Woodward's Art 1, 2 and 3 classes traveled to the Museum of Fine Arts on January 26th to see the Around the World in Watercolor exhibit. This is a new exhibit at the museum that showcases 30 watercolors from artists such as Thomas Moran and John La Farge. This exhibit provided visual examples for the students upcoming art project.  While at the museum, the girls sketched their favorite watercolor to use as reference later. It was a fun day at the MFA!

The Woodward Wildcats basketball team continued its winning season in front of a packed house, with a 33 - 26 win today, January 25th, over powerhouse Montrose School, which was undefeated until today. Montrose is a highly ranked Class D NEPSAC school and the win today solidifies Woodward's 1st Place Class E NEPSAC ranking. The win was a total team effort on both sides of the ball. Scoring was led by senior Captain Antionette Jean-Louis with 13 points,15 rebounds and 5 blocked shots. Senior Captain Bryn Coulsey had 11 points, while sophomore Captain Ava Small contributed 9 points. Senior starters Mariana Verenis and Delilah Goncalves both had outstanding defensive games. Woodward is undefeated!

Woodward Wildcats Head Coach Bob Giordano reached his 200th varsity basketball win in his 16th coaching season at Woodward. Coach Giordano credits his players’ work ethic through the years. “Every one of my players knows when they put on a Woodward jersey, that they are playing for much more than themselves. The athletes are representing their school and Woodward’s remarkable history and tradition”. Coach Giordano also credits much of the success of the program to his long time assistant and friend, Coach Jim Lynch. “It is hard to put in words what Jim means to me, the basketball program and players, who love and respect what he brings to the court”. Many of the Woodward community turned out on Monday, January 9th for the Wildcats home game versus Cambridge School of Weston. Students, alumnae basketball team members, parents, and faculty were at the Quincy Armory gym to be with Coach G when the team reached the milestone. The game score was Woodward 45, Cambridge School of Weston 15. The game, in which 10 Woodward players scored, put our great Coach G in the record books with a milestone 200th victory!

The Theater Arts Class is proud to present an afternoon of Theater, Song, and Dance. This is a free performance that will showcase the talents of theater arts students and will include Greek monologues, contemporary monologues, scenes from the play, Sylvia, and four musical theater numbers. Please come to support the Performing Arts Department and to enjoy the show! The performance will take place in The Woodward Theater at 20 Greenleaf Street. It will run about one hour. Refreshments will be served immediately after the presentation.

Students that have not taken the ISEE or SSAT and wish to apply to Woodward must register for Woodward's assessment exam by contacting the School. 

Round 1:  Saturday, January 7, 2012, 10am - 12:30pm
Students should arrive at 20 Greenleaf Street, Woodward's Performing Arts Center & Admissions Building, at 9:45am.  Testing will begin promptly at 10am.

All are invited to Woodward’s Annual Holiday Concert featuring the Upper and Middle School Choruses, the Pop Ensemble, and individual and duet performances. The concert will be held at the 20 Greenleaf Street building on Wednesday, December 14th at 7 PM.

All students participate in Spirit Week each year celebrating Woodward and its great community.  Each day's theme changes from year to year; whether it's Sports Day, Culture Day, Mix-Match day or Wacky Wednesday, students, teachers and administrators enjoy dressing spiritedly to express their great Woodward pride!



 

The Woodward School Board of Trustees & Parents' Association invite parents of current Woodward students to a Holiday Reception on Thursday December 8th from 6-8pm at 1102 Hancock Street.  Please RSVP to the main office at (617) 773-5610.  Hope to see you there!

The Woodward School's Parents' Association hosted its Annual Craft Fair at Woodward on Saturday, December 3rd. With over 30 crafters, Quincy community members filled the 1102 gymnasium and hallways at Woodward!
 
photos by Emily Rines '13

Also, Woodward's Drama Club performed A Midsummer Night's Dream on both Friday and Saturday (12/3 & 12/4). The performance was a huge success; this was the first performance in Woodward's Performing Arts Center located at 20 Greenleaf Street.
  
photos by Emilija Baksys '12

Congratulations to all!

