Middle School

The celebration of new Woodland teachers/staff continues! Please join us in giving a warm welcome to Courtney Odden to the #LifeintheW! An alum of Woodland, Courtney is excited once again be a Wildcat and give back to the community she loves.

We’ll continue highlighting our new staff members over the next few weeks, so keep those welcome wishes coming! 💚

Great news out of WMS: Congratulations to Noah A. for winning Sectionals yesterday at Ingersoll Golf Course in Rockford. Noah shot a 73 and will be competing at the State meet next Friday in Joliet. Go Wildcats! #LifeintheW ⛳️

As we get further into the start of the school year, we’re excited to introduce and celebrate some of our new Woodland teachers! Please join us in giving a warm welcome to Linsey Ryan, who is starting her first year as a full-time Woodland teacher after serving as a long-term substitute last year.

We’ll continue highlighting our new staff members over the next few weeks—so keep those welcome wishes coming! 💚 #LifeintheW

WMS students worked together on these amazing "Why Study History" Collaborative Posters. The first few weeks of school are all about building connections. The students learned about each other, and discussed the importance of studying history while completing this activity. Great job Wildcats!
Thank you to Ms. Barkhurst and Ms. Barbknecht for sharing this artwork.

The Woodland Board of Education met last night, and the Family Coordinator's led the Board in the Pledge of Allegiance. Find a summary of highlights from the meeting in the Woodland ROAR Report for Friday, Aug. 29: https://secure.smore.com/n/106fz
In this edition you can also learn about:
Wildcat Calendar & PTA Events
Saturday Study Hall & Homework Help
Bilingual Parent Advisory Committee (BPAC) Meeting, Sept. 11
Special Education Parent Resource Group, Sept. 17
AND MORE!
To learn more about Woodland's Family Coordinators, please visit the district website: https://www.dist50.net/page/woodland-family-coordinators

Here are a few photos from the WMS 6th Grade Curriculum Night. Join us on Thursday night (8/28) for 7th & 8th Grade Curriculum Night!
Coming Next Week: Woodland Intermediate Curriculum Nights. Check the District Events Calendar for upcoming events: https://www.dist50.net/events

REMINDERS!
💚 The Friday Early Dismissal Schedule Starts Friday, Aug. 29.
💚 Woodland D50 is closed on Monday, Sept. 1 in honor of the Labor Day holiday.
Friday Early Dismissal Schedule:
Primary - 12:40 p.m.
Elementary - 1:00 p.m.
Middle School - 1:45 p.m.
Intermediate - 2:30 p.m.
School Year Calendar
English - https://5il.co/33x56
Spanish - https://5il.co/3mg8p

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

✨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

Middle School Back to School Bash was a HUUUUUGE hit! Thank you to our hard working Woodland Staff, and our community members and sponsors for making this such a great back to school celebration!

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!

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)