School news
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
Junior Leah Kuhnert is State of the Union Essay Contest Finalist
Congratulations to Junior Leah Kuhnert, a finalist in the 13th Annual Bernie Sanders State of the Union Essay Contest. The contest drew essays from 382 students from 31 Vermont high schools. Leah wrote about climate change and industrial agriculture, and she shared her ideas with Senator Sanders and fellow finalists during a round table discussion in Montpelier last Saturday. After the event, Leah and her parents were interviewed by ABC 22 news. Leah’s essay will be sent to the Congressional Record.
“It’s an amazing opportunity to have a direct connection with someone who could make large-scale changes for high school students. And it’s something that I think should be done more often.”
WUHS Winter Carnival Fun
Despite the lack of a true winter, students enjoyed the blue bird day, warm temperatures and lots of activities to explore during the Winter Carnival on February 15th sponsored by the Student Council. The kick off assembly featured a lively play written by Latin students who took first place for the effort at a recent Latin Day event at UVM.
Following the assembly students migrated to their chosen activity. Many chose active events such as skating at the Arena, sledding in the Bowl or competitive dodgeball, basketball and ping pong games. Others chose more peaceful pursuits such as arts & crafts, board games, a pop up music jam, or watching a movie in the Auditorium. To top off the afternoon, many students also enjoyed hot cocoa and s’mores by the firepit outdoors or the yummy baked goods in the cafeteria, or both!!
VTLSP's P.S. I Love You Campaign returns
This week, Vermont Teen Leadership Safety Program (VTLSP) brought back their annual P.S. I Love You Campaign, a national campaign that addresses suicide prevention and mental health awareness on the second Friday of February.
As a peer leadership group, we dedicate the day to reminding everyone of their worth and the positive impact they have on our lives. Advisories took part in writing positive messages on purple post-it notes and they were all put up and displayed on Friday.
On Thursday, we brought in Grief Recovery Specialist Kyle Ludwig to offer support and suggestions on grief and loss during ARE time.
VTLSP students made S.O.S. kits or Save Our Students kits that had clay, fidget toys, and lollipops to hand out to all who attended. We also hand out purple ribbons and ask others to wear purple on Friday. For more information on this campaign, please go to: http://psiloveyouday.net/
Winter fun for 9th graders
On February 7th and 8th ninth grade students experienced the many benefits of being outside in the winter. Students had the opportunity to ice fish on Dewey's Pond in Quechee and tube at Mt. Ascutney Outdoors in Brownsville. Both trips included a lot of smiles, s'mores making, and good old fashioned fun in the snow!