Editor's Note:  This spring, Rectory 8th-grader, Yoyo Z., wrote an essay for The New York Times 2020 Student Editorial Contest. She wanted to express her deep concerns about the initial discrimination directed towards people of Chinese heritage when the COVID-19 health crisis first started to spread...

With fewer obligations to fulfill during such an unusual time (i.e., the COVID-19 pandemic), it’s easy to let yourself slack off. However, with motivation, it’s just as easy to achieve astonishing improvements. Isolation is a precious opportunity for us to work on forgotten hobbies since there are...

Editor's Note: The following is a recounting of the trip that Leon K. took with his mother from Woodstock, CT,  back to China this past spring (2020). As a writing assignment, his tutor, Mr. Warnick, asked Leon to keep a daily journal of his trip and to take photos along the way, so that he could describe...

Did you know that Rectory’s Spanish teacher, Mrs. Kara Burke, has a blog about cooking? And did you know she has a twin sister named Marni? Well, we are excited to tell you about the cooking blog that Mrs. Burke and her twin sister have online; it’s called Twin Tastes, and you can check it out here:...

China is famous for a variety of foods and unique ways of cooking them. We wanted to introduce you to a few unique, but delicious Chinese foods that we have eaten personally and that are considered to be delicacies in China. They are expensive and are usually eaten in authentic Chinese restaurants and/or...

If you've been staying current with The DiRectory, you know that the students in Mrs. Haines' 6th-grade class have been studying the elements of poetry throughout the spring term. Each week the students wrote a new poem, and then the class voted on their top three favorite poems. The attached video includes...

Gently, and gradually, Myron woke up. Opening her eyes, she saw nothing. There was no difference whether she opened her eyes or not; the plain and silent darkness filled her vision. Myron tried to touch something to help her stand up. She stretched out her legs and arms, but could only feel the nothingness...

With summer just around the corner, Rectory School hosted an exciting virtual “First Friday” event on May 1st, which, luckily, happened to be on a Friday. In this particular activity, students and teachers painted a picture of our beloved student pavilion. The final product resembled the pavilion...

The Hate U Give is a brilliant protest against racism and police brutality. Though tales with similar morals are common, the personal twists of author Angie Thomas separate this one from the rest.  Set in the fictional town of Garden Heights, the story opens traumatically. On the way back home from...

Mrs. Haines' sixth graders continued their study of the elements of poetry during this spring term of distance-learning. The new poems they wrote during weeks 2 and 3 of their poetry unit used sensory imagery and poetic sound devices to express their thoughts and feelings about their favorite colors...