Our Willard Schools
The Pride
April  26, 2013

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In This Issue
Kindergarten Screening

Willard East               April 17th

Willard Central          April 9th

Willard Orchard Hills May 6th

Willard North             April 18th

Willard South            April 16th

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Building Trades House
  
For Sale!
This beautiful house built by Willard students working with area contrators is now up for bids. More info
Willard Parks

Don't miss out on the summer fun!

 

WAC season passes

now available:

Fee information @

www.willardaquatics.com

 

Sumer Day Camp

Registration now open:Information @

www.willardparks.com

District Office

 

The state legislature is making a final sprint to the finish of the session. Bills are being debated, amended, pushed, rewritten, etc... in order to determine what can pass into law.

 

The political animal is in full stride. I need to give a shout out to Representative Jeff Messenger. Representative Messenger stood firm and voted his convictions to support the public schools in the district that he serves. (Willard being one of those districts.) I spoke with him several times during this process to helped provide information and opinions about the issues. After the vote Representative Messenger, along with one other Representative who voted against this bill, were dismissed from the committee by leadership in the MO House of Representatives. I guess that is how it works in politics, if you don't vote the correct way you are simply dismissed from the committee.

 

Here in Willard Administration, Staff, Board of Education, etc... don't always agree but the honest disagreement and debate makes us stronger. I do not like "Yes Men"! Leaders pave their own way and stand by their convictions. They don't fade when the pressure is turned up. This week Representative Messenger held strong for teachers in the midst of the storm! I appreciate his leadership. House leadership has replaced Representative Messenger with Representative Sonya Murray-Anderson who also represents Willard and Springfield. I am sure that the storm will return and the resolve to support public school teachers will be tested once more.

 

By the way Tammy had a birthday this week! We all love her and I thought you might want to know!

 

Have a great weekend.

Kent

 
Dr. Kent E. Medlin
Superintendent of Schools

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Athletics & Activities

It's official. All of the animals in Greene County are gathering two by two. Enough said...Let's get to the celebrations!

 

The Lady Tigers soccer team is now 13-1 on the season after defeating Monett last night 10-0! The ladies are state ranked and having an unbelievable season. We were to host the Willard Invitational tonight and tomorrow but Mother Nature is not cooperating. No final decision has been made at this time. Next week, they will travel to Neosho on Tuesday and host Nixa on Thursday in two key COC matchups. Good luck ladies!

The baseball Tigers are just as hot as they have now won 7 games in a row after defeating Monett, Hillcrest, Republic, Branson, and Ozark this past week running their record to 15-5 on the season and 5-1 in the COC. This sets up a COC championship game vs. Carthage next Tuesday at home. They will also play Blair Oaks at SBU this Saturday at noon and will travel to Rogersville next Thursday.

 

Congratulations to Readers Theater as they are the State Champions. Willard Theater continues to have the most state championships in Theater! They are not only champions, they have integrity, commitment, and drive. This group is impressive on and off the stage! This year's performance was The Seven Ages of Man. Congratulations the cast, the ensemble and crew.
The cast: Hyrum Adams, Brock Andrus, Josh Badger, Jacob Brumfield, Michael Clay, Lukas Dean, Sam Edwards, Alec Inglett, Derek Halle, Alec Inglett, Colton Kastrup, and Jordan Turner.
  

Congratulations to Willard High School Jazz 1 for their outstanding performance at the Greater St.Louis Jazz Festival this past Saturday. These students had the trememdous opportunity to play on the stage of the Touhill Performing Arts Center on the campus of the University of Missouri St. Louis, they received a clinic from professional jazz trumpeter Allen Beeson and finally ended their day with an unforgettable performance by the living legend Doc Severinsen! Not only did our Willard students play exceptionally well, several students were also recognized individually for their outstanding musicianship. Those students receiving awards were: Kevin Bledsoe, Trumpet; William Dickens, Vibes; Carter Havens, Guitar; Alex Harrison, Tenor Saxophone; Allie Dense, Vocal; and finally the entire saxophone section comprised of Riley Flynn, Kaden Bledsoe, Allie Dense, Alex Harrison and Justin Randall. Please join us in congratulating these fine young musicians on a job well done!

