Hiba Deng

Hiba Deng

Hiba Deng was admitted in May 2018 and spent 5 months at Woodward Academy. Coming from another Sequel Placement, Hiba struggled with her emotions and trusting other people. She often let her anger get the best of her and treated people around her poorly. In her 5 months at WA she improved her communication skills and worked on her anger management. Through her relationships with peers and staff she learned how to have empathy for other people and how to build healthy relationships and trust. She wanted to leave something on Pathfinder Hall to have others remember her and other Pathfinder girls that made an impact on the dorm. So Hiba created the Pathfinder Wall of Fame. Hiba made the board herself and printed the pictures of the girls who came before her that had impacted Pathfinder.


The board now has 4 girls pictures on it, including Hiba's. The other girls are Nychicia, the first female Lifetime Executive Knight, Marissa, who created the Pathfinder Hall Creed, and Julie, the first female to set the Cross Country record time in the first season that girls ran Cross Country at Woodward Academy. Hiba included a picture of herself as the one who created the Hall of Fame. Hiba discharged from WA on 11/06/18 and has plans to return to her last year of high school in Des Moines, Iowa. She is going to play basketball and continue to focus on getting her credits to graduate. She hopes to one day attend Iowa State, where he sister attends, to study criminal justice to become a police officer. Follow the link to listen to Hiba tell her story and talk about her Pathfinder Wall of Fame.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kO_EydbjF_E

Daebrezhon Fisher

Daebrezhon Fisher is a student on Legacy Hall. He is President of the dorm in the Student Government. All the way from Maryland, Daebrezhon's biggest struggle is handling his emotions away from his family. Through leadership and listening to the staff and peers around him he has found a way to channel those emotions into something positive. He helps the peers around him who are also homesick, and who also want something better for themselves. Daebrezhon played running/defensive back on the 2018 football team and received 2nd Team District 7 Class 1A Honors. He was also a team captain and helped hold the team together. Daebrezhon believes in a sense of family and coming together to accomplish goals. This was apparent on the field as well as back on his dorm. Daebrezhon continues to use his leaderships skills he learned at the Academy in a positive way to help get his dorm and campus in a good spot. Listen to Daebrezhon's share his story on our Youtube channel. You hear in his own words the work he has put into changing his life because of the opportunities he received at Woodward Academy.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gGFNV0wHEu0&t=5s

KOTM

Knights on the Move is a local and short distance moving company created specifically for that purpose. Our movers proudly serve the Des Moines Iowa and surrounding areas.

We were created to give the young men of Woodward Academy (a residential facility for adjudicated male youths) an opportunity to change their lives. Woodward Academy believes that each of these young men have tremendous potential and talent, but have made some poor choices. In order to help these gentlemen reach their potential, Woodward Academy has created several programs to give these guys the skills they will need to become productive members of society. Knights on the Move employs students who’ve shown the desire to change through consistent positive behavior. While working, these young men will obtain job skills, community connections, interpersonal skills, a paycheck, and experience to put on their resume.

Knights on the Move offers a lower cost alternative to competitors and you can be sure that you and your possessions will be treated with respect throughout the entire moving process. We offer free estimates and, unlike other companies, we don’t begin our hourly charges for local moves until we arrive at your location and we end the charges when we leave the destination point. We are licensed and insured just as other movers are and operate in much the same way with three major differences; we are less expensive, we give deserving young men the opportunity to improve their lives, and we will treat you and your possessions with the respect you deserve. Contact us for local moving in Des Moines or the surrounding area. Knights on the Move

-“We’ll Move You With Honor.”

• Free Estimates
• Partial Pack
• Full Pack
• Moving/Hauling
• Residential
• Commercial
• Unpack
• Custom Moves

Mark your calendars!

Dates have been announced for Woodward Academy's Graduation Ceremony and Annual Open House. 

Mark your calendars!

Graduation (May 23rd) - Commencement ceremony that celebrates our high school graduates. There will be a luncheon reception to follow the ceremony. Families are invited to join and celebrate our graduates. It will be held on our campus in our gymnasium.

Open House (June 7th) - The day kicks off with a 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.

