NEWSLETTER: November 2018
WELCOME Welcome, WP community members, to our 2nd Newsletter of the year! The month of October was a busy one, marked with events, visits, preparation, decoration and much more. Many of the activities revolved around our yearly cultural event, International Day, which you'll get to read about and see pictures of. This month's edition will also give you an insight into some of the projects and activities that our students have been involved with, in and out of class, and, of course, you'll get a peek at some our Halloween antics, and more! Oh, and don't forget to watch our two Newsletter Videos. We hope you enjoy!
FROM OUR MUSIC TEACHER Mrs. Larisa International Day Preparation Music is an integral part of the IB program. It is a powerful communication tool that students can use to explore and construct a sense of identity and to develop an understanding of the world around them. For the last few weeks, students have been learning about the world and cultural traditions of different countries through music. With International Day approaching, PYP and MYP students have been exploring a wide range of performing opportunities and have been engaging with various cultural perspectives. The process of selecting songs or dances for class performances stimulates students to think and articulate their thoughts in new ways. Overall, we have had a lot of fun during music classes learning to sing in new languages, exploring traditions of various countries, and rehearsing for our International Day performances. -Mrs. Larissa K.
STAFF SPOTLIGHT MR. ISAIAS RUIZ For this month's Staff Spotlight, we wanted to take the opportunity to introduce you to one of our newest WP members, our Chief Strategy OfďŹ cer, Isaias Ruiz. Mr. Ruiz has worked in education for almost 18 years. He was the Principal in iTEC Preparatory Academy in El Paso, Tx and was the Dean of Business School in the Tecnologico de Monterrey in San Luis Potosi, Mexico. His responsibilities as Chief Strategy OfďŹ cer include assisting the CEO with developing, communicating, and executing corporate strategic initiatives and using metrics in order to improve our school.
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ATHLETICS ANNOUNCEMENTS Martial Arts Program We are very excited to offer Martial Arts Instruction this year as part of our curriculum for all grades, Kindergarten through 12th Grade. A llll instruction i n s t r u c t is i ogiven n is given by Shihan Joseph Adornato ((HakkoryuNintaiDojo.com) HakkoryuNintaiDojo.com) and Shihan Luis Alberte (karateinthewoodlands.com), who have over 80 years combined experience in the martial arts. Much of the terminology used in the training is in the Japanese language. The program complements the Physical Education program at Woodlands Prep and provides an opportunity for all students to be exposed to various types of Japanese martial arts. The program contributes to the health and well-being of our s t u d e n t s a n d p r ov i d e s a n opportunity to develop the body and mind through the study of martial arts.
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The program teaches a traditional style of Japanese karate that includes functional and technical training for potential tournament participation. The self-defense methods teach techniques that control an attacker without causing injury and emphasize a peaceful solution to potential altercations. This control is possible through an understanding of the body's energy meridians and vital points (“pressure points”) where pain can be inflicted without a need for strength, causing the attacker to discontinue their attack. For younger children, the focus is on developing coordination, balance, posture, muscle development, and basic movements used in the martial arts. The secondary, yet crucial, benefits of the curriculum are a development of the student's discipline and confidence as well as an increase in their concentration level, which results in a more productive and balanced individual.
In addition, students are taught practical self-defense methods using the principles of Hakkoryu Jujutsu (“No challenge, no resistance, no injury.”) .
CAS CORNER About CAS Welcome to the CAS corner! This little spot on our newsletter will be the place where we will be highlighting student CAS projects in future newsletters. For now, we start off our CAS Corner by giving you a brief explanation of what CAS is. F i st o f f, C AS st a n d s fo r Creativity, Activity, Service. CAS is one of the three essential elements that every student must complete as part of the Diploma Programme (DP). It is a fundamental element of what we d o a t W P. T h ro u g h C A S , students are involved in a wide range of activities in parallel to their academic studies. It enables s t u d e n t s to e n h a n ce t h e i r personal and interpersonal development by learning through hands-on experience.
