Woodland D50 News and Information

Header Images:

• Left - The students in Ms. McCafferty's class celebrated their Parent Mentor's Birthday.
• Right - The 3rd Grade Music Concerts were out of this world!

Nov. 22, 2024

Dear Woodland Families,

As we head into the winter holiday season, I want to remind you that Monday and Tuesday of next week, November 25 and 26, will be half-days of student attendance for Parent Teacher Conferences. The district will be closed Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday (November 27-29) for Thanksgiving Break. Please note that the “Conference Half Day Schedule” is different from the “Friday Early Release Schedule:

Conferences Half Day Schedule - Student Dismissal Times on November 25 and 26:

• Primary - 10:40 a.m.
• Elementary - 10:50 a.m.
• Middle School - 11:35 a.m.
• Intermediate - 12:20 p.m.

Whether your conferences are being held “in person” or virtually, your child’s teachers have been busy preparing for this time with you. They will discuss your child’s progress so far this school year, so I encourage you to review your child’s report card in Skyward before the conference if you have not already done so. (Because the school runs on a semester calendar, Primary School students will not receive a report card until January.)

Woodland Middle School students and families are receiving their first report card since our move to Standards-Based Learning for the 2024-2025 school year. We are aware that this shift requires some adjustment to what you are used to, and we have heard from several parents who are concerned about the process for converting numbers into letter grades at Middle School. This reporting system is new for the Middle School teachers as well, so we appreciate your patience as we work through these challenges together. I am including additional information from the Teaching and Learning Department here regarding Standards-Based Learning at the Middle School.

As there will be no District newsletter next Friday with the Thanksgiving holiday, I’d like to thank you now for the role you play in supporting your child’s education and for your partnership in making Woodland an excellent school district. I am grateful to my colleagues, our students, families, and the entire Woodland learning community for prioritizing the safety and education of our children in the decisions we make together. I hope that you are able to find time next week to reconnect with family and friends, relax a bit, and spend some time in the company of the folks you care about most.

I look forward to welcoming everyone back to school on Monday, December 2.

Wishing you all a safe and happy Thanksgiving holiday!

Dr. Robert Machak, Superintendent

Woodland D50

• Nov. 22 - Friday Early Dismissal for Staff Professional Development
• Nov. 25 & 26 - Parent/Teacher Conferences, Half Day for Student Attendance
• Nov. 27 - 29 - District Closed, No Student Attendance
• Dec. 2 - Shop with an Educator at Gurnee Target
• Dec. 3 - Bilingual Parent Advisory Committee (BPAC) Meeting - Virtual, 1 p.m.
• Dec. 4 - WISE - Woodland Inclusion and Special Education Parent Group, 5:30 p.m. View Invitation
• Dec. 6 - Friday Early Dismissal for Staff Professional Development

Primary - 12:40 p.m., Elementary - 1:00 p.m., Middle School - 1:45 p.m., Intermediate - 2:30 p.m.

Primary - 10:40 a.m., Elementary - 10:50 a.m., Middle School - 11:35 a.m., Intermediate - 12:20 p.m.

The Woodland School Board of Education Governing meeting was held on Nov. 21, 2024. Please see below for a summary of highlights from the meeting, or we welcome you to watch the meeting HERE.

Thank you for your continued support of Woodland District 50!

Thank you to 3rd Grader Emery Kim for leading the Board of Education in the Pledge of Allegiance! Emery is the winner of the Attendance Bulletin Board Contest at Woodland Elementary.

• Dr. Shrode provided a Strategic Plan Update on the Education and Academic Goals for the 2024-2025 School Year.
• Tanya Abbey and Lavonna Gardner provided an update about the Parent Mentor Program for the 2024-2025 School Year.

Chris Bobek, Associate Superintendent for Business Services/CSBO shared a presentation for the Tax Levy and provided an opportunity for members of the community to ask questions they may have had regarding the proposed levy. Initial information was presented to the Board of Education at the October 2024 meeting.

The Board of Education approved employment for the following positions:

• Speech Pathologist
• Bus Assistant
• Substitute Paraprofessional (2)
• Guest Teacher

Also under consent agenda, the Board approved the resignation of four staff members, and three retirements.

The Board of Education appreciates the donations from generous supporters to help enhance programming in the district.

• Middle School: The Woodland PTA donated $5,000 to be used for the 8th Grade Trip.
  

The total donations accepted for November 2024 was $5,000. This brings the total donation amount for the 2024-2025 school year to $12,039.07 to date.

Under Consent Agenda is where you will find approval of Board Meeting minutes, Policy Revisions, and approval of the monthly Financial Reports, Treasurer Reports, and Board Payables for the month. These reports are posted to the website after the meeting.

