Coding at WHMS

Stephanie Carty has introduced Computer Science into our Middle School curriculum this year and the students are loving it! With technology use increasing all around us, part of further incorporating STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Math) into our students education allows them to build awareness and understand the technology and applications they use daily.

The students recently held a Robot Snow Plowing Competition where they used an obstacle course (shown below) to program Dash Robots to push as many of the cotton ball "snowballs" to the finish line without hitting any pedestrians or going out of the lines.

Stephanie has also started an after school STEAM Club on Fridays where the students can join at their leisure to work on designing and programing their own video games, continue work on classroom projects, and work on different coding challenges. Coding has also been slowly trickling it's way into the Upper El Curriculum through Megan Stasi in Makerspace class with the program Scratch.

Session 3 of elective offerings started this past month with new activities like Chess, AV/Tech Workshop, Into the Woods, and Library Lounge.

The students in Upper El and Middle School have the opportunity to explore different activities and learn something new! Other offerings include Curator Club which will be planning the Middle School Regional Art Show, Graphic Design, Musical Theater, Fitness, Board Games, Crochet, Guitar, and Herbalism.

There will be one more session of electives starting in the spring with similar offerings. We love seeing what both our specialty staff and parents have to offer to enrich the student experience.

At Woodland Hill, Black History is incorporated into our curriculum all year long but during February, Upper El Classrooms dove a bit deeper. Students in Jess and Vinita's Class each researched and presented a short biography of African American personalities who have made contributions to society. They also made their annual collaborative poster of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

In Melinda & Julio's Class, they collectively read “The Hill We Climb,” by Amanda Gorman, which has echoes of MLK’s “I Have a Dream” speech and compared the two works. The students also read about African Americans in history and gave brief presentations to the class.

Sarah Colwill also held a library display during the month, highlighting the voices and work of Black authors.

The Basketball season has come to a close and Volleyball is alive and well at Woodland Hill!

The team, coached by Ben Kelts and Jess Goodrich, have been practicing twice a week and just started competing in games. The teamwork seen among the young athletes is truly something unique about our school community. Let's go Wolfpack!

Check the calendar for upcoming games.