Middle School

Wow!!! Thank you for coming to Woodland's Black History Month Celebration this past Saturday! It was a great event full of music and togetherness, amazing performances, wonderful support from our community partners and volunteers, and beautiful artwork by our talented students. We hope you enjoyed it as much as we did. #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!

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

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

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

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!

Congratulations to Rohan (8th grade) for winning the Woodland Middle School Spelling Bee, and to Rameen (6th grade) for coming in 2nd Place! Here are a few photos from the final rounds. Great job to all the competitors! Very impressive 🤩

Learning about students in Morocco through a Global Pen Pals activity in Mr. Aablouche’s class! This activity is a virtual cross-cultural exchange that connects 8th grade students from Woodland Middle School with high school students in Morocco. The students take turns asking and answering questions about school life, traditions, daily routines, and future goals with their pen pal.
The activity aims to promote cultural awareness and global citizenship while strengthening language skills. It also supports the development of digital skills, encourages respectful online communication, and fosters creativity through meaningful international interaction. Thank you to Mr. Aablouche and Mr. Bouhou from Morocco for creating this meaningful experience for your students! #LifeintheW

WMS 8th Grade Students had a unique opportunity to participate in mock interviews with district and school leaders, community partners, local businesses, and parent volunteers. This part of the Junior Achievement program simulates real job interviews for students. Volunteers asked questions about skills, interests, and teamwork, helping students learn career readiness skills through hands-on practice.
The students spent time preparing for this experience in the classroom with their teachers and peers, and they showed up ready to impress for their interviews!
Here are a few sample interview questions:
💚 What is your greatest strength? Give me an example.
💚 What is your greatest weakness? How have you worked to overcome it?
💚 How are you at working with others?
💚 Things can change quickly. How are you at adapting to change?
💚 Who is someone you admire? Why?
💚 What's the hardest thing you've ever had to do?
💚 What job or career are you interested in?
Your future is bright Wildcat! #LifeintheW

January 9 is Law Enforcement Appreciation Day!

We want to extend a heartfelt thank you to the Gurnee Police Department for all they do to support and protect our community.

We would also like to recognize and thank our incredible Woodland School Resource Officers (SRO) for the many ways they support our schools, staff, and students each and every day. Thank you for your dedication, partnership, and commitment to keeping our learning community safe. 💙

If you see Dets. Hansen, Tazzioli, or Gullifor make sure to say thank you and give them a high-five!

Thank you to our awesome Technology Team and the Tech Integration Specialists for creating this exciting EDTECH Camp for Woodland staff to kick off the January 2026 Teacher Institute Day! #LifeintheW

Advanced 8th Grade Spanish Language Arts students held court this week! Students were assigned roles such as defense lawyer, defendant, judge, and more, and acted out a mock trial centered on a case of spilled hot coffee.

After hearing the arguments, the judges deliberated and determined the outcome, explaining their reasoning and how they arrived at their decision.

Thank you to Ms. Somarriba and Ms. Castrejon for bringing hands-on learning experiences to our students!

Giving in the W! Thank you to our many volunteers for lending a helping hand to support the Woodland learning community on a chilly evening. We received so many generous donations over the past few weeks that helped make the Annual Food Drive event a success. Thank you to all who brought in non-perishable foods during the various donation drives and contests at each school, attended one of the food drive events in the community, donated online, or offered your time in support of this effort. We couldn't have done it without you! #LifeintheW

WMS students had fun participating in Hour of Code/Hour of AI with Mrs. Walker. Some students became music producers to create an AI jam session or dance party, while others completed lines of code through Code.org, Tynker, and Scratch. Computer Science will continue at WMS this week. GO WILDCATS! #LifeintheW