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. 

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.

Knights Bowl Dorm Challenge

The first annual Knight's Bowl Dorm Challenge kicked off in mid-January and allowed dorms to compete against one another in the one category that means the most on campus: behavior. For years, dorms compete for the coveted Knight's Achievement Award each month as one of the four monthly awards given out at each assembly. This award reflects the best Knight's Club at the time and is largely based on qualitative evidence. But there are times when a larger carrot is needed to keep everyone focused and motivated on the positive momentum that is happening on campus. For this 4-week challenge, that incentive was an NBA basketball game for the winning dorm.

The points for the challenge were set up partially like a golf scorecard with negative behaviors gaining points, and identified positive behaviors subtracting points: the dorm with the lowest score after the four weeks winning the competition. Weekly winners were also identified with mini-prizes for each week. Examples of some of the items being scored include being on time to school, recruiting new pledges and Knights on the dorm, having successful weekends and home passes, and positive forcefield ratings.

7th Annual Knights Scholarship Golf Outing

In it’s seventh consecutive year, the Knight’s Scholarship Golf Out benefiting the Woodward Academy Lifetime Commitment Fund took place at Beaver Creek Golf Course in Grimes, Iowa on June 24. This year, 79 golfers attended the four-person best-ball tournament that raised $2,500 money for Woodward Academy alumni as they move onto the next stage of their life. In the seven years that this tournament has taken place, over $39,000 has been raised, all of which has gone toward helping WA students. Whether it is college tuition, books, apartment
furnishings, or helping a past student with travel expenses to compete at the USA Track & Field Indoor National Championships, the tournament has made a significant impact on students lives and will continue to do so for years to come. A special thank you to the 27 generous sponsors who helped make this year's event a success.

Open House 2016 // Video

Woodward Academy’s annual Open House was an event filled day that took place on June 2nd. In many ways, the day serves two purposes: it is a fun day full of activities for students and staff, and a great way to showcase the school and campus to anyone interested in the school and new to the Woodward Academy way.

Guests who attended the day were treated with expanded events for this year’s event. For years, the day kicked off with a 5K “fun run” that is more grueling than enjoyable. Part of the course has participants running through a chilly creek, and then finishing by going up what campus calls the “Iron Man,” a 70 degree muddy hill that is only more difficult with wet shoes. This year’s staff and student winners were teach Tyler McCubbin and newly crowned school record holder in the 400m, Ashton Putzier.

In an attempt to get more people involved, all of the events were given point values to determine which dorm performed the best. As a traditionally colorful day, full of themed customes, points were also awarded in this category. Once the 5K concluded, dorms assembled their teams for the tug-o-war contest, as well as the outdoor basketball and bags tournament. After lunch, the monthly assembly concluded the day by announcing the Student and Staff of the month, and the monthly awards of Silver Apple, Golden Dustpan, and Knight’s Achievement Award. Once tallied, Delta company became the dorm winner of the day.

Why should you attend next year? The Woodward Academy culture is on full display. Many guests who took campus tours with students were blown away by their ability to explain the school, programming, and how it has changed their life. It is also pretty fun to watch and get a sense for how all the students and staff interact on a daily basis. If you’re interested in seeing more pictures from Open House, visit our Knight Pics website.

The Graduating Class of 2016

On May 18, we honored the graduating class of 2016 with a commencement ceremony in the Woodward Academy gymnasium. This year, 33 students completed coursework to earn their high school diploma, and 13 students fulfilled the testing requirements to obtain their Hi-SET high school equivalent. This was the largest graduating class to date at Woodward Academy, and is a celebration of the commitment that these students made.

Group Living Director, Trent Fleshner, summarized their journey best when he said this day was not "always guaranteed for some of you guys… and I think it means all that much more, and it's that much sweeter that this day is here." Quincee Altman and Matt Sosa provided the student speeches from the senior class and choose to spend most of their time reflected on how Woodward Academy changed their mindset about education. Quincee self-disclosed that he was the student who would sleep in class and not do his homework. Today, he spoke as this year's Governor's Scholar recipient. While introducing Matt, Fleshner recalled a story that in his referral packet, a judge said that he was "the worst juvenile delinquent" that his county has ever seen. Fleshner countered that statement by describing how Matt has succeeded at Woodward Academy by being a leader on campus and "has been nothing but a great kid for Woodward Academy." The keynote was Dr. Anthony Jones of the Ames Community School District. He was inspired by the stories that originated from Woodward Academy and offered tips for the leaders of tomorrow.

