Last Friday of the school year!

The last Friday is making me very reflective on our school year.  Our 8^th grade class has set a standard of excellence that will be tough to exceed by future classes, but we have the utmost confidence that our next year’s group of 8^th graders will carry on as positive role models and leaders.  On behalf of all staff, we thoroughly congratulate this graduating class- we couldn’t be any more proud to send you to Stevenson in the fall.   

8th Grade Awards Asssemby

This morning, Mrs. Peters (in full tuxedo) did an excellent job facilitating an enthusiastic morning where our 8^th grade students celebrated their middle school experience with a variety of awards.  A very special congratulations goes out to our 2013 Superintendent Award winners, Madeline Tobler and Ryan Millman.  With the selection process beginning in April, all staff had a say in awarding this honor, based among other things, leadership, academic or athletic effort, school spirit, and acting as a positive role model to peers.

 

Report Card Information

Final report cards this year will be posted on PowerSchool by noon on Thursday, June 6th. A SchoolMessenger reminder will come to remind you. 8^th graders should have brought their MAP scores home earlier in the week and 6^th & 7^th graders will bring the gold envelops home on June 6^th with their scores.  If you have any questions, please call our main office. 

8^th grade Information

Tonight, Friday, May 31: 6:30-8pm 8^th grade Bowling Party at New Brunswick Zone, at Hawthorne Mall in Vernon Hills

Monday, June 3: 8^th grade Great America Field Trip.  Students will return to Woodlawn for parent pickup before 7pm. 

Tuesday, June 4: 8^th grade students do not attend school

Tuesday, June 4: Graduation Ceremony begins promptly at 6pm at Stevenson HS.  Park in Lot B.

Reporting an absence 

If your child is going to be absent any day next week, please continue to call the school with absence information.

Nurse News

The end of the year is fast approaching. Please remember to stop by Ms. Fox's office and pick up any medications your student may have at school. Any medication not picked up will be discarded after June 28th. All medication orders must be renewed each school year! Thanks and have a great summer! 

Blooze Brothers

The Blooze Brothers invaded Woodlawn today!  We had an end of the year celebration for all of our students enjoy the rhythm and jazz of Jake, Elwood and the crew! 

Have a great weekend!

Mr. Grana

Have a great, safe Memorial Day Weekend

I was hoping that the weather would be nicer as we enter this Memorial Day Weekend, but hopefully, it will warm up soon.  There are a number of fun activities coming up and our students have earned all of these privileges with their outstanding performance this year.  I am really proud of our students and the effort that have given in all areas this school year. 

Phone Problems

I apologize for the phone problems we experienced this week.  Each day this week we fully expected our phones to be back in service, and at times, they did work.  The district, AT&T and Simplex are all working on correcting the issue. 

Graduation Information

Graduation for our 8^th graders is coming up soon.  We handed out gown packets this week.  There was a flyer from VIP photography with your gown if you would like to order a picture of your graduate.  Your entrance tickets for graduation at SHS were also included.  I recommend that you hang your gown for remove all of the wrinkles.

We will practice for graduation in the gym here at Woodlawn on Monday, June 3^rd.  Buses for Great America will depart at 9:15a.m., So, if your student is not going to Great America, they should be picked up from Woodlawn at 9:15a.m.

Woodlawn has the early graduation this year, at Tuesday, June 4^th at 6:00p.m. I look at a graduation ceremony as a dignified event and implore all families to behave appropriately.  I will talk with your students about my expectation and hope that we have an outstanding evening.

Graduation Gown Recycling- If after graduation you would like to donate your graduation gown, the school will be collecting them beginning 6/5/13 in the main office. 

TRIMESTER 3 REPORT CARDS

All students’ final report cards of the year will be posted on PowerSchool by noon on Thursday, June 6. I’ll send an email link to you to make it easy to check your child’s performance. Spring MAP scores will be sent home via the gold envelopes you're received in the past. Should you have any questions or need more information, please call the Woodlawn main office at 847-353-8500. 

UPCOMING EVENTS

Tuesday, 5/28 7^th grade field trip to Libertyville Sports Complex. 

Thursday, 5/30 CM transition day to Woodlawn

Friday, 5/31—8^th grade Awards Assembly and Graduation practice; Blooze Brothers Assembly for all grades; 8^th grade Bowling Party 6:00-8:00 pm at Hawthorn Lanes in Vernon Hills.

