Montessori Messenger

Volume 15 | June 23, 2022

Middle School Graduation

2021-2022 marked our 20th year of graduating 8th graders from the Middle School. The class was also historic for another reason: with 22 graduates, this was the largest class to date.

The 2022 Graduation took place in the amphitheater on Friday, June 17. The keynote speaker was Emma Willard Head of School (and WHMS parent) Jenny Rao.

Lower El and Upper El Moving Up Ceremonies

On Friday, June 17, the Moving Up Ceremonies for Lower and Upper Elementary were also held in the amphitheater. Families gathered to watch 31 Lower El third years move up to Upper Elementary at 9 a.m. Later in the day, 23 Upper El sixth years moved up to Middle School.

The 3rd year Lower El students, under the direction of Susie Gordon, performed I am a Small Part of the World and their 1st and 2nd year classmates joined in from the audience.

Under the direction of Iggy Calabria, the 6th years performed Here Comes the Flood, a medley of Here Comes the Sun by John Lennon and Paul McCartney and Fire and Flood by Vance Joy.

RSVP to Nicholle Gregor

Farewell to Susie

Susie Gordon has retired from WHMS after teaching music for 41 years. She has worked at Woodland Hill since 2016. Prior to joining us, Susie taught around the world, including Islamabad, Pakistan, Quito, Ecuador, Kampala, Uganda, Cairo, Egypt, as well as in Keene Valley and Greenwich, New York.

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Artsemble Parade

Artsemble, the second annual arts parade, took place on Wednesday, June 15. Students paraded through the school as they listened to, and participated in, musical performances.

MS Banquet

A beloved Middle School tradition, the MS Banquet was held outside this year. Eighth-graders, their families, 7th graders, recent alumni, faculty, and staff gathered to recognize the 8th graders as they move on from Woodland Hill. The MS teachers shared attributes and wishes with the graduates, and Alex Puchner spoke about his 12 years of schooling at WHMS.

Most of the Class of 2021, along with some older alumni, attended the event.

WHMS Happenings

WHMS students, faculty, staff, and families marched in Albany's Pride Parade on June 12. Photo by Jay Zhang Photography for the Times Union.

The Friends of WHMS held an outdoor movie night on Friday, June 10. The children and parents had a great time watching Encanto together.

Sara and Hannah's class performed The Great Kapok Tree by Lynne Cherry in the amphitheater.

The Middle School toured the NYS Capitol and listened to a presentation by Albany City Common Councilman (and Woodland Hill's own) Owusu Anane to enrich their study of government.

Upper El and Middle School students traveled to Peebles Island for their Field Days.

Primary and Lower El Field Day took place on a picture-perfect June day. The students loved the water play, parachute, and games.

Grandparents and Special Friends enjoyed their visit to Woodland Hill. Students showed their classroom and works to their guests, followed by refreshments outside on a hot May day.

Upper El's three day trip to Ashokan Nature Center was fantastic. They went canoeing and hiking, learned blacksmithing, explored pond and steam, and did some folkdancing.

Faculty Appreciation Lunch

The Friend of WHMS hosted the faculty and staff appreciation lunch on June 7. Thank you to the 55 families who sent in delicious salads, sides, casseroles, desserts and ice tea, and the volunteers who set up the luncheon.

The Friends of WHMS also supplied massage therapists from The Ivy Spa who provided chair massages to faculty.

Shakespeare

The annual Upper El tradition of Shakespeare performances returned this year. The 6th years performed A Midsummer Night's Dream en plein air on May 24 and 26.

You can view more photos of their performance taken by Michele Praileau here.

Middle School Trip

The WHMS Middle School had a wonderful experience on their week-long intersession journey to Boston and Cape Cod.

Cora Heiser reports that "Students were able to explore and touch some of the history, science, and culture of the region! After leaving Woodland Hill on Monday morning, our first stop was the Minuteman National Monument in Concord, Massachusetts. This was followed by a visit to Salem, where we saw the Salem Witch Museum, took a historic trolley tour around the town, and had a lovely dinner. Tuesday was an exciting day in Boston. We marveled at the Boston Aquarium and an IMAX film, relaxed in Boston Common, and walked the Freedom Trail through the city. Students were on their own for dinner in Quincy Market, where they could shop and practice managing their funds at restaurants.

