News & Events

We have prepared an amazing on-campus summer session full of fun, healthy connections, and learning. This is set to run from July 6 to August 13. We have planned activities on our campus (academics and credit recovery, art, crafts, cooking and baking, gardening, bee keeping, hikes, swimming, boating and more) and throughout Vermont and New England (camping, fishing, an amusement park, festivals). While our strong preference is to have Summer Session our beautiful campus, we are not able to make that decision alone. We will be looking to the CDC and the Governor of Vermont, as well as to best practices, to determine whether our on-campus summer program will happen. We will need to hear that it is safe and prudent to bring students, coming from many states across our country, onto campus. We hope to have more clarity by the end of May or early June.

Rock Point School staff have been using some of their time at home to read! Here are some books staff have enjoyed lately:

We are offering a digital space for Rock Point School alumni to connect during this time of physical distancing (we can still be social!). It will be a great opportunity to catch up with old friends, share stories about RPS, and support each other.

We are all new to Distance Learning and there has been a certain amount of trial and error to the process. We wanted to share these answers to Frequently Asked Questions about how we are teaching our students remotely in hopes that it will help people invision what is now becoming the norm across the country for this school year.

Like most schools, Rock Point School has temporarily suspended our on-campus activities due to COVID-19. As we made arrangements with families to get students home safely, we also started to make plans with our staff about how we could best support our students and their families at this uncertain time. While we know it is necessary to be physically distant at this time, we also know it is crucially important to stay deeply connected to our community.

While students are engaged in distance learning, as part of our history classes, they are being asked to keep journals in order to create primary sources for future generations. These journals include documenting their own experiences (through writing, art, and music), documenting the experiences of the people they live with, and documenting (through remote Question & Answer) the weekly experiences of two people with whom they do not live. Students also will record a "news item of the day" and a photo of the day. We hope this assignment will help students reflect on their own experiences during the pandemic and see how their own experiences fit in with the larger trends in society at this time.

Rock Point School teachers and staff have been working hard to shift learning online while we all stay home and stay healthy during this crisis. Teachers are meeting with each of their classes for 30 minutes a day via Google Hangout and will continue to receive work and give feedback in Google Drive. While things like Chemistry lab will have to be changed pretty dramatically, we are confident that our students and staff will rise to the challenge and continue learning as best we can during this time. As C.J. likes to say, "We will not let the perfect get in the way of the good!"

On March 15th, the Executive Committee and Administrative Team met regarding updates about COVID-19. The situation is rapidly evolving and recommendations have changed. On that Sunday, the Governor of Vermont issued a mandate that called for Vermont schools to be closed by Wednesday. This has changed our thinking about the plan for keeping Rock Point open. In order to follow best practices happening around us, and lessen the risk for all people in the face of this virus, we have decided to suspend on-campus programming at Rock Point effective Monday, March 16.

At this time, we are all doing well at Rock Point School. Clearly, we are all thinking about and planning for the challenges and concerns that come with the 2019 novel coronavirus. Here are the things we are doing to help keep our community healthy: Increased sanitation of all surfaces in the school, particularly those surfaces that are frequently touched like light switches, desks, and door knobs. Increased hand washing and access to hand sanitizer. Watching for virus symptoms and monitoring by our school nurse. Practicing social distancing respectfully within our community. Significantly lessening trips and interactions beyond school.

**** AT THIS TIME, THE REUNION IS CANCELED DUE TO COVID-19. CHECK BACK FOR UPDATES ABOUT A DIGITAL REUNION*** We are excited to share more details about the Rock Point School 2020 reunion on June 12-14th! We are looking forward to a weekend filled with sharing memories, enjoying the beauty of campus, and catching up with old friends. As always, any former students, staff, and families are invited!