News

Wolverine News
March 9, 2010
Update from the Head of School

Dear Parents,
Stanford testing will be March 9th through 11th for first through eighth grade.
An Open House for prospective students and their parents was held this past Sunday. Enrollment is now open for new students as we wanted our current families to have the first opportunity for placement. There are some grades which have had waiting lists in the past and will again this year. New student enrollment for next year is at record high.
Thank you to all parents and staff members who helped chaperone, coach, and prepare our students for all presentations and competitions.
Parents we need to ask that you please remember it is now against the law to use you cell phone in the carline. We want to have the safest environment possible for all of our students and parents. We ask that you help keep everyone safe by driving carefully and not using your phone while waiting in the carline.
Ken West
Head of School

Counselor’s Corner
Thank you to all who helped out and attended the College Fair last Monday, it was a success! Please also save the date to attend the Houston National College Fair on April 11th.
Location: George R. Brown Convention Center Exhibit Hall C 1001 Avenida de las Americas Houston, TX 77010 713/853-8000

Fair Hours: Sunday, April 11, 2010 1:00 p.m.–4:00 p.m.
To register and receive information from colleges, you may visit: http://www.gotomyncf.com/NACACReg.asp?EID=85
Stanford testing is being conducted this week for all 1st-8th graders. We hope to have all scores returned to us by the middle of May at the latest. If you have any questions at all, please do not hesitate to contact me via e-mail at asmith@woodlandsprep.org.

7th Grade Writers are State Finalists!
We are pleased to announce that 7th graders Maria Jose Rodriguez Barrera and Kaitlyn Zoeller have been named state finalists in the Library of Congress’ Letters About Literature Contest. Their letters were chosen to be among 100 finalists out of more than 2,400 entries. The letters are currently being judged with the other finalists to determine the State Winner. The contest asks that students compose a letter to their favorite author (living or deceased) and tell he/she why they were influenced or touched by the work. Maria wrote a letter in praise of the many influential speeches given by Winston Churchill. Kaitlyn wrote a letter to Jane Austen about her favorite book, Pride and Prejudice. State winners will be announced near the end of March! Congratulations!

Research, Research, Research!
The 8th graders have been hard at work preparing research papers about agricultural innovations for a Texas A&M essay competition. The research papers addressed a wide array of issues here in Texas including the overuse of pesticides on our produce, hormone use in dairy cows, and Nutria rats and fire ants destroying our land! Many students also submitted artwork to coincide with their research. We are so proud of our hard-working 8th graders for all the research they have completed!

2nd place winners in FLL Championship
Eighty Schools competed at the First Lego League Championship on Saturday, Feb 27th. Andrew Ratajack, Richard Perry, Kevin Dural, Arish Momin and Hasan Saleemi represented WPS. The boys' hard work earned them 2nd place in the Creative Pro Presentation. The team was coached by Ms. Olayeye and Mr. Randell, a parent volunteer. Way to go team!

Sci-Tech
The Woodlands Prep Robotics team consisiting of Michael Nguyen, Adam Johnson, and Dane Sawyer competed in the Sci://Tech Engineering Design Competition against 197 teams from 8 junior high schools in the Conroe area, the boys finished 10th place earning them a chance to compete again at the Sci://Tech Expo at Lone Star College. When you see these boys, be sure to congratulate them on their accomplishments.
Congratulations to the following students who were recognized in the SciMathelon:
5th grade: Peng Siah Goh
6th grade: Noah Cohen – Misha Mitrofanova – Andrew Ritchie – Alexander Skarstein
Our Math Bowl participants were Alexandre Canevet, Ricky Weimer, and Adam Johnson. Adam received a silver medal for his team placing second in the competition. Congratulations to all of you!
We are proud of all WPS students who participated in Sci-Tech.

WPS Science Fair
Please congratulate the following 7th and 8th grade students for winning gold, silver and bronze in The Woodlands Preparatory School Science Fair:
7th grade Gold: Waverly Spratt
Silver: Sara Dechant
Bronze: Maria Jose Rodriquez Barrera
8th grade Gold: Viktoria Kollegger
Silver: Sarosh Nandwani
Bronze: Connor Barkhouse
The judges were impressed with all the participants poise, knowledge, and presentation of their projects.

P.S.I.A.
The P.S.I.A. (Private Schools Interscholastic Association) tournament will be held at WP on Saturday, March 27th. The school will be filled with students from the Houston area who are proud of their academic abilities competing in both subjective and objective contests. This year WP will be represented by 56 students participating in 40 events. Many students new to this tournament were recruited by their friends as well as recommended by their teachers. With the help of parent and teacher coaches, these students are ready for the big day. This very well may be our year to take top honors. Winners will advance to the state tournament in Ft. Worth. For more information about PSIA, go to www.psiaacademics.com. Contact Linda Johnson or Lisa Bradley if you would like to volunteer March 27th. We are in need of judges, graders, contest directors and assistant directors.

“Hearts For Haiti”
Mrs. Morris used her creativity and the talents of her upper school art students to raise money for earthquake victims in Haiti. “Hearts for Haiti” were painted on the faces of students who paid $1 for this special fundraiser. Hailey and Casey Gaige were among the first in line to get their special hearts. The Woodlands Prep student council raised money to donate to UNICEF and help the children of Haiti by collecting change for two weeks. The first graders raised money by framing their art pieces and inviting family and friends to a silent auction. Way to go WPS!

