Primary School

Who is ready for Spring Break?
Here is the Spring Break Schedule:
March 20 - School Closed, No Student Attendance
March 23 - 27 - Spring Break, No Student Attendance
March 30 - Welcome Back Wildcats!
The Woodland Educational Support Center will remain open during Spring Break. If you need to stop by, please call ahead because many district office staff members schedule vacation days during the week while students are away. We look forward to welcoming our Wildcat family back to the district on Monday, March 30.
Have a wonderful Spring Break! #LifeintheW

Parent-Teacher Conferences are coming up and we asked our Woodland teachers to share their best advice, tips, and helpful ways families can prepare. We want to make these conferences as meaningful, encouraging, and helpful as possible for both families and students.

"These Spring conferences are student-driven guided by the teacher, of course. This should be an opportunity to celebrate your student and their hard work, success and achievement. Take advantage of it! And be sure to celebrate your student's efforts every day they bring finished work home. As you know, they thrive on positive feedback and celebrating their work does wonders for their confidence; alternatively, not celebrating it can send a message that their work and their efforts are not important. Please celebrate your student and their efforts each and every day!"
- Kathy Schumann, 1st Grade Dual Teacher

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"Here are activities to do at home that support home-school connections:

Clean up when you are done playing;
Stay at an activity for a period of time before going to the next activity;
Have your child take off their own coat and bag;
Hand washing;
Following directions and multiple step directions;
Asking for help using words and or sign language.

I know it can be hard to wait, but letting your child try is the best way to prepare them for school and beyond."
- Elizabeth Gaulin, Instructional K Teacher

Parent-Teacher Conferences are coming up and we asked our Woodland teachers to share their best advice, tips, and helpful ways families can prepare. We want to make these conferences as meaningful, encouraging, and helpful as possible for both families and students. Stay tuned over the next few days for more insights from our teachers!
"As students are leading their conferences, be quick with praise and encouragement, it can be intimidating to talk in front of so many adults.
Accountability is a skill that our students are actively working on. Therefore approaching tough conversations with curiosity and patience can help prevent your student from shutting down, and help them be able to self-reflect and engage in meaningful conversations."
- Andrea Schaper, Social Worker
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"I wish families would come to Parent Teacher Conferences ready to ask questions and share what they’re noticing at home so we can truly work as a team. When parents see the meeting as a partnership focused on growth—not just grades—it makes a powerful difference in supporting their child’s success."
- Elementary Teacher

Parent-Teacher Conferences are coming up and we asked our Woodland teachers to share their best advice, tips, and helpful ways families can prepare. We want to make these conferences as meaningful, encouraging, and helpful as possible for both families and students. Stay tuned over the next few days for more insights from our teachers!

"Open communication between parents and teachers helps us understand and support your child better!"
- Mercy Kuruvilla, WMS Special Education Teacher

Parent-Teacher Conferences are coming up and we asked our Woodland teachers to share their best advice, tips, and helpful ways families can prepare. We want to make these conferences as meaningful, encouraging, and helpful as possible for both families and students. Stay tuned over the next few days for more insights from our teachers!

"Since our spring conferences are student led, I'd like to encourage parents to ask open ended questions to their students during their conference. This allows students to open up more about things we've been learning in the classroom or share their desire to grow in a certain academic area. Support your child and their academic growth, celebrate their big and small wins!!"
- Lisette Sanchez, 2nd Grade Teacher
#LifeintheW

Check out these recently posted positions to join the #LifeintheW team:
Intermediate Assistant Principal / Special Education Supervisor
Intermediate Assistant Principal
Facilities Manager (2 Positions)
Learn more about Careers at Woodland and link to Employment Opportunities HERE - https://www.dist50.net/page/careers

Parent-Teacher Conferences are coming up and we asked our Woodland teachers to share their best advice, tips, and helpful ways families can prepare. Their goals are to make these conferences as meaningful, encouraging, and helpful as possible for both families and students. Stay tuned over the next few days for more insights from our teachers!

"As educators, we are truly wanting to work with you. If there is a parent concern, please reach out to us sooner rather than at a conference. We want to make the most of the designated time, especially when students are present for the conference."

- Elementary Teacher

Parent-Teacher Conferences are coming up and we asked our Woodland teachers to share their best advice, tips, and helpful ways families can prepare. Their goals are to make these conferences as meaningful, encouraging, and helpful as possible for both families and students. Stay tuned over the next few days for more insights from our teachers!

Calling all Woodland Primary EC/WELE Families!
(Early Childhood and Woodland Early Learning Experience)
Join us on Thursday, March 5th from 6 - 7:15 p.m. for a Family Game Night. Doors open at 5:50 p.m. We have Bowling, Limbo, Jumbo Jenga, Giveaways, and more! Siblings are welcome.
RSVP - https://docs.google.com/.../1FAIpQLSdV9eXZTjuZI2.../viewform
Learn more about using play to build language skills in this video:
https://youtu.be/t9TLWsIoBQ8?si=-BZnt_s9Dl7-qUo1

School Social Workers Week is March 1-7, 2026!

We want to say the biggest thank you to all of our amazing Woodland Social Workers. The work they do each and every day is so important and has a meaningful impact on our students, their families, and our staff. Their care, dedication, and support make a difference, and we are truly grateful to have them as a part of the Woodland learning community.

#LifeintheW

We are looking for an amazing administrator to join the Woodland Middle School Team. Check out this opportunity for a Middle School Assistant Principal position! hashtag#LifeintheW

Students throughout the district have been making Valentines for seniors in the community. Today is the day! We are on our way to join the Village of Gurnee and the Gurnee Police Department to spread the love and deliver the Valentines. 💌

Spreading the love at Woodland Primary with parties to celebrate friendship! Thank you to our Wildcat families for volunteering and sending in fun crafts and games for the kids. #LifeintheW

Thank you to everyone who joined us for the February Bilingual Parent Advisory Committee (BPAC) meeting with special guest Dr. Mario Guzman Sescosse. Dr. Guzman Sescosse's presentation was "Parenting: A Relationship of Love and Discipline" and attendees found it to be very informative and interactive. We also raffled off copies of his book and he was gracious enough to sign copies for the winners.
While the adults were learning, the children in attendance created crafts with a few of Woodland's Dual Language teachers and volunteers from the “Avanza” student group at Warren Township High School. Our friend Tobias Comfort Dog was there too!
Thank you to Community Trust Credit Union and Starbucks Gurnee for donating additional prizes for the event! We appreciate your support. #LifeintheW

Ms. Garcia and Ms. Vivas’ students created kindness flowers!

They were given a page filled with different actions - both positive and negative. They found the nice actions, then cut them out to use as the petals for their flowers!

It’s so nice to see our Wildcats choosing kindness!

Woodland was honored to host educators from Booker T. Washington (K-8) with Birmingham City Schools for a day of learning in the W! They spent the day touring Woodland's K-2 Dual Language classrooms to learn about our program and see it in action. They recently started a dual language program in their district, and this is the second group from Birmingham City Schools to visit Woodland. Thank you for your continued partnership! 💚 #LifeintheW

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!

Our littlest Wildcats wrapped up Kindness Week with a ROAR!
At their ROAR Rally they celebrated kindness, learned “Please” and “Thank you” in ASL, and shared ways they can be kind to each other at school, in the classroom, and on the playground. They also danced with Wiley, their teachers, and their friends. What a great way to end the week!

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