The three strands of CAS, which are often interwoven with particular activities, are characterized as follows: • Creativity – arts, and other experiences that involve creative thinking. • Activity – physical exertion contributing to a healthy lifestyle, complementing academic work elsewhere in the DP. • Service – an unpaid and voluntary exchange that has a learning benefit for the student. The rights, dignity and autonomy of all those involved are respected. In order to demonstrate these concepts, students are required to undertake a CAS Project. The project challenges students to: • show initiative • demonstrate perseverance • develop skills such as collaboration, problem solving and decision making. These projects provide opportunities for self-determination and for collaboration with others, and the work that students accomplish through their personal projects helps to foster a sense of accomplishment and enjoyment. We look forward to sharing some of the wonderful CAS projects by our students!
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CULTURAL CORNER As part of the celebrations for this month dedicated to International Culture, our Cultural Coordinator was in charge of acquiring interinstitutional agreements with IB Continuum schools around the world. During October, we were visited by representatives of the Colegio Arenas de Lanzarote, located in the Canary Islands, Spain, and the International Institute of Chapala, Jalisco, Mexico, as well as by representatives of the Laude International schools. These visits were organized to establish student foreign exchange programs for students, teachers, and staff, with the intention of strengthening our identity and international culture through ďŹ rst-hand experiences.
In addition, our most culturally representative event, International Day, took place on October 26th. This Woodlands Prep tradition is a mosaic of different cultures, beliefs, and ethnicities that come together to celebrate diversity. Fourteen nations from different continents were represented by the Country Booths that were decorated by our students and staff in coordination with our Events Coordinator, Mrs. Katya Michel. Our student performances highlighted traditional songs and dances of each country and were coordinated by our music teacher, Mrs. Larisa Kholodnaya. Additionally, an international gastronomic exhibition coordinated by the PTSA gave people a taste of the traditional dishes from different countries.
IT INFO Saving Energy
Most schools consume a lot of energy and electricity throughout the school year; ours, of course, is no different. Air conditioning, lights, studio equipment, TV's, projectors and telephones--there is so much equipment and electronics needed to run a school and make it a safe and comfortable place. At the same time, we realize how important it is to be conscious of the environment, and we know that saving energy plays a big role. Also, as an IB World School we teach and promote values that develop a sense of social responsibility and help make the world a better place. So to practice what we teach, this year we have doubled our efforts to saving energy and raising awareness about the importance of doing so. We have been encouraging teachers, staff, and students to be more mindful of their energy consumption and asking everyone's help with turning off the lights when the classrooms are empty and closing doors whenever possible in order to limit thermal loss and maintain a more consistent temperature. We have also placed signs around the school to remind our community members about these points. By working together, we can raise awareness about the importance of reducing our impact on the environment and take steps that, although small, will help to reduce energy waste. Thank you for helping us save energy.
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WP TV STUDIO NEWS October was a very eventful month for the WP TV Production Studio. From astronomy to politics, art to technology, the Production Team covered many different topics and special days. The production students also assisted the filming of International Day and they even produced, filmed, and edited a short Halloween video. A few of the topics that the WP TV morning news team covered in October were: • Hispanic Heritage Month • The Hayabusa Spacecraft • World Mental Health Day • World Food Day • Hurricane Michael • United Nations Day • WP International Day • Pablo Picasso • International Internet Day • The History of Halloween • China's Plan for an Artificial Moon • The Sistine Chapel You can watch the Halloween video and others on our WP TV Youtube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJKRXilgcUdZTxgWDiqV5fQ
OCTOBER GENERAL ASSEMBLY A General Assembly was held on October 15th. Beginning with a speech, our Director, Mrs. Arroyo, informed the audience about the outstanding results of SAT, which placed us at a very high standard with 1700 points, more than 200 points above the state and national averages, and the MAP Testing results, which were also above the national norm. Mrs. Arroyo also mentioned several new projects and initiatives including our new exchange program that is currently being developed for students, teachers, and staff. Finally, she invited our Woodlands Prep Volleyball team to the stage and presented all of the team members, team managers, and Coach Bradford and recognized their hard work.
