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The Pride
August 22, 2014

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District Office
Welcome to 170 New Willard Tigers!
 
I was never a great baseball player.  (I wish I could have played for a high quality coach like Willard Head Coach Scott McGee, I believe he could have helped me to succeed in the game!)  I played catcher and always enjoyed the fact if I missed the ball I didn't have to worry about losing teeth because of a face mask.  However, there came a day when my coach wanted me to try 3rd base!  He wanted me to "play up" on the batter to guard against the bunt.
 
Mike Brown, one of my best friends, stepped to the plate as I was silently praying "please don't hit the ball at me!!!  Needless to say, it was not long before I gave up baseball and focused on football.  
 
During the last few months I have been silently praying that I might get excused from the "Ice Bucket Challenge".  Unfortunately Brian Stewart, President of Bryan University challenged me yesterday!  This morning I accepted the challenge and with the help of the High School Student Government Association took the ice bath in the HS commons during lunch.  I was silently praying that I would not scream like a two year old child!  Several hundred students and staff enjoyed the show!  I continued the challenge with Dr. John Jungmann, New Superintendent of Springfield Schools, and Jarred Medlin, my son and youth pastor at Christ Church of the Valley in Phoenix AZ.  I will also be personally donating to ALS.  A little "shower" in front of the student body is worth the effort for a great cause.
   
Willard Public Schools currently has 4526 students enrolled.  This is a record enrollment and crushes the old enrollment high of 4356.  This increase of 170 students is basically half of the population of Willard Central and greater than half the enrollment at Willard East and Willard North.  Fortunately they are spread throughout the district and not focused in any specific building.  The Willard Board of Education approved ballot language last night for $15.2 Million Dollars.  This will be placed before Willard voters in November 2014. Stay tuned to next weeks Pride for greater details!
  
Have a great weekend!
  
Dr. Kent Medlin
Superintendent
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Athletics & Activities
Well isn't Mother Nature a tricky little thing!  Cool temperatures all summer and as soon as our Tigers are ready to take the field, the temps go through the roof!  Several games have been altered or changed in some way and I will list them below.
  
The football Tigers will travel to Nevada tonight to start their season.  Game time has been moved to 8:00pm.  We will have our home opener next Friday as we host Central at 7:00pm.  As of now, the freshmen and JV games on Monday have been moved to 7:00pm because of heat.  There may be additional changes.
  
The soccer Tigers are traveling to Sedalia to play in the Sedalia Tournament today and tomorrow.  They will host Joplin next Thursday in their home opener.
  
The volleytigers will start their season next Tuesday in Buffalo and then will travel to Hillcrest on Thursday.
  
The softball Lady Tigers open play tonight vs. Hillcrest.  The game was originally scheduled to be at Hillcrest at 5:00.  However, due to the heat and the fact that Hillcrest doesn't have lights at their field, the game has been moved to Willard and will start at 7:00pm.  The girls will host Monett next Monday, and that game has also been moved to a 7:00pm start.  On Thursday, they will host Kickapoo.  At this time, the game will remain a 5:00pm start.
  
Cross Country and Girls Golf both have a few weeks before they start up.
A VERY SPECIAL THANK YOU to the Athletic Booster Club for providing transportation tonight for soccer, football, and cheerleaders that have air conditioning!  If you happen to see Julie Kudrna, John Germann, Brent Sechler, or Sharon Hendrix, be sure to tell them "Thanks!".
  
It's Good To Be A Tiger!
Jeff Staley
Director of Activities
High School

WOW, the first full week is complete.  THANK YOU, WHS students for a terrific week.  The hallways, classrooms, commons, and parking lot have been tremendous!

 

Class meetings were completed during TNT this week.  Mr. Wead and Mrs. Kiesewetter assisted in clarifying expectations.  The criteria for the A+ program were reviewed during this time and the coordinator, Mrs. Sechler was introduced.  Students who maintain 95% attendance, a 2.5 GPA, good citizenship, and complete community service hours are eligible to receive several thousands of dollars for attending specific Missouri institutions upon graduation.  This is a tremendous opportunity for students!

