The Woodland Weekly

Warmly,

Emma Rood, Principal

Kayla Brady, Assistant Principal

erood@stgrsd.org

kbrady@stgrsd.org

413-569-6598

https://www.stgrsd.org/community/calendars/s_t_g_r_s_d_calendar_of_events

September

Sept 24 - Open House 6:00-7:00
Sept 25 - Staff Collab 1/2 Day (12:00 PM dismissal no PM PreK)
Sept 30 - Picture Day

October

Oct 2 - After School Fun Fundraiser with SRS Students

Oct 8 - Parent Teacher conferences 1/2 Day (12:00 PM dismissal no PM PreK)

Oct 9 - Post Conferences 1/2 Day (12:00 PM dismissal no PM PreK)

Oct 12 - No School: Columbus/Indigenous People's Day

Oct 15 - PTO meeting @PMS cafeteria 5:30

In preschool, we are learning all about how each child is important. We are talking about what makes us special and how we are both the same and different from others.

In literacy, we are practicing phonological awareness through our daily Heggerty lessons. The children are having fun listening for sounds in words and playing with rhymes.

In math, we are working on recognizing and counting the numbers 1, 2, and 3.

We are also practicing how to play with others, take turns, and share toys and ideas. These social skills help us build friendships and enjoy our classroom community.

The children are loving their special classes each week! They get to explore and create in Art and Music, move their bodies in Physical Education, investigate and discover in STEM, and build their technology skills in Computers.

Our first few weeks of School:

Our Kindergarten students have spent the last few weeks learning school and kindergarten routines. Watching the students gain more independence around the classroom has been wonderful to see. As we leap into learning, students are practicing the basics of how to hold and move writing utensils to make different shapes and lines that make up our alphabet letters and objects in our illustrations. Additionally, they have been exploring all the different math tools that we will be using in our math curriculum.

The kindergarten students have also been exploring a variety of play areas that we have in the classrooms. Providing opportunity for free choice and free play is an important part of our kindergarten classrooms. These are the chances for us to see and foster cooperative, responsible and respectful play with peers. This also creates opportunities for problem solving when things do not go their way.

First graders are working hard, and our school year is off to a great start! We have been working on establishing classroom routines and following our Woodland CARES expectations. We will spend lots of time working on what is expected of us as first-grade learners!

We have just kicked off our first reading unit, Nice to Meet You! Students will explore stories about creating friendships and learning new things/having new experiences. We will begin our phonics work with all the short vowel sounds and blending and reading CVC words. We will also begin our writing unit with an oral class story and then move into narrative/personal stories about "one time" when something happened.

Our math thinking is well underway as we have explored all about how our brain is a muscle that we grow by learning new things and solving things in different ways! We are beginning our first unit now and will build off our fluency within 5 (from kindergarten) and explore adding and subtracting within 10.

Second graders are settling into their new classes and working hard! We are focused on establishing routines and showing CARES. Students have also been engaging in beginning-of-year activities designed to help them get to know classmates and prepare for the year ahead.

In math, students are working on a week of inspirational math. This involves lessons and activities that are designed to help students see math as a creative, visual, and collaborative subject rather than a rigid set of rules. Many of the activities explicitly teach students that making mistakes and struggling are a natural and healthy part of growing the brain. Soon, we will begin work on Unit 1: Adding, Subtracting, and Working with Data. In this unit, students build on what they learned about addition and subtraction in grade 1 and begin working on addition and subtraction facts within 20. They also explore

representing and interpreting data in picture graphs and bar graphs, and they use these graphs to solve story problems involving addition and subtraction within 100.

In reading, students are learning about routines and have started beginning-of-year assessments. Results of these assessments will be shared during October conferences. Soon, work will begin on Module 1 of reading and writing: Be a Super Citizen. Students will be learning about what it means to be a good citizen at home, at school, and in the community. Children will also write a personal narrative about something they’ve done to make the world a better place. To support this work at home, discuss our three important words as you read or talk with your child: citizen, difference, and kind. One way to do that is to ask your child questions, such as: What can you do to show you are a good citizen? How can you make a difference in our neighborhood? What are some things we could do to be kind to others?

In social studies, students are working on a citizenship and community unit. Topics include how people earn income, how people decide what to spend money on, rights and responsibilities. We are looking forward to our community event to be held on September 25!

Tricks of the Trade: Building Routines for a Successful School Year

As we settle into a new school year, September and October are great times to focus on creating strong routines at home. Children thrive when they know what to expect, and predictable routines can help reduce stress, increase independence, and improve cooperation.

Try These Tips:

• Use Visual Supports: Pictures, checklists, or simple written schedules can help children understand daily expectations. Try using a visual list for morning routines, homework time, or bedtime.

• Catch Your Child Being Successful: Praise the behaviors you want to see more often. For example: “Great job putting your backpack away!” or “I love how you started your homework right away!” Specific praise helps children know exactly what they did well.

• Break Big Tasks into Smaller Steps: If your child feels overwhelmed by a task, break it into manageable pieces. Instead of “Clean your room,” try: put toys away, put dirty clothes in the hamper, and make the bed.

