S U M M E R 2014VOLUME 21 / ISSUE 1

A Publication for The Woods Academy Community

Where curiosity and confidence thrive.

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IN THIS ISSUE

Class of 2014page 4

24th Annual Night Owl Auctionpage 7

Ray Briscoe, New Assistant Head of School page 8

“I think it’s going to be one million or two million when I multiply,” says one Luncher gleefully to another as he moves the green beads on the Large Bead Frame. Large numbers are fascinating and exciting!

Maria Montessori designed her math curriculum to be inquiry-based, engaging, hands on, con-

crete, clear, and meaningful. Her goal was to help students grasp concepts and develop solid understanding in mathematics and geometry. The foundation of the Montessori math cur-riculum begins with the Sensorial Materials, teaching relationships of size—height, diameter, and weight as well as the geo-metric shapes and solids as young children work to build the Pink Tower, Brown Stair, and Red Rods. They learn to match and label shapes, then classify them as triangles, quad-rilaterals or other polygons with the Geometric Cabinet. Sometimes the Sensorial Materials intersect with math such as the graphing

continued on page 3

Montessori Math > CountingBy Joanne Gerber, Director of Montessori

N E W S

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S U M M E R 2014

activity with our four boxes of Knobless Cylinders. We discovered our yellow and green cylinders made diagonal lines!

Number sense develops over time. Young children need many kinds of experiences to understand how numbers work and can be used. In Montessori classrooms exposure to numbers is multisensory. Children work with

the Number Rods to explore relationship and order with the numbers one to ten. They can count spindles and discs, or penguins, as they practice one-to-one correspondence. They can sing their tens and use finger plays to count forwards and backwards. They can make patterns with classmates or with

shapes and colors. They can “fish” for attributes and play

“What’s My Rule?” to practice classifica-tion. Using the Esti-mating Jar children learn that accurate estimating requires knowing the size of both the

objects and the container. Repeated exposure to concepts with parallel materials builds proficiency—and real-world application over time.

Math is fun—and even delicious! We use math in cooking as we measure ingredi-ents and in science as we experiment with hydrating crystals or making solutions. The Lunchers investigated volume with large fun-nels and water to discover two pints equal a quart and four quarts equal a gallon. They learned the importance of standard measure by using “kid feet” as well as rulers and tape measures. They loved sharing Oreo cookies to practice division with no remainders! They

enjoyed The Quilt Story and The Quiltmaker’s Gift before using their experiences with area and pattern to create quilt designs.

Math is useful. Using math tools—clocks and calendars help us keep track of time;

exchanging money helps us with place value, fractions, decimals, and finance; thermome-ters tell us what coats are appropriate for the temperature on the playground; balances and scales help us compare the pumpkin weights and to decide that the water really had evaporated from the paper towel! The

Bead Cabinet con-tains the squares and cubes of the numbers one to ten. What could be more enticing and colorful than laying out ten cube chain to skip count?

Math is working with all four mathematical processes—addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division—first with the Bank and Stamp Games to understand the operation at the most concrete level, and then with beads and boards to practice math facts for accuracy and efficiency.

Math is thinking, collaboration, and commu-nication. The Lunchers used their skills with the operations of addition and subtraction and shared strategies to solve story prob-lems. Graphs and Glyphs help us share information we have collected. Children often use what they know about num-bers in discussions. How do you make a necklace that has both a pattern and symmetry? What are our favorite Asian animals? If two children are absent, how many are present?

“Here is an essential principle of education: to teach details is to bring confusion; to establish the relationship between things is to bring knowledge.”

– Maria Montessori

The Woods Academy N E W S

Dear Woods Community,

One of my favorite events each year is welcoming everyone back to school on that first day. As I write this letter in the middle of the summer I am not wishing summer vacation to be over by any means. I need some vacation as well. What I love about that first day back is to see how much everyone has grown. It seems as though everyone grows a foot or two over the summer. While summer is a great “down time” for many of us in education (teachers and students) it is also a time for us to grow both physically, mentally, and emotionally.

Growth happens! Whether through play, through learning or naturally as children get older, growth is vital to our well-being. Growth happens in so many ways and at so many speeds. As educators and parents we live it and must constantly remind ourselves that we do not always control the “growth” clock of our children. We are always on call with our kids this way. Institutions are no different and The Woods Academy is living proof. A few years back we built our strategic plan and purposely put a growing tree on the front cover of that brochure that went out to our community. A healthy tree is always growing and we continue to flower and add branches.