Congratulations to Woodward Float Club members and parent volunteers for winning the Grand Prize in Quincy's annual Christmas Parade on Sunday, November 28th.
 

The Woodward School's theater, located at 20 Greenleaf Street, is being renovated just in time for Woodward's Production of A Midsummer Night's Dream. We look forward to the theater being completed in its entirety by springtime!






 

Senior LilliAnn Plourde was the Adams Speaker at the Adams Wreath Laying Ceremony on Monday, October 31st at Noon, at the United First Parish Church, or Church of the Presidents, in Quincy Center. The ceremony commemorates the birthday of President John Adams, who along with his wife Abigail, son John Quincy Adams, and his wife Louisa Catherine Adams, are all interred in the Church. Woodward's Faculty and Student Body was in attendance at this public ceremony.

The eighth grade began their Upper School visit day with a class breakfast and orientation lead by Head of School, Carol Andrews. Classes attended throughout day included AP English, Psychology, Anatomy & Physiology, Technology and Theater Arts. At lunch, the girls participated in a panel discussion with Upper School students in both the 9th and 12th grades. Panelists commented on their confidence in a Woodward education and talked about the many benefits of an all-girls educational environment.

Please join us at Woodward's Fall Open House on Sunday, October 23rd, 12-2pm at 1102 Hancock Street. Come meet members of our faculty and administration, learn about our Program of Studies and take a guided tour with current Woodward students. Don't miss out!

Woodward students, teachers and administrators hiked the Blue Hills today; it has been a tradition to spend a day outside of the classroom as an entire school for over twenty years.  Seniors hiked in their newly created class of 2012 tee-shirts with their "little sisters" (the 6th grade students).  It was a great day filled with exercise, food and games!




 

Quincy community members gathered at the Thomas Crane Library last evening, Wednesday, October 12th, to admire the incredible works of art The Woodward School students created.  Congratulations ladies, it was a beautiful event that complemented your tremendous talent! 

     For the exhibition, students carefully evaluated their favorite pieces and chose one to feature; considerations were based on theme, subject and/or materials. Some of the students featured in the exhibit include Nadia Zimo, Anh My Ngo, and Natchalee Toruen.
     An evening reception to open the exhibition will be held for Woodward students, famililes, and friends on October 12th from 6 to 8 PM at the Crane Libray.

Parents gathered at Woodward's 1102 campus building to follow their daughter's schedule, meet teachers, faculty members and students. Every ten minutes allowing parents to visit each of their daughter's classes, learn about what topics their daughters will be studying this year at Woodward, and mingle with other Woodward parents. 

  

Soccer team practice is everyday from 2:45 - 4:30 PM.

Welcome Woodward Students and Families for Opening Day, Wednesday, September 7th.
Families may report to the 20 Greenleaf Street Campus Building downstairs, for orientations: 8:30 am for Middle School and 9:30 am for Upper School.  Family parking is at 20 Greenleaf Street lot and available on street parking.
Thank you and welcome back!

Students, old and new, pose together as they exit their first class of the 2011-2012 academic school year.  Lots of luck to all of our great girls here at The Woodward School!
       





 

Students and their families are invited to Woodward's annual Back to School BBQ on Wednesday Sept. 7th, Opening Day, at 1102 Hancock Street, 12-2pm.  This event will be held in the auditorium due to the weather forecast predicting rain.

  

As the external renovations take place, Woodward's soccer team takes a moment to assist with the new walkway!  The new building is in the process of being painted and freshly lanscaped!  We look forward to September when Woodward students will enjoy their new campus addition! 

