Five Class Days to Go

As the days lengthen, the stretch between now and the school-year finish line only shrinks.  Five class days to go.  Three days of activities (thank you, Parent Ambassadors for hosting class gatherings the day after school ends!).  Senior Projects end today.  Graduation for the Class of 2021 is exactly two weeks from the moment I write this.  The Governor is shortly to declare the end of the emergency order.  If there’s a time to look around, take stock, and say, we made it, now may–at last–be that moment.  It’s time for a collective breath, a congratulations, and thanks to the students, teachers, and administrators who did the work, and the parents and guardians who backed them up through every step, stage, and change.  

On Wednesday next week the Seniors present their Projects to students in grades 8 – 11, and Parents/Guardians and other family members can watch live streams of the talks by following this link to the 2021 Community Calendar, where the June 2nd event details has Zoom links for every Senior’s talk.  The presentations, a hallmark of the Vermont Commons experience, take place from 8:30 – 10:30 a.m. that morning.

On Wednesday, June 9th–the last day of the school year for all students except the soon-to-be graduates–we honor the incredible work the students and teachers have done at two separate ceremonies.  During our Academic and Community Awards Ceremony, we honor student achievement in academic disciplines and community engagement, our 8th graders’ completion of Middle School, our alums, and our teachers.  The Ceremony runs from 8:45 to approximately 10:15 a.m., and parents/guardians and family members can watch via Zoom using this link:  https://us02web.zoom.us/j/88136424218?pwd=eG94T3VGdlpPNEpCY3FtUWErMEJ5QT09.  Later that day, we honor new National Honor Society inductees and athletes in our sports teams at our Day of Glory ceremony, starting at 2:15 p.m. and lasting until approximately 3 p.m.  This ceremony can be joined via Zoom by family members at https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83025697197?pwd=SW1abFdENjhickh0b1pWV3A3UTllQT09.  

Lastly, we just want to reiterate to all families returning for the 2021-22 school year that, thankfully, it will be back to business-as-usual at Vermont Commons School.  Admittedly, if you’re a new family this year, you don’t quite have a complete sense of that yet, but the short and sweet is that we’ll be back at 75 Green Mountain Drive five days a week, Encounter Weeks three times a year, students moving throughout the building during the day, morning meeting four days a week, Common Hours, sports, social events, easy-going, casual interactions with faculty in the hallways and their offices, and all the other things you’ve either experienced in past years or heard about and are looking forward to.  It’ll be our 25th anniversary at Vermont Commons, and we feel fortunate to be able to look forward to a normal year and to sharing it with you!

A happy, wonderful long weekend to you and yours.

Dr. Dexter P. Mahaffey,
Head of School