Learning How To Get Along....Remembrance Day and Woodhaven Connects Celebration

At Woodhaven we are about 'Learning How To Get Along.'  It is Part 2 of our Mission.  Two events this month made me feel like our school is doing a great job in this area.  Our Remembrance Day Ceremony coordinated by Mrs. Dilling and hosted by Mr. Hodgson, was a class event.  Our students get it.  They were so very respectful of all our speakers including Cpl.  and Padre Captain Brown who gave us the soldiers perspective on November 11.  Delaney Humphries-Lindstrom, whose great, great uncle was John McCray the author of 'In Flanders Fields' honoured his memory with a flawless recitation of the poem.  Finally, Mrs. Morris' Glee students sang an original composition for the audience.  It was beautiful.

Last Friday, November 18 we had our first Woodhaven Connects celebration.  It was a chance for all our students to get together to witness the good deeds they are doing in our community.  Our grade 5's led by Mrs. Eisenzimmer showed us all what they did to clean up the school grounds and inside the building.  Mr. Coulas and Mr. Chan led the Grade 6's in their cleaning of Central Park.  They managed to turn this into a movie based on Mrs. Imeson's very artsy pictures.  The Grade 7's under the guidance of Mr. Luck and the rest of the Grade 7 teaching team set up a full afternoon of activities to introduce the Grade 4's at Millgrove to our school.  Once again, a movie of their exploits was made....very creative and a great way to meet our future Woodhaven students.  Finally, the Alyssa Strand and Lexi Baretta of Grade 9 showed the school what the 9's had accomplished on the clothing drive.  They also captured their amazing day in movie form. We will be posting our movies to YouTube in the near future.

I have great faith in the youth of today.  They want to get along and are willing to work hard to find ways to do that.  Great job Woodhaven!

Woodhaven Connects!

I'm sorry that I haven't written lately, but the old principal has been under the weather.  I'm feeling much better now and upon my return to work on Friday I find some amazing things happened while I was buried under my blankets.......

We began our first Woodhaven Connects day on Wednesday of this past week.  Woodhaven Connects sees each grade group offer public service to our community.  Our Grade 5's focus on the school, 6's work in our neighbourhood, the 7's with our feeder schools, and the 8's and 9's with community agencies working in both Spruce Grove and Edmonton.  Two things from Wednesday's work blew me away.....

Our Grade 9's decided to collect clothing to provide to homeless shelters.  A week ago they went door to door in the community distributing pamphlets letting homeowners know that they would be back in a week to collect any gently used clothing they could make available to us.  The emphasis was on collecting winter coats.  Collection day was this Wednesday.  The students and staff were floored by the response.  162 large bags of clothing were donated.  What's the lesson?  A little effort and initiative allows a group to reach out and help others.  Our students are looking forward to delivering this clothing in the month ahead.

Second, our Grade 7's invited the Grade 4's over from Millgrove School for an afternoon of getting to know you activities.  The students participated in a haunted house in the drama room, made cookies in the foods lab decorated pumpkins in classrooms, and played in a dodge ball tournament in the gym.  This is the beginning of our transition activities with the Grade 4's.  We have found these visits are critical to help these students make the transition to a new school in Grade 5.  Our Grade 7's are doing a great job demystifying Middle School.

Parent/Student/Teacher Conferences...and the new report card

This week sees Woodhaven welcoming students and parents to parent/student/teacher conferences.  We will be taking this opportunity to share with all the new reporting system that is being implemented in Parkland School Division.  Recently I posted a comment regarding our perspective on helping al students achieve High School +.  I see the new reporting system as a perfect fit with our vision.  We are interested in teaching every student to 'Learn How To Learn.'  Marks based report cards are a method of ranking students which lead those who need more time to learn skills to often shut down.  We will now be reporting on how students are progressing learning skills, knowing that learning is a process that evolves over time.  We want families to know if  a student has got it and if they don't where are they in the process.

I talk a lot to our staff about our new assessment being like swimming lessons.  Remember that report card that would say whether you could swim the two lengths or not.  The outcome you had to reach was clear (two lengths) and if you did it you got a check mark (you could do it independently) or if you had yet to meet the outcome, what support did you need to learn it.

The report card changes is leading to very positive changes in how Woodhaven's staff is approaching teaching and learning this year.  You will see that your child clearly knows what they are expected to learn. You will see children at your conference showing you what they can do.  