Knowledge Bowl 2018

This year’s Woodward Academy Knowledge Bowl took place on March 9th in the Knight’s gymnasium. The decade long (est. 2006), dorm versus dorm, bracketed competition, tests the students academic knowledge.

Each team consisted of five students from the dorm and an alternate for the team. A bracket was created and the dorms battled each other in each round. The Knowledge Bowl consists of 10 rounds of six questions. The questions were created by teachers from every department and taken straight from their classes. The students were given hints throughout the course of the semester of what would be in the Knowledge Bowl, but would not know what the direct questions would be. They would have to draw from memory and what they learned in order to answer the questions correctly. Each team had their table set up with buzzers connected to ring in. After ringing in they gave their answer and then  were awarded points if answered correctly. In a close final round match, Expedition Hall beat out Triumph Hall to claim the championship. Of course the dorms weren't just competing for bragging rights, the team would also win a prize. Expedition Hall's team won for their dorm a trip to go eat at a Chinese Buffet and to go see the movie Black Panther.

See all the pictures from the event on Knights Pics:

https://wwacademy.smugmug.com/Knowledge-Bowl-March-9th-2018/

Team Toby

     The Knights football team got to make the dreams of a young boy come true. Toby loves football and has many athletes that he looks up to. He had a wish to be able to spend time with the Knight’s football team before an upcoming surgery he had. Toby was born in China, where he lived in an orphanage. Toby was born with Neurogenic Bladder, Spina Bifida, and Club Foot. His family adopted him at the age of six. Toby was in need of surgery due to complications with his Spina Bifida. To cheer up Toby and show support the Woodward Academy football team invited him to join them at their practices and one of their games before his surgery. He got to meet the whole team and play catch with them. Toby got to attend their game against Des Moines Christian and watch from the sidelines. Our student section as well as staff and coaches wore shirts to show support for Toby and his upcoming surgery. The shirts had “Team Toby” printed on them. Toby had an amazing night cheering on the football players and meeting some of the other students. His surgery was a success and he spent time at home recovering. Toby definitely is now a part of the Woodward Academy Family and we are now part of Team Toby.

Johnathan Ibarra

 

        Johnathan is the Executive Knight of our Phase 5 program. Every student at Woodward Academy progresses through their program through 4 phases. The closer they get through these indicates how close they are to graduating their specific program. Phase Five students are those who have successfully moved through their on-campus program, but have found it beneficial to not immediately return home. Students in this position are making a conscious decision to stay near Woodward Academy and will obtain the benefits of doing so. They will also be the top students to experience expanded vocational and job opportunities. Jonathan has proved to be one of those students that deserves those extra opportunities, on the dorm and in the community.

Johnathan has a lot of responsibility on the dorm being the Executive Knight. Executive Knights being the leaders of their respected dorms. These students are at the top of the Knights Club and play an active role in maintaining it’s integrity. They are each responsible for their own individual dorms while supporting and challenging each other to have the best dorm on campus. Johnathan challenges himself to go above and beyond what is expected of him. He took intiative and approached his staff team about finding a job outside of the typical vocations students have had in the past. Johnathan was interested in drawing and making sure to find work that was hands on.

His staff team proposed a job offer at 905 Ink in Boone, IA. 905 Ink is a screenprinting business that specializes in custom screenprinting, graphic design, and screen embroidery services. All of the screenprinting done on site and in house. In January, Johnathan went in for an interview and was hired as an assistant screenprinter. He works one on one with a screenprinter to learn how to create the products. There is a lot to learn with screenprinting. His mentor helps him to learn how to set up the designs, run the screen press, and how to make sure the temperature is correct for the right color of ink. There are different steps involved for each custom printing they do. Johnathan likes the challenge of this work and learning a new trade.