After the presentation, as a parting community exercise, parents, teachers, students, and staff spread out across the gym forming a giant circle, and sang, “We Are The World”, hand-in-hand.
During the event, money was also raised for UNICEF. All WP members were encouraged to donate $1 to help of children in need.
UNICEF works in 190
countries and territories to save children's lives, to defend their rights, and to help them fulfill their potential, from early childhood through adolescence.
INTERNATIONAL DAY
Every year, the Woodlands Prep community comes together to put on a grand event: our Woodlands Prep International Day. This Woodlands Prep tradition is representative of our school philosophy and values; it is a celebration of our cultural diversity, an opportunity to learn about each other's customs and honor our differences. This year, our International Day took place on October 26th. During the months leading up to International Day, parents, students, teachers, and staff worked together to prepare for the main event, researching and learning about the countries that would be represented, decorating their country booths, and preparing the many activities that would be taking place. Our students practiced their singing and dancing daily in preparation for their cultural performances, while our cafeteria staff and Woodlands Prep parents cooked, baked, and prepped the many traditional dishes and delicacies that would be on display for the “Flavors of the World� International Gastronomy Exhibition.
A buzz of excitement filled the air as the big day arrived. Mrs. Arroyo commenced the event with a speech and the student hosts welcomed the Parade of Nations, a traditional and beautiful display of each country represented by our students. The procession was followed by traditional song and dance performed by our students and directed by our Professor of Music, Mrs. Larissa Kholodnaya. Afterward, everyone made their way to the country booths, where they participated in the many fun activities, games, and shows, each designed to educate about the represented country. Other hungrier members headed to the “Flavors of the World” International Gastronomy Exhibition, where they got a taste of the many different countries. Overall, it was a beautiful celebration that everyone enjoyed. We could keep going on about how amazing International Day was, but we'll let the photos speak for themselves:
HALLOWEEN Halloween at Woodlands Prep
As October 31st approached, Woodlands Prep began its preparations for Halloween. Our Student Council and Upper School students decorated the school hallways and common areas, while our teachers and staff placed their own decorations in their classrooms.
Many of our WP families and students decorated pumpkins at home and brought them to school the day before Halloween where they were displayed in the front lobby area.
All of the
pumpkins looked incredible and were extremely creative and original, as you'll see from the photos!
Finally the big day a r r i ve d — H a l l owe e n !
Our
students, teachers, and staff came to school dressed up as all kinds of creatures and characters!
Superheroes,
ghouls, fairies, policemen, and many other people and things roamed the hallways.
There
was even a Lower School Halloween Parade!
In the
classrooms, many fun and educational activities took place.
During the morning news, our WP TV Student Production Team pulled a little prank with a Halloween video that they ďŹ lmed and produced themselves, and of course, they also talked about the history and origins of Halloween and about how Halloween or the Day of the Dead is celebrated in other countries.
It was a day to remember!
STUDENT SCOOP Student Lounges This year, Woodlands Prep decided to give students their own space to use in their free time for socializing, fun, games, and relaxation. Two new lounges were recently opened up for students: our MYP Fun Lounge and the DP Student Lounge. The MYP Fun Lounge, which our MYP students were invited to paint during Painting Day on September 29th, is decked out with a ping pong table, a foosball table, and some arcade basketball hoops.