• Give Choices When Possible: Offering choices can increase cooperation and independence. For example: “Would you like to do homework at the table or the desk?”

• Be Consistent: Children learn best when expectations are clear and predictable. Try to keep routines and responses consistent from day to day.

Parent Reminder

Progress does not happen overnight. Celebrate small successes and remember that every positive step is worth recognizing. Consistent encouragement and practice help children build skills that last a lifetime.

This Month's Challenge: Choose one daily routine, such as morning or bedtime, and add a visual schedule or checklist. You may be surprised by how much independence your child can develop!

Dear Woodland Math Families,

Welcome to a new school year at Woodland School! My name is Beth Grady, and I am excited to introduce myself as Woodland School’s Math Interventionist. This is my 27th year in the Southwick-Tolland-Granville Regional School District, and I feel fortunate to continue working with our wonderful students and families.

My passion is helping every child build confidence in math. I truly believe that we are all math people! Too often, students feel nervous about math, and research shows that those feelings can make it harder to remember and think clearly. My goal is to provide support that helps students see math as something they can approach with curiosity and confidence rather than fear.

Students may work with me in two ways:

• In the classroom (push-in services): I will join math classes to provide extra support as students learn alongside their peers.

• In small groups (pull-out services): I meet with students in a smaller setting to focus on building specific skills needed to succeed in math class. These small groups can vary in duration. The groups are fluid and flexible to meet the needs of all students.

I look forward to working with your child to support their growth. Together, we can make math a positive and empowering part of their learning journey. Please don’t hesitate to reach out if you have any questions or if you’d like to connect about your child’s progress.

Warmly,

Beth Grady

bgrady@stgrsd.org

It is hard to believe we are already over 2 weeks into the school year! We would like to take this opportunity to introduce or reintroduce ourselves. We are Rebecca Crawford and Molly Murray, Woodland's School Adjustment Counselors. We are so excited to begin working with your students or work with your students again doing social emotional learning (SEL) lessons! This year, Mrs. Crawford is working with PreK, Kindergarten, and programs, and Mrs. Murray will be working with 1st and 2nd grade.

We provide services for ALL students and assist with any challenges related to the stages of student growth in the areas of personal, emotional, academic, and social development. Some of our services include:

• Small lunch group sessions, such as lunch bunches, focusing on topics such as building positive social skills and friendships, managing emotions, self-confidence, structured and unstructured play time, problem solving, and much more!

• Individual check-ins to help students with school challenges on an as-needed basis.

• Classroom Social Emotional Learning (SEL) lessons with emphasis on feeling identification, self-control, building empathy, emotional regulation, and peer problem solving. We see every classroom at school at least once a week!

• Referral assistance to other outside programs and services in the community as needed.

If you have any questions regarding our roles or questions or concerns regarding school or related to your child(ren), please do not hesitate to contact us. We look forward to working together with you this year. Be on the lookout for future S'mores updates from us on what students are focusing on in their SEL lessons!

Warmly,

Molly Murray & Rebecca Crawford

Please read and discuss the Woodland School Handbook with your child(ren) as soon as possible. The handbook can be found by clicking the button below.

The handbook contains important information and expectations that are critical to your child’s success as a student during the 2026–2027 school year. Once you have completed your review, please tap the receipt button to acknowledge that you have read the handbook no later than Friday, September 25, 2026.

Students are expected to follow the policies and procedures outlined in the handbook. We are happy to answer any questions you may have about the Woodland School Handbook or other District policies.

We are excited to welcome our families to Open House on Thursday, September 24!

This special evening is a wonderful opportunity to visit classrooms, explore the school, and see the great learning taking place throughout our building.

Open House Hours:
Hallways and classrooms will be open from 6:00-7:00 p.m. Please note: grade level hallways will not be open until 6:00 even though the book fair will be open.

Book Fair:
The Book Fair will open at 5:30 p.m. in the cafeteria for families who would like extra time to browse and shop before Open House begins.

In addition to this evening of shopping, students will have the opportunity to shop during school hours on September 22 and 23. See the schedule below for your student's date and time.

We look forward to seeing you and sharing an evening of learning, community, and excitement. Thank you for your continued partnership and support!

We can't wait to welcome you on September 24!

School pictures will be taken September 30th! (make up day is November 12th) Below is the link to preorder school pictures. The prepaid code is 5G3Z8Y6W.

✨Are you buying back to school labels for your student’s water bottles, jackets, EVERYTHING?

You can support PAWS PTO with your purchase. 👍🏻

Go to campaigns.mabelslabels.com and search PAWS PTO (Southwick). Click on our fundraiser page and shop.

‼️This fundraiser has no end date so you can shop anytime and still benefit our schools 😊

The SRS Class of 2028 is hosting a fundraiser here at Woodland School on Friday, October 2. They will have lots of fun activities for students to do with their friends. High school students visited classrooms this week to explain the event and hand out permission slips. Permission slips will be due September 25th.

Woodland School needs substitutes for the 26-27school year. Being a substitute offers great flexibility, because you can choose the days you want to work! When teachers are absent, they leave the substitute a detailed lesson plan to follow. Interested? Have questions? Give us a call at 413-569-6598.