CRAFTSBURY — Craftsbury students held a mock town meeting on Monday, February 16, learning how their voices contribute to the school community.
The meeting was facilitated by Craftsbury town moderator Jeannine A. Young and fifth-grade student co-moderator Hyla Thompson. Craftsbury town officials, including town clerk Michelle Warren, supported the event.
Students opened with the Pledge of Allegiance, and community member Don Houghton led students in a song about town meeting. Thompson then called the meeting to order with a tap of the gavel.
Students were presented with two articles for discussion and voting.
First, they decided whether to dedicate May 29 to planting the school garden instead of the already scheduled community service activity of greening up the Minden playground and painting the fence on the common. Students discussed various pros and cons of each experience, including asking if they could paint the common fence blue.
An amendment to the article was proposed by fourth-grader Lincoln Robillard, and students voted to split the afternoon between both community service activities. The common fence will be painted white.
Second, students weighed the decision of using $100 currently allocated for ice cream making for field day to instead buy supplies for a grades 3-5 afternoon dedicated to an art project. After discussion, including the importance of having a cool treat on a hot day, students voted to continue with ice cream making this year.
