The Road to Nationals went through Nebraska

This year's USAPL High School Powerlifting Nationals meet is held in Denver, CO over the weekend of April 5-7. The Knights are 7-time National Champions (yeah, seven!) and the road to that event began this past weekend at a meet in Lincoln, NE. Most teen powerlifting meets are open to all entries, but the high school National's meet requires all lifters to qualify before attending. What that means is that in a USAPL sanctioned meet, a lifter must prove that they can lift a minimum amount of weight when combining the three events of squat, bench press, and deadlift. The meet at Lincoln was one of those meets. If you're wondering what all those metals are around the lifter's necks, then click after the break to see how this year's team did in Lincoln.

Save the Date(s)!

Dates have been announced for two of Woodward Academy's biggest annual events: the Open House and Knight's Scholarship Golf Tournament. If you have not been involved in these events yet, now is the chance. Like every year, the spring season is our busiest with some other on campus events as well. Below is a breakdown of what can be expected in the upcoming months. Mark your calendars!

Knowledge Bowl (March 8) - An all day competition that pits dorms against each other to see who is the smartest. With questions based on their academic classes, the winning dorm earns a huge day off campus. Past winners went to see a broadway show in Chicago with another an NBA basketball game in Minneapolis.

Graduation (May 23) - Commencement ceremony that celebrates our high school graduates.

Open House (June 6) - The day kicks off with a grueling 5K race that forces its competitors to run through a creek and up a muddy Iron Man (70 degree hill). After lunch, campus visits are arranged where guests can meet with students.

Knight's Golf Tournament (June 28) - Held at the Beaver Creek Golf Course in Grimes, Iowa, the four man best ball tournament helps support WA's Knight's Scholarship Fund. To date, eligible alumni have received financial support in college and with independent living needs.

For more information on any of these events, call us at (515) 438-3481.

New Executive Director - Ryan Santi

To start the new year, we wanted to introduce Woodward Academy's new Executive Director, Ryan Santi. Although new the position, Ryan has played an integral part in the decision making process for years as a part of the management team. He began his career at WA in 1996 as a youth counselor and eventually a Program Director of a dorm. After taking time away to be a Juvenile Court Officer, Ryan returned to Woodward Academy in 2005 as Education Manager and eventually Admissions Director, where he has made his largest contribution.

Since '05, Ryan played an important role as WA expanded to its eighth dorm and current student capacity of 248 students. He also helped expand WA nationally with some students now attending from California and Washington D.C. As Executive Director, Ryan looks forward to overseeing the facility that he has helped grow. With Ryan's promotion to Executive Director, other changes occurred as a result. Shawn Hollenkamp transferred to the Admissions Director and Trent Fleshner was promoted to Group Living Director.

College Begins!

Although it is not common, there are times when students who are attending Woodward Academy have already received their high school diploma. Typically, these students are starting to make plans as they begin to transition away from Woodward Academy. Many of them pick up jobs here on campus, making some additional money for the next stage in their life. Others are able to begin taking some college courses. Beginning this week, four WA students started online college courses through the Des Moines Area Community College. These courses included a contemporary literature course, a class on blueprint reading, one on sustainable science methods, and another in psychology.

WA has picked up the initial costs associated with these courses with hopes that they will be the start of a full college education. Students are dedicating portions of their day to the classes and are already learning time management and important study skills that all college freshmen typically struggle with. Weekly assignments and online discussion requirements are allowing the WA students to get a taste of how challenging college can be. As a result, they will be able to make calculated decisions about college after they leave Woodward Academy.

ACT Prep

In December, Woodward Academy's School Counselor, Megan Wych, set up an ACT mock test for 47 WA students who are either juniors or seniors this year and are planning the next step in their education. Wych proctored the full-length ACT exam, which provided students with good experience of what testing conditions would be like on an actual testing date. Currently, students have an opportunity to know their score and can review testing struggles to further identify a plan of action for increasing their score. Not all students will go on to take an actual ACT test, but for those who are considering college, other assessments such as the Compass Test are required for admission purposes and taking advantage of this process will ultimately help them.