Over the course of the last year students from both Woodstock high schools have been corresponding with students from Notre Dame de Saint Victor and Sainte Marie in Épernay, France.

Woodstock students are visiting France from March 15-28, living with host families and attending school.  Students and teachers will also immerse themselves in the culture by touring the Cave de Champagne Mercier, Eiffel Tower, city of Troyes and the Louvre. 

In April, the French students will travel to Woodstock and spend a week with host families while attending high school. Upon their arrival in Woodstock, students and teachers will be treated to a truly American event - a potluck dinner at Woodstock North High School. The high school band is currently practicing the French national anthem to play for the visitors.  Woodstock host families will treat our visitors to a tour of the Square, a meeting with Mayor Sager, a concert at WNHS and a trip to downtown Chicago to visit the Art Institute, John Hancock Center and Millennium Park.  

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For the last four years, Woodstock North High School students in Mike Wargaski's art classes have participated in The Memory Project.  The project was founded in 2003 by Ben Schumaker while he was a student at University of Wisconsin.  Ben volunteered at an orphanage in Guatemala and saw that the children there had very few keepsakes from their childhoods.  Ben enlisted the help of high school students to create portraits of the children that they could take wherever they went.

Mr. Wargaski's students receive a photograph of a child, and then use their artistic talents to create a portrait.  Recently WNHS students Brandon Citron, Cheyenne Jimerson, Autumn Mayer and Molly Schwieger talked about their experiences working with The Memory Project.

While Brandon used pencil to create the portrait of the child

A student proudly shows off her portrait, created by WNHS Senior Cheyenne Jimerson.

from Thailand, others in the group used paint, colored pencils and ink.  All students agreed that this project is different than other service projects that students do.  "It's more personal to give something we created."  They also understand the global impact of what they have done, "There is not a language barrier with art."

In December, the portraits were delivered to the orphanage in Thailand, and a video showing the reactions of the children was produced and sent to Mr. Wargaski.  In addition, the WNHS students received a photo of their child holding the portrait. 

Mr. Wargaski keeps track of where the portraits have gone by placing push pins into a world map that hangs in his classroom. 

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When Creekside Middle School social studies teacher Eric Schleutermann talks about using technology to teach history, his eyes light up.  "Having Chromebooks in my classroom has been an awesome experience for me and my students.  It has given us the opportunity to bring history directly into the classroom specifically with the use of Google Hangouts."

In 2009, as part of the Teaching American

Creekside teacher Eric Schleutermann works with a student on a Chromebook.

History Grant, retired Stevenson High School History teacher Barry Bradford came and spoke to D200 social studies teachers.  Mr. Bradford had been instrumental in reopening the unsolved mystery surrounding the murders that were the premise for the movie, "Mississippi Burning."  The two history teachers kept in touch and now Barry is helping Eric's students learn about World War I and II using Google Hangouts.

Google Hangouts is a communication tool similar to Skype or Face Time where people can talk via computer while seeing each other's image on the screen.  Prior to the Hangout, Mr. Bradford posts information on his blog about historical events that students are studying.  Students read the material and prepare and post questions on his blog that can be answered while they "hangout." 

Bailey Stefko, one of the students participating in the hangouts, says that she now loves history even more than she already did.  "Mr. Bradford has studied history so much and has spoken to people who have been in wars and have had experiences in the past that he has shared with us.  Books don't give you firsthand knowledge like that."

Eric is happy to bring other content area experts into his classroom as a means to bring history alive for his students.  "I want to give my students a way to understand that there is a larger world beyond Woodstock.  They can't understand history until they have lived it.  If I can give that to my students, than I am taking learning to the next level." 

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For several years, radio station Star 105.5, in cooperation with

Congratulations to Teacher of  the Month Matt Wesley!

Home State Bank, has sponsored a Teacher of the Month program to honor outstanding teachers in McHenry County.  Northwood Middle School 8th grade U.S. History teacher Matt Wesley is the February recipient of the award. 

Matt was nominated by former student Megan Zapfe, who wrote in her nomination that, "Mr. Wesley was just the most amazing teacher in and out of class.  He was at school early and late in order to help you understand in class."

Matt received a recognition certificate from Star 105.5 and a check for $100 from Home State Bank. 

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Founded in 1956 by President Dwight D. Eisenhower, People to

WHS sophomore Sophie Rogers is congratulated by Supt. Moan and Board President Goodwin.

People International (PTPI), is an organization dedicated to

understanding and promoting friendship among people of different countries.  In order to promote its belief that art is a universal language, PTPI invited students worldwide to create Global Youth Murals, artwork that illustrated their cultures and communities and/or their ideas about global issues and peace and how we are connected. 

Sophie's award-winning artwork.

Woodstock High School art teacher Herb Kruse provided his classes with information about the mural competition and encouraged them to submit their artwork.  Sophomore Sophie Rogers, who was a freshman at the time of submission, fully committed to the project by creating a mural based on the theme Connecting Countries and Cultures.  Sophie worked on the project independently because she wanted to do something "global" for community service credit.

In December, Sophie was notified that her mural was one of six secondary level murals selected to receive an award and be featured in the 2014-2015 edition of PTPI's magazine, PEOPLE. 

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Beginning last fall, a group of 17 Woodstock High School students from Students Against Destructive Decisions (SADD) embarked on a campaign to get students, parents, staff members and the community to not drive while distracted or drunk.  The campaign was part of a grant the school received from the Illinois Department of Transportation called "Operation Teen Safe Driving."  The group counted the number of people using seatbelts, created videos and announcements to inform students about the dangers of distracted driving, asked students to sign no texting pledges and designed safe driving displays in the school.

Woodstock High School's SOS (Streaks Observe Safety) Group

As part of the grant, the group had to create and submit a Power Point presentation outlining their activities.  The group, which used the tagline, "Streaks Observe Safety" (SOS), won 3rd place in the region and are the only McHenry County school in the top five.

They will receive a check for $1,500 that can be used for prom activities and will also take part in the "Driving Skills for Life, Ride and Drive" event taking place at US Cellular Field on April 30, which is sponsored by the Ford Motor Company Fund. Students will observe professional drivers on three separate courses demonstrating critical driving skills and will then have the opportunity to drive the same courses with the professional driver sitting in the passenger seat to provide tips and assistance.

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SHAPE Woodstock is sponsoring a workshop on Thursday, April 9th featuring Paul Zientarski.  Zientarski is the founder of the Learning Readiness Program for Naperville School District 203.  He will discuss how he and other educators have made a difference in the lives of students through exercise.  

Research shows that students who participate in physical activity before they begin their academic classes have a longer attention span, have higher reading comprehension scores, and perform better on standardized tests than students who do not exercise.  This seminar is one in a series of presentations that will inform parents about the positive impact physical activity and good nutrition have on the academic lives of children.

All participants will have a chance to win prizes such as: pedometers, basketballs, footballs, snowshoes and much more!  The workshop will be held in the Woodstock North High School Auditorium, beginning at 6:00 p.m.  For more information about SHAPE Woodstock, including upcoming events, programs, links and photos, please visit the SHAPE Woodstock webpages at: http://grants.woodstockschools.org/SHAPEWoodstock.

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