Another good week here at Woodlawn! Our 8th grade parents received information from Stevenson at Simplifying Stevenson and there was a very positive meeting about solar panels being put in while girls volleyball kicked off. I have some fun items in the blog today!
Amazing News
My week started off with a bang and I have been riding high ever since! For years, I have been talking about Woodlawn and the Professional Learning Community model to which we adhere. Countless schools across the country and world use the PLC model, which is designed to ensure student success. Each year, schools around the world are eligible to apply for the Rick DuFour Award which recognizes the best Professional Learning Community with the title and a $25,000 check. I am proud to announce that Woodlawn has been named a finalist for this award. Although schools from around the world applied, the three finalists are all from the United States. Along with Woodlawn, the other finalists are schools from California and Wyoming. The winner will be announced on Thursday, February 22nd at a conference in Arizona. Amongst the greatest minds in education, this award is held in the highest regard. Congratulations to entire Woodlawn community.
National Geographic Bee
Congratulations to Max Kogan, Woodlawn's Geography Bee Champion, who will now move on to try to qualify for the Illinois State Geography Bee. Special mention to Max Derhachov, Woodlawn's runner up in the competition. Kudos to all finalists who competed, including Michael Vandyke, Majid Abdelkareem, Braden Burns, Liam Thompson, Natalie Koziol, Katie Pack, and Evan Tian. The questions were difficult and for someone who cherishes his Ways app, Geography Bee is something that I would never even consider!
VEX Robotics Competition at SHS Saturday
Stevenson High School will host its annual VEX Robotics Tournament from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.Saturday, Jan. 27, in the Wood Commons. (Park in Parking Lot B.) This event is free and open to the public. Forty robots from 10 schools have been entered into the competition. An area will be set aside for children to build robots. Here are links to help prepare for watching the action: How a game works (video) | Official rules/scoring | Sample match (video)
Please visit the PTO Blog!
Illinois Youth Survey
Every two years, our 8th graders participate in the Illinois Youth Survey. The purpose of the IYS is to better understand youth attitudes and behaviors that can impact student problems and academic success. It will ask about topics including nutrition, physical activity, bullying, tobacco, alcohol, and other drug use. Students will be asked to complete a survey (with no names or identification numbers) that will be confidentially administered during one flex class period. The survey is completely voluntary and privacy will be strictly protected. Please click this link for further information.
From Our District Nurse
"Flu season is spreading within Lake County and KCSD 96. In the event your child is not feeling well, please notify the school office for absences including symptoms, if they have a fever, or if they are diagnosed with influenza from a medical provider. Please see the link below for more specific guidance on illness related absences."
http://www.kcsd96.org/student-services/health-guidlines
Thanks everyone and wash those hands!!!!
Woodlawn Wrestlers
The Woodlawn wrestling team had a great showing last weekend at the Matthews Middle School Invitational. We took 10 wrestlers to the varsity tournament and 6 found their way into a podium finish.
Tyler Roberts was our lone Champion of the day. Cole Rhemrev and Jacob Whiting brought home 2nd place medals. Josh Choi took 3rd place, Evan Perkovich finished in 5th, and Santi Gonzalez took 6th.
Left to Right in the picture below Jacob Whiting, Cole Rhemrev, Evan Perkovich, Tyler Roberts, Josh Choi, Santi Gonzalez in the lone picture
.jpg?mask=2)
.jpg?mask=2)
Updates and News from the Band Boosters
Mark your calendar for no cooking Wednesday! Eat at Lou Malnati’s and money will go to the band program. This sounds like a no brainer, everyone loves Lou’s. Support the Boosters by dining at or ordering from Lou Malnati's this Wed., Jan. 31, mentioning this FLYER at the time of order. Also, the Boosters have much more news and opportunities to share. Please read the latest info HERE.
Identical Twins
I haven’t been able to figure out which of the Spieth boys I have been talking to for the last 3 years. When I talk to Kevin, it is really Calvin. When I think it is Calvin, it is Kevin. A couple of weeks ago, Calvin (I think) had a full leg cast because of a hockey injury. On Monday, I saw that the cast was on the other leg. I thought “what the heck?”. Turns out, both twins suffered the same injury, weeks apart. A fractured femur at the growth plate. Are you kidding me?
.jpg?mask=2)
Finally, I need to clarify something. Yes, I said that I despise the Vikings. For those Vikings fans who sent me messages protecting the honor of your team, please know that you are not alone. I have equal if not more displeasure for a number of teams. The Seahawks, Lions, Buccaneers, Cowboys, John Elway and the Broncos and of course the Bears, just to name a few. Now that I have irritated pretty much everyone, my dislike for the Vikings is partially my own doing. Yes, they have been the Packers biggest rival over the last 25 years because those two teams have fought for the division title so often, but going back to 1997 (at 32 years old), I am going to own my part of why I don’t like the Vikings and Viking fans. Many, many moons ago, I used to run marathons. Chicago was my favorite, but a family wedding fell on Chicago Marathon weekend so I signed up to do the Minneapolis Marathon. (The weather that day set a record high for October in Minneapolis. As a runner, I didn’t do well with heat, so just keep that in mind. ) Before the race started, I was sweating at the starting line, uh oh. For the race itself, I thought that it would be fun to wear my Packer t-shirt. Brilliant move. For the few Packer fans that cheered me on, there were dozens who were shouting obscenities at me. Mile after mile, I was catching grief. Self inflicted grief. By mile 15, I was struggling physically, it happens at marathons. Vikings fans loved this…”Maybe if you were a Viking fan, you’d be running faster!”, “You stink, cheesehead”, on and on it went. Making it to mile 23, with the end somewhat in sight, the ultimate running indignity happened. Chugging along, with my legs feeling like jello, I heard the crowd cheering behind me. A gentleman who was at least 80 years old, was waving to the crowd and shouting out to everyone, “Second marathon in two days! Second marathon in two days!”. This gentleman blew past me like the Millennium Falcon jumping to lightspeed. With his hand waving, Vikings tank top pulling away, I decided that I would muster up all of my remaining energy and try to catch him. Four steps later, the comeback was over. Defeated. Once again, I own my part in this, but the Viking fans clearly were under my skin that day and loving it. I finished the race but didn’t feel great about it. Vikings fans 1, Greg 0.