 

WHS faculty and staff invite our patrons to visit us.  We relish an opportunity to show off our facility and share in the success of our students.  Feel free to contact the main office if we may be of assistance.

 

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

WMS has had a great start to the year!  We kicked off the year with a service learning experience last Friday.  Students made items for elementary students and preschoolers in the districts.  These items included play dough,sidewalk chalk, alphabet wheels, number wheels, color wheels, lacing cards, bookmarks, etc.  We also had students make posters and write letters to local Veterans and the Veteran's Home in Mt. Vernon. The Middle School also worked with Murfins Market to stuff grocery bags with student made poster to help promote the Willard Food Pantry.  The Willard Parks and Rec gave students the opportunity to create a new logo for their department.  These activities are were tied together through our Communication Arts classes teaching what it means to give back through service learning.  We are excited to provide students with other opportunities throughout the year.  

 

Many times when I say that I am a principal at a middle school, I get "the look" and then asked why.  I believe we sell these students short. Sure it is a difficult age for kids, but don't sell this group of kids short.  They do amazing things everyday and I wish others could see what I see. Below I have included a few things that crossed my desk these past two weeks that tells you what kind of students we have in this building.  We are blessed everyday to see these students walk through our doors and excited to see the adults they will become!              

 

                                                                          

  
Amy Sims
Principal   
Intermediate School
Please mark your calendars for our upcoming Parent Information Night on Thursday, September 11th from 5:30-7:00 pm.  This is a great opportunity for our parents to find out more about what things their child will experience at WIS this year.  Topics will include: 1:1 technology in the classroom, our transition to standards based grading, social/ emotional development of tween students, and WIS resources available to our parents and students.

Free on-site child care will be provided for this event.  If you are interested in taking advantage of this, please let our office know byFriday, September 5th

Our 8th annual Tiger Savings Card fundraiser kicks off next week.  Be looking for students to bring home detailed information on Wednesday.
 
Enjoy the hot summer weekend!

Tom Davis
Prnicipal  
North Elementary School

Willard North has set sail on "The Voyage of Learning!"  This year has started off smoothly and I am excited for some great things happening at Willard North this year!  

 

We have added several new faces to Willard North.  While I am not new to the building, I am returning this year as the new Principal.  Last year, I was an Assistant Principal at Jeffries Elementary and Wilson's Creek Intermediate in Springfield.  I previously taught kindergarten at Willard North for 5 years. Laura Hurd joins our 4th grade team and previously taught 3rd grade at WOHE.  We added a second ECSE morning class and Jessica Gomes is the teacher.  She has two paras, Trisha Haviland-Thompson and Anne Wyman. Mollie Leek is our new ECSE speech teacher.  Dana Runyan comes from North Carolina and will serve as our Instructional Coach.  We also added a split cross-cat teacher, Janet Fortney, which services our students, as well as those from Willard Intermediate.  Tommie Brower is our new Kitchen Manager and we are very excited to have her as part of our Kitchen staff.  I am very happy to be working alongside all of the teachers and staff at Willard North.

 

The teachers worked very hard to get their classrooms ready for "Meet the Teacher Night" and the students were very excited to meet their teachers and see their friends.  It was a great night!

 

Next week we will have our first Super Tiger on Wednesday, along with our school-wide picture.  Every student will receive a WOW shirt provided by our PTO.  We will wear our WOW shirts every Wednesday to show school spirit.   

 

#voyageoflearning

 

Amanda Hambey

Principal  

 

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South Elementary School

The 2014-2015 school year is up and running!  We have completed our first full week of school and it was a success.  Our current enrollment for Preschool-4th grade is 459 students. I would like to welcome some new members to the Willard South Elementary team this year.  They have been a great addition to our building and our students:

  • Miss Kelli Burch - Kindergarten
  • Mrs. Amanda Pearson - Kindergarten
  • Miss Lacey Welker - Kindergarten
  • Miss Emily Teal - 3rd Grade
  • Miss Alex Porterfield - 4th Grade
  • Mrs. Wendy Climer - Special Services 

Have a great weekend and try to stay cool!

