Celebrating this year's Crowning Achievement: The Grade 5 Class of 2014

Here is the presentation that I shared with our Grade 5 students and their families during our 'WHS Grade 5 Celebration' held on Wednesday evening, June 11th.

Good Evening, Ladies and Gentlemen, and thank you for joining us tonight for this most special event in our school year, the one in which we express pride in our mutual accomplishments, the one in which we honor our 5^th Grade class.

Speaking of honor, it is both an honor and a pleasure to be with you tonight to celebrate our eldest students, the culminating product of our energies and our efforts over as many as six years at Woodland Heights School.  The young people that you see on the risers beside me are our masterpiece, our crowning achievement, and in so many ways they serve as the ‘top of the food chain’ within our student society.  They are our final exam, our diploma, and although we often wish that our time together would never end, if today is any indication, they are ready to move on to Laconia Middle School.  In ways large and small, our 5^th Graders set the tone for the school, and lead by example, every moment of every day.  This year at WHS, we have had the honor of being led by a truly outstanding 5^th Grade class – they were ‘bench worthy’ from the opening bell this year, as we knew they would be.  I have had the good fortune to serve as your principal here at Woodland Heights School for the past four years, and in the field of education for more than 25 years.  I have known a lot of great kids and worked with many outstanding 5^th Grade classes.  However, I don’t believe that I have ever worked with a better group of 5^th Graders than I have this year, and I suspect that I may never be associated with a better one.  Yes, this 5^th Grade class is that good.  Thank you, 5^th Graders for what you have done for our school this year, for its staff, for its students, and for me, personally.  By your example of kindness, respect, and empathy, others have learned what it means to be a Woodland Heights Wildcat, and that is hugely powerful.  Don’t ever forget what a powerful and positive teacher you can be for younger kids.  With that power of teaching comes responsibility.  You have worn that responsibility well here at WHS, and I would encourage to maintain that responsibility to younger people for the balance of your lives. 

To show you my appreciation for all that you have done for all of us, I am going to give you the gift of wisdom – or at least I will try.  I am going to share with you the best of what I have learned working in schools and living a successful, contented, and happy life.  In my mind, here are the keys to health, happiness, and true fulfillment.  If you embrace these qualities and make them standards for your life, you will be ready for anything and everything that comes your way in the time ahead.  However, for as sure as I am that you are destined for great things, I know that some bad things will happen for you in the future as well.  The extent to which you can overcome these challenges is directly related to how well you have learned and embodied these five traits which demonstrate what being a Woodland Wildcat is all about.

First ….. When the going gets tough, you will need Perseverance to overcome challenges, no matter what they are.  You will need to stick with it, and never give up.  You will need the strength and discipline to see yourself through tough times, and work toward getting yourself to the good times – because they are out there, you have to just keep working toward them.  Perseverance: never give up!

Second ….. When you get knocked down, you will need Resilience to get back up.  Bend, but don’t break.  You will get knocked down and tripped up somewhere along the line, but don’t ever let anyone keep you there.  You will need to rise up, and get yourself back on track.  You are worth it.  Never let go of your dreams, despite the setbacks that are inevitable in life.  Resilience:  bend, but don’t break.

Next ……  Speaking of dreams, you will need Confidence in order to dream big dreams, think big thoughts, and turn them into reality.  You will never accomplish great things if you do not believe that you can.  The biggest difference between the people who do great things and those that don’t, is confidence.  Successful people believe that they can be successful.  They have a vision of success, they believe in themselves, they get after it, and they make it happen.  Successful people have the confidence they need to make the catch, clear the hurdle, nail the landing, or hit the note.  They are confident and they are strong.  Confidence:  make it happen.

Probably the biggest key in working well with people, at home, school, and work, is Empathy.  If you have empathy, you can always see someone else’s point of view, appreciate it, and respect it.  You can put yourself in their shoes.  Empathy will give you the power to truly help others.  Thinking about others, and caring for others is one of the most important qualities in being successful on any team, family, or in any workplace.  Empathy: to understand and help others.

And at the end of the day, it is all about Character – how truly good you are as a human being.  Good intentions lead to good things.  Just like you can’t do great things without confidence, you also can’t do great things without good intentions.  You must always think about how you can make things better, help people out, do the right thing.  If you develop that habit of thinking, good things will surely happen for you throughout your schooling, and throughout your lives.  Character:  do the right thing.