If you have questions regarding the new reporting system please call me at the school 780 962-2626 or visit http://www.psd70.ab.ca/OurSchools/ReportCards/Pages/Default.aspx.

High School Plus

The staff of Woodhaven Middle School just completed an amazing two day workshop with Mike Mattos.  While the name might not mean a lot to you the message he brings is a perfect fit with the Woodhaven mission of 'Learn How to Learn and Learn How to Get Along.'  Mike's message is 'all students must learn at high levels so they can achieve High School Plus.'  The consequence of us not doing that for a child is severe with the main repercussion being significantly reduced earning power and a shorter life span.

We learned that job one for the teachers in our school is to work together as a team to determine the critical learning for students.  This means picking learning activities which are critical to life long learning and/or next steps in learning.  We need to know how to assess that learning in a way that makes sense to students. Finally, we need a plan to work with a student who needs more time to do the learning and to enrich those who already have it.

The staff was enthused and daunted by the challenge of working in a true High School + environment.  Woodhaven does very well academically on Provincial Achievement Tests.  That means that in most years, in most subjects, we get 90% of our students over the bar.  What Mike reinforced in us is that it is unacceptable to 'settle' for 10% of our kids not making it.  Each student who comprises the 10% needs to make it, and their family needs them to succeed as well.

The staff was irritated by our perceived failure and began generating ideas immediately to deal with this.  That was fantastic!  It is also a problem.  Getting every student over the bar will require careful consideration over the rest of this year.  Students who struggle do so for a variety of reasons and require a wide range of intervention responses.  We will take months to study the suggestions coming forward from staff and develop a school wide response to help our kids.

I am so proud of our staff and their willingness to step up on behalf of every student in our building.  October 6 and 7 were very important days for Woodhaven.  I believe as the result of our work with Mike Mattos we will create the environment where we deliver on our commitment to High School Plus for every student.

Running For The Cure

Mrs. Jacobs ran for her Mom.

10 000 Runners!

Hanging out with 10,000 of your closest friends.  Sunday was quite a day.  Fifty Woodhaven students, staff and parents ventured into the heart of Edmonton to take part in the annual 'Run for the Cure' fundraiser for Breast Cancer research.  With pink swirling all around us we all felt like we were part of something much bigger than ourselves.  This was being part of something powerful...part remembering those who have had to deal with breast cancer, part focusing on a hopeful future and part amazing witness to the power of community.

Our students were wide eyed at the spectacle.  The costumes, the pink boas, the energy of the cheer squads along the route, the testimonials, the weather, the beautiful river valley view and 10 000 runners and walkers of all shapes and sizes make this an amazing experience for our kids.  All of our students ran the 5km with only yours truly walking with my trusty sidekicks, the Gericke's keeping me company.

I want to thank Miss Gillespie for organizing our Team Wolfpack.  This is her third year heading up our participation.  Two years ago we had ten participants.  Last year it grew to 24 runners and this year we hit 50 participants who raised over $4000 with our Ms. Jacobs (Grade 5 teacher) raising $1200 herself.  We are already looking forward to next year.

THANK YOU TO ALL WHO TOOK PART!

Wellness on the New Frontier...moving forward with Mr. Coghill

Two years ago our Mr. Coghill took up the challenge of redefining what Physical Education would look like at Woodhaven Middle School.  Mr. Coghill, a triathlete who has competed at Iron Man Canada, is committed to the wellness of both our students and staff.  Three years ago the U of A did a study of our Grade 5 students which painted a picture of students who did not eat well and did not get enough daily activity.  I shared these results with Mr. Coghill and we discussed what we needed to do to change that wellness profile.

From that moment forward Mr. Coghill has worked diligently, and now with Mr. McLachlan, Mr. Chan, Mr. Zalasky and Mrs. Davis is moving our work from being a Physical Education class to a Wellness program.  In fact, PE is not a term  you hear at Woodhaven... now its all Wellness all the time.  We have reoriented the program from a focus on game activity to skill development for life long wellness.  This allows everybody to be a learner regardless of their talent level.

We now have a Student Wellness Action Team SWAT that is in charge of monthly wellness challenges which are tracked by every homeroom.  This month's challenge is drinking 6 glasses of water per day.  These students also involved with health snack options being offered during our morning break.