En route to Cape Cod on Wednesday, we visited Plimoth Patuxet Museum and had an authentic colonial-era lunch. This was followed by academic work with stations on the beach for the afternoon. Both Thursday and Friday brought us out onto the waters surrounding the Cape. Thursday we experienced hands-on marine biology research at Woods Hole, and our culminating activity on Friday was a phenomenal whale watching trip. After two hours of non-stop whale activity, we motored back to shore, loaded up the bus, and headed home to Woodland Hill. We arrived happy and tired and full of new experiences and life-long memories!"

Student-Led Anti-Racism Workgroup Book Recommendation

Curse of the Night Witch (Emblem Island, #1) by Alex Aster

In this exciting new series filled with Colombian mythology, a trio of friends embark on a thrilling adventure. On Emblem Island, everyone is born with a lifeline and an emblem detailing the course of their life. Tor Luna was born with a leadership emblem, which he despises. But when Tor wishes for a new power, he is cursed. In order to save himself, he must find the infamous Night Witch. Accompanied by his friends Engle and Melda, Tor must venture through the mysterious dangers of Emblem Island in a race against time.

The Sound of Silence by Katrina Goldsaito

"Do you have a favorite sound?" little Yoshio asks. The musician answers, “The most beautiful sound is the sound of ma, of silence.” Yoshio lives in a big bustling city. Where can he find the best sound of all in such a noisy space?

News from the Art Room

WHMS Curator Club members Dalilah Massey and Violet Welsh interviewed artist, illustrator, and muralist Liz Zunon. Liz Zunon's work was on display in FLOCKart for the past month.

Library News

Summer Reading

WHMS Librarian Sarah Colwill has compiled information on summer reading. This year's theme is Ocean of Possibilities.

Primary, Lower El, and Upper El information

Upper El and Middle School (rising 6th years are considered teens for summer reading programs)

The WHMS parking lot came alive on Saturday, June 4 when the Summer Night Soiree took place on a beautiful sunny evening.

More than 250 guests attended the Soiree, along with food trucks and mobile bars. The Silver Arrow Band provided live music for dancing.

The main event was the live auction of fun adventures, experiences, and parking spots, and the Raising of the Paddles for our signature project: adding a ball field to our athletic field. Tom Stebbins served as our entertaining auctioneer again this year.

We raised over $75,000 for WHMS, including $39,000 for the athletic field improvements.

It's not too late to donate. Click here to support Woodland Hill.

Check out more pictures by Joe Putrock here.

Photo credit: Joe Putrock

Thank you to Soiree Sponsors!

Montessori Champions

The Massry and Knox Families

Wainschaf Associates

Montessori Benefactor

Montessori Patrons

Solasus Web Solutions

Montessori Friends

Albany Marble, Inc.

Austin & Co., Inc.

Michael Hilton Bellows, Architect, PLLC

Capezza Hill LLP

CDPHP

Druthers Brewing Company*

Dwight Plumbing & Heating

Global NEP, LLC

Huston Engineering

Krum Marketing*

Monticello Licensed Real Estate Broker

The Pilates Principle

Repeat Business Systems

*Denotes in-kind donation

Thank you, also, to the businesses and individuals who

donated items to the Silent Auction

16 Handles

9 Maple Avenue Jazz Club

AAA Hudson Valley

Albany Institute of History & Art

Albany Symphony Orchestra

Dr. Michael and Madeline Baltrush

Beth's Farm Kitchen

The Bunker

Burden Lake Country Club

The Cheesecake Factory

Cookie Therapy ALB

The Crafted Arrow

Crossgates Mall

Danielle and Jason Dow

El Loco Mexican Cafe

Enliven Studio

Falcon Club

Fenimore Art Museum/The Farmers' Museum

Footbeats Stride Rite

Forts Ferry Farm

Hampton Inn & Suites

Danielle Hemmid

Honest Weight Food Co-Op

The Hyde Collection

iSmile Studios

It's Yoga Kids

The Ivy Spa

The Kitchen Table

Microsoft

The Music Studio

National Baseball Hall of Fame

New York Red Bulls

Fernando Orellana

Pai's Tae Kwon Do

Saratoga Performing Arts Center (SPAC)

Anne Schaefer

Shakespeare & Company

Kathy Sheehan, Mayor of Albany

Siena Private Wealth

Stewart's Shops

Tech Valley High School

Top Level Athletics

Tri-City ValleyCats

VCB Consulting

Josh and Jenny Wainman

Yankee Trails

The WHMS Fund is focused on our exploration and commitment to justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion.