 

On Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday, FBLA attended the 2013 State Leadership Conference. They did very well, with several students finishing in the top of their events, and 3 students qualifying to compete at our National Conference in June. Top finishers were:

Dusty Bacon & Bradley Wyman - State Champions & National Qualifiers in Website Design
Mercer Martin - National Qualifier in Parliamentary Procedure
Greg Hamilton & Robert Mitchals - 3rd Place in Business Ethics
Cameron McMurtrey - 7th Place in Introduction to Business
Timothy Olson - 8th Place in Public Speaking 2

Dusty, Bradley, and Mercer will travel to Anaheim, California this summer to compete at the National Leadership Contest. Please join us in congratulating all of our winners for their hard work.
  
Willard Speech and Debate accomplished another first at State this last weekend! Greg Hamilton is now the State Champion in Lincoln Douglas Debate! Greg also placed Second in Radio Speaking while Mercer Martin placed third in International Extemporaneous Speaking! Kayleigh Amstutz placed ninth in Story Telling! This has been an incredible season for our speech and debate team! Great Job!!
  
Junior Z. Barr and freshman Chloe Andrews each captured two gold medals at the third annual Jason Pyrah Invitational held on Thursday night. Bitter cold, and a howling wind, did little to slow both Barr and Andrews. Barr led the way in the sprints with victories in the 100m (11.40) and 200m (24.02), while Andrews showed the same domination in the distance events by taking first in the 800m (2:34.60) and the 1600m (5:36.8). Kolbe Kinghorn, a senior, added the only other gold for the Tigers with a first place finish in the 400m with a time of 53.27. Senior Brady Fitch was the only second place finisher for the Tigers. He earned the silver with a throw of 43' 11" in the shot put. Several Tigers earned third place finishes including sophomore Tristin Jackson in the pole vault (11' 00), Fitch in the discus (147' 04), senior bailey Hession in the 1600m (5:45.94) and junior Danielle Sanger in the 100m (13.49). Junior Samantha Kappler was third in the pole vault (9'00), as was the 4 x 200m relay for the boys (Barr, Kinghorn, junior Daniel Horne and sophomore Quinton Puckett). Fourth place finishers included Horne in the high jump (5' 10"), Hession in the 3200m (12:54), Sanger in the 200m (28.64) and senior Harrison Puckett in the discus (141' 00).
 

Other highlights of the evening included a presentation of plaques by Jason Pyrah to the winners of the 1600m run (boys and girls) and two races featuring members of the Willard Intermediate School Running Club. The boys' team finished the evening in third place out of nineteen teams. The girls' team finished seventh, also out of nineteen teams. Both squads will be back in action on Thursday at the Republic relays.

 

A special congratulations to Jared Holmes on making 1st Team All-COC in golf! The boys will be playing in the district tournament this Monday held at Greene Hills Country Club in Willard. Good luck!
  
It's Good To Be A Tiger!!!
  
Jeff Staley
Activities Director
High School
The high school has been on an abbreviated block schedule this week to begin completion of EOC testing. This schedule continues next week. Our students are focusing and doing a tremendous job. Willard staff are proud of the effort by our students.

Congratulations to Greg Hamilton! He is a state champion in debate. Greg, his family, and Mr. Graves will be in Columbia this Sunday to honor the Missouri Top 100 Scholars as well.

Congratulations to Mercer Martin, Dusty Bacon, and Bradley Wyman in FLBA! Dusty and Bradley are state champions and National Qualifiers in Website Design. Mercer Martin also qualified for nationals in Parliamentary Procedures.

It is GREAT to be a Tiger!

Curt Graves
Willard High School Principal 
Middle School

 

Intermediate School
  
North Elementary School

Willard North has been buzzing this week! This is our first week of MAP testing for grades 3 and 4, and students have done a great job showing off what they have learned this year in Communication Arts.

 

Next Week 3rd and 4th grade students will be taking the Math portion of the MAP.