Mr. Coghill also worked closely with Ms. Neumann to encorporate Wellness and Health Education.  All our Health Days include a wellness component involving either activity or nutrition.  It is through his work that we have set guidelines regarding soft drinks, slushes and energy drinks in our building.  He has also worked with our School Council to encourage their Grab and Go free nutritious breakfast.

His work has extended to the staff who have done much to increase their personal levels of fitness.  In the spring Kids With Cancer fundraiser we were up to 15 staff members who participated in the 5 KM run.  There has been a significant change in the types of snacks available in our staff room and we now have a healthy 'Soup Club'.

Thanks Mr. Coghill...your work has found its way into  everything we do.

Great News For Woodhaven!

Buildings don't make great 'schools', great programming makes a great Middle School.  For the families who have come to Woodhaven over the past five years I have made this point repeatedly as we have toured them through a facility that was constructed in 1973.  I have great respect for our Grade 5 and 6 staff who have worked in our oldest portable classrooms that were placed on the site in 1977.  They know the value of a good sweater in January and how to  MacGyver temporary air conditioning in June.

With great thanks to the hard work of our superintendent Mr. Tim Monds and Board Chair Richard Gilchrist, Woodhaven is getting eight new classrooms to replace our Grade 5/6 rooms.  What a change that will be for our students and staff....for next year.  It is likely that the old portables will be demolished at the end of the year and the new classrooms installed for the start of 2012-13.

Thanks again for all those at Division office to make this happen!

Team 2 ... the times they are a changin'

Hi Folks

Last post was about team.  This one is about the inevitability of change in the team and what a good school, or team has to do to accommodate that change.  It is no secret that the teaching populated by many members of the baby boomer generation.  That includes me.  Many of my contemporaries are choosing to start the next phase of their lives and are retiring.  This past year three of our teachers, Mr. Hoffman, Mrs. Schellenberger and Mr. Smithaniuk retired taking with them almost 100 years of teaching experience.  You don’t replace that knowledge without losing something. 

Replacing departing staff is part of the renewal process.  Strong organizations embrace change and carry on in a positive direction. They maintain their positive inertia through the strength of the group’s culture.  What is culture…it’s a two syllable word for ‘this is how we do things.’  If the culture is strong, new folks are embraced and taught the culture.

I was wondering how we were doing absorbing seven new staff members this year.  I thought and hoped our culture was strong enough to do the job that needed to be done.  At our Meet the Teacher night on Thursday my highest hope was confirmed.  As I stood aside and the staff were introducing each other I was left with overwhelming feeling that we had rallied around our new staff and they were part of the Pack.  They were talked of embracing our mission of learning how to learn and learning how to get along.  They belonged at Woodhaven.  Welcome!

New Grade 9 LA/SS and 7 LA teacher...Mrs. Tomlinson

New Grade 9 Math Science Teacher... Mr. Peet

New Grade 7/Drama Teacher...Mr. Cividino

Team

Hello Folks


Most of my life I have been a 'team' guy.  I started organized hockey in 1958 and still play today.  I played football in high school, Junior in Peterborough Ontario,  university football at St. Mary's in Halifax, recreational flag football in Edmonton for 12 years, and coached the sport starting in 1974 until last year.  I'm a team oriented person.

I am now part of the most important team in the biggest game ever.  We can't afford to lose.  I play for the Woodhaven Wolfpack Teacher Team and the game we play is ensuring that all our students reach High School +.  That is, graduate from High School and go on to further training beyond that.

Our team is like the young Oilers...many new faces working to jell together to achieve our goals.  I am incredibly optimistic about this year.  The optimism comes from the way our team has jumped into collaborating together to co-create learning opportunities that will work for our students. If you were to drop by our school on any day you will find groups of teachers working together to create common understanding of what the critical learning is for students, how we will know in the deepest way that they 'get it', and how we will help them if they need more time to 'get it'.

I like our team....I sound like Tom Renney... they are ready to play the game of their lives.

Coach Foster

Check Out Our New Library

Students who walked into our newly renovated library on the first day of school were amazed with the changes...new carpet, new layout, new technology, new couches....it's NEW.  Our new design was the work of Ms. Neumann and Ms. Bradshaw and the set up was courtesy of Mrs. Collett, the librarian from High Park School.

The library will be totally functional in two weeks.  More than just a place to find a good book, we look forward to it becoming the hub of learning, on line research and creativity at Woodhaven Middle School.

