Principal's Corner Newsletter

Dear Students and Families,

This week, the high school English classes worked with Poetry Out Loud visiting artists Gina Stevensen and Quinn Rol and learned the “dos and don’ts” of reciting poetry. We hope many students are inspired to participate in our annual Poetry Out Loud competition hosted by Ms. Perkins next month. Eighth-grade American Studies students took their study of Iranian-American relations into the kitchen to explore how cultural understanding can be promoted through food.

The 23-24 high school course selection process begins on Monday, January 30th. Please read the newsletter’s Counseling Department section closely this week for a lot of information for students and parents about the course selection process. The updated course catalog and selection forms are available to review. Please reach out to the counselors with questions and for help with the selection process.

Thank you,

Garon Smail

On Tuesday, January 17th, Poetry Out Loud visiting artists Gina Stevensen and Quinn Rol from the Flynn Center visited a number of English classes in grades 9 through 12. Quinn and Gina led students through warm-up exercises and demonstrated "dos and don'ts" for presenting their self-selected poems. All students in these classes will be presenting their poems to their peers, and some plan to move on to a school-wide Poetry Out Loud competition in February. Several brave students stood before their peers on January 17th to begin practicing their recitations. We learned about the value of connecting with an audience through poetry recited "by heart" and/pr by readings delivered with poise, clear articulation, dramatic appropriateness, accuracy, and evidence of understanding.

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.

Team Pathfinders
The Week in Learning: 1/27/23
Here is the link to our weekly newsletter.

Team Horizon, Issue #10, January 20, 2023

Here is the newest 8th Grade Newsletter link

Follow WUHS Athletics on Instagram @wuhsstudentsection

Interested in staying up to date on upcoming athletic events, as well as their outcomes? If you are an Instagram user, you can follow WUHS’s StudentSection account. This account was set up by Kendall Taylor (Class of 2022) last year and is currently being maintained by Junior Zach Martsolf-Tan, as an independent study in social media through the Center of Community Connections (C3). Know when the games and matches are happening--and come out and cheer on our student-athletes!

In this week's From the Library newsletter, learn about New York Times best selling author Katherine Arden's presentation to the Middle School Book Club and the sixth graders from the Prosper Valley School, read about the next YA Diverse Books Book Club book titled Me (Moth) by Amber McBride, take advantage of an excellent programming opportunity from the Vermont Humanities Council to zoom with Andrew Aydin who wrote Run Book One, read Anne Hauze's reader-to-reader review of The Buddhist on Death Row and get reminders about the upcoming Faculty/Staff Book Club and Diverse Books Book Club meetings. Please click here for a link to the From the Library newsletter for more information and photos.

Upcoming 2 Hour Delay Days and Days Off

2 Hour Delay Days - Feb 1, March 1, April 5, May 3

High School Yearbook Sales Are Open!!

Purchase yearbooks HERE for $60 if purchased by January 27, 2023

Parents, Grandparents, and guardians: You can now purchase and design your own parent ads right on the Jostens website. Just click HERE to get started. If you have any questions please reach out to the yearbook staff at yearbook@wcsu.net.

FREE Covid Tests
Households can order another round of free antigen tests! Go to https://www.covid.gov/tests
Also, just a reminder that through BCBS (and many other insurance companies), you can get eight free tests monthly from rite aid (and maybe other pharmacies).

Cognia to Replace SBAC Annual State Testing

Cognia to Replace SBAC Annual State Testing: Since 2015, students have engaged annually with SBAC testing to assess literacy and math on a district and state level. This year, the Vermont Agency of Education has decided to switch to a different assessment vendor called Cognia. The Agency of Education will provide further guidance to districts in the new year. As we know more, we will inform families through newsletters.

The CRAFT/Agriculture Program is hiring two student interns to help with the school gardens and greenhouses this summer. This will be a great opportunity to learn more about farming, gardening, and project management while making some extra money. See the application for more information. Click here to fill out the application (make your own copy of it) and return to Abbie Castriotta (acastriotta@wcsu.net), Janis Boubol (jboubol@wcsu.net), or Kat Robbins (krobbins@wcsu.net) via email or paper copy.

Class of 2024 (IG: wuhs2024) fundraiser that also supports a WUHS student's business! GOOBA HATS (IG: gooba_hats) will be for sale in the building entrance on February 2 and 3 during lunch. A variety of designs are available, and some are one of a kind! First come, first choice, and only 50 available! $35 per hat either cash or check made out to Woodstock Union High School with Class of 2024 in the memo line.

Seniors - Do you have spare time during the day? Woodstock Elementary School is looking for student mentors during the school day to work with their students. If you can spare one hour one time per week, that would be great! Transportation can be provided if needed. Please contact Annie Luke, room 163, or email aluke@wcsu.net if you have any questions and are interested.

Our very own Earthbeat environmental club is participating in a NexTrex recycling program, for the purpose of recycling plastic films which would otherwise be discarded in landfills. From now up until the end of the school year, the club accepts all plastic films from ziploc bags to bubble wrap. Once our school collects 500 lbs of plastic film, it will be delivered to NexTrex and transformed into a bench. There are currently two drop-off locations in the WUHSMS school building, one in the main lobby and one next to the senior solarium. Thank you in advance for any contributions!

