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The Pride
September 5, 2014

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Quick News
Willard Parks
 

Youth Soccer & Volleyball Registration Now Open

Aug. 14th - Aug. 30th


 

Adult Volleyball Registration Now Open

Aug. 14th - Aug. 30th


 

Doggie Dive @ THE WAC

Sept. 6th - 12:00pm to 3:00pm


 

Mighty Mites Cheerleading Registration Now Open

Aug. 14th - Aug. 30th


 


 

 


 


 

  
District Office

Last week I shared the projects which were approved for the November Bond Election.  The list is once again listed below:

  • Renovation of North Elementary including the addition of new entry space
  • Renovation of Willard Intermediate School including a classroom addition 
  • New Willard High School Multipurpose Building
  • New classroom addition to Willard Orchard Hills Elementary
  • Replacement of athletic track surface and addition of artificial turf at the Willard Football Stadium
  • New Tennis Court facility located on the High School campus
  • Purchase of property for future district use

I will give greater detail about projects in future weeks.  This week I want to share why a change occurred from the original plan discussed a year ago.

 

District officials began asking patrons last year about their thoughts on needed capital projects that included building a second Intermediate School 

on the south side of the district rather than a renovation and addition to the current facility.  Administration had utilized professional services to help determine whether that slate of projects could be built within the district's bonding capacity and available funds.  That answer was yes.  Less than 60 days ago new cost projections revealed significant greater costs.  New projections indicated the total cost to be in excess of 20 million.  Missouri Public Schools are limited by legislation to bond no more than 15% of the districts Assessed Valuation.  Currently, the Willard Districts bonding capacity is approximately 15.2 Million Dollars. 

 

This forced Administration to return to the drawing board to reassess the original project list.  Options were presented to the Board of Education and the above option was recommended and selected to move forward.  The option which included a new South Intermediate School would have forced almost all other projects to be delayed for 5+ years.  I personally still believe that the construction of a South Intermediate is a very positive option for the future.  However, I also fully believe that other issues had to be addressed in the immediate future. 

 

The renovation of North Elementary and the renovation and classroom additions at the current Intermediate School will allow the entire facility to be given needed attention.  If additional classrooms were not constructed at WOHE, the district would have been forced to redistrict Elementary Attendance Boundaries.  The additional classrooms at WOHE will accommodate needed classrooms so redistricting at this time is not necessary.  Other projects will solve capacity issues throughout the district.  I regret that original plans had to be adjusted however; it was a prudent and wise decision not to financially overcommit the district.

 

The district will be hosting two opportunities for the community to hear greater detail about the projects and ask questions about timeline, programming, etc...  The meetings will be: 

  •          October 2nd at 6:00p.m. in the Intermediate School Library
  •          October 14th at 6:00p.m. in the Orchard Hills School Library

If you have questions regarding the bond issue or the project change please e-mail me at [email protected] or call the district office. 


 
Have a great weekend!

Dr. Medlin

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Athletics & Activities
It's Homecoming Week and it has been amazing!  Not only do our Tigers keep winning but the school spirit has been contagious.  So proud of all our Tigers!

Homecoming festivities will begin at 6:30 tonight prior to kickoff.  The Tigers will be taking on undefeated Neosho in a huge COC showdown.  Kickoff is at 7:00pm.  The Tigers are currently ranked #6 in the state in Class 5!

The VolleyTigers have gotten off to a perfect 4-0 start as they defeated Central and Bolivar this week.  We will be hosting the Lori Endicott Tournament this Saturday with pool play starting at 8:00am and will continue throughout the day.  The girls will travel to Glendale next Tuesday and will host Fair Grove on Thursday.

Congratulations to the girls golf team on their solid start to the season.  Here are the results of the two tournaments they played in this week:
Ozark Tournament
Team Score: 438
Team Place: 10th out of 17

Brooklyn Teague - 98
Brooke Mitchals - 114
Katie Badger - 113
Hannah Scott - 115
Tory Butler - 113

Marshfield Tournament
Team Score: 416
Team Place: 6th out of 14

Individuals:
Brooke Mitchals - 97 
Brooklyn Teague - 100
Hannah Scott - 108
Tory Butler - 111

Soccer will look to get in the win column as they host Greenwood next Monday and Ozark on Tuesday.

The softball Tigers hit a rough patch this week but will look to get back on the winning side as they host Nixa next Tuesday and will travel to Webb City next Thursday.

It's Good To Be A Tiger!

Jeff Staley
Driector of Athletics/Activities
High School

Homecoming week!  Spirit days, minute-to-win-it competitions, a parade, and an awesome assembly have been part of the week.  The crowning ceremony begins at 6:30 PM.  The high school post-game activities will include a dance and laser tag, 9 - 12 PM.

 

Much discussion about digital safety and awareness has taken place over the past several weeks in one of our leadership teams.  For October 6, the guidance office staff are planning student assemblies, staff professional development, and also a parent presentation from guest presenter, Jennifer Schiffman.  Parents are invited to attend the 6 PM presentation in the high school theater.  More information about the presentation can be accessed from the high school website. 

