Middle School

For our Woodland students, today is the first official day of their summer break.
But you can find many of our dedicated Woodland staff at the College of Lake County participating in planning days for the 2026 -2027 School Year. The school teams are meeting with district administrators, diving into data from the school year, evaluating progress and areas of growth, setting goals that align with the strategic plan and the Board of Education goals, and building excitement for the year ahead! Thank you for participating in these great conversations centered around students. #LifeintheW

REMINDER! Students will follow a Half Day Schedule for the last day of school.
Elementary - 10:50 a.m.
Middle School - 11:35 a.m.
Intermediate - 12:20 p.m.
(Primary's last day of school was Friday, May 29.)

Moving on Up! Post 1 of 2
The current 5th graders from Intermediate are touring Woodland Middle School because they will soon be 6th graders! Their tour guides are experts now because they have completed three years at Middle School. That's right, the tour guides are former 8th grade students who just graduated THIS WEEK. They volunteered to come back and talk to the younger students about what to expect in 6th grade.
Meanwhile, while the 5th graders are away, 3rd grade students are visiting Intermediate. We'll share pictures of their tour in the next post! #LifeintheW

Last night, Woodland Middle School proudly celebrated night two of 8th grade promotion. Congratulations to our Puma team!
We are incredibly proud of all your hard work, growth, and accomplishments throughout your time at Woodland! Each of you has made a lasting impact on your teachers, Woodland staff, your fellow students, and our entire learning community. Congratulations to all of our graduates, and best of luck in high school!
In case you missed Tuesday night’s Jaguar and Lynx ceremony, or Wednesday night’s Puma ceremony, you can watch them here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCoPwYawoj-1bYdnQ7hJQbUQ/live

Congratulations and Thank You to the Woodland Middle School Track & Field athletes who represented our school district at the State Meet this past weekend! We are so proud of you!
Check out the results online: https://results.shazamracing.com/meets/74233/teams/1670586

We are looking for a dedicated, hard working individual to join the Woodland Team. Check out this opportunity for a Data Analytics Manager position! #LifeintheW
Learn more about working at Woodland! https://www.dist50.net/page/careers

Woodland Middle School has 27 athletes competing in the State Track & Field Meet this Friday and Saturday in Peoria. Help us cheer on our track stars. Best of luck in the meet Wildcats – we are so proud of you!
We grabbed a few photos from the Athletic Live results, and parents are sending in photos to our coaches - but feel free to add your Wildcat in action to the comments!
Boys Qualifiers
1. Abner A.
2. Austyn S.
3. Aiden N.
4. Daniel P.
5. Noah C.
6. Carter C.
7. Zander L.
8. Isaac M.
9. Zion R.
Girls Qualifiers
1. McKenzie C.
2. Savannah R.
3. Zalay J.
4. Leilani C.
5. Reaiah A.
6. Raina A.
7. Mariah L.
8. Ariana S.
9. Arianna M.
10. Harper L.
11. Graysen O.
12. Mila D.
13. Azalea C.
14. Alaina L.
15. DaNae T.
16. Lydia G.
17. Skylar L.
18. Addison M.

Congratulations to the 85 WMS 7th Grade students who were inducted into the National Junior Honor Society (NJHS) in a beautiful ceremony last night. These students were selected based on their Scholarship, Service, Leadership, Character, and Citizenship - the Five Pillars of NJHS. We can’t wait to see how you step into leadership roles during your 8th grade year. We know you will do great things and take NJHS service to the next level!
We also want to thank the current 8th Grade NJHS members who will be moving on to high school next year. You truly made a difference through your NJHS membership by being good role models, participating in service projects, elevating student voice, and creating spaces of belonging. #LifeintheW

Students in Mr. Golwitzer’s class brought history to life with their “Living Museum” presentation! (Props and costumes were encouraged!) They researched famous historical figures and shared with their classmates why their person should be added to the Gallery of Greatness!

From former presidents and legendary musicians to ancient Greek philosophers, these Wildcats did a great job presenting their research in creative and engaging ways!

We loved cheering on our Wildcats at WMS’s 8th Grade Awards Ceremonies!

These ceremonies celebrated students and all of their achievements! Congratulations everyone for all of your outstanding work. We are so proud of everything you have accomplished here at Woodland, and are very excited to see what you do next!

