Dear Bridge families,

I’m sitting at my desk, in an all too quiet building, reflecting on this past year and planning diligently for the fall.  I’m met with sadness and joy, grief and hope, and pride and gratitude.  This year was remarkable in so many ways.  We know that crisis brings communities together and I have never felt more grateful for the love, support, and understanding of our Bridge Community.  You opened your homes and your hearts to us as we transitioned to remote learning and we are so incredibly impressed with the resiliency of our kiddos, the support from families regarding learning from home, and the ability to share meaningfully and to continue connecting with each other when we have to be physically distanced.  We can’t thank you enough.

Our teachers have been meeting this week to wrap up the year, discuss successes and challenges, and to begin planning for next year.  We have been inspired by our continued connection this Spring and have used it to drive our discussion for our theme for next year.  In this time of unrest within our own community and across the country and world, we have decided that our theme for next year would be Community and Connections. We seek to use this challenging time to dive deeply into the constructs of communities, how they are connected, how they change over time and our own roles within them.  Stay tuned for more to come!

March 26, 2020

As we navigate the current COVID-19 pandemic in Vermont together as a community, Bridge School’s commitment to our students and families is stronger than ever.  This whirlwind of changes has proven to us what we have known all along. Our students are resilient, curious, and caring. Our teachers are dedicated, creative, and compassionate.  We have jumped right into a distance learning model using a mixture of packets and manipulatives, Google Classroom, Google Meet, YouTube and other virtual resources. Students have been checking in with teachers daily and we meet regularly as a school on Google Meet. We continue to connect, play games, share our learning goals and have even been having Spirit Days! Our students are also baking more, spending more time outside (safely), puzzling, connecting with family, resting, and helping their community.  Even our parents are expressing themselves creatively! Over the next few weeks we will continue to highlight the wonderful work of our families and teachers at home. Stay tuned. Be safe, and be well.

Bridge School’s new coworkers and classmates!

We are overjoyed to announce that we are able to offer a new scholarship program for new K-6 students for the 2019-2020 school year!

Curious to learn more about our award-winning school? Visit our Mission & Objectives and Philosophy pages to learn more. Contact Co-Director, Amanda (amanda@bridgeschoolvermont.org) for more information about admissions, and visit our Admissions page.

Bridge School is different than traditional schools.

Current brain research shows us that there is no such thing as an average mind. So why do traditional schools teach common curriculum, designed for an average? At Bridge School, we teach your child as a unique learner. We combine innovative pedagogy with a deep understanding of child development to guide each individual child’s learning. Children come to understand themselves, and their identity within a supportive community.

Announcing Bridge School’s Newest Innovation in Addison County Elementary Education:

Ecology & Outdoor Leadership Program

For decades, Bridge School has valued the educational power of the natural world. As we approach our 40th anniversary as a school, we are formalizing this commitment to outdoor education by launching our new Ecology & Outdoor Leadership Program in September 2019. 

The Why: Inspired by the philosophy pioneered by forest schools, our inquiry-based learning for the year will explore topics related to sustainability, ecology, natural history, and outdoor skills. Child development research is conclusive on the topic of outdoor education: spending time outdoors leads to better outcomes both in and out of the classroom. Outdoor exploration provides vital opportunities for sensory development, reduces anxiety, improves focus, and leads to improvements in a variety of other indicators of health and wellbeing. Furthermore, we believe in empowering this generation as changemakers who are knowledgeable and skilled in sustainability topics.

The Where: Every week, rain or shine, we will start our week at school together with a half-day outdoor field trip. We will use Middlebury’s Wright Park as a home base, and partner with the Middlebury Area Land Trust. All of our regular classes–Math, Language Arts, and Explorations– will occur in the field, using the resources available as our base for discovery and inquiry.

The What: We will use our time in the field to focus on learning the natural history of Addison County, studying ecological concepts, and practicing outdoor survival skills. Back at school, we will expand on what we have learned, and think about the natural world from the perspective of sustainability as a school, and as individuals.

