PALS Classroom Students have been propagating many houseplants from Arnie's Greenhouse this semester. Recently, the students held an event at the Thompson Senior Center to give away the houseplants to local seniors. They talked about the benefits of having plants in your house and gave tips on how to care for each type of plant.
Ninth graders have transitioned from a study of biodiversity to nutrient cycling. In quarter 1, students analyzed the biodiversity of real world ecosystems by studying plots of trees in our school’s forest and aquatic macroinvertebrates (small water insects) in the Ottauquechee River.
Students did an amazing job with the collection of macroinvertebrates over a few days and identified the organisms. Their incredible attention to detail and hard work is incredibly valuable because their data is contributing to long-term monitoring of the river. We now have 3 years of macroinvertebrate data and it can help us to analyze the health of the river. If we find macroinvertebrates that are sensitive to pollution then we know that the river is likely to be healthy.
Then students moved on to studying the nitrogen cycle in fish tanks. Students have designed and set up their own microcosms - aquatic ecosystems with plants, small organisms, snails, frogs and fish. They are testing the nitrogen levels daily to see how they change over time. Hopefully they still look this great after 4-6 weeks!
Twenty new members were inducted into the Ottauquechee Chapter of the National Honor Society. These juniors and seniors have been selected for their commitment to the four pillars of NHS: Scholarship, Leadership, Service, and Character. They will serve as peers tutors and complete 30 hours of community service annually to make their community a better place.
Congratulations to: Catherine Austin, Jaedon Beardsley, Lila Beckwith, Skye Cully, Phoebe Goldberg, Hannah Gubbins, Brooke Hecker, Logan Knox, Leah Kuhnert, Chloe Masillo, Declan McCullough, Tori McNamara, Margaret Mello, Grace Modarai, Delia Morgan, Mikayla Myers, Sophia Nisimblat, Clara Shortle, Ella Stainton and Farren Stainton.
The Safe School Ambassadors in grades 8-12 just completed an all day retreat and training. These students were selected from survey results where their peers identified them as admired and trustworthy.
Since students can have a powerful influence on each other, this training focuses on how the students themselves can recognize acts of unkindness, and learn the intervention skills they themselves can safely implement.
This year's training event was a particularly powerful experience since the returning members entered the day with an explicit intention to be honest and open with each other.
Thank you to the 11th and 12th grade SSAs who planned and presented many of the day's activities, and then showed by example the incredible power of personal vulnerability and responsibility.
French students as well as members of the French Club celebrated National French Week by enjoying some classic French pastry and cheese. Students brought in ingredients to prepare crêpes in the classroom. One group decided to also conduct a French cheese tasting event. For this, students even made homemade baguettes. Members of The French Club enjoyed preparing and eating an autumnal specialty called “Tarte Tatin,” a caramelized upside down apple tart, once again proving that an important part of a culture is its gastronomy!
Algebra II students used Virtual Reality to learn about rooftop gardens and maximizing areas in an urban area. Students had to come up with the best possible design for the garden, write the equation and then graph it, all in virtual reality.
On November 1st, ninth graders spent an afternoon engaging in community service projects across the school grounds and the community. From stacking wood to sewing stuffies, they made meaningful contributions and had a lot of fun. Learn more about the afternoon.
“Giving to people who may not be able to afford proper heating for their home during the winter is a huge topic of concern (especially in Vermont). Acting on this situation and being a part of the process makes me feel inspired and encouraged to do more for the community and more for people in my life.”
Last Thursday, members of the Club de Español visited the Thompson Senior center luncheon birthday celebration. Each month, the Senior Center celebrates those who had birthdays that month and the Club de Español sang a traditional birthday serenade, Las mañanitas to help celebrate.
On Friday, club members made spiced hot chocolate and pan de muertos to commemorate the start of los Días de Muertos. Many Spanish-speaking countries celebrate this holiday which honors ancestors and family members who have passed. Pan de muertos and chocolate caliente are traditional foods prepared to enjoy with family members during this time
Students registered to vote on November 3, 2022 during a lunchtime voter drive organized by the League of Women Voters and Woodstock's Student Council. In the past few weeks, all junior year government classes have been exploring the ballot and researching federal, state, and local candidates to prepare for an in-class vote on November 8th, followed by a voting reflection.