Football Poster 2013

Week 1 of the Iowa high school football season is this Friday and the Knights host SE Webster in the home and season opener. Last year, the Knights went on to qualify for the state playoffs for the first time in school history after rattling off 4 wins at the end the season. Head coach Lorenzo White hopes to repeat that with this year's team. He has been with the team all four years and was the team's offensive coordinator last season.

With the season kicking off this Friday, we are showcasing the team in the official season poster. The team is poised on their home field, looking formidable. If you have a chance, check out a game and Go Knights!

XC Poster 2013 // Making of Video

The Woodward Academy cross country team starts their regular season this week in Ames at the Gilbert high school meet that is held on Iowa State University's campus. We thought it would be a good time to showcase the team with this season's official poster. With the season motto being "Train Insane or Remain the Same," we took to the back woods on Woodward Academy's campus to get the team dirty. We recently did a post about the cross country team's unique practices and dedication to team building. You can read that post here if you missed it. But this poster is a great reflection of how the team really practices at times. They really do train insanely. If you're interested in learning more about the poster, check out the short video after the break to see how the team prepped for the poster.

Cross Country Practice

In many ways, cross country is an individual sport. Athletes run 3.1 miles and based on their time are individually placed. At the events, there is a team component to it, but it is accumulated based on the individual accomplishments of each runner. So does cross country have the same team mentality as other sports? The WA coaches would certainly argue that "team" is one of the largest factors to their success. They have every right to this notion, having qualified for the state meet in 3 of the past 6 years, and who are currently the defending conference champions.

The coaches believe that building a team mentality in cross country helps the team to motivate each other when running becomes mentally difficult. Most runners get sore at the start of the season, and the weather gets cold as they move into October. There are often many struggles in between, but the team carries each other all season. Pictured is some team building at Woodward Academy. After a weeks worth of hard work, the team enjoyed their Friday afternoon using this homemade slip and slide. At first glance, it doesn't look like a cross country practice at all but it sure looks like fun. All of the coaches even got involved in the action. That's building a team. Go Knights!

Back to School

The fall semester official started today, marking the beginning of the 2013-2014 academic school year. Even though the title notes "back to school," that sentiment does not necessarily apply to our residential students. They attend school year round, with core subjects being taught by the same accredited teachers during the summer as during the traditional school year.

Why do we have school year round? For one, the students benefit greatly from not having a gap in their academic learning. Secondly, they can earn important credits that apply towards graduation. For those who enter WA behind in credits, these summer classes can help get them back on track to graduate with their class. Lastly, what else would we do all summer? School provides a positive and predictable structure that students can understand on a daily basis. So as everyone around the country is getting the back to school feel, the students at Woodward Academy are simply transitioning to a different schedule with new classes.

Knights Creed // Video

Every other week, all the Knights on campus get together with the Executive Knights leading the Knights Meeting. They talk about upcoming events and new students are brought to the meeting to be introduced to the rest of the student body. They use it as one way of showing how cool it is to be a Knight because everyone is there. One of the best parts is at the end when all the Knights recite the Knights Creed. Enjoy the video:

Knights Club: Dorm Report

The Knights Club is the positive student leadership organization at Woodward Academy. It is a primary component of our success on campus and every student is expected to be a member of it. When students come on campus, they are considered a "peer." While demonstrating consistent positive behavior, they earn their pledge packet and over the next couple week, work to earn their Knight status. For many, however, that is not the end of their rise in the Knightly ranks.

Each dorm (there are 8 of them) have student government positions and many of those students attend a weekly "Dorm Report" meeting where they summarize how their dorm is functioning. It is student run and serves as a powerful communication piece for the Knights. It is one time during the week where all of the student leaders on campus are together in one room to talk about how the campus is running. They hold each other accountable for their dorms and come up with plans to fix any problems. It also allows them to get on the same page and to come up with the campus focus for each week.

Sports Review: 2012-2013 // Video

With the high school fall sports seasons right around corner, we thought it would be pretty cool to take a look back at last year and recap all of the athletic accomplishments of the 2012-2013 seasons. To put our athletic programs in perspective, we often times operate at a disadvantage from traditional high schools in that we start over each season with new athletes and a new game plan. Each season is a new team that has never played together before and in some cases, notably in powerlifting, the athletes have never participated in the sport at all. Through all of that, the Knights continue to compete at an extremely high level and have been fortunate enough to see the word "champion" next to their season. Here are some of the highlights from the seasons:

Football - Qualified for State for the first time in WA history.
Cross-Country - Conference Team Champions. WCAC Individual Champion. Qualified for the State Meet as a team.
Powerlifting - 8th consecutive team National Championship. 4 individual National Champions.
Track and Field - District Champions. Qualified for State Meet in 7 events.

After the break, check out all of the short videos from the 2012-2013 athletic seasons: