Woodland D50 News and Information

Header Images: Ms. Latondress shared photos from her 3rd Grade classroom. The students researched famous people and then presented information about their person of interest to the class!

• Left: Sam presented about Neil Armstrong
• Right: Emmy presented about Misty Copeland

May 13, 2024

Dear Woodland Families,

Happy Monday! Typically this greeting comes to you on Friday morning; thank you for your patience in allowing us to share last week’s message today…

I hope that all of our District moms were able to enjoy the nice weather and time with your families on Mother’s Day yesterday. Mothers play so many vital roles in a child’s education and we are grateful for everything that you do to support your Wildcat and the rest of our learning community!

Thank you to all of our students, parents, and community members for helping us celebrate our amazing Woodland staff during Staff Appreciation Week last week. In addition to numerous special treats and surprises at each school, the Woodland PTA and District Board of Education provided hearty breakfasts and lunches for staff members across the district. I also had the privilege of attending two special events last week to help our community partners recognize Woodland staff members for their contributions in the field of Education. Carrie Monterroso was honored by the Village of Gurnee as Woodland’s Teacher of the Year on May 6, 2024 (Village of Gurnee News Release). Then the Lake County Regional Office of Education held an awards ceremony on May 8, 2024 to celebrate excellence in teaching and recognize the important role of support staff personnel in school districts. Congratulations to Margarita Castrejón for being named the Middle School Educator of the Year for Lake County! (Facebook Post). The following staff members were also recognized as nominees during the ceremony:

• Amber Beutel, Educator of the Year: Diverse Learner Teacher – Primary
• Sherri Peck, Educator of the Year: Elementary/Early Childhood Teacher – Elementary
• Tiffany Drake, Educator of the Year: School Administrator – Middle School
• Kenny Lohfink, Educational Service Personnel of the Year – Operations & Facilities

While we are busy wrapping up the 2023-2024 school year with more celebrations on the calendar throughout the month, there are three specific things we are asking parents to do to start planning for the 2024-2025 School Year:

• Register for Wildcat Summer Adventures: Keep the learning and fun going for a few weeks of summer enrichment activities. The deadline to register is May 15! Learn more.
• Order School Supplies: The PTA is selling School Supply Packs for next school year. Place your order today and save yourself time in August! Not only is this a convenience for parents, this is a great fundraiser for the PTA.
• Watch for Returning Student Registration Information (Coming Soon): You will be receiving an email from the Registration Department to signal the opening of the Returning Student Registration process. This is something ALL families must complete before July 15. This is a very important task and we rely on you to complete it as soon as possible to help with class rosters, bus route assignments, and so much more.

We’ll be back on Friday with our regularly-scheduled district newsletter. Wishing you all another great week at Woodland!

Sincerely,

Dr. Robert Machak

Superintendent, Woodland D50

• May 21 - Bilingual Parent Advisory Committee (BPAC), 7 p.m. Meeting Information.
• May 22 - Special Education Parent Resource Group Meeting, 5 p.m., Woodland Intermediate
  
• May 23 - Board of Education Meeting
• May 27 - District Closed for Memorial Day Holiday

• May 14 - Second Tuesday Fundraiser - Wendy's (Gurnee), 5 - 8 p.m. MUST mention Woodland PTA when ordering 30% of sales will be donated to the PTA.
• May 14 - 17 - Intermediate Book Fair. Students will shop during PE class during the day and the book fair will also be open during Open House on the evening of 5/15. VOLUNTEERS Needed!
• May 15 - Volunteers needed for spirit wear sales at the Intermediate Open House
• May 16 - FINAL PTA Meeting, 7 p.m. via ZOOM, REGISTRATION required.

SUPPLY PACK SALE is LIVE! Save time and order your school supplies for next year during the PTA Supply Pack Sale now through June 16th. All packs include name brand items and a percentage of each sale is donated to the PTA. Supply Packs are delivered directly to homes in August. ORDER supplies using School ID WOO510. Additional Information.

This will save you time in August, plus it is a fundraiser for the PTA!

Looking for something fun AND educational for your Wildcat this summer? Reserve your spot for this summer enrichment program!

The program runs June 11 - July 3, Monday - Friday, 9 a.m. - 2:30 p.m. (No School June 19) Registration for Wildcat Summer Adventures was extended through May 15!

• Questions? Risa Cohen, rcohen@dist50.net

Ms. Castrejón was named Lake County Middle School Teacher of the Year at the Regional Office of Education Awards Ceremony on May 8, 2024. Margarita is a Spanish Language Arts teacher at Woodland Middle School and a member of the Dual Language Team. In addition to her incredible work in the classroom, Ms. Castrejón was recognized for her contributions to the climate and culture of the district through the connections she builds with staff and students and her involvement in various clubs and committees. Thank you for making #LifeintheW such a great place to learn!

Save the date for the next meeting of the Special Education Parent Resource Group!

• Date: May 22, 2024
• Time: 5 - 6 p.m.
• Location: Intermediate School Library

Based on parent feedback our topic for the next meeting will focus on school transitions, and what to expect as your child moves to the next school. We look forward to seeing you!

Questions: Dr. Yesenia Jiménez-Captain, Director of Educational Services - yjimenez@dist50.net

The Woodland Board of Education will host a public hearing on May 23 during the Monthly Governing Meeting to consider amendments to the Woodland D50 eLearning Plan. The revised plan was presented during the April 25 meeting, after a committee of staff and parents recommended updates to the plan to allow for more synchronous instruction, clarification of attendance procedures, and more clearly defined roles for staff. The Board will be voting on the new eLearning Plan on May 23 after the Public Hearing. As a reminder, this action allows Woodland to have an approved eLearning Plan on file with the state, but that does NOT mean that it will always be used when weather is bad. The school district may still use emergency closure days depending on the circumstances of the closure.

• Review the Draft eLearning Plan in English and Spanish.
• Presentation from the April 2024 Board Meeting.

It was a beautiful morning at Woodland Primary for our incoming Kindergarten students and their families. We hope you were able to take a bus ride, visit all of our community partners, see Wiley, and tour the school. Thank you for joining us!

The Wildcat Music Boosters invite you to support the Woodland Bands and Choirs with sweet treats! You can help by purchasing baked goods at upcoming concerts, or you can donate baked goods to be sold at the bake sales (items can be homemade or store bought). Sign-up HERE.

May 14 - Choir

May 16 - 6th Grade, Blue & Red Bands

Contact Stephanie with any questions: wildcatmusicboosters@gmail.com

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.

Featured this week in Virtual Backpack:

• NEW: WTHS Multilingual Parent Information Night, May 20
• A More Confident You!
• Mindful Art Therapy
• First Responders Expo, May 17, 18 & 19