Woodland School News

Week of January 6 2025

Updates from the Woodland Office

Dear Woodland families,

Happy New Year and Happy 2025! I hope you and your family were able to celebrate the holidays together over the past few weeks. Tomorrow we begin the 3rd quarter of instruction and the second semester of the 24-25 school year. January has long been considered a month for resolutions. What do you resolve to do in 2025? Talk with your children at home about making a resolution and checking in on their resolutions during the year. Resolutions can be changed or modified as we go throughout the year. It's important to remind ourselves and our children of that. I resolve to be more present and visible in classrooms and the hallways over the next few months.

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In addition to resolutions, January also brings mid-year assessments and benchmarking tests. Ohio Revised Code Section 3323.25(C) requires all Ohio schools to administer a universal screener for learning characteristics related to dyslexia beginning in the 2023-2024 school year for students in grades Kindergarten through Three. Over the next two weeks, your child will be screened by a member of the school’s team that is assigned to perform screeners under this legislation. Students will be screened two or three times throughout the year. Kindergarten students will not be screened until the winter. It is important to emphasize that screenings are designed to identify weaknesses that suggest a child may have difficulty with reading development. These screening assessments are not designed to diagnose dyslexia, but rather to identify risk factors. You will be notified within 30 days with the results of the screener if further intervention is needed, as well as receive a parent report regarding the testing outcomes. If you have any questions, please contact your child’s classroom teacher or myself.

All students, Grades K-4, took the Measures of Academic Progress (MAP) tests in December prior to Winter Break. Our district uses this assessment to monitor student’s academic growth and achievement as well as identify gifted and high-IQ students. We use the results of these assessments to guide instruction as well as offer students intervention and enrichment opportunities. Family reports will be sent home to parents on or before January 17. 3rd grade families will also receive a copy of their child's Fall Ohio State Test (OST) report for English Language Arts (ELA).

During the week of January 27, 2nd grade students will take the Cognitive Abilities Test (CogAT). The CogAT measures learned reasoning and problem-solving skills in three different areas: verbal, quantitative, and nonverbal. Students who score in the 96th% or above for their overall composite APR are automatically identified by the State of Ohio with a Superior Cognitive Ability gifted identification. The use of this assessment meets the ODE requirement for whole grade cognitive screening to identify our gifted student population. The results of this assessment will be sent home within 30 school days of its administration. These results do not define your child’s abilities. It is one snapshot of your child’s learning journey.

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As the weather begins to turn colder, take a minute to review the Dressing for Cold Weather graphic below. Students will go outside for recess as long as the temperature and/or wind chill is 15* or above. Please send your children to school prepared with layers of warm clothing they can easily put on or take off. It is also recommended by our school clinic staff to have an extra pair of clothes at school for your child to keep in his/her locker. Extra clothing in the clinic is reserved for students who have had bathrooming accidents or injuries requiring a change of clothing.

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As a reminder, if your child will not be coming to school, please call the Main Office at 330-689-5470 by 9:30am each morning to let us know. Please leave a voicemail if the phone is not answered, as the office staff may be helping another parent at that time. You can also email Mrs. McClain at st_bmcclain@smfcsd.org with your child's reported absence.

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The tardy bell rings at 9:05am. If your child arrives to school after 9:05am, you will need to walk him or her into the building and sign in at the office. Dismissal begins at 3:30pm. Walkers and car riders are dismissed from the gym. Bus riders wait in their classrooms until each bus is called. Most busses depart Woodland before 4:00pm each afternoon.

With Bulldog Pride,

Christopher Keating

Proud Principal of Woodland Elementary

Woodland Counselor Update

Please see this list of Parent Resources for helping your child manage their emotions and feelings after witnessing a traumatic event.

As always, please feel free to reach out if you have any questions or concerns regarding your student. I am beyond thankful to get to be a small part of their educational journey.

Mrs. Karen Chapman-LPSC-ME.D.

Woodland/Highland School Counselor

330-689-5330 ext.705475

What is PBIS?