Monday, 6/3—8^th grade final Graduation practice and Great America trip; last attendance day for 8^th graders

Tuesday, 6/4 8^th graders do not attend school.  Graduation 6p.m. @ SHS; Kildeer transition day to Woodlawn

Wednesday, 6/5 8^th graders do not attend school

Nicolette Moszkowicz took 23rd in the 7th grade girls Discus: 66' 01"
Paige Peterson took 19th in the 8th grade girls 100m hurdles: 17.46
Caleb Oh took 25th in the 8th grade boys 400m dash: 56.44
7th grade Girls 4x100 team took 25th: 56.67
8th grade girls 4x100 team took 25th:55.20
8th grade BOys 4x100 team took 38th: 50.33
Khalil Khan too 37th in 8th grade boys shot put: 35' 5.5"
Jilly Steinbrink took 32nd in the 8th grade girls 100m dash.: 13.89
Haleigh Fobbe took 37th in 7th grade Girls 200m dash: 28.69

Thursday, 6/6 Last day of school

The main office is closed during the month of July.  Mr. Grana is here most days if you need to contact the school. 

D96 Foundation KIDS Grant
6g Saurav Chandra earned a D96 Foundation KIDS Grant to purchase a green energy science kit to learn more about uses of alternative energy.  Thanks to Mrs. Kalisz and student Ethan for their assistance in building this design. 

Track and Field

Congrats again to all of our Woodlawn Track athletes on a tremendous season. Overall, at the state meet last week in Peoria, every athlete/team had their best performance of the year. Our coaches couldn't ask for anything better experience. 

Have a great weekend, and a special thanks to all of those who have served their country in any capacity,

Greg

Go Hawks!

It has been an exceptionally busy week here at Woodlawn!  The weather is really nice and a lot of our  end of the year activities are currently taking place. 

Please click on the PTO Newsletter link above.

Art show

This coming Monday, May 20^th, the District 125 consortium art show will be held at Stevenson High School.  The show will be from 7-9p.m. in the field house.  Each year, I am amazed at the works of art that students are able to create.  Don’t miss this terrific event. 

STATE SCIENCE FAIR ANNOUNCEMENT

Congratulations from Mr. Polidoro to all our science fair participants who participated down state at the U of I campus in the state science fair this past weekend.

 Congratulations to the team of Christie Kang and Leah Marek, Akshay Chaubal, Cindy Yao, Jahnavi Kishore,  all earning GOLD awards.  Hanna Anssari earned a SILVER award and Rahul Chatterjee took home BRONZE.

 Special recognition goes to Christie Kang and Leah Marek as they won BEST IN CATEGORY in biochemistry and Akshay Chaubal for winning BEST IN CATEGORY in  astronomy.

Once again, congratulations to all our state science fair participants and thanks to these students for representing our school in this state-wide event.  They us bring distinction and honor by their dedication and hard work.

• Are you the parent of a graduating 8^th grader?

Positive lunch account balances (any amount) may be transferred to a younger sibling enrolled in District 96, grades 1–8, for the 2013–14 school year.

To request a transfer, send an email to Lynn Johanek, Accounts Payable, ljohanek@kcsd96.org and include the name of the graduating 8^th grader AND the name of the sibling enrolled in District 96 for the 2013–14 school year whose lunch balance account should receive the transferred amount. Please be sure to request your transfer NO LATER THAN JUNE 7.

Untransferred balances greater than $10 will be mailed June 19 to the graduating 8^th-graders’ home address on record.

Please note: If your student is returning to District 96 for the next school year, his or her positive lunch balance is carried over automatically.

BUFFALO GROVE POLICE DEPARTMENT JUNIOR POLICE ACADEMY

The Buffalo Grove Police Department puts on a Junior Police Academy for kids ages 12-15.  The program is FREE.  This year's program runs June 10 - June 14, 10am to noon.   Attached is a flyer explaining the program and the process for applying to attend it.  

  

Boys volleyball

The dominance continues!  For the fourth straight year, a Woodlawn team has won the Patriot Middle School championship.  This year, both the Woodlawn Silver and Blue teams won their brackets and earned the right to play each other in the championship game.  It was decided that Woodlawn had earned the championship and that they would not need to play a final game.  I am very proud of the effort and sportsmanship put forth by both teams.  Congrats to our players and coaches, Mr. Keenon and Mrs. Blair. 