 

Kara Crighton-Smith

Principal

 

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East Elementary School

Happy New Year from Willard East Elementary! Please stop by and check out our newly remodeled Tech Cafe in the 4th grade hallway. We have created a special learning space for our students to collaborate and work with their technology. We are excited that our 3rd and 4th graders are 1:1 Chromebooks this year. You will be amazed at what they can do after only 7 days of school.

 

Welcome New Teachers! We have quite a few new teachers to Willard East this year. You would think they've been here forever they fit in so well and have been welcomed by everyone.
                                                                              
Miss Wilks - 1st Grade
Mrs. Strutton - 3rd Grade
Mrs. Angel - 4th Grade
Mrs. Emond - 4th Grade
Mrs. Harper - Teaching Specialist
Mrs. Coffey - BASE
Mrs. Duncan - Special Services Process Coordinator
Mr. Petersen - ESL
Mrs. Tuttle - ESL
  
Melinda Miller
Principal  

 

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Central Elementary School
Willard Central is off to a great school year!  Our WC PTO helped welcome our students and families back to school at Meet the Teacher Night with our all-school BBQ.  Our WC Family also welcomed some new faces to our team.  Amanda Holmes will be teaching 1st grade, Kristin Ausmus will be teaching 4th grade and Shannon Jones will be taking care of our students in the nurse's office.  These ladies bring valuable experience and a heart for students to our school team and we are excited to be working alongside them.                                                                                                                

Our schools theme this year is "Heroes aren't born; they're made".  As our superheroes assemble, we are excited to help each of them continue to grow in character and stretch their thinking.  Mrs. Krista Mello did an amazing job on our entryway in helping us motivate our students for this challenge.  All are welcome to stop by for Community Time or for a visit to see all of the great things happening for our heroes in training!

Looking ahead to next week, please plan to join us for Parent Orientation Night on Thursday, August 28th from 6:00-7:15 to find out about your child's classroom routines and grade level learning expectations.

Have a great weekend!

Shane Medlin, Principal

Orchard Hills Elementary School
We are off and running at Willard Orchard Hills Elementary!  Our theme this year is "Get in the Game" and we are excited to get our "game" up and running. This beginning is shaping up to be the #bestyearever!
  
Our school year has started fabulously!  We are excited to welcome our new teachers; Tamara McKinney, Brittany Gill, Christie Schomber, Melissa Hurt, Allie Barsness, Taylor Higgins and Christina Snitker.  They each bring a special piece to Orchard Hills and we are thankful they have decided to join the WOHE team.
  
This year on Wednesday, August 13th Orchard Hills hosted its first ever Kindergarten Welcome Day.  The kindy students and their parents started the day with a school scavenger hunt which included family pictures.  The students and their parents took a tour of all the special classes and learned about expectations in the classroom. Then the students went to their classrooms for an activity with the book "The Kissing Hand"  with their teachers while the parents were given a orientation in the library. Students also got to go through the lunch line for a snack and a short ride on the school bus.  Thank you so much for all the help from everyone in the district who helped us get this off the ground. Parents LOVED it!
  
Don't forget next Friday night, August 29th is the community tailgate party at the Willard High School Football game.  Come to District Office and get a hot dog and attend the football game for free!  It will be fun!   
  
Have a great week!  #itsgoodtobeatiger
  
Dr. Rhonda Bishop
Principal
 
Special Services

Welcome Back!  It has been a fantastic start to the 2014-2015 school year.  I am confident that this will be one of the most successful and enjoyable years that we have experienced at Willard.  The planning and preparation that has gone into getting ready for students has been amazing and has set the foundation for a tremendous year of growth. We look forward to serving our learners with special needs and celebrating the successes along the way.

 

Please visit our webpage for more information about Special Services.

http://willardspecialservices.weebly.com/

 

Have a great weekend!

 

Caryn McDonnell

Director of Special Services

 

Curriculum, Instruction & Assessment

 




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