During our Mondays at Wright Park, and our inquiries during the rest of the week at school, the following broad, essential questions will guide us:  1) Where am I? 2) How did we get here? 3) Where are we going? 

We will also ask:

• How do my choices have an impact on my community?
• Who and what do we share the community with?
• What can I do to make a positive impact on my community?
• What does it mean to be an outdoor leader? What does it mean to be an ecological leader?
• What does it mean to be a sustainability advocate? 

Furthermore, the following goals will be the compass by which we, as teachers, plan our explorations for the year.

We strive for our students to:

• feel confidence in the outdoors, knowing how to stay safe and comfortable.
• be knowledgeable about the natural history of Vermont, and ecological processes and systems.
• be advocates for sustainability in their personal lives, their lives at home, and their lives at school.

We are thrilled to share the numerous awards Bridge School received this year!

1. Innovative Schools Award

In late March, students traveled to Montpelier to receive an “Innovative Schools Award” from the National School Choice Week organization. Bridge School was recognized from the State House floor, and students got to connect with other independent school students from across Vermont.

2. Letters About Literature 

Out of over 120 entries, Bridge students won 1st, 2nd and 3rd place in the Letters About Literature Contest! This contest is sponsored by the Library of Congress and the Vermont State Library, and asks students to write a letter to an author whose work impacted their understanding of themselves or the world. The students in Amanda Warren’s Language Arts class all wrote letters and submitted them to the contest as part of this year’s curriculum. It was unbelievable that Bridge School swept the contest!

The winners traveled to the State House to receive their awards, and the 1st place winner read her letter out loud! The 1st place winner’s entry was also promoted to the national contest. Above, the winners are pictured with the Vermont State Librarian, Jason Broughton.

3. Junior Duck Stamp Contest

Bridge students took 1st and 2nd place in the Junior Duck Stamp Contest sponsored by the US Fish and Wildlife! The 1st place artwork spent a month being displayed at the Fairbanks Museum in St. Johnsbury. These drawings were done during “Winter Week” in February–a fun week where Bridge offers a variety of unique electives.

No doubt, the question we get asked most about our daily schedule is: What is Chunka Chunka? My answer is: Chunka Chunka is perhaps the most important part of the school day at Bridge School. Yes, you heard me! The MOST important time of day.

Practically, speaking, Chunka Chunka is the 15-20 minutes in between when Morning Meeting ends, and Language Arts class begins. Each day, the three Home Center teachers choose three options, and students sign up for one of the three. Options frequently include: drawing, puzzles, basketball, knitting, board games, quiet reading, or outside time.

This time of day may seem simple, and insignificant. You might even ask: are we wasting precious time at school by having students not jump right into classes?

We believe Chunka Chunka is in itself precious, and perhaps even sacred. First thing, every morning, students get to ask themselves: How do I want to start my day at school? Students start their day with making a choice. They feel agency and empowerment by getting to ease into the morning on their own terms.

Positive psychology and mindfulness research teaches us that when we start our day by getting into alignment with ourselves, and choosing fun and joy, that attitude sets the tone for our entire day.

When our students start their day with agency and choice, they choose to start their day with a feeling of joy. This feeling sets us up for days full of students making meaningful choices in their learning, and being primed for fun along the way.

Want to learn more about starting your morning off with joy? Click here

We are over the moon for our new mural, painted generously by Chris Murray, parent of Jackson ’19 and Andrea, our current board chair!

Chris explains the mural:

“Growing up I had the privilege of living all over the world, in many different environments, with many different types of people; and I have learned that both inside and out our basic human needs and interests are common. Regardless of race, sex, ethnicity, and environment, we all need food and water; we all need to be useful and productive, and we all need to be loved. It is the beauty of our shared purpose that I tried to convey with this art. The idea for the image was originally conceived for an article I illustrated several years ago (for Harvard Business Review) on the importance of diversity in the work place.

Today it seems we need to be reminded of the things that unite us. We need to celebrate our differences. Hopefully the message is a teaching opportunity for the Bridge community and everyone else who ventures by.”