I am concerned that people are using way too much of their time to play video games instead of playing board games. I know that you probably can’t do anything about this, but just do what you can.

I just want to be able to hang out with friends more. I have experienced this every day since 4th grade, and it makes me feel sad. For example, I was at a party and I went outside when everyone was inside playing video games. So I just did my own thing.

I think that phones should have a limit like after 11 p.m. they should only be used for emergency uses. People use them too much. I do the same thing. I need to start to work on not being on it so much and start focusing on doing other things that aren’t video games.

When I am there during the summer, I don’t see a lot of people outside. I know that they could be somewhere, but I know most kids and teens are probably playing video games or just watching videos on their phones.

People have changed a lot over the years. I would like to hang out with friends more often. Some parents should take part in this. Some parents don’t even care if they think it’s good for them, but it changes them. My brother and I have the same problem. I want that to change, like right now.

Keegan Cooley
VUMS Student

---

Students at Vergennes Union Middle School finished a civics unit by writing open letters. The driving question was: What makes democracy work? To create this final project, teachers and students used the New York Times open letter contest framework. Students could choose any topic they felt passionate about. The letters are being published in several different venues: in our school newsletter, on Front Porch Forum, in The Addison Independent, and on school bulletin boards. Two students submitted their letters to the NYT contest! Our students did a wonderful job writing these letters, and we hope you enjoy reading the ones that appear here. We expect these students will continue to use their voices to highlight issues they care about!

Libby Payeur and Nan Guilmette
VUMS Humanities Teachers