Today Elementary students had two very special guests visit for the first ELEM Assembly of the year - Alex and NED! Alex and his friend NED took our Elementary Wildcats on an adventure to find a positive mindset for learning.
NED taught the students “Never give up, Encourage others, & Do their best” in everything they do.
He also encouraged students to use the power of a positive mindset and to incorporate NED’s message into things they do every day.
Ask your students about their adventures climbing a mountain, meeting and yeti, zip lining, meeting a pirate, and fixing a spaceship at school today!
There were also some majorly cool yo-yo moves!
Pumpkin Tower STEM Challenge at Elementary! Ms. McGinn's Challenge Math Students worked together in small groups to plan and build structures out of toothpicks and candy pumpkins. Students learned the importance of teamwork, planning, talking through a process, and making their ideas come alive. Once completed, students analyzed their structures and shared ideas about what they could have done differently. #LifeintheW
Kicking off the Annual Holiday Food Drive!
We invite our entire Woodland learning community to get involved. There are several ways to participate, LEARN MORE: https://secure.smore.com/n/xe35mq
Take a look at the flyer to see the list of items we are requesting. You can drop donations off at your child's school, or the district office. THANK YOU! #LifeintheW
(Photos in this post are of Food Drive Volunteers setting up the Woodland Food Pantry in December 2023.)
Scenes from a Dual Language 3rd Grade Classroom! Mrs. Kampf's students were ready to practice their math skills at different stations around the room. Depending on the station, a student might be practicing a skill on their own on a device, with a partner on paper, or with a small group playing a game. #LifeintheW
New Opportunities to join the #LifeintheW Team! Please help spread the word.
Facilities Manager: https://www.applitrack.com/dist50/OnlineApp/default.aspx?Category=Non-Certified+Supervisory
Primary Principal: https://www.applitrack.com/dist50/OnlineApp/default.aspx?Category=Administration
All Positions: https://www.applitrack.com/dist50/OnlineApp/default.aspx
We dropped in on a few Elementary Halloween Parties today! Fun games, creative crafts, parent volunteers... and some amazing costumes! These pictures are from just a few classrooms, but the entire school was full of superheroes, famous athletes, princesses, wizards, and a variety of other creatures and characters. #LifeintheW
Happy Principal Appreciation Day to Mrs. Anderson, Mr. Reardon, Mr. Sheldon, and Mrs. Drake! National Principals Month is celebrated throughout October, but Oct. 25 has been designated as Principal Appreciation Day in Illinois. This dynamic team of school leaders was recognized at the Board of Education Meeting last night. #LifeintheW #ThankAPrincipal
Introducing WISE – the Woodland Inclusion and Special Education Empowerment Parent Group! This initiative started last year as a Special Education Resource Group for parents, and we are ready to bring you a whole new series of programs for year two. WISE will be a great place to connect with other district families, get to know Woodland staff members who can help with resources, and get answers to your questions.
Join us for the first WISE meeting of the 2024-2025 School Year:
Date: Wednesday, Oct. 23
Time: 5:30 - 7 p.m.
Location: Woodland Educational Support Center (District Office)
RSVP:
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSd_Eqssnpeuq5o6QMkHxsRyky79Ejafla_L72VQv9PSynvRpA/viewform
Topic: Managing Behaviors and Meltdowns: Strategies for Parents
Families will learn proactive strategies to de-escalate behavior and manage meltdowns. The session will also provide tips on how to help children with self-regulation.
#LifeintheW
Thank you to the Advocate Ronald McDonald Care Van for visiting Woodland to provide vaccines and physicals to help keep students from being excluded from school. This is an amazing community resource for students with no insurance or state insurance. For more information about health resources in the community, please contact the Health Office. https://www.dist50.net/page/health-services
This week is America's Safe Schools Week and National School Bus Safety Week! Safety on the school bus starts with our Woodland drivers 🚌
To celebrate School Bus Safety Week, our drivers are "Stepping into Safety" with snazzy new safety socks!
Woodland bus drivers are employees of the district, and they are responsible for transporting our students to and from school safely. This is a job they take seriously and we appreciate these dedicated employees for their commitment to our students. School bus drivers in Illinois must go through a rigorous training and licensing process, as well as background checks and other safeguards, to ensure they are qualified to perform this important role in the district.
