Woodland School District 50

Wiley wants you to have a happy & relaxing weekend after such a great start to the school year! We will be ready to cheer you on again next week. #LifeintheW

To kickoff the 2025-2026 School Year, all Woodland staff members gathered at WMS for an opening ceremony on the first Teacher Institute Day. The keynote speaker was a former Woodland student, Curtis Szajkovics, a Systems Engineer and Flight Controller at Firefly Aerospace. His keynote address was all about cool lunar missions and the impact teachers have on students! As part of his presentation he even had a slide about one of his former teachers who is still a teacher at WMS. Curtis thanked Mr. Whiteaker for igniting his interest in science and technology and for always putting up with his ridiculous questions. It was a great moment for Mr. Whiteaker to learn about the impact he had and to reunite with his former student. This is what #LifeintheW is all about!
This story was also shared in the Woodland ROAR Report this morning. In case you missed it - https://secure.smore.com/n/1ntsy
The Daily Herald also did an article earlier this year about Curtis and the “Blue Ghost” lunar lander mission he was part of! https://www.dailyherald.com/20250113/news/gurnee-native-reached-for-the-moon-now-hell-be-steering-spacecraft-to-lunar-landing/

Join the #LifeintheW Team! Woodland D50 is hiring a Network & Systems Infrastructure Engineer to join the Technology Department.

To check out this listing, and other available positions, please visit:
https://www.applitrack.com/dist50/OnlineApp/default.aspx

Woodland Primary knows that sending your little one to school for the first time can bring on mixed emotions. They hosted a Coffee & Community event for parents and caregivers to create a space to connect with other families and celebrate the first day of school. We are so excited to welcome you to the #LifeintheW community!

✨WMS is back!✨ Our Wildcats brought their back to school energy for the first day of school. They are ready to learn, make new friends, start the school year off right! #LifeintheW

A huge Wildcat thank you to Mr. Johnny & Mr. Jose Tiscareno for donating their time and talents at the WMS Back to School Bash! They provided free haircuts to give students fresh looks for the start of the school year. Looking good Wildcats ✂️💚💈

Ok Wildcats... Where will we see you this week?! We have several Back to School events for you and your family to enjoy, and we will be at the Gurnee Police Department's Back to School event for the community!
Join us for these events:
💚 INTERMEDIATE Popsicles with the Principals, 8/12, 3 - 5 p.m.
💚 ELEMENTARY Popsicles with the Principals, 8/13, 3 -5 p.m.
💚 WMS Back to School Bash, 8/14, 3 - 5 p.m.
💚 Safety Stars & Dilly Bars, 8/15, 5 - 7 p.m.
#LifeintheW

It was a busy morning at WMS for the Medication Drop Off Event!
The Health Office teams are on a break right now, but you have another chance to visit them today (Aug. 11) from 3 - 7 p.m.
More info: https://www.dist50.net/article/2309455

The Woodland ROAR Report for Friday, Aug. 8, 2025 - https://secure.smore.com/n/qftju
In this issue:
From the Desk of Dr. Machak
The Wildcat Calendar of Events
Teacher Assignments Available Later Today!
Join us for Gurnee Days this weekend
Free Adult Education Classes at Woodland
Join the Parent Mentor Program
Quick Links
Have a great weekend Wildcats! #LifeintheW

Catch the WMS Marching Wildcats at the Gurnee Days parade on Sunday, Aug. 10 at 12 p.m. These talented musicians have been practicing all week at Marching Band Camp in the evenings to prepare for a great performance. We can't wait to hear you play!