The New Look Woodhaven....continued

Wellness

For the past two years Woodhaven, led by Mr. James Coghill and Mrs. Keri Getz Bradshaw (hereby referred to as Ms. KGB), has been moving towards creating a school which values the health and wellness of each student and staff member.  This initiative was started as a response to a U of A study on student wellness which showed that 29% of Grade 5 students in Alberta are considered obese.  Woodhaven was part of that study.  The life long impact of this statistic is well known.  As a school we decided that we would do our best to halt this epidemic and present students with life style alternatives which could increase activity and change food choices.

This has resulted in a series initiatives.  Last year this included:

1. Grab and Go Breakfast...in conjunction with Parent Counsel, Woodhaven offers a health morning snack to any student who wishes it.  Our parents bake muffins and homemade granola and it is free for the taking along with juice and cheese strings.  Set up in the main hall in the morning, all the children pay is a smile and a thank you.  This year the program is subsidized by levying a surcharge of 5% on all fund raising and putting it towards the program.
2. Reversed Lunch Hour:  Grades 7-9 eat the first half of lunch, with 5 and 6 eating second.  This allows us to maximize the use of all our activity spaces, run intramurals all noon hour, run zumba and yoga classes, and reduce playground congestion.  All of this is done to increase lunch hour activity.
3. Healthy Snacks:Snack attack has changed what they offer for morning break so there are healthy food alternatives.  Smoothies are a hit!
4. Wellness Calendars: In an attempt to make students aware of their activity levels, they are tracking this on calendars daily.
5. Daily Physical Activity: Students have a daily PE program led by experts.  The focus is not on the big games but rather on physical skill development for life long activity.

This year we have tweaked the program slightly.  The major adjustment is in the area of what students can drink at school.  In the past we have not allowed slushes and energy drinks in the school.  The high sugar and caffeine content do not help student learning.  This year we have expanded this to include soft drinks.  The average 700ml drink contains 25g of sugar.  Again, this does not contribute to learning.  We ask your assistance in this matter by leaving these drinks out of your child's lunch.

Next...more new staff

Cheers

The New Look Woodhaven

Hello and Welcome Back to the Blog

I know its been a while since my last post but the last three months of the year got the best of me.  But I am back after a solid finish to 2010-11 and looking forward to this year.  The 2011-12 year is full of new faces, facility enhancements and program changes.  In the next few posts I will be reviewing some of these with you.

First, I want to start by tipping my hat to the folks who are no longer working with the Woodhaven Team.  The were great colleagues and they loved their students.  Leaving us last year were Ms. Brimacombe, Mr. Tokarsky, Mr. Teliani, Mr. Mohabir and our librarian Mrs. Donnelly.  All have moved on to other opportunities in their lives.  We had three long serving teachers retire at the end of the year including Mr. Smithaniuk, Mr. Hoffman and Mrs. Schellenberger.  It was great working with them and I wish them all the best.

It has been a challenge to replace such qualified and dedicated professionals but I think we have risen to the task.  What I would like to do is introduce the new staff to you over the next few posts.  I am proud of our new team and excited to help them serve our kids over this school year.

My New Partner ....Ms. Treena Neumann, Assistant Principal

I am thrilled to be working with Ms. Neumann.  She has been an incredibly important teacher at Woodhaven for the past five years.  She is energetic, fun and extremely organized.  Her passion for working with Middle School kids is so evident in everything she does.  I look forward to learning from her, working with her and guiding our school as we work to help every student achieve the Mission of, "LEARNING HOW TO LEARN AND LEARNING HOW TO GET ALONG."

The following was an excerpt from the school division's web site announcing Ms. Neumann's hiring.  It gives you a clearer picture of her background....

'Ms. Neumann’s teaching career began in 2004 working with various school divisions in Alberta, with a focus on Middle Years.  Treena started with Parkland School Division in 2006 at Woodhaven Middle School, where she has taught Grade 8/9 English, Social and Drama.  Ms. Neumann has been very involved in the school community by co-coordinating the Health Days, the PACK program and being part of the Wellness Committee, as well as one of the directors and co-coordinator of the Drama fall and spring Showcases.

Ms. Neumann earned her Bachelor of Art degree in 2001 with a major focus of Drama.  In 2004, Treena earned her Bachelor of Education with Distinction – after degree, both from the University of Alberta.  In 2009, Treena was a semi-finalist for the Alberta Excellence in Teaching Award.  Treena continues to support her belief in lifelong learning by participating in the Exploring Leadership course organized through Parkland School Division.

