Mon Oct 13 2008, 7:00pm
District Meeting Room
Regular Meeting

REPORTS TO THE BOARD

WIS Monthly Report

Woodland Intermediate School

Monthly Update

September, 2008 

As the doors opened on the first day of school students filled the halls with smiles and cheers.  Throughout the first month students have continued to radiate enthusiasm, confidence, and optimism.  The positive attitudes and enthusiasm of our students is a reflection of the strength and talent of our staff, parents, and community. 

Throughout the month of September our professional development has primarily had a reading focus.  Being that we are in the first full year of a new reading adoption we are working very hard to support teachers with the implementation.  Mo Anderson has planned, prepared for, and facilitated multiple full day and Monday morning trainings.

Future support and training in reading has been planned for teachers.  Dr. Jan Rauth will be spending two days in our building in the next month.  Dr. Rauth lives in Longview, has 25+ year of experience as a reading specialist, has been teaching Open Court/Imagine It since the 70's, is a national reading consultant, and is a program reviewer for Imagine It. 

We have planned for Dr. Rauth to spend two days in our building teaching reading lessons during the 4th, 5th, and 6th grade reading blocks.  She will teach and we will observe for the first 45 minutes of each reading block.  Dr. Rauth will then facilitate a discussion and have Q and A for the second 45 minutes of each block.  Half of each grade level team will participate each day.  This is an opportunity that we are very excited about.

The curriculum adoption and implementation process is never simple or without struggles.  However, we are working very hard to make this curriculum adoption and implementation as simple, seamless, and as beneficial for students as possible. 

On September 30th we hosted our annual Open House.  We kicked off the event a little differently this year.  We started the event with parents, students, and staff in the gym.  I gave a short opening address that focused on partnerships, teamwork, upcoming events, and all of the great things taking place at Woodland Intermediate School.  From there we transitioned into grade level showcases.  Each grade level was showcased for 15 minutes.  Our attendance was great and the activities were well received. 

Frequent and clear communication with parents and the community is a priority for us.  I am very happy to announce that Woodland Intermediate School is now up and running with the "Grades on Line" program.  This program allows parents the capability of accessing their child's attendance, grades, unofficial transcript, vaccinations, and other information through the internet. 

As I told parents during our Open House activities, we are off to a great start, but we have a long way to go.