Ms. Piccoli receives Vermont Humanities Council Award

The Vermont Humanities Council Victor Swanson Award

award goes out to an educator who has shown excellence in teaching humanities. Ms. Piccoli was announced as this year's winner at the Best Wednesday Assembly in September.

Ms.Piccoli, who is the librarian at WUHSMS, runs two book clubs. One of her book clubs is for faculty and staff and the other is for students. For students in the school there is a young adults diverse book club. Their first book this year was Blackout, a collection of short stories all about the same blackout, written by six different African American female authors.

“Reading diverse books is a great way to make connections through a reading lens. It’s important to read diverse stories by diverse authors to get a diverse learning experience,” Maria Sell, a member of the club said.

Staff members also report enjoying their diverse book club. “ I really love the intellectual book group you have established where we can be students instead of teachers, and get snacks too!” Book Club member Ms. Fountain told Ms. Piccoli.

Ms. Piccoli also enjoys the book clubs. “it's a nice way to get together with students and teachers, and it's something I've always looked forward to because we all get to enjoy the same books.”

Piccoli also partners with teachers to bring humanities into their classrooms. For example, she teamed up with the art department to teach about protest art. She even set up a zoom with a real protest artist.

“This new award has given our school the opportunity to invite a guest speaker and we get to choose the topic. I am thinking of a Castleton professor who would teach us about Afghanistan women's rights,” Piccoli said.