This past year we have grown incredible graduates who participated in our first Capstone Leadership Proj-ect. Each 8th grader defended two essential questions in a defense-like presentation prior to graduation: How have I lived the Profile of a Graduate of The Woods Academy (Open to Growth, Willing to live my faith, Leader in my community and Striving for a just and joyous life)? and How will I lead a life of significance going forward? Reflect back on the past and present, and dream about the future is what this exercise was designed to accomplish. Our kids “nailed it” with thoughtful reflection, gratitude and big dreams for the fu-ture. The growth that I witnessed as I sat through each presentation was incredible. There is no true metric for this type of growth other than to say our kids have the “It” factor.

There are countless examples of growth being realized in the classroom as well. From our expanded use of technology that includes adaptive learning software in lower school math, QR author codes in 2nd grade, advanced coding in the upper school, fitness tracking in PE and new interactive TechBooks in social studies and science, we are using technology as it should be. Our kids are growing in the classroom with technol-ogy, not because of it. This tool gives us greater feedback and more opportunities to expand the critical thinking, creativity, communication, collaboration, and character development of our kids. Stay tuned for our digital citizenship curriculum, food and science curriculum, and more enhancements to come.

Growth in support of The Woods has also been witnessed by this community as well. At our auction this year we made the case for the importance of our Sharing in Growth Fund, a financial aid fund that helps us attract and keep the best students and families at The Woods. This fund has grown tremendously over the past few years, and with a very generous response at the auction this year, the fund has grown to almost $400,000.

Growth does happen, and like a good basketball player, we must always keep our pivot foot so we can respond in the direction of that growth. It may not happen as fast as we want it or sometimes it happens too fast (my nine year old’s shoe size is almost the same as mine.) What I do know is growth has to happen. This is how we learn and stretch ourselves, as individuals and as an institution. I could not feel more blessed to be at a place where our community is so committed to the growth of our kids and our school. Growth happens at The Woods Academy. Just look at our kids!

Sincerely,

Joe Powers

P.S. The infographic from our previous issue of The Woods Academy News is featured here again on page 6. Please revisit The Woods Experience by the Numbers. Growth is surely happening here.

MONTESSORI

Montessori, from page 1

The Woods Academy N E W S

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S U M M E R 2014CLASS OF 2014 AWARDS

Stay Connected The Woods Academy @TheWoodsAcademy @theWoodsAcademy Follow The Woods

Academy Company Page as well as join the alumni-only group. To search for the alumni group type in The Woods Academy Alumni.

Class of 2014 Awards

During the commencement ceremony on May 30th, the following Graduation

Awards were given to the Class of 2014.

The Athletic Director’s Award which recognizes model Woods Academy athletes for outstanding academic achievement, sportsmanship, teamwork, dedication, and sacrifice for the program was given to Zoe Ungerman and Ryan Sheehan.

The Woods Award for Outstanding Contribution to the Arts, given to eighth grade students who have excelled in the fine arts, was awarded to Victoria Smith and Annalise Hotchkiss.

The Serviam Award, for the eighth grade students who have given outstanding service to The Woods community, was received by McKenna Gazdag and Chris McCormick.

The Celestine Award was given to Alexandra Pitts as the eighth grade student who demonstrated the effort and hard work that characterizes the ideal Woods Academy student.

The Award for Academic Achievement, given to the eighth grade students who demonstrated excellence in academics, was awarded to Christina Dropulic and Gabe Schneider.

Molly Grant and Darius Kuddo were the recipients of The General Excellence Award, given to the eighth grade students who have demonstrated the ideals of The Woods Academy Mission Statement, including academic, athletic, spiritual, social excellence and emotional well being, a respect for others, a spirit of equality and a commitment to community service.

The Twelve Season Award which recognizes students who have played a major team sport each season from fifth until eighth grade was given to Sarah Criswell, Molly Grant, Annalise Hotchkiss, and Zoe Ungerman.

