Eagles!

The Chinese Taoist philosopher Zhuang Zhou who lived around the 4th century BCE, wrote the passage below about what our need to win does to us.

When an archer is shooting for fun

He has all his skill.

If he shoots for a brass buckle

He is already nervous.

If he shoots for a prize of gold

He goes blind

Or sees two targets –

He is out of his mind.

His skill has not changed,

But the prize divides him.

He cares

He thinks more of winning

Than of shooting –

And the need to win

Drains him of power.

~Chuang Tzu

The parable of the Archer is a favorite of mine. It reminds me that the greater we want something, the more our desire makes us second guess. The bow and arrow have no desires; they behave as is their nature. When the Archer, with their doubts, acts against the nature of the bow by trying to hit the target, they sometimes miss.

Although success and excellence may appear similar from a distance, they are different objectives. Focusing solely on achieving success can prevent us from losing sight of the actual goal making our performance suffer.

Chuang Tzu advises us to concentrate on excellence, which involves striving for improvement rather than external rewards; sometimes, it makes us forget the prize altogether.

While it is hard for us to get over test anxiety, it helps to focus on the skills we know we possess and put them to good use. As we approach the testing season, we must advise the young people in our charge to rely on their skills. The skills that we have taught them, that they have learned, and that they rely on in class and at home. Don't teach them to focus on winning but to give their best shot on every problem.

When a writer, illustrator, and environmentalist collaborate, an animated poem about nature is born. Written by Tom Rivett-Carnet. Illustrated by Bee Rivett-Carnet. Read by Jane Goodall.

Enjoy this poem about nature as we prepare to celebrate our home, Earth on Earth Day: April 22.

If you would like more resources or would like to take action, visit the official Earth Day website or click here to view the Earth Day Challenge by Roots & Shoots.

Thanks to your collaborative efforts, together our Woodlawn Academy community collected a total of 3,450 plastic bags. These bags will be kept out of oceans and landfills! You made a difference!

Shout out to our 8th grade group of boys who dedicated time to lead our competition for recyclables in the Fall and led the competition for plastic bags this Spring!

On Friday, our students were cheered on and encouraged to BEAT THE STAAR by our Woodlawn teachers and staff as well as special visitors from Jefferson High School. We enjoyed music by the drum line, color guard, and athletes. It was a great way to have students release tension and energy prior to the first STAAR test- Tuesday!

We acknowledge that testing days can come with much anxiety for our students. As part of our IB framework, students are taught self-management skills including mindfulness through breathing. Below are some simple resources you can review with your children about breathing to calm their stress during tests.

Here is a little treat put together by our amazing Communities in Schools site coordinator, Ms. Salinas.

At all IB World Schools like ours, our students practice approaches to teaching including: research, thinking, social, self-management, and communication skills. Below we see many of these in action! Our 4th graders collaborated to solve complex math problems and then presented their findings to their peers.

◻ Critical Thinking- Thinking

◻ Presenting- Communication

◻ Collaboration- Social

◻ Media Literacy (Creating)- Research

Check out the SAISD article on Culturingua’s Global Social Entrepreneurship Journey which includes a perspective from our 8th grade eagle scholar, Lennon Tobias. Go to the SAISD homepage or click the link or image below.

https://www.saisd.net/page/article/1587

7th graders Myzael Musquiz and Theodore Walker addressed the SAISD school board, urging them to give teachers and support staff well-deserved pay raises!

This past week our 2nd grade students took a field trip the Scobee Education Center for the Micronauts mission. They engaged in many hands on activities in many domains of science: physical sciences, biology, engineering, energy, earth & space, among others. They also learned about what life is like for astronauts in the International Space Station by observing simulated sleeping quarters and dehydrated food! Props go out to our 2nd grade team leader, Ms. Raygoza, who sought and was awarded a grant to make it happen!

We greatly appreciate our librarian, Ms. Cavazos for all that she does for our Woodlawn eagles! This includes leading and involvement in school contests & competitions (character pumpkin patch, character parade, UIL- storytelling, Battle of the Books, million book challenge) invitations to local authors, maker space STEM activities, media literacy lessons, among spreading a love for reading!

We will continue to celebrate her all of next week during National Library Week!

Wednesday April 26th @ 3:30 for Current 8th & 10th grade student athletes. For more information click here or the image below.

The Athletic Physicals for incoming 7th grade athletes will be conducted on Saturday May 23rd. More information will come later this Spring.

Physical Form

Website: https://schools.saisd.net/page/175.homepage/
Location: 1717 West Magnolia Avenue, San Antonio, TX, USA
Phone: (210) 438-6560
Facebook: facebook.com/SAISDWoodlawnAcademy
Twitter: @IB_Woodlawn