WMS Newsletter - December 11, 2024

Dear Woodward Families,

As we prepare for Winter Break, I have reflected on a few of my favorite things about Woodward.

Student Self-Expression! One of my favorite things about WMS is that students bring their authentic selves to school. Students are inclusive of one another and treat each other with kindness. It has been incredible to see individual expression through opportunities for personal narrative and creative writing, personalized art projects, the opportunity to start and join clubs, student presence on “Wake up Woodward,” and student voice through ASB and advocacy. Our students are amazing!

The food! Our lunch staff is truly the best. They work hard to ensure that meals for students are nutritious and delicious. I personally buy school lunch everyday and am grateful for the love and care that our kitchen staff puts into serving up what kids actually like and want to eat. They go above and beyond everyday!

Jeannie Donoghue! I feel so lucky to be learning from and working with such a competent, passionate, and wise principal who loves her staff and students. I am supported by her every day and love working on a team with Ms. Donogohue.

The compassion of the staff! Our staff has a shared value, which is compassion and care for students. This is evidenced everyday in big and small ways. From the daily interactions of kindness, to the extraordinary way our staff members partner to support student needs, it is clear that the staff is driven by service-oriented compassion and care. 

The Hallways! Our hallways are continually changing with different artwork, bulletin boards, quotes, stories, and examples of incredible student work. Staff members and students work together to ensure that all students see themselves represented while also showing off their incredible talent for high-quality work. 

I wish you a warm holiday season with your family.

Sincerely,

Danielle Warman

Associate Principal

Do you want to help make one morning just a little sweeter for our Woodward students, teachers and staff? If so, please join us on Friday, December 20th from 7:30 - 9:00 am in the Woodward Cafeteria for Hot Cocoa and Jazz from the Woodward Jazz Band! We need approved parent volunteers to help us set up, serve and clean up the hot cocoa.  

This holiday season, let’s show our teachers how much we appreciate them! The Woodward PTO is hosting a Staff Book Wish List Drive to help stock their shelves with books they’ve been wanting. Browse the Amazon Wish List below or purchase locally (just mark it off the list). Books can be dropped off at the front office by Tuesday, December 17th. We'll wrap and deliver them to teachers by the end of the year. We'll keep an eye on this list, and if it is fully purchased, we’ll add additional books so more teachers can be supported. Any gift cards purchased will go directly to more books! Thank you for helping us celebrate our amazing educators!

Have a lovely holiday season with your families!

We are excited to announce that the 8th Grade Banquet will be held on Saturday, May 31, 2025. Save the date for this treasured island tradition!

The planning for the banquet has already begun! Check out the link below for ways to help and get involved. It takes a village, and we look forward to working with you to make this an epic event for our graduates!

For students who have PE/Health this semester, WMS counselors were in health classes on December 2nd and 9th teaching a lesson titled, Emotions and the Mindfulness Strategy of Awe. In this lesson, we explored emotions, the idea that they show up in our brains, bodies and behaviors, and introduced the mindfulness strategy of AWE, which involves being mindful during the experience of seeing.

Each Monday during 4th period your student participates in Woodward Seminar, a social emotional learning (SEL) platform designed by a dedicated group of Woodward teachers. We use the WMS newsletter to highlight the Seminar lesson themes that will be taking place for the upcoming month. 

For the first lesson of the month, the topic was ‘boundaries’ and how choices we make help us feel comfortable and safe. Students also learned about types of boundaries we may need including personal, physical and digital.  

For the December 9th lesson, 7th grade students revisited their WMS goals from the beginning of the year and checked in on their progress. They also discussed the concept of labels and how labels can influence our perception of things which impacts our behavior. 8th grade students will also revisited their goals and discussed labels as well as the Halo/Horn Effect and how this effect influences how others feel and think about a person's specific traits. 

On December 16th, the topic of the lesson is digital citizenship and navigating digital dilemmas where students learn and discuss cyber bullying, photo sharing, screen shots and privacy.

In each of our community newsletters, we are challenging you to participate in Family Character Dares this year! Here are our next two challenges.

There are 8 days left to order your 2025 Yearbook. We will provide the total copies sold to the publisher by December 20, 2024 and there will be no extra copies available at the end of the year.

You can order your copy of the WMS 2024-2025 yearbook two ways:

If you need to check to see if you already purchased a yearbook, please contact Kate Carr at (206) 780-4502 or kcarr@bisd303.org.

NOTE: If you need financial assistance for a yearbook, please click on the following link: Scholarship Application Form.

We are excited to announce that Woodward Leadership and Builders Club are hosting a Holiday Toy Drive in partnership with Kidzz Helping Kidzz. This initiative aims to spread joy and kindness during the holiday season by collecting brand-new toys for children in need. We encourage all families to participate by donating toys that are wrapped and in their original packaging. We happily accept stuffed animals as long as they have their tags, and ideal donations include LEGOs, games, sports equipment, art supplies, or books. Your contributions will help bring smiles to many young faces this holiday season. Please note that the last day to donate is December 17th. Toy donations go to your student's 4th period teacher. Thank you for your generosity and support in making this Toy Drive a success!

Please join us for our Winter Band Concert on Tuesday, December 17th. Students will be performing our seasonal favorites: Sleigh Ride, The Polar Express, Jingle Bell Rock and more! The concert begins at 7:00 pm. Family, friends and neighbors are welcome!

NOTE: The Band Boosters will be holding a fundraiser to support the Woodward Band Program at this Winter Concert. Please consider making a $10 - $20 donation at bit.ly/Woodward-Bands or at the concert. For more information, visit https://bainbridgebands.square.site/.

Registration is open for Girls Basketball. Here are the details to register:

For further questions, please contact Luke Ande, Athletic Director, at lande@bisd303.org.

We are doing a District-Wide Spirit Week the week of December 16th - 20th! This was planned in conjunction with BHS ASB students; all school principals have reviewed the themes and approved them. See the graphic below to know the plan for the week.

17: Winter Band Concert @ 7:00 pm WMS

20: Hot Cocoa and Cool Jazz - WMS Commons @ 8:40 am

12/23-1/3: Winter Break - No School

6: School Resumes

8: PTO Meeting @ 6:00 pm WMS Library

20: MLK Holiday - No School

22-24: Student Led Conferences - No School

27: Second Semester Begins