Annual Turkey Dinner Brings the Woodland Heights School Community Together

The team in the WHS Kitchen Manager, Tess Seymour, and her team put on another amazing Turkey Dinner feast this past Thursday, November 21st.  About 1,000 students, staff, family, and friends were served turkey, gravy, mashed potatoes, green beans, corn, stuffing, breads, cranberry sauce, milk, and cake for dessert.  What a feast! 

Our kitchen staff cooked and brought the delectables forth, and a cast of volunteers from the Laconia Police Department served up the dinners to order by our patrons.  There was a nominal fee for the heaping tray of turkey dinner, to help defray the cost of the meal.

Although a bit congested at times, our service lines moved well and our dining area accommodated our guests easily.  The schedule for serving and dining was well-designed by Tami Horan, our school's administrative assistant.  Many other staff members were gracious hosts throughout the dining period, finding ways to pitch in and make things run smoothly, ensuring a great experience for all of our guests.

We hope that you had as much fun as we did during this special Woodland Heights traditional holiday feast.  Thank you so much for joining us this year.  You know how much your presence means to the kids -- a quality time that the children will never forget.  Your support makes great things happen here at WHS, and we are all thankful for that.  Woodland Heights continues to be a better school for your partnership and your contributions.

In other news ....   The coming week will be a short one, with school in session on Monday and Tuesday, and closed on Wednesday through Friday for the Thanksgiving Holiday.  All of your friends at WHS wish you and your family the very best for a relaxing and joyful holiday!

WHS Reaches Out to Families -- Every Day, In Every Way.

Much like our school district mission, "Ensuring the success of every student, every day, in every way", members of your Woodland Heights School Team do their very best to connect with every family, every day, in every way.

In addition to our school website, class wikis, and Principal Blog; AlertNow automated telephone/email notifications; school email, phone calls, and ongoing parent meeting/conference opportunities; regular newsletters, and newsnotes; events, activities, and presentations; and in addition to our published monthly school calendar/menu document, and our electronic calendar published to our school website, we are now offering weekly podcasts (audio-recorded programs) to help families stay on top of our school calendar and activities.

We have great hopes for this weekly podcast in the future (to feature guest presenters, student work, interviews, musical preformances, etc.), but for now, it serves as a weekly overview of school activities with some commentary by the school principal.

When you get a chance, check it out!

Another Strong Week at WHS Capped by Fall Parent Conference Day

Over the past week a number of important school activities were enjoyed at Woodland Heights.

Our week began with our Greater Laconia community coming together to enjoy a wellness event coordinated by our elementary school physical education teachers (with the help of many community-oriented health advocates).  Our first 'Rockin' Fun Run' was held on Saturday, November 2nd, on the campus of Woodland Heights School.  Students, parents, teachers, and other community members participated in this 2-mile event that was highlighted by awards, gifts, live music, a DJ, free T-shirts, a visit by WHiSkers (our school Mascot), and healthy refreshments provided by our school lunch service.  Special thanks go to our WHS PE Teacher, Mitzi Tucker for providing the energy and leadership necessary to make this wonderful event happen!  Here is a video produced by our dear friend, Janet Brough, to commemorate the day.  Enjoy!



On Tuesday, we held a students and staff flu clinic in our school health office (thank you, Mrs. Ganchi) -- this was a nice follow up to our dental education and dental clinic held last week (and also coordinated by our School Nurse).  That evening, Mrs. Kelley and I had the pleasure of updating our Laconia School Board on our school's comprehensive community engagement program (see blog post below).  The presentation was well received, and reflected the proactive nature of our work to bring students, staff, and families together here at WHS.

We sent Quarter #1 progress reports home on Wednesday, and know that teachers put a great deal of effort into completing those reports so that they accurately and completely provided a picture of student progress over the first ten weeks of school.  The progress reports indicated levels of individual student growth  toward attainment of our curriculum standards, information on attendance rates, goals for future student learning, and general statements on student performance.  we are grateful for the amount of effort and quality of work our teachers invest in this important process.

On Thursday, we held parent conferences beginning at 1:00pm., and many not ending until 8:00pm.  These conferences were very well-attended by our parents, and provided great opportunities for important conversation about student progress and academic goal-setting.  We thank our WHS-PTO for providing dinner for our staff, most of whom met with parents non-stop through the afternoon and evening and would not have had an opportunity to enjoy dinner otherwise (the homemade casseroles, salads, soups, and desserts were fantastic!).  Representatives from local agencies and youth sports programs were in attendance to meet with families and share opportunities for participation and engagement.  Also on Thursday evening, we offered a clothing drive, bake sale (to benefit our 5th Grade class), Fall Book Fair evening hours, and and ongoing rotation of special presentations by the Lakes Region Family Resource Center in support of developing strong families in our school community (see blog post below for more information). This evening was definitely a highlight of our school year so far.  Many thanks to everyone for their contributions!

On Friday, our Grade 1 and 2 students were awarded spirit bands for their strong academic and social skills growth over the first marking term of this school year. [Grades K & 5 received spirit bands very early in the school year for the exemplary models they set for being a 'Wildcat' at WHS, and Grades 3 & 4 received their bands in mid-October for the hard work they invested in completing a rigorous course of fall assessments this year.]

Get set, WHS, another GREAT week starts on Tuesday!!

Laconia School Board Presentation: WHS Community Engagement Program

Earlier this evening, the WHS administrative team had the opportunity to present information to the Laconia School Board about our school's Community Engagement Program.