“I am very excited and honoured about my appointment as Assistant Principal at Woodhaven Middle School. I am thrilled to be working with such amazing staff members, students and parents. I am grateful and thankful for this new opportunity,” shared Ms. Neumann.'

Cheers...

Russ Foster

Principal of the Pack

Two Teachers Reach Semi Finalist Level in the Alberta Teaching Excellence Award Program

Fantastic news came out last Friday when Alberta Education announced that Mrs. Marlene Denet and Mrs. Donna Nicholls reached the semi-finalist level in the prestigious Alberta Teacher Excellence Awards program.  It is an honour to be nomination, but it is an even more significant achievement to be selected as a provincial semi-finalist.  Teachers are nominated by colleagues or members of the public who see these teachers as being exemplary professionals who have gone above and beyond in providing service to their students, schools and the families we all serve.

Mrs. Denet teaches our Grade 5/6 split class.  She took on a real challenge this year to provide this combined class a curriculum based on project based learning which blurred the grade level lines that normally define how we see school.  She created an environment where no two days were the same and her kids loved finding out what was next.  Mrs. Denet had her students partnering with Grade 7's, working with the City of Spruce Grove to solve garbage issues, and challenging the school administration on 'the way things have always been done.'  This was a real change in practice for Mrs. Denet, a veteran teacher who had previously taught Grade 5 at Woodhaven for the past five year.  It shows that real professionals never stop growing and changing.

Mrs. Nicholls is the Coordinator of the Middle Years Alternative (MYALT) program for Parkland School Division.  Working out of Woodhaven Middle School, Mrs. Nicholls helps coordinate programming and services in MYALT classrooms in Woodhaven, Greystone and Broxton Park.  Serving students with challenges that require small enrollment classrooms, MYALT serves a total of 32 students in four classes.

Prior to taking on the coordinator's role, Mrs. Nicholls taught in the program for seven years.  When the program grew to the point it was located in three schools it needed a person who could tie it together and create a sense of team.... Mrs. Nicholls was just the person for the job.  Since starting in this position she has created programming opportunities that see students coming together from the various sites to receive instruction and training they need to begin the move back into mainstream programming.   Mrs. Nicholls had a vision for this innovative program, and has worked tirelessly to bring it too life.

Congratulations Ladies!  The Woodhaven School Community salutes you!

Glee Singers Put on A Great Show

Last Thursday our Glee singers put on their own version of the new hit show to rave reviews.  Led by our own Mrs. Morris, the singers recreated her class as they were working towards putting on a school show.  The class gets their first ( and only) boy member and the fun begins.  The boy played by Grade 7's Kibe McMillan were in fact acting out Kobe's own story or being the only boy in Glee.

There is the inevitable boy/girl drama, new girl arriving to class from a foreign land called Saskatchewan, girls wars and a teacher who likes to spend too much time at Bed, Bath and Beyond.  It was great fun.  Amanda Peterson showed a real flair during her solo and the ensemble group can really belt out a tune.

Thanks for a great show!

Science Fair Rocks

Sorry about the lack of posts in the last while....it is the busiest time of the year for me.  I would be absolutely remiss if I didn't write about yesterday's Science Fair and what it means to Woodhaven.

Approximately 150 young scientists predominantly from Grades 5 and 6 strutted their stuff yesterday as partners displayed the results of their investigations in our Multi-purpose room.  There was everything from solar powered cars to hovercraft, product testing to tests of acidification.  All were being judged by school trustees, members of the community, Woodhaven science teachers Mr. Teliani and Mrs. Schaber and yours truly.

The result was a huge demonstration of learning!  As I travelled around judging with the two science teachers they kept telling the Grade 6 participants don't forget this, you will see in again in Grade 8 or 9.  The kids didn't set out to study advanced curriculum, but their interests took them there.

Not only were the kids learning science, but because they worked in pairs, they had to cooperate to reach their goals.  They also had to present their work to judges which required an understanding of how to present 20 hours of work in three minutes and do so in a mature fashion.  All of this was done with style and class.

Thanks to Mrs. Dilling and Mrs. Denet who led the way for us.  It was a fantastic day and its great to hear the kids say, "Do we get to do this again next year?"