The Woods Award for Academic Honors was awarded to Nathaniel Beauchesne, Sarah Criswell, Christina Dropulic, Molly Grant, Annalise Hotchkiss, Darius Kuddo, Lexi Lynch, Christopher McCormick, J.D. McLean, Nicholas Mori, Maggie Needler, Alexandra Pitts, Gabe Schneider, Victoria Smith, Camille Toner, and Zoe Ungerman. This award is given to students who have earned either Honors or Honors with Distinction for at least half the trimesters from seventh grade through second trimester of eighth grade.

Nathaniel Beauchesne

Zachary Crilley

Sarah Criswell

Marshall DeCain

Christina Dropulic

Will Farrell

McKenna Gazdag

Brian Goodson

Molly Grant

Annalise Hotchkiss

Chadd Kerr

Darius Kuddo

Lexi Lynch

Christopher McCormick

J.D. McLean

Nicholas Mori

Maggie Needler

Alexandra Pitts

Sharvari Puri

Gabriel Schneider

Ryan Sheehan

Spencer Simmons

Victoria Smith

Camille Toner

Zoe Ungerman

Academy of the Holy Cross

American International School of Abuja, Nigeria

Bullis School

Connelly School of the Holy Child

Georgetown Preparatory School

Georgetown Visitation Preparatory School

Gonzaga College High School

Landon School

The Madeira School

Our Lady of Good Counsel High School

The Potomac School

St. Alban’s School

Saint Anselm’s Abbey School

St. John’s College High School

Stone Ridge School of the Sacred Heart

CLASS OF 2014

The Woods Academy Congratulates the Members of the Class of 2014

The Woods Academy Class of 2014 has been accepted to the following high schools:

S U M M E R 2014

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2014 AUCTION

The 24th Annual Night Owl Auction was held on Saturday, March 1, 2014 here at The Woods. A record number of

280 attendees greatly enjoyed the theme of “Woods Mad-ness: Get Your Game On!” and they honored everyone and everything wonderful at our school! Co-Chairs Lisa Hotch-kiss and Andrea Lynch led an amazing team with impecca-ble grace and a positive spirit that ensured significant suc-cess. Indeed the Mighty Owl philanthropic spirit was in full force in a way never before seen at this signature event. We raised nearly $200,000 (net) to support our Woods Academy family including an astounding $85,000 for the Sharing in Growth Fund for Financial Aid! This was the largest amount ever raised at our Auction for an appeal of this nature. And we accomplished all of this while bringing the entire com-munity together for an unforgettable evening that was just so much fun. Thank you all so much for your support of our Woods Academy family!

Woods Madness: The Woods Did Get Their Game On!

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Don’t miss the amazing videos from the event.Use a QR Code reader app on your smart device to scan the codes below to view The Woods Academy

Experience Video as well as the The Woods Academy Auction Highlight Video.

The Woods Academy Experience The Woods Auction Highlights

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AthleticsNationwide less than 1%

of students enrolled in 4 year colleges and universities are Division 1 athletes.

11% of Woods alumni who currently attend college (classes of

2006 –2009) are Division 1 athletes.

Academics92% of the Class of 2013 is taking at least

one advanced course as a freshman.

76% of the Class of 2013 is taking two or more advanced level courses.

65% of the Class of 2013 is taking advanced Math as a freshman.

90% of the Class of 2013 is taking Spanish 2 or French 2 or higher as

a freshman.

HS Placement100% 95%

over $700,000

The Woods Academy Experience by the Numbers

Faculty85% of our full time teaching staff

hold an advanced degree.8 is the average number of years a faculty

member has taught at The Woods.

95th percentile

2/3 of Woods students

94th percentile.

95th percentile.

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S U M M E R 2014The Woods Academy N E W S

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CLASS OF 2010

Jordan Abdur-Ra’oof was named to the 2nd Team WCAC All-League and Honorable Mention to The Washington Post All-Met Basket-ball Team during his senior year at Gonzaga College High School. He will attend Cornell University on a basketball scholarship.

Madisen Baldwin will attend University of Kentucky.

Agustin Basanes who saw much success in the classroom and on the field at Georgetown Prep will attend Cornell University on a football scholarship.

Michael Belt was a four year member of the Gonzaga swim team, took several AP classes, volunteered at McKenna Center, and tutored inner city youth during his time in high school. He was ac-cepted to every college to which he applied and has decided to study business at Elon University.

Khaleef Bradford a graduate of Landon School will attend the University of Maryland this fall.

