School news
Introducing Spirit Club
The Spirit Club is a newly formed club for the 2025/26 school year. Led by a group of passionate students, their club mission is to encourage support of student activities and create spirit.
Pictured are two of the members who, along with the club created a poster for all Winter Sports and Arts Activities.
There is so much to be spirited about in our School.
WE ARE WOODSTOCK!
We are incredibly fortunate to have Noelle Nunes championing our students and school community. Through Noelle's dedication in organizing Spirit Club, she's empowered students to lead, build connections, and foster the spirit that makes our school special. Noelle's commitment to student voice and school pride doesn't go unnoticed—thank you for all you do to make our school a better place!
Lighting up the Innovation Lab
The High School Innovation Lab students are finishing up their projects for the semester. During quarter one and two, each student designed and built a light. The shapes of the lights are all derived from Hexagons and each student built a digital model prior to fabrication. The patterns on the surface of the lights are derived from photographs that the students took or selected. In remaining classes students are wiring multiple LED lights into their objects. We are having a lot of fun!
Art students visit the Clark Art Institute
On Thursday, November 20, the Art Department took a field trip to The Clark Art Institute in Williamstown, MA.
Students in AP Art History, AP Photography, AP Art and Advanced Art took a tour that explored the theme of Disruption and Emergence in works from the permanent collection. While in the galleries students took a close look at four different works of art, wrote poems and letters in response to those pieces and then made collages in the art studio inspired by the paintings and the themes.
About the trip, Ruth Stallard, a tenth grade student in Dr. Gravel’s AP Art History class said, “I loved going to The Clark Art Institute. Their collection was beautiful and fascinating, and the whole class was very focused and asked thoughtful questions about the art. This was one of my favorite field trips I’ve ever been on and I loved going with my class. It was a wonderful experience.”
Addison Blanchard, also in tenth grade studying Art History, commented about a specific painting. She stated, “I really liked the Women of Amphissa by Lawrence Alma-Tadema. I had seen the piece before online and had no idea it was at The Clark. I love how the artist painted the clothing and the hair of the women, and how the light was captured. It’s a big piece and there is a lot to look at and discover.”
Art students with their collages
Addison Blanchard, Nyna Lewallen and Jay Allen in the galleries
Matilda and Priscilla Richardson in the studio with their collages.
After lunch, students had time to explore The Clark’s collection. Nyna Lewallen, a tenth grade Art History student, described the work that caught her eye when she stated, “I was most drawn to Little Dancer of Thirteen Years, by Edgar Degas. As a dancer I’ve heard so much about Degas in general, but specifically about this sculpture. The girl sculpted has a feeling of calmness and relaxation, which is a stark contrast to how intense ballet can be, and it was great to see one of the renditions of this sculpture close up.”
Marlena Farinas, a senior in Ms. Jimerson’s AP Drawing class, summed up her experience by writing, “My reaction to the Clark Art Institute’s collection was wonder. It was so beautiful and had so many different and unique pieces of art. I loved so many of the different kinds of painting and textures that were in many of the artworks.” That sentiment was echoed by Zara Paczkowski, an 11 th grade student in Ms. Piana’s Advanced Studio Art, who wrote, “I felt my experience with walking through the galleries was relaxing and provided me with the opportunity to look at a variety of historical pieces. Throughout this experience, my favorite part was looking at the statues, as I loved seeing the detail and effort they put into making such realistic art works.”
Thank you so much to The Clark Art Institute for their excellent educational programming, the bus reimbursement program and to everyone who helped make this trip possible.
Joshua Byrne with his poem "Summer Squall."
Students in the European Paintings Gallery.
Maya Sluka observing Renoir's The Bay of Naples
Psychology class visits Dartmouth EEG Study Lab
The Psychology Class went on a morning field trip to the Brain Waves Recording Lab at Dartmouth College last Wednesday to visit with Professor Donna Coch and her undergraduate research assistant, Nicole. Students worked with EEG technology as part of our study of the biological bases for behavior. Electroencephalography (EEG) and Electrooculography (EOG) measure the electrical field around the brain and turn it into waves on a screen. EEG doesn’t read minds, but can tell us how active or inactive the brain is while doing certain tasks, or sleeping.
How can this be useful for psychological research? Students suggested:
Comparing introverts to extroverts as they respond to stressful situations
I would experiment with music and see how participants would react to well known and established songs, versus lesser known new releases from more obscure artists…I’m also curious about responses to different genres, and how brain waves would be different depending on if the given genre was rock or classical, or pop or jazz.
Will there ever be a use for an EEG to detect things like dyslexia in an individual?
Take a child who has a hard time focusing vs a child who can pay attention and look at their brain waves to see exactly when the child loses focus: place different stimuli in front of both and see when the child loses focus.
A few student takeaways:
“Psychology includes lots of scientific aspects.”
“The process for EEG scans is still being refined”
“Brain waves during REM sleep is identical to brain waves when you’re awake…Alpha waves happen when you are more relaxed.”
“It was really difficult for Ethan to develop any alpha waves due to his focus.”
“Psychology can be a lot more interactive than I initially realized."
MVSU Fine Arts Night
The MVSU first annual Fine Arts Night was a resounding success! The halls were filled with the sights and sounds celebrating the achievements of the actors, artists, and musicians from all of our schools.
The art galleries were bursting with enthusiasts and the performers had a packed house with standing room only! Thank you all for supporting the MVSU Fine Arts programs!