School news
Hunting for parabolas at Marsh Billings Rockefeller National Park
Algebra 2 students recently visited Marsh Billings Rockefeller National Park on snowshoes to look for parabolas in nature.
A parabola is the U-shaped curve that shows up when you graph a quadratic equation. Parabolas come up a lot in the real world: the path a ball takes when you throw it, the shape of a satellite dish, the curve of a suspension bridge cable. They're a useful tool for modeling how things move and behave.
The question students are exploring is whether parabolas actually appear in nature on their own. They hiked through the forest, took pictures of curves they found in branches, roots, and other natural shapes, and will bring those photos back to class to write equations and see how well the math holds up.
Thank you to Marsh Billings Rockefeller National Park and to Kat Robbins for supporting the trip.
Ms. Vonada recognized with national teaching award
Woodstock Union high school math teacher Heather Vonada was honored at the NEA Foundation's Salute to Excellence in Education Gala in Washington, D.C. on February 13.
Ms. Vonada is one of just 48 educators nationwide selected by the NEA to receive the 2026 Travelers Award for Teaching Excellence—a prestigious recognition honoring outstanding classroom practice, commitment to equity, and community engagement.
We are lucky to have her. Congratulations, Ms. Vonada!
Birds of a Feather Flock together in Eco-Art Class
In Mrs. Jimerson's Eco Art class, students enjoyed researching resident winter birds in Vermont for a recent project. To create their birds, students made homemade inks from black walnuts and berries, and created real quills using traditional methods.
Students used steel wool, sandpaper, and exacto knives to create their quills from turkey feathers, and worked together to boil and mash black walnuts into ink. Students also practiced their calligraphy writing skills in preparation for the next phase of the project. The students will be painting scientific illustrations that include written descriptions of their birds.
WUHSMS musicians participate in Connecticut Valley Honors Music Festival
Twelve musicians from WUHSMS were accepted and participated in the Connecticut Valley Honors Music Festival last weekend. This festival brings together the very best middle and high school musicians from throughout the state for a two day festival, this year hosted at Bellows Falls Union High School. The festival includes over 10 hours of rehearsal followed by a featured performance. Lia Gugliotta performed with the high school jazz ensemble and all other musicians performed with the middle school concert band. Bravo tutti!
Pictured from left to right: Josiah DeWerth, Mina Gugliotta, Izzy Gieder, Josie Flaster, Lia Gugliotta, Ava Byrne, Genevieve Williams, Norah Wolfe, Sadie Rowlee, Mari Maxham, Malina Siciliano and Anabelle Park
French 4 and AP Classes—Expression Culturelle
Nathalie Kramer's French 4 and AP classes made posters of resistance and protest for human/women's rights, the unhoused, and the environment.
The French 4 class wrote poems accompanied by drawings based on the famous French poem: Soyez Polis by Jacques Prevert—an ode to the planet and reminder of kindness toward mother earth and each other.
And in the AP French class, students made posters as an invitation to a call of awareness for the community; this was inspired by a gathering of women in Guadeloupe who formed a union and fought for their rights to be seen and heard.