Alison Branitsky was one of 20 students to receive a merit schol-arship to attend Mount Holyoke College where she will study neuro-science. During her time at Madeira she held three year-long intern-ships at The Kilmer Center (school for students ages 5-22 with severe to profound learning disabilities), in the House of Representatives for Congressman Richard E. Neal (D-MA), and at The Folger Shakespeare Library.

Justin Cassidy was a member of National Honor Society at Good Counsel. He has received a scholarship to study engineering at Catholic University.

Emeka Egwuagu was recognized as a Madeleva Scholar at Holy Cross and a member of the National Hon-or Society. She plans to attend the College of William and Mary.

Kacie Furcolo took eight AP classes during her time at Bethesda

Chevy Chase High School. She has received a Dean’s Scholarship to University of Maryland, University Honors program where she will study engineering.

Corey Hull played JV Soccer and Rugby at Good Counsel. He plans to attend University of Maryland where he will study electrical engineering or computer science.

Tess Iannarone was a member of the award winning Chemathon Team at Holton-Arms, earned Panther of the Week as a Varsity lacrosse player her sophomore year and member of the Indoor Track team her senior year. She will attend Wesleyan University (CT) where she will play field hockey, study studio art and neuro-science.

Mia Jabara played Varsity Soccer and was a member of National Honor Society at Walter Johnson High School. She plans to major in biological sciences at University Southern California.

Ines Jimenez-Ontiveros received a Medal of Excellence for History and for French at her Georgetown Vis-itation graduation ceremony. She will attend Georgetown University to study political economy.

Grace Kudiwu received the Beatitude Award at her Holy Cross graduation ceremony. She will attend Le Moyne College majoring in computer science with a concen-tration in pre-engineering.

Grace LaPaille received an academic scholarship to University of Dayton.

Alexander Morton will study political science, history and inter-national relations at Rice University. While at Georgetown Prep, he ran track and cross country and received academic awards in US government and politics as well as religion at graduation.

Haley Mulera, a graduate of Stone Ridge School of the Sacred Heart, will attend University of South

Carolina. She plans to major in biology and minor in business.

Alex Noyes will attend the Uni-versity of Maryland where she will be a business major. While in high school at Georgetown Visitation, she played lacrosse and field hock-ey, and ran cross country and track as well as volunteered at the Little Sisters of the Poor in Washington, DC and the St. Francis Inn in Philadelphia.

Anesu Nyawata was named a National Achievement Semifinalist. (Established in 1964, The National Achievement Scholarship Program is an academic competition established to provide acknowl-edgment for outstanding African American high school students. To qualify as a National Achievement Semifinalist, a student must exhibit an exemplary academic record, submit a scholarship application, and earn a qualifying score on the SAT.) After four successful years at Georgetown Prep, he will attend University of Maryland.

Laura Opont received a pres-idential scholarship to Mount Saint Mary’s University and will be majoring in criminal justice.

Amanda Pierce was a member of the Georgetown Visitation STEM team which placed 2nd at K2M STEM Summit at Foxcroft School and was selected a National Merit Commended Scholar in recogni-tion of her performance on the PSAT. She will attend University of Michigan where she plans to study engineering.

Anu Ramdin, a graduate of Sidwell Friends School, will attend Univer-sity of Miami this fall.

Thomas Reese broke the school cross country record in the 5K at 16:08 and finished calculus and AP statistics at St. John’s College High School. He plans to attend

Sewanee, The University of the South (TN) where he will major in engineering.

Peter Rudnicki, a graduate of St. John’s, will attend Virginia Tech and major in business.

Tanner Sampson received an All-Met Honorable Mention from The Washington Post as member of Georgetown Prep’s Varsity baseball team his senior year. He will attend Mount Saint Mary’s University this fall.

Rachael Sandri taught environ-mental and maritime issues on a boat on the Anacostia River for her Senior Project at Sidwell Friends School. She plans to take a GAP year to perform community service and then will attend Dickinson College.

Kelsey Schruefer received and academic scholarship to study anthropology and chemistry at Hamlin University.

Myles Smith performed in The Boys in the Photograph his senior year at Georgetown Day. He has re-ceived an engineering scholarship to Case Western Reserve University.

Caroline Tan will be attending Penn State’s Smeal College of Busi-ness in the fall, majoring in Supply Chain Management. Caroline had a great four years at Visitation where she played softball and volleyball, was a member of the Spanish Hon-or Society, and volunteered with the ThinkPink Club.