Reminder: CHILLIN' WITH THE PRINCIPALS EVENT
Join the Primary Admin Team for a bit of fun before the school year begins! Cool off with a chilly treat while connecting with other students and families, and check out our newly renovated playground during this fun event. We hope to see you there!
Date: Thursday, August 7th
Time: 3 - 5 p.m.
Where: Woodland Primary Kindergarten Playground

Join us for Gurnee Days this weekend!
We are excited to once again represent #LifeintheW at the annual Gurnee Days Festival Aug. 9 & 10, 2025! Team Woodland will be joining in the community celebration throughout the weekend.
We would love to see our Wildcats at Viking Park this weekend. Stop by and say hi, and maybe even get a photo with Wiley!
See the full schedule of events: https://www.gurneeparkdistrict.com/gurnee-days/

Back To School preparations are underway!
Today District and School Administrators worked on our "Wildly Important Goals" under the guidance of Maria Fleming from FranklinCovey Education. We worked through The 4 Disciplines of Execution for Educators to identify measurable and meaningful ways to support Woodland staff and students in the 2025-2026 school year. It was great to have the full team back together as we get ready for the year ahead! School starts in a little over two weeks!
#LifeintheW

New Board Member Michael Senol Takes Oath of Office
Michael Senol was appointed to the Woodland Board of Education in July 2025 to fill the vacancy created when Gari Matsey resigned. Mr. Senol took the Oath of Office at the July 24, 2025 Governing Meeting and then took his seat at the Board table. Congratulations to Board Member Senol, and welcome to the Board of Education!
For a summary of other highlights from the July Board Meeting, please review this report: https://secure.smore.com/n/anvzw

Calling all 7th and 8th grade Band Students!
🎷 Will you be attending Marching Band Camp Aug. 4 - 8?
🎺 Do you plan to participate in Middle School Band for the 2025-26 school year?
Please be sure to have a parent complete our band camp/fall band sign up form ASAP!
https://forms.gle/5E3SYLQvyV86FxVX9
Marching band camp begins August 4! Camp runs August 4 thru 8 from 5:30 to 8:30 each evening at WMS.
(PHOTO FROM AUG. 2024)

We know many of you are still in “Summer Mode”— but here at Woodland, we’re already buzzing with excitement as we prepare for the new school year! Official Back to School Communications will start in early August, but we wanted to do a quick check-in to let you know that we are thinking of you.
Please "Save the Date" for these upcoming Back to School and Community Events. We hope to see you there!
https://secure.smore.com/n/yrs2wv

This information was sent by Text and Email on July 23 at 3:30 p.m. If you are a current Woodland parent/guardian and you did NOT receive a text or email with this message, please reach out to Brooke Hagstrom by email at BHagstrom@dist50.net. I can try to help troubleshoot before the school year starts so that don't miss anything!

Don't miss this upcoming concert in the park featuring Woodland's very own Ms. Matusek!
Wednesday, July 16, 2025 at 7:30pm
Fred P. Hall Ampitheater, Palatine, IL

She will be a guest conductor for the Palatine Concert Band's last concert of the summer. Ms. Matusek has been with the Palatine Concert Band for more than 20 years. For this concert she will be conducting the following:
The Clapping Song by Randall Standridge
Until We Dream by David Samuel
They're Off! A Galop by Fred Jewell, arranged by Andrew Glover

You will also be able to find Ms. Awe playing percussion during the concert! #LifeintheW

📣 Make sure your child is ready for the school year!
Registration must be complete in order to access class schedules, teacher assignments, and transportation info (once we open this feature in Skyward).
✅ Already registered? You’re all set!
📝 Still need to register? Log in to your Skyward Family Access account to finish.
Need help? Step-by-step instructions:
📄 English: https://5il.co/2lr0d
📄 Spanish: https://5il.co/2lr0h
📞 Questions? Call us at 847-596-5682 or 847-596-5683.
Let’s get ready for an amazing year! #LifeInTheW

Woodland D50 Board of Education Appoints New Member to Fill Vacancy
Read the Announcement HERE: https://secure.smore.com/n/43s7n

If you stop by the Educational Support Center you’ll see a new smiling face! Help us give a warm welcome to Ms. Gallegos, our new ESC receptionist. We’re so excited to have her on the Woodland team! This is #LifeintheW