The entire ceremony was a celebration. If you have time, check out the video recap of the event above. There are some really great moments, both large and small, that portray the camaraderie and commitment that both Woodward Academy students and staff put into this day. Whether it's Principal Jeremy Hilbert adjusting a graduating senior's tie, the inspiring senior speeches, or Lead Teacher William Terry encouraging the crowd to cheer loudly as they walked across the stage, it is safe so say that this commencement ceremony was unlike any before it.

Knowledge and Academic Bowls 2016

This year’s Woodward Academy Knowledge Bowl took place on March 11 in the Knight’s gymnasium. The decade long (est. 2006), dorm versus dorm, bracketed competition, tests the students academic prowess. At stakes this year was an all day trip to Kansas City for the entire dorm.

The morning rapid fire session consisted of 10 rounds of six questions that were used to seed the dorms for the afternoon. Once the bracket was created, the dorms battled each other with their minds. What makes Woodward Academy’s knowledge bowl unique is that many of the questions were offered by teachers and taken straight from their classes. In a close final round match, Delta Company beat out Pathfinder Hall to claim the championship.

The campus event took place on the heels of the West Central Activities Conference (WCAC) Academic Bowl. Woodward Academy brought a team of 5 to the event, this year held on Ogden.

Wrestling Week

Wrestling Week has become an annual tradition at Woodward Academy that is full of costumes, makeup, and the ridiculous personas that occupy organizations like the WWE. For the past three years, both students and staff have paid homage to the "sport" of professional wrestling in preparation for a show put on by Impact Professional Wrestling on Saturday Night.

On its surface, the week plays right into our student body's demographic: teenaged boys. They love the spectacle and it is a good reason to get crazy. But Wrestling Week is much more than that and a reflection of the philosophy at Woodward Academy. Organized activities are a staple on campus. During the week, students attend school, participate in high school athletics, have therapy groups, extracurricular activities, clean the dorm, and get homework done. The weekends are just as structured with schedules penned out at least week in advance.

Beyond keeping students engaged in positive activities, this week is a good opportunity for staff to get involved as well. When Program Directors, Group Leaders, teachers, and counselors get involved in any activity, it subtlety shows students that we can all have fun, and work hard together. The fact is that these fun weeks make the more difficult moments for students much easier to take on. They see staff invested in their life and they will be much more likely to open up and accept feedback from them. The organizer of the week, Program Director, Bill Badgely, took participation to a new level when he (and his brother) got in the ring for a final tag team event.

The above image of Group Leaders on campus says it all about the week. If you want to see all of the wrestlers from the week, and pictures from the event, visit our Knight Pics website.

Open House 5K Run // July 9, 2015

The annual Open House took place on campus July 9, one day before our 20th anniversary. A 5K run in the morning has become tradition with the event and this year approximately 80 runners participated in the race. Some call it a "Fun Run," others the "Iron Man," but whatever the case, if you like running through wooded areas, in creeks, and up a 70 degree mud hill with the use of a rope, you would love it. You can check out a video of the race embedded above.

The Open House is a great opportunity to spend some time with students and staff on campus and really take in the Woodward Academy experience. Many guests received tours from students, checked out a monthly assembly, and even took in a varsity baseball game on campus.

In the afternoon, an impressive milestone was reached that went largely unnoticed by most people. Woodward Academy admitted its 5,000 student. Plan ahead and come attend our annual Open House in 2016.

Open House 2015

This summer, Woodward Academy is celebrating its 20th anniversary and you're invited to participate with us during our annual Open House event on July 9. The day will kick off with a 5k run around campus that both staff and students participate in. The day will continue with a combination of food, campus tours, opportunities to meet with students, presentations, and a look back at all of the great things that Woodward Academy has accomplished over the past two decades. Whether you've been to campus multiple times, or never before, it is a great opportunity to see the pride that both students and staff have in being a Knight. So mark your calendars and RSVP by email or calling at:

Chris Koch
chris.koch@sequelyouthservices.com
(515) 438-3142

Here are some videos of what happened in 2014 and 2013.