“I love working with my hands, so when I was given the opportunity to obtain a job at a screenprinting company I didn’t think twice about it. This is my first job and I feel it is preparing me in many ways to go into the working world. I work about 20 hours a week and make the best of it everyday. It is messy work but I walk in everyday motivated and ready to put in all my effort, no matter what. I have learned a lot of skills that could take me a long way if I decide to pursue a career in this type of work in the future. The part I love most are the people I work with. They are helpful and offer me advice for when I return home. I have a son at home that I need to provide for. This job is teaching me to have the drive and mentality to earn a honest living, not only for me, but for my family too. I am blessed to have a chance to earn money and work off campus. Woodward Academy has helped me to be where I am today. Helping me to find out what I like doing so I can have a future and career.”

     
     

Anthony Green

     


     Rather than spend time on campus, Anthony has earned the right to be employed while at Woodward Academy. He works at Madrid Home, a local assisted living environment for the elderly. This is not just any job, it was one that will help prepare him for the future.
     Anthony earned his Hi-SET high school equivalent in the fall of 2018. Shortly after that, he applied for an opening at the Madrid Home. It was an entry level position where he worked as an assistant to the staff there; passing out snacks, playing games, and just spending time with the residents. This part of the job was not Anthony’s favorite but he found it rewarding. He found that he wanted more out of his job and asked how to advance. His boss told Anthony to study to receive his CNA. The Madrid Home offered free classes and paid for Anthony to take his test. After three months of classes, Anthony earned his CNA from DMACC in Ankeny, IA. 
     

Anthony stated, “It means a lot to me that I have the opportunity to go off campus for 12 hours a day and am given the chance to conduct myself like a young man. I wanted to be more involved so I pushed myself to receive my CNA. I could see that residents there wanted someone to take care of them and I wanted to make a difference. Being a CNA allows me to have more resposibility and to provide more care for the residents. My favorite part of my job is building realtionships with them and hearing their stories from their past. I have learned a lot from them and their advice has helped me to view life differently. Hearing stories from when they were my age has made me realize that I want to help people instead of be selfish like I was in the past. The best advice one resident gave me is to understand that life is bigger than myself. I need to make something of myself and want more for myself than a life of crime. When I leave the Academy I have plans to continue to work as a CNA and go on to receive my LPN. Being given this opportunity has helped me to decide a future for myself, instead of having my future decided for me.”

       Anthony is a great example of taking an opportunity and making it his own. He was given the chance to apply for this job, and once he was accepted and experienced what it takes to work in this field, his dreams unfolded in front of him. He was not simply content with this current, entry level role, and took the initiative to change his situation for the better. He worked hard at his job, did what was asked and expected of him, he never complained, and formed a positive relationship with his supervisor. Once he established that he was a trustworthy and honest worker, he earned the opportunity to further his career and become a Certified Nursing Assistant. This allowed him to earn money while bettering himself. This opportunity has helped Anthony to plan for 

his future and has given him a direction to go when he goes home. 

Makaiah Baumgart

   

      For the first time in Woodward Academy history there is a coed Powerlifting team. This team is already breaking records and setting new standards for teams to come. They earned 1st place Best Equipped Coed Team at the Capital City Clash in Lincoln, Nebraska in February. Makaiah Baumgart is one of the first Woodward Academy female powerlifters to set records and make history. Makaiah competes in squats, bench press, and dead lift. She set her records squatting 265lbs, benching 140lbs, and dead lifting 265lbs. When Makaiah first came to the Academy she had never lifted weights or even heard of Powerlifting as a sport. Her Program Director on her dorm, Mr. Rives, saw her determination and thought she would be a good addition to the powerlifting team. Makaiah’s hard work paid off in practice and she saw results at the two meets she participated in, earning 1st place gold medals at both. To Makaiah powerlifting is more than a sport, it is a coping skill. Alongside her teammates and coaches she puts everything she has into her practice and meets. Powerlifting is a tough mental sport as much as it is a challenge physically. The team often has long practices and make sure to push each other through the pain.

