The Occasional Slater: Some Of The News, Some Of The Time

VOLUME I - No. 1

The Occasional Slater:
Some Of The News, Some Of The Time

About this publication

The Occational Slater is a school newspaper that we hope you will enjoy! If you have any stories, please let us know.

June, 2022 Edition

Fair Haven Union High School Bowling Team Wins State Championship!

The Blue Cat of Castle Town...The Sequel

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Story by Mackenzie Balch

On March 6th, 2022, Fair Haven Union High School bowling team won state championships! There were ten teams in Barre Vermont at Twin City Lanes. Randolph Union High School and White River Valley played against each other first. Then South Burlington against Fair Haven Union High School, and Windsor High School against Brattleboro. Hartford High School played against Burlington. Fair Haven won against South Burlington...then, we beat one of the top teams in States - Randolph High School. In the final round Fair Haven Union High School went up against Brattleboro. The Slaters won!! I was shocked that we won against this team, because this was the first time we had ever played against Brattleboro.

This is the third time winning states in 2 years. States are very nerve-racking and scary. I am very proud of my team. All of the boys that did Bakers, a scoring competition, did an amazing job. It has been great working with all of the team. We will definitely miss our senior AJ next year.

I can't wait to bowl again in my junior year. I am excited to work with our new team captains Hunter, Josh, and Keenan. It's going to be fun and interesting next year.

Story by Mackenzie Balch

The Blue Cat of Castle Town is a children's novel by Catherine Coblentz, illustrated by Janice Holland. It tells the story of the kitten born on a blue moon, whose destiny was to bring the song of the river, with its message of how things turn blue, war, and peace, to the inhabitants of Castle Town. The book, illustrated by Janice Holland, was first published in 1949, and was a Newbery Honor recipient in 1950.

I grew up in Castleton. When I was in the third grade my teacher read this book to the class. We even had a school field trip and walked around Castleton, where the story took place. This inspired me to write the sequel called The Adventure of the Blue Cat of Castle Town. I wanted to continue the blue cat’s story. I kept some historical pieces in my story. The underground railroad is mentioned. Jon, one of the characters in the story and his mom were slaves. They were living in the Higley house, which was a house that was a part of the actual Underground Railroad.

I'm very grateful for my teachers, Ms. Ehler-Hansen and Mrs. McClure, as well as my illustrator, Max S. He has been a real great help and his drawings are beautiful.

EDITOR'S & OPINIONS CORNER

Welcome to this inaugural issue!

Michael W. Bruce, Editor & Faculty Advisor

Welcome to the inaugural issue of The Occasional Slater! This issue is the result of many weeks of work by our staff. As most of you know, the name of our paper was chosen based on a poll of the student body. We hope to make this newspaper a forum for student opinions, accomplishments, and concerns.

Every community needs a newspaper and we want this to be the voice of the student body here at FHUHS.

As we gear up for the upcoming 2022-2023 school year, we hope to bring you a new issue of The Occasional Slater every month. We plan to offer more content in the coming months and would welcome any students who would like to join our staff.

Mrs. Ehler-Hansen will also be assisting students in creating an online version of the paper each month, if you are interested in assisting her in those efforts. We appreciate your support and we welcome your feedback and suggestions.

Opinion Section
Do We Need Standardized Tests?

By Kat Shaw, Staff Writer

As we are nearing the end of testing season, there’s something schools need to talk about -- why are we using standardized tests? A standardized test is a test that has the same questions for every test
taker. The point of this is to supposedly compare student results to standards. Tests like the SAT, ACT, and SBAC are the most common
standardized tests in high school. But there is a growing amount of evidence that standardized tests are controversial.

According to the Vermont Agency of Education, SBAC tests are only performed to gather information about which students are meeting
specific standards and where this is happening as a reflection of overall academic achievement at a school and of the school’s staff. As author and
educator W. James Popham states, “These days, if a school's standardized test scores are high, people think the school's staff is effective. If a school's
standardized test scores are low, they see the school's staff as ineffective.” This means that while standardized tests are set-up to be about student
achievement, that's not entirely what they are being used for. So what's the rest of the truth about standardized tests?

