Woodland School District 50

In honor of the Superbowl and the Olympics, Ms. Rakosnik's class competed in a series of activities and challenges. The students were encouraged to work as a team to help each other cross the finish line. Great job Wildcats! #LifeintheW

Mr. Sheldon brought BIG ENERGY to Ms. Wieland's class for a discussion about solar power. Did you know that Woodland Intermediate has solar panels on the roof? #LifeintheW 🌞

We look forward to seeing you this Thursday, Feb. 5, at Woodland Intermediate for a presentation by Dr. Sescosse (6:30 p.m.). We will be raffling off signed copies of his books, gift cards, and bilingual books and games. There will also be crafts for the children, refreshments, and many more surprises!
Topic - Parenting: A Relationship of Love & Discipline
Learn More & Register HERE: https://app.smore.com/n/3v2d4
Thank you from the Bilingual Parenting Advisory Committee!

An interactive Math lesson with Ms. Del Campo! These 5th grade students were learning about cubic units, building models, and working in pairs. Way to go Wildcats 🤩 #LifeintheW

Hip, Hip, Hooray - it's the 100th day!
Happy 100th Day of School Wildcats. Ms. Santos is using the excitement about 100 Days in a fun math activity for partners. Great job 1st graders 🤩 #LifeintheW

Celebrating Groundhog Day in Art at Woodland Elementary! Students listened to a Groundhog Day book, then learned to draw their own groundhog in Mrs. Wilinski’s art classes. Shadow or not, these are some great artists! #LifeintheW
So... did the groundhog see his shadow?
2026 Groundhog Day Results:
Woodstock Willie (IL) - No shadow (Early Spring)
Punxsutawney Phil (PA) - Shadow (More Winter)

A classroom visit full of Kindness, birthday celebrations, and winter poetry! Thank you to Ms. Buckland's class for sharing your day with us. #LifeintheW

Our littlest Wildcats wrapped up Kindness Week with a ROAR!
At their ROAR Rally they celebrated kindness, learned “Please” and “Thank you” in ASL, and shared ways they can be kind to each other at school, in the classroom, and on the playground. They also danced with Wiley, their teachers, and their friends. What a great way to end the week!

Many thanks to State Representative Joyce Mason who met with us this week to review several pieces of legislation she is drafting to address our state authorized charter school funding issue. We are grateful for Representative Mason’s support and her unwavering commitment to the children of Woodland CCSD 50! #LifeintheW
To see more news and announcements, check out the Woodland ROAR Report for Friday, Jan. 30 - https://app.smore.com/n/sc8y0v

The Intermediate Spelling Bee Has a Champion!

Earlier this week, the final four spellers of the Intermediate Spelling Bee went head-to-head, spelling some truly challenging and tricky words.

Congratulations to the Final Four:
4th Grade: Shrita and Beckham
5th Grade: Vikram and Jaysen

The final round came down to Vikram and Beckham!
After an intense back and forth, the winning word was piccolo, and the champion was Vikram–for the second year in a row!

We are so proud of all of our Wildcats who participated in the Spelling Bee! Amazing work!

Also, a big shout out to Ms. Silasiri for organizing the Bee, to our spell master, Principal Sheldon, and to our wonderful judges, Ms. Shiffer, Ms. Newman, and Ms. Kallal

WMS Girls Volleyball Woodland Green vs. Woodland White!
The Boys volleyball teams are playing tonight too. The gym is packed. Go Wildcats 🏐💚

Spreading Kindness and Filling Buckets in Ms. Wagner's Classroom! The students gave examples of how they were kind at home:
💚 "I filled my mom's bucket by going to sleep without any trouble"
💚 "I was nice and played with my sister"
💚 "I gave my dad a high five and a hug"
💚 "I cleaned up my toys and my room"
The Great Kindness Challenge - #LifeintheW

