Best Day Assembly Wednesday, April 9th

The April Best Day assembly on April 9th, was filled with student talent and fun games based on Earth Day and Green Up day themes that inspired spirited competition. The featured talent of the program included a beautiful duet sung by Tegan and Mimi of ‘Ain’t No Mountain High Enough’, with the accompaniment by Sattori on the piano. Tegan, Quinn and Liam shared their Poetry Out Loud winning performances, several latin students performed a skit that they had written and performed at the UVM Latin day recently (taking 2nd place for their efforts), and Leo W-S. played a beautiful piece on the piano.

Middle School Book Club Trip to New York City

The Middle School Book Club's trip to New York City to see the Anne Frank exhibit at the Center for Jewish History was inspired by Alice Hoffman's book, When We Flew Away: A Novel of Anne Frank Before the Diary.

Genevieve Williams wrote in her accordion journal, "The exhibition walked you through almost each year of Anne Frank's life and the journey Otto Frank took to get home. The exhibition included a mock up of their house including each room and furniture. It included many features that made you stop and think. Overall, it was an amazing experience!"

Pictured above: Anne Frank exhibit

In addition to going to the exhibit, the MS Book Club went to the Eldridge Street Museum to learn more about Jewish history, culture and religion and they took a food walking tour of the Lower East Side to enjoy some traditional Jewish foods like knish, rugelach and pickles!

On the second day of the trip, the MS Book Club toured the New York Public Library, saw the Rose Reading Room and saw Christopher Robin's stuffed animal collection including Winne the Pooh in the Treasures of the New York Public Library exhibit.

Pictured above: Genevieve's Accordion Journal

Welcome Assistant Principal, Mr. Chris Lanzalotto

Dear WUHSMS Community,

I am pleased to announce that after a comprehensive and thorough Assistant Principal search process, we have selected a distinguished educational leader with over 30 years of administrative experience to join our team. Beginning July 1, our new Assistant Principal, Mr. Chris Lanzalotto, brings extensive expertise in school leadership, student-centered practices, and a deep commitment to fostering inclusive educational environments. Throughout his career, he has demonstrated a strong ability to connect with students, staff, and families to cultivate positive school cultures built on respect, collaboration, and academic success. We are excited about the contributions and fresh perspectives he will bring to our school community.

Please join me in warmly welcoming Mr. Lanzalotto to the WUHSMS Team!

Dr. Ambros, Nobel Prize Winner in Medicine, Visits WUHSMS!

On April 2, Dr. Victor Ambros, Nobel Prize Laureate in Medicine 2024 visited WUHSMS, his alma mater, to talk about his life, career, and the experience of winning the Nobel Prize! Dr. Ambros graduated from WUHS in 1971 and reflected back fondly on skiing in the winter. He opened his presentations to the Middle School, the Ninth grade, and Ms. Cramer's AP Biology classes with a takeaway for everyone from his presentation. He said he hoped everyone would think, "That's a job that I could do. I want to be a scientist." His presentation on his discovery of microRNA was accessible and inspirational. One of Ms. Cramer's science students stated, "Dr. Ambros noted how all people are scientists. I never thought of it that way before. Science is driven by curiosity which we all exhibit from a young age. I feel invited to stay curious and wonder how the world around me works."

Students came prepared with questions and one student asked Dr. Ambros where he gets his inspiration from when things get difficult. Dr. Ambros recommended:

• talking with other people - you are not alone

• convince yourself that what you are doing is important

• change your thought process - reassess and drop things if they're not working

Dr. Ambros was so kind, gracious, and generous with his time. In a letter of thanks, he stated, "I can't tell you how incredibly exciting and rewarding the experience was for me! The students were so alive, present, inquisitive, and thoughtful. I needed that jolt of reality -- i.e. the reality of the powerful promise of the youth."

Woodstock Union HS Poetry Out Loud Contest 2025

Woodstock tucked in its 2025 Poetry Out Loud Competition on February 12th, ahead of winter vacation, and just ahead of the second of three big snow storms.  Twenty two students participated in the recitation competition, held in The Rhoda Teagle Library, and attended by peers in 9th through 12th grades.

Pictured above: Owen Courcey as Accuracy Judge

Poetry Out Loud is a national competition that has its inception in high school classrooms across the country, and grows from there to schoolwide- competitions, state regional competitions, a state final competition and ultimately to a national competition in Washington, D.C. 

