Woodland Middle School staff and students have had a great start to the 2017-18 school year! The following topics are explained in more detail below:
District Directed Professional Development (DDPD) Days
We had a positive week back during professional development days with staff. We began on Monday analyzing data as a staff and discussing new systems for the year. Our language arts teachers attended a training to support writing called “Step Up To Writing.” Additionally, many of our core teachers attended a training tied to IReady assessments. As the new principal, I met with each teacher individually to discuss areas of strength and areas for growth at WMS.
Before school started we had four DDPD days at WMS. We used this time to go over the WSD Vision, WMS Mission, WMS Operating Principles and overall WMS guidelines and information. Staff also used the time to complete required safety trainings, lesson plan for the first weeks of school and set up their classrooms. We are grateful for this time to be able to do this crucial work together.
Lunch & Lockers
We also managed to have our “Lunch & Lockers” event during one of the DDPD days. After monitoring last year we adjusted this year by having the check in at the Green Gym instead of the Commons, providing plenty of room to greet families. This year there was a bit of confusion about the details of Lunch & Lockers. To ‘monitor and adjust’ for next year, in June 2017 we are going to post information about Lunch & Lockers on our school website calendar and we are going to promote it as truly Lunch & Lockers instead of promising schedules.
We hosted our “Lunch & Lockers” event during one of the DDPD days. We shifted to distributing schedules to students by their homeroom teacher rather than have families stand in long lines. There was a great turnout and it was a nice opportunity to meet incoming 5th graders and returning 6-8th graders, and serve them lunch.
First Days
As the new principal, I visited each 5th and 6th grade class to meet with students, introduce myself, answer questions, and talk about my philosophy of “Champions Find a Way”. For the 7th and 8th grade, we hosted a spirit assembly welcoming students to the new year and searching for the class with the loudest screams. They were definitely spirited (and loud) and the winning homeroom class was Mr. Malinowski. We also asked the cohorts to take students on PBIS tours around the building to discuss expectations in different areas. Overall, the school year started smoothly and we are up and running!