July 5, 2017

Dear Parents,

I hope you had a wonderful Fourth of July! There seemed to be a lot going on in the community and it was fun to see some fellow Cardinals at the bike parade and to hear about the fun at the annual firehouse pancake breakfast. It felt a bit strange to celebrate on a Tuesday, but I hope you were able to spend some good time reflecting on the freedoms granted us as Americans and the cost of protecting those freedoms (more on that later).

Our elementary teaching staff is set. New additions to our teacher roster are Erica Diehl (Kindergarten), Samantha Poole (3rd Grade), Garricyn Richert (4th Grade), and Kristie Foster (5th Grade). All four additions have experience teaching or substitute teaching and other related experience outside of the classroom. With mentor teachers alongside at each grade level, we expect that all four will really thrive and bless the WCS community. A bit more information about each addition is attached.

With all six new classrooms in place, our site work contractors, Biondi, have returned to backfill around the buildings and begin paving. They will start adding the asphalt by Friday and should finish up early next week. After the asphalt is compete, we will reseal and stripe much of the MS/HS campus and re-stripe all parking lots and driveways. If you follow us on Instagram, you saw that John Rodegerdts and Paul Hermle began the landscape project for the courtyard between the MS/HS Office and our A-wing. That area will receive a new look in fitting with the landscape of our elementary campus and it will be accentuated by the donated tree from the class of 2017. Construction of our new MS locker enclosures will begin shortly, as well. The space will have increased protection from weather and better flow/accessibility for students.

As work continues at WCS it sounds like our students continue to work hard and do great things in the community. WCS elementary student Aubrey McLin has not taken a summer break from spreading awareness for dysautonomia. Check out an article posted by the Daily Democrat describing her efforts this summer. The article also provides a bit more information about the condition. We love to celebrate the great things our students and families are participating in this summer. Please write in and let us know what you have been up to or anything you have coming up. We would also love to hear about any trips or activities we can keep in prayer.

I hope you are finding time to plow through your summer reading list. The Fourth of July reminded me to start reading Eric Metaxas’ If You Can Keep It. Metaxas is one of my favorite thinkers and has written great biographies on some amazing people. He tackles many current moral, spiritual, and political topics with great insight, intelligence, and humor. If You Can Keep It takes a look at the founding of America and how we are doing in upholding their vision of liberty and justice. As with all recommendations, the person/content does not speak for WCS, but I think it would be a great read. More information can be found here. Have an awesome rest of the week!

God Bless,

Justin Smith
Administrator, WCS

 

Woodland Christian School 1787 Matmor Rd Woodland CA 95776