We had a wonderful week together—and your kids were amazing.
Across four packed days, we made it to Monkey Do, Kristi’s Sugar House, MetroRock, the Bristol Pump Track, and the town skate park. We logged miles around the playground, the fields, and the terrain surrounding Bristol Elementary on an impressive array of human-powered wheels.
And then there was the mural.
Every single camper—from our youngest to our oldest, representing Bristol, Starksboro, New Haven, and Monkton—picked up a brush and brought a shared vision to life. Together, in partnership with Matt Colors the World and the Bristol Collaborative Campus (BCC), ELP campers painted a vibrant mural that now lives on the front of one of the greenhouses at BCC (140 North Street, Bristol, VT). The mural celebrates Vermont’s natural landscape and the interconnectedness of people and place. It is public art, student-driven, and rooted in rural resilience.
You’ll be able to read more about this project in next week’s Seven Days—stay tuned!
This kind of work is not just about painting walls—it’s about strengthening community. Research tells us that when students feel like they belong to a place, they are more likely to succeed academically, take pride in their surroundings, and return home as contributors (Budge, 2010; Epstein et al., 2018; Huang et al., 2011). The more we can create moments like this—where youth see themselves reflected in the spaces they live and learn—the stronger our communities become.
Thank you for sharing your kids with us. Thank you to our partners at BCC, to muralist Matt Denton for sharing his gifts, and to our staff for their steady, playful, and thoughtful leadership.
We hope you'll stop by BCC's opening weekend to take in the mural—see what your children helped create, and witness the beauty of what happens when creativity, collaboration, and belonging meet.
Warmly,Mandy Chesley-Park
Director, MAUSD Expanded Learning Program