      Makaiah said, “I never knew I’d be on the powerlifting team before attending
Woodward Academy. I never cared about anything. I always quit and I never believed in myself. My coaches, especially Mr. Rives, kept me going even when I did not want to. Mr. Rives never let me quit my program, on the dorm, in school, or in Powerlifting, My teammates were there motivating one another and encouraging me, they made me believe in myself. It took tears, determination, commitment, blood, smashed fingers, sweat, and hard work to even qualify for Nationals. When I qualified for Nationals I was just satisfied with qualifying, but Mr. Rives didn’t let us just be satisfied with qualifying. He made it clear we had so much more we could do before we could be considered to be the best in the Nation. If that meant 600 reps of squats and 600 reps of bench and stairs, that is what it meant. We put in 2-4 hours a day of hard work, sacrificing and pushing through the pain. There were days I just wanted to give up but we push each other through every second, every minute, every hour, and every challenge. After we qualified we went to Nebraska to compete against adult National Qualifiers. All 11 of us placed between 1st, 2nd, or 3rd. All 4 of us female lifters received 1st place medals. It means a lot to be one of the participants qualifying for Nationals and representing Woodward Academy and my Knight’s Club. When looking back on this experience I’m reminded of one of our favorite quotes that we say in the gym, “We work for it, others wish for it.”

Makaiah and her teammates will travel to Appleton, Wisconsin to compete at the 2018 Powerlifting Nationals in March. Woodward Academy’s Powerlifting Team is 12 time National Champions, hoping to make it 13 this year and be Woodward’s first coed National Champions.



     
     

Knightly Knews Vol. 42 is now online!

The latest edition of our award-winning publication, the Knightly Knews, is now online and you can access it by clicking here. As a .pdf document, you can view or download the quarterly publication to your computer, iPad, or smartphone for easy reading. This Track & Field edition includes:

- Neiko Morris Scholarship
- High School Commencement Ceremony
- The Class of 2017
- Edgenuity
- Historic Track & Field Season
- Fishing Club
- Open House and Golf Tournament
- Community Service Opportunities
- Drumline
- Communication Awards

We hope you have a chance to check it out and enjoy the read.

Campus Events // Open House and Golf Tournament

On June 1, Woodward Academy hosted it’s annual Open House celebration that is hands down the most colorful event of the year. The day kicks off with an epic 5K run that asks participants to navigate a wooded trail with fallen trees, wade through a waist deep crick, and climb the “Iron Man,” a steep, muddy incline that can only be accomplished with the use of a rope. As a dorm, students and staff theme their outfits. This year, Navigator Hall came through with one of the most inventive in recent memory, with their runners dressing as Pac-Man characters. The winner of the race was staff member Josh Pauley from the dorm Delta Company.
   
Each event throughout the day is a part of a larger competition with students on each dorm strategically participating in events. After the race, a 3 on 3 basketball tournament occured next to a muddy tug of war contest, at the same time as students participated in a bag toss competition. Each awarded points to the dorms, with this year’s overall winner being Navigator Hall.
   
Beyond the student events, guests of the Open House can get tours of the campus, and can meet with their students. The weather was beautiful and the day went off flawlessly. Special thanks to teacher Justin Schmauss and Educational Liaison Aric Rush for organizing the day. You can see images from the day on your Knight Pics website.

The 8th annual Knight’s Scholarhip Golf Outing was held for the first time at the Honey Creek Golf Course in Boone, Iowa. This year, 71 golfers participated in the event that helped raise money for the Lifetime Commitment Fund that annually helps Woodward Academy alumni as they move into the next stage of their life. Over the past 7 years, this fund has paid for college tuition, apartment furnishings, and even travel expenses for one alum who participated in the USA Track & Field Indoor
National Championships.
   
This year, over $5,800 was raised for the fund with an additional $1,000 being donated by Aureon,
a local technology company that offers customizable technology, HR, and contact center solutions. To date, this annual tournament has raised $45,800, all of which has gone toward helping students achieve their post-Woodward Academy goals. 

Fishing Club

Many of the great Woodward Academy activities originated from the passion of a particular staff member. The historic powerlifting program began as a weight lifting club, and the well-dressed drumline was started in a general music class. One of the next great things to happen at Woodward Academy could be the Fishing Club.
   
Woodward Academy is surrounded by rural land, including some small creeks. Luke Corrick, a Group Leader on campus, started taking some of his primary students fishing to help generate a relationship with them, spend time outdoors, and to teach them about a passion of his that he was first exposed to as a youth. He decided to take this casual weekend activity with students on his dorm, and open it up to more students in the form of the Fishing Club.
   
