At a recent student recognition assembly, we unveiled our new school motto which was developed and adopted by a our WHS Staff, but inspired by our students after half a year of discussion about our Hopes and Dreams for our school community. Our new motto states: "At WHS, we are a Caring Community of Responsible, Respectful, and Reflective Learners." In this statement there is so much said, to some extent in words not familiar or well-understood by many of our young students. At the assembly in which the motto was unveiled, a handful of great Grade 5 school citizens participated in a presentation in which they shared with their schoolmates what the words 'caring', 'responsible', and 'respectful' meant to them. In addition, our school counselor, Mollie Babcock, shared some thoughts about what being 'reflective' means in our school. In a special encore performance, the school motto presentation team assembled to record this podcast. We hope that you enjoy their thoughts about what our motto and school mean to them.
At the upcoming student recognition assembly, we will unveil whsRULES! These new area-specific student behavior guidelines promote the key ideas for how we should behave and treat one another in areas of the building outside of our classrooms such as our hallways, buses, restrooms, cafeteria, and play spaces. After our whsRULES! are shared with students, we'll begin our work of teaching the rules to our students. Invariably, if children know what we expect, and how to be successful, they will strive to meet those expectations. All kids want to be smart, and good. At WHS, it is our work to help make certain that they all get there. Here are the new whsRULES!
For Hallways >
"Show me 'SAFE' and let's stay 'SAFE' all the way to ... "
S- silent and straight
A- arms at our sides
F- facing forward
E- enough personal space
For Bathrooms >
"In our Woodland Heights Bathrooms, We Are Always 'Quick, Quiet, and Clean'!"
For the Cafeteria >
"During Woodland Wildcat Lunches, we 'EAT'!"
E- eat the food that you take
A-always use your manners (friendly, considerate, neat, respectful of food and personal space)
T- table talk (quiet voices, appropriate conversation)
For Our Playgrounds >
"When we are on the playground today, we will 'PLAY the Woodland Way'!"
P- always positive with your playmates
L- line up when asked
A- always be safe
Y- you can't say "you can't play"
For Buses >
"Remind me what it looks like to ride the 'BUS'."
B- be respectful (and kind)
U- use quiet voices
S- stay seated and safe
In the Computer Clusters >
Be Safe, Careful, Considerate, and Clean.
Please share any thoughts, comments, questions, or suggestions regarding our comprehensive school climate improvement initiatve with any of us here at WHS. We want to partner with our parents and our community to make Woodland Heights a truly outstanding place for all members of our learning community.