All are invited to join the Administration and Parents' Association in welcoming new students and their families to Woodward. Light refreshments will be served. Please RSVP before Monday, August 29th, at 617.773.5610 or via email to Sarah Jacobs at sjacobs@thewoodwardschool.org

Hundreds gathered in The Grand Ballroom at Granite Links in Quincy on Thursday, May 19th to support Woodward and the two extraordinary Women of Distinction being honored for their accomplishments and good works. Alumnae Ruth Paven '46 and Isobel Bertman were this year's honorees. This photo shows past and present honorees.
Follow this link to see the Patriot Ledger article and photos.

The Woodward Wildcats Softball Team ended the 2011 spring softball season as the 2011 Champions of the Independent Girls League with a 6-4 victory over the Wheeler School in Rhode Island. Game highlights were the great pitching from sophomore Emma Whatley, the sixth home run in three games from shortstop Bailey Brait '14, a timely hit by Senior Captain, Jo'ie Lee Brack and an outstanding catching performance from Bryn Coulsey '12, including three put outs at the plate. The 11-3 season record was one of the best in Woodward softball history. Congratulations Woodward Wildcats!
   

Middle School
Ma'ila Kaumeneiwa, Isabella Del Tufo, Marissa Albanese, Sophia Argus, Abigail Capraro, Chidera Onwunaka, Mikalia Jackson, Abby Rose Plourde

Upper School
Emma Whatley, Kate Dunn, Anh My Ngo, Nadia Zimo, Natchalee Toruen





Seniors
Kristen Bimmler, Emily Warshauer, Maggie Will, Elizabeth Egan

On Friday, May 13th, Quincy Police Officer Paul Foley and his K9 police dog Rex, stopped by to visit our 6th graders. Officer Foley demonstrated how the police dog works sniffing out explosive devices and explained how he works with Rex to search buildings to apprehend criminals. The students asked a variety of questions and received junior police badges, which they proudly wore.






  
The students held a bake sale this winter to raise funds for their charity, Vest-A-Dog MA, which provides police vests for the K9 units. The students will continue to raise funds for this wonderful charity throughout their years at Woodward.

Over 500 children's story books were collected for the troops for "Operation Story-Time", organized by faculty member, Liza Iolli. The books are distributed to soldiers in Afghanistan and Iraq who read the stories for their children, record a DVD and send it back along with the book to their child in Massachusetts. Ms. Iolli ran a contest for the class who submitted the most books. The 6th grade came in first place with over 260 books and the 7th grade came in a close second. Great effort girls!

The Italian Club held a "Taste of Italy" this spring in the auditorium. Over 15 members prepared Italian dishes from antipasti to biscottis. All proceeds went to benefit their charity, The Italian Home for Children. The Italian Home is a residential and day treatment facility for emotionally and behaviorally challenged children of all races, nationalities and religions. The Italian Home for Children provides a comprehensive network of services for children in crisis and specializes in the assessment and treatment of a variety of behavioral and mental health concerns. Every year the Italian Home assists hundreds of children and provides its services to children throughout Massachusetts. The students also collected four boxes of art supplies for the home. The event was organized by co-presidents Mariana Verenis '12 and Bianca Ruma '12.

The Middle School Chorus performing "Music from the Movies"
The Select Choir - Upper and Middle School Vocal Group

Here are the winners from our Student Art Show held on April 27, 2011:

Student Choice Winners -  Sophomore Nadia Zimo, 8th Grade Zoe Shannon

Honorable Mentions - Sophomore Emma Whatley, 6th Grade Destiny Joseph, Sophomore Anh My Ngo, 7th Grade Cassie Wesner, Junior Elana Murphy, 6th Grade Isabella Del Tufo, Sophomore Adreyanua Jean Louis, 7th Grade Abby Rose Plourde, Junior Deirdre Duddy-Kennedy, 8th Grade Joanna O'Brien

