News from Ms. Sides:

Wildcat Weekly

November 2, 2012 Issue 9

November 5: SBDM, 5:00 November 6: No School, Election Day November 12, Veteran’s Day Program November 13 & 15: 8th Grade Field Trip to NKU November 19:Picture Retakes November 21-23: Thanksgiving Break

Wow!!! It has been a great week at Woodland Middle School! As you know, KPREP scores were released today. The scores are used to calculate our accountability rating and de-termine our percentile ranking in the state of Kentucky. This week I was able to celebrate with our teachers as they reviewed the growth the school has shown over the past few years. The PowerPoint I shared with the teachers will be available on the website under the section la-beled “Principal”. This PowerPoint reviews where Woodland has been, the current state of the school based on the 2011-2012 accountability model, and the future of Woodland. When you see this PowerPoint, it is evident Woodland is moving in the right direction. Woodland is on the right track ! As you may know, we did receive a label of Needs Improvement and we are a Focus school. However, we see this as a challenge. We are analyz-ing the data and using it as a guide map to continue to improve our instruction. We are con-tinuing to hold your children to higher expectations as we prepare them for college and ca-reers. We are committed to sending each and every child to high school performing at the proficient level. Our data shows we have a lot to celebrate. It also shows us we have areas to improve. We know the small improvements will result in significant gains for your child and the school. Our school is moving in an upward slope to number one. We will not stop until we are number one.

This time last year, Woodland was in the 36th percentile of all Kentucky middle schools. This year we are in the 64th percentile! This huge jump in performance deserves to be celebrated! It could not have occurred without the skill and dedication of Woodland teach-ers. The teachers at Woodland motivate and hold your child to high expectations every day. Expect great things from us the rest of the year. We cannot wait to celebrate with your child as we prepare them for college and careers. Woodland Middle School is the Place to Be! Have a great weekend!!!

Tara

We are so pleased to announce the winners of our Veteran’s Day writing contest. We chal-lenged our students to write an essay discussing the impact a veteran has had on their life. The essays were judged and the winners are: First Place: Emma Childs Second Place: Mallory Mitchell Honorable Mention: Rachel Fox and Anthony Baker We are so proud of the writings all of our students produced. We are looking forward to showcasing several of the winning essays as part of our Veteran’s Day celebration on November 12.

On October 27, even the rain could not keep the ghoulish fun away! Many students chose to spend their Friday night at Woodland to support our Woodland Wildcat Football program. We had a great turnout. Students danced, participated in a costume contest, played games, and got to throw pies at Wildcat Football Coach, Terry Durstock. Lots of fun was had by all despite a quick appearance by Michael

Meyers. You never know what haunts the halls of Woodland!

Mrs. Black thanks everyone so much for supporting this year’s Book Fair. It was very inspiring to see all the students and their relatives visit the fair on Monday and she says it is proof that Wood-land kids are really excited about books and reading.

The 2012 Fall Fine Arts Night was a huge success, and it is evi-dent that the arts are alive and well at Woodland Middle School! The 6th grade chorus, 7th grade mixed chorus, and the 6th grade band all gave strong performances, as did Mallory Mitchell and Trey Burns of our award-winning forensics team. Fantastic artwork was on display in the art room, and many parents had a chance to tour the book fair in the library and taste the refreshments made by our own students in practical living classes. Thank you to all the teachers and parents who supported Fine Arts Night and made it a huge success!

Student attendance is a very important part of the learning process, therefore we encourage you to send students to school unless they are obviously ill, have a fever or you they are con-tagious. Also, we would appreciate your help in discouraging your child from texting that they are sick. The procedure is to come to the nurse’s office and be evaluated. This is a safety issue as the child could be very ill and we know nothing about it until you come in to pick them up, we appreciate your help in this matter. Please be sure to call in by 8:00 when your child is going to be out for the day and follow it up with a note when they return. Remember you have 3 parent notes in a trimester, any after that are unexcused unless there is a Dr.’s note or other circumstances which are excus-able. Three unexcused absences is considered truancy and you will receive a letter from the school. Tardies for the most part are unexcused. Excessive tardies will also be dealt with first at the school level and if continued the courts will have to get involved like any other truancy issue. On a lighter note, if you are planning for a trip that includes your child being out of school, please pre-arrange that at least a week ahead of time by requesting a pre-arranged absence form. Students are always responsible for any work missed during the time they are gone. Thank you for your help with this and we hope all of our students have a wonderful, safe, and healthy year!

