
⭐️ The Woodland Wildcast wins an award!
🦁 The Woodland Wildcast has 1,000 downloads and counting!
💚 We couldn't have done this without you - thanks for listening!
Help shape future episodes of our award-winning podcast to help make the Wildcast a true representation of the people who make up #LifeintheW.
Submit Questions, Topics, and Guests: https://forms.gle/Vh9sdn2GmFWfcTTr7
Award Announcement and Judges Comments: https://www.dist50.net/article/1872747
Listen to Past Episodes: https://woodlandwildcast.podbean.com/



Congratulations to Emersyn and Caylan for being recognized with a Young Citizenship Award from The Exchange Club of Gurnee! In addition to recognizing these amazing Woodland students, the Exchange Club presented all four Woodland school principals with new American Flags for our schools. We appreciate this ongoing support from our wonderful community partners at the Exchange Club. #LifeintheW





At Woodland Elementary, students had the opportunity to learn from Veterans during P.E. classes throughout the day. The students were able to ask questions, and share their thoughts about the significance of the day and why it is important to honor Veterans. #LifeintheW










This is so beautiful!
It was all "hands" on deck as Elementary students helped prepare for Veteran's Day. Woodland Elementary incorporated Veterans Day into a PBIS lesson focused on respect. Each student traced and cut out two hands in which they shared ideas on how to be respectful. The flag is made up of over 3,000 hands from students, staff, and administration. That's a whole lot of High-Fives! #LifeintheW






REMINDER: The state of Illinois requires school districts to be closed on Tuesday, Nov. 5 for Election Day.
✔️ No student attendance
✔️ School and District offices closed
Official School Calendar: https://5il.co/2h2li
District Events Calendar: https://www.dist50.net/events


Today we visited the students in Ms. Kauck & Mr. Leguizamo's 1st Grade Dual Language classes. In one classroom they read a story with Ms. Kauck and identified the Character, Setting, Problem, and Solution before making their own creepy crayons. In the other classroom they learned about Dia de los Muertos with Mr. Leguizamo and made traditional paper flower decorations. Great job Wildcats! #LifeintheW









Wiley can't decide what to be for Halloween. "Witch" one do you like best? 🤣




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