• Approval of FY25 Maintenance Grant
• Approval of Board of Education Meeting Minutes: Closed and Regular Minutes 10-24-24, Special Meeting Minutes 10-24-24, Finance Committee Meeting Minutes 11-12-24, and Policy Committee Meeting Minutes 11-14-24
• Approval of Monthly Financial Reports, Treasurer Reports for the month of October and Board Payable list for the month of November

The business that takes place under "Action Items" is first reviewed by the Board of Education at the previous monthly governing meeting under "Reports/Discussion Items". An item will first be presented as a Report or Discussion item for the Board of Education members to be introduced to the topic and allow time for questions, review, and revisions before that item is moved to the Action Items portion of the agenda for a vote the following month.

A. Approval of 2024 Tax Levy - The Board of Education approved a preliminary levy estimate at the October 2024 meeting, published a Truth in Taxation notice on Nov. 12, 2024, and held a public hearing on the tax levy during the November 2024 meeting. The Board of Education approved the 2024 Tax Levy, and it will be filed with the Lake County Clerk's Office before the December deadline.

B. Approval to Uphold the Disciplinary Consequence for Student FY25-1 - The Board of Education met in closed session regarding a disciplinary consequence for a student, and ultimately approved upholding the disciplinary consequence for the student in open session.

C. Approval of the District Network and Data Security Manager - The Board of Education approved the employment of Ayo Tayo-Balogun as the new District Network and Data Security Manager. He comes to Woodland with an extensive background in leading IT security operations and cybersecurity programs, as well as experience in vulnerability management and safeguarding data integrity.

D. Approval of Restorative Practices Facilitator and Assistant Restorative Practices Facilitator Job Descriptions - Hiring school social workers and school psychologists has been especially challenging throughout Illinois. These critical vacancies create a burden on the school teams as others work to respond to the social-emotional needs of students. To address these shortages, district leaders proposed two new roles and submitted job descriptions to the Board of Education for review and approval.

E. Approval of 6.0 Total FTE for Restorative Practices Facilitators (3) and Assistant Restorative Practices Facilitators (3) - In continuation of the previous action item, once the Board of Education approved the job descriptions for the Restorative Practices Facilitator and Assistant Restorative Practices Facilitator, they then considered the request for six new full-time employees to fill the new positions. The Board approved the positions.

F. Approval of 1.0 FTE Teacher at Woodland Primary - The Board of Education approved the addition of one full-time special education teacher at Primary for the remainder of the 2024-2025 School Year to support the opening of an additional ISEC classroom in Kindergarten.

G. Approval of 1.0 Paraprofessional at Woodland Primary - The Board of Education approved the addition of one paraprofessional at Primary to support the opening of an additional ISEC classroom in Kindergarten.

H. Approval of Revised Board Policies

• 4:70 - Resource Conservation
• 4:80 - Accounting and Audits
• 4:90 - Student Activity and Fiduciary Funds

Reports and Discussion Items are placed on the agenda as an introduction to a topic. If the topic will require a vote, it will be brought back under "Action Items" at the next regularly scheduled meeting. This allows Board Members to familiarize themselves with the topic and ask questions, or request additional information and modifications before voting on the matter. The following topics were introduced as a Report/Discussion Item at this month's meeting:

A. Recognition of Board Member Appreciation Day

B. Presentation of 2023-24 KIDS Data

C. Written Information on Illinois School Report Cards

D. Written Report on the Ellevation Contract Renewal

E. Written Report on the 2025-26 School Calendar

F. Written Information on Revised Board Policies

You are always welcome to go back and review meeting materials, presentations, Board Payables, Finance Reports and the video recording from a regularly scheduled Board Meeting on the district website HERE (select the meeting date to view supporting materials). These items are typically posted within 24-48 hours after the meeting.

The Illinois Principals Association has named Sean Murphy as the Assistant Principal of the Year for the Lake Region. Mr. Murphy is an Assistant Principal at Woodland Middle School serving the staff and students in 8th grade. He has been part of the Woodland Learning Community as an Assistant Principal for 18 years. Mr. Murphy received this recognition from his peers for his efforts in positively shaping the climate and culture at the Middle School and being active in the community. He helps to foster emotional and physical well-being and safety at the Middle School. He makes connections by sending personalized birthday greetings to all the 8th grade students, and by creating a "Rose Garden" for staff to recognize other staff members throughout the school. Mr. Murphy has also served on the district's Equity Team to help shape board policy, and create educational and extracurricular opportunities for students. He works to elevate educator and student voices, and regularly seeks feedback from student leaders through clubs and teams at the Middle School. Outside of the middle school, Mr. Murphy lives in the district and is active in the community as well as a leader at his Church.