3rd Place - Sophomore Nadia Zimo, 8th Grade Laura Martin

2nd PLace - Junior Natchalee Toruen, 8th Grade Zoe Shannon

1st Place - Sophomore Kate Dunn, 7th Grade Ma'ila Kaumeheiwa

Grand Prize - Senior Maggie Will, 6th Grade Marissa Albanese

On April 25th, the 6th grade traveled to the Museum of Fine Arts to see the new Dale Chihuly, "Through the Looking Glass" exhibit. Our group was given a private tour through the exhibit that emphasized ideas discussed in their class project earlier this year. The trip was wonderful! Everything in the exhibit is truly beautiful and inspiring.  The show runs until August 7th. You can find details about the exhibit at www.MFA.org

Night of the Arts will be held at Woodward on April 27 from 6 to 8 PM. The art show will include a poetry and drama component. Viewing of student artwork and poetry projects in classrooms and hallways will be from 6 to 7 PM. From 7 to 7:45 PM, there will be a drama persentation of Shakespearean sonnets, student presentations of famous poets and their work, and student written poems. At 7:45 PM the evening will conclude with the presentation of the art show awards, including the popular Students Choice Award. Please come and support the arts! Click on the Art Gallery tab in the left navigation bar for a preview of the art show.

Sponsored by the Woodward School Parents' Association
at the Tirrell Room @ 11 AM
245 Quarry Street, Quincy MA

The Woodward School community gathered for its annual Founders’ Night on Thursday, March 24th at the School to celebrate the vision and generosity of the School’s founders’, Dr. Ebenezer Woodward and Mary Greenleaf Woodward, as well as the academic achievements of its students, including the National Honor Society Induction Ceremony and awards presentations for the Founders’ History Paper Competition, Declamation Awards, The Anne Starr Arts Prize and Scholarship and the Outstanding Teacher Award.

Also recognized on Founders’ Night were the finalists and winner of the Founders’ History Paper Competition and Scholarship Prize. The Founders’ Paper is a junior class required thesis paper on a topic in U.S. History. An independent group of judges from outside of the School read and score the finalists’ papers, whose authors are identified only by number. The Grand Prize Winner is the recipient of the Susan M. Hayes History Award and Scholarship, a tuition scholarship established in memory of former Woodward history teacher and Dean of Students, Susan Martin Hayes. The 1st place winner of the Susan Martin Hayes Scholarship is LilliAnn Plourde of Quincy. The 1st runner-up is Yasmine Sahli of Dedham and Honorable Mentions went to Barbara Spidle of Waltham, Katelyn Preble of Weymouth and Sarah Strong of Westwood.

The Grade 8 Declamation Prize, for recitation of Robert Frost’s Poem, Stopping By Woods went to Gabriella DelTufo of Hyde Park. The grade 8 recitation finalists were Rachel Hoban of Quincy, Joanna O’Brien of Quincy, Uche Onwunaka of Quincy, Zoe Shannon of Duxbury, and Sara White of Hanover.

The Sophomore Declamation Prize recipient was Jessica Juan-Aquino of Hyde Park for her exceptional recitation of Robert F. Kennedy’s speech given to a campaign audience on April 4, 1968, breaking the news that Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. had been assassinated that day. Miss Juan-Aquino was awarded the prize for her competent, natural and sympathetic delivery of Senator Kennedy’s words. The runner up for the Sophomore Declamation Prize was Emily Rines of Quincy, for her excellent delivery of a speech given in 1588 by Queen Elizabeth I, to English troops facing the invincible Spanish Armada.

The Anne Starr Arts Prize and Scholarship was awarded to Elana Murphy ‘12 of Milton, who was honored for excellence and dedication to her artwork inside and outside of the school. The Anne Starr Scholarship is presented to a deserving Woodward School junior who has demonstrated a strong interest and concentration in the arts. The scholarship was established and awarded by Marjorie Starr Myers, Carole Starr Schein and Barbara Starr Wolf, the daughters of Anne Starr, a 1927 Woodward graduate and outstanding alumna. Soon after her graduation from Woodward, Ms. Starr married and by the age of twenty-five was widowed with three daughters. Anne immediately went to work and later founded the well-known women’s specialty shops in Quincy and Wellesley that carried her name, Anne Starr, Inc. Throughout her life she maintained an active interest in the fine arts and music and she cultivated this same passion in her daughters. She passed away in December of 2007 and her daughters established the Anne Starr scholarship in her memory to recognize and promote art education at The Woodward School.

