Woodman School is named after Mr. FL Woodman (1888-1967).  He was a teacher with the Calgary Board of Education from 1915-1935 and the principal of Western Canada High School from 1935-1954.  He was awarded the Calgary Sportsman of the Year, which is given to an individual who contributes unselfishly and with great sacrifice to build strong community and love of sport without motive.  The Calgary Booster Club described Mr. Woodman as a legend who made amateur sport a reality by his hard work and dedication.

The school was built in 1959 and over the last 60 plus years, the values of Mr. Woodman are still alive at Woodman School, which is a place where active living, athletics and a sense of strong community thrive.  Our school mascot, the Wolf, reminds us of the balance needed between fierce independence and taking care of the pack.  We strive for that balance at Woodman School.

This Is Our School – We All Make It A Great Place To Learn - Une Belle Place Pour Apprendre

The best middle schools offer a variety of ways for students to become involved, and to have a voice in making decisions, planning spaces, and expressing new ideas.  Woodman has varied opportunities for involvement on athletic teams; music; clubs; fundraising campaigns; school trips, and student advocacy groups.  The adults at Woodman strive to assist students in building a balanced school life – with a healthy mix of play and hard work, relaxation and pressure, fun and thoughtfulness.  

These are some of the ways we create a great place to learn:

Respect For All

We live in a diverse society.  We respect everyone’s unique personality, belief system, gender orientation, social circle, and appearance.  Every decision made at Woodman School is weighed against this value.  Attitudes and actions that display intolerance, disrespect, harassment or threat of harm to self or others are not acceptable, and will be addressed within a supportive circle involving home, school and student. Physical, social, emotional, sexual, and cyber forms of bullying will not be tolerated; this also includes course language, negative body language, swearing and language with derogatory undertones.   

Safe and Secure School Environment

The Calgary Board of Education outlines numerous requirements for safety while at school, which Woodman is in compliance with:

• Supervision ratios are adhered to within the school community and during off-site activities.
• Required number of staff is first-aid trained and certified.
• All parent volunteers have completed the CBE Volunteer Security Clearance process through the Calgary Police Service
• The Emergency Response Plan is reviewed and updated on a regular basis; we are compliant to requirements for fire drills, lock-down practices and evacuation procedures.
• We involve our School Resource Officer through the Calgary Police Service in community events, group and individual problem-solving, and emergency procedure drills.
• Alberta Occupational Health and Safety requirements are adhered to; annual facility inspections are conducted.
• Physical Education equipment is maintained and inspected; students are instructed in safe physical education practices; staff is compliant with the required level of safety and certification for their areas of instruction.
• All accidents and incidents are correctly reported.
• Video surveillance camera are active around the school property. 
• The office staff must ring all visitors into the school and visitors must sign in at the main office.
•  Former Woodman students may visit before or after school, and not during the instructional day.
• All external doors are locked during instructional time.
• A gender neutral bathroom has been created beside the Construction room for any students who wish to access it.

Physical, Emotional and Mental Health

Three key strategies are used to promote health and wellness in our adolescent learners:

• One weekly Health class (Fridays), in which the curricular outcomes for the Alberta Comprehensive School Health Program are explored.
• Weekly Wolf Pack gatherings with the homeroom teacher to reflect on the week, celebrate collective successes, and set goals together
• Four Wellness Days throughout the school year (October, December, March and May), with special symposiums, workshops and guest speakers for students to learn from and be inspired by. Themes will be determined based on the emerging needs of students, and led by the school Wellness Committee

Woodman School has a Collaborative Response Team comprised of the administrative team, the Student Services Learning Leader, classroom teachers, and educational assistants to accommodate students’ personal learning profiles.  The Collaborative Response Team meets weekly to discuss student concerns and create personalized strategies for learning.  Emotional / social support is available by making an appointment in the main office to speak with Ms. Stenhouse (Student Services Learning Leader), M. MacCarl (Assistant Principal), or Ms. Krickhan (Principal).