5^th Graders, as if you weren’t smart enough, there you have it.  You now have wisdom: knowing what it takes to succeed.

Grade 5 Friends, it has truly been a pleasure to spend the last four years in your presence, watching you grow, seeing your tremendous work in our school.  What an honor it has been to serve as your school’s principal.  To watch you develop into the young people that you are has been an enormous gift for me.  Thank you for inviting me to your special class celebration, and thank you for being who you are.  Now go show the Laconia Middle School who you are, and from where you have come: YOU are Woodland Heights, and you always will be.  Thank you, once again, everyone, and good night.

Navigating the Waters of Difficult Economic Times

There is a lot of misinformation out in the community right now about our arts and technology program for next year. I am reaching out to you at this time to share important information with you about this matter. 

 

It is true that there are some unfortunate reductions anticipated next year for WHS as a result of some budgetary problems that we find ourselves in. Thankfully, we have managed to avoid budget problems for many years in the Laconia School District, but next year we anticipate being in a very tight place -- requiring some difficult decisions on the part of school and district administration, as well as your elected school board.  For some time at WHS, we have enjoyed the benefit of full-time art, music, P.E, and computer teachers. These teachers met with each class for at least one class a week. Due to the number of classes at WHS, and the number of available teaching opportunities for each WHS Specialist teacher, we were able to offer enrichment and extension programs, beyond what was offered at ESS & PSS.  These programs were of high-quality and extremely beneficial for our students. However, when confronted with our current budgetary climate and the need to make substantial cuts to our district budget, it was ultimately determined that the 'extra' portion of the WHS Specialists schedule could be cut to meet necessary budget reduction goals.

Other schools needed to sacrifice far more to meet the budget goals that we did at WHS. 

 

Please know that the arts and technology education are an extremely important part of our student experience at WHS, and that will not change. However, we will not be able to offer the 'extra' opportunities for enrichment and extension that we had in the past.  Be assured that our school district administration will make certain that we offer high-quality arts education opportunities at WHS and across our district, no matter what -- the arts and technology are critical to our district vision, goals and strategic plan. Unfortunately, though, at this point in time (hopefully, just temporarily) we do need to cut back our arts offerings a bit in order to meet necessary budget challenges (however, students will still have art, music, and P.E once a week, as usual).

 

Although the budget reductions will include scaling back our technology education program significantly, between classroom teachers, our library/media assistant, and Mrs. Plourde's ongoing involvement in our school (although in a new, district-level role), we are confident that students at WHS will continue to enjoy important 21st Century learning experiences, as we have prided ourselves in over recent years. 

 

As always, please feel free to contact me in the WHS Main Office at 524-8733, or by email (ddobe@laconiaschools.org), if you have any questions or concerns about our school.  Thank you, and have a great summer!

Another Great Week at Woodland Heights!

Here are a few notes and highlights from the past week at YOUR Woodland Heights School:


Principal Johnson Visit > On Monday Principal Eric Johnson visited WHS, met with parents, toured our building, spent time in classrooms and connected with students.  Mr. Johnson was impressed with what he saw and Woodland Heights, and is eager to begin his work with you this summer.


Spring Assessments > Spring assessments (AIMSweb for students in Grades K-2, and NWEA for students in Grades 3-5) got underway this week, and NECAP-Science (a statewide science test) will be administered next week for Grade 4 students.  So far, so good!  The kids seem to be working hard, and taking these tests seriously.  Individual student reports will go home with students next month.


Staff Appreciation > WHS-PTO kindness and generosity cannot be overstated!  WHS staff members were treated (spoiled?) by the WHS-PTO all week long to refreshments, gifts, and many expressions of thanks for what our staff members do for the children of WHS every day.  Thank you WHS Staff, and Thank You, WHS-PTO!


End Of Year Calendar Filling In > We have a number of great activities and year-end traditions scheduled for our learning community over the remaining weeks of school.   Please note the list of dates to the right of this article and mark your calendars accordingly.  You won’t want to miss any of the action, or have your children unprepared for class or school activities.  We also have this information posted on our school website and electronic family calendar (also found on our school website).   Please check these information resources regularly!


