FA L L
2016
Dear Woods Community, We are excited to share with you the latest edition of The Woods Academy News and our Annual Report. This vibrant publication is here to say thank you once again for your incredible generosity of this community and highlight the exciting and new at The Woods. Coming off a great 40th year anniversary celebration, The Woods is poised for continued success in the years ahead. This is a direct result of the great work being done by our faculty, the leadership of the board and the best students and families around. This past spring we graduated our largest class ever, with 36 students graduating from The Woods. Even more impressive was the fact that every student was accepted into his/ her first choice high school. Yes, 100% of our graduates are going to their first choice school. This is no small accomplishment. Combine that with the fact that this class was awarded over $250,000 in merit based scholarships and you can immediately see how well accomplished and prepared our students are for high school. We could not be prouder of this group and the continued success we see with our students matriculating at their top choice high school. So impressive! While we are on the topic of graduates, please take note of two great stories in this edition. Madison Sotos, Class of 2013, was recently in Kenya on a service trip with KEST. Madison was able to spend time with students at our sister school and the Nyumbani Village. Madison is truly living the Profile of a Graduate of The Woods. She is also a pretty great writer, thanks to Mrs. Piwko. Please also read our Donor Profile of the Mataac family. The Mataac’s recently created the Liza C. Mataac Dodson Memorial Scholarship in honor of Liza, a graduate and employee of The Woods who recently passed away. The Mataac family wanted to honor the beautiful legacy of their daughter so they created this scholarship that will be awarded to a rising 8th grader annually, who “best exemplifies the qualities of mentorship of younger students and involvement in school and community life that Liza so consistently displayed as a member of The Woods community.”
In this issue:
1 Head of School’s Message 2 Alumni Spotlight: Madison Sotos (2013) 4 Class of 2016 High School Matriculation 8 Class of 2012 College Matriculation
10 Class Notes 11 Around The Woods 19 Donor Profile: The Mataac Family 22 Annual Report: 2015–2016
The Woods Academy News is published by the Office of Marketing & Communications twice a year for families, alumni, and friends of The Woods Academy. Special thanks to Freed Photography for many of the photos included in this issue.
As I often reflect on our mission to serve an inclusive Catholic community preparing boys and girls to lead lives of significance, I look for examples of that mission being lived in our community. Our graduates, Madison Sotos, and The Mataac Family are just three examples of how we are living our mission. Nothing is more important and nothing is more impressive. Thank you to all who support this community in a myriad of ways and thank you to all who live our mission and lead lives of significance. Peace,
Joseph Powers
Special thanks to Martine Bernard Design (Martine Amirkhalili (1982)) for designing this issue.
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