Has your child come home and told you "I got a PAWS ticket today!"? Or has he or she received a Student of the Month award or a PAWS Student of the Month prize? These are all aspects of our school's PBIS program. PBIS stands for Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports. It was mandated by the Ohio State Board of Education for every school district in Ohio to adopt a Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports and Restraint and Seclusion policy as of 2013, with additional requirements added in 2018 and 2021. Additional information about Ohio's PBIS policy can be found here.

Students will attend a mid-year PBIS Expectations refresher assembly in mid-January. This assembly will review the school-wide behavior expectations with our students and remind them of the incentives they can earn for following the expectations. Classroom teachers will teach their students PBIS lesson plans during the first two weeks of January prior to the assembly.

If you have any questions about PBIS, you can reach out to your child's homeroom teacher or Mr. Keating.

School nutrition information

Please review the information below from Woodland's kitchen manager Audrey Coy:

Breakfast for Lunch is moving! Breakfast for Lunch will now be served on MONDAYS instead of THURSDAYS beginning January 6, 2025.
Our schools accept cash (no change is given back) or checks for student lunch accounts.
Payschools Central accepts debit/credit cards (fees apply) - https://www.payschoolscentral.com
Breakfast and lunch menus are available at https://www.myschoolmenus.com/organizations/1129.

JAN 6 - Cinnamon French Toast OR Fruit & Yogurt parfait
JAN 7 - Loaded beef nachos OR Bistro box
JAN 8 - Cheeseburger OR Cheesy breadstick
JAN 9 - Tyson chicken nuggets OR PBJ Uncrustable
JAN 10 - Big Daddy cheese pizza OR PBJ Uncrustable
JAN 13 - Assorted pancakes OR Fruit & Yogurt parfait
JAN 14 - Beef soft taco OR Bistro box
JAN 15 - Macaroni & Cheese OR Chessy breadstick
JAN 16 - Chicken tenders OR PBJ Uncrustable
JAN 17 - Cheese pizza OR PBJ Uncrustable

Breakfast (8:55-9:15) price - $2; Lunch (11:45-1:05) price - $3; Milk price - $0.50.
Meal eligibility and fee waiver applications can be filled out by parents or guardians in Final Forms or by asking Ms. Coy for a paper application.
Additional information can be found online at https://www.smfschools.org/departments/nutrition-services.
Audrey Coy can be reached at st_acoy@smfcsd.org by email with any questions you have about nutrition services. SMF's district nutrition services supervisor is Angela Hearty (st_ahearty@smfcsd.org).

Bulldogs Dig Reading campaign

The Stow Munroe Falls City School District is excited to share a new reading initiative with families. The program is called Bulldogs Dig Reading and students will track their reading minutes on a digital platform known as Beanstack. Families can read more about the program here.

Mrs. Hall, Woodland's library assistant, has created this At Home guide for parents to help their children with Beanstack at home.

I would like to recognize each classroom's top readers (as of 1/6/25):

Room 16 - Camden Clymer

Room 11 - Eloise Marshall

Room 13 - Aaron Dorsey (Mason Leach is running a close second place)

Room 15 - Yara Aldwimer

Room 12 - Yamin Aldwimer (Bo Gerbig is running a close second place)

Room 14 - Lucas Englehart

Room 22 - Hudson Rankin (Brayden Grant is running a close second place)

Room 1 - Yaman Talal

Room 3 - Nico Goede

Room 7- Sithu Costa

Room 4 - Chloe Merrill

Room 5 - Jonathan Herchick

Room 6 - Kellan Leach

Woodland Parent/Student Handbook

Parents and Guardians,

Please take a few minutes to read through the Woodland Parent/Student Handbook . Pages 5-6 of the handbook go over Bus Safety and Bus Conduct referrals. I have been receiving reports of some students not following school bus expectations. Please review these expectations with your child, as well as the Stow Munroe Falls City School District Transportation Code of Conduct. Continued violation of bus safety rules can result in disciplinary action up to and including removal from the school bus.

Woodland PTA updates

It's never too late to join PTA! Parents, guardians, grandparents, aunts, uncles are welcome to join at https://woodlandstow.givebacks.com/store. The next PTA meeting is January 16th at 6pm in Woodland Library.