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The Pride
October 04, 2013

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In This Issue
Welcome to THE PRIDE
We've updated our look & added friends! 
 
As a parent, staff member or fan of Willard Schools we hope you'll enjoy reading about school happenings each week. In addition to the new look we've included a few new features as well. 
 
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Willard Parks

Fall Basketball Registration

Ends Oct. 12th @ 5pm

 

Boo Bash - Costume Party

Oct. 18th 7pm-10pm

Open to Grades 5th-8th

$5.00 admission

 

Fall Fitness Classes

are underway.

Come check us out.

District Office
Superintendents Need to Learn Also!

Everyone has to learn to improve! Administrators continue to challenge teachers to continue to improve, increase their "tool bag", learn new strategies for teaching and learning. Classified staff are also expected to continue learning. This week several of our classified directors attended a workshop which provided leadership and practical strategies to work with their respective staff.
  
Right now I am "live" between workshops at a conference in Tan-Tara. I will be attending a Baldrige improvement session in about 30 minutes. Willard has an extensive improvement model however I am looking for any type of new information which I can bring home to improve our locally developed model. Bottom line I am back in the classroom taking notes, listening, learning, etc... Learning is a lifetime effort.
  
My Dad never went to college but he was always a reader even into his 80's. Are you setting a model of learning for your child / student?? Does your child see you read for pleasure?? Do they see you research on the internet to learn??? This can be as simple as using a U-Tube video to see how to change break pads. (I did this about 2 months ago!) or reading Sports Illustrated for pleasure. Our kids need to see us doing this and not only hear that it is important to get "good grades." I better wrap it up and get in line for the class, I don't want to lose my seat!
  
Have a great weekend!
  
Kent
  
Dr. Kent Medlin
Superintendent 
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Athletics & Activities
Well last week I tried (unsuccessfully!) to do my Pride from my phone as I watched our softball team play in a tournament. In that process I left some wonderful achievements out so forgive me if some of this week's recognition is a little late. I'm telling you....our Tigers can do some AMAZING things!!!

Congratulations to Coach Roweton, his staff, and the entire football team on their benchmark victory over Ozark last week! It has been well documented on how long its been since we defeated Ozark in football but it was more than that.....our Tigers saw results from all of the hard work they have been putting in during the off-season. The Tigers are now 4-1 on the season and will travel to Webb City tonight in a huge COC showdown. Next week, we will be hosting Republic and it will be Homecoming! We will have a parade on Wednesday starting at 6:00pm. Homecoming festivities will begin around 6:30pm on the night of the game. Come out and watch some great football!

Congratulations to the softball Tigers on their victories over Cassville and Parkview this week. The girls are 17-10 on the season! The girls will have Senior Night on Monday as they host Marshfield. We will then host the district tournament starting on Wednesday. The Tigers earned the #1 seed and have a first round bye. They will play at 4:00pm on Thursday in the semifinals. Championship game will be on Friday at 5:00pm. Good luck ladies!

The soccer Tigers proved that they belong with the elite programs in the state this past week after taking on state ranked Carthage and giving them all they wanted before falling 0-1. The boys came back with a win last night over district opponent, Hillcrest, in the first round of the WiIlard Invitational. The tournament continues tonight with two games. Willard will play Saturday morning at 8:30am in the semifinals. The championship game will be played later that day. Next week the boys will host Nixa on Tuesday and will travel to Bolivar on Thursday.

Congratulations to Garron Schweighardt on his 3rd place finish and to Chloe Andrews on her 2nd place finish yesterday in the Willard Highline XC meet! A special "thank you" to Coach Giboney, Coach Furtkamp and all of the volunteers that helped make the Highline meet such a success. Also, a big congratulations to the girls squad on their 2nd place finish! The teams will travel to Camdenton tomorrow and will run in the Catholic meet next Tuesday. Good luck guys and gals!

The VolleyTigers are starting to get on a roll as they took 3rd place in the very competitive Camdenton tournament last Saturday. The girls then lost a heartbreaker to Nixa on Tuesday before coming back with a strong performance last night defeating Neosho in 2 games. The girls will continue their COC schedule next week as they host Carthage on Tuesday and travel to Branson on Thursday.

Good luck to the Lady Tiger golfers next week as they travel to Kansas City to play in the district golf tournament on Tuesday.

On Saturday, Sept. 21st, 45 WHS Choir students went to the District Choir auditions with 37 of them being selected to the South-Central District Choir! There were 43 schools participating and only one school had more students selected. In addition 14 of our 20 11th-12th grade singers were selected to the Top 25 in their section and are eligible for the All-State Choir Auditions on November 2nd.
  