Thank You, and Join Us For a Family BBQ > WHS would like to thank parents for their support and partnership throughout the year.  Please join us, and be our guest, at the WHS Family BBQ on May 3oth.  More information about this celebration will come out soon, but we can tell you that the barbeque and Read-In will be a great family activity, — and lunch will be free for our parent guests!  Come out, have a great time with your friends at WHS, and celebrate a wonderful year together at Woodland Heights School!  We hope to see you there.

The Last Weeks of the School Year Are Coming Into View: Mark Your Calendars, Everyone!

With the end of the 2013-2014 School Year coming clearer into view, we now have a number of important dates to share with you, with additional year-end scheduling information soon to be on the way!


Please mark your calendars .....


Kindergarten Registration >  April 28 - May 30
Principal Eric Johnson Visitation Day >  May 5
Spring Assessment Window > May 5 - May 23
School Closed in Observance of the Memorial Day Holiday > May 26
WHS Community Spring Barbeque > May 30
Kindergarten Screening > June 3 - June 4
Move-Up Day > June 10
Grade 5 'Step-Up Dance' at LMS > June 10
Grade 5 Celebration > June 11
Last Day of School > June 13
Staff Work Days > June 16 - June 20




Check out the updated list of upcoming activities below! 

5/13/2014	WHS PTO @ 6:30pm
5/16/2014	No Project Extra
5/20/2014	5th Grade Field Trip
5/21/2014	Kevin Skarupa Visits 1st Grade
5/22/2014	1st Grade Field Trip
5/23/2014	4th Grade Field Trip
5/26/2014	NO SCHOOL: Memorial Day
5/28/2014	1st Grade Field Trip
5/28/2014	Family Fun Night “Fitness Fest” @ LHS @ 5:30
5/28/2014	WHS Band Concert at 6:30pm
5/30/2014	WHS BBQ and Read-in
6/2/2014	WHS Chorus Concert 6:30pm
6/4/2014	Grade 5 Track Meet
6/4/2014	3rd Grade Field Trip
6/6/2014	K.A.R.E.S. Program for Grade 3
6/9/2014	Talent Show @ 6:00PM
6/10/2014	Step Up Day & 5th Grade Dance
6/10/2014	4th Grade Mad Science Presentation
6/11/2014	5th Grade Recognition Ceremony
6/13/2014	LAST DAY of School for Students

 

Your Next WHS Principal, Eric Johnson, to Visit Woodland Heights on Monday, May 5th

Regrettably, Principal Johnson's visit to WHS on April 14th needed to be postponed.  We are pleased to announce that Eric Johnson will spend the day with us at WHS on Monday, May 5th.  We anticipate that we will develop a schedule very similar to the one we intended for April 14th (including a 'Meet & Greet' event for WHS parents from 8:30-9:00am.).


Please mark your calendars, and plan to join us on the morning of Monday, May 5th, to meet and enjoy the company of your school's next principal:  Eric Johnson.  This will be a great opportunity for you to share with Mr, Johnson some of the things that you have enjoyed most about your family's experience at WHS in recent years, and also share some of your hopes for our school in the coming years.  Schools are always changing and evolving, don't miss this opportunity to help shape the Woodland Heights of tomorrow!

WHS Spring Break Offers Time for Reflection and Preparation

At the end of each April we look forward to Spring Break as an opportunity to catch our breath and take stock of our work since Winter Break at the end of February.  At WHS, we continue to push forward in the areas of curriculum, instruction, assessment, and community building.  Over the past seven weeks we held a number of staff meetings, faculty leadership team meetings, job-embedded professional development meetings, district council meetings, and grade level PLC meetings.  Each meeting involved groups of school and/or district leaders working to bring our organization 'to the next level'.  It is in these meetings that people come together, reflect on our progress toward established goals, evaluate our practices, and make refinements to plans that will make our work even more effective.  During the weeks between late February and late April, a great deal of 'heavy lifting' occurs that we hope will manifest in our spring and year-end assessments which occur in the final weeks of the school year.


As our Spring Break comes to a close, our teachers have recharged their batteries, re-energized, and are fully ready to make the final push of the school year before our long Summer Break.  The next handful of weeks will be very active, fast-paced, and productive.  The weeks of May and June will move quickly, and before you know it, we'll be parting ways for the 10 weeks of Summer Break - 2014.  Hold on, everyone, it is time for the final stretch of what we hope will be one of our most successful school years in recent history.