Cheers

Our Casino Is Coming...Volunteers Still Required

Karen Hudson, our School Counsel's Volunteer Coordinator has contacted me and asked for assistance in getting the word out regarding our upcoming casino.  The casino is the Counsel's most significant fundraiser and is used to help the school upgrade our library and assistive technology.  We have had good response for help for the casino but the following positions remain unfilled.

If you can help, please call the office and ask for Carole Larsen.  We sure could use your help.

Thursday, May 19th 11:00am-7:00pm

General Manager

Alternate General Manager

Countroom Supervisor

Friday, May 20th 11:00am-7:00pm

Alternate General Manager

Banker

Countroom Supervisor

2 Chip Runners 

Friday, May 20th 7:00pm-close

1 Chip Runner

Calf Dissection ... Mr. Smithaniuk's Sure Knows How to Get the Attention of Your Average Grade 8

For the third year in a row Mr. Smithaniuk has dissected a calf to 'clearly' demonstrate to Grade 8 students how body systems work.  Students had just wrapped up their work on human body systems and Mr. Smithaniuk uses this event to help bring the learning together for the group.  OK, enough about book learning... this goes way beyond that.  This is a real life long event that won't be forgotten.  Mrs. Lyster who teaches grade 6 had Mr. Smithaniuk as her Grade 8 teacher when she went to Blueberry.  She says she can recall the calf dissection she saw like it was yesterday.  This years Grade 8's loved it!

Pictures to follow.

Farewell Mrs. Plourde

Valentines Day was a fitting time to say goodbye to our long time secretary Pam Plourde.  People from all walks of life in Spruce Grove came out to wish Pam well at a classy event organized by Pam's colleague and friend Mrs. Chris Ebdon.  The standing room only event was kicked off by Mayor Stuart Houston congratulating Pam on her long service by presenting her a certificate on behalf of the City.  The Mayor reflected on how his children had gone to Woodhaven and his memories of Pam as the caring and welcoming face of the school.

Former Principal of Woodhaven, Neil McDowell followed.  Neil hired Pam 30 years ago.  Wodhaven was a Junior High School of 750 students and the office was understaffed. Neil recalled that the job interview lasted 20 seconds.  It was a phone call with one question, "Do you want a job?"  The rest was, as they say, history.

Logan Gibson, a Grade 9 student took the podium next.  He has been a regular visitor to Mrs. Ploude's desk for the past five years.  When asked if he would speak at this event there was not a second of hesitation.  In fact, his response was, "Why wouldn't I!"  Logan spoke from the heart about how Mrs. Plourde made him feel welcome every time he visited her.  He then presented her 500 cards made by students over the past two weeks.

Our School Counsel Chair, Connie Hendry was next to honour Pam.  She announced that Counsel was sponsoring a new award called the Pam Plourde Award for Altruism.  As we all know Pam is the kind of person who is constantly giving of herself without asking for anything in return.  The Counsel thought it fitting to recognize a Woodhaven student who most reflected those same values.  Pam was truly touched by this gesture.

Finally Pam spoke.  In her most gracious and humble way she looked back over the years and how life at Woodhaven had changed during her 30 years.  Gone were the typewriters, in were the computers.  Gone were the chalkboards, in were the smartboards.  In fact she even commented on how underwear was now outerwear.  It was a reflection on a career well lived.

Yes, it was a great event and Pam will be missed by us all.  The Farewell was attended by all generations who have had a connection with Woodhaven.  There were Grade 5 to 9 students, High School students, current university students, current staff, former staff, two former principals,  Pam's closest friends and of course her husband Mike.  This was a real and respectful tribute to a fantastic person with a world class heart.

Thank you to all who helped make this possible.  It was a real Woodhaven team effort combining assistance from students staff and parents.  Special thanks to Mackenzie Harding who provided the excellent piano music throughout the event.

Hansel and Gretel...another marvelous theatre experience

Yes, it was icy on Friday.  Yes, the busses did not run.  Yes, all 260 students who attended school on Friday were treated to an enthralling performance by our Triple Threat Theatre Company.  Once again Mr. Tokarsky weaved his magic and our students were transformed into a professional theatre troupe who entertained us royally for 90 minutes on Friday morning.

I am in constant awe of how our Fine Arts teachers are able to get our normally shy and reticent adolescents to step up and risk everything to perform at such a high level.  Robert Hendry as Hansel and Jenna Stumber as Gretal were captivating and left us forgetting that we were watching a Grade 7 boy and a Grade 8 girl.  They ROCKED!  The remainder of the cast were excellent as they played off of each other with great timing.  Most importantly, we heard every word!