Jeff Staley
Director of Activities 
High School

Homecoming activities will be throughout the week, October 7-11.With a partial day on October 11, WHS will be using an amended schedule to facilitate the pep assembly.The schedule as well as additional information regarding the week's activities can be found on the high school website.

 

This Saturday, WHS Choir is hosting a community garage sale.Proceeds will go towards their Washington D.C. trip.This will be a great opportunity to support the choir between watching soccer matches at the Willard Soccer Invitational.

 

Preparing students to do their best on the ACT is a focus at WHS.This Saturday students will be participating in a Practice ACT Test.The high school staff will be working students through the entire process and providing feedback to students on areas to work on.Students are also encouraged to attend practice sessions provided by the science department, and/or enroll in the ACT course offered each semester.WHS will be an official testing site for the ACT on October 26.

 

It is GREAT to be a Tiger!

 

Curt Graves

Principal 

Middle School
The middle school is gearing up for next week. The students have been working hard during eTime to get ready for their showcase next week.
  
Students have been collaborating with each other in order to plan out different activities to inspire tiger pride in our school, district, and community. Here is a list of things they have worked on: WMS spirit week activities, wrote and illustrated children's books to be read at Willard East, created public relation items such as flyers for businesses to post, intermediate assembly, middle school assembly, videos, performances for Willard North students, parade entries for the homecoming parade on Wednesday @ 5:30 pm, and designed a T-shirt that will be sold to anyone that is proud to be a Willard Tiger!!
  
Below are some photos of students at work and a snippet of one of the performances. Check out our website for more details! We would love for you to attend the activities or to wear our student designed T-shirt!! It is GREAT to be a TIGER!!
  
 
  
Video
Video


  
Intermediate School
One of the things WIS takes great pride in are the many opportunities we provide for students to learn and grow outside of the classroom. WIS offers several before and after school "clubs" that allow our students to explore new areas of interest and develop skills that will benefit them in the future. This week alone, hot cocoa cafe, running club, extreme readers, Minecraft club, cooking club, shooting stars, and morning choir all met. Each club is organized and led by a WIS staff member that volunteers their time and effort to make these opportunities possible.
  
If your child has not yet participated in one of our building clubs please encourage them to look again! We are confident there is at least one that would be a good fit for them. A brochure that gives a description of each club is available outside the counseling office or you are welcome to give us a call for more specific information. It would be awesome if each of our students were able to find something of interest to get involved with!

Enjoy the fall weekend!
  
Tom Davis
Principal 
North Elementary School
What an exciting week at Willard North. We started out the week with McTeacher Night for grades K-2. Thank you to all the students, parents, friends, and family who joined us that night. Students had a lot of fun seeing their teachers outside of the classroom. Grades 3 and 4 and special area teachers will participate in McTeacher Night the following Monday. If you didn't get a chance to catch us this Monday, be sure to stop by next Monday.
  
Thursday was our first music program of the year. Students in 3rd grade performed for friends at family at the high school. We were rocking "At the Bandstand" Thursday Night! Thank you to Mrs. Reed and 3rd grade students for the performance!

Join us this weekend for our school fundraiser Touch a Truck AKA car show. Cars and vehicles from all different professions will be joining us allow students to get an up close and personal peek at fire trucks, police vehicles, the Scooby Doo Mystery Van, and much More!!! Times are from 10-2 and cost is $5.00 a person. $20.00 is the maximum you will be asked to spend if you have a family of more than 4. There will be snack concessions and booths. Hope to see you at Willard North this weekend!
  
Angela Stevens
Principal  
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South Elementary School
Today it was quieter than usual at Willard South. It was all because our fourth grade hallway was empty! They set out on an adventure to Jefferson City early this morning. This is a district wide field trip that each fourth grader will experience at some point during the year. It is a wonderful hands on learning experience and culminating activity that goes along with their Social Studies curriculum. I am sure they had an amazing experience touring various buildings such as the Missouri State Capitol, the Governor's Mansion and more.

This week parents received several emails regarding DRA benchmark levels for each grade level and a link to Mastery Connect our new Standards Based Grading reporting system. Our goal is to keep parents informed on a regular basis regarding their child's academic progress this year. This is a new initiative for our teachers, students and parents. I am sure there will be several rough drafts throughout this process. However, I am confident that this journey will impact instruction and learning in the classroom.