Active Living and Fresh Air

All students are provided with a daily Physical Education class, from a designated Physical Education teacher.  We offer a wide selection of after school athletic team sports (cross country, soccer, volleyball, basketball, wrestling, badminton and track and field) that are designed to develop skill, promote school pride and reduce stress. An intramural lunchtime program runs throughout the second half of the lunch hour. 

For more information, visit our Physical Education page.

Lunchtime provides a supervised opportunity to eat outdoors and access the sprawling school grounds for games and sports.  A newly installed obstacle style playground for students aged 10-15 will allow students to keep active and social with each other.

Students in Grades 5-6 are supervised by noon supervisors indoors for the first half of lunch hour, followed by supervised play outdoors for the second half of lunch, in the upper field.  We offer an open campus concept in Grades 7-9, allowing for the opportunity to enjoy the surrounding neighborhood.

Grade level field trips to locations such as Weaselhead, Glenmore Reservoir, and Sandy Beach Park, are planned to enjoy the outdoor world and natural elements.  Students in complementary courses, such as Environmental and Outdoor Education and Training in Excellence in Sport, are offered optional overnight and off-campus learning.

Nourishing Food Selections

A priority is placed on the development of healthy lifestyles and practices. Teachers encourage students to come to school having eaten a nourishing breakfast.  Snacks and beverages throughout the day should be planned that help sustain student focus.  Slushies and energy drinks are not permitted in the school, due to unhealthy levels of caffeine/sugar, and because they easily spill, creating damage to books and technology.

An online ordering system available to students, called Healthy Hunger (www.healthyhunger.ca).  Parents sign up and order meals on Tuesdays/Thursdays. Meals are delivered to the school and distributed by Gr. 9 leadership students and staff.  Healthy Hunger lunch options include Boston Pizza, Subway, Edos, Booster Juice and others.  Booster Juice and Cobs Break are available for online ordering and delivered each Friday.

Additionally, the school has vending machines with healthy foods and snacks. The vending machine may be accessed before or after school, during nutrition break and lunch. Debit cards or cash are accepted.

Proceeds from Healthy Hunger and the vending machines are all re-directed back into improved learning environments, based on Woodman student input.

Earth Conscious Practices

We wish to continue to improve on the reduction and sorting of waste, and of bringing garbage-free lunches.  Four-way waste sorting stations (Waste, Recycling, Refundables and Organics) are set up in the main corridors of the school for students and staff to learn to use correctly, and to better distribute the responsibility of waste management by all Woodman adults and students.  To reduce unnecessary waste, we request a garbage-free lunch as much as possible. We commit to the reduction of photocopying and the consumption of electricity, whenever possible. 

French is Spoken Here!

We are proud of the many multilingual staff and students at Woodman School.  We are one of the few schools in which all students learn some French:

• French-as-a-Second Language (English Program students)
• Intensive and immersive French in the Late French program
• Embedded content learning through French in the Continuing French Immersion Program

Woodman hosts numerous international students and students who have recently moved to Canada.  Cultivating pride in heritage languages is highly endorsed.

Students, staff and visitors are encouraged to practice and showcase their French language skills in a friendly and supportive way– whether advanced or basic – in school hallways, written communication and social interactions.  Students and teachers of the French Immersion program have clear expectations for full use of French within the classroom.

This year, the Calgary Board of Education celebrates the 50th Anniversary of the French Immersion Program and numerous celebrations are being planned to commemorate the event. 

Woodman's Commitment To Truth And Reconciliation

In recognition of National Indigenous Peoples Day (June 2023), and in alignment with the CBE Education Plan, Woodman School acknowledges and supports the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) Calls to Action, and makes the following commitment to action for the 2023-2024 school year: Each student will learn on the land at a site which holds significance for Indigenous people. Each student will engage in an individual or school group novel study by an Indigenous author.