Lauren Thomas was a Varsity athlete and scholar during her time at Holy Child. She plans to attend University of Georgia this fall.

Annie Virostek, a graduate of Holy Child, will attend Michigan State.

Attention Alumni!Have you moved or changed your mailing/email address?

Please contact Jodie Shoemaker (alumni@woodsacademy.org) to update all contact information to ensure you receive invitations for your class gatherings and other pertinent alumni information.

Please include the following: • First and Last Name • Maiden Name (if applicable) • Class Year

• Address, City, State, Zip • Home and Mobile # • Email Address

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Welcome Raymond Briscoe, Assistant Head of School!On July 1, Mr. Ray Briscoe joined The Woods Acad-

emy faculty as the next Assistant Head of School. He comes to us from Landon School where he spent 15 years in a variety of roles from fourth grade teacher to Director of Middle School Admissions.

Mr. Briscoe is a native Washingtonian who loves the Redskins and the Wizards. He attended Gonzaga College High School and received his BA from Seton Hall Univer-sity and his master’s degree from Trinity University.

Mr. Briscoe loves to cook for his wife Lisa and two year old daughter Harper. He also loves to travel. He has been to ten countries with Italy being his favorite.

Please join us in welcoming Mr. Briscoe to The Woods community. You will see him getting involved all over campus including teaching a section of fifth grade math this school year.

Faculty & Staff AnniversariesAt the completion of the 2013–2014 school year, the following faculty and staff members celebrated milestone anniversaries at The Woods.

D

5 Years

Chris Maloney, US Religion

10 Years

Krista (Kasten) Taffel, 5th Grade Language Arts & Social Studies

Charmaine Taverner, Art

Lee Wurst, School Nurse & Faculty Support

15 Years and More

JP Clubbs, 7th & 8th Grade Social Studies, Dean of Students

Erin (Jeffers) Ricca, 1st Grade

30 Years

Kathleen Piwko, 7th & 8th Grade Language Arts, High School Placement Coordinator

The Woods Class of 2010 is off to CollegeWe are proud to report on the accomplishments of the members of the Class of 2010 as they graduate from high school and begin their college careers.

The Woods Academy N E W S

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S U M M E R 2014

Share Your NewsPlease send in your Alumni Notes for the next issue of The Woods Academy News to keep your classmates and other Woods friends up to date. Photos are always welcome!Email your updates to Jodie Shoemaker, Director of Marketing, Communications, and Alumni Relations, at alumni@woodsacademy.org

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ALUMNI NOTES AROUND THE WOODS

Grace Heming (2013) a freshman at Stone Ridge School of the Sacred Heart started at second base for the Varsity Softball team this spring.

Noah Montemarano (2013) was the only freshman cast in the fall production of Sweeney Todd at Richard Montgomery High School where he attends the International Baccalaureate Program. Since being bitten by the acting bug at The Woods, he has gone on to be cast in several more productions during his first year of high school.

Adriana Dropulic (2011) and Nadine Harmsen (2011) were both inducted into the French Honor Society at Georgetown Visitation this past February.

Ben Montemarano (2011) has been a member of the Varsity Lacrosse team at St. John’s College High School for the last two years. He just completed his sophomore year.

Matthew Wagner (2011) played the lead role in Poolesville High School’s production of High School Musical this spring. Matthew will be a senior in the Humanities Magnet Program at Poolesville and plans to study music in college.

Drew Montemarano (2009) earned an “All Met” Honorable Mention from The Washington Post for his contributions as captain of the Georgetown Prep Varsity Soccer Team. In addition, Drew was a Kairos leader at Prep. He will attend Notre Dame University this fall.

Brittany Scala (2009) continues her studies at University of South Carolina (USC) as an Art Education major with an emphasis on special needs children. She played on an USC intermural volleyball team, was a member of the USC Outdoors and Mountaineer Clubs, and earned a 3.91 GPA her first semester.

Gabi Santos (2008) a rising junior at University of South Carolina (USC) traveled to Malawi, Africa this summer. During her two weeks there, she worked with eight other girls from USC and the Ministry of Hope Malawi Africa on a mobile medical clinic, crisis nursery, community-based orphan care, and many other projects.