Extra supply kits

If you forgot to order your school supply kit for the 2013-14 school year, there will be a couple of extra kits that you can purchase through the PTO.  Anyone interested can contact Michele Murphy at emmjmurphy@att.net

State track & field

Congrats to all of our track and field participants who are competing in Peoria today and tomorrow.  Our runners and field event participants did a great job at the sectionals and earned the right to compete at state.  Good luck Wolves!

Meet the Lincoln’s

Absolutely one of our best assemblies of the year was performed by professional impersonators of Abraham and Mary Todd Lincoln. Students were able to ask questions and listen to the stories of both Mr. and Mrs. Lincoln.  

Orchestra & Band 

Great job by the band and orchestra groups this week.  Your performance was outstanding each night.  Apologies to our guests at the orchestra concert, as our gym was exceptionally warm.  The students fought through the heat and performed exceptionally well!  Great job by both groups. 

Have a great weekend,

Greg

Happy Mother's Day

This week was Teacher Appreciation week and our PTO did an amazing job of recognizing our entire staff.  Each day of the week was celebrated with a breakfast, lunch, breakfast for lunch or cookie day. Friday was topped off with a “thanks for your commit-mint” treat bag that was a big hit with the staff.  I am speaking for the entire Woodlawn staff when I say that we are truly partners with the parents in this community, making our school a great place to learn.  Personally, I am extremely proud of the staff here at Woodlawn and I know how much each individual in this building cares for the well being of your children.  I think it would really show your support for our PTO by going to their newsletter right now! The link is at the top of the page.

Security

District 96 has installed new safety systems at the main entrances of each school.  For those of you who have visited Woodlawn this week, thank you for your patience and understanding as we attempt to refine our new system.  For anyone who hasn’t had the opportunity to experience our new video and lock system, as an extra level of security, we are now able to monitor people as they approach the building and “buzz” them into the building through each of the two doors leading into the main office.  I find this humorous, but thus far the biggest issues have been:

1)    Visitors holding the “buzz in” button and then trying to talk

2)    Visitors getting stuck in the foyer because they are trying to turn the handle on the main door to the office

3)    Students who are tardy to school, finding the doors locked, and trying to get into the building

4)    Human error on the part of the office staff, often looking like Mrs. Whiggins on the Carol Burnett Show

Seriously, I have had a lot of positive comments from the parents saying that they appreciate the extra level of security.

End of the year field trip

We try to reward our students at the end of the year as an appreciation for their hard work, good behavior and positive attitudes throughout the school year.  When doing an end of the year field trip or event, we tie it to the curriculum and keep learning a part of the event.  Yesterday, our 6^th graders were rewarded with a trip to the theater to watch “The Croods”.  When this idea was brought to me initially, I was highly skeptical.  I wanted to know how this related to our curriculum and what would our students be learning.  I was told that the teachers would be assessing the students' understanding of the theme of the movie (one of our LA targets), discussing how some of the characters portrayed the characteristics of a hero (which connects to our current narrative writing target), and comparing the fictional portrayal of early cave men to the factual information (exaggerated vs factual history) they learned in Social Studies this year.  Additionally, the movie started out with the showing of Pangaea, which they learned in both Science and Social Studies.  Most importantly, it was fun and they may have learned something while spending time outside of the school walls with their friends.  

Here is a legal disclaimer

***LAWN TREATMENT APPLICATION NOTICE***

District 96 uses Integrated Pest Management--a program that combines preventive techniques, non-chemical methods (such as bait traps), and the appropriate use of pesticides (with a preference for products least harmful to human health and the environment).

On the weekend of May 11 & 12, 2013 the District 96 lawn treatment provider Zenith Landscape Group will treat grass areas adjacent to all District buildings. Signs will be posted to indicate that the treatments have been applied. In the event of rain, the applications will occur on the following weekend, May 18 & 19, 2013.

Mother’s Day

I would like to wish all our Woodlawn moms a Happy Mother’s Day.  You are all fabulous and you should be proud of how your children represent you here at school. We lost some wonderful moms this year, and my hope is that students or family members do something yourselves on Sunday that would celebrate their lives. 

Have a great week!  

Mr. G-