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The Pride
May 9, 2014 

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Willard Parks
Check the website for new fitness classes and times!
  

 

  
District Office

Webster's Dictionary provides the following definition of "Teacher":  A person whose occupation is teaching.    Mr. Webster, unfortunately this definition is incomplete!!!!  That is similar to saying Michael Jordon was just a basketball player, Poe was just a writer, or Jesus was just a good person.  

 

When I think of the people that personify the title of "Teacher" I think of people that could also be called:  Mentor, leader, hero, champion, counselor, guide, facilitator, motivator, and learner.  These are only a few adjectives.  Willard is blessed to have a large group of people that qualify as real teachers.  These people change lives!!!  I am proud to be associated with this group of people.  

 

This week is "Teacher Appreciation Week".  Take three minutes to write a note to one of your former teachers and drop it in the mail.  Let them know that they made a difference in your life.  You will make their day and reinforce their passion that what they do is so much more than an occupation.  

 

Have a great weekend!

 

Dr. Medlin  

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Athletics & Activities

Momentum is a very powerful thing in sports.  I have seen teams ride it for a very long time and it is hard to stop once it gets going.  Well guess what....our Tigers have it and it couldn't be happening at a better time!

 

Congratulations to the baseball Tigers on their victories over Carthage and Republic last week!  The Tigers are now 16-9 on the season and finished 4-3 in the COC.  They will host Bolivar tonight before playing in the Marshfield tournament on Saturday.  Game times are at 2:15 and 4:30.  Districts start on May 17th in Webb City.  We will take on Neosho at 2:00pm.  Semifinals are on May 19th and the championship game is on May 20th.

 

Congratulations to the Lady Tiger soccer team on finishing 2nd in the Willard Invitational last weekend.  They followed that up with an impressive victory over COC opponent, Neosho, on Tuesday.  Thursday's match vs. Nixa was postponed until next Thursday after the girls travel to Ozark on Tuesday. The district tournament will start the following Saturday here at Willard.  Our girls received a bye and will play Liberty in the semifinals on Tuesday, May 20th.

 

Congratulations to Marshall Faulkner on qualifying for the Sectional golf tournament next Monday in Carthage!  Marshall finished in the top 15 at the district tournament in Lake of the Ozarks to advance.

 

Track is trying to have meets but Mother Nature is causing some problems! Yesterday's COC meet in Branson was postponed due to weather and will be held this Saturday.  Good luck Tigers!

 

Results from the MOTEAM state contest:

Blake Reighard 1st place bridge design

Blake Reighard and Gage Blake 1st place engineering challenge

Clayton Carter and Cameryn Jones 2nd place engineering challenge

Clayton Carter 1st place woodworking, wall hanging division

Cameryn Jones 3rd place Technology Exploration.

A great group of students and a very successful trip!

 

Congratulation to the high school bowling team on qualifying for the state tournament on May 24th!  This is the first time in school history that our team has qualified.  Great job Tigers!

 

It's Good To Be A Tiger!

 

Jeff Staley

Director of Activities 

High School

Seniors, Class of 2014!  The class is complete with students who have so many diverse talents and skills, academic, athletic, activities, character, service, etc....  To exemplify, at Senior Scholarship Night, more than $3 million in awards were received and recognized.  This class has a student who will be a National DECA Officer next year, the first in school history.  Another will be going out of country to study sciences.  Several will be attending college on athletic and music scholarships.  Three students have received appointments to Military Academy's.  There are 130 A+ qualifying students and 3-pages of Honors Diploma students to be recognized. What a group of students! 

 

This group will be honored next Friday, May 16, at 7:30 PM at the stadium, weather permitting.  Ticket holders may enter at 6:30 PM with all others entering at 7:00 PM. 

 

It is GREAT to be a Tiger! 
Curt Graves
Principal
Middle School

We are hopping this Friday at the middle school!   

  • Archery is competing at Louisville for the national tournament.  We want to wish the following students the best of luck: Bethany Burks, Nate Clutter, Cara Driskell, Tim Eoff, Emalee Flatness, Laney Hammers, Chase Hultgren, Katie Lawson, Zackary McCann, Mikalah Schafer, Hannah Scott, Jacob Shakelford, Addison Shaw, Jackson Skaggs, Dalton Streigel, Nate Swadley, McKenna Townsend, Hunter White, Haley Wingender. 
  • Choir students will be performing at a contest today and then are headed to Silver Dollar City
  • 8th grade Language Arts Honors students are attending the Youth Writing Conference at Missouri State University.   

                                         

                                      

 

 

Nate Swadley, an 8th grader at WMS, wrote an essay for the LAD Fair about ecology.  He earned first place with his writing piece and was awarded $50.

 

 

 

 

Amy Sims

Principal

 

Intermediate School
  
North Elementary School

          

                                       

Willard North is wrapping up their fairytale unit in 3rd grade.  Today is a special day to celebrate all the hard work and learning with the different writing and reading genres!  What a great wrap up to a writing unit.  Thank you Mrs. Choate, Ms. Doran, and Mrs. Giesler for such a great celebration to the creativity and hard work of your third graders!

