An inclusive, independent boarding high school
Every weekend there are many different kinds of activities, such as skiing, hiking, rock climbing, cooking meals, attending art shows, poetry slams, ice skating, and plays. Some other local activities have included poetry readings at local coffee shops, cooking a themed meal together, and the ever-popular thrift store scavenger hunts. Residential Educators also like to host “spa nights” or themed movie nights at school for a more relaxing weekend option. We also encourage students to plan activities with our Residential Educators if they have a particular interest or hobby that they want to share with the rest of the RPS Community. Students have inspired everything from baking competitions to LARPing games.
Weekends are also when we may go on longer adventures around Vermont and beyond, such as traveling to Montreal, camping or backpacking, visiting an amusement park, or whitewater rafting on the Hudson River.
Our schedule on the weekend is more open and flexible. On Saturdays and Sundays, students can sleep in, with brunch available at noon. On Friday and Saturday nights, the students head upstairs by 11:20 pm.
Students can spend their open time (any time when they are not supposed to be at meals, work crew, activities, or study hall) up in their rooms or in any of the recreational spaces around the building. We have a game room with a pool table and a video projection system and other student lounges with foosball, a ping pong table, board games, books, and puzzles. Students are also able to take walks, go biking, use the skate ramps, and take advantage of our beautiful property during free time!
During the winter, students are able to take advantage of the mountains of Vermont with skiing and snowboarding trips. We have a partnership with Burton Snowboard's Chill Foundation, a learn to snowboard program. Check out this video produced by Burton featuring a RPS student!
Evening study halls run for an hour and are supervised by the Residential staff. The computer lab is open, and students can get help from staff to organize and complete homework assignments. Students who have completed all of their work, are required to take some quiet time to read a book or do some artwork.
