Middle School

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/

Woodland Middle School administrators were on site early today to observe a moment of silence as the flag in front of their school was lowered. Thank you to the Operations & Facilities Team for making sure that all American Flags across the district were lowered this morning in honor of the many lives lost on September 11, 2001. May we never forget.

Running into the weekend like... 🤩👟💥 Cross Country is such a great sport and these Wildcats know how to give it their all! Check out the Woodland Middle School Athletics Schedule for upcoming events to see other fall sports athletes in action: https://www.dist50.net/o/middle/page/athletics

Our first school wide ROAR assembly was a success! We introduced all staff, recognized our fall sports participants, and had games between the houses. We are so proud of all our Wildcats!

The new Friday Early Dismissal Schedule Begins Friday, Aug. 30! Early Dismissal Days are marked with a green box on the 2024-2025 School Year Calendar: https://5il.co/2h2li

The morning Music Buses are here! Today we greeted the morning Band students, and starting next week the morning Choir students will be on the music buses too. Music in the W 🥁🎺🎷🎼

Heat Advisory: Aug. 26 & 27, 2024 We are expecting high temperatures as a heat wave continues to build in our area over the next few days. According to the National Weather Service, the peak of the heat wave will be on Tuesday when we will move from a Heat Advisory to an Excessive Heat Watch. Woodland will be implementing several safety measures to help keep your Wildcat cool. Learn more - https://secure.smore.com/n/1m9cr5

UPDATE: Meeting Postponed and Rescheduled The Woodland D50 Board of Education Meeting that was originally scheduled for Thursday, Aug. 22 has been postponed due to a lack of quorum. The meeting has been rescheduled for Tuesday, Aug. 27 at 11 a.m. Meeting details and an updated agenda will be available soon. https://secure.smore.com/n/tcj6f

Students had a blast at the WMS Back to School Bash! There was a foam party, DJ, free haircuts, food trucks and tons of happy reunions after the summer break

One of the most anticipated Back to School events is coming tomorrow! Teacher assignments will be available on Friday, Aug. 9 after 10 a.m. in Skyward Family Access. https://www.dist50.net/o/dist50/page/skyward-family-access Long post - but hopefully it will answer a few common questions/concerns in advance. (Look for more specific information for your school from your principal in weekly newsletters) BEFORE YOU CALL… If you do not see your student’s information after 10 a.m. 💚 It may mean that you still need to complete a few final steps in the registration process. (Complete the process in Skyward.) 💚 New registrations are still being processed and some of our new students have not yet been placed. 💚 Not everything pushes through the system at exactly 10 a.m. Give it a little bit of time to populate just in case! If you do not see a teacher listed for your child: 💚 We are still working on finalizing a few new hires and staffing changes, so some students may not see a teacher assignment until all hiring is complete. This will be coming soon! CALL VOLUME… 💚 We expect that the Registration Department will be experiencing an increase in call volume on Friday once this information goes live. Please remember that this is a very small team of individuals and they are still helping new families register and responding to a number of other urgent beginning of the school year tasks. We appreciate your patience as it may take a few days to get back to you. COMMENTS ABOUT TEACHERS… 💚 Social media is a great place to connect with other parents to find who else is in your child’s class. Please remember that many of our teachers live in the community and may see your comments about your past experiences and interactions with Woodland staff. Even if a teacher wasn’t the best match for your child, they may be the perfect match for another child. Help us keep the conversation positive and productive as we continue to build excitement for the start of school. TRANSPORTATION… 💚 Basic bus route information will be available in Skyward this year, but for a more detailed schedule for those with busing needs that fluctuate throughout the week, please refer to Versatrans e-Link. https://versatransweb04.tylertech.com/.../elinkrp/Login.aspx 💚 Bus times will continue to adjust slightly over the next few weeks as new students are added to the bus routes, so check back closer to the start of school for the most accurate information. Hope that helps answer a few of your questions! #LifeintheW

The Middle School Marching Band students have been working hard and having fun this week at band camp! They are looking forward to performing in the Gurnee Days Parade on Sunday!🎶

We have two very important reasons for sharing this photo. 1. Help us give a warm #LifeintheW welcome to Roberto Ochoa Barajas and David Gonzalez! They have joined the Operations and Facilities team as Facility Managers and they have been doing ALL of the things to get our buildings and grounds ready for the school year. They are capable, resourceful, experienced, and all around great people who are ready to jump in and help whenever/wherever needed. 2. Speaking of jumping in wherever they are needed, Roberto and Dave will be representing Woodland this Saturday in the Gurnee Days Rib Eating Contest! They are fierce competitors with the appetites of a Wildcat. Nothing can stop their hunger to win. 🐯😂

The Woodland Wildcast enters Season 2 with big Back to School energy! Listen in as Woodland’s four school principals discuss important plans and information for the 2024-2025 school year with Dr. Machak. https://woodlandwildcast.podbean.com/e/s2-e1-back-to-school-celebration-with-the-principals/

Welcome to the 2024-2025 School Year! Visit the Back to School Headquarters page to connect to resources and information. https://www.dist50.net/page/back-to-school-headquarters Read Dr. Machak's welcome back greeting in the weekly newsletter HERE: https://secure.smore.com/n/f1ywc

Summer Series: What happens at the school district while students are on summer break? The Operations & Facilities Team has many projects across the district to build, paint, repair, replace, assemble and rearrange! The O+F team motto is "We're Here to Help" and we would not be able to start the school year in a few weeks without these dedicated helpers. Thank you for all that you do!💚

The Woodland D50 Board of Education will meet on Thursday, July 25, 2024. Please see the Meeting Notice & Agenda HERE: https://secure.smore.com/n/ctpm3 The full schedule of Woodland Board of Education meetings for the 2024-2025 school year can be found on the district website HERE: https://www.dist50.net/page/board-meetings