Woodstock CT Café

When delayed openings are necessary the Woodstock Public Schools will be using a 2 Hour Delay. This synchronizes the WPS and the WA.

In light of the two weather emergencies experienced in the beginning of the year, the Academy has modified their calendar as follows:

Jan. 23 – Regular school day
Jan. 31 & Feb 1 – EXAMS Dismissal 12:00 PM
Feb. 2 – Transition Day – 2 Hour Delay (start time 9:40)
Feb. 17 – PD Day – Dismissal 11:32
Feb. 21 – Regular Day
Mar. 23 – Regular Day – not PD Day

We wish we had more opportunities to talk about the directions and accomplishments of Academy graduates after leaving Woodstock. Admin

See the article in the Villager on page 3 – an interview with Ernie Wetzel Jr who joined the Marines after graduating from the Academy in 2008. Ernie and brother, Zack, were on the first WA football team in the fall of 2005. Our daughter, Mariah, was the team manager at the time. Father Ernie Wetzel (right) was elected Woodstock First Selectman in November 1999 and served two terms from 1999 to 2003.

The following article was published in August 2006 in anticipation of the first Varsity Football season at the Academy. In the first season in the fall of 2005, only Junior Varsity Football was played.

‘All the players were stars on this day…’

On Monday evening, September 26th, 2005, Woodstock Academy Centaurs launched its first football team in 80 years kicking off the season against football stronghold, Fitch Falcons of Robert E. Fitch Senior High School from Groton CT. This was a junior varsity game composed of Freshman, Sophomore, and Junior student players. The inauguration of our football program was made possible, in part, by the fundraising activities of the WA Booster Club. Through their tireless efforts, $30,000 was raised to purchase the necessary equipment for the football team.

Becki and I, both avid college football fans, attended the game uncertain of what kind of football we would see. For the last three years we have attended nearly all of the UConn home football games at Rentschler Field to watch UConn quickly emerge as a top-notch college football team. Over the years we have also attended many football games at other high-powered colleges like Stanford, Air Force, and Pittsburgh to name a few. So we braced ourselves primarily out of concern for our untested players.

Our team kicked off to Fitch to start the game. Within a few minutes Fitch had moved the ball 70-yards down the field by completing three long passes to score the first touchdown. Then Fitch kicked off to Woodstock. We then proceeded to move the ball back up the field grinding out yardage in a long sustained drive that reached the Fitch 30-yardline before stalling. This pattern more or less set the tone for the night in a game that ended with Fitch winning by 45-13.

This score did not reflect the quality of the game played by the Centaurs. Fitch was obviously a solid, seasoned team with a top-notch quarterback who could pass like a varsity starter. But Woodstock matched up well in grit against Fitch for most of the game. My impression throughout the game was that we were seeing high quality play. Our quarterback John Norman (#4) and tailback Adam Gumula (#20) impressed all with a solid ground game through the center of a much larger opposing line. Adam also punted and kicked field goals/extra points. The sound of players colliding on each play was impressive yet no player on our team struggled to get off the ground play after play. Defensive high points came when Zach Berquist (#56) single-handedly downed the larger fullback at the line; then Ernie Wetzel (#57) sacked the quarterback in similar fashion and intercepted a pass; and then Zack Wetzel (#30) wrapped himself around the legs of the Fitch halfback in a flying tackle to force a fumble right in front of us. Martha Wetzel jumped up and down in sheer joy as the Wetzel boys impressed us all with their outstanding play. Many other parents were also watching their sons intently as they performed on the field. In spite of the fact that we were losing throughout the game, the prevailing attitude along the sidelines by the team and the 50 or so fans was that this was a win for Woodstock. All the players were stars on this day and their satisfaction and joy in their accomplishments was obvious to all.

Hats off to Head Coach, Jemal Davis and his coaching staff, Bernie Norman, Jonathan Knowles, and Greg Smith, for putting together a solid team that will grow into a strong varsity program in its second year. John

Other football stories.