Ms. Lolli’s Kindergarteners Study Magnets
Dani Jacobson, Paris Cruz and Cassie Shawver are experimenting with magnets. Dani turned a paperclip into a magnet, Paris discovered that magnetic energy travels through water and Cassie discovered the power of a magnet. The entire class enjoyed learning and experimenting with magnets.

From the Art Studio
This is one of the busiest and one of the most beautiful times of the year for artists! Art opportunities and art shows abound. Over 130 WPS artists from all grade levels are participating in the 2010 Art Contest: American Agriculture: Traditions and Innovations. The contest is sponsored by the George Bush Presidential Library and Museum with the intent of finding superior artwork featuring traditional or innovative aspects of American agriculture and its impact on Texas and the world.

Students preparing contest entries worked in a variety of media: acrylics, oils, collage, oil pastels, chalk pastels, pencil, and prisma colored pencils. We expect some sort of notification from the museum in late March or early April. The award ceremony for winners will be Thursday, April 14, 2010 at 4:15 pm in the Annenberg Presidential Library Conference Center followed by a reception.

In the studio, all levels of artists are beginning work on still life compositions. The still life set up dominates the art room and the students may try out different views featuring various vignettes. The results of these fledgling still-life efforts
are really amazing and we will be posting them for parents and others to view. Special thanks to Mrs. Sodhi for helping collate the permission slips and work for the contest, and to Mrs. Osmond and Mrs. Eash for taking pictures of the art
work to help us with our upcoming website. I would like to take the permission you gave for your student to enter work in the American Agriculture Contest as your permission to include your child’s work on the website. Our hope is to have a “growing” gallery for each student to be added to throughout the years. Best wishes for a wonderful spring break!

Ms. Sherry
Don’t forget your yearbook!

It is hard to believe that the end of the year is drawing near, but we are only a
few months away. If you have not ordered your upper school yearbook (6th-12th
grade), it is not too late. Order forms are in the front office. Books are $60 and
will be delivered to your child before school is out in May.

High School Yearbook Awards
Mr. Lands End: Kenneth Misner (Best dressed in uniform)
Ms. Lands End: Melissa Medina (Best dressed in uniform)
Class Clown: David Hamer Emily Payne
Most School Spirited: Jorge Gonzalez Valentina Baraldi
Most Athletic: Ricky Weimer Dani Johnson
Best Smile: Andrew Gonzalez Shareen Stanfa
Most Likely to Succeed: Ben Ryan Marjorie Ferrone
Most Influential Teacher: Mr. Smith Ms. Saenz
Best Laugh: Edoardo DeCeglie Emily Payne
Most Artistic: Erick Silva Melissa Medina
Mr./Ms.Woodland Prep: Kenneth Misner Kathryn Wiley (Overall category/Jr./Sr. only)

Move-Up Meetings
It is already that time of year again!
We will be having “move-up” meetings for the 2010-2011 academic year on April 7th and 8th. Please refer to the schedule below in order to determine which meeting you should attend. If you have any questions concerning which meeting is appropriate for you, please let us know. All current teachers will be present at these meetings in order to discuss the curriculum for next year.
April 7th:
6:00pm: Current 8th Grade
6:30pm: Current 9th Grade
7:00pm: Current 10th grade
(I meet individually with all current 11th graders)
April 8th:
6:00pm: Current 5th Grade
6:30pm: Current 6th Grade
7:00pm: Current 7th grade

Blood Drive
Congratulations Woodlands Prep we saved sixty lives last Friday during our blood drive. Thanks to everyone who participated in the event.

? Day
2010
In celebration of ? day, The Woodlands Preparatory School will be hosting our annual Wax Museum and new this year, Math Mania.
Some of the most famous mathematicians throughout the ages will be represented at our school on Friday, March 12 as our Upper School students participate in a ? Day celebration.
The students in Middle School will be presenting many diverse activities for students to show off their mathematical talents.
The activities will conclude with the entire student body invited to participate in “Who Knows the Most Digits of ??” and the making of the ? symbol.
Please stop by to join us in the celebration of the great advances in mathematics!

Cup of Life DVD/Bluray
This is the last week to order your Cup of Life DVD/Bluray. The price of the DVD is $25.00 and the Bluray is $35.00. If you are interested and do not have an order form please see the front office. Please make checks payable to WPS.
Athletics

Tennis News
Middle School Tennis has a practice match Thursday, March, 11th at 3:00 p.m. We will be playing Alpha Omega on our home courts.
Congratulations to Anja Pauli as she finished second at the CE King High School Tournament last Friday.
High School and Middle School Track
On Tuesday, March 8th, our high school and middle school track teams both have a track meet. The high school meet will be held at Cypress Christian. The team will be leaving the school at 3:00 p.m. The middle school will be headed to Northland Christian at 2:30 p.m. Good Luck to our WPS Track Teams!
Congratulations to Jackie Ritchie
Jackie, a 7th grader at WPS, performed with her competitive drill team this past weekend and placed first in the Jr. Solo division. Great Job Jackie!

Early Release
Just a reminder, this Friday we will be dismissing at 12:00 p.m.
We wish you all an enjoyable Spring Break! See you back at school on Monday, March 22nd.