School news
Spanish students visit WES and start a virtual exchange program
Students visited Woodstock Elementary School in collaboration with Señora Gagne. They played games, read stories, and colored with Mrs. Dionne's 3rd grade class, all in the target language. High School students took the initiative to share and teach the younger students more about Spanish vocabulary, pronunciation, and words. Thank you for welcoming us WES!
Spanish IV and AP Spanish classes started their virtual exchange with a high school in Madrid called "Salesianos Paseo." They will have their second meeting to talk about the traditions and celebrations during the holidays, as well as the World Cup and more cultural differences & similarities. We are working with Raquel Morales, who is an English teacher in Madrid. We would like to thank Mr. Villanueva for connecting our schools and the cultural experience it provides for our students.
Intermediate Math Team update
The Intermediate Math Team (grades 9 and 10) won the math meet in their division yesterday at Lebanon High School! They competed against 5 other teams from other high schools in the area.
The team members include Lia Gugliotta, Jack Quicker, Dex Namkung, Aubrey Seman and Lucy Drebitko. Congratulations to our mathletes!!!!!!!!
AP Language and Composition Memoir Project
As part of a unit focused on the essential question, “How and why do we share our personal stories with society?” Ms. Hagge’s AP Language and Literature class recently completed audio projects about self-selected memoirs. Each student chose a memoir during a class visit to the library and then engaged with that book by taking notes on what the book is about, how the author uses rhetorical devices and choices to communicate their story, and why their story is impactful for a particular audience. Follow the links below to hear a sample of student projects in the form of audio book reviews and podcasts.
Ella Stainton’s podcast review of My Beloved World by Sonia Sotomayor
Brooke Hecker’s podcast review of Blowing my Cover: My Life as a CIA Spy by Lindsay Moran
Amelie Fabre’s podcast review of The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch
Delia Morgan’s podcast review of The Wind in My Hair by Masih Alinejad.
Jacob Roth’s review of The Storyteller: Tales of Life and Music by Dave Grohl
Clara Shortle’s podcast review of The Year We Disappeared by John and Cylin Busby
Farren Stainton’s podcast review of From Ashes to Life: My Memories of the Holocaust by Lucille Eichengreen with Harriet Hyman Chamberlain
Remy Malik’s podcast review of Tattoos on the Heart: The Power of Boundless Compassion by Greg Boyle
William Obbard’s review of This Time Next Year We’ll Be Laughing by Jacqueline Winspear
Logan Knox’s podcast review of Waste: One Woman’s Fight Against America’s Dirty Secret by Catherine Coleman Flowers
9th graders study connection between carbon cycle and food insecurity
How are the carbon cycle and the issue of food security related? Ask a 9th grader. They’ve been working on an interdisciplinary project this semester that culminated in several days of field work in our community. In Wellness and Modern World, students took the 3SquaresVT challenge where they worked in groups to create a menu within the budgetary constraints of this food assistance program and then analyzed it for nutritional value. This week they shopped at Hannaford’s for these food items and then delivered them to the Upper Valley Haven. Budgeting, learning food prices, menu planning, food access, and community service are all real-world skills students learned through this project.
Additionally, in their Integrated Environmental Science class, students are following their investigation of the nitrogen cycle with a deep dive into the carbon cycle. To see an example of a closed loop carbon cycle, students visited Sunrise Farm to explore nutrient cycling between vegetables and livestock and a community-scale composting system, all situated under solar panels. Farm staff discussed the pros and cons of a CSA system in the context of food access and students dug their hands into a 170 degree compost pile that instantly provided warmth on a windy 25 degree day. Bacteria is kind of amazing.
“I learned that farms and agriculture can be an important part of the solution to addressing food insecurity and supporting the carbon cycle. Farming practices that promote sustainable and efficient use of resources, such as composting and cover cropping, can help to increase the productivity of the land and reduce negative impacts on the environment.”
Vermont legislative pages 2023
Each year, thirty eighth grade Vermont students are selected by the state to work as Legislative Pages in the Vermont State House. We would like to congratulate our Woodstock pages for 2023, Adelle Danilchick and Nicholas Cellini!
The pages live and work in Montpelier for 6 weeks during the legislative session, providing support for members of the Senate, House of Representatives, and various legislative offices. Serving as a page offers a unique opportunity to observe the workings of the legislature and to witness in person the often historic events in our state capital.