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We've updated our look & added friends!
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New Fitness Class Schedule
Willard parks new fitness class schedule will start the week of September 23rd.
We will have Yoga, Zumba, Xtream Fitness, Golden Gooves
Fitness classes for all ages. Check out Willardparks.com for all times and days!!!
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Slow Steady Progress
There are no get rich quick schemes, magic wands, or 5 simple steps to school academic improvement. Bottom line, it is hard work. Each year district buildings are required to submit a Building Improvement Plan. This plan is created by the leadership team of each building and then the building principal presents the plan to Central Office Administration. Plans include goals of academic improvement based upon achievement scores. Some educational leaders balk at using academic achievement as a measure of the effectiveness of a school. My question is why not. After 27 years in education I fully understand all the variables beyond the control of the school. However, I am certain that our efforts have a substantial effect upon the growth of student learning. Academic achievement is not the only measure of the effectiveness of a school but it is an important component. The ACT college readiness test is recognized across the country and it is one measure of student learning. ACT is a test which indicates the extent to which students are prepared for college-level work. ACT consists of curriculum based questions in English, Mathematics, Reading, and Science designed to measure the skills needed for success in the first year college coursework. ACT reported out new findings in August and Willard High School students excelled at the highest average ACT score demonstrated in the past five years ranging from 21.8 to 22.7. The State of Missouri posted a static score of 21.6 for all five years. These data indicate that we are not only above state average but Willard continues to improve while the state remains consistent at 21.6. ACT is one indicator along with District MAP scores and others that we continue to make steady academic improvement. I am proud of the hard work of teachers and students to realize this growth.
Have a good weekend!
Kent
p.s. The district open house was a great success last Friday. Board of Education members worked cooking / wrapping hot dogs, washing tables, etc... We had over 400 people participate. I think a new tradition was born to have a community tail gate for the first home football game of the year. Great job to the Board of Education and everyone that helped.
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State? Is it too early to talk about State? Not if you are a Willard cheerleader! Good luck to our cheerleading squad as they will compete in State competition this Saturday! Now on to the results from a very busy (and successful!) week. The football Tigers ran their record to a perfect 2-0 last Friday as they defeated Nevada 42-14 in front of a packed house at Tiger Stadium! They will travel to Neosho tonight as they open the COC part of their schedule. Kickoff is at 7:00pm. Next week, they will be back at home as they host Nixa. We will be recognizing the 2013 Final Four baseball team before kickoff. It should be another electric night so come out and support the Tigers! Softball had a stumble vs. Neosho last week but did they come back with a vengeance! They then defeated Strafford and Nixa before losing a close one to Webb City last night. The team is now 5-2 on the season and their busy schedule continues as they will play in the Ozark Tournament starting tonight. They will play Lee's Summit West at 4:30 and Kickapoo at 7:00. The tournament will conclude on Saturday. Next week, the girls will travel to Carthage on Tuesday and will host Republic on Thursday. The Volleytigers rebounded nicely from their first loss of the season with a win over Bolivar last night! The girls are now 3-1 on the season. We will be hosting the Lori Endicott Tournament tomorrow with matches starting at 8:00am. Matches will continue all day with the championship match scheduled to start at 4:00pm. Come on out to the gym and watch our ladies play some great volleyball!! The soccer Tigers came back nicely with a win over COC opponent, Webb City, last week! They lost a tough one last night to Waynesville but will look to get back on the winning side of things next week as they travel to Ozark on Tuesday. Good luck Tigers! 52 strokes!!!!! That's how many strokes the girls golf team improved from their first tournament to their second. Great job ladies! Here were the results: Varsity - at Marshfield Country Club
Team Score: 429 Brooke Mitchals - 112 Brooklyn Teague - 105 (career low round) Morgan Johnson - 107 Katie Badger - 105 (career low round) Carolyn Dawson - 116 (career low round) Congratulations to the Cross Country Tigers as they traveled to Neosho last week and took home FOUR individual first place finishes! The Tigers will run on Monday in Lebanon. Good luck guys and girls! It's Good To Be A Tiger!
