Home to its own mountains and surrounded by others, the Mad River Valley is full of opportunities to ski and snowboard. Like any other sport, skiing and riding carry risks of severe injuries, and Crossett Brook Middle Schoolers heard from advocates for snow-sport safety at a recent school assembly. 

Vermont Secretary of State Sarah Copeland Hanzas led the ceremony in the House chamber on Jan. 12 where fifth-grader Roslyn Fortin of Highgate Elementary School and six other fifth-graders from across the state were sworn in as the state’s first Kid Governor and cabinet members.

When voters in the Harwood Unified Union School District go to the polls on Town Meeting Day this March 3, eight seats on the 14-member Harwood school board will be on the ballot. 

Fundraising efforts for the Harwood Auditorium Revitalization Project are gaining steam with the latest benefit concert featuring Reid Parsons and The Glam Cowboys at The Big Picture on Jan. 17.  

The PTO groups at Brookside Primary School and Crossett Brook Middle School have launched ticket sales for their annual major fundraiser, the February Calendar Raffle.

BARRE — What it will look like, where it will be, and what it might cost are all open questions, but plans to address the facility shortcomings of the Central Vermont Career Center are in the works, and a proposal could be back on the ballot in the district’s 18 towns come November.

How does the passage of time affect identity? Harwood students running the next Socrates Café on Jan. 8 will ask just that question. The community is invited to the Harwood library, 5:30-7 p.m.

For the second time in two months, Fayston is in need of a new member to join the Harwood Unified Union School District School Board. 

Harwood alumni will present an evening of comedy and music at Zenbarn on Dec. 28 to support the Harwood Auditorium Revitalization Project.

Community objections led a student club to postpone showing a documentary film at Harwood Union High School last month. Plans to show the documentary, “The Encampments,” focusing on U.S. college student protests of the Israel-Palestine conflict, were shelved shortly after the event was announced.

The School District Redistricting Task Force held its final meeting on Thursday. Since August, the group has been working to design no more than three maps of school district boundaries that attempt to achieve scale and efficiency across Vermont’s 119 school districts and 52 supervisory unions.

Middle school actors, singers, and crew are working hard in preparation to present “Mean Girls, Jr.” Friday and Sunday, Dec. 5 and 7, on the Harwood stage.

When the state panel charged with reconfiguring Vermont’s school districts met this week, Harwood’s school board chair was among the many people who offered public comments critical of the state’s plan. 

The majority of Vermont school redistricting task force members endorsed a proposal on Monday that would incentivize voluntary mergers of the state’s 119 school districts. Most of the committee also opposed a new school district map based around centers for career and technical education.

BARRE — Hours after Thursday’s belated ballot count revealed voters in the 18-town district had rejected the $149 million bond proposal, members of the Central Vermont Career Center School District Board who serve on the facilities committee huddled with administrators to discuss if, how and when to respond.

Two hours out of each of Harwood’s seven-hour school days are dedicated to lunch blocks. The kitchen staff spends hours planning, preparing, and serving meals. Much of the planning involves coordinating with local farmers, as 25% of Harwood’s lunches are locally sourced.

BARRE — Voters in the 18-town school district that operates the Central Vermont Career Center have rejected financing a $149 million new facility.

BARRE — What they said will remain a mystery until the last of the ballots are tabulated Thursday afternoon, but voters in the 18-town Central Vermont Career Center School District have spoken with respect to a $149 million bond, which, if approved, would finance construction of a standalone, state-of-the-art center in a corner of Barre Town.

A medical issue involving a student on the way to Brookside Primary School on Tuesday morning resulted in a Waterbury bus being late on its morning route and an ambulance being called for help. The student was treated and sent home, according to school officials.

On a recent Friday night, anxious student musicians gathered backstage and their fans filled the Harwood Union High School auditorium, all in hopes of winning an exciting prize: a day in a professional recording studio, a chance to perform at Higher Ground, and the title of Battle of the Bands Champion.

The Harwood school board has tasked its Buildings and Visioning Committee with taking a deep dive into the facilities report from architectural firm TruexCullins and drafting a priority list of maintenance projects needing the most immediate attention. 

The Vt. School District Redistricting Task Force heard strong support to protect Vermont’s school choice system at a recent meeting. The panel is continuing its work to propose options for redrawing the state’s school districts.

Tuesday, Nov. 4, is Election Day, and without statewide elections this year, only a handful of items are on ballots around Vermont. 

Harwood Union Middle/High School’s annual Citrus Sale is now open for orders. 

Harwood Union High School's Theatre Department will light up the stage for performances of “Puffs,” Thursday-Saturday, Nov. 6-8. 

The Harwood School Board gets the latest enrollment data and plans to spend an hour of Wednesday’s meeting reviewing a presentation by architects, detailing maintenance needs across the district’s school buildings.

Harwood Union High School’s stage will be the battleground on Friday for the fourth annual Battle of the Bands that gathers student musicians from central and northern Vermont for competition and education.

The J. Warren and Lois McClure Foundation and the Community College of Vermont have announced an extension of a free college degree program to include students in Vermont’s high school classes of 2027 and 2028.