School news
Exploring photography in the gardens
This fall, our middle school photography students took on the challenge of turning everyday flowers into works of art. Students spent the first few weeks exploring how composition, lighting, and color affect the mood of a photograph. They practiced working both indoors with special lighting, under regular lighting, and outdoors in the school gardens, comparing the ways natural and artificial light transform an image.
As part of their learning, students experimented with unusual perspectives, framing, and angles to make their compositions more dynamic. They also developed skills in creative titling, coming up with names for their photographs that reflected the feeling or story behind the image. To wrap up the project, students participated in a classroom critique, where they practiced giving and receiving constructive feedback through our “Two Glows & a Grow” model.
The unit asked students to be both technical and creative — balancing camera skills with imagination and reflection. The results are a collection of thoughtful, expressive photographs that highlight the talent and curiosity of our young artists.
Families will have the chance to see many of these images on display at the upcoming Fine Arts Night on March 19th.
CRAFT students and teachers present at the Vermont Pollinator Working Group Conference
The Vermont Pollinator Working Group invited the CRAFT (Community and Climate Resilience through Agriculture, Forestry, and Technology) Program to present about native plant and pollinator work as part of the education track at their annual conference. The Working Group is a collaboration of nonprofits, farmers, gardeners, and policy makers working to tackle threats to pollinators in Vermont and the Northeast and is looking to expand its education initiatives.
On Friday morning, Students Maya Sluka and Schuyler Hagge along with teachers Abbie Castriotta and Samantha DeCuollo traveled to the conference at UVM where they listened to lightning talks and connected with folks doing pollinator work around the state. The CRAFT program kicked off the education presentations in the afternoon. They described the importance of pollinators and native plants in public education, how the work fits into the curriculum across many subjects and grade levels, their participation in real-world community science projects, and the joy that this place-based work brings to students. After listening to the other presentations, the group participated in a discussion on how the Working Group may be able to support pollinator education initiatives across the state. Conference attendees were inspired by the CRAFT students' work and ideas.
Schuyler Hagge and Maya Sluka
English students learn how to save seeds
Ms. Perkins's 10th grade English class is reading The Seed Keeper by Diane Wilson as part of their ongoing study of indigenous peoples in American Literature. The publisher's note states, "Weaving together the voices of four indelible women, The Seed Keeper is a beautifully told story of reawakening, of remembering our original relationship to the seeds and, through them, to our ancestors."
On October 2, Abbie Castriotta invited Sylvia Davatz to speak with the students in the library. Abbie stated, "Sylvia is an expert seed keeper, co-founder of Solstice Seeds, and specializes in growing heritage and rare varieties of grains that are hardy to our New England climate." During her talk, Sylvia encouraged students to "...listen to the things they [plants] are telling you about the conditions they are growing in." She also shared stories of exchanging seeds with people from around the world and she displayed some of the seeds she has collected. In addition to reading The Seed Keeper and attending this talk, students visited the greenhouse with Abbie to learn the basics of seed saving.
Libby, Annasophia, Ruth and Sylvia with some of her plants and see
Women Can Do field trip recap
On October 9th, the C3 Department sponsored a trip to the Women Can Do Career Conference and Expo at Vermont State College’s Randolph campus. This opportunity was open to high school female students and offered the opportunity to meet local employers, learn to use a variety of tools and equipment, and expand their sense of what’s possible in education and career pathways.
During the conference and expo, students had the opportunity to explore countless career pathways and opportunities through conversation and hands-on exploration. Participants had the opportunity to drive excavators, practice their welding, stitch a wound, and climb a tree, all while meeting with Vermont-based employers to learn more about these pathways.
Sign up now for family-teacher conferences
Sign ups are now open for Family-Teacher Conferences, held virtually on November 6 and 13th from 3:30 - 7:30 pm.
Visit https://wuhsms.meettheteacher.com to book your conference appointments. Sign in with your name, email, and your student’s name and date of birth. (If you have more than one student at WUHSMS, you can use any of your students' info to log in and book appointments for all of them.)
Only semester and year-long classes are available for conferences. If a teacher is fully booked, you will have the option to add your name to a waitlist. Once you book your appointments, you will receive a confirmation email. All virtual conferences will be held on Meet the Teacher; sign in any time to test your video and audio connection.
The 7th Grade Team will be hosting in-person student-led conferences for Science, Social Studies, Math and English classes on Nov 6 and 13th. Sign ups for these conferences are separate; look for more info in the 7th Grade Weekly Newsletter. You can sign up to meet virtually with electives teachers using the meettheteacher link above.
The 8th Grade Team is hosting in-person conferences on Nov. 13, and virtual conferences on Nov. 6. Team conferences are with Science, English, American Studies, and Math teachers. More information on the Nov. 13 in-person conferences in the 8th Grade Weekly Newsletter.
If you have trouble accessing Meet the Teacher, or have any questions, please contact Sarah Cook at sarah.cook@mtnviews.org