On Tuesdays and Thursdays the Middle School Book Club meets in the library and they are reading Wolfish by Christiane Andrews.

The author took her inspiration for this book from Roman mythology. Her previous book Spindlefish and Stars was inspired by Greek mythology. The publisher's note for Wolfish states, "Inspired by Roman mythology, this mysterious and uniquely magical adventure explores the intricate roles of nature and fate in our lives, the power of language to shape our world, and the boundless importance of love and kindness."

Christiane M. Andrews is scheduled to visit with the Middle School Book Club in May! If you would like to read either of these books, stop by the library to pick up a copy and if you'd like to attend the author talk, please let Ms. Piccoli know.

View fullsize

View fullsize

View fullsize

View fullsize

During Middle School Advisory this week, students learned about the stories of four Ukrainian children who have been displaced by the war in Ukraine. Then, eighth grade students wrote Letters of Love to Ukrainian children who had to leave their home country due to the war. In a few weeks, after their unit on Ukraine, seventh grade students will be participating in the project.

Ms. Drufovka's advisory and Mrs. Stuntz's advisory met in the library and wrote their messages of love and hope and illustrated their letters with colorful hearts, flags and flowers. Clara Burkholder wrote in her letter, "We love you, we are thinking of you and we hope you will stay strong! My home town in Vermont has Ukranian flags hanging in our windows and on doors."

On March 14th, a group of students gathered at Champlain College to conduct a workshop as part of the annual conference hosted by the Vermont Association for Middle-Level Education (VAMLE) on Anti-Bullying. The workshop was attended by participants from various middle-level schools across Vermont, including teachers, administrators, and students.

During the workshop, the students shared their expertise and insights on creating action plans and resources to encourage open and critical conversations within school communities. They emphasized the importance of driving social action and promoting positive change through meaningful dialogue and concrete steps toward progress. The students also presented a resource guide titled 'Vermont Students Critical Conversations Resource,' which they had created to provide valuable information and guidance for anyone seeking to initiate and facilitate critical conversations in their school community.

The workshop served as a valuable opportunity for the students to connect with others who share their passion for social justice and to inspire them to take action in their own schools and communities.

Thanks to our students Adelle Danilchek, Aidan Keough-Vella, Ava Rich, Ella Stainton, Farren Stainton, Morgan Putnem, and Owen Courcey.

View fullsize

View fullsize

View fullsize

View fullsize

7th and 8th Grade Students and teachers enjoyed an afternoon of fun during our Middle School Winter Carnival on Thursday, March 9th.

After spirited games of students vs. faculty in dodgeball, students chose between sledding, ice skating, and indoor activities including a murder mystery, spaghetti tower building, and board games. More than 70 students took advantage of the opportunity to skate at Union Arena.

The afternoon wrapped up with the entire middle school enjoying cookies and cocoa outside in the sun.

Thanks to our middle school Student Leadership Club, Lucia Beckwith, Tilly Richardson, Nick Cellini, Julia Barry, Vasco Malik, Marshall Somerville, Jake Blackburn, Abby Kowalczyk, Morgan Darling, and Addison Tapley, for planning and organizing the Winter Carnival, as well as to Lexi Judson and Declan Haugh for helping with our snacks. It was a fantastic afternoon!

View fullsize

View fullsize

View fullsize

View fullsize

Woodstock students in grades 7-12 attended Latin Day at UVM and met hundreds of other students from across the state who also study Latin and the ancient world.

Students participated in various fun and educational breakout sessions, including a tour of Latin inscriptions at UVM, trivia and Latin grammar competitions, a visit to UVM’s special collections where they could see 500-year-old books, and a session on how Roman military formations worked.

Students in Latin II and IV wrote and performed a skit about Emperor Claudius battling an orca in the port of Ostia, and they got a ton of laughs and won first place! Woodstock students also received 1 silver and 2 gold medals for their participation in outdoor Olympica competitions.

Overall Woodstock earned 3rd place in the small school division! We're pretty excited about that since it was our first time (at least in recent memory) going to Latin Day, and we look forward to attending again next year! Venimus, Vidimus, Vicimus!

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

We made falafels! The 8th grade class finished the book, It Ain’t So Awful Falafel by Firoozeh Dumas about America’s relationship with Iran. The main character, an Iranian middle school-aged girl living in the US, makes the point that falafels are not traditionally Iranian but Americans often don’t know the difference. Jennifer Jabareen, one of our paraeducators, made the authentic falafel mixture and students made 3 dips. There were no leftover falafels and they got to sample some Persian ice cream flavored with saffron, rose water, and pistachios while taking their summatives this week.

Tuesday was the first meeting of the Middle School Book Club! We are reading Katherine Arden's Small Spaces in preparation for her upcoming visit to our school. The publisher's note describes the book as "...a deliciously creepy and hair-raising adventure."

Prior to writing the Small Spaces quartet for middle-grade readers, Arden wrote The Bear and the Nightingale for adults which was on The New York Times bestseller list. Publishers Weekly described it as "stunning" and Booklist called it "utterly bewitching." We have Arden's debut novel in our library along with the second book in the Winternight Trilogy titled The Girl in the Tower.

The Middle School Book Club meets on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 12:00-12:30 pm and Katerine Arden will be visiting later this month or in early February. The Young Adult Diverse Books Book Club will be meeting on January 24 at 11:00 am to discuss Black Birds in the Sky and the Faculty/Staff Book Club will be meeting on January 30 at 3:15 pm to discuss Solito: A Memoir.

If you are interested in joining any of these book clubs, please stop by the library. If you have overdue books, please return them and pick out some new titles for your winter reads.

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.