Middle School

Help Us Celebrate Amazing Woodland Teachers and Staff! We are excited to launch the annual Village of Gurnee Teacher of the Year contest, with a new category for Staff Member of the Year! In the announcement linked below it explains the criteria for the awards, and links directly to both nomination forms. We look forward to recognizing additional staff members in partnership with the village. Nominate someone today! Announcement: https://secure.smore.com/n/xg4wj Website: https://www.dist50.net/page/gurnee-teacher-of-the-year Nominations are due by Monday, Jan. 27.

Counting down the minutes until we are all back together in the W 💚 Get a good night sleep tonight Wildcats. Let's start 2025 with a ROAR!

Wishing you a Warm & Wonderful Winter Break! Dec. 23 - Jan. 3: Winter Break Jan. 6: Teacher Institute Day, No Student Attendance Jan. 7: School Resumes - Welcome Back!

Do You Have Questions about Standards-Based Grading, Curriculum, Dual Language or Technology? In the latest episode of the Woodland Wildcast, Dr. Machak and the Teaching & Learning Team discuss Curriculum, Standards-Based Grading, Woodland’s Dual Language program, and Technology in the classroom and beyond! Learn how this team comes together to support students and educators. #LifeintheW https://woodlandwildcast.podbean.com/e/s2-e4-teaching-learning-in-the-w/

This past week, students at Middle School participated in the Hour of Code program, in honor of Computer Science Education Week. The goal of this initiative is to introduce students to the world of computer science through engaging and fun coding activities, with the hope of sparking future interest in coding and the tech field. Students had the chance to explore a variety of coding experiences, including producing music (yes, that's coding!), creating their own dance party, or designing a custom Angry Birds level! Thank you to our dedicated Tech Integration Specialists for organizing and bringing this exciting learning opportunity to our students.

And that's a wrap on a fantastic basketball season... 💚🏀 Congratulations to the 8th Grade WMS Girls Basketball Team for winning the title of Conference Champions!!! 💚🏀 Great job to the 8th Grade WMS Boys Green Team for taking 3rd Place in the Conference Tournament!!!

The Annual Holiday Food Drive was a success thanks to the generous donations from the Woodland learning community and our valued community partners. With your help, we served more than 80 Woodland families with extra food and warm coats, hats, and gloves. Here are a few pictures of our team of volunteers setting up for the event, including Tobias Comfort Dog! A special thank you to the Warren Township High School students from Students of Service, National Honor Society, and Avanza for helping throughout the night.

There are so many amazing clubs at WMS, and one of those amazing clubs is Student Council! Earlier this week, StuCo members toured the school to scout locations for highlighting student voice and choice. From showcasing student academic, artistic, and athletic accomplishments, to celebrating various clubs and cultures, the students had great suggestions for utilizing these spaces to highlight the many ways to get involved and make a difference at WMS. #LifeintheW

REMINDER: Students will follow a half day schedule on Nov. 25 & 26 for Parent Teacher Conferences, and the district is closed Nov. 27 - 29 for the holiday break. Have a great week Wildcats! Conferences Half Day Schedule: Primary - 10:40 a.m. Elementary - 10:50 a.m. Middle School - 11:35 a.m. Intermediate - 12:20 p.m.

Physics Lab: Power of People Students in Ms. Dyson’s Science Class were asked to calculate the amount of power they could generate while pulling a bottle up by rotating an axle. #LifeintheW

WMS was thrilled to welcome students from Madrid, Spain to join our 6th Grade Dual Language teams for a presentation and hands-on activity. The students from Madrid were in Chicago to compete in an international Science and Space Exploration competition. This group of young scientists created a "CanSat" which is a mini-satellite capable of measuring different factors including temperature and atmospheric pressure. For a previous project, they used their CanSat to perform a 3D analysis of terrain in order to identify flood zones. This year, they are investigating the resilience of lichens in extreme conditions, which contributes to both space exploration and environmental sustainability. Their presentation at WMS focused on showing students how young people can actively participate in science and technology projects. Thank you to Ms. Colmenero for making the connection, and helping to bring these students to WMS for the day! #LifeintheW

Mrs. Danielson’s 7th grade Language Arts students read poetry selections from novelist and poet Jason Reynolds’ book, Long Way Down. Reynolds writes about the challenges faced by teenagers and young adults, as well as healthy ways to express emotions and cope with mental health. These WMS students worked on analyzing a poem as well as academic articles that related to the poem. They worked in groups to complete this analysis, then presented what they found to the rest of the class! 💚🐯📚

Please help us recognize the hard work and dedication of the members of the Woodland D50 Board of Education as we celebrate School Board Member Appreciation Day! In addition to being advocates for public education and community leaders, our Board of Education members are also our neighbors, friends, district parents, and fellow Wildcat fans 💚🐯 Thank you for all you do on behalf of the Woodland Learning Community! #LifeintheW

How to Slay in Science, and other Lab Safety Tips Thank you to Mr. Whiteaker's 7th Grade Science Class for opening up the training lab for guests and visitors. The scientists did an excellent job presenting helpful tips and guidelines through presentations, posters, demonstrations, and interactive activities. #LifeintheW

⭐️ 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

Thank you to the WMS Students of Service (SOS) for helping out in the community! These students participated in the Rake & Run program and spent their free time over the weekend raking leaves for seniors. Well done Wildcats 🐯💚🍂🍁 #LifeintheW

Woodland schools will be honoring Veterans Day at all four schools. Students at WMS will see these beautiful poppies as they enter the school. The poppy is a symbol of remembrance, representing the sacrifices of those who have died or suffered in war, conflict, and peacekeeping operations. Thank you to the students in Ms. Barbknecht, Ms. Barkhurst, and Ms. Hoy's classes for this display!

Challenging young scientific minds at WMS! Mrs. Reichert’s class recently worked on wave patterns. They used educated guesses to try and predict wave patterns, hypothesized how two waves would interact, and determined how these interaction would alter each wave. Mrs. Reichert took the time to walk around the classroom answering questions and helping her students understand the lesson. Love to see these students hard at work! #LifeintheW

8th Grade Social Studies students in Ms. Barkhurst, Ms. Barbknecht, and Ms. Hoy’s classes participated in a mock election today. The students first had to register to vote, and then research the candidates and issues before casting their vote. A big thank you to Ms. Barbknecht’s daughter for serving as an election judge. The students were excited to rock their “I Voted” stickers after exercising their right to vote!