As the Club got underway, he started having aspiration of doing with the program. In February, he started emailing different tournament organizations all over Iowa. His first response was from Steve Miller from Oxbow Bandits Bass Club in Sioux City, Iowa, who said that he’s love to have some guys come and compete in their youth tournament they hold at Blue Lake every year.
   
On June 3rd, the Woodward Academy team caught 9 total fish on that day, with two of them at the legal length of 15 inches. For their first tournament, they finished 5th out of 10 total high school teams and represented the Academy well. Corrick hopes to get the team in one more tournament this summer and already has ideas on how to expand the Fishing Club for next year.

Neiko Morris Scholarship

On May 17, two Woodward Academy graduating students received the Neiko Morris Scholarship in remembrance of the former student leader on campus. Neiko was the perfect student for Woodward Academy: he was an excellent student, involved himself in student government, being an Executive Knight on his dorm, and participated in several athletic teams including the 2015 state basketball team.
   
Months later, he left us all with more questions than answers and gave us all a stark reminder the difficulties that many teens face. The statistics point to the fact that we are living in an epidemic:

• Children aged 10 to 14, death by suicide is now more common than death from traffic accidents.
• In 2014, suicide rates were higher than homicide rates for males and females of all age groups.
• While suicide was the 10th leading cause of death among the U.S. population in 2014, it was the second leading cause of death among youth ages 15 to 24.
   
Earlier this year, Neiko’s parents reached out to Woodward Academy and offered the generous gift of a financial scholarship to a pair of high school graduates who plan to attend college. Moved by their sentiment, the Management Team at Woodward Academy decided to match that gift for those students to help pay for tuition, books, or other things they may need.
   
The questions of “why” these things happen will never go away and we all now have to live with the looming feeling that we could have done more with our time with him. These feelings are no more powerful than with his parents. His time at Woodward Academy mattered and his parents saw that in him. He was laid to rest in his Knights jacket, a sentiment that he is forever a Knight. We report a lot of student opportunities and success, and as a school we are very proud of those things. But Neiko proves to us that there is more work that can be done and we will continue to do that work.
   
This scholarship is a way to honor him and make a difference in another Knight’s life. The two recipients of the scholarship were Ammari Johnson, a standout WA athlete who plans on attending Iowa Central Community College, and Destry Johnson, who anticipates attending college in his home area of the Pacific Northwest.

The Class of 2017 // Video

On May 17, the graduating Class of 2017 was honored with a commencement ceremony in the WA gymnasium. During the 2016-2017 academic school year, 51 students either received their high school diploma or Hi-SET equivalent, which is the largest graduating class in school history. The event was the culmination of a life-changing path that the students decided to take while at Woodward Academy. Many would admit that graduating was an unattainable dream and something that was not meant for them. But now that dream is complete where no one can take it from them.

Many parents and family members were able to attend the ceremony and the gymnasium was loud. When handing out diplomas, Lead Teacher William Terry noted how it is often protocol to hold applause until the end, but said "At Woodward Academy, we don't do it that way." As he read off the list of graduates, the student section exploded as they cheered for their dorm mates, and there was more than a couple tears of joy shed from the audience.

Principal Cory Wenthe began the ceremony with an introduction, and Group Living Director, Trent Fleshner, announced that seniors Ammari Johnson and Destry Johnson were recipients of the Neiko Morris Scholarship, a generous gift from the parents of a student alum. Senior speakers included Darnell Green, who talked about when he first started contemplating his future was mid-sprint at a track meet last year, as well as seniors Casey Bynum and Destry Johnson. Keynote speaker, Mark Wills, had a great uplifting speech where he challenged students to be their best and reminded them that this day was not the last time they will graduate from something, and that committing themselves and graduating from anything is a good day.

Track & Field Season Recap 2017 // Video

The 2017 track & field season will forever be seen as one of the best in school history. No other group of athletes have embraced the team aspect of a very individual sport quite like this year's squad. Since the first year of the track & field program in 2007, Woodward Academy has a long tradition of excellence in the sport with a couple state champions ('07 and '14) and team district championships ('11 and '14). Neither of those things happened this season, but this year's team rewrote the school record book in more ways than one. 

