News & Events

Sam Holland works to make the imagined real. As a former engineering student of our math tutor, Michael Coleman, Sam took his curiosity about how things were made and became a mechanical engineer. He has worked at places like MakerBot and Vimeo, and now, he owns his own business called informal.cc, where he helps companies of all sizes create hardware. We are thrilled that he decided to visit Rock Point School and work on 3-D design and printing projects with our students.

This winter, our English and Science teachers teamed up to guide students through a research and writing unit about the nature of viruses and pandemics. Our students have learned so much first-hand this year about pandemics; we decided to present them with the scientific and historical context and have it culminate in a project of their own creation. In Science classes, students learned the basic science behind how viruses work and some information about historical viruses that have caused pandemics. We studied several types of writing and communication in English class, including narratives, infographics, and persuasive writing. Students then chose a specific topic within virology and pandemics, and dove into a research project. 

Airflow Testing, COVID Protocols, and Energy Efficiency This fall, Rock Point School embarked on a project to evaluate the airflow in the school building. In this time of COVID-19, understanding the density of occupants in an area, how big our shared spaces really are, and how often the air in a room is replaced can be important for reducing the spread of COVID-19 in aerosols. It can also help us make the best choices for keeping our school well-ventilated and warm at the same time. Luckily, our school is filled with budding scientists and mathematicians who can appreciate the collection of this data!

 

Each year Rock Point School participates in the Vermont Young Playwrights' Project, in conjunction with the Vermont Young Writers and Vermont Stage Company. As part of this project, a professional playwright visits the school in the fall for a series of workshops on playwriting. Students produce original 10-minute plays during these workshops and working with our English Teacher, Abbey Baker.

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 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.