Middle School Civil
Rights Immersion
In Melba Pattillo Beals’ Warriors Don’t Cry, Grandma India says, “God’s warriors don’t cry.” This powerful memoir tells us of the extreme difficulties and challenges that the nine students faced as they attempted to integrate Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas. In a non-pandemic year, we would be reading this in preparation for our Civil Rights trip to the South. This year, we are trying to bring at least part of that experience to our students here on campus.
As part of our two-day Civil Rights Immersion program, we will be taking a break from our typical daily schedule in order to immerse ourselves in the Civil Rights Journey and its continuation today.
We are so lucky to have Dr. Beals coming in to talk to our Middle School Community on the afternoon of Friday, May 21. We are also incredibly excited to share that we will be bringing in Joanne Bland and Wanda Battle. Joanne Bland was one of the youngest people to be arrested in the Civil Rights protests in Selma, Alabama. She is the co-founder and former director of the National Voting Rights Museum in Selma, Alabama. Wanda Battle is the Director of Tour Ministry at the Dexter Avenue King Memorial Baptist Church in Montgomery, Alabama, which is one of the churches that Dr. Martin Luther King Jr pastored. We have been so incredibly fortunate to meet both women in person on our school’s previous Civil Rights trip to the South.
Carrying the Civil Rights journey back to Albany, we will be featuring some local activists. We will have speakers coming in from the Rapp Road Historical Society, which is a group of 23 homes built by African Americans, mostly from Shubuta, Mississippi, who settled in the Albany area as part of the Great Migration. Beverly Bardequez, President of the Rapp Road Historical Society grew up in the unique Radd Road community. Her niece, Sarah Dewitt, is also active in the Rapp Road community conservation, and she is a WHMS parent.
We will also have Albany Councilman, Owusu Anane who will be speaking about his political work in Albany, and we will have a lunch catered by Kizzy Williams of Allie B’s Cozy Kitchen, which features home-cooked Southern-style cooking in Albany, NY. Ms. Williams has also created The Cultural Center which helps families on the road to land and home-ownership in Albany’s South End. Our students will be working on a journal to connect the past to the present as our students, the leaders of tomorrow, continue this journey.
Dr. Cornel West said, “None of us alone can save the nation or the world. But, each of us can make a positive difference if we commit ourselves to do so.” We are so grateful and excited to bring in these speakers for our Civil Rights immersion journey on May 20th and May 21st so that we can continue our work to make a positive difference in the world.
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On Friday, April 30, parents gathered at WHMS for the first time in 15 months for the Primary Pinning Ceremony. The third-year Primary students received a Montessori Leadership Pin. This longtime, much-beloved tradition recognizes their leadership skills and the responsibility that they have in their classroom. Stephanie Puchner said, "This event was simply beautiful. I was so proud of all of our friends and the poise and confidence they demonstrated."
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As we celebrate the 150th anniversary of Maria Montessori's birth this year, we also want to highlight our own Montessorians. Throughout the school year, we will highlight a WHMS teacher in each Messenger with five facts about them, totaling 150 facts throughout the year.
This week's facts are from Toddler teacher Ashley Campion.
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1. As a little girl I would pretend to be a teacher and make my neighbors my students.
2. While in Haiti, I completed the world's longest zip line over water.
3. My husband and I are currently in the process of purchasing and remodeling a home that has been in my family for four generations.
4. I'm happiest when camping in the Adirondacks with my family.
5. Flamingoes are my favorite animal and I even have a flamingo tattoo.
My favorite quote is: "The greatest gifts we can give our children are the roots of responsibility and the wings of independence"
- Maria Montessori
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For the past three weeks, the Middle School students have read out loud to Nicole's Primary students via Zoom. Nicole says that her students love it! |
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Middle School students attended a workshop entitled Mentors In Violence Prevention on Monday, May 10. MVP is a bystander-focused gender violence and bullying prevention approach that is especially well-suited to adolescence. The program will be presented to the Upper El later this month. |
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The Noakes family and Paloma L. worked in the WHMS Makerspace with Jesse Roberts to build a ladder golf set for the school playground. |
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Nicole's Primary class made gifts for Mother's Day. The gifts were painted rocks, wrapped in wire and beads wound at the top to hold a beautiful water color painting and a sealed with a love note just for mom. |
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The Upper El concluded their World Religion unit with two presentations. Dr. Paul Uppal from the Niskayuna Gurdwara shared his knowledge of the Sikh religion. |
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Shara Siegfeld, the Director of the Jewish Education Center in Albany, spoke to the Upper El about Judaism. |
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Shakespeare in the Upper El |
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Upper El has begun work on their Shakespeare plays, which will look different this year due to COVID protocols. The students have been working in various committees such as set design, character development, filming, publicity, and script adaptation. Here are a few behind-the-scenes shots of everyone hard at work. |
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TED-Style Talks in the Middle School |
On Thursday, May 6, 11 Middle School students presented TEDx-inspired talks to the Middle School and live on Zoom. All of the Middle School students researched, wrote, and performed their own version of a TEDx-style talk, but those 11 that took part on Thursday wanted to present theirs to a wider audience. The students’ presentations included what defines a family, the power of video games to stay connected during a pandemic, creative writing, anti-bias, and gender and sexuality. |
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Class teachers Stephanie, Naomi, and Sandy decorated the room before the children arrived last Friday morning. |
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Stephanie's Primary class held its 5th annual Spring Tea on Friday, May 7. This year's tea was slightly different in that the children's guests were their stuffed animals or dolls. Stephanie created the Spring Tea in 2017 as a celebration of grace and courtesy. She says that it teaches her students life skills, manners, and socialization.
The Tea was held in the classroom with invited guests for the first three years, was virtual last year during remote learning, and was modified this year because visitors are not allowed in the building. Despite the change, the children enjoyed the event tremendously.
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Grace Cavanagh, WHMS Class of 2013, received a Fulbright Scholarship to work as an English Teaching Assistant in the region of Galicia, Spain for the 2021-2022 academic year. Grace graduates from Boston College this month year with a bachelor's degree in International Studies, and a minor in Hispanic Studies. |
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Three Woodland Hill Montessori School alumni and Shaker High School students recently signed letters of intent to play college sports. Bria LaBella, WHMS Class of 2017, will be playing soccer for McGill University in Montreal. Frank Mendonca, WHMS Class of 2017, will be running track for Marist College. Ethan Ehrlich attended WHMS from 2008-2012. He will be running track for the University of Tampa. |
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Members of the WHMS Class of 2017 have made their college choices. We wish them the best as they leave high school and head to college this fall.
- Berklee College of Music
- Brown University
- Endicott College
- Hudson Valley Community College (2)
- Marist College (2)
- Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT)
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Binghamton University, State University of New York
- University of Massachusetts at Amherst
- University of Miami
- Villanova University
- Wellesley College
- Yale University
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Upcoming Events
Friday, May 14
Grandparents' and Special Friends' Day - Online presentation
Half-day, noon dismissal
Thursday, May 18
Alumni Banquet for the WHMS Class of 2020
Monday, May 24
WHMS Board of Trustees meeting, 6 p.m.
Wednesday, May 26
WHMS Diversity Committee meeting, 5 p.m.
Thursday, May 27
Upper El picnic, Peebles Island
Tuesday, June 7 - Friday, June 11
MS Class Trip, Adirondack Camp
Friday, June 18
Last Day of School
- Lower El Moving Up, 9 a.m.
- Upper El Moving Up, 1 p.m.
- 8th-grade Graduation, 4 p.m.
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