School news
WUHS Spanish Club visit students at WES
Members of the WUHS Spanish Club visited Lauren Gagne’s students at WES and shared games and cultural activities. Fifty elementary school students rotated between a quick soccer game, a matching game with fall activities in Spanish, making traditional tissue-paper flowers and learning colors as they colored calaveras. “It was an incredible experience” said Lauren Gagne “the students talked about it all afternoon” after the visit.
WUHS is a member of the national Sociedad Honoraria Hispánica. Candidates and current members of the honor society complete at least three cultural ambassador activities during the school year to promote the Spanish language and cultures of spanish-speaking countries. Anna Megyesi and Luis Villanueva are the advisors of the club.
The latest Integrated Environmental Science news
This week in Integrated Environmental Science, 9th graders researched and shared information pertaining to a forest pest of their choice. Forest pests included Asian Jumping Worms, the Asian Longhorned Beetle, Spongy Moths, Winter Moths, the Emerald Ash Borer, the Hemlock Woolly Adelgid, and the Butternut Canker! Forest pests, including invasive species, have the ability to drastically change the forest ecosystem. They can have far-reaching impacts on our environment and economy, including negative impacts on human agriculture, recreation and health. See pictures from our student presentations below.
VTLSP's Red Ribbon Week
Students participated in VTLSP's Red Ribbon Week throughout the week. Some of the events included free Red Empire Apples from Woodstock Farmers' Market for Nutrition Day and entering a drawing for four $10 Amazon Gift cards. Students wrote their "Natural High" which included some responses such as: "Going for hikes with my dog", "Horseback Riding", "Soccer, Reading, and Traveling", "Playing Tennis", "Working", "Snowboarding", and "Yoh", plus many more. Winners of the drawing were: Sophia Rosenbach, Morgan Darling, Aiyanna Dawson, and Maggie Mello. On Friday, students participated in a Disk Drop game for prizes plus mints for Empower"mint" Day!
WUHSMS mountain biking captures the Vermont Youth Cycling Championship
The WUHSMS mountain bike team captured the Vermont Youth Cycling Championship (VTYC) for the second consecutive year at the Mt. Peg trails. A record-setting number of athletes (239) from 13 teams challenged themselves in this enduro-style race on Peg’s most popular trails including Cloud Drop, Sir Berm’s A Lot, James’ Jungle, and Hardstyle.
The atmosphere at Knox Meadow was festive with team tents, a fire pit, and yard games. The Brownsville Butcher and Pantry sold food, and Vermont Farmstead Cheese and McNamara Dairy donated chocolate milk to every racer.
Adding to the excitement was the reopening of the Sir Berm’s A Lot trail which was masterfully remodeled by the Woodstock Area Mountain Bike Association’s trail builders, Gavin Vaughn and Graham Farrington. Farrington is a WUHS graduate and former captain of the team. The trail's berms, jumps, and flow were a highlight of the day for many. Spectators willing to hike were treated to riders carving high-speed berms and launching trail gaps.
This was the final race in the four-race VTYC series. Woodstock entered the day as the series leader and was determined to earn the win on its home trails, and that is just what they did. The Category A boys and girls nearly swept the podiums with Schuyler Hagge and Pea Richardson taking 1st and 3rd for the girls. The boys took four out of five podium spots with Graham Fox (5th), Zev Wysocki (4th), Averill Stevens (3rd), and Quinn Uva at the top of the podium in first place. Chelsea McDermot finished 2nd on the day in Girls B, and Cole Little earned 3rd in Boys B. Seventh grader Micah Mahood had an impressive day, earning his first podium of the season as the 5th place finisher in the Category C boys race. Every racer on the podium was awarded a bottle of Richardson’s maple syrup.
Racers were also recognized for their overall series’ performance The overall girls’ podium featured Luca Morris (5th), Arden Rossi (4th), Pea Richardson (3rd), and Schuyler Hagge (1st). The A boys were also strong, with Averill Stevens (5th) and Quinn Uva taking 1st overall. Co-captains Hagge and Uva were vital to the team’s success by finishing in either second or first place in every race in the series. Seventh-grade racer Calvin Seman established himself in his first racing season by taking 3rd place overall. Isla Segal continued her consistent ways, securing 5th for the C girls.
Co-captain Ada Mahood was recognized by VTYC with the “Fuel More Fun” award for embodying excellent sportsmanship and positive attributes including “looking out for others, encouraging peers, a commitment to bettering the community, self-discipline and perseverance, and asking for help when needed.” Ada truly embodies these attributes.
This team is young and talented and ready to make an impact at the Northern New England Race Series Championship at the Holderness School on October 28th. Woodstock is currently leading its division in this series and is looking to better its 2nd place finish in last year’s championship.
Works by ecoart students on display at SculptureFest
A hidden world, a sunken ship, an abandoned picnic, an immersive web and an abstract expression of moving water… These are just some of the ideas expressed at the Land Trust trail by 16 talented Eco-Art students.
The pieces created are a part of SculptureFest and the community and artists enjoyed an art reception on Sunday. This environmental exhibit is always open to the public, stop by anytime on the trail located between Prosper Rd and the King Farm to enjoy their installations.
An excerpt from Aleks Cirovic’s artist statement about her art piece Stability:
“I wished for this piece to represent a part of myself, a part that I have lost. One that has balance, respect, and curiosity surrounding the past. The surrounding space represents what surrounds me.”
