Middle School

The Woodland D50 Board of Education will meet on Thursday, Sept. 25, 2025. Please note: The meeting starts at 6 p.m., but the first item on the agenda is a closed session. The public meeting will begin immediately following the closed session when the Board of Education returns to open session at approximately 7 p.m.
Watch on Woodland Live: https://www.youtube.com/@woodlandlive9671
Agenda: https://5il.co/3q5ua

The Woodland Middle School Marching Wildcats had an amazing performance last night at the annual Fill the Drum Marching Band Exhibition. Gurnee School District 56 and Warren Township High School Marching Bands were awesome too! Thank you to the band families, fans, and community members for coming out on a beautiful night to support music in our schools and the Warren Township Food Pantry. Truly an unforgettable night on Warren's football field. Way to go Wildcats and friends! #LifeintheW

The Woodland Middle School Drama Club is working on “Stage Presence” which includes voice projection, facial expressions, and telling a story. At each meeting they work on a particular set of skills that will help them prepare for auditions and future performances! (HINT: there will be Robots.)
Congratulations to this year’s WMS Drama Club Officers:
President: Ryan S.
Vice President: Ben H.
Historian: Ella S.
8th Grade Representative: Valerie F.
7th Grade Representative: Xavier S.
6th Grade Representative: Charlotte Z.

Young scientists at work in the lab! The students in Ms. Rice's class are collecting data on how fast an object sinks based on the shape of the object. The more streamlined the shape, the easier it can overcome the force of friction. #LifeintheW

Fill the Drum Marching Band Exhibition, Sept. 24
The Woodland Middle School Marching Wildcats invite you to their first performance of the year! On Wednesday, Sept. 24 the WMS Marching Band will take the field at WTHS O'Plaine Campus to perform their Lion King show "Lead With Pride."
Date: Wednesday, Sept. 24, 2025
Time: 7 p.m. - Woodland will be the 2nd band to perform!
Location: Warren Township High School, O’Plaine Campus, Football Field
Woodland, Viking, and Warren School Districts come together for this annual event to showcase their talented marching bands, and to raise money for a good cause. This year we will once again be raising money and accepting food donations for the Warren Township Food Pantry. Bring your friends, family, neighbors, food pantry donations and/or $$$, and come enjoy an amazing night of music in Gurnee!

Thank you for attending the first Bilingual Parent Advisory Committee (BPAC) meeting of the year! We had a great turnout to hear from Martha Lucía Aristizábal, a bilingual therapist from Warren Township Youth and Family Services. The topic was “How to help your children prepare for the start of the school year.” While the adults were engaging in the discussion, students were busy crafting with Woodland Dual Language teachers! Thank you to the United Way, Community Trust Credit Union, Starbucks, Jewel Osco, Waukegan Park District and Tacos El Norte for donating prizes and materials for this event. #LifeintheW
Save the Date for the next BPAC Meeting - Nov. 6
https://www.dist50.net/o/dist50/page/bpac

Wildcat Music Boosters Fall Fundraiser - Butter Braids & Cookie Dough!
Support your favorite music students by ordering delicious pastries and cookie dough during the fall fundraiser! Orders are due by Monday, Oct. 6.
https://store.myfundraisingplace.com/0a85fb7a-92be-4b73-8985-92d4e83567d8

Pickup is Oct. 18 from 9:30 - 11 a.m. at Woodland Middle School (No shipping available)

Look at this awesome photo of the WMS Marching Wildcats lined up on the practice field last Friday morning (9/12) in the fog! They are practicing for their upcoming show based on music from The Lion King. They marched in the rain during Gurnee Days, and this picture shows them marching in some serious fog - they are unstoppable! #LifeintheW

REMINDER: School Picture Day is Coming Soon!
Order in advance using the link you received from your school principal.
Elementary - Sept. 17

Middle - Sept. 18

Intermediate - Sept. 19

Primary - Sept. 24 & 25

WMS Golf Update!
Congratulations to Noah A., who medaled and finished in 9th place out of 94 golfers at the State golf meet in Metamora Fields on Friday. Noah shot a 75 (+4), which is a school record.
Way to go, Noah! ⛳️💚🤩
Check the WMS Athletic Schedule to see your favorite Wildcats compete in Soccer, Softball, and Cross Country this week: https://www.dist50.net/o/middle/page/athletics

Catch the WMS Cross Country Team at Viking Middle School today at 4 p.m. Cheer on our Wildcats as they take on Beach Park and Viking! #LifeintheW
Other Athletic Competitions on 9/10/25:
⚽️ Boys Green Soccer at Viking - 4 p.m.
⚽️ Boys White Soccer at Home vs. Waukegan - 4 p.m.
⚽️ Girls Soccer at Home vs. Viking - 4:15 p.m.
🥎 No Softball Games Today
View Schedules: https://www.dist50.net/o/middle/page/athletics

Go Wildcats! WMS Softball Game Photos

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/