 

It is GREAT to be a Tiger!

 

Curt Graves, WHS Principal 

 

  
Middle School

Innovative ideas are filling the Middle School as students work to answer the driving question, how do we create Tiger Pride in our community and school?  Students are working collaboratively through a process called PBL or Project Based Learning.  PBL utilizes 21st century skills to solve real-world problems.  Students develop an idea, discuss it with an expert, and present the revised idea to their class.  After that, students decide, as a group, which idea they would like to plan and generate.  The final process is for students to showcase the group idea to an audience, this quarter our showcase with be a Tiger Pride Assembly.

 

This week, students were at the expert stage of the PBL process.  Members of the community came to invest in our students by sharing their expertise and giving them some constructive feedback.  We would like to give a big shout-out to the following groups and individuals:  Marc Allie- 3-D Printing, Bluedog Graphix- T-shirt Design, JC Loveland and ATC- Parade Entry Design, Shelby Baker and Taylor Lindsey- Spirit Week, Emily Hutcheson- Sign Design, James Hanson- Newspaper Writing, Cheryl Burney- Window Painting, Lisa Christianson-Feed the Team, and Mary Crighton-Trash to Treasure.  We are always looking for experts in a variety of areas.  If you have a special talent or ability and would like to share your knowledge, please call the Middle School office and let us know so that we can place you on our expert list.


Amelia Yates
Assistant Principal  
Intermediate School
  
North Elementary School

The first week of September flew by!  I hope everyone had a great Labor Day Weekend!  There has been a lot of learning happening at Willard North.  


In honor of Grandparents' Day on Sunday, September 7, our 2nd grade classrooms invited their grandparents in for a variety of activities and cookies.  We had over 100 grandparents attend and the students were very excited to show off their school to them.  We want to thank all of the grandparents for attending and the parent volunteers who helped with this special day!


Looking ahead to next week...

Monday, September 8 - 1st PTO Meeting-6:30


Have a great weekend!

Amanda Hambey

Principal

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South Elementary School

 

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East Elementary School
This week I would like to showcase our newly remodeled/painted Library. Mrs. Hillenburg worked all summer updating this learning environment for our students. The students are giving this project two thumbs up! Stop by any time and check it out. The Book Fair is coming the last week of Sept. and will be filled with lots of books and excitement.


  


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Central Elementary School

Mark your calendars for the first PTO meeting of the year.  We will meet Monday, Sept. 8th at 6:00 in the WC library.  All parents and family members are invited to attend and childcare will be provided.

 
Mark your calendars for these upcoming events in September:

8th - PTO Meeting 6:00
15th - PTO Fundraiser Ends
18th - Kickoff Assembly and PTO t-shirt delivery
18th - BOE Meeting 7:00
19th - Early Dismissal 12:30
 

Shane Medlin

Principal


Orchard Hills Elementary School

 
Special Services
Education...it's what we do, it's why we are here and we are ALL part of the process.  It doesn't matter if you are the student or the teacher, the principal or the custodian, we are ALL learning everyday. Personally, I have always loved to learn new things and have intentionally committed myself to being a lifelong learner.  

I guess that is why I wanted to be a teacher.  I remember being  7 years old and making my brother endure spelling lessons and homework on the back deck during summer break so I could pretend to be the teacher.  My mom still has the notebooks that I created to take attendance and assign grades!  I must have been a tough teacher from the looks of it.  

Spelling is important and math is necessary, but not all learning comes from books or even teachers, you might learn from people.  Each of us has something to learn and something to teach, even people with disabilities!

 


 

This week I wanted to share a great resource that I learned from. I'd love for you to check it out and maybe you can learn some things too!  Here is an excerpt from the site, you'll have to go there to get the rest and I know you will be glad you did.  I appreciate that Willard is a great place to learn for ALL kids!


Helpful Hints (taken from site below)


 

Learning to accept ourselves is hard to do, especially when we want so much to fit in with our friends and our classmates. Most of us are self-conscious about the way we look. Or we wish we could be better than we are at something. Many of us worry about things that are invisible to our friends and our families. But they are important to us and influence the way we act. When you have a disability, fitting in is even harder. A disability is the first thing other people see. Sometimes it's the only thing. And people forget to look beyond the wheelchair, or the hearing aid, or the prosthesis. They don't see the person -- only the person's disability. They forget that these are people who could be our friends. Kids with disabilities may seem different, at first. But they are people with many interests, ideas and feelings, just like everyone else!


Learning 


Have a great weekend!


 

Caryn McDonnell

Director of Special Services

Curriculum, Instruction & Assessment

This week's focus on the Pride is not of the Curriculum Department but of Central Office and the staff.  During Homecoming week it was my great honor to participate in the homecoming parade as a Central Office Staff.  We decided to go back to the 50's and bring back the best of "Happy Days" our favorite tv show.  What a great time and a great way to connect with the high school during homecoming week!  Best luck to the Willard Tigers during their homecoming game!  Thank you to all the Central Office ladies as well for theirparticipation and spirit this week!

 




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