Principal's Newsletter

Unfortunately, Stephanie Green, our new 3rd grade teacher, needed to resign from her position. She had something very unexpected and rather unfortunate come up that forced her to make the difficult decision to resign. We are sorry she is faced with this setback and wish her all the best.

A new search committee was formed and we are very pleased to have found a veteran teacher with a wide variety of education experience to fill the vacancy. Her name is Peggy Dippen (“Ms. Dippen”). Peggy is very excited to be getting back into a classroom teaching position and has already started digging into the SCS third grade curriculum, programs and materials she’ll be teaching in the coming year.

I am confident Peggy will be a positive addition to our SCS staff this year. Please see the letter below that she has written to introduce herself to the parent community.

Hi Salisbury Community School families,

It's the middle of summer, the days are long and slow, and yet I already have that familiar flutter, the one that shows up whenever a new school year, and a new school community, is on the horizon. I was just hired as your new third grade teacher, and I wanted to reach out and introduce myself.

I'm so excited to be joining Salisbury Community School this fall! While I'm new to Salisbury, I'm not new to this district; many moons ago, I taught in Weybridge and Bridport, with some wonderful adventures along the way, including teaching overseas and in Colorado and Wisconsin. For the past six years, I've been back in Vermont working in education in a couple of different roles — most recently as a District SEL Coordinator, and before that as a sixth grade math teacher. Now, I'm excited to be returning to the elementary classroom, where I get to teach reading, writing, math and hands-on learning again, the work I love most!

A little about me: I care deeply about child development, and I have a real passion for reading and writing with students, alongside a strong background in math and science education. I earned my Bachelor of Science and Master of Education from Springfield College in Massachusetts, and I bring all of that , plus everything I've learned along the way into how I teach.

This summer, I'm enjoying soaking up Vermont's lush green mountains and cooling rivers, and doing a bit of traveling with my fifth grade son, Oak, before the school year begins.

For those of you with children entering third grade, I'll continue to be in touch with details about our upcoming year together, along with an invitation to a meet-and-greet before school starts.

Wishing you all a beautiful rest of your summer!

Warmly,
Peggy Dippen

There will continue to be an Extended Day Program at SCS this year, but it will be quite a bit different than last year.

What’s the same?

-The program will run from 2:45 - 3:45 at SCS when school is in session. It will not run on Early Release Days.

-The program will be capped at about 20 students daily.

-Students that reside in Ripton or live on the Ripton bus route may take the Ripton 3:45 bus home. All other students must be picked up by 3:45.

-Priority is given to families whose afternoon schedules make a 2:45 bus or pick up option difficult.

-Families need to sign up in advance to participate.

What’s different?

-Addison Central School District (ACSD) has hired an After School Program Director, Kate Cunningham, who will be overseeing the design and implementation of K-5 after school enrichment programs in Salisbury, Bridport and Cornwall.

-The program will have more structure, as well as shared supervision between a number of adults.

-The program will no longer be for unstructured play and games, but focused on academic and social-emotional enrichment.

-The program will be designed as sessions with a specific focus for 6 - 8 week cycles. The sessions may not be every day --the schedule may vary from session to session.

-Members of the school staff and/or the local community will lead interactive games and activities tailored to classroom curriculum, student needs and interests.

-Families will sign up for one session at a time, and may opt to participate in 1-2 sessions during the year or every session all year long.

-The first session will start on 9/8, the Tuesday after Labor Day.

-The Ripton 3:45 bus will only run on days when the Extended Day Program is happening.

Tentatively scheduled Back to School Open Classroom & Ice Cream Social Tuesday, August 25th

Open Classrooms 1:30 - 2:30

Ice Cream Social 2:30 - 3:15

First Day of School Wednesday, August 26th

No School Friday, September 4th and Monday, September 7th (Labor Day weekend)

Get Involved at Salisbury Community School!

Meetings are (generally) the first Thursday of every month, 6:30 - 8 PM in the library.

Feel free to contact us at: foscsvt@gmail.com with any questions or ideas.

The 2026-2027 ACSD Calendar is available and can be found on the website here.