Pictured above: Josh Byrne recites "The Conqueror Worm" by Edgar Allen Poe

Recitation is a particular art. Poetry Out Loud has rigorous judging guidelines, encompassing a student’s physical presence, voice and articulation, interpretation, evidence of understanding, and overall performance.  Far more than memorization, in so many words recitation requires the competitor to be the “vessel” for the poem’s performance. 

Pictured above: Liam Wheeler recites "The Kiss" by Robert Graves

Recitation asks the student to deliver the poem in a way that clarifies the poem’s meaning, makes its words, imagery, figurative language, rhythm and meter, even punctuation, the star, over the person delivering the art. It’s a nuanced experience, demanding exactitude as well as effective interpretation.

Pictured above: Tula Klock recites "What to Say Upon Being Asked to Be Friends" by Julian Brolaski

The range of ideas and wisdoms across the twenty two poems students selected from The Poetry Out Loud Anthology was remarkable, cautionary, and encouraging, depending.  And yet, “at bottom,”  all boils down to “Words” (Haaken Oates’ choice by  Pauli Murray) -- words’ selection, combination and arrangement.   To offer a small sample: there were pleas for unity and community in poems like Santino Bohren’s recitation of “About Standing (in Kinship),” and Vasco Malik’s delivery of “We all receive the invitation”;  Sam Hauze’s prose poem selection, “Don’t Bother the Earth Spirit” and Agnes Kardashian’s interpretation of “Walking with My Delaware Grandfather,” along with Jake Blackborn’s rendition of “Wind, Water, Stone,” offered nostalgic respect for  ancestral and/or earthly wisdom, revealing the power of reflection to offer a kind of present eternity.  

Pictured above: Tegan Miller recites "Summer" by Chen Chen

A number of student selections grappled with war and heroism/anti-heroism, from long ago, as was the case with Luke Pomeroy’s interpretation of Rupert Brook’s “The Soldier,” and Ayron Romanczak’s rendition of Henley’s famous “Invictus,” to the present, as reflected by poems such as Zara Khan’s selection “From the Sky,” or Mimi Kanda-Olmstead’s recitation of “To the Oppressors”. As Kirkegard once said, “Where tragedy occurs, the comic is present.” Such was the case with Josh Byrne’s rendition of “The Conqueror Worm”. In the end, poems having to do with some kind of love and humanity seemed to take the top slots: Quinn Eckler’s recitation of “The Universe as Primal Scream” (Tracy K. Smith) and Liam Wheeler’s rendition of “The Kiss” (Robert Graves) tied for third place (157 points each), Lylah Zeitlin captured second place (170 points), reciting “Siren Song” (Margaret Atwood) and Tegan Miller emerged as Woodstock’s 2025 POL School Champion with 178 points and her recitation of “Summer” by Chen Chen.

Pictured above: Judges and Scoring Team prepare for the next recitation

Tegan Miller, ‘27, will represent Woodstock at the southern Vermont Regional Poetry Out Loud Contest to be held at The Barre Opera House on Thursday, March 6th.  Tegan will recite “Summer” at that competition, along with a second poem, “Friendship After Love” by Ella Wheeler Wilcox. 

Pictured above: Poetry Out Loud work in the classroom: Guest Teaching Artist Geof Hewitt works with Liam Wheeler on "The Kiss" by Robert Graves

The state final competition will consist of the top 5 recitations from the southern and northern regional competitions, respectively, and will take place at The Flynn in Burlington on Friday, March 14th, where finalists will recite three poems each to vie for the state champion and the opportunity to represent Vermont at the national competition in Washington, D.C. (April, 2025). 

Pictured above: Mr. Clifford addresses the competitors and audience

Congratulations to all the students who participated with verve and rigor in Woodstock’s 2025 Poetry Out Loud Contest! Many Thanks to our 2025 judges: Mike Loots, Nathalie Kramer, Janet North, Detlef Hagge, Jessica Oakman, and accuracy judge: Owen Courcey. Ms. SJ as prompter and the dynamic scoring team, Heather Vonada & Andy Smith, along with scoring sheet “runner,” Jack Quicker, were invaluable to delivering a smooth contest, as were Mrs. Murphy and Ms Piccoli in “styling” the library space to accommodate the contest.

Pictured above: A poem is a sweet treat, but so are Ms. Hayslett's homemade heart cookies, Abbie's homemade pumpkin bread and Perk's oatmeal chocolate chip fruit bars