Seventh‑graders to launch student‑built plateau boat in Round Pond after yearlong project

Marshall Flowers, an English and social‑studies teacher, told the Bristol School Board that seventh‑grade students are scheduled to launch a student‑built plateau — a traditional small boat — in Round Pond on May 20.

“The seventh graders were set to collaborate this year with a local master ship builder named Rob Stevens,” Flowers said, describing a multi‑month, hands‑on project that combined carpentry skills with social‑studies work about early Native American watercraft and Benedict Arnold’s 1775 expedition. Flowers said the class used historically styled tools and visited a local carpenters’ workshop where students learned planing, sanding and caulking.

Students who spoke at the meeting emphasized the experiential learning. One student said the work was “completely new for most of us” and described learning teamwork and traditional tool use in the shop. Flowers said the boat was “more or less finished yesterday” and crews had caulked seams to make it watertight.

The teacher said organizers plan a short launch at Round Pond starting about 8:30 a.m. on May 20 and that the boat will be displayed at the school for students before a museum accepts it for long‑term care. The project includes a short slideshow the students presented to the board and opportunities for other grades to see the finished craft.

School leaders framed the project as a cross‑curricular effort intended to teach history, craftsmanship and collaboration. The board did not take formal action on the presentation beyond thanking the students and teacher for their work.