Northshire Day School Current News

Sign Up Now For NDS Summer Camp 08

The Northshire Day School has big  plans for the summer season. With the end of the school year rapidly approaching, the time to think about enjoying NDS Summer Camp 08 is now.

Starting June 23rd and running through August 22nd, NDS will be holding one-week summer camp sessions for area children from five to twelve years of age. The sessions will run from 8:30 am to 4:30 pm daily. Space is limited in each session and registration is on a first-come first- serve basis.

The popular camp is once again under the guidance of NDS After- School teacher Cherie Thompson and will feature ``Nature’’ as the theme. In addition to plenty of day trips other camp activities will include: swimming, hiking, arts and crafts, music, science and math projects, organic gardening, and much more.

``Last year’s camp was a huge success. The kids loved it.’’ NDS Director Carol Kern noted ``the adult to student ratio is great and the sessions fill up fast.’’

For more information about NDS Summer Camp 08 contact Carol Kern at 802-362-1395

NDS Celebrates Month of the Young Child

     April is a special month and Manchester's Northshire Day School is celebrating.
The month of April is not only known for the arrival of spring to these parts, it is also heralded as the National Month of the Young Child and the Northshire's oldest day school has a month-long list of special activities to honor, entertain, and educate the area's young children and adults alike. With a slate that includes music, ice cream sundaes, storyhours, arts and crafts, pony rides, free books, and even a bounce house, the NDS will be the place to be during April.
     ``It will be a hectic and fun month around here,'' noted NDS executive director Carol Kern. ``We want the children to have fun and we want to make it a community event.''
       The month started off with visits from the talented musicians of the Manchester Music festival and weekly nutritional lessons from Stacy Staab of the University of Vermont's extension service. While Ari Rudiacov and his nationally re-known classical musicians thrilled the school's youngsters with a series of mini-concerts, Shaab conducted weekly classes for the kids on the benefits of good nutrition, exercise, and a healthy life style.

     The week of April 14-18 was specifically designated the ``Week of the Young Child'' and NDS held a special activities each day to celebrate the week. From a bagel and coffee open house on Monday to a create your own sundae day on Friday, NDS was literally jumping with activity all week-long, particularly on Wednesday when the school had a huge inflatable ``Bounce House'' on the premises. The week also included storyhours by the Mark Skinner Library's children's librarians, a trip to the Northshire Book Store, and a special performance by Debbie Zacchio of Music Together.
      NDS will culminate the ``Month of the the Young Child'' by hosting a two-day Early Childhood Literacy Fair on Tuesday and Wednesday April 29-30. The event is open to the public and will be sponsored by NDS and Bennington County Headstart. It will run from 4:00 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. both days. There will be plenty of arts and crafts activities for youngsters as well as pony rides, food, Alexandra Langstaff's Hullabaloo. Reading Partners of Vermont will be also be on hand to give free books to youngsters.

``It's all about kids,'' concluded Kern. ``It's also a nice way to give something back to the community.''

NDS Pre-Schoolers March to Fight Cystic Fibrosis

        Children are never too young to learn that they can help others. That’s the thinking of Northshire Day School pre-school teacher Becky Wilder  each year as she prepares her three and four year old children for their annual ``Cystic Fibrosis Mini-March’’.

Last week, Wilder and her students took the short walk up the street from NDS to the Manchester town offices and back to cap off their annual fund raising effort to battle Cystic Fibrosis. With ``Good Friends’’ as the theme and the goal of matching the 300 dollars that was raised a year ago, Wilder and the 17 students in her class hit the sidewalk for a great cause.

  ``I like to think that the kids are learning that they can become community helpers and that they can learn a lot about friendship at the same time.’’ Noted Wilder, who first organized the event several years ago when a friend lost a child to Cystic Fibrosis. ``It’s a very personal thing for me and it’s a great cause.’’

