Here's a sample from the Spirit Day photo booth. A special thanks to our admin for stopping by! WHS is lucky to have you.
As always, the rest of the pictures are in the photos tab! #WHSPride
Arguably the most eventful day of the year, Friday's schedule included Royal Spirit Day, Pepfest, the Parade, and, of course, the Homecoming Football Game.
Here's a sample from the Spirit Day photo booth. A special thanks to our admin for stopping by! WHS is lucky to have you. As always, the rest of the pictures are in the photos tab! #WHSPride
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Slightly delayed, I know, but the awesome costumes for twin day couldn't go unnoticed. This spirit day came out victorious in a battle between twin, jungle/safari, and tie-dye day. Look for the rest of the photos on the photo page (You'll have to scroll down).
To continue our recap of Homecoming Week... Wednesday's Powderpoof and Powderpuff games were a smashing success. To kick things off, the United States of Abs claimed the title among the guy volleyball players. Later, the senior and junior girls headed out to the stadium for a close game of football - congratulations to the seniors on their victory!
Here's a little preview of the Powderpuff game; look for others (and some Powderpoof pictures) in the photos page soon! The first spirit day photo booth was a success! Thank you to those of you that came out - your leather jackets and poodle skirts could not have looked better! Don't worry if you missed us today. We'll be back: Thursday (Twin Day), Friday (Royal Spirit), and Saturday at the Semi-Formal (8:30-11:30). Keep up the spirit Royals! #WHSPride
Click the 'Photos' tab to see the rest of the photos! And on that note, the boys team deserves no less recognition. Last week the Varsity team had a tough (first) loss against East Ridge. Yes, you read correctly - first. The boys have had an incredible season with a record of 13-1. Don't forget to cheer them on this Tuesday at their first section game. Go Royals!
Also, shout out to the student section but being an excellent support to both the boys and girls teams! #WHSPRide A huge congratulations to the Varsity Girls' Soccer team, who were named the Suburban East Conference Champions! The girls played an excellent game against East Ridge, winning with a score of 3-1. The first goal was scored by Lauren Stuber, the second by Neve Patterson, and the third by Rachel Hewitt. The whole team played admirably - we are so proud of you, girls!
Another special shout out to the amazing seniors of the team: Bre Cathey, Mollie Hanselman (C), Meghan Konop (C), Sarah Lonergan, Dani Nelson, Neve Patterson, Lauren Stuber, and Julia Weimer! Last Friday night, the Royals took on St. Thomas Academy while the fans sported their best hippie gear. The boys put up an amazing fight with the support of an excellent student section. Superfans, dancers, cheerleaders, band members, staff, administration, parents, siblings--we had it all.
Keep up to date on this blog to find more pictures from this game and other events to come. (Homecoming is right around the corner!) In case you haven't already heard, Woodbury High School was ranked 45th in Newsweek Magazine's list of America's 500 top high schools, making us the top public school in the state! Check out what our principal, Ms. Sorenson-wagner, had to say on the school's amazing achievement. Congrats WHS!
Earlier this week, I held my first Parent Advisory Council meeting. This monthly meeting invites parents to meet with the principal to learn about the inner workings of WHS, ask direct questions to the principal, and engage in discussion about creating a high quality learning experience for all students. The first thing I asked parents was to answer the question, “What is going well at Woodbury High School?” The number one response was to acknowledge how much teachers care about students. They shared with me that WHS has done an outstanding job both hiring and retaining high quality staff. In addition, parents spoke about the competitive academic culture that has been created at WHS; students pushing and challenging one another to take rigorous coursework and excel academically. Many parents also appreciated how well rounded the curriculum was for students in the variety of courses offered and electives in place to provide a place for all students to achieve, including art & music programming. Our number of clubs and activities, in addition to athletics, also provide many additional opportunities for students to connect & contribute to their school. When I reflect on the recent announcement of Newsweek Magazine ranking Woodbury High School #45 of America’s top high schools, I am overwhelmed with pride. I am proud to be a part of the rich tradition that is Woodbury High School. I want students to know this is a special place. This is a place where we take care one another, where we support one another’s goals, and we encourage one another to succeed. A ranking doesn’t capture the energy in the halls or discussions taking place in the classroom. It doesn’t measure the smiles and high fives exchanged or hugs of support. What a ranking does, in small part, is to acknowledge the tremendous effort of the students, staff, and parents at Woodbury High School, and all they do each day to make this a better place for all students to be prepared to successfully transition into the world beyond high school. Go Royals! See the article (and more) for yourself! Newsweek: America's Top High Schools 2014 http://www.newsweek.com/high-schools/americas-top-schools-2014 WCCO Article http://minnesota.cbslocal.com/2014/09/08/9-minnesota-schools-make-newsweek-magazines-top-500/ Congratulations to the Boys and Girls Cross Country Teams! At last week's Minnaert Invitational at St. Croix Bluffs, the Varsity Boys team placed 2nd, while the Varsity Girls took 5th! Top runners for the boys included Nick Wareham (1st), Joe Romain (3rd), and Paul Henning (4th). Katlyn Ableidinger, Haley Orf, and Kathleen Danielson led the girls. Special recognition to Nick, who not only finished 21 seconds before the next runner, but also took first at this week's meet!
(Sorry for the late post; one week in and already some technical difficulties.) Being the first to post on our new blog, I'm feeling a little pressure to say something profound. Sadly, no clever "sound bites" are floating around in my brain, so it might be best to write from my heart. I've been mulling around the question "What does it mean to have Royal Pride?" I know that there's no other place I'd rather teach. This is my 27th year in the district and I'm one of the few teachers who has taught in every secondary building in good old 833. That includes eight years at Park, four at Cottage Grove Middle, theater classes at the all of the junior highs, summer school at East Ridge, and night school at the ALC. However, the best decision I ever made was to become a Royal in 1999. I love our school.
When I came here, our principal was Dr. Dana Babbitt. Pep fests always ended with him shouting through a megaphone "GIVE ME a R-O-Y-A-L !!!!!!" The students responded with such pride. Later, I watched our football team win state at the Metrodome. It was so cool! (Of course, soccer, basketball, hockey, speech, robotics, music...we do it all well.) We cried together when we saw planes fly into the World Trade Center on 9/11. We stood by teachers who had cancer like Bonnie Dahl, Señor Sommer, me, and now Ms. Dease. We laugh at creative pranks like the young man who streaked across the football field. (Please don't do that one. Your mother will not be pleased.) We stand with pride on Veterans' Day when the band plays the various theme songs of the branches of the military honoring our family members who have served. And...we unite with enthusiasm when Mr. Bolin leads the Double Clap! "Clap-clap!!!" One of the things that makes me proud to be a Royal is that our school was named one of the top ten high schools in Minnesota last year. Wow! Our students rank consistently high on the ACT. We score well on AP tests. We are usually best in the district on MAP and MCA's. Our students are awesome! Of course, we have teachers who are pretty awesome too! Here's the deal...the teachers here like each other. We're great friends and support each other in lots of ways in and out of school. We have the best support staff anywhere. Have you ever been greeted by Nancy Anderson in the principal's office or Deb Bandholz in counseling? Who could have a bad day with those two smiling at you?! I am a Royal. I'm proud of that and tell folks my blood flows blue. Let's have a great year and make some Royal memories! Marsha Swails or "Swailsie" English Department |
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