School news
WUHSMS students present anti-bullying conference
On March 14th, a group of students gathered at Champlain College to conduct a workshop as part of the annual conference hosted by the Vermont Association for Middle-Level Education (VAMLE) on Anti-Bullying. The workshop was attended by participants from various middle-level schools across Vermont, including teachers, administrators, and students.
During the workshop, the students shared their expertise and insights on creating action plans and resources to encourage open and critical conversations within school communities. They emphasized the importance of driving social action and promoting positive change through meaningful dialogue and concrete steps toward progress. The students also presented a resource guide titled 'Vermont Students Critical Conversations Resource,' which they had created to provide valuable information and guidance for anyone seeking to initiate and facilitate critical conversations in their school community.
The workshop served as a valuable opportunity for the students to connect with others who share their passion for social justice and to inspire them to take action in their own schools and communities.
Thanks to our students Adelle Danilchek, Aidan Keough-Vella, Ava Rich, Ella Stainton, Farren Stainton, Morgan Putnem, and Owen Courcey.
Middle school winter carnival fun!
7th and 8th Grade Students and teachers enjoyed an afternoon of fun during our Middle School Winter Carnival on Thursday, March 9th.
After spirited games of students vs. faculty in dodgeball, students chose between sledding, ice skating, and indoor activities including a murder mystery, spaghetti tower building, and board games. More than 70 students took advantage of the opportunity to skate at Union Arena.
The afternoon wrapped up with the entire middle school enjoying cookies and cocoa outside in the sun.
Thanks to our middle school Student Leadership Club, Lucia Beckwith, Tilly Richardson, Nick Cellini, Julia Barry, Vasco Malik, Marshall Somerville, Jake Blackburn, Abby Kowalczyk, Morgan Darling, and Addison Tapley, for planning and organizing the Winter Carnival, as well as to Lexi Judson and Declan Haugh for helping with our snacks. It was a fantastic afternoon!
Students attend Latin Day at UVM
Woodstock students in grades 7-12 attended Latin Day at UVM and met hundreds of other students from across the state who also study Latin and the ancient world.
Students participated in various fun and educational breakout sessions, including a tour of Latin inscriptions at UVM, trivia and Latin grammar competitions, a visit to UVM’s special collections where they could see 500-year-old books, and a session on how Roman military formations worked.
Students in Latin II and IV wrote and performed a skit about Emperor Claudius battling an orca in the port of Ostia, and they got a ton of laughs and won first place! Woodstock students also received 1 silver and 2 gold medals for their participation in outdoor Olympica competitions.
Overall Woodstock earned 3rd place in the small school division! We're pretty excited about that since it was our first time (at least in recent memory) going to Latin Day, and we look forward to attending again next year! Venimus, Vidimus, Vicimus!
8th graders consider "To Kill A Mockingbird"
8th graders put the novel To Kill A Mockingbird on trial this week to decide: Should students today still have to read this book? The trial was the culmination of an investigation into classics, and when and whether they should be canceled.
Our class looked at censorship issues around the US, developed criteria for what a classic book should do, and spent several weeks reading To Kill A Mockingbird, analyzing and discussing its flaws and merits.
Students found racist content and offensive language in the book, but they also found relevant messages about tolerance and justice. They interviewed elders about their experiences with the book and read articles to try to answer the question: Is this a racist book, or a book about racism?
This week, teams of defense attorneys presented arguments to keep the book in the curriculum, while prosecutors argued for its removal. Our judges asked tough questions of both sides and reached different conclusions in each class. In the end, students used pages of To Kill A Mockingbird to create a visual representation of what they believe should happen to problematic classics.
"In the book we are constantly feeling bad for the characters we morally shouldn’t be ... the way Harper Lee writes in the people of color, she uses them as literary devices to raise the plot of the story, leaving us to feel for the wrong people." - Lexi, Prosecutor
"Racism in our nation has often been ignored and [flown] under the radar, despite being the catalyst in so many issues then and today. It’s important for us all to know this, no matter what race, as history must be remembered and not forgotten, because once something is forgotten it can happen again." -Charlie, Defense
8th grade class read “It Ain’t So Awful Falafel”
We made falafels! The 8th grade class finished the book, It Ain’t So Awful Falafel by Firoozeh Dumas about America’s relationship with Iran. The main character, an Iranian middle school-aged girl living in the US, makes the point that falafels are not traditionally Iranian but Americans often don’t know the difference. Jennifer Jabareen, one of our paraeducators, made the authentic falafel mixture and students made 3 dips. There were no leftover falafels and they got to sample some Persian ice cream flavored with saffron, rose water, and pistachios while taking their summatives this week.