Katherine Farrell (2004) returned to campus in May for her brother Will’s graduation and to give the Alumni Reflection at the ceremony. Katherine just received her Master’s Degree in Education while working for Alliance for Catholic Education at Saint Joseph’s University. This fall she will return to the same under-resourced Catholic school in Philadelphia where she will continue to teach 6th grade.

John Ryan (2001) currently serves as Counsel to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Since his time at The Woods, John graduated from Georgetown Prep in 2005, Cornell University in 2009, and Catholic University Law School in 2012. After law school he worked for Senator Menendez, Chairman of the Senate For-eign Relations Committee and has risen up the organizations’ employment lad-der from Researcher to Legislative Correspondent to Analyst and now Counsel.

Spanish Students Score Well!

Congratulations to several 8th grade Spanish students who attained national recognition

for excellent performance on the 2014 National Spanish Examinations.

The exams are administered once a year to students in grades 6 through 12, and are spon-sored by the American Association of Teachers of Spanish and Portuguese. This year over 154,000 students participated in the exams.

Results are ranked by percentage. For example, if a student scored 70%, that means he/she did better than 70% of all other students in his/her category.

Here is this year’s list of medalists from The Woods:

Gold MedalChristina Dropulic 99th percentile

Gabe Schneider 99th percentile

Nicholas Mori 96th percentile

Maggie Needler 95th percentile

Silver MedalVictoria Smith 90th percentile

Alexandra Pitts 88th percentile

Molly Grant 86th percentile

Bronze MedalJ.D. McLean 75th percentile

Honorable MentionLexi Lynch 70th percentile

Zoe Ungerman 68th percentile

Annalise Hotchkiss 63rd percentile

Chris McCormick 65th percentile

National French Contest ResultsThe fourth and eighth grade French students recently participated in the National

French Contest sponsored yearly by the American Association of Teachers of French (AATF). Thousands of students took the test in Maryland and throughout the United States. The Woods is proud to congratulate the following students for their performance on the 2013 National French Test.

The following 4th grade students placed in the top 10 in Maryland and nationally, receiving a score of 90% or higher, and will receive a silver or bronze medal and certificate of honor:

Amanda Phillips 3rd place in MD and Nationally

Maddie Powers 3rd place in MD and Nationally

Lucia Andres 4th place in MD and Nationally

Yana Hentschel 4th place in MD and Nationally

Ignacio Ascanio Alino 4th place in MD and Nationally

Matias Monasi 6th place in MD and Nationally

The following 8th grade students placed in the top 10 in Maryland and nationally, receiving a score of 90% or higher, and will receive a silver or bronze medal and certificate of honor:

Camille Toner 2nd place in MD and Nationally

Nathaniel Beauchesne 5th place in MD and Nationally

Darius Kuddo 5th place in MD and Nationally

Sharvari Puri 5th place in MD and Nationally

The following 8th grade student scored 85% or higher and earned the following ranks. She will receive a certificate of honor:

McKenna Gazdag 11th place in MD and Nationally

Congratulations to all of our French scholars! Keep up the good work!

Photos from top to bottom: Matthew Wagner (2011) played lead Troy Bolton in Poolesville High School’s production of High School Musical this past spring; Brittany Scala (2009) on a spring break service trip at Florida’s Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge; Katherine Farrell (2004) delivered the Alumni Reflection at this year’s 8th Grade Graduation Ceremony on Friday, May 30.

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S U M M E R 2014The Woods Academy N E W S

AROUND THE WOODS AROUND THE WOODS

2nd Grade Wins National Book ChallengeStudents of Mrs. Hall and Mrs Pilong’s second grade

classes celebrated the publication of their book in a big way. The class was recently notified that their book, Imagine the Creatures of the Deep, had been selected as a winner in the Studentreasures National Book Challenge.

More than one million students from elementary, middle, high school and colleges participate in the student publishing project each year sponsored by Studentreasures and Nation-wide Learning, LLC. These second grade classes were one of thirty selected as a winner this year. The criteria for selection include an eye-catching book cover, an interesting topic or storyline, colorful illustrations and original content.

The students spent several weeks collaborating to write and illustrate their book. Imagine the Creatures of the Deep is an educational book describing different crea-tures they believe to live in the sea. The second grade students incorporated a lot of creativity to describe the creatures and told a story about each. The correspond-ing illustrations were imaginative, detailed and flowed appropriately with the text. As a reward their classroom received a school grant from Studentreasures.

