Woods Lake Family Weekly
Week of Monday, January 19, 2026 (week 20)
Vision: Woods Lake Elementary: A Magnet Center of the Arts will educate every child, every opportunity, every time!
Mission: Woods Lake Elementary: A Magnet Center of the Arts, is a place where academics and the arts create opportunies in a safe, collaborative environment.
Happy New Year, Woods Lake Families!
This week will be a short one after our unexpected snow days on Monday, January 19 and Tuesday, January 20. I hope your family stayed safe and warm.
Monday was Martin Luther King Jr. Day. We had planned an inspiring event with more than 100 volunteers from Western Michigan University ready to work with our students in honor of Dr. King’s legacy. Unfortunately, the snow forced us to cancel. Because we cannot reschedule with all of those volunteers this year, our hope is to bring the program back and even stronger next year.
A reminder: our last day of school for this term is tomorrow, Thursday, January 22, 2026. There is not school for students on Friday, January 23, 2026. Teachers will use the day to analyze student data and finalize ratings for competencies on report cards. I will send details about when report cards will be available electronically as soon as that information is finalized.
Thank you for your understanding and continued support of Woods Lake students and staff.
Warmly,
Ms. Prather
Interim Principal
Woods Lake Elementary
Third grade is a big year for students! All of the skills they learn in K-2 are what they use to deepen their understanding of new and more complex content. Students will still receive 90 minutes of reading and 75 minutes of math instruction. This is also the first year students will take the M-Step test, additional after school programs like Kids in Tune and Girls on the run become available, and students are officially considered upper elementary students!
In reading, students are applying their foundational reading skills to increase their comprehension of their reading. Students spend more time reading and analyzing more complex texts. There are multiple opportunities for students to make connections and read about topics that apply to several subject areas, especially Social Studies. Students learn how to not only strengthen their comprehension skills, they also learn how to effectively write in response to what they read as a way to support their comprehension and expand it. They also spend a large amount of time expanding their vocabulary in order to strengthen their reading and writing skills.
In math students are starting to work on multiplying, dividing, and fractions throughout the year. We touch on topics like units of measurement, place value, and area to help enhance that understanding. The focus on multiplication and division will help set the foundation for their math career in later grades.
In science students get to explore many different topics. Starting with motion and forces students get to learn how the world around them works, as well as open up new ideas about what careers are available in science like Engineering. We move to Inheritance and Traits where students can learn about not just how traits are passed down, but how that applies to them! Finally students learn about how animals use traits to survive in different environments.
Ms. Almy
Ms. Hodge
Mr. Will
Celebration our great behavior in Ms. Bond's class with popcorn.
Working with Western Michigan University students on fun activitites during our Multicultural Celebration!
1/19: Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration with WMU students-CANCELED
1/23: No School- Records Day
1/26: Beginning of 2nd Semester, WIDA testing window starts, Hot Breakfast Monday
1/27: Virtual PTO @ 7 PM, Family Engagement Opportunity for Parents at Milwood Magnet Middle School (see flyer below)
2/2: No School
