In celebration of National Arab American Heritage Month, the Arabic Club at WMS hosted a cultural exchange event for teachers and administrators. Guests were welcomed with Moroccan mint tea served by Mr. Aablouche, and then Arabic Club members presented insights into Arabic language and culture. The students also shared highlights from club meetings and activities throughout the year. Guests had the opportunity for hands-on learning as they were taught how to write their names in Arabic script.
Kindergarten Information Night & Teacher Panel, April 29
Join us TONIGHT! This event will provide you with a picture of what to expect in kindergarten. Because this is a presentation, it is designed for parents and caregivers only.
In addition to presentations on Monolingual Kindergarten and Dual Language Kindergarten, we will have a panel of teachers to provide information and answer questions about what to expect for your student as they enter Kindergarten. Our goal is to set you and your child up for success. We hope to see you there!
Date: Monday, April 29
Time: 5:30 -6:30 p.m.
Location: Woodland Primary
We are excited to announce that five wonderful Woodland staff members will be recognized by the Lake County Regional Office of Education at their annual awards banquet on May 8!
School districts across Lake County will be sending the best of the best to this event to celebrate excellence in teaching and to recognize school district personnel who contribute to the education of our youth through their work as administrators, educators, and support staff.
Please join us in congratulating these amazing #LifeintheW team members:
💚 Amber Beutel, Educator of the Year: Diverse Learner Teacher – Primary
💚 Sherri Peck, Educator of the Year: Elementary/Early Childhood Teacher – Elementary
💚 Margarita Castrejón, Educator of the Year: Middle School Teacher – Middle School
💚 Tiffany Drake, Educator of the Year: School Administrator – Middle School
💚 Kenny Lohfink, Educational Service Personnel of the Year – Operations & Facilities
Wondering who you might see, or the types of activities you will be able to do at Family Fun & Games Night? Here are a few pictures from the 1st night. We hope to see you tonight!
#LifeintheW
These students are having a great year with Mrs. Peck and Ms. Garcia! They were learning about biographies, comparing and contrasting, fractions, practicing a variety of skills during centers (reading, writing, and math), and working together - all in one morning. A warm and welcoming space for learning 💚 #LifeintheW
Woodland is hiring! We are looking for the next Director of Educational Services to join the #LifeintheW team. Learn more about this opportunity HERE:
https://www.applitrack.com/dist50/OnlineApp/default.aspx?Category=Administration
A visit to Ms. Beutel's class at Woodland Primary will have you smiling from ear to ear! These Kindergarten students were so excited to show off all the fun ways they practice their math skills around the classroom. #LifeintheW
The Woodland D50 Board of Education will meet on Thursday, Apr. 25, 2024.
Meeting Information & Agenda - https://www.smore.com/n/3s9kb
After reading a poem about Spring, these Elementary students are drawing what they visualized using sidewalk chalk! #LifeintheW
Primary School Teacher Named Woodland’s Gurnee Teacher of the Year! Please help us congratulate Carrie Monterroso as the district winner for the 2023-2024 School Year.
Announcement: https://www.smore.com/n/mfkqr
Many amazing educators were nominated this year! Thank you to all who submitted nominations and for your enthusiastic support of our teachers and staff. #LifeintheW
Happy Earth Day! Mrs. Bogdala's class started the day with a special book about the Earth read by Annaliese and her mom. #LifeintheW 🌎
Mrs. Filipowicz introduced her students to some wiggly friends today. The students observed mealworms as they learned about the life cycle of insects. Hands on learning in the W!
The Gift of Art!
Elementary artists recently created drawings of monsters and superheroes for a project with art students at Warren Township High School. Officer Hansen was really impressed with their artwork, so with a little help from Mrs. Wilinski, they turned their drawings into a framed collage for Officer Hansen's office!
A field trip for parents!
Several members of the Bilingual Parent Advisory Committee (BPAC) took a field trip to Brushwood Center at Ryerson Woods to learn about the “It’s A W.I.N.” program. Here are a few photos from the group’s therapeutic walk through the forest. 🌳🌲🌿
"It’s A W.I.N." stands for Art & Wellness In Nature, a community-driven initiative to increase equitable access to the health benefits of nature, and cultivate rich cultural connections to the natural world.
The next BPAC meeting is May 21, from 7 – 8 p.m. at Woodland Intermediate. Watch for details HERE: https://www.dist50.net/o/dist50/page/bpac
Today was the very first meeting of the brand new Garden Club at Woodland Intermediate. You would be surprised how much these students know about plants and gardening already! One student even gave a little fist pump ("Yes!") when Mrs. Dorgan mentioned Milkweed being a native plant because he raises butterflies. Another student mentioned that she learned a LOT about plants from her mother who works for the Chicago Botanic Garden.
For the first meeting, they toured the Courtyard to understand the space they would be working with, and to estimate out how much sun each area would get throughout the day. Intermediate received an Illinois Schoolyard Habitat Action Grant from the Illinois Department of Natural Resources to fund this project and the Garden Club members are excited to get started!
Club Sponsors: Mrs. Dorgan & Mrs. Valkenaar
This right here!
A friendship through the years... 💚
In the first picture, you will see a Woodland Elementary teacher with her 1st grade student. In the second picture, you will see that the student is now all grown up and teaching side-by-side with her favorite teacher.
Ms. Kauck is a first year teacher at Woodland Elementary, and she teaches next door to Ms. Cohen! They have such a special connection and a great story of the relationships people build here at Woodland. Claudia talks about how Ms. Cohen was her favorite teacher and her inspiration for going into the field of education in the Woodland Wildcast: https://woodlandwildcast.podbean.com/e/inspiring-stories-from-four-educators-with-something-unique-in-common/
In a recent "Friday Feel Good" (an internal staff to staff recognition system) Ms. Cohen paid tribute to Ms. Kauck's contributions to Woodland which you can see in the 3rd picture. #LifeintheW
REMINDER! April 17 is a School Improvement Planning (SIP) Day which is an early release for students. Staff professional development will take place in the afternoon.
Calendar: https://www.dist50.net/o/dist50/page/school-year-calendar
Early Release Times:
Primary - 10:40 a.m., Elementary - 10:50 a.m., Middle School - 11:35 a.m., Intermediate - 12:20 p.m.
The 5th graders in Mrs. Klein's class recently visited Ms. Shiffer's English Language Arts Lab. You might think you are looking at pictures of students playing games, but these are pictures of students practicing reading standards (while playing games)! #LifeintheW
April is Child Abuse Prevention Month
Woodland D50 has once again joined forces with area organizations to help raise awareness for Child Abuse Prevention Month in April! We are participating in the Blue Kids Lake County Program because sharing knowledge and resources about child abuse sends the message that all children deserve a chance at a safe childhood. Thank you to Detective Hansen for creating beautiful blue pinwheel displays with Woodland students! And thank you to Woodland staff members for wearing blue today to show that we all play a role in the safety of children in our community.
Reserve Your Spot for Wildcat Summer Adventures!
Looking for something fun AND educational for your Wildcat this summer? Wildcat Summer Adventures (WSA) is Woodland's summer school program. The program runs June 11 - July 3, Monday - Friday, 9 a.m. - 2:30 p.m. (No School June 19)
Program Flyer: https://5il.co/2drlg
Registration for Wildcat Summer Adventures will be open until May 1! Log in to Skyward Family Access, and select "Online Forms" from the column on the left. Questions? Risa Cohen, rcohen@dist50.net
https://www.dist50.net/page/summer-adventures
