CPR for high school seniors

The State of Iowa recently passed legislation for the Healthy Kids Act that has required high school seniors to take a course in CPR.  This law is effective starting with the Class of 2012.  Pictured are WA seniors taking the course with Director of Nursing, Jamie Golly.

The law does not require graduating seniors to be certified in CPR, but must have the training with hands on practice (not an online course).  The training that the students received was the same that all WA staff members go through regularly.

Congrats Class of 2012!!

The graduating Class of 2012 was honored at their commencement ceremony yesterday, Thursday, May 24 in the WA gymnasium.  This school year, 21 students received their high school diploma and 28 their GED certificate.  This marks the highest graduating class to date with 49 students.  To compare, last year saw 30 students walk across the stage and the class of 2010 consisted of 25 total students.

Read more after the break.

Update from the Blue Oval: State Track

The 2012 Iowa High School Track and Field Meet was held May 17-19 at Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa.  A week before, the Woodward Academy team qualified in 4 events: 100 M, 4x100, 4x200, and the Long Jump.  The Iowa High School State Meet combines both girls and boys events, making it one of the largest in the nation.  Drake Stadium, dubbed "The Blue Oval" is a top notch facility and has also been host to NCAA Championships and is a top contender for the U.S. Olympic Trials.  

Read more after the jump.

Track Districts 2012

The Districts track meet was held this past Thursday, May 10 in Story City.  It is the final track meet of the season for many runners and is also the event where runners qualify for the State Meet held at Drake Stadium later this month, May 17-19.  The Knights track team performed well and finished 6th as a team in the district.  They also qualified for the State Meet in 4 events.  The participants in the events and more pics are after the break.  We will report more on track at the State Meet next week.

WA Students Display Work at Conference Art Show

The West Central Activities Conference (WCAC) held its annual Art Conference this past Monday at Madrid High School.  Sixteen students went to the event to view student artwork from all schools in the activities conference.  Fourteen WA students submitted pieces for the event and a breakdown of notable results are outlined below.

Rafael Mayorga - 2nd place in Black and White Drawing Objective
Kevin Lopez - 4th place in Graphics - Hand Drawn
Delwin Cooper - Honorable Mention in Black and White Drawing Figurative
Miguel Alfarro - Honorable Mention in Graphics - Hand Drawn
Rafael Mayorga - Honorable Mention in Black and White Drawing Objective

More after the jump.

Students Welding

This past weekend, three students started a 30 hour welding course offered by the Des Moines Area Community College (DMACC).  As an introductory course, students are learning the basics of welding, including how to handle and operate equipment properly.  Over the next three weeks, students will go hands-on with safety equipment and begin welding.  It is Woodward Academy's first attempt at the course, and we hope to utilize DMACC's facilities and resources more in the future.  More will be reported on this in the next edition of the Knightly Knews that will be published in June.

Meet the Mowing Crew: A Vocational Update

With the spring season fully upon us, that means lawn care... and Woodward Academy has a lot of campus to keep up and keep looking nice.  For the last couple years, WA students have had the opportunity to work on the mowing crew and are responsible for the mowing and landscape maintenance of the surrounding WA campus.  Currently, the students working on the crew are high school or GED graduates, with more job opportunities opening up this summer for those still in high school.

Read more after the jump.