We took these pictures today (Saturday Jan. 7th).
1. From the west end of the field on the south side. Note the terraces for seats that are unfinished. The field has been covered with synthetic turf with lines for all of the possible sports.
2. The center of the field with the WA logo.
3. The west end of the field.
4. The stone barrier on the edge of the woods at the west end.
5. Looking to the west end of the field from the east end.
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from Newcomer

And from where did the dearly departed Mr. Hitchens obtain his 44% statistic? If he felt that the majority of Christians believe that Jesus will return to end the world within the next 50 years, I believe he was mistaken. I have heard of fringe groups of fundamentalist Christians who predict the end of the world, only to be later proven wrong when we’re all still here. Anyone who claims to know when the Second Coming will take place is a pure, unadulterated idiot, if not a delusional one.

Why do people like Mr. Harris and Mr. Hitchens sound surprised and dismayed that religion plays a role in U.S. politics? This is a nation that was formed by men who were fed up with religious persecution. But their answer was not to disavow organized religion and form a secular nation. Their answer was to form a nation wherein people were free to worship their God however they saw fit, free from governmental persecution. The U.S. is a nation founded on the basis of Judeo-Christian principles. This modern push to turn us into a secular, Godless nation is nothing new and therefore does not represent “progress” by any means. Throughout history, Religion comes into and goes out of fashion among intellecutal elites who fancy themselves too evolved to be taken in by the likes of organized religion. Some of the founding fathers were intellectuals too, well aware of the intricacies of balancing intrusive government vs. intrusive religions. Students of the Enlightenment, they chose a prudent path and developed a system of government that while far from perfect, is still better than any other out there and they chose to give the “Creator” a shout-out in the process. We don’t have minds like Franklin and Jefferson around today. If we do, I haven’t seen them yet. Read the rest of this entry »

from John

I have decided that I need to write something to kick off the New Year at the Café … but what to write about? Maybe I’ll talk about a little bit of everything. Things that have been foremost in my mind lately are the Republican Presidential campaign, evolution of the species, and modern genetics. So this is where I will start.

First, why do Presidential candidates campaign with their religious beliefs? Why is it important at the national level that you have religion? Romney has a religion but doesn’t want to talk about it … or maybe he is saddled with his parents religion and doesn’t really care. The discussion revolving around his religion has mainly been that it’s the wrong religion but I don’t think that discussion is coming from agnostics and atheists. It is coming from professed Christians – the ‘right’ ones. It’s my impression that Christians can be the most critical of the religious beliefs of others – beliefs that they don’t share. I once heard a group of ‘born-again’ Christians indicting others in their flock because they didn’t speak in tongues.

What would happen if a professed agnostic or atheist ran a serious and charismatic campaign for the presidency? This could be no worse than a pizza salesman, a Morman, a black man, or an anti-gay who doesn’t believe in genetic predisposition. I would like to see an agnostic or an atheist run so we could test and learn the response of the electorate. What about a candidate who openly believes in genetic evolution and natural selection as the origin of the species? There would probably be candlelight vigils around the country to defeat the infidel. Even today, teachers who attempt to educate students on Darwin’s well-accepted theory would be run out of the teaching profession.

Darwin developed his theory on the origin of the species during the three decades between 1830 and 1859 when he published his first thesis, “Origin of the Species.” Part of his basis for this theory was his acknowledgement of the cruelty of nature in selection of the fittest. The coup de grace of his Christianity was the devastating death of his daughter, Annie, at the age of eleven. She likely died from tuberculosis but at that time, 1851, TB was not understood as a single disease because of the diversity of its symptoms. It would be interesting to see a candidate who publicly embraces Darwin’s theory pursue the Presidency. It’s my impression that Hilary is not religious, at least based on her public persona. Perhaps she could be the first; but she probably would not come forth with this belief if she has it. It’s hard to believe that Ron Paul is religious – I don’t think he has spoken about this.

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