The Woodland Weekly

At Woodland School, we believe learning should be both meaningful and fun. Our teachers do an incredible job creating joyful classroom environments while thoughtfully differentiating instruction to meet the needs of every student. The same is true for our specials teachers, service providers, and interventionists, who all play an important role in supporting and engaging our students.

We’ve been capturing many of these special moments, and thanks to Mrs. Brady’s social media expertise, we’re able to showcase students’ hard work, creativity, and even their amazing dance moves! If you’re not already following us, we encourage you to check out our social media pages using the links below to see all the great things happening at Woodland.

Warmly,

Emma and Kayla

erood@stgrsd.org

kbrady@stgrsd.org

413-569-6598

As we continue to strengthen our school community, we would love to hear from you. What does “school community” mean to you and your family? Your thoughts and perspectives are incredibly valuable and will help guide our work moving forward. Please share your ideas by clicking the link below. We are genuinely interested in hearing your thoughts.

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

April 16: PTO Meeting @ 5:30 in WS Cafe

April 20-24: Spring Vacation: NO SCHOOL

April 27-May 1: Spirit Week

April 28: Kindergarten (C102 & C106) Field Trip

April 29: Kindergarten (C103, C104, C105) Field Trip

May 4-8: Teacher Appreciation Week

It's hard to believe that there are less than 40 days left of the 2025-2026 school year!

Students in second grade are beginning my favorite project of the school year: Model Magic cupcakes! They learn basic pottery techniques to create their cupcakes, and will be painting them and putting them on display in the "Woodland Bakery". They look so delicious, they'll make your mouth water!

First graders have been making a bunch of fun animals, and are currently working on grumpy monkeys. I hope they make you smile when you see them!

Kindergarten students have made caterpillars inspired by the very hungry caterpillar, and then made beautiful butterflies in specimen boxes. This was the first year I did this project and I was so impressed with how they turned out!

The preschoolers and I had way too much fun doing scooter art, where the students laid on a scooter on their belly with two markers and we pulled them along to draw crazy lines on a large piece of white paper. They enjoyed the project so much they asked to do it again the next week!

I'm excited for you all to see the beautiful artwork your kiddos are doing. As always, feel free to reach out to me any time at sbeebe@stgrsd.org!

Ms. Stacey Beebe

During the month of April, Pre-K-2nd grade students at Woodland practiced paddle and racket skills along with volleyball skills in physical education class. They worked on forehand and backhand skills with a balloon and paddle and for volleyball skills- the bump (forearm pass) and the set using balloons. Students practiced individually and with partners. They also learned about the history of volleyball and the Volleyball Hall of Fame located in Holyoke, MA.

Our next unit will focus on team games and cooperative games as we make our way towards Field day which is scheduled for Thursday, June 4th with a rain date of Friday, June 5th. If you would like to volunteer, please look for the volunteer form in the newsletter.

If you have any questions, please contact me at marchambeault@stgrsd.org

Stay Active!

Mr. A

Hello Woodland families,

We've been having a lot of fun in STEM in the last few weeks. Students in all grades learned about bioluminescence (when animals create their own light) and biofluorescence (when an animal changes color under UV light). 2nd grade students painted jellyfish with biofluorescent (neon) paint and used blacklight flashlights to make them glow. 1st grade and kindergarten used highlighters to create the same effect with blacklights, with 1st grade coloring jellyfish and kindergarten creating their own biofluorescent animals. Preschool got in on the fun too, painting their own creations and using the blacklights to make them glow!

I hope everyone remembered to celebrate Earth Day over April break! Here in STEM we're using it as a jumping off point to talk about the 3 R's (reduce, reuse recycle) and other ways we can help keep our Earth clean and green. 2nd grade has already used their engineering skills to create tools to pick up litter and 1st and kindergarten are learning all about recycling. Remember: "Every day is Earth Day!"

--Mrs. Brown

In Digital Literacy we have been using new robots, Botley and Botley 2.0! We have been making obstacle courses for our robots, typing, and even going on virtual field trips!

Students have been very creative and their ability to cooperate and share ideas has been amazing! We will be learning more about technology, careers in technology and block coding in the next few weeks. Keep up the great work!!

Mrs. Murray

Hello Everyone,

Believe it or not, it is almost Spring Concert time! All students have been working extremely hard to learn their songs for the concert. Many of these songs can be found on YouTube, either on my own YouTube page or other pages.