Thank you for your support thus far, and we look forward to making the last segment of the school year truly wonderful for you and your children!  More news about our final weeks will be posted soon.  Ready to go, Woodland Heights?  Let's roll!!

“Many Hands Make Light Work”

I first heard this expression when I was a high school student working as a stock boy for a local market in Suncook, NH.  This wisdom was handed down from the patriarch of the ‘B-Wise Market’ family.  At the time, my friends and I were undertaking a major project at the store, one that would have taken me all day to complete alone.  With the help of my friends, we got the job done in what seemed like no time at all.  Here at Woodland Heights, ‘Many Hands Make Light Work’ every day — we work together in order to complete our mission.  I am always impressed with how our staff members and parent volunteers step up to make wonderful things happen for your children at WHS.  Every moment of every day, adults who care for your children make decisions that go far ‘above and beyond’ their job description to make your child’s day all that it can be in OUR school.   Thank you for what you do to support us, as we work to support educational opportunity for your children here at Woodland Heights School.  Have a great weekend, everyone!

LMS Principal Eric Johnson to Join WHS Community!

As you may know from the recent messages sent from our school and the Laconia Superintendent’s Office, I will be resigning as your Principal at Woodland Heights, effective June 30^th.  Although with obvious mixed emotions about leaving the tremendous school that we have worked so hard to build over the past four years, I knew that that the opportunity to work in such a unique and special school would attract a very strong, capable educator to serve as your next Principal at Woodland Heights School.  It did!!  We are very pleased to share news with you that the extremely talented and acclaimed Principal of the Laconia Middle School, Eric Johnson, will be joining the Woodland Heights School Community as your next principal beginning on July 1^st.  Principal Johnson has been an educational leader in the Laconia School District for the past six years (four at the highly regarded Elm Street School, and the last two at the Laconia Middle School).  Our staff members were excited to hear this great news for WHS, as it means we will have a strong, capable, and experienced leader for your school at Woodland Heights in the years to come.  We will be welcoming Principal Johnson to Woodland Heights for a special day of visiting with staff and parents on Monday, April 14^th — we’ll get more information out to you soon about what this day will look like, and when you can come in to meet Principal Johnson at WHS this coming Monday.  Congratulations, Principal Johnson, and congratulations, WHS!!  As it has been, it will continue to be:  Woodland Heights, your future looks bright!!

Woodland Heights: A Welcoming and Inclusive School Community!

There is much said about our school community, its welcoming and caring staff, and the way the school ‘feels’ to visitors.  At WHS, we are proud of our school climate, and how we have been able to maintain our sense of identity and our values as a learning community, even in times of great change, and shifting demographics. 


It is not uncommon for our school to welcome many new families and students into our community.  Making new friends, and helping children to feel comfortable, safe, and valued at WHS are things that we are particularly good at!  We want every child to feel as if our school is THEIR school.  We welcome families to Woodland Heights from across New Hampshire, and increasingly from states in southern New England. 


Over the summer months, in addition to approximately 70 new Kindergarteners we anticipated from Spring registration last year, we added 43 students.  Over the Fall (from school opening to the Holiday Break), we added an additional  23 students.  Since January 1st, we’ve added another 25 friends to our school community.  Over the course of that time, we had some students leave our school, as well.  Right now our student population for Grades Kindergarten through Five is at 375 pupils.  If you consider that 91 of those students were not with us last year  (approximately one quarter of our student enrollment), our staff and continuing students have done (and continue to do) an amazing job helping to acclimate our new students and families, making them our friends, and showing them The Wildcat Way. 


Outstanding job, Woodland Heights.  Together we continue to make our school great!

WHS-PTO Literary Movie Night a Hit!

On Friday evening, March 21st, the WHS-PTO hosted a literary movie night featuring 'The Lorax'.  What a great family evening at Woodland Heights School!


The well-attended event was eagerly anticipated by many Woodland families.  We were able to watch a great movie together with an important message, enjoy event intermissions that featured 'Guess What' games about the life of Dr. Seuss, messages about the importance of family reading experiences, teacher presentations on their favorite Dr. Seuss book which included passage readings, plenty of delicious popcorn and water, and a Dr. Seuss book giveaway (two beautiful hardcover Dr. Seuss books for every child in attendance courtesy of our school's Title I grant).