Turns out, standardized tests can be highly discriminatory. According to educator Dr. Harold Berlak, “Research has shown that minorities
statistically have lower standardized test scores than whites because of existing, hidden biases in the development and administration of standardized tests and interpretation of their scores.” This brings
up the question if schools should continue to use such tests in the future. In addition, many colleges are no longer requiring applicants to have taken
SAT or ACT tests. Test-optional admissions are becoming more and more popular after two years of pandemic life, thus furthering the debate over
whether standardized tests deserve a place in our education systems at all.

The National Education Association created some alternatives to standardized tests: performance contracts, teacher-student and teacherparent-student interviews, teacher-developed tests, and criterion-referenced tests to name a few. These alternatives are supposed to be better than standardized tests because they directly reference the material covered in classes and because these tests prompt involvement from kids.

In summary, the standardized tests that we have been taking for years are being proven to be a way for teachers to be assessed, are discriminatory, and are often unnecessary for college acceptance. As our education systems evolve and grow, we have to consider whether standardized tests should be replaced or not. Ultimately, the decision will affect students for generations so it is imperative that the right decision is made.

Fair Haven Union High School Will Become Fair Haven Middle and High School in July, 2022!

Hallway Talk

Changes Coming For Next School Year

By Rylee Wilkins, Staff Writer

I asked my fellow students the question, "What is your opinion on the middle schoolers coming to the high school next year?" Here are some of their responses.

Reilly Marsden, 9th grade: “I feel like the high school is too crowded. And just trying to force a bunch of other kids into the school isn’t going to work. Because you’re taking away the opportunities that high schoolers have by cutting programs and firing teachers, just in order to have a middle school. But it's now come down to money instead of what benefits the students and their learning.”

Armani Price, 11th grade: “My thoughts on the middle schoolers coming to the high school - I think it’s going to be a change in atmosphere. It’s going to be very different. They’re going to have to adjust to us and depending on what happens it could go either good or bad.”
Jillian Hetrick, 12th grade: “I don’t think it’s a bad thing particularly. I think having younger kids exposed to older ones might show the youngest kids how to act.”

Aspen Wood, 11th grade: “I think there’s benefits and downsides to it, like any situation. One of my biggest concerns is that despite being in a separate building from upperclassmen, younger kids have a higher chance of being exposed to things beyond their maturity level. On the flip side, I think it allows for more flexibility in terms of sports and clubs, and potential funding due to larger amounts of interest.”

Matthew Pidgeon, 9th grade: “Having more students in the school is going to be more difficult, but I think everyone is gonna be fine with it. I like the idea to be honest. The idea of having the middle school attached to the school is a smart idea because there will be more opportunities for new teachers to come in and teach, plus more opportunities for more subs to come in and have a job.”

Erin Tiburske, 11th grade: “I'm kind of neutral on it. Financially I see why the district is moving them, but socially I think it's gonna be really stressful for the middle schoolers. I worry about how some of the upperclassmen will act towards them through the adjustment period, but overall the move isn’t a bad thing.”

Azure Wood, 10th: “I’m very much excited to help middle schoolers and guide them through their journey through high school. I think it’s a wonderful opportunity for different age groups to mix and talk to each other. And speak about our own experiences… I think it’s cool, because personally there's a lot of things I wish I could tell my middle school self… I just hope it’s not overcrowded.”

Vivian Ladabouche, 9th: “I feel like it’s a good opportunity for the middle schoolers because then they don’t have to go into high school without knowing anyone from other schools. But it also takes away from the specialness for 8th grade. Such as graduation and trips. I also feel like it’s a pain for the high schoolers because 14-18 year olds are more mature than 12-14 year olds.”

Sara Gutel, 10th: “I have mixed feelings about it, I think it will be cool and fun to have middle school at the high school because some people, including me, are friends with some of them and some of them are siblings, so it would be cool to have them come. I also think that in some ways it won’t be the best just because of the age differences between everyone, different maturity levels, and being exposed to different things.”

Star Felion, 12th: “I think it’d be good because brothers and sisters will be here. I feel like it’d be good for them to come here. I know a lot of people don’t like the idea, but I think it’d be cool.”

