A Note from Your Principal
August 2023
Welcome back, Woodsboro community!
My name is Melanie Carmona and I am thrilled to serve as principal of Woodsboro Elementary. You can read more about me and my commitment to Woodsboro on the About the Principal page.
Our theme this year is WE BEE-LONG IN THE HIVE. Belonging is such an important aspect of schools and one of our strengths at Woodsboro is the feeling that each student, staff member, parent, guardian, and community member feels like family. We hope to deepen this commitment to our Woodsboro family and ensure that our new students and families feel that belonging instantly.
In order to make sure everyone feels that they BEE-LONG, we love to communicate with our families! I communicate with families via our weekly newsletter, The Woodsboro Weekly, and through our school’s Instagram account. Please check these resources regularly for all of our event information, important school reminders, and frequent photos of our staff and scholars at work and play! Teachers communicate frequently via weekly newsletters, email, online services such as Remind, and phone. Please also check your child’s homework folder and backpack for hard copy communications each week. And consider joining our fabulous PTA to be kept informed of the many activities our PTA plans and executes for Woodsboro throughout each year. Email [email protected] for information. Joining PTA does not require any volunteer hours.
Along with our first priority of keeping students physically safe, we ensure that our school is an emotionally safe and positive environment through our PBIS (Positive Behavior Intervention and Support) system, the Woodsboro Way, in which our students pledge to be ready, respectful, and responsible. We teach students our behavior expectations at the beginning of every year and reinforce their learning by rewarding them with Woodsboro Way cards, a token economy that can be used to “buy” exciting experiences and goods from our Student Store every other week. Please help us encourage good behavior by reviewing this section in our Teacher-Parent-Student Handbook with your student.
In teaching and learning news, all of our district’s elementary teachers are participating in various trainings this summer and fall to ensure the highest quality instruction for our scholars in the following areas:
New History Social Science Texts
- Teachers Curriculum Institute (TCI) Social Studies Alive! (grades K-5)
- National Geographic's World History: Ancient Civilizations (grade 6)
Cognitively Guided Instruction (CGI)
- A student-centered approach to teaching math that starts with what students already know and builds on their natural number sense and intuitive approaches to problem solving
Literacy Instruction
- Foundations of literacy, phonics, small group instruction, vocabulary, comprehension and common formative assessments
Twig Science
- Next Generation Science Standards based science curriculum
Additionally, we continue the work of a proud AVID (Advancement Via Individual Determination) certified elementary school and will enhance classroom instruction through research and evidence-based AVID strategies.
Please use this website as a resource throughout the year and let us know if there is anything you appreciate or would like to see improved on our Feedback Form. This is also a link at the top of every Woodsboro Weekly newsletter.
I look forward to the year ahead!
Melanie Carmona
Woodsboro Elementary Principal