To date, we have raised more than $45,000. We thank all of those families who have donated or pledged to date. Your support demonstrates your belief and commitment to a better, more sustainable world.

Thank you to all of the families, staff, faculty, and friends that have donated to the WHMS Fund as of June 22:

16 Handles

Elisa Albert and Edward Schwarzschild

The Gemma and Jason Allen Family

Bilal Alp and Mevlude Akay Alp

Amazon Smile

American Clothing Recycling Co. Inc.

Liz Angell

The Angell Family

Anonymous

Christopher and Shayla Sawyer Armand

The Armstrong Family

Roger Armstrong

Ann and Adam Ayers

James and Donna Baccei

Dr. Michael and Madeline Baltrush

Santosh Bangalore and Amrita Mohanty

Connie Bilanceri

Vanessa Bilanceri and Jeremy Goldberg

The Blackbaud Giving Fund

The Blackbaud Giving Fund on behalf of IBM International Foundation

The Blakeman-McClain Family

Box Tops for Education

The Brady Family

Bill and Becky Brittingham

Mary Ann Buckowski

Mary and David Buehl

Liz and Tim Cahrenger

Joe and Anna Calabria

Todd Carmody and Erica Fretwell

Vivian Chen and Xu Geng

Patricia and Michael Chiplock

Tina Claus, in memory of Bernhard Claus

Katie and Ryan Coakley

Coca-Cola GIVE

Tanya and Matt Corry

Patricia D'Agostino

David and Allison DeLong

Vicki Dillon

Mustafa Dokucu and Isil Severcan-Dokucu

Jason and Danielle Dow

Michelle and Ashley Edwards

The Eisemann Family

Drs. Sonia and Carlos Elguero

Peter and Jean Endryck

Susan F. Evans

Dr. Kristie Ford

Bob and Tamara Gatchell

Wendy and Charles Gilman

Jennifer and Niles Gold

Stuart Goodrich

Dr. Kori A. Graves and Ted B. Riese

The Haber and Cohen Family

Gemma and Ilan Halfi

Hannaford Supermarkets

Cora and Scott Heiser

Marion and Chris Heller

Sara Howard

Jacob Israelow and Tanu Kumar

Ariel Jaitovich and Maria Moran in honor of Juana Jaitovich

Norman and Cynthia Kellogg

The Kenning Family

Key Bank Foundation

Julie and Jim Knox

The Koch and Pfeiffer Family

Laura Koennecke

Drs. Derek and Kimberly Lane

Jeffrey Lang and Anna Tinio

Susan LaVigne

Deborah J. Lee

The Logan Family

Brendan and Nicole Longcore

Fred and Rachelle Luciani

Drs. Jenny and Jim Malatras

Steven and Tara Manierre

Jessica and Chris Mascolo

Liliana Garcia and Dan Massey

Mallory and Murray Massry

Tami Meek

Neelam Mehta

Fernando and Erin Mergil

Montessori Services*

The Murphy Family

Vincent Nastasi and Heather Buehl-Nastasi

Sima Patel-Harris and Michael Harris

Pay Pal Giving Fund

Travis and Adina Pfrommer

The Ryu Philip Family

Portia L. and Alex L. Pieterse

Stephanie and Tom Puchner

Shaheen Rahman and Kanika Johar

Michele Richens

Moira K. Rienzo

John Rinker and Carolyn Tennant

Dr. Wendy and Jesse Roberts

Cyril and Lydia Rodriguez

Tobi and Gary Saulnier

The Fredericka V. Slingerland Family Foundation

Erika and Chris Solomon

Sara Stevens

Stewart's Holiday Match

Audrie and Larry Sturman

The Tien Family Foundation

Shayna Vecchione and Eric Schroeck

Peggy Vogel-Nagengast

Greg Watson

Dr. Susan Weaver

Lyman and Leslie Wood

*In-kind donation

Make a gift to the WHMS Fund.