"Overall, this was a really fun group to coach. What makes this team different than past years to me is their attention to detail in perfecting what they did. Whether it was a handoff, a hurdle, warming up for a race, or how they come out of the blocks, this team was very specific with how they trained and prepared for events," said Head Coach Shaun Mohon. This team adopted the theme of "meet the standard," and the team really pushed themselves and their coaching staff to embrace it every day. "This group ran with the theme and you could see it throughout their workouts, meets, and in day to day life as track athletes."

By mid-April, the hard work in practice was starting to show dividends in meets. The team got their first win of four, which tied a school record, at Central Decatur on April 11. They followed that meet up a week later with their second win at Van Meter. The winning pushed this team even harder in practice and they rallied around each other. They knew their end goal was to compete with the best in the state. 

A Weekend of Possibilities

Last weekend from Thursday through Sunday, over 150 students left Woodward Academy's campus to participate in school activities and community service projects across central Iowa. With the spring season here, the Woodward Academy student schedule is ramping up and students are having opportunities to get involved in a variety of ways.

The bulk of the travel started Friday when students from the track & field team traveled to Ogden High School, 18 miles north of Woodward, where they won their 4th meet of the year. Back on campus, a number of beautification projects were underway in preparation for the upcoming graduation and Open House events. Flowers were planted, shrubs were trimmed, and rock was laid as landscaping around several campus buildings.

The next day, students helped a local church in Madrid (6 miles east), others took care of little league softball fields in Perry (11 miles west), and others got an agricultural lesson when they helped out at a local grain silo just outside of Woodward. But the majority of students traveled north to Ames (29 miles) and the campus of Iowa State University. Fifteen students worked for Knights on the Move, the Academy's local moving company, and moved furniture for a sorority on campus, while 65 students helped ISU by working at Jack Trice Stadium during their commencement ceremony. This year, Iowa State had a record number of graduates (5,093 candidates), and Woodward Academy students provided their families and friends with concessions during the event.

For many facilities, juggling the track event, community services projects, Knights on the Move, and helping with the ISU graduation, could turn into a logistical problem when considering staff coverage and transportation. But for Woodward Academy, the more opportunities for students to get off campus and to engage with the community, the better it is for the students, and Woodward Academy as a whole. Our students consistently demonstrate what it means to be a Knight, and that is worth it. Go Knights!

Edgenuity

For many students at Woodward Academy, the path to graduation is not always the same or an easy road to follow. With a student population that is constantly in flux, getting students placed in the correct classes is a challenging endeavor. Students are being admitted and discharged at different points throughout the school year from many different states, and many have gaps in their credits, having received partial credit for classes in some cases. All of these variables add layers of complexity to class scheduling to meet graduation requirements.

New to this academic school year was the implementation and usage of Edgenuity: an online resource where students can complete classes toward high school graduation. Edgenuity is a self-paced, online curriculum, where students can login to their classes from any computer and work on them as needed. It meets the rigor of Common Core and state standards, as well as various state's graduation requirements.

At Woodward Academy, the usage of Edgenuity was never intended to replace classroom instruction. In fact, only a small percentage of students have taken courses through Edgenuity this academic school year. Those students were selected based on their transcripts, as well as their ability to complete coursework independently. Utilizing Edgenuity has allowed the education department to meet some of the unique circumstances that credits require. For example, a student this spring was enrolled in the short-term, highly structured program, and was expected to only stay 90 days. He needed a partial credit for graduation and was able to complete the coursework required through Edgenuity to get that credit. The student worked on the course during the school day, and because of his positive behaviors on the dorm, was able to supplemented that learning after school and on the weekends while on the dorm. For other motivated students, some have been able to complete two courses in the same amount of time it would take to complete one classroom course, allowing them to make up credits that they missed out on prior to attending Woodward Academy. Edgenuity also provides an abundance of elective courses that the school plans to utilize more fully in the future for students who have met the majority of their required courses and are on pace to graduate.

