School news
What happens when a photographer can’t see?
This week, photography students traded their eyes for their other senses!
We began by learning about Pete Eckert, a professional photographer who is completely blind, and exploring the idea of the mind’s eye. His work challenged us to think differently about photography. Does a photographer actually need to see to create an interesting photograph? And is a great photograph always about making a “pretty picture”? Watch the video about his work with Volkswagen here.
Then it was time to find out for ourselves! Students worked in pairs and took turns being blindfolded while their partner served as a “seeing-eye human” to help them safely navigate the school campus. The photographer, however, was on their own when it came to making the art. Instead of looking for something interesting, students had to listen, feel, smell, and even taste their surroundings, using those sensory clues to decide where to point their cameras and when to press the shutter. The lesson challenged students to experiment, take creative risks, and experience familiar surroundings in an entirely different way.
Most importantly, students discovered that photography is for everyone. Pete Eckert's work reminds us that having a disability does not prevent someone from being an artist. There isn't just one way to experience the world, and there isn't just one way to make a photograph.
Afterward, students looked at what their cameras captured, selected their favorite images, and reflected on what it felt like to photograph without relying on sight. During our critique, we'll even identify which sensory experiences seem strongest in the resulting photographs.
Sometimes taking away the ability to look helps us learn how to really see.
Magistra Allen attends an NEH Summer Institute
This summer Magistra Sarah Allen attended an incredibly engaging summer institute sponsored by the National Endowment for the Humanities titled "The Ancient Olympics and Daily Life in Ancient Olympia: A Hands-On History" at Monmouth College in Monmouth, Illinois.
During this jam-packed two-week professional development opportunity Magistra Allen was one of about two dozen K-12 educators who learned about and then tried out all of the ancient events in the Olympics, and also learned so much more about the technology of various aspects of daily life. These included weaving and writing technology, the complex science behind ancient pottery firing techniques, ancient and sustainable farming practices and beekeeping, cheese-making, and much more! She made ink out of oak galls, completed some simple weaving projects, made pottery, won the stade race among the female participants, threw a discus and javelin, served as a horse in a "chariot", and got to feel a little like an archaeologist. She also got interested in ancient security practices, and hopes to pursue further research on aspects of ancient locks and locking technology. All participants were instructed in engaging hands-on activities by experts, and Magistra is aiming to bring lots of what she did and learned into her classes this year, so her students can have as much fun as she did.
If you would like to learn more about this wonderful opportunity, you can also check out this news article from the River Cities' Reader by a local journalist, or check out an interview from the Monmouth public radio station that features Magistra, two other participants, and the directors of the program. This is a link to the news podcast episode on Spotify (Magistra Allen talks about her experience at about minute 9:20), and this has a very brief written summary of what was talked about in the interview and includes a fun picture from the radio booth. Big thanks to the National Endowment for the Humanities for making this all possible!
Class of 2027 meets up at sunrise
On September 1st, the senior class had their Senior Sunrise! They gathered at the school. played some games and then watched the sunrise together.
Native and pollinator plant sale
The Woodstock Union High School Agriculture Department will host our third annual Native Plant Sale this fall! The sale will run from 9am to 6pm Monday, September 21st, 9am-2pm Tuesday, September 22nd, and 9am-2pm on Wednesday, September 23rd. If these dates do not work for you, please contact Abbie (abbie.castriotta@mtnviews.org) to set up an appointment to shop for your plants.
We have over 50 different species for sale this year! New this year, you will also be able to place a pre-order for bare root trees and shrubs which you can pick up later in the fall. Students in the agriculture classes collected seeds for many of these plants last fall, planted them in pots to cold stratify over the winter, and cared for and divided them over the spring and summer. Now they are ready to be planted into your garden! Fall is a great time to plant native plants because the soil and temperature in the fall provide ideal conditions for new root growth without the stress of summer heat. You are also more likely to remember where the gaps were in your garden this summer. Next spring, the plants will come back strong and ready to bloom.
Native plants are the keystone species for our local food webs. By planting native plants, you are providing food and habitat for insects, birds, and other wildlife. They are adapted to live in our local ecosystems and, therefore, require less maintenance, less water, and no fertilizer. And they are beautiful! For more information about native plants check out the Homegrown National Park Project.
You can check out our tentative plant list and learn more about our CRAFT (Community and Climate Resilience through Agriculture, Forestry, and Technology) program at Woodstock Union HS visit www.wuhsmscraft.org. Click on the “plant sale information” tab to see the plant list. We are offering the native plants at a sliding scale cost ($0 - $15). We estimate that it costs us approximately $5 to grow each native plant though to buy the same plant through a nursery would likely cost $10-$20. All proceeds directly benefit the Woodstock Union Agriculture Department. Your support helps to ensure that our greenhouse and gardens are thriving spaces where we can continue to teach and learn about agriculture, stewardship, sustainability, and systems thinking through experiential learning. We take cash or checks. The sale will take place behind the Woodstock Union High School (100 Amsden Way, Woodstock, VT). Enter from route 4 and drive around the right side of the school to park near the bus barn and the football field. Please bring a cardboard box or tray.
Prehistoric Caves: AP Art History
What better way to begin AP Art History than by stepping back in time? On the first day of class, our art room was transformed into a prehistoric cave as students explored art created before the written record.
As we studied these early cultures, we talked about an important idea: the absence of writing does not mean the absence of intelligence, organization, creativity, or complex thought. Long before written histories, humans were making images, creating objects, and communicating ideas through art. This ability to intentionally create and preserve meaning through images and objects is one of the extraordinary characteristics of being human. Art gives us a window into what people valued, believed, experienced, and wanted others to remember.
That is what makes AP Art History so exciting. Students learn to slow down and really look, notice details, question assumptions, make connections, and support their ideas with evidence. Those skills extend far beyond art and history and are valuable for future doctors, lawyers, scientists, and anyone whose work requires careful observation and critical thinking.
And art history doesn't happen only in our classroom! Students have opportunities to experience art firsthand at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; The Clark Art Institute; Marsh-Billings-Rockefeller National Historical Park; and the Hall Art Foundation. Seeing an artwork in person allows students to experience its scale, texture, space, and presence in a way a screen simply can't replicate.
Our prehistoric cave was just the beginning. In AP Art History, we don't just learn about the past. We learn to look closely at what people left behind and discover the human stories they still have to tell.