student experience
Students at Cabot School have access to a wide range of opportunities, academically, creatively, athletically, and socially.
Project-Based Learning
We work to ensure that all learning is rigorous and relevant to students through projects that are aligned to state and national standards. As a Pre-K to 12 school, Cabot aligns academic programs across the grades. We infuse arts and technology into all we do so that students are prepared as creative and innovative citizens in a global world.
What is PBL?
Projects ask students to to solve real-world problems and explore complex questions over an extended period of time, from a week up to multiple trimesters. Students then demonstrate and share their knowledge and skills by creating a public product or presentation for an authentic audience.
Why PBL?
Projects promote active engagement and provide real-world relevance for learning. When students work to solve problems that are important to them and their communities, they develop deep content knowledge as well as critical thinking, collaboration, creativity, communication skills, and a sense of self efficacy and accountability.
Music
Music is an integral part of the culture at Cabot School, offering students opportunities for content exploration and self-expression.
Evolving Opportunities
Starting in preschool, students experiment with the basics of rhythm and harmony. As they age, musical instruction becomes increasingly more complex and collaborative.
Middle school students are able to take individual music lessons and join the band and chorus. In high school, these opportunities continue and expand into deeper interdisciplinary explorations of music, humanities, and science. A strong emphasis is placed on providing authentic, “real world” opportunities for our students to share and perform their music.
Gamelan
Cabot School is home to Gamelan Sulukala, a Javanese gong and chime percussion orchestra. Sulukala is only one of roughly 100 hundred gamelan ensembles in North America where we learn and perform both traditional and contemporary compositions for gamelan.
Art
Lower Grades
Our younger students use visual art as an opportunity to engage in imaginative play, exploration, and fine motor development and to work on social-emotional skills like sharing, collaborating, and taking responsibility for their tools and work spaces. As students gain experience, they iterate on ideas and begin to make work with purpose and meaning.
Upper Grades
Our older students focus on creating more refined and complex works of art through critique and revision. They are able to examine and reflect on their own process and work. Students learn about both traditional and contemporary artists from a variety of cultures, evaluating and analyzing the impact of an artist’s choices. Classes also spend time considering how visual art can be used to affect social change.
For high schoolers who would like to delve deeper into an artistic discipline, Advanced Studio Art allows students to work on long-term projects of personal interest.
Wellness
Our wellness program aims to help students feel their best, perform better in school, and build lifelong healthy habits.
Physical Education
Physical education provides cognitive skills and instruction designed to develop gross/fine motor skills, knowledge, and behaviors for physical activity and physical fitness. We use an array of new and old games/activities to keep students engaged and active. Students have PE at least three times a week to establish a routine and provide students with the ability and confidence to be physically active for a lifetime.
Outdoor Opportunities
At Cabot we are lucky to use the environment around us to get outside and get moving. Students participate in many outdoor activities throughout the year, including hiking trails around Cabot and cross-country skiing at Craftsbury. We are looking to expand our winter wellness program in the upcoming years to include downhill skiing, skating, snowshoeing, fat biking and more.
Community
The Cabot School community is all about cross-campus connection and support. We believe that fostering a strong community is the essential base for a successful school.
Crew
Crew is a structure for building relationships, supporting academic progress, and developing character. Students meet four times a week, incorporating support into students’ school day. Activities range from team building to preparing for student-led conferences. Our multi-year structure allows students to build positive, lasting connections with their peers and with their crew leaders.
Buddy Crews
In addition to our usual crew structure, students in different age bands often join up for buddy crew activities. These activities can include hiking, skiing, playing board games, reading books, doing community service, and more.
Athletics
Philosophy
Cabot students join Twinfield Union School for athletics. The general philosophy of the TUS Athletic Department is based on the premise that the athletic experience should be an important educational opportunity. Students athletes develop lifelong social, emotional, and moral skills.
While striving to achieve excellence in terms of individual and team success is a key goal, sportsmanship and participation are equally significant objectives. The goal is to have student athletes experience enjoyment, competition, and camaraderie while making a commitment to their team, school and community. Participation in the athletic program at TUS is a privilege, not a right; a privilege that demands commitment, a strong work ethic, and a desire to compete at a high level.
Offerings
Fall: Soccer & Cross Country
Winter: Basketball
Spring: Baseball & Softball
After-School Programs
Cabot’s after-school programs allow elementary school children to explore interests and develop skills through participation in weekly clubs. Middle and high schoolers gain leadership skills and take part in community service by serving as after-school facilitators. They work with adult educators from both Cabot School and community organizations to lead clubs. In this way, the after-school programs aims to build relationships between older and younger students, between teachers and student facilitators, and between the school and community.
Students in grades one through six may participate in after school up to four days a week (except for Wednesdays). Recent offerings have included robotics, dance, theater, music performance, crafts, art, books and the outdoors, an array of sports, Vermont Abenaki heritage, and science and nature at Fairbanks Museum & Planetarium in St. Johnsbury. The after-school day also includes less structured times for snack, games, coloring, and reading. Learn more about our offerings here.
Food
Farm to School
Our Food Service program is driven and supported by the Farm to School network. Our chef, Brock, works hard to ensure that students receive nutritious food that is locally sourced when possible. Our school gardens provide students with enriching curricular connections and a glimpse into where their food comes from. We are committed to ensuring that all students have access to high quality food.
Food Service at School
We serve high quality food in a calm, friendly environment. Many meals include homemade soup and freshly harvested vegetables from local farms and our own gardens.
All Cabot School students receive free breakfast and lunch each day. A selection of a la carte items, including healthy, crunchy snacks, are available to older students (Grades 5-12) for a small charge as we are unable to obtain state reimbursement for these items.
You can find our breakfast and lunch menus here.
Get in touch
If you have questions about our school or are interested in enrolling, please reach out.