The supporting tech crew were amazing.  I was particularity captivated by the use of the fog machine run by Jennifer Warholik.  Every cue was hit, there was never too much fog, she knew how to set a mood.

Once again, thanks to all who made the show a raving success!

Say Hi To Kia

Hi its Kia here I am in Miss Lysters class of 5D, we were writing about if we were an iniut child in the past.  We were doing this in our own blog. It was successful.

It's Mr. Foster again. Kia and her class were beginning work on their own blogs.  It is a new project that Miss Lyster has started as she is getting her students to publish their work on the internet.  I happened to be in the class today and watched Miss Lyster work her magic with her crew.  They loved the opportunity to be real writers in the real world!

Thank McLachlan and Chan!

This past weekend our school along with Greystone and Broxton hosted the Power of Three Senior Basketball tournament.  Its a big undertaking with 32 teams in the draw, using four gyms over three days.  Two members of our staff took on the majority of the organization and our school is indebted to them.  Mr. McLachlan and Mr Chan ran a tournament that went off without a hitch.  It is a testament to them that the last thing a team's coach says leaving the gym is, "See you next year."

We have gained a reputation as a must attend tournament.  Our School Counsel run a GREAT concession at Woodhaven, our sponsors provide great food for the coaches room (thanks Pizza 73), our basketball parents also provide food for our coaches room (the chilli was great) and our half time trivia contests are a big hit with everyone.  Mr. Luck and Mr. Chan stole the show on Thursday night when they started a game of 'Stump the Ref' and had the crowd enthralled.

Who won....everyone.  Our teams won some games, lost some games and generally played hard.  The Power of Three tournament is what youth sport is supposed to be all about; young people learning life lessons like commitment, hard work and cooperation through competition.  Thanks Mr. McLachlan and Mr. Chan for making it happen.

School Counsel: Doing Great Things For Our Kids' Health

Our Woodhaven School Counsel is amazing.  For the past four years our counsel under the direction of Mrs. Terry Mesher worked so hard to make our $250 000 playground a reality.  When it opened last September it marked the final step in Woodhaven maturing into a true Middle School.  It has changed our play and activity environments.  A recent survey of our Grade 5 students done by the University of Alberta proved this point.  The year before the playground was built 24% of our Grade 5 students felt they were active at school.  The survey was done again this year and 93% of our Grade 5's see themselves as active during their school day.

Under the leadership of Mrs. Connie Hendry our current counsel is now embarking into new areas now the playground is in place.  Connie and the rest of the counsel executive are most interested in supporting our school's Wellness Program.  They invited teachers James Coghill (Leader of the Wellness Project) and Treena Neumann (our Health Day coordinator) to their last meeting to discuss how counsel can support their work with students.  Many great ideas were kicked around and parents decided to financially support bringing in guest speakers for Health Days.

In a bold move, the parents also decided to support Healthy Living by providing our students with a nutritious 'Grab and Go' breakfast so students have the fuel in their bodies to learn in the morning.  They also decided to do so at no cost to the kids.  We tried this for the first time on Tuesday morning.  Mrs. Karen Hudson, our Volunteer Coordinator reported that she served approximately 50 students home made granola bars, muffins and apples.  Most importantly, she was impressed by the gratitude expressed by all those who picked up something to eat.

If I haven't been clear about this in the past, let me be so now.  Our parents ROCK!  Thank you so much.

Core Support:Extra TIme and Escorted Intervention

Extra Time Group

Some of our students do their best to keep up with the day to day demands of school but find doing so very stressful.  To assist them we have created a support that provides them with a block every other day where they can work with a staff member to keep up with their assignments.  The group size is small and does not exceed five students.  The adult presence with the group is very important to provide the students with feedback as they as completing assignments.  This removes anxiety for them and allows them to feel prepared for upcoming classes.

Escorted Intervention

As much as it pains me to say this, some of our students choose not to hand in major summative assignments.  By not handing work in students are opting out of learning.  The school cannot allow this to happen.  In the past the classroom teacher would hunt the student down and try to get the work from them.  If they didn't see the student the period before lunch the student could get out of the building before they were found.