Thank you families, volunteers, teachers, and students for a wonderful evening at Woodland Heights!

New Leadership for Woodland Heights School in 2014-2015

The following letter was sent home to Woodland Heights families on March 20th ....

Dear Woodland Heights Parents,

I am writing today to express my appreciation for the opportunity to serve as your principal at Woodland Heights School for the past four years. Over the course of this time, we have undertaken major school improvement initiatives in the areas of:

1.  Pioneering a 21st Century Learning Community at Woodland Heights that changed that way we thought of ourselves as educators, focusing most on what knowledge and skills students will need to be successful in the learning and work environments of the future.

2.  Strengthening our Curriculum, Instruction, and Assessment programs, such that our students are demonstrating exponential growth in academic achievement levels as demonstrated on the AIMSweb and NWEA-MAP assessments.

3.  Developing a strong teaming concept among our staff supported by implementation of the ‘Professional Learning Community’ (PLC) model which fosters focused conversation about the teaching and learning process, and how best to meet the diverse learning needs of students in our classrooms.

4.  Creating and maintaining a ‘Child-Centered School’ in which we honor the uniqueness, ability, and value of every student, and work to cultivate their intellectual capacities and character development by personalizing learning using the systems of Differentiated Instruction and Response to Intervention.

5.  Conceiving ‘Project Wildcat!’, our comprehensive system to promote a safe, orderly, and focused learning environment at WHS by implementing The Responsive Classroom Approach uniformly across all school settings, developing and administering a school-wide student behavior system, and celebrating the many things that are great about our school.

6.  Engaging and partnering with parents in new and productive ways to better ‘wrap our arms around’ students and make certain that they are adequately supported by the adults in their lives so that they can learn and thrive optimally in our school setting and in our community.

7.  Carefully reviewing and revising our comprehensive school safety and security program such that students and staff can be safe in our school all day, every day, and in any circumstance.


Having accomplished so much as a learning community over the past four years, and feeling that I have done all that I can to help us ‘get to the next level’, it feels like an appropriate time to step down as your school principal and make way for new leadership at Woodland Heights School. I will be resigning as your school principal, effective June 30th, 2014.


Your Superintendent of Schools, Terri Forsten, and members of the Laconia School Board have already begun conversations about a process for selecting your next principal at Woodland Heights School. As soon as the principal search process and timeline are finalized, Mrs. Forsten will be communicating important details to our community, including how you could participate in this important process.


It has been a true pleasure serving the City of Laconia as the principal of Woodland Heights School – “a special open school, on the hill”. I am certain that there is no school like WHS on the planet. You are special, you are unique, and what you do for the children of our community is nothing short of amazing. Please know that the time spent at WHS has made me a better educator, principal, and person. I have learned and experienced a great deal at Woodland Heights that will enrich the rest of my life. Serving as your principal at WHS has afforded me an opportunity to do the most important and best work of my career. Thank you for allowing me to join your school family for the past four years. It has been truly wonderful at Woodland! Go Wildcats!


Very warmly and sincerely,

Dennis W. Dobe, Principal

Laconia School District Teacher Professional Development: Woodland Heights Teachers Lead The Way!!

This past Wednesday evening, the Laconia School District hosted a professional development conference for teachers on the use of iPads to support student learning in our schools. 

Each of the workshop sessions will be led by Laconia teachers.  The following Woodland Heights Staff will be presenting at this year’s Laconia School District iPad Conference:  Betty Doody, Karen Snow, Coni Dwinal, Michelle Plourde, Bobbie Stormann, and Laurie Hale. 

Woodland Heights educators continue to lead the way with technology!  Way to go, Woodland!

 

Sign-Up Now for Spring Parent Conferences!

Please review and complete the Spring Conference sign-up form that was sent home with your child recently.  You can indicate preferred conference times, and if you have multiple teachers to see.  Please send the form back to us, and we will confirm your conference time.  It is important to note that these meetings are designed to be ‘student-led’ conferences in which your child leads the conversation about his/her school year and the learning s/he has enjoyed since our fall (goal setting) parent conferences.  The students will present examples of their work, talk about assessment results, and discuss the extent to which they have met learning goals established in the fall.  The students are typically very pleased and proud to share all of the great work that they have done and all of the growth that they have made over the course of the year.  We look to these meetings to serve more as a celebration of student learning, than a time when problems or parent concerns are discussed.  For specific concerns about your child’s progress, etc., please make a meeting appointment with your child’s teacher for another day — we are always happy to meet with our parent partners! 