The WMS Science Olympiad Team is doing great! This past Saturday they competed in Rockford, and you can find them at another invitational in Arlington Heights this coming weekend.
Noteworthy stats from the Rockford event:
⭐️ All 29 Team Members won at least one medal
🤩 The team placed in 18 of the 23 events
🥇The Varsity Hovercraft Team won first place! Congrats to Isaac and Zayd!
#LifeintheW

Black Dads Rock! on CLC Lancer Radio
The Music That Made Us: Black Fathers, Culture, and Community with Black Dads Rock
In a powerful and uplifting episode of CLC’s Lancer Radio, Professor Jay Wiltshire and Dr. Brent Steffens sit down with members of Black Dads Rock, a Woodland District 50 initiative dedicated to celebrating Black culture and challenging harmful stereotypes about Black fatherhood. Blending conversation with a thoughtfully curated soundtrack, the guests share songs that have shaped their lives and communities, using music as a springboard to explore identity, fatherhood, resilience, and representation.
Episode on CLC Lancer Radio - http://www.lancerradioclc.com/Show_Archives/Black%20Dads%20Rock%202026.mp3
Spotify: Black Dads Rock! Playlist - https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2wq0RIv5T1cYU22ulWDUQK?si=a20c213b0c8f4c56&nd=1&dlsi=ffa2a44141a24d7e
Black History Month Celebration at Woodland, Feb. 7 - https://aptg.co/TV_3L_

WMS Students have talent!!!
Woodland Middle School hosted a talent show in December. Here are a few pictures of our creative, confident, and talented students.
3rd Place - Max, an 8th grader, who wowed the audience with his impressive card tricks and magic. Great job, Max!
2nd Place - Charlie, a 6th grader, for her powerful and heartfelt performance of “Beautiful Things” by Benson Boone. Way to shine, Charlie!
1st Place - GG (8th grade) and Violet (7th grade), for their outstanding duet performance of “Suffering” from Epic: The Musical. Their teamwork and talent truly stole the show!
Congratulations to all of our performers and thank you to everyone who participated and supported the Talent Show. 🤩

Help us give a warm Wildcat Welcome on this very cold day!
Woodland welcomed three new #LifeintheW team members at last night’s Board of Education meeting: two new Board of Education members, Dr. Virginia Tate and Ms. Gabriela Valverde Strobehn, were sworn in at the meeting; the Board also appointed a new Elementary School Principal, Dr. Christopher Harmon, to start July 1, 2026 when Mr. Reardon moves into his new District-level Human Resources position.
See the rest of ROAR Report here: https://app.smore.com/n/4qk6y

Woodland Intermediate Spelling Bee Semifinals!
Each classroom sent their top speller to the grade level semifinals. A first and second place winner from 4th grade and a first and second place winner from 5th grade will compete in the final round next week to determine who will be the Intermediate Spelling Bee Champion for the 2025-2026 School Year. All of the spellers did a great job and it was a huge accomplishment to make it this far.
Congratulations to the following grade level winners moving on to the finals:
4th grade, 1st Place - Shrita
4th grade, 2nd Place - Beckham
5th grade, 1st Place - Vikram
5th grade, 2nd Place - Jaysen
Way to go Wildcats! #LifeintheW 🤩

WINTER FEST POSTPONED!
The Parent Mentor Winter Fest event has been rescheduled due to the extreme winter weather impacting our area tomorrow. The new date is Feb. 20, 2026. We hope to see you there! 🤩❄️
Event Flyer: https://aptg.co/zy4qVQ

Woodland D50 is closely monitoring the weather forecast for Friday, Jan. 23, which currently calls for extremely cold temperatures and dangerous wind chills. Please read this Winter Weather Update for more information - https://app.smore.com/n/2zx36

Wrestling season is here, and our Wildcats hit the mat ready to compete. 💚🐯
JV and Varsity faced off against Magee last night, showing determination and Woodland pride!
Great work, Wildcats!