Woodland School District 50

Celebrating 12 Years of Woodland’s Dual Language Immersion Program! This year marks an incredible milestone: Woodland’s first Dual Language students are graduating from high school! We are thrilled to have been part of these students’ academic and bilingual journeys—from their first steps in the program to this amazing achievement. This celebration is a tribute to the dedication, perseverance, and passion of everyone involved—our students, families, teachers, and staff. From the program’s humble beginnings to now, in 110 classrooms and serving more that 1,300 students, the Dual Language Immersion Program stands as one of Woodland’s proudest accomplishments. Today we honor the past, celebrate the present, and look ahead with excitement as we continue to support and grow this transformative program for current and future Woodland students. Watch our Dual Language Celebration Video NOW! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QMfG2rSzprw

Woodland Board of Education News! On Thursday, April 24, 2025 the Woodland Board of Education held its April Governing Board Meeting and a Special Organizational Meeting to welcome new board members after the April 1 Election. The Board welcomes three new members, Julia Plescia, Keri Rasmussen, and Joel Zwiefelhofer who were elected to the Board in April. Dr. Carla Little was also sworn in after being re-elected to the Board to serve another term. Brianna Powvens, Amy Sabor, and Gari Matsey were not up for re-election this year and their service to our learning community continues. At the special reorganization meeting, the Board of Education selected new officers to leadership positions. Woodland D50 Board of Education Officers: • Brianna Powvens, President • Amy Sabor, Vice President • Joel Zwiefelhofer, Secretary Best Wishes to Members Leaving the Board: • Anna Bennett • Corey Holmer • Renea Amen Thank you for your service to our learning community! The Board also celebrated the WMS Science Olympiad Team, the annual Illinois Principals Association Student Leadership award winners, and Woodland’s Dual Language Immersion Program. Finally, Mrs. Katie Satterlee joins the WMS team to fill an Assistant Principal vacancy. For full details, see the weekly newsletter: https://secure.smore.com/n/80vkz

Today, we celebrated the perfect pairing of Earth Week and Volunteer Week at Primary! Parent volunteers joined our teachers to help our littlest Wildcats bring their creativity to life by making class handprint flowers outside their classroom. These volunteers helped each student pick a color, paint their hand, and press it onto the wall to form the petals of a special, one-of-a-kind class flower. (And an extra big thank you for making sure the paint stayed only on the walls!) It was messy work, but we are incredibly grateful for our parent volunteers who bring energy, patience, and big hearts into our schools. We couldn’t do it without you!

Congratulations to this group of incredible Wildcats for being recognized as Illinois Principals Association (IPA) award recipients! Two winners from each school were recognized at the annual awards breakfast for going above and beyond to serve their school community. This event allows for school leaders to celebrate positive student leadership with the student as well as their families. Thank you to this group of students for representing our district at this event. We are so proud of you! #LifeintheW

Happy Earth Day from Woodland Primary! Today our Wildcats celebrated Earth Day with an all school Assembly. School leaders and teachers–along with Captain Planet (Wiley the Wildcat)--led students in Earth Day dances, a song, games, and taught them about what it means to be green and take care of our planet.

Let's hear it for Mr. Diaz as part of our Student Teacher spotlight! Mr. Diaz will be graduating from Concordia University Wisconsin in a few weeks, and our Woodland Wildcats have helped him prepare for a career in education. Today Mr. Diaz led Intermediate students through a warm up before they went outside to run the mile. Mr. Ahonen, Mr. Dovichi, and Mr. Diaz split up along the course to encourage the students to keep going, and to provide times at the half-way point, and at the finish line. Woodland has been fortunate to have several other fantastic student teachers throughout the year. It’s inspiring to see the next generation of educators already making a difference in our classrooms and in the lives of our students! #LifeintheW

Woodland’s Bilingual Parent Advisory Committee (BPAC) visited the Brushwood Center at Ryerson Woods for a nature hike. While they were there, members created custom painted umbrellas! The next BPAC Meeting is May 21, 2025 at 7 p.m. #LifeintheW https://www.dist50.net/o/dist50/page/bpac

Today, our amazing 8th Grade Lynx team at Middle School stepped up to make an impact in our community. Students volunteered their time to assemble emotional first aid kits for A Safe Place, designed to bring a moment of comfort and a little joy to individuals during an extremely difficult time. Together Middle School staff and students–with lightning fast teamwork–created as many kits as possible and used every available item. Thank you to these awesome Wildcats for taking the time to help others in our community. This is #LifeintheW!

Registration for Wildcat Summer Adventures closes on Friday, April 18! There is still time to register for Wildcat Summer Adventures! Our dynamic summer enrichment program offers students a wide variety of hands-on activities, learning opportunities, and outdoor fun. Learn more, see photos from last year, register - https://secure.smore.com/n/x3d0u We hope you will join us for a fantastic Summer in the W!

