School news
Many 'Big Stories, Small Sentences: Room 206'
There's a new book in the school library, and it was written by students right here at WUHS.
Brenna Bridwell's class spent six weeks mastering one of the most deceptively simple forms in writing: the six-word story. The format asks writers to say something true and complete in just six words — no more, no less. Every student contributed a story, and together they became Big Stories, Small Sentences: Room 206.
A few that will stay with you:
If Heaven had a phone number...
One man's joy; Another man's sorrow.
The book is available in the school library for anyone in the community to read.
WUHS artists featured in Vermont's 250th anniversary exhibition
Eight WUHS artists are currently showing their work in Unfinished Revolutions, the Vermont 250th Art Exhibition on display at the State House Cafeteria Gallery in Montpelier. We're proud to have so many of our students represented in this statewide celebration of Vermont art.
Our artists: Calvin Lehouiller, Charleigh Parker, Matilda Richardson, Broder White, Agnes Kardashian, Adelle Danilchick, Zara Paczkowski, and Daxton Redmond.
The exhibit is free and open to the public weekdays from 8:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m. through March 27.
Up to three works will be selected by the Vermont State Curator for permanent inclusion in the Vermont State Art Collection — a remarkable honor for any young artist. Selections will be announced at the Closing Reception on March 26, 3:30–5:30 p.m. Come see our students’ work on display at the State House.
My unfinished revolution focuses on the ongoing challenge of retaining people in Vermont, especially young adults who have their entire futures ahead of them. Many young people are leaving Vermont in search of better opportunities elsewhere. This issue matters deeply to my generation because choosing to stay can help strengthen Vermont’s declining workforce and support essential public services such as schools and healthcare both of which are vital to the well-being of our communities. This piece serves as a call to action, encouraging younger generations in Vermont to invest their futures in the state rather than looking elsewhere.
I chose to express my vision through strong visual symbolism. The image of a car driving away past a “Leaving Vermont” sign represents the growing number of residents moving out of the state. The car has a Vermont license plate to emphasize that the driver is a lifelong Vermonter, and a University of Vermont sticker to show that they pursued higher education in-state. In the distance, a city skyline symbolizes their destination and the promise of “better opportunities.”
- Tilly Richardson
“My unfinished revolution is about the ongoing decline of Vermont’s moose population. Shorter winters have allowed winter tick numbers to rise, especially in areas with high moose density. A single moose can carry up to 90,000 ticks, leading to severe illness and often death. This crisis matters because moose are an essential part of Vermont’s ecosystem. If left unchecked, tick populations will continue to grow, and Vermont will continue to lose its moose.”
- Agnes Kardashian
“My unfinished revolution focuses on mental health in Vermont. Teens in particular have been increasingly affected by mental health struggles, leading to rising rates of depression and suicide.
My artwork portrays how overwhelming it can feel to face your own mind. It shows how small and helpless these struggles can make a person feel - as if there is no escape. I used dark tones and a shadowed theme to create a mood that reflects depression and emotional weight. The large, dark figure in the center symbolizes the power of the mind and how massive an obstacle it can become at times.
I hope my audience feels the heavy, ominous atmosphere of the piece. I want viewers to gain a sense of what it is like for those who battle mental health challenges in silence. That idea of struggling unseen is why I chose to title my work Shadows.”
— Calvin Lehouiller
Championships for two winter sport teams
The Girls Nordic Ski Team claimed the Vermont Division II Nordic Ski Championship, a hard-earned title that reflects the dedication and teamwork the squad has brought all season long.
The Girls Snowboarding Team also took home the team state championship at Jay Peak — with Bonnie Kranz and Lia Gugliotta earning the title of overall top female snowboarder, a proud accomplishment for the whole team.
Congratulations to all of our athletes, coaches, and supporters. The whole community is proud of you!
Spirit team celebrates fellow students
Members of the Spirit Team made poster for upcoming Sports and YOH theater.
It has been a wonderful winter season of spirit, celebrating and supporting all the activitiies in our school!
WE ARE WOODSTOCK!
9th graders cultivate empathy and understanding through food insecurity project
Written by 9th graders Aven Westbrook, Kasia Sluka, Sawyer Brown, and Charlie Bordeauxl
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Over the past few weeks, Woodstock Union High School freshmen have been researching and learning about food insecurity in Vermont. Along the way, we have been given many opportunities to listen to guest speakers, partake in discussions, do hands-on activities, and go on field trips. This unit was designed to inform and help us act upon the problem of food insecurity, not only in our close community, but in the whole state of Vermont.
Starting in Modern World History class, we learned about root causes of food insecurity globally. After a few classes, we started to dive deeper into the cost of living in Vermont and how that may affect food security. First, teachers wanted to bring awareness to the subject on a global scale. In the class called ‘Modern World History’, we followed a walk around activity with posters full of data from 10 different countries. We were asked to record the total food cost and how many people were in each family. This helped us get a larger scale idea of everything before zooming in to Vermont. In our Wellness class, we started our discussion by investigating daily nutrition needs, which led to the effects of poor nutrition. From here, we discussed solutions.
Molly Fielder ‘29 and Charlie Davis ‘29 work together to prepare soup
Two representatives from Hunger Free Vermont joined us to present about programs like SNAP and more local branches of it, like Hunger Free Vermont and 3 Squares VT. This presentation provided statistics about the amount of hunger being faced in our small state. They were open to clarifying questions as well as deeper discussion questions, which gave my peers and us a new understanding of this growing problem.
The next step of this unit was action. Our goal was to help support people who are food insecure in their community. In our Wellness class, we learned about the different food groups and how people don’t always have access to them, which is also a way of being food insecure. Afterwards, we were prompted to create a shopping list with a required number of items in each food group and a budget of $75 (the same amount as weekly SNAP benefits for a qualifying family of 2). We made and printed out lists and were ready for the next step. To help us better understand the topic, our teachers organized field trips so students could directly help the situation instead of watching from afar.
One portion of our field work took place at the Upper Valley CO-OP food store, where we were buying food and checking prices, how nutritious it was and if it was enough for the amount of people we were shopping for. All the groups did lots of math in this process and most groups stayed on budget; if you were over $75 you would work as a team to figure out what to put back. After buying our food, we got back on the bus and drove to the Upper Valley Haven where we donated a total of 247 pounds of food and got a tour of the operations and food market.
Meanwhile, at the Billings Farm and Museum, we learned about the history of farming and agriculture businesses, before competing in a light-hearted, 3 team quiz about making food like butter. Most pom-poms to win! We then broke off into cooking groups. In these groups we made butter, applesauce, and soup. We donated our hand-churned butter and carefully crafted applesauce to the Woodstock Community Food Shelf and our soup to the local Meals on Wheels program through the Thomson Senior Center.
Food insecurity is a huge problem in the United States and around the world. It can seem so out of reach to make a real impact, but even a small donation to the Haven or standing up for SNAP benefits can go a long way. This project made learning about a serious topic fun and engaging while still focusing on the big picture. We think it’s cool that every 9th grader gets to do this project. The 9th grade class was so glad that they could have such a positive impact on food insecurity and hopes that others feel inspired to engage in the topic and help people live longer, healthier lives.