Monthly Newsletter - Woodland Public Schools

WOODLAND MIDDLE SCHOOL
VOLUME 15 - ISSUE 02
NEWSLETTER
December
2014
FROM THE PRINCIPAL’S DESK
‘Tis the season for bundling up and staying warm! As the New Year approaches, the staff at WMS would like
you to know how privileged we are to have had the opportunity to work with your child/student so far this
year. As things get hectic during the last few weeks of the holiday season, please make sure to take time to
touch base with your child on their growth in the academic arena. Progress reports are being sent home
today. Remember, progress reports are designed to give formative information to students and parents. This
means that there is still plenty of time to improve a grade you may not like. Conversely, there is also time to
celebrate academic achievement! Again, happy holidays!
-Dr. Cari Thomson, Principal
Calendar of Events
Students of the Month
October
th
7 Grade: Melissa Boulette, Maria
Ek, & Trace Logan
th
8 Grade: Kylie Berghaus, Leslie
Paez-Molina, Mason Schultz, &
Esther Zagumennyy
WMS WELCOMES NEW STAFF!
DECEMBER 2014
12/01
12/02
12/03
12/08
12/11
12/13
12/13
12/15
12/19
12/2201/02
01/05
Wrestling @ Castle Rock/GBB @ home
C-team GBB pictures in the MS gym
Wrestling @ home/ GBB @ home
Wrestling @ home/GBB @ Jemtegaard
Wrestling JV Tournament
Wrestling Varsity Tournament
8th GBB Tournament
WMS Concert 7pm
Boys Basketball paperwork due
Winter Break
BBB practices begin
In our last two newsletters we introduced you to many of our wonderful new staff members. We would like to introduce
the last three who have joined our team. We are so excited that they have joined our amazing staff!
Mrs. Catherine Riley (Math
Academy) Mrs. Riley is teaching in the
8th grade Math Academy this year. She
graduated from Illinois State University
with a Bachelor of Science Degree in
Education. She has taught at the
secondary level in Vermont, Texas, and
Washington. Mrs. Riley has been married
for many years. She has two grown sons
and one granddaughter. She loves to read
or watch anything science fiction related.
Mr. Britt Jud (Science Teacher) This is
Mr. Jud’s second year teaching. He is
married with 4 kids and has a golden
retriever named "Chuck Norris" His two
girls are in high school and he has a son in
middle school and a son in 5th grade. His
family is very busy with 4-H and sports. He
is the only person in his family who is not
on a sports team. His children show
rabbits, goats, and a horse at the
Skamania County fair every year. He
enjoys watching the planets and moon in
his telescope. In 2012, he was excited to
get some pictures of the transit of Venus
across the sun, which is something that
won’t happen again for about one
hundred years. Mr. Scott Wiens-
(Mathematics Teacher) Scott Wiens.
enjoys basketball, soccer, swimming, bike
riding, and running. Those last three
together make a triathlon, his current
favorite sport. He has competed in about
6 so far, the longest of which took 3
hours. He has three kids: a son in college,
and a son and daughter in high school.
They enjoy playing games, going to
movies, and hiking in the mountains
together. Scott’s favorite games involve as
little chance as possible; two examples are
chess and Go. He started playing chess
when he was five years old, played on his
chess teams in high school and college,
and has played in many large tournaments
including the Philadelphia Open, which
had over 1,000 players. Lately he plays
more Go, an ancient strategy game from
China, which is about five times older than
chess! He loves music and will frequently
break out into song for no apparent
reason. The problem is, he will almost
always sing the wrong words. You may
think he has trouble remembering names,
but that’s nothing compared to his trouble
with lyrics! In addition to singing, he plays
classical guitar. He’s’ been at it since his
son was in a crib. He can still remember
his first practice sessions sitting next to his
son while he slept. What a wonderful
memory!
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.
Attention any boys interested in participating in
basketball, please turn your athletic paperwork
and your athletic fee into the office prior to
Winter Break (12/19/2014.) Practices begin
01/05/2015.
This year’s LEGO robotics team is preparing for the
state tournament qualifying competition that will be held at
Salmon Creek Elementary School on December 6th. The team
consists of Michael Gabalis, Lee Gilkerson, Frances Helling,
Mckayla Shippen, Delani Stepper, Lexi Williams, Trace Logan,
and Aaron Shaw. Only Michael Gabalis and Lee Gilkerson are
returning from last year’s team that competed at the First
LEGO League North American Championships in San Diego.
This year’s theme is “World Class Learning
Unleashed” and the research project portion of the competition
requires the team to identify a specific group of students and
create an innovative lesson that “improves the learning
experience” for them. This innovative solution must then be
shared with others.
The team has chosen to do research about the
“common core” standards that are being implemented
nationwide, and to teach a common core type of lesson on how
to calculate the volume of a cube, a rectangular prism, and a
triangular prism to seventh grade students. This lesson was
chosen in part because this is specifically one of the common
core standards that seventh graders are expected to master.