It is anticipated that the implementation of Edgenuity will increase as the need arises. It is already slotted to be used this summer as a credit recovery tool for some students in addition to the array of summer courses offered to students. 

ISPRA Communications Awards 2017

Last year, Woodward Academy competed in the Iowa School Public Relations Association (ISPRA) Communications Awards competition for the first time and scored really well, winning 3 out of 4 categories where we submitted entries. After last year's experience, we wanted to continue that expectation of excellence for our communications, but also knew that the competition would be equally as fierce from all school districts.

Of the 20 events, we identified 6 categories where we felt we could perform well, which included Brochure, Photography, Print Newsletter, Social Media, Video, and Website. As a local chapter of the National School Public Relations Association (NSPRA), it is policy that another state score the submissions based on rubrics, and this year the Arizona chapter judged the Iowa submissions.

The rubric for each submission looks at design, clarity and focus, writing quality, evaluation, and overall effect. When averaged together, if a submission scores between 7-8, they earn an Award of Merit. Scores between 8-10 earned an Award of Excellence. Out of that pool, submissions that scored 9 and above are eligible to earn the top honor: the Blue & Gold Award as the best in the state.

This year, there were 98 entries from 20 different school districts, the most ever for ISPRA. On Thursday, April 20, the results were announced and Woodward Academy once again scored well. Of the six categories, 1 submission received an Award of Merit (Social Media), and the other 5 all received high scores in the Award of Excellence range. Of those, 2 received the top prize of the Blue & Gold Award (print newsletter and website), and were recognized as the best in the state. This was the second year in a row that our Knightly Knews was recognized with the top award, and the website category recognized our newly launched site. You can see all of the results on the ISPRA website, and below is a recap of how Woodward Academy performed.

Iowa School Public Relations Association
Print Newsletter - Knightly Knews Vol. 38 and 39 - Blue & Gold Award
Website - www.wwacademy.com - Blue & Gold Award
Photography - Cross Country 2016 - Award of Excellence
Video - Become a Knight video series - Award of Excellence
Brochure - Become a Knight - Award of Excellence
Social Media - Facebook Page - Award of Merit

Knightly Knews Vol. 41 is now online!

The latest edition of our award-winning publication, the Knightly Knews, is now online and you can access it by clicking here. As a .pdf document, you can view or download the quarterly publication to your computer, iPad, or smartphone for easy reading. This New Website edition includes:

- Knight's Bowl Dorm Challenge
- Basketball season recap
- New website features
- Powerlifting Nationals in Scranton, PA
- Knowledge Bowl
- Representing the Knights
- Sequel Leadership Initiative

We hope you have a chance to check it out and enjoy the read.

Powerlifting Nationals 2017

The 2016-2017 powerlifting season began in November like nearly every other season of the past decade: with the majority of the students attending tryouts to make their mark in Woodward Academy’s most accomplished sport. The history of Woodward Academy powerlifting goes back to 2003 when it was simply an organized extracurricular activity. Today, the team annually travels to the USAPL High School National Championships that rotates venues every year. To date, Woodward Academy teams have traveled across the United States and lifted in eight different states.
   
After a couple months of training, the team competed at their first sanctioned meet of the season at the Des Moines Invitational. All nine lifters who competed at the event qualified for Nationals during that meet. In order to compete at Nationals, all lifters must qualify, meaning they must lift the designated amount for their weight class in a sanctioned event. Their second meet of the second was held at Peru State in Nebraska, which allowed for the lifters to get good competition repetitions, but it was a non-sanctioned event. The final event prior to Nationals was the Woodward Academy Open, the Knights home meet in March. During that meet, 6 additional lifters qualified forNationals, bringing the team total to 15 lifters.
   
Everything centers around the team competition for the Knights, and at Nationals a team consists of 10 lifters who were selected from the pool of 15 qualifiers. The Knights had won the Nationals team competition since 2006 when they competed in Omaha, Nebraska, and this group of lifters looked to continue that streak. On March 29, the team boarded a plane for Scranton, Pennsylvania, this year’s home of the USAPL High School National Championships. After a day of rest, the team competed
on March 31.