The semi formal was held at Woodward on March 19, and it was a great success! "The Night on the Nile" brought many upper school students together for a night of fun and dancing. The class of 2013 worked numerous hours to prepare for the semi. We hope everyone had a wonderful evening.

The Anatomy & Physiology class recently participated in a laboratory exercise at Harvard University. Funding for this program is provided by The Howard Hughes Medical Institute. The students studied the embryology of zebra fish by comparing two types of zebra fish - normal (wild type) and mutant (colorless or no eyes). Some of the fish were 24 hours old and some were two days old.

Our students also stained embryos that were nine days old to see the level of cartilage development. The graduate student fellows who ran the lab gave an overview of their research and how they decided to pursue this line of research. The class enjoyed the experience.

On the day’s schedule of fun was the ancient Roman game Astragaloi, played a little bit like our game of Jacks, as well as a thoroughly modern game of “Pin the Snakes on Medusa.” Pythia, the famed Oracle of Delphi, predicted futures, while across the way guests tried their fortuna at getting beanbags through the arches of the Colosseum.  As some girls mulled over whether Augustus or Athena would be more likely to bring them luck at the dice game, others were having their faces painted with symbols of the Olympian deities: Jupiter’s thunderbolt, Mercury’s winged sandal and Bacchus’s dolphin, to name a few. On stage, Orpheus charmed Hades into releasing his young bride from the bonds of her untimely death and allowing her to return to earth with him; sadly, the overanxious Orpheus lost her again when he disobeyed the king of the underworld.

No celebration is complete without cibum (food). The Classics Club provided a tasty and healthy menu at the popina, ancient Rome’s answer to a fast food stand. Chicken Caesar wraps and salad, fresh fruit cups and ambrosia, the drink of the gods, were available. To finish the prandium (lunch), there were delicious cakes, cookies and other sweets. It was a time of learning and laughing, especially for the Classics Club members themselves, who truly enjoyed hosting their schoolmates and teachers. Gratias agimus to all who joined us for a happy March 15th.

The Woodward School looks forward to a magical evening watching The Drama Club's production of J.M. Barrie's Peter Pan, performed by an Upper and Middle School cast and crew, directed by faculty member Jean Robison, with Music Director, Yvonne Aubert. Performance dates are Friday, March 4th and Saturday, March 5th at 7 PM, and Sunday, March 6th at 1 PM. Tickets may be purchased in advance of the performances at the School. Any remaining tickets will be sold at the door before each show. The performance will run approximately 90 minutes with intermission. Poster Art for the Peter Pan production by Maggie Will '11. Click here to see a larger image of the poster.

Our Woodward Wildcats defeated Gann Academy in the Independent Girls Conference on Tuesday, February 15, 2011. Woodward won by 5 points, scoring 46 points to Gann's 41 points. The Championship game against Montrose School will be held tomorrow, Thursday, February 17th in Foxboro, at Mass Premier Basketball. Click on calendar event for time and directions to the game.

Woodward won round one of the IGC Tournament, 44-26, over the Landmark School. High scorers were Ava Small '14 scoring 15 points, Bryn Coulsey '12 scoring 13 points, and Antoinette Jean-Louis '12 scoring 10 points. Congratulations girls!

Congratulations to the Wildcats Varsity Basketball Team as they conclude their regular season with a 44 to 40 victory over rival Brimmer and May School. The Wildcats finished the season with an impressive 12-2 record. Go Wildcats!