In this week's From the Library newsletter learn about the next Faculty/Staff Bookclub pick titled The Fury by Alex Michaelides, see a display of Holocaust memoirs that English 1 students will be reading, enjoy some photos from the Library Easter Egg Hunt and save the date for the workshops with the Dance Theatre of Harlem on April 18.
Please remember to return your overdue books, renew the books you need more time to read and pick out some new spring reads. Have a great spring break!
The CRAFT/Agriculture Program is hiring two student interns to help with the school gardens and greenhouses this summer. This will be a great opportunity to learn more about farming, gardening, and project management while making some extra money. See the application for more information. Fill out the application (make your own copy of it) and return to Abbie Castriotta (abbie.castriotta@mtnview.org) via email or paper copy. Questions? Email Abbie or stop by the Agriculture Room.
U.S. History students celebrated 1920s arts, music, and culture in class. Each student conducted research and wrote about one prominent person from the 1920s, highlighting works of art created by those individuals during the Harlem Renaissance. Students shared poems, paintings, sculptures, novels, speeches, and essays with their classmates during the class celebration. Additionally, students learned how to dance the Charleston!
9th Grade Wellness students just finished the annual Stanley Cup Tournament. The tournament took several class periods and ARE time slots to determine an overall winner. It was a hard fought battle, but in the end Addy Tucker, Amelia Hurd, Timmy Moore, and Nick Cellini emerged from the bracket and got to put their names on the cup as 2024 champions. These students will also get their chance to take down the teacher team in the coming weeks.
This week, the 9th grade Integrated Environmental Science (IES) class invited guest visitor Kyle Burton to engage students in an exciting presentation about salamanders–an important vernal pool apex predator and bioindicator species–in order to supplement our current studies on Ecosystems & Citizen Science.
Kyle has always been an outdoor person. As a teen, he developed a love for zoology and sought out various volunteer opportunities. He attended Mizzou as an undergraduate and UC Denver, where he received a graduate degree in Geographic Engineering Systems. Currently, Kyle serves as a Science In Parks (SIP) intern through USGS, which works in conjunction with Americorp.
To prepare for his visit, students individually researched and reported out on frogs/toads and salamanders that are native to Vermont. Presentations included information about the amphibian’s visual identification, range and habitat, energy sources, winter survival strategies and breeding behavior. After break, students will build on their initial research by engaging in the Salamander Monitoring Project at Marsh Billings National Historical park. Engaging in this project serves to provide context to changing forest structures as the climate changes, including understanding salamanders’ role as a bioindicator species. In addition, students will engage in an authentic citizen science opportunity that will help to shape conservation efforts to support salamander breeding habitats.
In late April, the 9th grade students will be taking a field trip to three arrays within the Marsh Billings forest to monitor Eastern Red-Backed Salamander populations. Marsh Billings National Historical Park offers a unique habitat for 6 salamander species, including the endangered Jefferson Salamander; its unique hemlock-dominated stand, coupled with vernal pools, offers a stronghold for this population. Stay tuned for more information and additional volunteer opportunities in which you and your family can engage.
Woodstock students in grades 7-12 who are studying Latin and ancient Rome attended Latin Day at UVM on March 26th. Students participated in various fun and educational breakout sessions including a tour of the Fleming Museum, a visit to UVM’s special collections, a session on how Roman military formations worked, and more. Students in Latin I-III wrote and performed a skit (titled "Apud Nos" - "Among Us") based on this year's theme of "Elections". We were the only school to do our play completely in Latin and got a lot of gasps and laughs. We won second place in the skit contest and got to perform it a second time. Nick Cellini and Finn Farrell represented us in the pool-noodle gladiator fight, and were victorious. Remy Malik also represented Woodstock in the Classical Trivia challenge. She was part of one team that made it to the final competition, and in that public competition she was the first to answer a question correctly. All in all we had a great day and look forward to attending next year!
Kody Latiegne, Riley O'Neal, and Joaquin Jones-Welker witnessed a potentially historic vote from the seats of the Vermont Senate Chambers as the Senate voted 21-5 to advance a bill that would establish a Climate Superfund that Vermonters could use to pay for natural disasters caused by climate change by taxing major fossil fuel producers. These CRAFT students were at the statehouse with 40 students from five other schools as part of a Youth Lobby day. Students observed the opening portion of the House session, stood in solidarity with student speakers at a press conference, and then met with Representative Buss and Senator White to discuss proposed amendments to the Renewable Energy Standard. The day was empowering and energizing, as indicated by Kody: "I learned that I can actually make a potential difference in how a bill is worded just by calling and asking questions."
WUMS QSA students put hours of time and energy into a program they developed called, "Live Your Life". Big goal: To increase empathy and promote positive social interaction in our middle school by helping people get to know each other’s stories. They led a presentation each day during Connections Time this week to address tough topics with group activities. Students in the 7th and 8th grade were mixed into 7 different groups. They also designed and made buttons and a resource brochure. The Woodstock Inn supported our group by helping with the costs of white carnation flowers that were offered at the end of an assembly presentation to students. Three other important middle school QSA members were absent for the group picture.
