Recent Compass Connector Highlights
The Compass Connector is a weekly email distributed each Friday to our community with highlights from the school and surrounding area.
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One of Compass’ educational pillars is democracy. This week our middle schoolers witnessed the completion of a legislative process that brings a smile to what democracy in action can look like.
On Tuesday, May 7th, Governor Phil Scott signed the Mushroom Bill - making Vermont the 6th state in the union to have a state mushroom. Thanks to the support and mentorship of Representative Michelle Bos-Lun, Zinth, Mustapha, and Nicholas made their case in front of the Senate Committee on Agriculture. They were heard and the vote passed in the Senate. Here is a link to WCAX’s press release.
We’re grateful for technology and Governor Scott’s invitation to be ‘present’ while he signed the bill. He was generous enough to take a few extra minutes and answer student questions. In his speech, he shared that hands-on learning impacted his own trajectory and encouraged our students to explore careers. We are so proud of our students and the effort they took to make their ideas become reality. We captured this milestone event in a 6-minute video. If you’d like to watch it you can view it here.
As we approach the end of the school year, we look forward to seeing you at more exhibitions and graduation! -
🎓On Tuesday, May 14th, the seniors will be exhibiting their senior projects and you are all invited! Join us in The Big Room from 9:30-11:00 a.m. Seniors will have engaging displays of their senior projects set up and will be on hand to answer questions.
Pictured above are Brendan and Solan test-playing Tristen's board game. Want to see the rest of the creative projects?
Come on Tuesday! -
Middle Schoolers:
Please see detailed breakdown in the last section of this newsletter!
9th & 10th Graders are headed to Boston to explore the aquarium, Quincy Market, Smith College Botanical Gardens, and more!
11th Graders will stay local. They're hoping to share their Puerto Rico trip with other local schools on those days. They may join our middle school for a day in Burlington too!
12th Graders will be here working on their final roundtable! -
➡️Tuesday, May 14th - End of Trimester 3
➡️Tuesday, May 14th - Senior Project Exhibitions 9:30-11am
➡️Wed, May 15 - Fri, May 17 - Spring Trips by Grade
➡️May 20th - NO SCHOOL, Teacher Inservice Day
➡️May 21-24 - Portfolio Week
➡️May 27 - NO SCHOOL - Memorial Day
➡️May 28 - June 5th - Portfolio Week
➡️June 1st - Graduation
➡️June 5th - Project Exhibition Night
➡️June 6th - Last Day of School
1920's Living Museum
It felt like walking back in time last night as the 9th and 10th graders brought the 1920's to life! Thanks to all of you who came out to tour their learning displays. Organizing and creating an event like this is a lot of work! A huge shout out to Ann, our humanities teacher, for all her hard work. And of course Cher for the delicious snacks.
Parents Corner
We are rapidly approaching the end of our school year and that means there are a number of events happening where your children get to showcase their work. Please join us for any and all exhibitions that you are able to.
In an effort to keep you well informed, but not overwhelmed, details about graduation and the last week of school will come in next week's newsletter.
Refer to the below dates below for a chronological timeline.
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Middle School Class Trip Plan 5/15 - 5/17
Wed, May 15th: 8:25 am - 3:15 pm
Portfolio work at school in the morning; Fall Mountain hike after lunch
Thurs, May 16th: 8:25 am - 8:00 pm Long day trip to the Burlington, VT area. We welcome parent volunteers to chaperone and/or help transport students. Please contact advisors if you are interested.
Fri, May 17th: NO SCHOOL for 7/8 students.- Advisors will be available to schedule remote meetings for portfolio support
Categories/Ideas for Individual Projects
Project week is a chance for students to do something fun and meaningful for their own learning. Successful projects take many forms and can include such things as:
Arts: Create a mural, movie, dance, poems, short stories;
Immersion: Try being an artist, or a poet, or a scientist;
Learn a skill: Fix a car, build a cabinet, cook Chinese food;
Academic Discovery: Research an animal species, read about WWII, conduct a science experiment;
Community Service: Do yard work for an elderly neighbor, volunteer at a farm, connect with an activist organization, do a job shadow, assist your parent’s business. Please discuss project week ideas with your child.