It is important to note that on the day of our Spring Conferences (April 10th), we will have an Early Release at 1:00pm., there will be no Project EXTRA!, and we will be sending Quarter #3 Progress Reports home with students on that day.  Get ready for a day of celebrating the growth and achievements of our Woodland Wildcats on Thursday, April 10th.  See you then!

 

2013 NECAP Testing Student Reports Sent Home on March 14th!

This past October, our students in Grades 3-5 participated in the NECAP Statewide Assessment.  We have received our Student Reports, and sent them home with our students recently.  As you may remember, this test is very challenging for students, and requires a good deal of stamina as there are multiple subtests in Reading and Mathematics that include multiple-choice test items, as well as short– and long-response written items.  Additionally, our 5th Graders take subtests in Writing. 


Overall, our school-level results this year are consistent with our results in recent years.  We keep progressing as a school, at a slow but steady rate, as evidenced on this assessment.  For more information about our school’s 2013 NECAP results, please use this link.


Our AIMSweb and NWEA test results have brought us much more encouraging results, and are seen to match more closely our current programming and instructional methodology in the Laconia Elementary Schools. 


As you review your child’s NECAP student report, consider any questions or concerns you may have, and then reach out to your child’s teacher or principal.  We would be delighted to speak with you about this test, school and student level results, and what we are doing to improve everything that we do here at Woodland Heights.  As always, thank you for your partnership and your support!

WHS Students Participate in ‘BullyX’

Shortly before Winter Break, our students had an opportunity to participate in a national anti-bullying campaign organized by LegacyX (founded by local musician Justin Spencer, who also founded the school touring group ‘Recycled Percussion’).  WHS kids joined schoolchildren across our nation who were invited to write or draw messages to express their views on bullying, kindness, and respect.  Their work was powerful and inspirational.  All of our messaged red sheets of paper were sent to Las Vegas, Nevada, where they will be added to a massive red ‘X’ display in the desert, and videotaped by helicopter on March 22nd.  The video will be posted on Youtube for everyone to see!  We’ll be watching for the video at WHS!  Great job, Wildcats!
 

 

 

‘WHS Monday Message’ Podcast Offers Weekly WHS News Program

Adding to our numerous WHS  parent information resources, we launched a weekly podcast news program this past September.  A podcast is an online audio file that you can access and listen to.  Every Monday morning, we record and post a 5 minute program highlighting events of the past week and previewing activities for the coming week — to include lunch menu details!  We hope to get a variety of 'talent' on the podcast, to include staff and student announcers (similar to Mrs. Plourde's student-produced 'What's Up, Woodland?' digital video school news program).  You can find a link to the 'WHS Monday Message' podcasts (and so much more) on our super-wonderful WHS website.  Check it out!

 

Woodland Heights Celebrates Second Quarter Accomplishments

During our recent Quarter #2 WHS School Spirit Assembly we  engaged in our beloved school traditions (School Song & Motto), honored our ‘Students of the Quarter’ (two students from every class and program, identified for exemplifying ‘Wildcat behavior’), recognized students with perfect attendance for the marking term, and enjoyed a showcase of student learning from our First Grade and Fourth Grade classes.  Our First Graders taught us a lesson about keeping cool by telling us a story about ‘Pete the Cat and His Magic Sunglasses’, while our Fourth Graders shared videotaped presentations of a recent ‘How To…’ writing project (most related to recommendations for success at WHS!).  Oh, and WHiSkers even made the scene!  The all-school assembly was fantastically well attended by family and friends (with high snowbanks lining our driveway limited parking and created significant congestion, unfortunately).  It was a great afternoon for our learning community, and we congratulate our honorees, and thank our showcase performers.  Super job, Wildcats, let’s keep it rolling!

 

WHS in an Era of Exponential Growth in Student Achievement

The teachers at WHS have been encouraged by our assessment results over recent years, but after receiving our winter assessment results this year, we are thrilled!  For the last couple of years, overall, in reading and math, our students have performed above anticipated growth targets (they have not only grown in skills consistent with projections over time, they have exceeded them by a significant margin).  