Congratulations to Sean Murphy on this recognition and thank you for representing Woodland D50!

WISE stands for Woodland Inclusion and Special Education Empowerment! This is a Special Education Resource Group for parents. Please join our network to help make WISE a great place to connect with other district families, get to know Woodland staff members who can help with resources, and get answers to your questions.

• Date: Wednesday, December 4, 2024
• Time: 5:30 - 7:00
• Location: Woodland School District 50, Educational Support Center (District Office), 1105 Hunt Club Road - Gurnee
• RSVP

Topic: Understanding ACEs and Supporting Your Child’s Emotional Health

Understand Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) and their impact on brain development, behavior, and academic challenges. Also, learn practical strategies for creating a supportive environment and providing guidance to help children navigate and overcome these challenges.

Parent University is back for the 2024-2025 school year. The first event will be a virtual event with Dr. Justin Patchin on the topic of Keeping Kids Safe Online. Dr. Patchin was one of the featured presenters from last year's Parent University offerings and he is back with a new topic!

REGISTER HERE

Parent University 2024-2025 Schedule

• Jan. 13 - Keeping Kids Safe Online (Virtual)
• Jan. 25 - Supporting your Student's Learning (in-person)
• Mar. 10 - Partnering with School to Improve Student Outcomes (Virtual)
• Apr. 5 - Keep Kids Learning Over Summer (in-person)

Woodland invites you to help shape future episodes of our award-winning podcast to help make this communication vehicle a true representation of the people who make up #LifeintheW.

How to Get Involved:

As we continue to build out the podcast schedule for the 2024-2025 school year (Season Two), we invite all of our stakeholders to provide feedback. We are thinking about creating a “Questions for the Superintendent” episode where Dr. Machak will respond to listener questions submitted by staff, students, and families. We are also asking our listeners WHAT or WHO they want to learn more about, and we will use that feedback to help us plan for future episodes.

Submit your Question & Suggestions HERE.

We are still accepting non-perishable food donations for the Holiday Food Drive. Drop off donations at school, or at the district office. Additionally, we are still accepting financial donations HERE.

Upcoming Event - Shop with an Educator!

Date: Monday, Dec. 2

Time: 4 - 7 p.m.

Location: Gurnee Target

For more information on the Food Drive and how to participate, visit the Annual Food Drive page on the Woodland Website.

Here is a photo from the Stuff the Bus event on Thursday night. Thank you to everyone who dropped off donations as part of this event. We appreciate you!

• Dec. 10 - 2nd Tuesday Fundraiser, Jimano's Pizza in Gurnee
• Dec. 10 - PTA Meeting, 7 p.m. (Virtual) - Registration Required
• Dec. 12 & 13 - Holiday Shop (Details Coming Soon) - Volunteers Needed
• Jan. 31 - Save the Date: International Night

Attention 8th Grade Families! Warren Township High School is hosting course selection information events for incoming freshman. December 3 or December 4. Attend the 8th Grade Curriculum Nights at the O'Plaine campus gym to meet with staff to review courses offered for freshman year. Learn More.

Free instructional support for ALL Woodland D50 students in English and/or Spanish from a certified D50 teacher.

Please visit Woodland's Virtual Backpack to learn about other events and resources in the community. New events are added all the time, so check back often.

Check out the Parent Mentor Newsletter for news about Parent Mentors receiving their Substitute license, and for an invitation to WinterFest on Jan. 24!

Parent Mentor Testimonial: Dayanley

The Lake County Health Department has reported confirmed cases of Pertussis or Whooping Cough in Lake Country. Whooping Cough is a highly contagious bacterial infection that affects the respiratory system. It causes severe coughing fits which can potentially lead to serious complications, especially in young children and adolescents.

Whooping Cough usually starts with cold-like symptoms but will often worsen, and may include:

• Severe uncontrollable coughing fits
• Vomiting during or after coughing fits
• Fatigue
• Difficulty breathing

If you notice any of these symptoms in your child, keep your child home from school and consult your healthcare provider right away. Early detection and treatment can help prevent complications and reduce the spread of the illness. The best way for your child to stay healthy is stay up to date on their vaccinations, including the pertussis vaccine (Tdap). Additionally, make sure that your child turns away, covers their mouth and nose when they cough or sneeze, and washes or sanitizes their hands afterwards. This will help prevent the spread of germs and bacteria within the classrooms and schools. Learn more about Pertussis by visiting the CDC’s website.