WMS Newsletter - November 21, 2024

Dear Woodward Families,

Your students are doing amazing things here at WMS! First, I'd like to give a shout out to students for adhering to the Phones Away Every Day policy! They have done an excellent job. Students are less distracted in class and have greater opportunity to communicate with each other in authentic ways. We think it's making a big difference! Our WMS Builders Club just wrapped up a fantastic food and hygiene drive for our community. Thank you for helping students bring in items to donate and learn that together, we make a difference. 

We have over a dozen clubs that meet before or after school. I encourage you to check out the complete list on the website - it's impressive! Also, in case you didn't know, we have a homework club that meets every morning from 8:00 - 8:55 am where students can go to do school work, catch up on missed work or make up a test. In addition, teachers have designated mornings students can come to them for specific help in their class. We encourage you to learn more about all of these opportunities that are available to help your student be successful at Woodward.

Please reach out if you have any questions about the happenings here at Woodward! We look forward to hearing from you!

Jeannie Donoghue

Principal

What I'm reading now: Let Us Descend by Jesmyn Ward

Hello Woodward Families,

We apologize to any of you who were trying to join last week's PTO meeting. We're working with the Technology Department to try and resolve their recent access changes before the next meeting on December 4th. If we can't do Google Meet or Zoom, we'll find some workaround, and let you all know how you can participate virtually.

December Meeting - December 4th, Woodward Library, 6:00 - 7:00 pm

With much gratitude,

Laura Fulton

PTO President

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

For every 10 students, 3 students have NOT purchased a 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.

Builders Club is the junior organization of the high school Key Club. The club meets on Thursday mornings and is involved in a variety of service projects. During November, Builders Club ran a food/hygiene drive for Helpline House and collected over 800 pounds of food! Thank you to the Builders Club parents who donated their time to pick up and deliver the items to Helpline House. Photos from the drive are shown below.

For their next project starting on December 1st, Builders Club will run a toy and coat drive for the holidays. Students interested in participating in Builders Club can come to any meetings on Thursday mornings starting at 8:15 in Ms. Bredy's classroom.

We had our annual student-driven Veterans Day Assembly on November 8th that was meaningful for our students and guests alike. The assembly began with the presentation of the colors by the Boy Scouts followed by "The Star Spangled Banner" sung a cappella by our own choir teacher, Ms. Katie Gibbs. We had two guest speakers this year: Theresa Raleigh and Patrick Gallagher.

Theresa Raleigh, WMS Nurse, is a former Captain in the US Army Nurse Corps. She shared with students how her Army ROTC scholarship allowed her to realize her dreams of being a diver for the University of Michigan as well as an Army Nurse. She spoke about how the military uses core values to bring together and unite diverse groups of people to reach common goals. Through selfless service, you commit to a team of "battle buddies" to place the welfare of our country and your fellow soldiers before your own.

Our second speaker, Commander Patrick Gallagher, served in the US Coast Guard for 22 years. In recalling his youth as a middle schooler, he spoke to our student body in a relatable way. He commented, "I am not remarkable, but through the US Coast Guard I have had a remarkable journey." His assignments were varied and often hard - so hard you often want to quit but you don't because you are committing to people that you are close to and feel a common bond with. His highest achievement in the Coast Guard was as a Search and Rescue Coordinator where he completed over 600 SAR missions.

The assembly concluded with Mr. Meehan's band students playing the "Marches of the Armed Forces" and 8th grader, Jackson Upsall, playing "Taps".

Thank you to Tim Harris, Danielle Lin and the Leadership students for planning this assembly for our school. And, many thanks to our veteran guests who joined us on that day. A few photos from the assembly follow.

Bainbridge Island winter mornings and evenings are dark (and often rainy), making it difficult for drivers to see students walking or riding bikes. Before your student leaves for the day, please be sure they have the proper equipment to make them as visible as possible.

For additional information, please review the tips on the Washington State Department of Transportation website. 

27-29: Thanksgiving Break - No School

4: PTO Meeting @ 6:00 pm WMS Library

17: Winter Band Concert @ 7:00 pm WMS

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

6: School Resumes

20: MLK Holiday - No School

22-24: Student Led Conferences - No School

27: Second Semester Begins