To ensure assignment completion we are piloting a program called Escorted Intervention with our Grade 9's.  Teachers refer students to the administration who have not handed in summative assignments.  Those students are picked up from the classrooms by myself or an Assistant Principal and taken to the Den where the students remain for the entire lunch hour while they complete the work.  It is up to the student to have a lunch which they can eat while they work.  I check to see that the work the student has done is worth of being graded and the students then submit the work to their teacher.  The teacher then removes the student from the Intervention list.

Our twoEscorted Intervention sessions were a rousing success with eight missing assignments being handed in for assessment and another seven close to completion.  Intervention is a beautiful thing.

Core Skills Support

Students come to our classes with a range of skill sets.  Unfortunately, for those whose skills lag behind in language or math, keeping up with the pace of instruction in the core classroom can be a daunting task. Woodhaven Middle School has set up a program to assist students close the skill gap.  In groups of five or less, the students meet with a teacher or EA who is providing them with assistance in Language or Math.  Each grade level has a slightly different focus.

• Grade 5/6:  the assistance is classroom based with time being allocated to reteaching and guiding students on classroom assignments
• Grade 7: math assistance has been built into their daily schedule, so the Core Support Program focuses on language arts.  In their small groups students are working on building their reading strategies.  The students had their first meeting yesterday and they were very engaged and willing participants.  We are very encouraged.
• Grade 8: Has both Math and Language support groups.  In math the students are receiving reteaching where necessary and guided practice with a staff member.  The language group is working on writing skills as all group members are good readers but struggle with written output.
• Grade 9: similar to Grade 7, all supports are in Language Arts and Social Studies.  In their skills groups students are assisted with assignments currently being done in class.

The program has gotten off to a great start and I look forward to reporting back to you in the near future.

New: Core Learning Support Program Starts at Woodhaven On Tuesday, January 11

Woodhaven Middle School is committed to helping our kids achieve high school completion and more training or education beyond that.  That goal has been coined 'High School +' by Mike Mattos, the author of the book shown above.  For the past five years I have been asking the teachers to take sole responsibility for the learning of their students.  I am proud of our staff.  They have done everything in their power to help our students get over the bar.  In fact, we are recognized in Provincial Accountability Documents as a high functioning school who does extremely well academically as measured by Provincial Achievement Tests.

Despite this we know that 15% of our kids don't pass those tests.  Our staff agrees that level of failure is unacceptable and does not meet the mission of the school.  We were determined to do something about it.  Over the next three days I will be outlining three strategies we will be employing to assist our kids/your kids.

Why three strategies... well there are multiple reasons students are not successful.  We are attempting to address three primary reasons students cannot meet expectations.  The strategies I will discuss are:
               1.  Core Skill Support
               2.  Supported Extra Time, and
               3.  Escorted Intervention.

If you have any questions about our Core Support Program please contact either myself or Mrs. Gericke at the school.
              

Health Days

Today we are having a Health Day.  For those of you who do not know what a Health Day is, our school schedule is altered for the day and all students from Grades 5 to 9 are working on a particular health theme.  The advantage of this approach is being able to bring in guest speakers, resources or send students on field trips and not impact other core classes.  By doing this we are able to present information and involve students in activities that are at their level.

Today's Health Day topic is substance abuse.  This topic is one of vital interest to every student in our school. Whether it be smoking, alcohol, or other controlled substances, every student in our building will be faced with critical choices during their teen years.  Our job is to provide them with information and answer their questions so when the time comes they will do the 'right thing' for them.

Ms. Treena Neuman has coordinated our Health Days for the past three years and done a phenomenal job offering great experiences for our students.  She has been joined this year by Mr. Coghill and Ms. Getz-Bradshaw (yes she got married over the Christmas break) and they now form our Health and Wellness team.  The work they do for our students is critical and I think Health Days are the most important days of our year.  Parents, if you have a chance to drop by....check it out.

Goodbye Mrs. Plourde

We welcomed everyone back to the new year but something was different... Mrs. Plourde was not manning her customary post in the office.  After 30 years as a secretary Mrs. Plourde decided that now was the time to move on to the next phase of her life, a life beyond the school.  Mrs. Plourde has long been the face of our school, greeting visitors at the office, her friendly voice responding to the many inquiries we get in a day, and helping anyone with all manner of concerns.  No request was too small.  We will be honouring Mrs. Plourde later this month.  Please keep your eye on this space for more information on this event.

Pam Plourde loves kids.  She would do anything to make a child's day go better.  For this she will be missed by me, the staff but most importantly the kids.

Thanks Mrs. Plourde!