School news
8th grader Lylah Zeitlin wins Hildene Essay Contest
Congratulations to Lylah Zeitlin, who won 1st place for Region 4 in this year's Hildene Essay Contest. The contest is held annually by the Lincoln Family Home in Manchester, and is open to 8th graders across Vermont. This year's prompt asked students to address censorship; choosing a frequently challenged book to read, imagining that it has been challenged in their school library, and advising the organization on whether to remove or keep the title.
Lylah used her essay to build a compelling argument for keeping Art Spiegelman’s Maus, on library shelves. Maus is a Holocaust survivor's tale that is frequently challenged for violence and sad themes. "Comfort shouldn't take precedence over the truth," Lylah wrote, concluding, "We read harder books to become better readers; we read sadder books to become better people."
Lylah will travel to the Lincoln Family Home on May 21st to receive her $500 prize.
Special congratulations to all the WUHSMS 8th graders who participated in this year's Hildene contest: Nick Cellini, Hailey Dow, Aiden Helm, Philip Holland, Coby McGaffigan, Timmy Moore, Haakon Oates, and Luke Pomeroy.
Out of 198 entries, Luke's essay also made it to the final round, earning a special commendation from the judges.
Class of 2027 heads to Montpelier
Last week the 8th Grade Class visited the Vermont Supreme Court, Vermont Historical Society Museum, and the State House in time to see 8th grader Nick Cellini on his last day of work as a Vermont Legislative Page.
Students were greeted in the Supreme Court by Woodstock graduate Justice Harold Eaton (Class of 1973) and they participated in a mock trial based on an actual case. They took a self-guided tour of the Vermont Historical Society Museum, and were able to see their town representatives in the House as they observed them in session during their tour of the State House. One group of students was greeted by a few of their legislators for lunch and had a chance to ask questions and have conversation. Interestingly, a student question that turned into a point of discussion was whether any money from the large federal infrastructure bill would trickle down to local school districts for school renovations or rebuilds.
This was our first field trip to Montpelier since Covid and we hope to resume making it an annual tradition for the 8th Grade Class!
C.R.A.F.T. hosts mushroom cultivation workshop
C.R.A.F.T. was super excited to host David Andrews (Class of 2012) and his partner Erin Donahue along with Phil Rice from Cobb Hill to lead our students in a mushroom cultivation workshop.
David first learned how to grow mushrooms as a student at WUHS at Cobb Hill, and has since gone on to own and run his own very successful vegetable and mushroom farm in Maine, Tiny Acres Farm. This was a true partnership venture, as Field and Forest Products donated the mushroom spawn and Pat Bartlett donated the sugar maple logs.
David, Erin, and Phil lead the students in a 'drill, fill, and seal' process to inoculate 60 logs with shiitake and chestnut mushroom spores. We also learned about mushroom varieties, economics, and ecological benefits. We are planning on a big harvest in the spring of 2024, so patience is also emphasized!
A big shout out to Kevin Nunan for helping us move and store the logs too!
Migrant Justice presents "Milk With Dignity"
On Thursday morning, two representatives from Migrant Justice visited our library on their Milk With Dignity tour of New England. The Milk With Dignity Tour was designed to bring awareness of immigrant dairy workers' working conditions and their call for human rights while calling on Hannaford supermarkets to "source its store-brand milk from farms where workers' human rights are independently monitored and protected, and the long-term interests of farm owners are supported."
There were over eighty students in attendance from Ms. Megyesi's Spanish class and Ms. Jimerson and Ms. Piana's middle school Art classes, the largest audience they have had so far on their Milk With Dignity Tour of New England. The presentation by Migrant Justice is part of our programming for the Vermont Reads book, The Most Costly Journey: Stories of Migrant Farmworkers.
The presenters, Madeline and Abel, brought a new awareness to our students today about their work, human rights and activism. Members of the Social Action Club were in the audience including Ella and Farren Stainton. Farren said, "I had no idea of the mistreatment of migrant workers for milk until the presentation. I am really grateful I got to learn about this movement's action." And Ella said, "After learning about Milk With Dignity I was motivated to get involved in the movement, making sure to sign a postcard before I left the presentation."
Students visit the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston
Students in Advanced Art, AP Art History, AP Drawing and Latin visited the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston on March 27th. Some students went on a guided tour that focused on several different works of art made from a variety of media and from a variety of time periods and places. The docents engaged the students in meaningful conversations that related to identity, culture, artistic expression and visual stories. All were impressed by the power of Turner’s Slave Ship. Magistra Allen’s students also worked to complete a scavenger hunt in Latin about different works of art in the Egyption, Greek, and Roman sections of the museum. Students also had some time to explore the exhibits on their own, and during this time the art students had the opportunity to sketch inspiring works of art.