WOODLAND MIDDLE SCHOOL NEWSLETTER FROM THE PRINCIPAL’S DESK

WOODLAND MIDDLE SCHOOL
VOLUME 14 - ISSUE 02
NEWSLETTER
OCTOBER
2014
FROM THE PRINCIPAL’S DESK
The school year is off to a great start. If you have any concerns about your child’s progress in school or any concerns,
please do not hesitate to call the office and schedule an individual parent-teacher conference. The weeks of October 20October 31 will be student-led conference weeks. All Woodland Middle School students will be presenting in a studentled conference format their current class progress as well as their goals for middle school. These conferences will be
scheduled through your child and homeroom teacher. Please plan on attending these opportunities to touch base with
your child’s teacher. It is an excellent opportunity. If you would like to schedule a conference with all of your child’s
teachers, please call Joe Michaud, our building counselor, and he will arrange this.
Dr. Cari Thomson, Principal
Calendar of Events
Students of the Month
OCTOBER 2014
10/3
10/2110/31
10/23
10/27
10/2810/31
th
7 Grade:
th
8 Grade:
No School
Fall Student Led Conferences
Girls BB and Wrestling practices begin
School Picture Retakes
K-8 Early Release
WMS WELCOMES NEW STAFF!
We have welcomed several new staff members, three of which we would like to introduce in
this newsletter: We are so excited that they have joined our amazing staff!
Dr. Juliann McCarthy (School
Psychologist) Dr. Juliann McCarthy
comes to Woodland Middle School
from a short retirement to work as a
School Psychologist three days each
week. Dr. McCarthy has worked in
education for about 30 years, first as
a High School English Teacher, then as
a School Psychologist. She has also
been a Program Administrator for a
High School Alternative Program and
her last full-time position before
retirement was as a Director of
Special Education and Gifted. Dr.
McCarthy’s professional experience
has taken her to a variety of locations
including, Montana (where she was
born and raised), Idaho, Washington,
and Arizona. Dr. McCarthy and her
husband returned to Washington
State and took up residence in
Woodland just over two years ago.
She would like the students, staff, and
community of Woodland to know
how pleased she is to be living
and working here. The students and
staff of Woodland Middle School,
especially, have impressed her with
their friendliness and courtesy.
Mr. DJ Malinowski (Paraeducator)- DJ moved here a little
over three months ago and joins us all
the way from Connecticut. He is
married with three children. Currently
he helps coach WHS Beaver football
and loves it! He is a NY Giants fan. He
has also recorded 4 albums, and
played music semi-professionally for
over 7 years.
Ms. Katie Klaus (ELL Teacher)Katie Klaus is a native of the
Northwest area. She graduated from
Ridgefield High School, so yes she was
a Spudder, but she is very happy to be
in Beaver country now. She attended
Brigham Young University where she
earned a degree in History teaching
and ESL. Ms. Klaus spent 18 months
down in Texas and New Mexico
volunteering and learning
Spanish. She is very excited to begin
her first year of teaching here in
Woodland working with English
language learners.
The staff at Woodland Middle School believes
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All students have the ability to learn and contribute positively to the learning environment.
Student success is a partnership involving students, parents, staff, and community to promote students in becoming self-sustaining learners.
Using data, educators will continually reflect on and improve instruction to implement best practices.
Challenging curriculum will be developed collaboratively to meet standards while addressing students’ diverse needs.
BE A PART OF HISTORY!
Be forever a part of the new Woodland High School by purchasing a
brick! Bricks can either be ordered or paid for online or you can use this
link:
http://www.woodlandschools.org/storage/file/111/WHS%20Brick%20
Fundraiser%20Flyer.pdf to print out a flyer and deliver to the high
school. All bricks purchased will be part of the new stadium walkway.
Money raised from brick sales will go toward installing an artificial turf
field at the new Woodland High School. Order deadline is November 1st,
2014!
Make a Difference Day
National Day of Doing Good
Date: Saturday October 25, 2014
Time: 9:00am to 1:00pm
Sign up: In the library w/ Mrs. Sturdivan.
Are you interested in making a difference in our community? Then come
and join the city wide clean-up to promote community pride and youth
awareness. Teams of adults and youngsters will perform identified service
projects around the community. We are currently looking for projects and
volunteers!
SNOWFLAKE BAZAAR
The WHS HOSA club will be organizing the Snowflake Bazaar
this year. It will be held at Woodland Primary School from
10-4 on November 22nd. If you are interested in being a
vendor, please email your contact information to
[email protected]
Dear Parents, Your student has an opportunity to receive
tutoring this year in Math. Nathan Patterson, a senior at
Woodland High School, is volunteering his time TuesdayThursday to help students with their Math homework. The tutoring goes on during lunch and
advisory/homeroom. The lunch period is open to anyone in 7 th or 8th grade. Students may bring their lunch to
eat in room 325 during tutoring. To receive tutoring in advisory, you must have your Math teacher’s
recommendation. If you have any questions, please contact Mrs. Debower @ [email protected]
The staff at Woodland Middle School believes