 

Angela Stevens

Principal

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South Elementary School
On Thursday evening we held our first preschool graduation at Willard South.  It was an exciting night full of laughter and tears.  We celebrated a year of learning with 12 energetic and eager future kindergartners.  Please help me to congratulate Isabella,Makensie, Madison, Gracie, Carson, Carter, Levi, Kole, Koen, Brayden, Alec and William.  It was a privilege to watch them grow both academically and socially throughout this school year.  I can't wait to see what the future holds in store for each one of them! CONGRATULATIONS!!




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East Elementary School
  
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Central Elementary School

May is in full swing with lots of activities!  On Monday evening, one of our local Boy Scout Troops helped beautify our Outdoor Classroom with some plantings, weeding and cleaning out the coy pond.  Their service in this project is greatly appreciated!  On Tuesday, WC welcomed our future Tigers with our Kindergarten Screening.  We welcomed the high school Fast Forward group to Community Time on Wednesday.  They did a great job and our students are excited and ready to join the HS music program!  On Thursday, our PTO parents spoiled our teachers with our month-long teacher appreciation activities.  Our 3rd and 4th grade students enjoyed their MAP reward celebration on Thursday afternoon with Mrs. Blake's winning the WC Kickball Championship Tournament.  Field Trips were the theme of the day for Friday with our 1st grade students visiting the Rutledge-Wilson Farm Park and the 3rd grade students visiting the George Washington Carver Memorial.  

 

As we look ahead to next week, our 4th grade students will be visiting Jefferson City and our 2nd grade students will be touring Fantastic Caverns.  We will also be honoring Mrs. Miles Thursday after school at 4:00 to celebrate her retirement.  We hope you can join us to wish her well in her new adventure.

 

Shane Medlin, 

Principal  


Orchard Hills Elementary School

 

 
Special Services

It seems as though the end of this year is moving very quickly.  The week has been filled with many celebrations and I wanted to share with you some of the amazing reasons that I love being part of Willard.

 

#1: We have AMAZING teachers!!!  

This week was Teacher Appreciation Week and as I thought about the people that work with our kids day in and day out, I was truly appreciative, both as a colleague and as a parent.  There is no other district that I would rather serve or have my own children be part of than Willard.  The quality of individuals that we have is extraordinary.  We are blessed! If you haven't had a chance to show your appreciation, you still have time.

 

#2: We have AMAZING students!!! A new generation of teachers is being born.  I had an exciting conversation with Mrs. Ann Bugg yesterday and she shared that each year about 30 high school students participate in Future Teachers of America (FTA).  Under her leadership they learn about the field of education and gain valuable training and experience as a cadet teachers in the district.  I was thinking of how many past graduates have come back to teach in the Willard community and what a rich legacy they leave. It is our hope and desire that these students will enter this amazing profession and continue the tradition of excellence for generations to come.  A sincere thanks to Mrs. Bugg for her continued dedication to this incredible group of students!

 

#3: We have AMAZING services!!! May is recognized as Better Speech and Hearing Month.  Throughout the month, employees are donating $1 for every day they wear jeans in support.  All of the money collected will be donated to WCCF.  A huge THANK YOU to our Speech and Language Pathologist for their continued dedication to our students  and their field.

 

Check out our website for more information at:   Special Services Website

 

Mark Your Calendars:

May 13: Annual Fishing with Friends

May 16: Graduation @ 7:30 PM

May 28: Last day of school (Early release)

 

Have a great weekend:)


Caryn McDonnell

Director of Special Services  

Curriculum, Instruction & Assessment

This has been a big year for Willard Schools.  If we take a moment to reflect on the many wonderful things that have been accomplished, it's quite an impressive list:  

  • Developing and implementing new curriculum to reflect rigorous and enriching educational experiences aligned to the Missouri Learning Standards
  • Developing and implementing common formative and summative assessments in core classrooms across the district
  • Using data through MasteryConnect to drive best practices in instruction, for both remediation and enrichment of students
  • Implementing Standards-Based Grading and Reporting in the K-4 buildings
  • Hosting regional professional development in a teachers-teach-teachers environment at STAR Summit
  • Growing teachers through funded support and Willard University for Teachers  

The list could go on and on.!  Accomplishments take hard work, collaboration, perseverance, and a dedication to excellence.  In a week designated for Teacher Appreciation, I would like to recognize the incredible professionals in the classrooms.  They are the backbone of the district, the front lines in molding students and preparing them for the future.  I have valued the opportunity to work side-by-side with them this year, and to grow and learn along the way.  There is much to be proud of, and the teachers are at the front of the line!

 

Have a great weekend,

 

Danielle Sellenriek

Director of Curriculum, Instruction and Assessment





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Willard, MO 65781

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