We want to give a big shout out to one of our amazing Student Teachers here at Woodland — Mrs. Fapso! She’s been working closely with Mrs. Dylla and some very lucky Primary students as she completes her student teaching preparation program. Her dedication, energy, and passion for education can be seen and help create a positive and engaging learning environment for her students. Please join us in wishing Mrs. Fapso all the best as she finishes her time with us. Her last day will be April 27th and there’s no doubt her students will miss her daily support in the classroom. We’re also proud to have several other fantastic student teachers here at Woodland. It’s inspiring to see the next generation of educators already making a difference in our classrooms and in the lives of our students!

Last week, Elementary hosted a fantastic Family Fun Night! Students, families, teachers, staff, and even Wiley came together to enjoy an evening full of excitement, fun, and connection. There was popcorn, snacks, and delicious options from local food trucks for our families to try. The night featured a variety of fun activities, including slime making, mini-golf, volleyball, and a Wildcat dance party. The Woodland PTA also held a book fair for everyone to enjoy. It was a great night at Elementary filled with fun for everyone!

Please Join Us - The final WISE Meeting of the 2024-2025 School Year is happening this Wednesday! WISE stands for Woodland Inclusion and Special Education Empowerment. This is a Special Education Resource Group for parents. Date: Wednesday, April 16, 2025 Time: 5:30 - 7:00 p.m. Topic: Academic Transitions at Woodland District 50 This session will outline what our Woodland teams do to help students adjust to new school environments, schedules, and expectations! Learn more & RSVP: https://secure.smore.com/n/aug5nr

The results are in... This past Saturday, our fabulous WMS students competed at the Illinois Science Olympiad State Tournament. They won 4th place out of 46 middle school teams across the state! We are so proud of you! Beyond the tremendous success of the team overall, 14 individual team members won at least one medal in a total of eight events, including build events, lab events and content knowledge events. Students who won Medals: 1st place gold medals - Sharon V., Raashi M., Ashwin C. and Rohan R. 2nd place medals - Ansh P., Mukilan P., Shane W., Issac M., Eli B., and Chase A. 3rd place- Rushan M., Raashi M., Ansh P. 4th place-Brendan V., Sharon V., Thenilla P., and Aisha H. A special thank you to many of the proud parents who shared photos with us so that we can share them with you! Let's hear it for our Science Olympiad Wildcats! #LifeintheW 🤩

Our Intermediate Wildcats were recently invited to a special behind-the-scenes lunch where they had the unique opportunity to sample potential new cafeteria menu items and share their feedback on the food and Quest Foods, our new vendor here at Woodland. Quest workers have had a busy first year, working hard to ensure student voices are heard while also meeting strict nutritional guidelines. Their mission is to serve meals that are not only healthy but also delicious! The crowd favorite from the tasting event was the taco salad. But the real star of the show was the whole grain chocolate chunk cookie! We want to say thank you to our amazing students for taking the time to participate and share their thoughts. And an even bigger thank you to our dedicated Quest staff—your hard work, patience, and commitment to our students does not go unnoticed. 💚🐯

It’s Safety Week at Primary, and our Wildcats have been starting their mornings with smiles from very special visitors! Today, students were welcomed to school by members of the Gurnee Police Department. Joining them were Carrie Wing and therapy dog Linden from the Lake County Children's Advocacy Center for their Blue Kids Campaign–their visit brought smiles, cheers, and lots of pets. These Wildcats have also had visits from the Gurnee Fire Department, Woodland Maintenance Team, and will soon see members of the U.S. Marine Corps. We’re grateful for all of our community partners who help teach our students that safety is a team effort, and who are making each morning just a little bit brighter.

Happy Assistant Principal Appreciation Week! We want to give a huge THANK YOU to our incredible Woodland APs for everything they do for our schools, students, and staff. Every day, these passionate educational leaders go above and beyond; advocating, problem-solving, supporting, and showing how much they care. It’s an honor to celebrate them this week and every week. Thank you for all that you do!

STRIKE while the excitement is high and do not SPARE any effort in congratulating our Woodland bowlers! 🎳 Congratulations to the boys and girls bowling teams who competed at Sectionals this past Saturday at Lakeside Recreational Center in Mundelein. The girls finished in 4th place and the boys took 3rd place. Both teams qualified and will be competing at the State tournament this weekend in Joliet. * Notable performance - Mathew M had a score of 755 and finished in 8th place on the leader board. This is how we roll at #LifeintheW

Wrapping up Yoga Week at Woodland Primary! Morning meeting, Pledge of Allegiance, a class birthday, and Yoga Under the Sea... a great way to start a Friday. #LifeintheW

Woodland is honored to be featured in the Lake County Regional Office of Education #34 April Newsletter! Thank you to our followers for being part of our Belonging and Inclusion story. https://myemail.constantcontact.com/Lake-County-ROE-April-2025-Newsletter.html?soid=1141969542112&aid=_TiGn0AkIAY

Hi there! My name is Truett, and I am a very good boy. I am a service dog and my job is to help students at Woodland District 50. This is Wildcat territory, so I need help working on my ROAR. Will you cheer me on for my birthday? Thank you #LifeintheW friends! 🥳