Our efforts in this area have been integral to our work for quite a while, but now parent partnerships have additional emphasis due to our current work on Project Wildcat:  Phase 3.

Some information on this topic is presented in this 'Prezi'.

If you have questions or suggestions to help strengthen our work in this area (or any other), please contact us in the WHS Main Office at 603-524-8733.

Thank you!

Fall Parent Conference Night to Feature Parent Programs Offered by the Family Resource Center

In addition to the opportunities at WHS on Thursday, November 7^th, to see your Woodland friends and hold an extremely important meeting with your child’s teacher, you will also have an opportunity to visit our fall school book fair (open until 8:00pm. that night), and visit the Pod 5 Café’ for presentations by educators from the local Family Resource Center. 

 

Here are outlines for the 20-minute programs that will be offered by the Family Resource Center in a continuous rotation from 2:00pm. to 7:00pm. 

Session #1: The Nurturing Lifestyle – Taking Good Care of Yourself and Your Family

How can we create lives for our children that are full of love, caring, fun, happiness and guidance? Caregivers will explore the concept of “nurturing” and the positive impact that nurturing parenting can have on the family. We will discuss the need for caregivers to nurture themselves in order to effectively nurture their children.

Session #2: Meeting Needs and Changing Behaviors

How do behaviors tell us something about the basic needs of both adults and children? Caregivers will explore the direct connection between needs and behaviors. We will discuss the lifelong benefits of appropriately meeting children’s needs as well as the significant risks of routinely leaving needs unmet. We will also consider the needs of caregivers in this session.

Session #3: The Family Resource Center—Who We Are and What We Do

For hundreds of families living in the Lakes Region each year, the Family Resource Center of Central New Hampshire, a program of Lakes Region Community Services, offers respectful, non-judgmental education, early intervention, and support to assist families in their efforts to meet needs, make positive connections, and prepare children for success today and tomorrow because the Family Resource Center believes strong families lead to strong communities. Come learn more about the programs and supports available to families living in Belknap and Lower Grafton County.

Come out to WHS on Thursday and spend some quality time with your child’s teachers, and your friends.  While you are at it, round out your experience by visiting our book fair and Family Resource Center presentations.  We look forward to seeing you at Woodland Heights School on Thursday to reconnect, to learn, and to grow.  At WHS, we are all learners: children and adults alike.

Along with Teaching and Learning, the Activity Level Continues at WHS

Over the past two weeks, we have had quite a bit of activity here at Woodland Heights.  We have enjoyed two enrichment assemblies (Larry Frates – Anti-bullying, Odd Bodkin – Storytelling), two emergency response drills (Drop, cover, and Hold On, and Lock-Down), our first School Spirit Assembly (Project Wildcat, Student Recognition), a couple of field trips (Grades 2 & 5), our annual Harvest Day activities held just yesterday, and grades for Quarter #1 closing today.  Also, there has been a good deal of excitement about the success of our Boston Red Sox throughout their playoff run (and some pretty serious beard growing, as well). 

WHS Outstanding Students for Quarter #1 -- October, 2013

 

Though some weeks are quieter than others, there is always a great deal of activity in our rich and dynamic Woodland Heights School community – and all of it really, really good for kids.

Here is the big news for the next couple of weeks:  WHS Book Fair opens on Monday, City Elections on Tuesday, Quarter #1 Progress Reports go home this Wednesday (not on Monday, as previously announced), WHS will make a presentation to the Laconia School Board about our community engagement program that evening, Parent Conferences on Thursday (with a series of presentations by the Family Resource Center – see the article on the back of this page for more information), and school will be closed in observance of Veterans Day on the 11^th.  We’ll also be conducting a school evacuation (fire) drill in the next two weeks and hold our November PTO meeting on the evening of the 12^th (6:30pm.).

We continue to move quickly here at WHS.  To stay on top of the action, read our newsletters (published every other Friday) and visit our school website often (www.laconiaschools.org/whs) – where there is a ton of information about our school, updated continuously.

It is Time for 'Smooth Sailing' at WHS

After a very smooth and quiet start to our school year, we began to layer in fall testing, job-embedded teacher professional development, PSU student visits, and emergency response procedures, as well as fall field trips, picture day, and assemblies. 

The good news is that most all of our systems are now up and running, and fall testing is over. 

However, we still have a couple of emergency response exercises to conduct over the next couple of weeks, and a couple of assemblies for our students to enjoy and learn from, as well (Larry Frates -- Anti-Bullying, Odds Bodkin -- Storytelling).  We are definitely looking forward to easing back into familiar  routines and a consistent pace of life here at Woodland Heights.  We have just a few more bumps in the road over the next couple of weeks (and they are good 'bumps'), but other than that:  smooth sailing!

Routines and rhythm are extremely important to a school community.  When you've got it, you know it, and everything feels right.  When you don't, you know it, and things feel disjointed, scattered, and not as productive as we would like.  Student behavior can sometimes deteriorate a bit, also, during unsettled times. 

After returning from our long Columbus Day weekend, we'll be working hard to lower the excitement level and increase the focus level here at WHS.  Once we re-establish the rhythm of our learning community, we will be back on track for strong academic growth, and continued improvement of our school climate here at Woodland Heights.

Although it is time to take our boats out of the water, we anticipate plenty of smooth sailing in the time ahead at Woodland Heights School!