Every day, Woodland bus drivers conduct a full safety inspection of their bus before picking up students. Drivers are also provided professional development and go through safety evaluations to make sure our students are in good hands.
Learn more about safety on the school bus on the Wildcast!
https://woodlandwildcast.podbean.com/e/s2-e2-transportation-going-the-extra-mile/
Congratulations to Emery in Mrs. Nelson's 3rd Grade Class for winning the Attendance Awareness Month bulletin board design contest! Emery and her friends will turn her design into an actual bulletin board outside of the gym in the main hallway to keep the importance of attendance top of mind for all Elementary students. This morning she explained her design in front of her classmates, and then received a certificate for her achievement. Great job Emery! #LifeintheW
Woodland is excited to roll out a new bus app that will allow parents/families to more accurately track their child’s bus. Watch for an email invitation to join BusWhere, on Monday, Oct. 21.
Learn more: https://secure.smore.com/n/xe4tcq
Woodland is participating in a Hoodie/Sweatshirt drive to support Morgan Ghys and Caring for Kids Clothing! Morgan is a former Woodland student and current Miss Gurnee. She is collecting new and gently used Hoodies and Crewnecks to help local kids stay warm this fall and winter.
Morgan has placed donation boxes at each school and the district office. We are collecting donations thru Friday, Nov. 1.
💚 Details for Woodland's Drive: https://5il.co/2xpia
Or you can bring your donations to her collection event on Nov. 3 at Gurnee Mills.
💜 Details for Morgan's event: https://5il.co/2xpi9
Thank you to all the Woodland families that attended the first Bilingual Parent Advisory Committee (BPAC) Meeting of the school year. This was our biggest turnout yet with 79 people! The parents listened to a presentation from Warren Township Youth and Family Services on the topic of "Parenting with Love". The children worked with Dual Language Woodland teachers, and volunteers from Warren Township High School to create Hispanic Heritage Month crafts. And our friend Tobias Comfort Dog was there too! #LifeintheW
https://www.dist50.net/o/dist50/page/bpac
THANK YOU! Raffle prizes and snacks donated by:
United Way 211, La Michoacana, Tacos El Norte, Jewel Osco, and Sam's Club!
Long Weekend Alert!
Woodland students have a four-day weekend ahead. We hope you enjoy the long holiday weekend. #LifeintheW
These first graders were so excited to visit the book machine for the first time today!
Shining a spotlight on the Parent Mentor Program at Woodland!
Our amazing Parent Mentors recently had the opportunity to share their experience with Community Leaders to highlight how impactful this program is for Woodland Teachers and Students. Thank you to State Senator Mary Edly-Allen, State Representative Joyce Mason, Village of Gurnee Mayor Hood, and Dr. Karner from the Lake County Regional Office of Education for supporting our Parent Mentors.
The Parent Mentor Program is more than just parent volunteers visiting their child's classroom. These are Woodland parents who apply to be part of the program and complete a formal training program before being assigned to a classroom. Parent mentors work four days a week for two hours a day. While in the classroom they work one-on-one with students, lead small group activities, support the classroom teacher, and participate in weekly training and workshops to increase their skills and proficiency. After completing 100 parent mentoring hours, our program participants receive a stipend of $1500.
Learn More: https://www.dist50.net/page/parent-mentor-program
October is National Principals Month, and Woodland has some of the best around!
Please help us wish Stacey Anderson (Primary), Jared Reardon (Elementary), Tim Sheldon (Intermediate), and Tiffany Drake (Middle), a very happy National Principals Month! Woodland is lucky to have such knowledgeable and caring school leaders, who show up each day ready to support the students and staff in their schools. Not a single district initiative, directive, or goal happens without their hard work. #ThankaPrincipal #LifeintheW
The 3rd grade students in Mrs. Bogdala's class invited friends from Mrs. Barton's class for Readers Theater! The 3rd grade students were so excited to perform the stories for their younger peers, and to teach them about fables and folklore. Way to go Wildcats! 💚
#LifeintheW
Today we want to celebrate and give a big thank you to the amazing custodial team for all your hard work to make sure our #LifeintheW learning spaces are clean and safe for students and staff! We appreciate all you do to keep our schools running smoothly and always being ready to help. Please join us in thanking our custodians for their service and dedication to Woodland.
