ABOUT US

Welcome to Woodland Academy.

My name is Jennifer Passmore and I have been an educator for more than 30 years and have seen many changes in education, children, family life, and culture. Regardless of the changes, there are some things that remain the same and are always true. It will always be true that children need to know that they are loved unconditionally by adults in their life and God and it is this that allows them to take risk, make mistakes and work hard which are all essential to learning. It will always be true that children have a need to belong and to that which they belong will have the most influence on their choices and learning. It will always be true that a teacher who loves, respects and builds a relationship with a child will have more success. It is my belief that none of these things can be accomplished without reminding myself daily that I am loved by God so that I can love others and follow His lead in relationships, decisions and direction. I am excited to partner with families and staff in order to make sure that each child knows they are loved by God, others and they are provided with the best education.
 
For those of you with Preschoolers, we strive to provide instruction that is based on the development and individual needs of children.  The instruction is play based to engage children in activities that are designed to teach specific standards. Preschoolers are concrete thinkers and need to have experiences manipulating materials related to a standard in order for them to understand and later apply the concept. The motivation that play offers naturally holds a child’s attention and increases the time on task which leads to deeper understanding.  


- Jennifer Passmore

Our mission is to show the love of God as we lead children to grow in wisdom, stature, and favor with God and man. We have a vision of well-trained teachers who plan lessons with students in mind and teach with compassion and understanding.  Children are happy and learning and parents are open to the message of God’s love. The philosophy of education is based on the belief that children learn best when they are emotionally supported and lessons are based on their needs with scaffolding and small group instruction.

Religion is the set of rules people use to inform their choices and make decisions about how they live their lives.  Therefore, all people are religious because we all have beliefs that direct our lives.  There are four questions that are an innate part of what it means to be human.  The answers to these questions form the beliefs that direct our lives.
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The first question is about origin.  Where did we come from?  We believe that God created the world, the rules that govern nature, and us.  We believe that science and the Bible are not opposed to each other.  The universe having a definite beginning is confirmed by a series of scientific discoveries including Albert Einstein’s equations and Edwin Hubble’s evidence that proves the universe is expanding and that it began from a single point in the finite past.  Recently leading cosmologist Arvind Borde, Alan Guth and Alexander Vilenkin proved that the universe had a beginning.  If something has come into existence, then something must have caused it to happen.  We believe that it was God who caused everything to come into existence.  Atheists and evolutionist believe that the universe has always existed because nothing caused the universe to come into existence therefore there is no reason to search out a creator, God, or purpose.  We believe that knowing the universe had a beginning and therefore a force greater than nature or outside of nature that created it gives us meaning and purpose.  We want to know the God who created us.  Only He can tell us why He created us and reveal to us our purpose.
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What is my purpose?  Psychologists and psychiatrists agree that people must have a purpose in order to have a sense of wellbeing and happiness.  We believe that God has created us with the purpose to bring attention to His love and character and to live out His love and character.  The creation points back to the one who created.  A piece of art speaks about the artist.  We all have a need to be loved.  Without love a human baby will not thrive.  Love is a basic human need.  We are created to love and be loved.  Where did that need to be loved and the ability to love come from?  It was created in us by God and sets us apart from animals.  Survival of the fittest is a concept that has been taught to give evidence of evolution.  It is true that animals live by this law.  An animal instinctively will kill to protect his DNA.  However, humans will knowingly and willingly give up their life for another.  That is counter- evolutionary.  We believe that love is the character of God that He created in each of us and our purpose is to continue that creation by living out love.  He gave us the example of that purpose in the life of God’s son, Jesus.  We are to live like Jesus lived.
What is right and wrong?  That question may be difficult to answer when it comes to our actions, but we all seem to know when someone has done something wrong to us.  Jesus described it this way- “Treat other people the way you want to be treated.”  Jesus was once asked what is the greatest commandment, He said, “Love God with all your heart, soul and strength and love others as you love yourself.”  We are right when we our selfless and our actions are motivated by love.
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Is this life all there is?  The question of destiny is one that we have all thought about.  Ironically, how you answer the question about death makes all the difference in how you live your life.  Death is the great equalizer and we are all subject to its power.  It is the law of nature.  However, God has proven that He has the power over death because He is super nature (supernatural).  God demonstrated His love for us and His plan to release us from the law of nature by sending His son, Jesus to come to earth, live, love, die on the cross and then God raised Him from the dead. God invites us to step out from under the judgement of death and into His kingdom where we are His children and like Jesus, death has no power over us.  If we know that death is not the end and there is more to this life, it gives us hope and changes the way that we live.
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These questions are at the heart of what it means to be human.  When answered with the truth it provides peace and joy for our lives and we are able to love God and love others.

To learn more about what we believe at the Woodland Academy, visit our church partner's site at gowoodland.com.