Pre-K students have been enjoying using juggling scarves to move to recorded music and pretend play when we sing "3 Hungry Ants."

In Kindergarten, we are composing our own animal songs after listening to "The Carnival of the Animals". We have been using Chrome Music Lab: Song Maker, which is a free online music tool. There are many other fun games and tools on Chrome Music Lab to check out as well.

First grade students are learning the "Cup Game" and creating new versions of the game to play in class. Check out this video to practice playing at home!

Second grade students worked together to compose a beautiful song for our Spring Concert. We are now learning about the scale and how to name the lines and spaces of the staff.

Check out March's Musician of the Month - Joni Mitchell - and her beautiful music!

I look forward to seeing you at our Concert - just keep singing!

Mrs. Peirce

kpeirce@stgrsd.org

Kindergartners, first, and second graders are all working on the Problem Solving unit in SEL (Social Emotional Learning) with Mrs. Crawford and Mrs. Murray. Here are some students in Mrs. Schindel’s class dancing their troubles away!! See if your students know the steps- 1. SAY the problem 2. THINK Of solutions 3. EXPLORE consequences 4. PICK the best solution (S-T-E-P!)

You can even try it out with them with a real-life problem in the moment! Remember, we need to be calm first (in the green zone) to solve a problem!

Once again our annual field day is nearly upon us. Field day is a day of fun in which the students participate in 10 challenging events. It will be held on Thursday, June 4, 2026 (rain date Friday, June 5th.). The morning session will run from 9:40 – 11:00, and the afternoon session will run from 12:50 – 2:10. Volunteers will be accepted on a first come first serve basis. If you would like to assist us, please contact the school office at wes_office@stgrsd.org as soon as possible. We will contact you shortly thereafter with further details.

We are very thankful for our partnership with Neighborhood Forest who made it possible to send trees home to over 50 families! If you didn't get one this year, keep your eyes open in February/March of next year as we hope to participate in this program again. If you took any pictures of your student with their tree, please send to kbrady@stgrsd.org to showcase on social media.

The STGRSD School Nutrition Department would like to remind families that milk is available for FREE with all reimbursable meals. Students can opt to take a milk, fruit, and vegetable and this will count as a reimbursable meal. If a student wishes to take only a milk and no other meal components, there will be a $0.50 charge. We encourage parents/guardians to discuss this with their student and add funds to their SchoolCafe account via the instructions on our webpage if the student wishes to purchase milk on a regular basis. Thank you for your understanding and cooperation. Please contact us at 413-569-6870 with any questions.

SUN Bucks (Summer EBT) is a federal food benefit that helps low-income families with school-aged children buy food when schools are closed for the summer. Click the link below for more information.

Woodland School is excited to announce that enrollment for kindergarten for the 2026-2027 academic year is now open. Families with children who will be five years old on or before September 1, 2026, are encouraged to register their child by May 1, 2026. Early registration ensures eligibility for the Kindergarten Screenings, scheduled to take place on May 28 and 29, 2026.

How to Enroll To begin the enrollment process and learn more about the requirements, you can tap the picture above or visit the Woodland School enrollment page at:

https://www.stgrsd.org/community/enrollment

The enrollment page includes detailed information about necessary documentation and the steps to complete the registration process. Families are encouraged to complete all required forms promptly to secure their spot in this exciting program.

Don’t miss this important milestone in your child’s education! For questions or assistance with enrollment, please contact Woodland School at 413-569-6598 or WES_Office@stgrsd.org.

We look forward to welcoming your family to Woodland School and partnering with you in your child’s educational journey.

If you know families with kindergarten-aged children, please spread the word about this important opportunity!

Our school district is in need of Substitute Registered Nurses (RNs), and we know many of our families have talented healthcare professionals among them!

Substitute nurses play a crucial role in keeping our students safe and healthy each day. They support our school health offices by caring for student needs, administering medications, attending field trips, and ensuring a welcoming, well-supported environment for all children. Plus, the hours are pretty great!

If you or someone you know is a Massachusetts licensed RN who enjoys working with kids and is looking for a flexible way to support our schools, we’d love to connect! Please reach out to Lead Nurse, Ashley Chicoine at achicoine@stgrsd.org for more information.

Thank you for helping us keep our students healthy!