Thanksgiving Break

Thanksgiving break marks the beginning of a holiday season where students think about their families and home life more than usual. These weekends are also used to make that desire to see loved ones a reality. This past weekend, many students received home passes and ate Thanksgiving dinner with their families. In fact, some dorms sent 1/3 of their students home for at least part of the weekend. Home passes are earned by the students based on how well they are performing on the dorm. Even then, some students stayed on campus because they preferred a home pass over Christmas break.

For the students who stayed on campus, all was not lost and a lot of activities were planned to help keep them busy. Holiday weekend are often less structured than typical ones. There was a lot of football being watched and board games being played. On Thanksgiving day, a lot of staff helped cook meals and some of them were full on feasts. Nothing can replace spending a weekend at home, but it is amazing what a good, home cooked meal can do.

8ManTag Badgleys // Video

If you wanted to see what happened last Saturday night at the end of Royal Rumble Wrestling Week, here is the video. Hosted in Woodward Academy's gymnasium, the final event saw the Impact Pro Wrestlers in the ring along with Bill Badgley (the Program Director who set up the entire event) and his brother Ben Badgley, and an 8-man tag team event.

The narrated video is really good and you can see how much the kids loved it. We've outlined some key times to pay attention to:

Badgley Brothers enter at 12:13
Running elbow makes the crowd go crazy at 13:36
Bill Badgley's 4 person clothesline at 22:20
The Double Spear final moments at 23:30

Royal Rumble Wrestling Week!

It is officially Royal Rumble Wrestling Week at Woodward Academy which means that you'll see a lot of spandex and wrestling belts walking across campus. The week long festivities all lead up to the weekend activities where Impact Pro Wrestling will put on a show for the entire student body.

Throughout the week, students and staff dress up like their favorite professional wrestler as a part of a competition to see who has the highest spirit. In addition to getting into character, dorms will be working on their wrestling chants and entrances, and even group sessions during the week will be focused around a "wrestling theme." Friday night, dorms will be preparing their signs so when Saturday night comes, everyone will be ready to get rowdy! All of these activities will be judged and combined together to generate a cumulative score to see which dorm wins.

Read more after the break.

NBA Preseason

The NBA season is kicking off in preseason form and two teams made a stop in Des Moines with a lot of Knights in attendance. Over 90 Woodward Academy students and staff filled Wells Fargo Arena for the game between the Golden State Warriors and Denver Nuggets. There was a lot of buzz around the game because it featured Iowa native Harrison Barnes (guard for the Warriors) returning home to play in the same arena where he won two state championships for Ames High.

Not only did a ton of current students attend the game, but alum and Lifetime Exec, Quartney Parker, returned to campus and also attended the game. Pictured is Quartney (right) with current Guide and a top Knight on campus, Ankoma Riddick. Quartney will be spending some time with students and talking with them about his experience at WA and how he has been doing since leaving the Academy.

Not that the preseason matters, but Barnes lifted the Warriors to a win in his home state by hitting a clutch jumper with 6.8 seconds left in the game.

Annual Golf Tournament for the Knights Scholarship Fund

Last Friday, the 5th annual golf tournament benefiting the Knights Scholarship Fund teed off at the Beaver Creek Golf Course in Grimes, Iowa. This year, 78 golfers participated in the four-person best ball event. With the help of 35 sponsors and donors, the tournament raised over $6,000 that will directly help WA alumni as they move into the next stage of their life. Some of the money has already been allocated for students later this summer who have been accepted to college for the fall semester.

Over the past 5 years, this tournament alone has generated over $30,000 and changed students' lives for the better. The spirit of the tournament is an extension of Woodward Academy's Lifetime Commitment Program. You can see some pictures from the tournament by visiting our Knight Pics website by clicking here.

Rock Band // Weekend Activities

During the week, students attend school all day and after that participate in either extracurricular activities or high school athletics before heading back to the dorm for group. Their daily schedule is packed and needless to say, they are busy. But what do they do on the weekend?