At Woodland Middle School, we expect our students to: Be Respectful Be Responsible Be Safe

This morning, Mr. Campbell and I were approached by Abby. She asked to organize a fundraiser so our school could give back to the victims of Hurricane Sandy. She had the best idea to col-lect different items on different days. After some research, the Red Cross would prefer monetary donations rather than goods. So next week we will be collecting donations for the victims of Hurricane Sandy. The donations will be donated to the Red Cross. Here is some information from Abby: Hi! My name is Abby M. and when I heard about Hurricane Sandy I knew that people were going to lose their belongings. So my family and I had an idea to have a drive to help the fami-lies. So if you could, please donate! That would make a lot of people happy and help families in the Northeast. We will be collecting money all week for the victims of Hurricane Sandy . Thank you Abby for caring so deeply about others. You exemplify what it means to be a Wildcat!

Go to Edmodo.com Click “I am a student” Enter the group code for the teacher that you want

Ask teacher for code ex: cuqzbe (Mrs.Dolwick) Enter the username and password that you want Enter your email if you have one Enter your name

First and last It is protected

Click “submit” and enjoy Edmodo is a social media tool to help students and teachers communicate about education. Please join us!

Edmodo is a social media, educational tool. Many of our teachers use it to keep students

informed about class, remind them of tests and upcoming assignments, and post enrich-

ment work. Edmodo is the educational Facebook and a great way to stay connected to

Yearbooks will be on sale the entire month of No-vember for $12! If you order a yearbook, you are guaranteed to be featured in the 2012 – 2013 edi-tion. Prices will increase in January, so don’t de-lay! Yearbooks will be on sale each Friday in the cafeteria or you may send exact cash or check with the flyer that will be coming home Monday. What an awesome way to capture your memories as a Wildcat!

8th Grade students will head over to NKU for their first field trip of the school year, No-vember 13th for Neptune and November 15th for Jupiter. This field trip will consist of the students being able to tour NKU, see a science show in their planetarium, and visit with NKU staff about the different programs that NKU offers. We are very excited about this field trip because it exposes students to the possibilities a college education opens to them. Permission slips went home earlier in the week and the cost is $7.00 because we have to pay for busing, but NKU will be free. Students are requested to either bring a packed lunch from home or they may pur-chase a bagged lunch at school. If you have any questions or concerns please e-mail apryl.mccoy@kenton.kyschools.us or jesse.rawe@kenton.kyschools.us

So much is happening in the WMS Chorus world! Many students can now be seen wearing t-shirts or hoodies spirit wear with "Woodland Chorus" splattered on the front. They are, and deserve to be, proud to be in our choruses! Audience members who came to Fine Arts Night on October 29 can understand why they are proud. Both the 6th Grade Chorus and the 7th Grade Mixed Chorus per-formed. All chorus classes were visited by a WMS chorus alum on October 30. Scott List Ram-ler, a recent Dixie High School graduate, sang the same solo when he was in 6th grade that Justin Hamm sang at Fine Arts Night. It was especially cool for the 6th grade boys to hear how they might sound as adults. Scott sang a couple of songs, then talked a little about how important it was to him to be in choir all those years, and ended by sharing his career plans to become a firefighter/EMT, who still participates in choirs! We have seven students representing Woodland at the American Choral Directors As-sociation's All-State Choir November 2-3. They were chosen by audition and will be rehearsing and performing in Lexington. One of their songs was written for their choir and has never been heard before. How exciting to premier a piece of music! We are so proud of Maddie Berberich, Sara Bowling, Denzil Hamm, Justin Hamm, Julia Sager, Collen Snell, and Taylor Thurber!!!

Follow Mrs. Bailey and the WMS choruses on Twitter @ChorusDirector.

Pride Referrals are how we recognize students for being exceptional! Teachers write about the AWESOME thing the student receiving the referral did. We then recognize them at lunch and give each child a copy of the referral and a special treat. The pictured students have

received a Pride Referral in the last few weeks. They are: 6th grade: Hunter Chandler, Dakota Deaton, Hailey Ziegelmeyer. 7th grade: Drew Dean, Jake Le-febvre. 8th grade: Noah Bilyeu, Michael Buerkett, Jalen Dawson, Penny Lee, Nate Linton, Robby Lucas, Jacob Marksberry, Zachery Rider, Austin Tomlin.

Come out and support this student directed play at Scott High School on Novem-

ber 9th and 10th at 7:00 pm and November 11 at 2:00 pm. The cost is $5.00.

X Games Night @ Ollie’s

Ollie’s Skatepark would like to welcome all

Kenton County School Students to a DISCOUNTED night.

Skateboards, BMX Bikes, and Rollerblades are all welcome!!!

5 Dates: Nov. 14, Dec. 12, Jan. 9, Feb. 13, Mar.

13

(Wednesdays)

Time: 5:00 – 8:00 PM

Cost: $7.00 per session

All students wanting to participate must have a completed

waiver upon arrival at Ollie’s.