to Rock Point School. All of our students took part in this drawing workshop, which encouraged them to draw their ‘demons’, or challenges they face, as well as their ‘fairies’, or positive energies that they want to call toward them. In addition to giving students a platform to discuss what’s hard in their lives and what helps them through, they got to practice Emily’s signature drawing style, which involved drawing with their non-dominant hand. The technique allowed them to let go of the pressure to make their work perfect, and simply see what comes out when given a channel.

What: Interactive Workshop When: October 17th 6:15 p.m. - 8:15 p.m. Where: Rock Point School Library Join Rock Point School for an interactive workshop designed to help families and community members increase their fluency with LGBTQ+ inclusive concepts, terminology, and practices. The workshop will be hosted by Mara Iverson, the Director of Education at Outright Vermont. Participants will learn and practice approaches for making home and community environments LGBTQ+ affirming; and will identify specific opportunities for and challenges to inclusivity. We hope those who attend will leave with broader knowledge of LGBTQ+ youth topics, methods for recognizing gaps in inclusivity, and ideas for how to apply affirming practices to fill those gaps.

Get ready to run! The Ooky Spooky race will be on Saturday, October 19th. Come to Rock Point School for a spooktacular 5k run through our beautiful campus, located in Burlington, on Lake Champlain.

We are excited to introduce you to our new staff members! They have been through two weeks of training and meetings and are ready to dive into the school year. Each one brings new energy and perspectives to our staff and it has been awesome to hear them share their ideas as we get ready to welcome students on Sunday.

You may have noticed our mission statement has changed! After consulting our students, staff, families of students, and board members, we felt it was time to update the language in the mission statement which has been central to our school for decades. While the mission of the school remains the same and continues to be the "north star" for what we do here, we know that the language we use matters.

Anyone that's visited or been to Rock Point School can tell you that the beauty of summer in Burlington is captured perfectly on the school's campus. A local film crew seems to agree! Rock Point School and a few other Burlington locations, were the setting of a pilot episode for a new TV series. The series centers around students at a fictional all-girls boarding school, which made RPS an ideal setting.

Presentation by Maya Christobel on Sept. 25, 2019, 6 - 7:30pm RPS Library Maya Christobel is a Harvard Psychotherapist, having done her Master’s and Doctoral work and Harvard Graduate School of Education in Marriage and Family Therapy. She has practiced privately for 33 years focusing on teens and young people on the spectrum. Maya is also a pioneer in the field of bio-technology and trauma, as well as a writer, author and filmmaker.

Wiffle Fest 2019 was our 22nd annual gathering and it was a big success. Thirty-two teams of 2-3 players each, ranging in ages and skill levels spent the day playing on a comfortably sunny and breezy Saturday at the end of June. The teams competed in the “World Series” with Quinn Wardwell and Alex Leamon winning the Majors Division and Isaac and Michael Wood-Lewis winning the Minors Division. Although these teams had each played before, both were first time Champions at Wiffle Fest. The play was competitive and also filled with good sportsmanship and lively banter.

It is with great sadness that I write to you that Alice Rouleau passed away on July 10th. Alice was the beloved wife of John Rouleau, our former Head of School, and contributed to our community in many ways over the years. She will be missed by all of us, especially John and their daughter, Becky.