By Rylee Wilkins, Staff Writer

I recently spoke with Superintendent Brooke Olsen-Farrell and Director of Curriculum Casey O’Meara and they clued me in on the big changes happening in this coming year. One of the biggest changes is the addition to the school name. “It’ll be a slight change, it’ll be Fair Haven Middle & High School,” O’Meara stated.

When asked about new courses being offered in the incoming school year, O’Meara replied, “We have a digital arts teacher that will be joining us for the middle and high school… we’ve ordered a number of iMacs and tablets that can be used with that class… We will have a teacher offering courses on workplace skills and entrepreneurship for the high school next year as well.” The middle school set up will be similar to Castleton Village School. Only one floor and the gym will switch to being used as a cafeteria during lunch time. “They’re going to eat lunch and have phys ed. in that space,” OlsenFarrell replied. “We’re able to put in a new climbing wall in the middle school. After school it could be used for a club,” O’Meara chimed in.

Although they’re separated from the high school, there will be moments where we intermingle. “The middle schoolers would have to go down the hall for band and chorus… and for the library and foreign language. The second floor of the building is entirely high school,” Olsen-Farrell stated.
It certainly sounds like we will all be adjusting to many changes next year.

ARTS & CULTURE

Slater Band & Chorus Spotlight

By Clara Young, Staff Writer

You may not be able to hear us when we’re hiding away in the band room, but the FHUHS band, chorus, and rock ensemble have been working hard and creating music all year, and it’s time to shine a much-deserved spotlight on the members of our school’s music program. As a member of both the band and chorus, I have seen first hand how much hard work and time these students put in in order to learn more about music and put on performances for our community and they deserve to be recognized for doing so.

This year didn’t start out easily for music, with mask requirements, bell covers for instruments, and social distancing. But even with these added difficulties the band, chorus, and rock ensemble still managed to put together and pull off a virtual concert in December to celebrate and show off what they were able to achieve during the first semester. It’s safe to say, however, that there was much excitement when we could finally put our masks and bells covers to the side, see each other’s faces, and make music with a sound even louder and fuller than before.

In March the rock ensemble successfully hosted the “Night of the Elephant”, which showcased the musical talent of many of our students, as well as some incredible artwork and performances from the theater club.

This spring marked an important moment for our band and chorus, when we were able to have our first in-person concert since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic. The music selections performed included a variety of pieces from movies and films. On May 4th, during our Celebration of Learning, the band and chorus had the opportunity to perform some of these pieces again, as well as some other songs that they were able to pull together in only a few days. With the year winding to a close, there aren’t many musical performances left, but the band will be playing in the Memorial Day parade in Fair Haven, and both groups will perform at graduation.

Another extremely notable musical accomplishment that should be recognized is the acceptance of six Fair Haven Union High School students into the All State Music festival, which took place at the beginning of May. In order to be accepted into the festival, students must learn a difficult solo piece, memorize thirteen different scales, and play a section of music without having practiced it beforehand. This year, out of hundreds of video auditions that were sent in, Sam Young (trombone 2-orchestra), Nate Young (euphonium 2), Royal Wood (euphonium-trombone 3), Kat Shaw (alto saxophone 2-1), Ayame Merkel (flute 1-1), and Clara Young (flute 2-3), were amongst the group of the most talented high school musicians in the state chosen to attend. They spent three days at Colchester High School rehearsing with other students from all over the state and played in a concert that included incredible performances from both the All State band and orchestra. Extra congratulations are also in order for Ayame Merkel, who was also chosen to attend the New England Music Festival in March as first flute, third chair, and represented our school as not only one of the most talented high school flute players in Vermont, but in all of New England.

The dedication, hard work, and incredible accomplishments of our student musicians deserve to be recognized, as do our music teachers Ms. Patch and Ms. Harris for all they’ve done to keep a music program up and running this year. Our four graduating seniors, Chris Colton, Alexis Martindale, Jay Morgan, and Jillian Hetrick, also deserve recognition for what they’ve brought to the band and chorus. We will miss them going into next year.

This spotlight on our musicians is one that they have rightfully earned for all they have achieved this year, and for all the music that they have brought to our high school.

ARTS & CULTURE

Slater Band & Chorus Highlights In Images!

ARTS & CULTURE

Slater Band & Chorus Highlights In Images!