      Cystic Fibrosis (CF) is a genetic disease that occurs when a child inherits two copies of the defective CF gene- one from each parent. More than 10 million Americans are symptom less carriers of one copy of that gene. The disease causes the body to produce abnormally thick mucus that clogs airways and leads to life-threatening lung infections. The CF mucus also obstructs the pancreas, preventing enzymes from reaching the intestines to breakdown and digest food.  Approximately 30,000 children and young adults in the United States have CF. the median age of survival for a person with CF extends into the mid-30s.

For the past several weeks children in Wilder’s class have used activities and songs to learn about CF and to better understand that diseases such as Cystic Fibrosis shouldn’t prevent friendships from being formed and children with CF have much the same feelings and concerns as all children.  

  In addition to raising the awareness of CF in the Northshire, Wilder knows that the money raised will go to the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation to fund research that may someday find a cure for the disease.

``I hope that the children learn a little about CF,’’ concluded Wilder. ``And, a lot about how important it is to be a good friend.’’

NDS Creates Advisory Council

            Good schools are like good businesses, they know the community that they serve.

  In an effort to better understand and serve the greater Manchester area, the Northshire Day School announces the creation of the Northshire Day School Advisory Council.

  The newly created NDS Advisory Council is comprised of 16 prominent local business, educational, and community leaders who will work in unison with the NDS Board of Trustees to provide NDS with an additional consulting resource for the already well-regarded non-profit day school.

  ``This is an exciting and instrumental step for the school,'' noted NDS Executive Director Carol Kern on the creation of the council.

``Our goal is to keep in touch with the needs and demands of the community that we serve. This is a very talented group of individuals who are well respected and very knowledgeable. They will definitely enable us to offer the best service possible as a school.''

  With affordable professional child care becoming an increasingly critical and in demand resource in the daily functioning of families, businesses, and organization in the Northshire area, the NDS Advisory Council will be charged with helping the school better understand the population it already serves and implement the development of future plans, partnerships, and policies.

  The council will initially meet once a year with the first annual meeting planned for May 28th. Members of the council include: Bob Allen, Perk Perkins, Ed Morrow, Susan Hill, Bruce Hallet, Ed Bates, Susan Heckman, Ed Campbell, Mary Welford, Jim Hand, Seth Bongartz, Ben Weiss, Jackie Wilson, Joe Miles, and Chuck Scranton.

  ``We are very grateful that these people have agreed to serve on the council. They are important members of our town,'' concluded Kern.

``Their input will be crucial to the future of our school and help us give our best response to the changing shape of childcare.''

Counsell and Samuelson Named To NDS Board of Trustees

  Executive Director Carol Kern recently announced that Merrick Counsell and Matthew Samuelson have been named to the board of trustees of the Northshire Day School.

  ``We are thrilled to have Merrick and Matthew on our board’’ said Kern. ``We’ve been working on getting a more diverse board and we hope that their expertise will help take the school in a new direction that includes better pay for the school staff and more affordable child care for families in the Manchester area.’’

  Counsell is a well-known face in Manchester. He and his wife Becky are co-owners of the Briggs-Fowler Insurance Agency. A 1975 graduate of Burr and Burton Seminary, Counsell is an active member of the Dorset Congregation Church and the Manchester Volleyball League.  Upon graduation from North Carolina’s Elon University Counsell began his insurance career in 1980 at the family-run Briggs/Fowler  before he and his wife purchased the business in 1993.

  Local attorney Samuelson also brings a wealth of experience to the board. Born and raised in western Massachusetts, Samuelson and his wife Jennifer and three daughters have lived in the Manchester area for the past ten years.  A graduate of Maine’s Bowdoin College  and the Vermont Law School Samuelson has served on the Burr and Burton Academy Development Advisory Board, the board of Happy Days School in Arlington, and the board of the local Habitat for Humanity chapter. Currently Samuelson operates Samuelson Law Offices in Manchester. The firm specializes in transactional law including real estate matters, estate planning and general business law. Samuelson and his family are members of Manchester’s Episcopal Church

  ``They are great additions to our board,’’ noted Kern. ``Their energy and talents will add a lot to our school.’’

