Dear Raptor Families,

I am honored to work alongside an accomplished and dedicated team of educators here at Rivendell Academy and to have time for professional learning and intentional dialogue. Lately, our in-service work has yielded exceptionally rich and thoughtful conversations.

Our tour of the four Rivendell towns earlier this month encouraged us all to look at our teaching practices from an "outside-in" perspective. Building on that momentum, a recent professional development session on Artificial Intelligence (AI)—generously provided by SME Principal Marla Ianello—has us thinking deeply about how our school must adapt to prepare students for an AI-saturated world.

As you can imagine, AI will be an ongoing and substantial area of focus across the entire field of education. In the near future, we will invite you to join us in these vital considerations and conversations. For now, our focus remains solidly on building the essential skills, habits of mind, and community connections our students need before they venture into that particular “great beyond,” while ensuring they are fully equipped to take that next step.

There is nothing constant but change. Please rest assured that you have an outstanding group of educators ready to partner with you and your children for the exciting challenges ahead.

Yours gratefully,

Joy Clancy

Rivendell Academy teachers used an October in-service day to travel from Vershire to Orford, stopping in each Rivendell community to hear from a resident ambassador. Here are just a few of the observations and reflections we gathered after taking in this very full day’s experience.

“A large percentage [of our students] come from families that value their local heritage, value the natural world, and value service to communities and academics.”

“Our students are a mixed group with “community” as a foundation in all their lives. Despite the differing opinions of their residents, the towns are like siblings: different with shared DNA.”

“Students are from all walks of life, but rural life is a constant for all. It takes a while to get from Point A to Point B. Community seems to be important to most. Neighbors knowing each other and helping one another out.”

“Get outside on the trails. Connection to nature!”

“The economic history of this area is really interesting. I wonder about a math/social studies project exploring population changes (particularly growth then decline) through the 18th-19th century and how that tied to mining and agriculture.”

“Most students’ day to day lives are greatly affected by where they live. Many students face difficulties with transportation (for example, how far it is to Vershire) while others struggle with procuring materials for projects or activities.”

“The communities are rich in people as resources–guest speakers–writers, indigenous people, artists, historians.”

“I want to make community connections so it feels like the school is part of the community and vice versa.”