
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/






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





We are in the presence of CHAMPIONS!!!
It was a very successful fall season for our WMS athletic teams. Congratulations to all of our student athletes for being tough competitors and representing our district so well.
⚽ Girls Soccer - Conference Champs
🥎 WMS Softball White - Conference Champs
🏃♀️ Girls Cross Country - Conference Champs
🏃♂️Boys Cross Country - 2nd Place
⚽ Boys Soccer - 3rd Place
Best of luck to the Cross Country athletes who qualified for state and are heading to Normal next weekend!






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


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


Mrs. Monterroso invited a special guest to class to be a motivational speaker for her 8th Grader students - her husband, Angel Moterroso! Angel moved to the United States from Peru when he was 14 years old, and he was an English as a Second Language (ESL) student.
The students asked Mr. Monterroso thoughtful questions about his educational journey and his career. They also asked:
Why is it important to honor and celebrate your culture?
How has knowing two languages benefited you in your life?
Mr. Monterroso talked about his career and how he came to be a Channel Strategy and Programs Advisor for North and Latin America for Zebra Technologies. He closed the presentation by talking about investing in yourself by setting goals, learning a new skill, prioritizing self-care, developing healthy habits, and networking.




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.






WMS Girls Soccer vs. Antioch - Go Wildcats!











6th grade students in Ms. Osharow's Social Studies class were sent to Scribe School to learn how to communicate using symbols. After learning about this ancient form of communication, the students had the opportunity to practice these skills by translating and decoding, and then by creating messages on their "clay tablet" using a "training stylus". Hands on learning in the W! #LifeintheW











The Woodland D50 Board of Education will meet on Thursday, Sept. 26, 2024. Please review the meeting information and agenda: https://secure.smore.com/n/r9zs3

New Teacher Alert! We want to welcome Pilar Colmenero, a visiting International Teacher from Spain, who is teaching Spanish Language Arts at Woodland Middle School. Also new to the WMS team is Christopher Palasz, an 8th Grade Language Arts Teacher. Welcome to #LifeintheW!
Here are a few photos from a recent visit to their classrooms. We hope you and your students have an amazing school year 🐯








It was Hot Hot Hot on Warren’s football field for the annual Fill the Drum event! All My Rowdy Friends sure know how to Party Rock for a good cause. Thank you to everyone who filled the drum with donations for the Warren Township Food Pantry. Great job to all the talented musicians who performed on Thursday night!











Students at WMS are climbing to new heights in P.E. class! These Wildcats conquered the Dangling Duo by supporting each other and working together to reach their climbing goals.
Thank you to Ms. Campbell for capturing these moments. Great photos!







September is Attendance Awareness Month
Thank you to these Wildcats for showing us that being Present makes them Powerful!
School districts across the country are working to reduce chronic absenteeism. Being absent can negatively impact a child’s academic performance; it also limits their opportunities to practice essential problem solving skills, self-regulation, self-discipline, and social development. A well-rounded Woodland education includes so much more than academics - #LifeintheW is better with all of our Wildcats in the house!



Today we celebrate the Woodland Technology Team for everything they do behind the scenes to keep Woodland running smoothly. Whether they are trouble shooting issues with laptops and Chromebooks, implementing innovative technologies and deploying new applications, or maintaining our servers and networks, this team makes sure we are always on, always connected, and always secure! #LifeintheW


Check out this awesome picture from the WMS Band Directors from earlier this morning! Practicing for Fill the Drum!
Join us for a fun evening at Warren's football field to cheer on the WMS Marching Wildcats, and other local band students from Gurnee D56, and Warren D121! This is a fundraiser to "Fill the Drum" for the Warren Township Food Pantry. Last year attendees raised more than $4,000 in donations to send relief to the victims of the Hawaii wildfires.
Date: Sept. 19, 2024
Time: 7 p.m.
Location: Warren Township High School, O'Plaine Campus Football Field


Say "Cheese!"
School Picture Day is coming soon. We can't wait to see your big Wildcat smiles! You will see specific details from your school principal, so be sure to watch for instructions on how to order pictures, and any additional information you need.
Elementary, Sept. 18
Middle, Sept. 19
Intermediate, Sept. 20
Primary, Sept. 24 or 25


Woodland Wildcast S2, E2: Transportation - Going the Extra Mile
In this episode, Dr. Machak talks with the Transportation Team about school bus safety, and what it takes to run Woodland’s three-tiered busing system. Listen in to hear more about amazing bus drivers going the extra mile for the Wildcats in their care.
Listen Now: https://woodlandwildcast.podbean.com/e/s2-e2-transportation-going-the-extra-mile/