You don't have to worry about cooking dinner for your family next Tuesday, October 8th. The Willard South Elementary staff members will be working at the McDonald's on West Chestnut Expressway from 4:00-7:00 for another McTeacher Night! I hope you and your family can stop by or drive-thru to help support Willard South. Proceeds from this event will go back to the teachers who work to spend on classroom supplies and student projects.
Don't forget the upcoming events for next week!!!
  • Monday,October 7th--Fundraiser packets and money are due
  • Tuesday, October 8th--McTeacher Night at McDonald's on West Chestnut Expressway from 4:00-7:00
  • Thursday, October 10th--3rd Grade Music Program at 3:00 and 6:30
  • Friday, October 11th--Students Dismissed at 12:30, End of 1st Quarter and Homecoming Football Game at 7:00
Have a great weekend!
  
Kara Crighton-Smith
Principal
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East Elementary School
Thank you to all of you who were abel to attend Open House and/or Principal Miller's informational meeting on Standards Based Grading. The presentation is posted on the school website and additional information can be found on the district website under Curriculum and Instruction.

This week we are wrapping up our Fall Fundraiser. One of the incentives this year was for the students to earn penguins on key chains. Well the excitement over the penguins has been tremendous! We hope to be able to make some upgrades in our sound/media system in the cafe-gym-natorium someday. However it may be something we save for over time.
  
Melinda Miller
Princpal 
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Central Elementary School
Willard Central had a busy couple of weeks of learning, connecting as a community and all around fun. 4th grade student Alex C. organized this year's See You at the Pole. Students, families, staff members and community members met before school to pray for our students, staff, school and country. Last Friday, our entire school came together to celebrate this year's theme, Wild About Learning. At Community Time, we enjoyed our own episode of Duck Dynasty (WC style). Following the assembly, our students were given their t-shirts for this school year and we took our all-school picture for the yearbook cover together. Thank you to our amazing PTO for purchasing these shirts for our students and staff!

This week, our special services staff helped kick off Disability Awareness Month. Dr. Craig from MSU visited us at Community Time to share about being blind and then played a couple of songs for students on his guitar. It was an inspiring morning! We also had opportunities to celebrate our students' uniqueness and similarities with Anna R and her mom as well as other activities and displays throughout the school. Thank you to our entire Special Services Staff for organizing all of these activities while educating our students about the needs of others and fostering a caring school community for all of us.

Have a great weekend and stay Wild About Learning!

Shane Medlin
Principal
  

Orchard Hills Elementary School

Run! Run! Run! It's on our minds at Willard Orchard Hills Elementary. On October 19th, we will host the 4th annual "Run For The Orchard" 5k/1 Mile Fun Run/Tot Race. This event benefits The Willard Children's Charitable Foundation and Willard Orchard Hills Elementary.

  

 The extension of this event is the WOHE Running Club. This seasonal event is open to all students in grades 1-4. Kindergartners can run if their parents run too. The club meets weekly and work on increasing endurance and distance. This year, 42 of our students are participating along with 11 staff members and 10 parents. A route has been measured around the school to gauge our distance. At the end of the training, stretching and cool-downs are mandatory and each student is provided a snack.

 

Next week, our little runners have been encouraged to join us at the Care To Learn Panther Run at Drury University on October 5th. Every entry from Willard, helps our Willard Chapter of Care To Learn. We also hope to see YOU there!

If you would like to join us for the Run for the Orchard, the information to register is below. #enjoytheclimb!
Print entries for the race: 

 
Or you can sign up online at Act Now Racing

Please sign up no later than October 4th to ensure getting a t-shirt!

Have a great weekend!
  
Dr. Rhonda Bishop
Principal

 
Special Services

In May 2011,the Missouri State legislature passed House Bill 555. This bill designated October as "Disability History and Awareness Month". The bill also encourages schools to provide information about disability history and promote the awareness of the contributions of individuals with disabilities.

 

One of every five Americans is a person with a disability. A person may be born with a disability, or may acquire a disability through an accident or illness. A person may acquire a disability simply as a part of growing older. Despite the fact that disability is a natural part of life, people with disabilities have not always had access to equal opportunities. Not until 1975, with the passage of the federal Education for All Handicapped Children Act (now known as the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act), did school-aged children with disabilities have a right to a free appropriate public education. Approximately 126,000 students identified with disabilities are educated by the Missouri public education system.

 

We are proud to participate in promoting awareness of disability history and the contributions of individuals with disabilities and to designate October as Disability History and Awareness Month. Thank you for helping us raise awareness of the abilities of all persons and for sharing this information with other family members.

 

Throughout the month, we are celebrating the ways in which we are all alike! Willard is a fantastic place to live and learn and we appreciate each and every student for who they are! Be sure to find out how your child's school is raising awareness and how you can support them.

 

Have a fantastic weekend.

 

Caryn McDonnell

Director of Special Services

Curriculum, Instruction & Assessment




Willard Public Schools | 417-742-2584
500 E Kime
Willard, MO 65781

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