All students have the ability to learn and contribute positively to the learning environment.
Student success is a partnership involving students, parents, staff, and community to promote students in becoming self-sustaining learners.
Using data, educators will continually reflect on and improve instruction to implement best practices.
Challenging curriculum will be developed collaboratively to meet standards while addressing students’ diverse needs.
The Book Fair is Coming
November 3rd - 7th !
Our annual fall book fair will be held in the WHS/WMS Library
November 3rd through 7th. This is a great opportunity to
purchase books for your child and yourself and support our
school at the same time. Fifty percent of all sales come directly
back to our school for the purchase of books for our library and
classrooms. Cash, check, debit or credit welcome. For more
information about the fair, go to
http://bookfairs.scholastic.com/homepage/woodlandms or
contact Candice Shepherd at [email protected] or
(360) 841-2983.
Can’t visit the fair? Now you can also purchase ONLINE from
an expanded selection of titles (pre-K through adult) by going
to the web address listed above and clicking on the “Shop
Online” link.
Earn Rewards for Reading!
Each year the WHS/WMS Library features books that are currently nominated for, or have recently won, an award. This
year, in an effort to encourage students to read these great titles, we have started a rewards program. Here is how it
works:
1) Students obtain a Featured Book Rewards Card from their English teacher or the library.
2) Students read books off the Featured Book Rewards Card, take the AR test, and have their English teacher
sign the rewards card indicating that they passed the test.
3) At the end of the quarter, students who have met the goal for that quarter receive a reward.
The goal for 1st quarter is to read and pass the AR test for any two titles on the card. Each quarter the goal and reward
will grow. At the end of the year students who have met the goal for all quarters will be invited to a party to celebrate
their success. Participation in the program is optional. An annotated list of the current featured books can be found by
clicking on the “14-15 Featured Books” link on the school library website at
http://www.woodlandschools.org/node/117. If you need more information or have
questions, please contact Candice Shepherd at [email protected] or (360)
841-2983.
Counselor’s Corner
Hello Woodland Middle School Parents. My name is Joe Michaud and this is my first year as the school counselor at
Woodland Middle School. I have been a school counselor and teacher for the past fifteen years, most recently in Camas.
Most of my professional career has been working in Middle School, and I’ve always enjoyed the challenge of helping
students navigate their middle school years.
Originally from Butte, Montana, my wife, two young children and I live in Ridgefield. In my spare time I enjoy fishing,
golf, coaching my seven year old son in his various endeavors, and reading with my three year old daughter. My most
recent challenge has been trying to figure out how to properly use my smoker to cook fish and meat.
This semester I will be spending time in classrooms discussing with students the dangers of drugs, alcohol, and tobacco. I
will also be covering topics such as bullying and digital citizenship. Please look for monthly updates from my office via this
newsletter.
I look forward to meeting all of you. Please stop by and say “hello” if you have a chance. I’ve always admired Woodland
from afar; I am very excited to be a part of such an outstanding school and tremendous community. –Warmly, Joe
The staff at Woodland Middle School believes




All students have the ability to learn and contribute positively to the learning environment.
Student success is a partnership involving students, parents, staff, and community to promote students in becoming self-sustaining learners.
Using data, educators will continually reflect on and improve instruction to implement best practices.
Challenging curriculum will be developed collaboratively to meet standards while addressing students’ diverse needs.