  For more information about the Northsire Day School contact Kern at 362-1395.

NDS Students Join Capitol Christmas Tree Send-Off

  When this year’s Capitol Christmas Tree convoy made its way through Manchester on Tuesday, November 20th, the Northshire Day School was well-represented. Over 35 NDS pre-schoolers were among the crowd that gathered on the Orvis Green to give the 40-foot evergreen a proper local sendoff.  With falling snow and guest appearances by Santa, the Orvis Moose and Smokey the Bear highlighting the event, the NDS students got to see the special convoy that will deliver the tree to our nation’s capitol. The 40 foot tree started its journey in Somerset’s Green Mountain National Forest earlier in the week. After several stops in Vermont including Manchester, the tree made its way through several states before taking its place in front of the nation’s Capitol Building in Washington, D.C..

  ``The kids had a great time,’’ stated NDS Director Carol Kern.  ``It was a great atmosphere and It was nice that the kids got to see the tree and be a part of the event.’’

Local Author's Storyhour Thrills NDS Students

Well-Known local author Kathryn Mademann-Vaughn treated NDS pre-school and pre-kindergarten classes

to a special reading of her latest works. On December 5th Mademann-Vaughn thrilled the classes by reading her titles Little One...Good Night, What's Under The Sea, and My Day At The Zoo.  The stories were highlighted by the musical CDs that go with each book.

 ''The kids were mesmerized by the stories and Kathryn's skills as a storyteller,'' noted NDS Co-Director Jane Gras. ''The students really enjoyed the books and Kathryn was great.''

  In addition to reading the stories Mademann-Vaughn presented the school with six free copies of her latest titles.

The Learning Never Stops AT NDS

 For the staff of Manchester’s Northshire Day School the learning never stops. Four members of the local day school are currently enrolled in educational courses to further their professional development.

   Executive Director Carol Kern and Co-Director Jane Gras are participating in a Union College course entitled Leadership and Management. The course is designed for school leaders who seek to improve supervisory, management, and advisory skills in order to become more effective directors.

   Staff member Caryn Foster is furthering her professional development through a course at the Community College of Vermont. Caryn is on her way to obtaining her Associates Degree in Early Childhood Education.

Nicole Nichols, who has worked at NDS for the past 8 years, is also reenrolled in a class thru CCV. When completed Nicole will have successfully renewed her Child Development Associates Degree.

  ``It’s important that parents know that their children are being taken care of by skilled professionals,’’ Kern noted. ``These courses not only make us better learners, they also make us better teachers.’’

  For more information on these courses or the Northshire Day School feel free to contact Carol at 362-1395.

Neil Reilly Joins Northshire Day School Board of Trustees

   Executive Director Carol Kern recently announced that Neil Reilly has joined the board of trustees of the Northshire Day School. Reilly brings a wealth of business and investment experience to his new position on the board.  Reilly has been a member of the New York Board of Trade for over twenty years. He began his business career at the New York Cotton Exchange in 1979 and has served in numerous positions in the Exchange including Chairman of the Business Conduct Committee, Chairman of the Floor Committee, and a member of Finance Committee. In 1986, Reilly became the youngest member of the Exchange at the time and in 1987 he purchased his own seat on the Exchange and began his career as an independent futures trader. In 1999 Reilly moved to Vermont with his wife Erin and children Carly and James.

   For the past year Reilly has been hard at work in his new career as Vice-President and Co-founder of Wagatha’s, a premium, organic dog biscuit manufacturing company based in Manchester.

  ``Neil brings a lot of valuable experience to our board,’’ notes Kern.  ``We are very happy that he accepted our invitation to serve on our board. He’s a great addition.’’

   For more information about the Northshire Day School contact Kern at 362-1395