Jeff Staley
Director of Activities |
Teachers and students continue to benefit from use of technology.This week, Spanish III, IV, and V students were given an assignment using Google Voice. Students call an assigned local phone number, listen to the instructor ask a question in Spanish, and then respond appropriately in Spanish.The instructor is able to listen to each response from their computer and provide feedback to the students.This is a creative way to assign homework and encourage participation.This is just an example of the creativity and increased engagement practices that our technology initiative promotes.
Friday, September 13, marks the middle of the 1st quarter. Next Wednesday, September 18, the guidance office is hosting the first Lunch & Learn of the school year for students. September 20 is a short day for students due to a staff professional development.
It is GREAT to be a Tiger!
Curt Graves
Principal |
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Central Elementary School
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Our Parent/Teacher Organization held their first meeting of the new school year this week. Thank you to all of the parents who attended! Items discussed included next month's fundraiser, PTO Family Nights, Spirit Shirt Sales and budget updates. Minutes for our meetings will soon be posted on our school's webpage and all are invited to attend next month's meeting on Oct. 14th.
Next Friday, Sept. 20th, students will be dismissed at 12:30 for teacher professional development. During this time, teachers will collaborate on units of instruction, the alignment of assessments and standards, and continue to input student data into our Standards-Based Grading program, MasteryConnect. Elementary parents can expect to see information for MasteryConnect being sent home within the next 2 weeks to track student learning/mastery online. We are excited about this opportunity to provide greater feedback to students and parents about their learning.
Enjoy your weekend!
Shane Medlin
Principal |
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Orchard Hills Elementary School
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We have had a very productive week at Willard Orchard Hills. We began testing all students using the Developments Reading Assessment-2 (DRA-2) to determine students current level in reading. Students achieve one of three levels when they are assessed; independent, instructional, or frustration or intervention.
We want students reading on their independent level when they read by themselves. The instructional level is where most teachers will place students when they are being guided by the teacher. The instructional level is where we work with students in order to move them to higher reading levels. The frustration or intervention level is where we do not want students reading. These texts are too hard and it becomes difficult for students to sometimes keep their fluency and read for meaning. Typically students will drop reading levels from where they tested at the end of the school year and the beginning of the next school year.
This is why its important to READ! It not only is a great practice to make a daily habit but a skill that helps students achieve more! This year make the commitment to read daily with your student. Even the older children still love a read aloud book to listen to.
Have a great weekend and take some time to READ!! Dr. Rhonda Bishop Principal
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It's been a fantastic week for Special Services! One of the highlights of my week was watching a 1st grader read her book with her 4th grade "reading buddy" at Willard Central for the first time. Both the reading buddy and the reader were doing an outstanding job of working together. There were smiles all around. The Reading Buddy program was designed and implemented by Mrs. Jovita Ahrens, Life Skills Teacher, at Willard Central in partnership with the 4th grade General Education teachers. We are excited to see this effort continue and how this will impact student literacy skills!
Have a good weekend,
Caryn McDonnell
Director of Special Services
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Curriculum, Instruction & Assessment
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"The point of mathematics is not about making simple things complicated, it's about making complicated things simple." I am not able to remember the author of this quote, but after working with K-4 teachers this week on math resources and activities, I believe the statement to be true!
Elementary teachers came together on Wednesday to work on English Language Arts and Math curriculum. While I enjoyed the enthusiasm and dedication of all the teachers, I was drawn to the conversations of the new math instructional strategies happening in elementary classrooms around the district. Teachers are using flexible grouping for students to work on particular skill sets, using technology in math instruction, and providing problem-solving experiences for students needing an extra challenge. While whole-group instruction is often a necessary part of new learning, offering a variety of methods and activities for students to gain in mathematical understanding is critical. Most importantly, when I visit classrooms and observe this work in action, students are having fun with math! Teachers are taking complicated concepts and making them understandable - even simple at times - to grow a new generation of mathematicians!
Danielle Sellenriek
Director of Curriculum, Instruction & Assessment |
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