Happy New Year everyone! 2017 is here and the students came back on Tuesday and brought their usual energy into the building. Wednesday was a different story, they looked tired to me on that day. Once again, I am looking forward to watching our students grow academically from here to the end of the year and this 8th grade class is a great group of students to be around.
The District 96 Band & Orchestra Boosters truly appreciate your support of their fundraiser on Thurs., Jan. 19. The Chick-fil-A restaurant on North Rand Road in Kildeer will donate a percentage of sales from 11 AM – 7 PM to the District 96 Band & Orchestra Boosters. Click here to see the flyer!
If you haven’t noticed, it is cold outside. Students who enter the building in shorts and a sweatshirt are making me cringe. When my oldest son was in middle school, he went through a phase where he wanted to wear shorts to school for an entire school year. My compromise was that he had to wear sweats over them, which he could take off when he arrived at school. Alright, I am done with that one. The good news is that 3 years ago today, the temperature was -16 degrees. Today’s temperature of 12 degrees seems balmy compared to that.
Spirit Showcase Award Winners
Woodlawn Poms won the Patriot Middle School Spirit Showcase at Daniel Wright Middle School yesterday. This event brings all of the poms squads from the SHS feeder schools together for a friendly showing of skills, routines and school spirit. This is the first time Woodlawn has brought home the title from the Spirit Showcase event. This is a great group of Woodlawn students who have worked exceptionally hard this school year. Way to go ladies!
Mr. & Mrs. Bird
Congratulations to Meghan (Kennedy) & her husband of one week Conrad! The happy couple tied the knot in lovely ceremony up in Wisconsin. I have been having a fun time this week with Meghan when she shows up to work before I do (early Bird), or if she tells me that she and her husband agree on something (Bird’s of a feather). She is taller than I am and she wears heels (Big Bird), while sometimes getting off topic (going on a Bird walk). Again, congratulations go out to this amazing lady and her very cool husband.
Finally, before break, I made my vision for Woodlawn public and I mentioned that future blogs we would be represented by our staff, the Woodlawn students and our parents. This week the Woodlawn staff put their thoughts into words by looking at our district values and recording the items that we hold as important. Parents, two weeks from today, I would love to get your stories about why you choose to live in this area. Share your stories about how you or your family came to the United States and how you keep your background a part of your everyday life. Your story can be based upon anything, including race, religion or anything you want. I plan on discussing the stories of my grandparents and what amazing people they were. Please share your stories with me at [email protected]. I will give you an update on how many people are participating in the blog next week.
From the Woodlawn Staff:
Model for Others What We Expect From Others
All members of the Woodlawn community are expected to uphold high standards and build positive relationships with each and every stakeholder. We expect all stakeholders to adhere to the Woodlawn virtues of empathy, kindness and respect, improving upon the golden rule by treating others how they want to be treated.
Every Child, Every School, Every Day
At Woodlawn, we strive to understand all of our students, valuing them for their uniqueness and individual differences. We strive to create differentiated learning opportunities to learn every day to ensure their growth.
Best Practice, Not First Practice
We believe that ongoing professional development, collaboration, research, and data analysis help teachers to create a culturally responsive approach that uses multiple learning modalities to develop the whole child. Teachers will continuously reflect upon their instruction, encourage and demonstrate how students should own their learning, while implementing lessons using a student centered approach and creating a differentiated learning experience for all.
Learning has No Boundaries
We believe that all children can learn and that a student’s potential is continually increasing. We challenge each student by providing them with the strategies and tools needed to be successful while holding high expectations for all of our students. We believe in equity. Every student will receive the support that he or she needs to ensure that success is limitless.
Celebrate Success
We recognize all of the successes and achievements of each stakeholder group. We celebrate our differences, promote awareness of our diversity, and understand that our differences will continue to strengthen our identity as an ideal school community.
I hope that everyone has a great weekend.