There are many things we like about living in Stowe, and one of those things is the public school system. And there are many things we like about the Stowe schools, and one of those things is Friday Program.
Friday Program is an opportunity for the school kids to enjoy (mostly) winter related activities. On Friday at noon the kids leave their classrooms and head out to do their chosen activity. Each kid picks from the list of activities that include tennis, swimming, ice skating, snowshoeing, cross country skiing, downhill/alpine skiing, telemarking, and snowboarding. Each kid must participate in one activity as it is part of the school curriculum, and the kid cannot change or switch activities during the semester. Also, the kid must have all homework assignments turned in by the day before and must have good grades. Kids who do not meet the requirements have study hall instead.
Most of the kids pick skiing or snowboarding, but there are some that pick other activities. Some kids that play hockey will pick ice skating, for example. And some kids get enough skiings and snowboarding on the weekends that they prefer doing something else like swimming for Friday Program.
Rowan picked snowboarding for Friday Program this year. This is a great opportunity for him to not only improve his snowboarding skills but to also ride with classmates. Rowan’s group is riding Mansfield this year. Mansfield is the more challenging side of Stowe Mountain Resort. Getting to ride and explore Mansfield in a non-lesson with classmates is definitely going to boost Rowan’s confidence. In fact, we did a few runs yesterday with Rowan after picking him up from Friday Program and his confidence has already improved. He was riding faster and taking trails that he would not do just a couple of weeks ago. And best of all he was having a blast the whole time.
Many thanks to Stowe Elementary School and to the parents who volunteer their time to make Friday Program happen.