Weekly Stallion Update

2023-2024

WSMS School Supply List

Registration and Enrollment

WSMS Calendar

KSHSAA Physical Packets

Notes from Mr. Carter

Since its founding in 2019, WSMS has been dedicated to providing the best middle school education and experience to our 6th-8th grade students. We are dedicated to giving our students the opportunity to grow, learn, and try new things. Our teachers and staff are some of the best educators who strive to meet the needs of all students and give them a sense of belonging and community. Each member of the Stallion Family is an integral part of creating a culture and environment where students can feel safe and have the opportunity to be their best selves.

At Woodland Spring, a student will have the opportunity to be part of many different activities:

Fine Arts: Choir, Band, Orchestra, Art, Theater
College and Career Readiness: STEM, Computer Science, Computer Applications, Family and Consumer Sciences, Foods, Engineering Applications
21st Century Skills: Foreign Language Exploration, Spanish 1, Journalism/Yearbook
Athletics: Football, Volleyball, Cheer, Cross Country, Girls Basketball, Wrestling, Boys Basketball, Track
Activities: STUCO, Science Olympiad, Clubs

Woodland Spring Middle School is a fantastic school that represents the whole USD 230 community. I am proud to be your principal. Please reach out if you need anything, I am here for you and our students.

Cooper Allison Named 2023 Horizon Award Recipient

The State of Kansas announced the recipients of the 2023 Kansas Horizon Award. Ms. Cooper Allison, 6th grade ELA teacher at WSMS was notified through a phone call from Commisioner of Education Randy Watson that she has received this recognition. The Horizon Award recognizes 32 first-year teachers from around the state for their exemplary performance during their first year of teaching. We are proud to have Ms. Allison as a member of the WSMS and USD 230 community of educators.

What is PLC all about?

The answer is simple. PLCs are about our students.

Wednesday is a Late Start PLC Day. During this time our staff will be meeting with all content area teachers at the middle school level to continue to meet our students academic needs. They will be studying our essential standards, and looking at data to plan quality instruction for our students, as well as plan for intervention and enrichment for students.

Some may wonder why we believe so strongly in Professional Learning Communities. We believe that PLCs give our students the best opportunities to learn. As we build teacher collective efficacy, our students benefit. John Hattie, an education researcher studied thousands of research studies on the factors that influence student achievement. The one factor that had the greatest impact on student achievement was collective efficacy. The number one goal of PLCs is to build collective efficacy.

That is all great but how does that apply to Woodland Spring Middle School? We are very early in our development as a PLC and we have a lot of work to do in building our expertise as a PLC. This work is focused on four questions;

What do we want our students to learn?

To answer this question, we clearly identify the essential standards students need to know to be successful.

How will we know if they are learning?

To answer this question, teachers are developing common formative assessments to effectively measure student progress on essential standards.

What will we do if they did not learn?

This question requires the design of Tier 1 (Classroom) intervention strategies to help meet the needs of students as well as interventions beyond the classroom intentionally designed for students who need targeted supports as well as intensive supports.

What will we do if they have already learned it?

This question helps our staff focus on enrichment opportunities that are designed to extend learning for students as they master essential standards.

The PLC process is completely driven by student data. For the first time, our teachers are able to collaborate with the right tools in place to effectively meet our students needs. The data paints the best picture. We are excited about the future for our students and are grateful for the opportunity to work as a PLC to get there.

We Need you!

At Woodland Spring Middle School we need paraprofessionals and Nutrition Services Workers. If you are interested in a rewarding opportunity to work with great students and staff, we would love to talk with you. WSMS is a great place to work. If you would like to find more information about employment opportunities in our district you can apply online at Job openings: Classified Instructional Support Webpage or you can reach out to Mr. Carter at carterp@usd230.org and he would be happy to visit with you about the opportunities at WSMS.