Though our school still scores slightly below the national average on the NWEA assessment for students in Grade 3-5, if we continue to improve our scores at the current rate, we will eclipse that long-held and elusive goal this coming spring!

We view these results as the product of exceedingly hard work by our staff, the implementation and refinement of new programming and instructional techniques, and an increased focus on achievement by our students.  Our kids are really striving to be true Wildcats and meet parent and teacher expectations for citizenship and achievement at Woodland Heights School.

Way to go, WHS: always getting better, and clearly moving on up!

The New Year Presents A Good Opportunity To Reflect On Our Growth Together

At this time of year, we all do a little more reflecting and taking stock than is our usual habit.  It is a time for New Year's Resolutions, and accounting for the successes and shortcomings of the previous year.  School's use the time offered during the Holiday Break to step away from our work a bit, and assess our effectiveness over the past few months in terms of our progress toward stated school improvement goals, and growth targets for students and our entire school.  It is also an important time to take an honest look into the mirror and ask:  "Are we living our school mission?"

At Woodland Heights School we have witnessed ongoing progress on each of our academic improvement goals, largely a result of teacher commitment, collaboration, and leadership across our district.  Our teachers have worked very closely with their grade level colleagues here at WHS, and also with grade level colleagues at both Pleasant and Elm Street Schools.  Every month, as  a result of our school district's job-embedded professional development program, our teachers have an opportunity to work with grant-funded consultants and our elementary school academic improvement coach to examine and assess current teaching practices as well as strengthen their skills and techniques so that we can be more effective in meeting the diverse learning needs of our students.  Additionally, grade level teacher teams meet weekly to plan lessons, and coordinate learning activities.  In their weekly Professional Learning Community (PLC) meetings, grade level classroom teachers and interventionists (Title I and Special Education teachers) study the Common Core State Standards (the Common Core curriculum), develop common student assessments, analyze the results of those assessments, and discuss future teaching to better meet individual student learning needs (differentiate instruction).  Additionally, we have a large representative 'Faculty Leadership Team' that meets twice a month to oversee our progress toward stated school improvement goals.  We are looking forward to reviewing the results of our upcoming winter assessments, which will give us good feedback on the effectiveness of our program development efforts and our teaching practices over the last several months.  Our work is consistent with teaching 'Best Practices', so we anticipate encouraging results from these assessments.  We'll report to families on individual student and schoolwide performance on the AIMSweb (K-2) and NWEA (3-5) assessments later this month.

Another area that we have identified for ongoing improvement is school climate -- as it relates to student behavior and character development.  Over the summer we developed "Project Wildcat: Phase 3" which set goals for the development of an explicit social skills teaching program, further development of our behavior intervention system for students who struggle with maintaining self-control, and a new plan to partner with parents and support the families of Woodland Heights School.  Our staff has participated in extensive and ongoing training over the past several months to improve our abilities in each of these areas -- and progress is begin made.  We also work with consultants to support our improvement in this area, and have a core group of teachers committed to this project which meets two times a month to oversee our progress in this area of our school practice.  We continue to log disciplinary referral data and analyze the results, as well as discuss anecdotal observations and review the effectiveness of student intervention plans on a regular basis.  We consider this information when we evaluate our strategies developed to improve classroom management practices,  fine-tune our scholwide behavior system, and select staff training opportunities to support our ongoing improvement in this area.  Our efforts have been vigorous, and we are seeing (and feeling) positive results.  At Woodland Heights School, we help our students grow to be smart, and good -- we make 'Woodland Wildcats'!

Working together, and taking full advantage of our individual and collective experiences, talents, and leadership abilities; we have been able to make amazing progress toward our ongoing school improvement goals and initiatives.  In doing so, we live our school's mission every day.  At Woodland Heights School, we are dedicated "To educate, enrich, and empower children to learn, dream, and live as responsible world citizens." -- and you can see evidence of this in all that we do at WHS every day.

Thank you for your continued support, involvement, and membership in our school community.  We are building a tremendous school together -- one that we should be very proud of!

If you have any questions, comments, or suggestion for us here at WHS, please do not hesitate to call or email me at your convenience.  Your partnership is important to us, and is vital in our effort to make Woodland Heights all that it can be for your children.  Thanks again, and stay warm!