Catamount Times
December, 2015
Cast of Fall Play Goes on Caroling
Tour of St. Johnsbury
School Fundraising to Help
Children in Uganda
On Dec. 1, the cast of
the fall play went around
town to go caroling. During
the day, we went to the St.
John sbury Welcome Center, St. Johnsbury Health
and
Rehab,
the
St.
Johnsbury House, Grace
Methodist Ladies Christmas Luncheon and Pizza
Hut. (Just for lunch - don’t
worry, we didn’t cause a
public disturbance. Well,
maybe just a little.)
For a couple of weeks
before that, we prepared
songs, poems, stories,
jokes and instrumental per- Students performed at the St. Johnsbury Welcome
Center during their caroling tour of the town.
formances to perform during the tour, and we all worked really
cheer meant a lot to us and to them.
hard. I think that doing the tour was a
During one of our group numbers
really good
(“We Wish You a
I think that doing the tour was a really
idea,
beMerry Christmas”),
cause
we good idea, because we were able to go we even passed
around and make people happy.
were able to
out candy canes as
go around
a special little treat.
and make people happy.
We really enjoyed being able to
A lot of people at the places we
show off our talented group of St.
went to don’t have a lot of family left,
Johnsbury School students, and makhave disabilities, or just may not be
ing people happy in the process.
very happy with their lives. So for us
By Katie M.
to be able to go and spread holiday
Catamount Staff Reporter
For the past three years, our be happening Jan. 7, 26, 27 and Feb.
school has been participating in an 11.) The goal is to raise at least $600
organization called Chat to the Future. because that will take care of both
It’s a charity that raises money in or- Kate and Moses for six months.
The next goal for “Chat to the Fuder to support children in Uganda, a
country in East Africa. They need a lot ture” is to raise enough money to be
of money in order to get medical ser- able to build and own a house in
vices, education, food and water, etc., Uganda. It’s a big goal, but with 50
and that’s what this organization helps schools working in collaboration with
them, it’s surely
with.
The
founder, Not only does this have a benefit reachable.
Not only does
Adam McKim, has for the children in Uganda, but it
chatted with a varie- also benefits us because we learn this have a benefit
ty of grades and a bit about their culture, and they for the children in
can learn about ours.
Uganda, but it also
has shared with us
benefits us because
a lot of information
about how important this is and how we learn a bit about their culture, and
excited he is to be able to do this. Our they can learn about ours. That is anschool sponsors two kids named Kate other reason why this is such a great
and Moses. During our Skype call with opportunity. It would be incredible to
him on Dec. 3, he shared a little bit of know that we’ve helped other people
information about Kate and Moses who aren’t as lucky as we are to have
and how great they are, as well as everything we need at our fingertips,
and it would allow Kate and Moses to
how Chat to the Future got its start.
This year we are fundraising at live healthily and happily.
By Emily R.
home basketball games, by selling
Catamount Staff Reporter
things like snacks and water. (This will
A.V. Club Gets Drones!
The A.V. Club finally has drones!
Last year, when A.V. Club members
wanted to improve the program, we
decided a newer piece of technology
would be great. But what is an inexpensive bit of technology that is really
cool? A drone!
We ordered several Hubsan X4
quadcopters, and they have been
working beautifully. They are a little
difficult to drive, but it’s pretty easy
once you learn the controls. Several of
the
drones
broke on our
first run, but
that was the
whole
point:
we wanted to
improve on our
learning
by
repairing and
reusing
the
broken drones!
We are going to repair them soon,
and will hopefully find a way to take
parts of some and repair other, less
broken drones. The drones need to be
handled gently and we don’t have
many to spare, so this is currently an
exclusive program for old-school A.V.
Club members. But we may eventually
open it to different parts of the school.
It would take time and money but,
someday, I hope this school can get a
full-fledged drone program for anyone.
I think that the
drone club is
cool and I hope
that eventually
that awesomeness can be
shared
with
others.
By Tristan M.
Catamount
Staff Reporter
Schoolwide Pajama Drive Expanded
Started last year as a Pre-K and
Kindergarten project, the Pajama
Drive was expanded this year to include the entire school. Brand new
pajamas in a variety of sizes were
donated to the cause, to “help kids
make a better bedtime for other kids.”
3
The Pajama Drive is a benefit for
Umbrella, a nonprofit organization in
St. Johnsbury that serves survivors of
domestic violence and abuse. The
pajamas were donated on Dec. 18, as
part of the schoolwide Pajama Day at
the school to celebrate the effort.