Most weekends are just as scheduled as during the week. In fact, schedules for the weekend are organized throughout and approved by each dorm's Program Director before Friday afternoon hits. Dorm repair projects, community service activities, family visits, and organized competitions are common on the weekend. In addition to those things, a lot of weekends are themed, as was the case in May when Saturday night brought out the 80's hair band in everyone. Students did their best rock band impressions as Guns 'N Roses, Warrant, and Def Leppard blared throughout the gymnasium. Weekend activities have proven to be a great way to get students involved in campus life and can often times serve as great distractions from any stressors they may be experiencing. You can see more pictures from the Rock Band weekend on our Knight Pics website by clicking here.

Open House 5K // Tug O' War // Video

Woodward Academy's annual Open House took place on Wednesday, June 5, and was accompanied with a lot of other events as well. The purpose behind the day is to invite guests onto campus to visit with students and get a better grasp of WA life. Several years ago, we added a 5K run in the morning that isn't designed for the casual runner. This year's course asked participants to run 3 miles through a wooded area, in a creek with waist-high water, and up the Iron Man, a 70 degree, muddy incline, twice. This year's winner was a student from the Phase 5 house: Richard Collins.

An addition for this year's event was a dorm vs. dorm, Tug O' War. As you can imagine, the contest was epic and muddy; everything that a rope battle should be. Check out a video of it below.

After lunch, guests were given tours of the campus by Knights on campus. After that, tables were set up outlining many of WA's different programs including vocations, clinical services, and transitional opportunities. Additionally, they were given a demo of how to utilize all of WA's electronic media including this blog, web app, and YouTube channel. You can see images from the 5K on our Knight Pics website by clicking here. Warning: some are pretty colorful.

Jeremy Stephens Speaks to Students on Campus

Des Moines native, Jeremy Stephens, spent some time this week talking with some WA students about growing up in Iowa and his current career as a fighter in the UFC. Recently, Stephens beat the 9th ranked fighter in his weight class and is currently ranked in the top 10. He shares an agent with Myles Fury, another UFC fighter who spoke on campus last year.

Stephens has made some mistakes in his past, and would be the first to acknowledge that. One of the worst he told students was that he surrounded himself with people who didn't have his best interest in mind. Once he got in the spotlight as a successful UFC fighter, others around him held onto that for their own interest, which ultimately got him in trouble. When that happened, he said he found it very difficult to approach his family, friends, and even UFC President Dana White, to explain his side of the story. He has vowed to be more diligent about the decisions he makes in the future. During the question/answer session, students were particularly interested in how Stephens got into the UFC. He stressed hard work and being focused as his main reasons. Often times, he prioritizes working out and training over more fun activities. Stephens was a great speaker for the Knights, and afterwards he posed for some pictures with students and took a tour of campus.

Veterans Day

In November 1919, President Wilson proclaimed November 11 as the first commemoration of Armistice Day and Congress later passed a bill making it an official national holiday. The day recognized the end of fighting in World War I (then known as The Great War), which as Congress noted was "the most destructive, sanguinary, and far reaching war" in human history. Years later in 1954, after World War II, the word armistice was replaced with "veterans" in order to honor those who served in a war that required the greatest mobilization of soldiers, sailors, Marines and airmen the world had ever seen.

Today, Veterans Day is annually observed on November 11 and is a way to focus the nation's attention on those who have served the United States. It is a celebration to honor their patriotism, love of country, and willingness to serve and sacrifice for the common good. Woodward Academy has 25 veterans on staff out of approximately 200 employees. That is an amazing number and something that we find pride in. A lot of Woodward Academy classes spent time today recognizing Veterans Day and we wanted to take time here to honor our veterans. Pictured is Sergeant Jason Anderson with some students from his dorm, Delta Company, in an image taken this weekend. After the break, we'll recap what some classes did to commemorate the day, and look at Anderson's military experience and reflections on Veterans Day.

Get Pink

October is breast cancer awareness month and Woodward Academy got into the pink spirit in this big campus picture. As an annual national campaign to raise awareness of the disease, pink is everywhere these days ranging from NFL jerseys to people sporting it as they participate in Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure events. This campus picture was taken earlier this week as a corporate initiative to raise awareness and as a friendly competition between sister schools of Woodward Academy. Educational programming was also a part of the Get Pink program across all of the campuses.