A Note from the Woods...

The next time you walk onto campus please pause, be still… and just listen - first with your eyes open and then with them shut.

Can you hear it? Can you feel it? Yes, you’re right! You hear and feel the “rhythm of the Woods”.It’s a very special sound, almost a symphony of sounds that create the cadence of our school year.

In fact, it is an opus number 2011-2012 in progress whose melodies will be heard until the final crescendo late in May. All students have found their places, their seats, the “music” has been distributed and it is practiced by day and studied by night. It echoes in the halls and resounds during recess.

While teaching and learning at the Woods has no symphonic instruments, it is a magnificent choral piece of almost 400 young voices in perfect a capella pitch with almost 60 staff who help direct each day’s composition. It is truly a work of art in progress and certainly as wondrous as childhood. The days are filled with movements of adagio, allegro, and even staccato. While none of us has perfect pitch, we all join in creating this amazing teaching and learning symphony.

And, yes, it does deserve a standing ovation. Bravo, Wood Acres! Encore! Here’s to another great performance in 2011-2012. Thank you for helping us make this Opus amazing!

Judy Thigpen,

Head of School

Turning up the heat at Wood Acres

Each year Wood Acres fetes the staff at a kick-off event that blends “mountain top” goal setting with “down in the valley” logistics for the coming year.

Although each year’s kick off theme is special, the one this year has so resonated with everyone that we are sharing it the Wood Acres community. Our theme for the 2011-2012 school year is …simply 212º - the boiling point of water! At 211º water is hot. At 212º, it boils. And with boiling water comes steam. And steam can power a locomotive. The one extra degree makes the difference.

This simple analogy reflects the ultimate definition of excellence. Because it’s the one extra degree of effort, in education, business and life, that can separate the good from the great. The powerful book by Sam Parker and Mac Anderson, 212º : The Extra Degree, gives solid examples of how to incorporate the 212º philosophy into all aspects of your life - at work, with friends and as a parent.

Great quotes and great stories illustrate the 212º concept at simpletruths.  A warning… once you read it, it will be hard to forget. This year, faculty and staff plan to “turn up the heat” on our TLC… teaching, learning, and caring. Caution! Wood Acres will be boiling hot with 212° sightings of excellence, all focused on the educational success of each and every student. Join us in recognizing these moments, large and small, that will propel the Woods into its next era of excellence.

It’s Fahrenheit 212° - and this is 2011-2012 school year… Whoa! That’s hot!