Woodland Alumni To Be Recognized

By Rose Ann Pearce

Posted: November 5, 2009 at 4:15 a.m.

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FAYETTEVILLE — Calling all Cowboys and Cowgirls.

Woodland Junior High School plans to recognize alumni between the eighth and ninth grade football games tonight as part of the school’s 50th anniversary celebration.

The school opened in 1959. The late Ben Winborn - father of Fayetteville School Board President Susan Heil - was the fi rst principal. Heil, her younger brother, Brent Winborn, and her son, Wes, are alumni of the school. Her younger son, Ben, attends the school now.

“I remember ballgames were big events and everyone wore blue and white ribbons,” Heil said. “Jeans were huge and so were bell bottom pants.”

She recalled being “overwhelmed” as a seventh-grader but more comfortable by the time she was in ninth grade. The seventh grade became part of the middle schoolconfiguration when McNair and Holt middle schools opened in 2000.

Principal Anita Lawson said the cafeteria wasn’t operational that fi rst year. Hallways now designated as A, B and C were in the original part of the school.

Over the years, Woodland has undergone several renovations, Lawson said. Two additional hallways were added as were two gymnasiums. The original gym was turned into the cafeteria.

Recognition of alumni will be by decade. They will be led onto the field by cheerleaders and dance team members and then line up for the runthrough line for the ninth grade football team. Ramay Junior High School, which was built several years after Woodland, is Woodland’s opponent Thursday night.

Shay Hopper, teacher, yearbook adviser and coordinator of Thursday’s event, said alumni should check in by 6 p.m. at a special tent at the football field. The person who graduated the longest ago willparticipate in the coin toss.

The ninth grade volleyball Cowgirls also will be recognized for their undefeated season, Hopper said.

“Woodland Junior High has changed a lot in its 50 years,” Lawson said, especially as Title IX introduced girls’ athletics in public schools. “There is equality in the number of sports for girls.”

Hopper said other events are planned to commemorate the school’s anniversary, including a fundraising dinner for the yearbook and Student Council. The dinner, featuring Italian food, is scheduled Nov. 12.

Geraldi’s Restaurant in Fayetteville is catering the event. Tickets are $10 at the school. Dinner will be served from 5-8 p.m.

Students are participating in a poetry contest on what attending Woodland means to them. The winning entry will be read at the dinner.

Teachers at the school also are planning a retired teacher tea in February as part of the 50th anniversary.

News, Pages 4 on 11/05/2009

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