Last Friday, Kindergarten students had their first music performance at the high school theater. They did a great job, and Mrs. Reed always does a fabulous job!!! Thank you Mrs. Reed, staff, and kindergarten students.

 

We have a lot of events coming up in the near future. Below is the list of activities for our students:

* 4/30 to 5/2 - MAP testing Math for students grades 3 and 4

* 5/3 to 5/10 - Book Fair

* 5/6 to 5/10 - Teacher Appreciation Week.

* 5/8 - Talent Show Tryouts

* 5/9 - Celebration of Learning 6-8 Willard North Elementary

* 5/10 -Field Day

 

Girls on the Run 5K 6:00 Boys and Girls Club Springfield

District Art Show

 

CELEBRATION OF LEARNING is coming on May 9th from 6-8pm at Willard North! Stay tuned for information to come on this! 

 

Angela Stevens

Principal

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South Elementary School
  
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East Elementary School
Monday morning we celebrated our Willard East volunteers with a special breakfast and social hour. We had over 30 parent/community volunteers join us for this special occasion. We look forward to recognize these special people in the years to come and cannot thank them enough for all they do for our students and teachers. Thank You Volunteers!!!

It's Tiger Pride Friday! Our Master of Ceremonies, Coach J did a great job kicking off our 1/2 day Friday with enthusiasm and humor. We recognize good character, attendance, academics, behavior, and much more. Even when we have our celebration at 9:00AM we can pack the house with guests.

We have completed the Communication Arts portion of state testing this week and will kick of Math state testing next week. We are always proud of the growth our students make over their time at Willard East. We also look forward to a fun and exciting end to the 2012-2013 school year. It's hard to believe there are only 4 weeks of school left. Where does the time go?

Have a great weekend!

Melinda Miller
Principal   
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Central Elementary School
We hope you can join us this Saturday from 4-6pm for our PTO Carnival. We will have raffle baskets, games, concession stands for dinner, inflatables, a dunk booth and much more for families to enjoy. Activity bracelets will be $8 at the door and raffle basket tickets will be $1 each. Please come out for some family fun and the chance to support our WC PTO!
  
After Friday's early dismissal at 12:30, teacher will be busy working on Common Core Standards and assessments and learning about new resources as we move through our district technology initiative. Their heads will be full of new information to help support our students and we hope students enjoy the "mini-break" mid MAP testing.

Here are events to mark on your calendar for the coming weeks:

April
 
27- PTO Carnival 4-6 p.m.
30-May 2- MAP Test

May
3 - MAP Reward Activity 9:00 Bowling Trip
6 - 4th Grade Field Trip to Jefferson City
6-10 - Book Fair
6-10 - Teacher Appreciation
7 - Fine Arts Night 5:30-7:00
7 - Grandparents' Day (see schedule for specific grade level times)
10 - 2nd Grade Restaurant 11:00
10 - 4th Grade Party 3:45pm
13 - PTO Meeting 6pm
 

 Shane Medlin

  Principal 

Orchard Hills Elementary School

 

 

 
Special Services

This is the last week of Autism Awareness Month. We appreciate all those who have provided information, supported students by wearing t-shirts to school on Mondays and attended the special events across the district. We were honored to have Mr. Aaron Likens, author of Finding Kansas, speak to our parents, staff and community on Wednesday, April 24th. He was phenomenal and provided a look into what it is like to live with autism from his perspective. Also, the Willard Special Services blog has also been updated this week with new information. You can check it out by visiting: http://willardspecialservices.weebly.com/blog.html

 

Finally, I would like to encourage you to join us for the Annual Partner's In Strength Night on Monday, April 29, 2013 from 5:30-8:00 PM at the WHS gym. It will be an extremely memorable night. Our students will be working together in teams to complete various athletic events while enjoying food and new friends. Don't miss out, eveyone is welcome!

 

Have a great weekend!

 

Caryn McDonnell

Director of Special Services




Willard School District | 4177422584 | [email protected] |
460 E Kime
Willard, MO 65781

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