Notes From the Hilltop

List of 5 news stories.

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  Head of School Dr. Jennifer L. Zaccara Inducted into the Heads and Principals Association

  3/22/2024
  Dr. Jennifer L. Zaccara, Vermont Academy’s Head of School, was recently honored by being inducted into the Heads and Principals Association (HAPA). The association was founded in 1893, on the principle that it was to be a “unique amalgam” of the secondary schools that are serving the nation.
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  The Holiday Season at VA

  12/15/2023
  Every year I wonder how we arrived at winter break so soon! This past Wednesday night was a magical evening as I drove from spending the day with the students, faculty, and administrators at Vermont Academy at Mount Snow in time to arrive back in Saxtons River for the Geminids meteor shower. Stepping outside at 10:00 pm, I walked over to the field around our campus observatory to see a dozen shooting star-like displays in a symphony in the sky. The shower managed to appear after a snow squall laid out a blanket of an inch or two of snow.
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  Moonlight in Vermont: A Look Back at the Fall Trimester

  11/17/2023
  Dr. Jennifer L. Zaccara
  The iconic song, “Moonlight in Vermont,” is something of an unofficial state song for Vermont, and it has been made popular since 1944 by Ella Fitzgerald, Billie Holliday, Frank Sinatra, and Willie Nelson. The song does not rhyme, but each verse is a haiku.

  The first two verses are as follows:

  
  

  Pennies in a stream

  Falling leaves a sycamore

  Moonlight in Vermont

  
  

  Icy finger waves

  Ski trails on a mountain side

  Snowlight in Vermont…
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  A Sea of Stars: A Visit to Our Campus Observatory

  10/11/2023
  Dr. Jennifer L. Zaccara
  One of my favorite spots on campus is the field and orchard surrounding the observatory. I walk there often, and in the early morning, the light falls with what Emily Dickinson would say is a “certain slant,” and the views roll and undulate around and past our star gazing site. The observatory itself is a fascinating engineering feat since the roof slides open and onto a wooden prop, and inside, the telescopes sit in silence until we invade the space with a class or a group of students and faculty for an evening activity.
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  How to Support Your Child Who is New to Boarding School

  9/22/2023
  Dear Families,

  
  

  I share this blog post with you with great humility as a fellow parent. What follows are the things I have learned about letting go as a parent, and the things I remember all too well when I first went away from home myself.
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