(Not every award winner is pictured)

We love our Community Partners! Woodland partnered with Honey Orthodontics in Gurnee to provide vocational learning opportunities for these Middle School students. Through this partnership, students assemble bags provided to patients at the end of their appointments while building workplace readiness and independence skills. Students have already completed more than 160 bags and are expected to finish the project by the end of the school year. #LifeintheW Honey Orthodontics: Braces and Invisalign by Oana Honey Gurnee IL

May 18th is National Speech Pathologist Day, the perfect time to celebrate all the wonderful ways Woodland's Speech and Language Pathologists help Wildcats with their speech and language needs. Today we celebrate these experts in communication development. Thank you for empowering our students to express themselves with clarity and confidence. #LifeintheW

Today was a great day for an outing to Warren Township park! Students from Ms. Banks and Ms. Gregg's P.E. classes walked over for a picnic lunch and a game of kickball to celebrate a great year of friendship in the W.

FREE WEBINAR - Is your student moving on up to the next school during the 2026-2027 School Year? Hear from leaders at each school about what to expect and how to prepare your Wildcat for this next step in their academic journey!
Join us on May 13 at 6 p.m. from the comfort of your home!
💚 Supporting Your Primary Student - Sandy Sanchez Panchi
⭐️ Supporting Your Elementary Student - Assistant Principal Elizabeth Gaiser
💚 Supporting your Intermediate Student - Jane Weiland
⭐️ Supporting Your Middle School Student - Middle School NJHS Students & Principal Tiffany Drake
REGISTER:
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdDVZji4KcXxi3mTlGoXd8uiidEnkTGAyvb3F8-bo21Akz2gg/viewform
LEARN MORE: https://www.dist50.net/page/parent-university

Congratulations to Danielle Rosario on being named Woodland’s Bus Driver of the Year by the Transportation Department!
Danielle has been a valued member of the Woodland Team since 2021 and brings many years of experience as a school bus driver. She is known for her outstanding attendance, positive attitude, willingness to support others, and dedication to student safety. Danielle has a special place in her heart for our Special Education students and consistently goes above and beyond each day to support and care for them with patience and kindness.
Danielle demonstrates professionalism in all that she does and works to build positive relationships with students, families, and staff. She leads by example each day and helps create a safe, welcoming, and positive experience for Woodland students.
The Bus Driver of the Year Award recognizes an individual who has gone above and beyond the performance of his or her duties as a Woodland School Bus Driver, professionally executing safe school bus operation, while providing the students with the safest form of transportation to and from school.
Thank you for always going the extra mile!

Last night, our 5th–8th Grade Bands came together for their final band performance of the year at the Spring Concert! For the first time ever, all 300 band students performed together, making the evening truly special. Congratulations to all our student musicians on their exceptional performances, and thank you to our band directors for all their hard work. It was a fantastic concert and a wonderful celebration of our talented Wildcats!

We are very proud to recognize Woodland’s Educator of the Year nominees. These outstanding educators make a meaningful difference in the lives of Woodland students and are a true representation of excellence in education.

Our nominees were honored last night at the 5th Annual Educator of the Year Celebration, presented by the Lake County Regional Office of Education Foundation. This celebration was a wonderful way to acknowledge and honor the educators in our community who make a lasting impact on students, their families, and their school communities.

Congratulations to all who were celebrated, and a special shoutout to our Woodland nominees:

Leah Kropp
Lydia Campbell
Robert Stone
Suzanne Dylla
Alyssa Desamero
Brian Golwitzer

Thank you for your dedication and passion you bring to your classrooms and school each and every day.

Congratulations once again to our outstanding Woodland Teacher and Staff Member of the Year winners–Jess Pierson, Woodland’s Teacher of the Year & Brandi Smith, Woodland’s Staff Member of the Year.
Last night, they were recognized at the Village of Gurnee Board Meeting, alongside the winners from Warren Township High School and District 56.
Thank you to the Village of Gurnee for celebrating the incredible educators in our community, and recognizing the impact they make for students and their families every day.

Thank you to everyone who helped us celebrate Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month this past Saturday!
We were very excited to host our district’s first-ever AAPI celebration, and we couldn’t have asked for a better turnout. It was a great afternoon filled with music, delicious food, amazing performances, and creative student artwork and poetry.
Thank you so much to our Woodland families who volunteered their time, shared their cultures, and helped create a wonderful event. We are also grateful to our community partners for their support of our learning community.
We hope you enjoyed the celebration as much as we did!