Woodland School District 50

Celebrating Native American Heritage Month at Woodland Intermediate today! The students are learning important Native American history, the significance of traditional clothing, music, dances, and ceremonies. Ask you students about the intricate bead work, the symbolism of the feathers, and the relationship between the Native Americans and the animals and the land. #LifeintheW

Ms. McGinn's Challenge Math students take on the Marshmallow STEM Challenge! #LifeintheW

This past weekend, Illinois School leaders celebrated 90 years of leadership and learning at the 2023 Joint Annual Conference. Thank you to the Woodland D50 Board of Education Members and District Administrators who represented our school district at the conference. We cannot wait to see what new ideas, information, and resources you bring back to #LifeintheW! Several district leaders presented at the conference to share some of the amazing things we are doing at Woodland with colleges from across the state. • Dr. Lanée Walls, Associate Superintendent of Educational Services • Dr. Steven Thomas, Associate Superintendent of Teaching and Learning with Equity • Elizabeth A. Sánchez Szepesi, Director of Language Acquisition Hosted by the Illinois Association of School Boards, Illinois Association of School Administrators, and Illinois Association of School Business Officials and recognized as one of the nation's largest state education conferences, the Joint Annual Conference is a premier training event for school board members, administrators, and business officials.

Woodland held an Attendance Awareness Poster Contest in October. Winners were selected from each school, as well as one overall district winner. The poster contest winners were invited to lead meeting attendees in saying the Pledge of Allegiance at the November Board of Education Meeting. Congratulations to the Poster Contest Winners! Primary Winner - Shanaya J. Elementary Winner - Briana J. Intermediate Winner - Pranauv M. Middle School Winner & District Winner - Vinitra L.

The WMS Girls Soccer team had an undefeated season that ended with a Conference Championship! The students were invited to the November Board of Education Meeting to be recognized for their achievement.

Congratulations to Katie and Tyler for receiving the Young Citizenship Award from the Exchange Club of Gurnee. This award recognizes Student Leaders for having a positive impact on their school communities. Well done! #LifeintheW

School Board Members Day, Nov. 15 In honor of School Board Members Day in Illinois, we invite you to meet your Woodland D50 Board of Education! These seven individuals dedicate hundreds of volunteer hours over the course of the year in service to our learning community. The Board of Education helps pave the way for our staff and students by setting policy, making sound financial decisions, advocating for important public education advancements, and evaluating policies, programs, and services through an Equity and Inclusion Lens to provide exceptional learning experiences for all learners. Thank you for your commitment to making #LifeintheW a welcoming, safe place for students to achieve their dreams. We will continue the celebration tomorrow at the November Board of Education Meeting. Thursday, Nov. 16, Meeting Information and Agenda - https://www.smore.com/9f2ve #ThankABoardMember Illinois Association of School Boards

Thank you to the WMS Students of Service for helping out in the community over the weekend. All those beautiful leaves are falling, and it can be a big job to clean up your yard. Luckily many hands make light work! Here are a few photos from the "Rake & Run" on Nov. 12. #LifeintheW

The Woodland Parent Mentor Program is so much more than classroom volunteers! The Parent Mentors have weekly training, enrichment and outreach opportunities where they are able to meet new people and learn new skills that they can take back to use with students in the classroom. Last week they had a special guest join them for their "Beyond the Classroom" work. Gurnee Mayor Tom Hood spent time with our mentors to help build the school to community connection. We love to see these partnerships in action.

Big News! Did you know that we have a Guinness World Record holder on the #LifeintheW team? Paul Durietz has been working at Woodland since 1970. He was recently recognized with a Guinness World Record for the longest social studies teaching career at 53 years and counting. Every day that he comes to teach our Wildcats, he is breaking his own record. NBC 5 Chicago Suburban middle school teacher sets remarkable world record https://www.nbcchicago.com/news/local/suburban-middle-school-teacher-sets-remarkable-world-record/3276805/

Veterans Day: Students at Woodland Middle School were invited to fill out a Heart for their Hero during lunch periods. In honor of Veterans Day, 6th graders wore RED, 7th graders wore WHITE, and 8th graders wore BLUE. In the photos, you can see several student volunteers decorating the main entryway with the hearts submitted by students. Mr. Nelson was also recognized for his continued service to our country.

Veterans Day: The students at Woodland Intermediate invited their special veteran(s) to the school for a Veterans Day ceremony. The ceremony included a performance by the Veterans Day Choir and Guest Speakers from the community and the Gurnee Fire Department. There was also a Veterans Day Essay Contest, and the winners read their winning entries to the audience. Finally, the students presented their honored guest with a poppy and a cookie to thank them for their service.

We are now collecting donations for the Annual Holiday Food Drive. With the food and funds we collect as part of the Food Drive, we will set up a Woodland Food Pantry with hopes that ALL Woodland families enjoy this special time of year. (Pictures: Volunteers setting up the Food Pantry in 2022) Learn More: https://www.dist50.net/page/food-drive See what items we are collecting, make a financial donation, or register to receive food at the food pantry! #LifeintheW

Group work in action! The students in Mrs. Schumann’s class are creating community murals. Each community includes a neighborhood with "Fact Family Houses", and various buildings and other places typically found in a community. Fun fact: In addition to things like schools and libraries, nearly every mural has an easily recognizable McDonald’s and Target. The students explained that even though some of them prefer other fast food places, McDonald’s is the easiest to draw. Once the murals are complete, each group will name their community and then they will be displayed in the school.

The 1st Graders in Ms. Brooks class learned all about the life cycle of the plant. They also noticed some of the blending sounds they have been practicing - "SProut" "PLant" "FLower" and they were super excited to show each other all the extra details they added to their diagrams. Great job Wildcats #LifeintheW

Woodland D50 Celebrates National School Psychology Week to highlight the critical work school psychologists do to help students thrive. School psychologists support students' learning and mental and behavioral health, promote positive and inclusive school climates, serve on school safety and crisis teams, and collaborate with families, teachers, and administrators to help our Wildcats GROW! With your guidance, we grow as individuals, and we grow as a learning community. To Woodland’s dedicated School Psychologists, Happy #SchoolPsychWeek – Let’s Grow Together! #LifeintheW

Woodland D50 is now hiring for two important positions as we prepare for upcoming retirements. We are looking for a new Assistant Superintendent of Teaching and Learning, and a Student Information Systems and Data Manager. Learn more about these positions (and others) at: https://www.applitrack.com/dist50/OnlineApp/default.aspx

Woodland Students and Staff have created beautiful ofrendas throughout the district in honor of Día de los Muertos. An ofrenda is an altar built to celebrate and remember loved ones who have passed away by displaying photos, favorite food and drinks, memorabilia, flowers and more. #LifeintheW

More photos of the Woodland Intermediate Fall Fest parties to come, but let's all pause for a minute to giggle at this T-Rex getting wrapped like a mummy 🤣 Imagine turning the corner in the school hallway and seeing this! #LifeintheW

REMINDER: Nov. 1 is the first SIP Day that falls on a Wednesday! There will be an early release for students today. Primary - 10:40 Elementary - 10:50 Middle School - 11:35 Intermediate - 12:20 Here is a link to the district calendar - https://5il.co/1uc3z Or you can see District Events in the app!