Our DP Student Lounge also has a full-size ping-pong table along with a shufeboard, two at-screen TV's equipped with video game consoles, and multiple adjustable standing desks, perfect for studying or playing board games. So far our students have been enjoying their lounges and they plan to continue improving them. Two of our DP students tell us a little bit about their involvement in the DP Student Lounge project:
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WP DP Student Lounge Official Opening On October 12th, 2018, the Woodlands Prep DP Student Lounge was opened to the school public. This project was the culmination of a year's worth of ideas and was spearheaded by DP students Juan Lopez and Mansher Ghuman, who worked in collaboration with the school's administration in order to accomplish this goal. These students created an elaborate design by incorporating the ideas of world class institutions and facilities such as Nanyang University campus in Singapore and the ExxonMobil campus of The Woodlands. The space shown below is only the first phase of the project, and students hope to further develop their Lounge with high-quality equipment and furnishing to represent the future vision of the school. The DP student lounge project represents the desire that our students at WP have to improve their environment and benefit the community by putting their efforts toward social benefit. This is the beginning of a new stage for our institution where an open stream of ideas flow freely amongst students, parents, teachers, and school administration to nurture the an ever evolving environment.
If you wish to support the development of this creative student space, we would like to provide the option of donating through a G o F u n d M e c a m p a i g n . I f yo u a re interested, the link is listed below; no amount is considered nominal since we value the principle each cent represents. If you donate, you will receive updates regularly informing you on the status of the project. Thank you!
Sincerely, Juan Lopez and Mansher Ghuman https://www.gofundme.com/wps-dp-student-lounge/donate
A BIT ABOUT BOOKS WP Book Fair at Barnes and Noble We are excited to announce that our book fair will be held at Barnes and Noble this year! It will begin from 6 to 8 pm and will be at the Barnes and Noble in The Woodlands Mall (1201 Lake Woodlands Dr.) So come socialize with us and maybe have a hot chocolate while you browse some books.
International Book Drive Speaking of books, we are currently accepting books for our International Book Drive. We have been working hard to renovate our PYP and MYP/DP libraries based on IB standards, so we thought it was the perfect opportunity to involve our wonderful international community. Our goal is to create an extensive book collection that reects our diversity and our desire to learn about new countries and cultures. We ask each of our WP teachers and parents to donate a book (or several, if you would like) that is representative of your culture--if it is written in a foreign language, all the better! This drive will not only provide our students with a wonderful resource, but it will also give them a more personal look into the cultural and personal backgrounds of our own community members. These books will be special tokens that will enrich our school and connect us with you and your culture a little bit more. You may deliver your donation to Mrs. Matz-Ross at the Welcome Center or leave it in the small Book Drive Shelf that will be located inside the Welcome Center ofďŹ ce. Make sure to sign the Book Donor List; at the end of the drive we will be thanking all of our book donors in a special way. As a nice personal touch, we also encourage you to write a short message and include your name and signature on one of the blank pages of the donated books so that each student who reads your donated book remembers your kindness. The book drive will continue throughout the month of November. As previously mentioned, we encourage books written in foreign languages. The school accepts new and used books, though we ask for used books to be in fair or good condition. As always, we thank you for your support, and we hope you will join us in our mission to build the libraries that our students deserve.
COACH'S CORNER PYP students enjoyed the culmination of their Skeletal System relay in PE this week. Students searched for bones and then placed them in their correct position to put together an entire skeleton. Students also identified the importance of the skeletal system and learned about how they protect our vital organs, make blood, and help us move! Soccer and basketball season is about to start up so please get all paperwork to Coach Bradford. The calendar to all PE and Athletics events can be found here: https://www.woodlandsprep.org/apps/pages/index.jsp?uREC_ID=791 894&type=u&termREC_ID=&pREC_ID=calendarv2
WP Astronomical Observatory First Observation of the Moon One topic 6th grade students researched for the International Day USA booth was man's first landing on the moon. 6th grade students may not have landed on the moon, but they were the first at Woodlands Prep to view the surface of the moon through the school's observatory telescope as part of our plan to integrate the Observatory into the curriculum.