The Lightning Thief: The Percy Jackson Musical, by Joe Tracz, Music and Lyric by Rob Rokicki, based on the book by Rick Riordan

Friday, March 10, 7pm

Saturday, March 11, 7pm

Sunday, March 12, 2pm

“As the half-blood son of a Greek god, Percy Jackson has newly-discovered powers he can't control, a destiny he doesn't want, and a mythology textbook's worth of monsters on his trail. When Zeus's master lightning bolt is stolen and Percy becomes the prime suspect, he has to find and return the bolt to prove his innocence and prevent a war between the gods. But to succeed on his quest, Percy will have to do more than catch the thief. He must travel to the Underworld and back; solve the riddle of the Oracle, which warns him of betrayal by a friend; and come to terms with the father who abandoned him. Adapted from the best-selling book The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan and featuring a thrilling original rock score, The Lightning Thief: The Percy Jackson Musical is an action-packed mythical adventure "worthy of the gods" (Time Out New York).”

Course Selection for School Year 2023-2024: Rising 10th-12th

Hello All! We will be starting the course selection process for next school year on Monday, January 30th! Course selection forms will open on Monday. January 30th and will close on Wednesday, February 8th. School counselors will be going into Advisory on Monday and Thursday to help answer any questions regarding course selection forms and which classes would be more appropriate for each student’s post-secondary plans. Counselors will also be available in the counseling lobby throughout the week during ARE time to assist students with any questions!

Parents: You are a part of this process too! You can log into ALMA and review the course selection forms with your student! Please feel free to email us with any questions, we are here to help! You can also click on our scheduling tab on our counseling website to learn more about grade specific information!

Upcoming In-School SAT Offering!

Attention 10th &12th Graders: Woodstock Union High School Middle School will be hosting the SAT on Wednesday, March 22nd during the school day. If you are interested in taking it please bring a check made out to WUHS for $60.00 and in the memo write SAT no later than February 10th!

Attention 11th Graders: WUHSMS is offering the SAT on Wednesday, March 22nd during the school day. All juniors are automatically signed up for the SAT at no-cost. If you/your student is not interested in participating in the SAT please email myself at gdurgin@wcsu.net or Janet North at jnorth@wcsu.net. Please plan to let us know no later than February 10th. After the 10th, you will receive a charge of the ordered exam.

Event- Please Register:

Norwich University is hosting a Central Vermont College Fair on April 4th from 9:30 am to 11:30 am! As Norwich University is roughly a 57 minutes bus ride, we will leave the high school by 8:20 am and return to the high school around 12:45 pm.

If you are interested in attending please email me at gdurgin@wcsu.net or stop into the counseling office to sign up! A sign up sheet will be next to Janet North's desk!

Attention: Seniors!

The Vermont Student Assistance Corporation (VSAC) Scholarship Booklets have just arrived!!! Pick up your hard copy in the WUHSMS Counseling Office.

To review or download the VSAC scholarship booklet or Access the Unified Scholarship Application online (USA) please go to https://www.vsac.org/financial-aid-professional

Students will need to request letters of recommendation when you apply for a scholarship so it is important to do this sooner rather than later!

Submission/postmark deadline for all VSAC-assisted scholarships: February 15, 2023

If you have any questions please reach out to your school counselor or stop into the counseling office!

Grades 10-12 Sofia Bertocci, sbertocci@wcsu.net

Grades 10-12 Gabriella Durgin, gdurgin@wcsu.net

Grades 7-9 Sarah Lyon, slyon@wcsu.net

Grades 10-12 Sarah Smith, sarahsmith@wcsu.net

Grades 7-9 Vali Stuntz, vstuntz@wcsu.net

Hooray for our new cafeteria tables! The new tables replace
the 30-year-old tables previously used.

WE NEED FREE & REDUCED SCHOOL MEAL APPLICATIONS!

Even though meals are free, it is really important that you return the VT Free & Reduced Meal Application if you think you qualify. Our school district relies on the Free & Reduced percentage for other school funding so it's important to apply today. You will also need to renew your application if you previously qualified as applications from the previous years expired on October 15th. Please reapply today! If you have application questions, please email Gretchen gczaja@wcsu.net or call 802-457-1317, ext. 1123.

Hard copies of the application were mailed out. You can download an application on our WCUD School Nutrition Program website or request a packet from the school’s administrative assistant. Please email the scanned completed application or picture copy to Gretchen Czaja, gczaja@wcsu.net or mail to: WCUD School Nutrition Program 100 Amsden Way Woodstock, VT 05091

STUDENT MEALS ARE FREE!

Students can access one free breakfast and/or one free lunch every school day. Students enter their 4 digit lunch number at the register stations as they exit the meal line. Student meal accounts will not be charged. This is for tracking purposes only.

SALAD BAR IS BACK!

In addition to the healthy main meal option, students can add items from the salad bar to their meal. Fresh veggies and fruit help complete the meal and keep students nourished for the school day,

GRAB & GO BREAKFASTS-Grab & Go breakfasts are available in the north cafeteria. A full breakfast includes 3 food items with one of the items being a fruit portion.

VEGGIEVANGO FREE FOOD DISTRIBUTION-Every second Wednesday of every month-Next one is February 8th. Mark your calendars for the next dates- March 8th, April 12th, May 10th, June 14th. The distribution takes place at the Union Arena end of the WUHSMS parking lot @ 10am. The VT Foodbank distributes fresh produce items. Proteins are now provided by the VT Foodbank!

Scan the QR code to access lunch menus, program information and the VT Free & Reduced Meal Application.

Follow us on @vtschoolmeals on Instagram.

Alma Student Information System

2022-2023 School Calendar

High School Class Schedule

Middle School Class Schedule

Bus Routes

Windsor Central Supervisory Union

Email: gsmail@wcsu.net
Website: wuhsms.org
Location: 100 Amsden Way, Woodstock, VT, USA
Phone: 8024571317
Facebook: facebook.com/WUHSMS/
Twitter: @wearewoodstock