Before choosing this specific lesson, the students consulted
with Mrs. DeBower on the standards, and listened to a
presentation by Mrs. Lutz, the building expert on the common
core.
The team’s innovative solution started by reviewing
calculating the surface area of squares, rectangles, and
triangles, something that is covered in the 6th grade standards.
The students were then given a short lesson on the famous
mathematician Archimedes who discovered the idea of
measuring the volume of a solid by measuring how much water
it displaced (Eureka!). The team had used a 3D printer to make
various sizes of cubes, rectangular pyramids, and triangular
pyramids. These were then measured by the 7th grade
volunteer students, and the volume was calculated by using
Archimedes’ method. The 7th graders were then asked if they
could derive the equation for calculating the volume of the
various shaped by using the measurements they had made.
This meant that instead of the students being given the
equation for calculating the volume, they were expected to
derive the equation based on observations that they had made.
Common core curriculum emphasizes thinking skills, and
analysis of data more than previous curriculums.
For the robot game part of the competition the
programmers and builders have developed two robots that do
things like throw a ball with a catapult, activate pneumatic
systems that hook objects to bring them back to base, run an
arm with a rack and pinion gear, and fling LEGO pieces eight
feet across the table. The latter is not required by the game,
but is pretty cool. They are now concentrating on consolidating
the two robots into one.
During the Project portion of the competition the team
will be given five minutes to present their research and the
panel of judges will have five minutes to ask any questions
they want. The robot game will be played three times with
points being earned for each “mission” that the robot can
accomplish within a two and a half minute run. The robot and
its software will be judged by mechanical and software
engineers, and the team will be graded on its teamwork and
adherence to First LEGO League core values. The top three
teams at the preliminary competition will advance to the
Oregon state tournament in January.
The Woodland School District complies with all federal rules and regulations and does not discriminate on the basis of sex, race, creed, religion, color,
national origin, age, veteran or military status, sexual orientation, gender expression or identity, disability, or the use of a trained dog guide or service
animal and provides equal access to the Boy Scouts and other designated youth groups. This holds true for all district employment and opportunities.
Inquiries regarding compliance procedures may be directed to the school district's Title IX Officer : Deb Kernan, (360) 841.2725, and/or 504
Coordinator: Michael Green, (360) 841.2700.
Middle School Concert
Monday December 15th
WHS Auditorium @7:00pm
Come welcome in the holiday season with the Middle School Choir, Trojan
Band, and Jazz II! The concert will be held in the Woodland High School
Auditorium on Monday, December 15, at 7:00pm. Admission to the event
is free so come and enjoy the music that has been prepared. The
students have been working hard and we have an excellent program lined
up for you. Make sure you bring your voice because we will end the
concert with a combined band and choir sing along of some holiday
favorites!
Happy Holidays!
Brent LiaBraaten, Paul Cline, & Bryana Steck
Coat and Food Drive a Success!
WMS held a Coat and Food Drive November 17-20.In that short time, students and staff donated
176 coats and 625 items of food! All donations stay in our local community to help those in need. The
overall homeroom winner was Mr. Jud’s class, and Mrs. Royle’s homeroom brought in the most food.
We are thankful to have such a generous school.
Athlete Recognition
Week 1:Athletes of the Week
Wrestling-Logan Smith, Josh Birrer, Orion Hollar, & Brady Clayton
Girls Basketball-Dakota Cobb, Lauren Kaiser, Carleigh Risley, Nicole Guthrie, Makylee Knight, & Taylor Foster
Week 2:Athletes of the Week
Wrestling- Nathan Balderas & Wyatt Nordwell
Girls Basketball- Chloe Eddy, Gelina Wakefield, Payton Foster, Kelly Sweyer, Dakota Cobb, & Ashland Cobb
COUNSELOR’S CORNER
Happy Holidays Woodland Parents:
I would like to share some wonderful resources with you
that are both available locally and nationally. Please feel
free to call me with any questions or assistance.
Warmly,
Joe Michaud
Woodland Middle School Counselor
360-841-2850
[email protected]
Toys for Tots www.toysfortots.org
Goodwill www.goodwill.org
Salvation Army www.salvationarmy.org
Coats for Kids www.coats-for-kids.org
Boys and Girls: www.bgca.org
Toys and Household items www.freecycle.org
Kids eat Free www.mykidseatfree.com/welcome.asp
Food Bank www.feedingamerica.org/foodbankresults.aspx
Public Libraries http://www.publiclibraries.com/
Electric and Home Energy help
http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/ocs/liheap/
Woodland Community Service Center 360-225-9998
St. Vincent De Paul Longview 360-577-0662
Fish of Cowlitz County 360-636-1100
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.