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NURSE NEWS The Flu Clinic On October 29th, Nurse Mary organized an on-campus visit by a Walgreens Flu Clinic. Teachers and staff were encouraged to take advantage of the visit and get their flu shots. Flu season is approaching, so we have been spreading awareness and taking every measure possible to prevent the flu from giving us a visit. Vision, Hearing and Acanthosis Nigrican (AN) Screenings
Health screenings have begun and will continue until Fall Break. Vision and Hearing Screenings are required for all first-time school entrants (4 years of age and older as of Sept. 1st, 2018), all Kindergartners, and all 1st, 3rd, 5th and 7th graders. AN Screening, which is a non-invasive method to detect high insulin levels in children, is required for all 1st, 3rd, 5th and 7th graders. If a child is found to require further evaluation in anyone of these areas, a referral form will be sent home to the parent/guardian.
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NHS TOY DRIVE The Woodlands Prep chapter of the National Honor Society is commencing its annual Toy Drive to beneďŹ t the patients of the Texas Children's Hospital. We welcome donations of NEW toys and games from our WPS community for patients at the hospital, many of whom spend long periods of time in the hospital for treatment. Donations can be delivered to Mrs. Matz in the Welcome Center or to Mrs. Young in room 219. Delivery to the hospital will be on Friday, December 14th. If you are you are interested in donating and would like more information please click HERE.
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“PICTURE THIS” 2018-2019 YEARBOOK Our 2018-2019 Yearbook, called “Picture This” is currently on sale. If you would like to keep a physical record of your memories from the school year, make sure to get your copy. To order, please visit www.woodlandsprep.org and click on the “Buy Yearbook” tab on the right-hand side at the top of the page. Our 8th and 9th grade yearbook staff are working hard to create a beautiful and exciting compendium, so please support their great work!
IN THE CLASSROOM 4th Grade 4th grade students worked to practice their presentation skills and make their booth look perfect. They were very happy with the results! Working on our booth for International Day: 4Fourth graders make progress on our unit about legacies and civilizations. Students worked in teams in order to better understand the importance of different legacies from ancient civilizations and their impact on our daily lives.
PYP French French Immersion Stations Each station has a different purpose that teaches how the sound of words are written and includes fun ways to practice sentence building and oral communication by recording their voice.
Mr. Koehnle's 6th Grade 6th grade students worked hard to develop a very creative International Day booth to showcase achievements and icons of the United States of America. Some of the displays include the Apollo missions to the moon, the Statue of Liberty, the Wright Brothers and the invention of the airplane, Yellowstone and Sequoia National Parks, the history of baseball, Smokey the Bear, and more!
Alien or Human? Are there aliens among us? 6th grade students investigate to ďŹ nd out! 6th grade science students test different strange powdery substances to determine who among us are aliens and who is human.
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Mrs. Burgess's Pre K 3 Class In Mrs. Burgess's class we have been hard at work learning through play. Using open-ended materials such as blocks and cardboard tubes allows the students to use their creative thinking, problem-solving skills, and critical thinking along with collaboration to create their own worlds. And do they ever! Take a look at these students creations. The students narrated their descriptions, which include a dinosaur house complete with a tower, a trap, a backyard, hiding places in a cave, a cliff for the brave dinosaurs to jump off of even if they are scared to do so, and a swimming pool. Stay tuned for what our students may create next!
Mrs. Bryant's Pre-K 4 Class Pk4 was assigned the country of Iran for international day. Here are some pictures of our preparation!
Ms. Zehra's 2nd Grade Class Tales from Around the World Our Central Idea for our 2nd unit is : Fairy Tales are a genre through which we can express ourselves. We invited guest speakers who read to us different stories from around the world. Students got an idea of how stories could be written from a different perspective and a different end.
As a part of our International Day we had a senior student come to our class
sharing his presentation on Senegal. Our students gained
knowledge and experienced the Senegalese
way to express
themselves. International Day Our grade 2 class had a great time creating and preparing our booths. Our class moms Mrs. Marsh and Mrs. Lopez were extremely helpful in designing and organizing of the booths. A fun filled event with wonderful memories!!
“A big day for our class”
“Teamwork Success!”