Powerlifting team preps for Nationals

This past weekend, the Woodward Academy powerlifting team competed in their first meet of the year at the Capital City Clash in Lincoln, NE.  Nine lifters competed to the event and all nine qualified for the USAPL High School National Championship in March, this year held in Wisconsin Dells, WI.  For the past 6 seasons, the Woodward Academy Knights have crowned several individual National Champions and claimed 6 consecutive team championships at this culminating event.  They have travelled to Nebraska, Louisiana, Michigan, Wisconsin, and Texas twice to claim those titles.

But unlike other open powerlifting meets, all lifters at the Nationals meet must qualify, meaning that at a sanctioned meet they must prove that they can lift a qualifying total.  For example, a lifter in the 165 pound weight class must prove that he can lift a total of 875 pounds between the three events of squat, bench press and deadlift.  That is what 9 Academy lifters did this weekend.

The image is of this year's powerlifting poster that was shot and edited on campus.  To see more campus posters and images from across campus, click here.

Ed Update: 5 Characteristics of Effective Instruction in U.S. History

Over the course of this school year, teachers at Woodward Academy have focused on what the Iowa Department of Education calls the 5 Characteristics of Effective Instruction.  The Department of Ed often shortens it to "what good teaching looks like." During professional development opportunities, teachers analyze their upcoming lesson plans and assess them on these characteristics. They are as follows:

1) Teaching for Understanding
2) Assessment for Learning (Formative Assessment)
3) Rigorous and Relevant Curriculum
4) Teaching for Learner Differences
5) Student Centered Classroom

Read more after the break to see how Jeremy Hilbert's United States History class goes beyond the textbook and engages students on a daily basis.

Basketball Update

Led by senior Dallas Jackson, the Woodward Academy Knights have fought to an 8-6 regular season record.  After starting the year slow, the Knights went on a 6 game winning streak and last night played the undefeated Ogden Bulldogs.  

Currently, Jackson is in the top 5 across the entire state in rebounding and leads all of Class 2A with 12.2 per game.  The Knights have increasingly improved throughout the season with the season ending in February.

To view more pictures of the Knights basketball team along with images across campus, visit our Knight Pics website by going to http://wwacademy.smugmug.com/

Knights Club: Knights Meeting

Perhaps the most important component to a student's success at Woodward Academy lies in their Knight status and participation in the Knights Club. For those unfamiliar with the Club, it is the student organization on campus that has a hand in nearly every aspect of Woodward Academy. Any student can be apart of it and students are introduced to it and pressured to be a member from the moment they walk in the door.

We'll outline the process of what it takes to become a Knight in a later post as the process is very structured and equal for every student. The important thing to note is what a Knight symbolizes. When a student is a Knight, they have consistently shown that they care about their program and want to make positive changes in their life. But positive behavior is an expectation on Woodward Academy's campus so a student's lack of Knight status may say more about how well they are doing... so ask them about it!!

After the break is a breakdown of what a Knights Meeting looks like.

Drumline in January

The title and image really speak for themselves... and yes, that picture was taken today. Typically this time of year, snow has been falling for at least a month and the tiresome winter is bearing down on us. Unseasonably warm this year, Iowa has hardly seen any snow and what better way to celebrate an afternoon high of 51 degrees than to get outside and beat on some drums. The drumline season generally starts when the snow melts in early spring and hits a peak during the summer. That will likely remain true for this year as well, but they enjoyed the weather on January 9 with light jackets and drum sticks.

Extracurricular Activities...

According to students, one of the best aspects of our programming is the fact that the they are always busy and engaged with some type of activity. In other words, they're always doing something and too busy to worry about being delinquent. Four nights a week after school, students who are not participating in our athletic program go to an extracurricular activity of their choice. The activities change over time and offer a diverse set of interest oriented activities. This makes them fun for not only the students, but for the staff members involved as well.

Beyond being fun, students are learning applicable skills in each one of them. Currently, the listing of extracurricular activities include:

- Journalism - students learn skills in writing and photography
- Drama Club - recreating scenes based on the movie script from "The Sandlot"
- WOW (World of Work) - engages students in writing a resume and touches on filling out applications
- Art - taught by the art teacher, this is really an extension of the academic classes
- A.R.T. - not to be confused with art, A.R.T stands for Aggression Replacement Training

"Leaving the Past Behind"

Next week college starts for several Woodward Academy students who will make their transition away from WA and into the real world. Starting in the spring semester, five students will start begin taking a full load of college courses while learning to live a completely independent life. Two will be attending Grandview University, one at Kirkwood Community College with the other two taking courses at DMACC campuses across Iowa.

Titled "Leaving the Past Behind", this image depicts a student who has assessed his life and decided that he would rather go down another road. The five students who start college next week made this decision while attending Woodward Academy. After that decision was made, the college prep process began which included taking post-secondary tests and making decisions regarding where to attend college. Some students are taking classes closer to home while others needed to make the difficult decision to stay away from home.

Volume 21 of the Knightly Knews that will come out later this spring will take a closer look at the process that occurs to place students in college.