“We are so proud of our second graders and all the hard work they put into their writing and illustrations!” Mrs. Hall and Mrs. Pilong would also like to recognize art teacher Mrs. Taverner for her guidance with the colorful, creative imaginary sea creatures that came to life in her class.

3rd Grade Raises Funds for Wetlands ConservationThe 3rd Grade Flea Market held on Tuesday, May 20 raised over

$1,000 for The Nature Conservancy.

Every spring the 3rd grade tackles an interdisciplinary unit known as the Pond Study. Students research and read, observe and visit, and, most importantly, make connections across subject areas, connections to real life.

After several weeks spent learning about the wetlands ecosystem and even visiting Huntley Meadows Park in VA, the students come to understand the threat that humans and industrialization can have on parks like Huntley Meadows. This recognition makes the 3rd Grade Flea Market the most significant and anticipated activity of the year.

The Woods Academy Arts CelebrationOn May 15 and 16, The Woods Academy presented its Tenth Annual Arts Celebration.

This annual event is a culmination of the year’s work by all students throughout the entire school.

In addition to having our multi-purpose room transformed into an art gallery — showcasing hundreds of paintings, watercolors, pastels, ink drawings, prints, sculptures, and weavings — the exhibition spilled into the hallways of the school.

This year’s drama production was Mulan, a retelling of the old Chinese folktale about a young Chinese maiden who goes to war in her Father’s place and saves China in the process. The audience was entertained by our 7th and 8th grade actors on stage.

When you celebrate children’s art, you celebrate them.

Montessori GraduationReady to move on to full days of classes and uniforms in the Lower School, the Montessori Lunchers graduated on May 30 in a

ceremony full of songs and poetry in English, French, and Spanish. There is no doubt the Lunchers will miss their Montessori teachers and friends, but we are sure they are going to enjoy First Grade!

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The Woods Academy N E W S

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michelangobotn: A student with artistic flair and the wherewithal to engineer a robot.

THE WOODS WORD OF THE DAY: #241

An inclusive Catholic community preparing boys and girls to lead lives of significance. Where curiosity and confidence thrive.

From Montessori through grade 8, our students get involved in so many activities, we had to create a unique

vocabulary just to describe them. Define yourself at The Woods.

Second Graders Make Their First Holy Communion

On May 21st, The Woods celebrated the 21 second

graders who made their First Holy Communion

earlier in the month. The whole school attended mass

prepared by the First Communicants, their classmates,

and teachers. The students also performed a special

Communion hymn, “Jesus, You are Bread for Us.”

The mass was celebrated by Fr. John Enzler, President

and CEO of Catholic Charities, DC.

AROUND THE WOODS

Mighty Owl Athletic Highlights 2014BasketballCongratulations to our JV and Varsity Basketball teams on an outstanding season!

The JV Boys team finished first in the Capital Athletic Conference (CAC) regular season and earned first place in the conference tournament.

The JV Girls team finished second in the CAC regular season and earned first place in the conference tournament.

The Varsity Boys team finished first place in the CAC regular season and earned first place in the CAC tournament.

The Varsity Girls team finished first place in the CAC regular season and earned fourth place in the CAC tournament.

TrackIn late April, The Woods competed in the CAC track meet at Langley School. As you may know, The Woods doesn’t have a track team or fancy track uniforms like a few of the teams do in the CAC. At the end of the day’s events, The Woods Academy finished second overall, behind the much larger student body of Langley. This was the best Woods finish ever at a CAC Track Meet. Congratulations to all who participated!

#241

The Woods Academy6801 Greentree Road Bethesda, MD 20817 301 365 3080www.woodsacademy.org

The Woods Academy News is published by the Marketing & Communications Office of The Woods Academy, 6801 Greentree Road, Bethesda, MD 20817-2210Phone: 301 365 3080Fax: 301 469 6439www.woodsacademy.org

The Woods Academy seeks qualified applicants of every race, religion, nationality, and ethnic origin.

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Upcoming Events at The Woods

Wednesday, September 3 Opening Mass

Friday, October 3 10th Annual Golf Outing

Friday, October 10 30th Annual Grandparents & Special Friends Day

Saturday, February 28 25th Annual Night Owl Auction