Drivers who passed Epsom Central School on any of the last few Fridays may have noticed a roaring fire burning as students trotted around in snowshoes and slid down a hill in little plastic saucers.

A standard recess, this was not. Rather, students, staff, and parents were engaged in the 2025 edition of the January mini-course program, a time-honored Epsom Central tradition.

The program – which gives students at the K-8 school the opportunity to select from 32 activities, ranging from skiing to board games – started in the late 1990s, when now-second grade teacher Lynne Graham learned about a similar initiative at her son’s school.

“My son started first grade at another school, and they had this program that I just thought was so amazing,” Graham said in an interview. “… I asked the interim principal, which at that time was Phil Yeaton, if I could bring it to our school and try it, and so we started it the next year.”

Graham, who still serves as the mini-course coordinator, has shepherded the program through several different iterations over more than two decades.

At first, it occurred over five Friday afternoons and revolved exclusively around skiing at Gunstock and Pat’s Peak. Over time, the program shifted to three full days in January and the activity options grew, with some held at school and others a drive away.

Five of the activities – skiing, snowboarding, rock climbing, and sensory crafts and more – take the full day. Students who don’t choose one of those activities pick two half-day options, instead.

For students, the mini-courses serve as an opportunity to try something they might not ordinarily experience.

“I had some parents just tell me this week: If you didn’t take my kids skiing, they never would have skied,” said Graham.

Two Epsom Central students who went on to become instructors at Pat’s Peak learned to ski through the program, Graham said.

The activities are funded by parents, though the school does offer some scholarships. Seventeen of the 32 activities are free, while those that cost money range from $3 (the K-2 Playdough Party) to $420 (rentals, lessons, and lift tickets at Pat’s Peak).

Each November, Graham sends families a list of the activities for the year, which they return with their top four choices. Graham and several volunteers then engage in the frenzied process of placing students in their activities for the year.

The mini-course Fridays are a community affair, with many parents chipping in to help out. They also push students to engage across grade levels.

“It gives me an opportunity to be with the older kids, because I teach second grade,” said Graham, who leads the skiing mini-course.

For many Epsom Central students, the annual mini-courses become a highlight of their elementary and middle school experience.

“When the eighth graders are doing the yearbook, and they’ll say best memories, a lot of people put mini-courses, and that means a lot to me,” Graham said.

Jeremy Margolis can be contacted at jmargolis@cmonitor.com.