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The Pride
September 9, 2014

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Your Voice
 
Each week this section will feature a 2 minute survey asking for your input on an important school issue. Please take a couple minutes to let Your Voice be heard.
Willard Parks
 
 

 

 

 

 

  
District Office

The past few weeks I have been sharing information regarding the November Bond Issue.  This week I am outlining major components of the issue. 

 

Renovation of North Elementary.  North was constructed in 1953.  It remains a great building with many years of service left ahead.  However the heat and air is antiquated.  A steam boiler is still utilized to heat much of the building.  Calcium buildup in pipes causes some rooms to be over-heated and others to be cold.  Therefore, the building will be refit to replace the old boiler system.  A new modern entry and improved office and counseling areas will be constructed.  The cafeteria will be totally remodeled removing walls to provide a "commons" look and feel.  Improvements will also occur to the building library to provide greater student accessibility.    

 

Renovation of Willard Intermediate School and classroom addition.   The Intermediate School and North Elementary are actually one large connected facility. District leadership agreed that it was best to remodel the entire facility at the same time.  Additional classrooms are needed to accommodate the growth of students.  Therefore the plan is to construct six new classrooms on the west side.   A newly remodeled building front is also planned for the Intermediate School.  Office space and entry will be remodeled to support enhanced security and efficiency.  Additional square footage will create opportunities to improve the flow of students from one part of the building to another. 

 

HS Multipurpose Building.  Band, Color Guard, and ROTC are activities at the high school that have over 450 students.  These students are often at a loss for a dedicated practice space.  These groups schedule building gymnasiums and compete for time along with all athletic groups.  Unfortunately the district has been forced to limit drill practice on the gym floors due to the fact that dropped rifles and flags have caused damage to the wood floors.  (Yes students do drop their rifle / flag once in a while!)  The Multipurpose building will not have a wood floor which limits practice.  The building is planned to be a large clear-span facility measuring approximately 100x150 feet.  This space will have high ceilings of approximate 23-25 feet allowing for rifles and flags to fly in the air.  The space will be open for all HS groups to utilize.  This will be phase one of a multi-phase project.  In the future, classroom for band and ROTC may be added to this building for direct access to drill space. 

 

WOHE Classroom Addition.  Orchard Hills opened in 2007 with  approximately 260 students.  Today the enrollment is 369 students and the building is approaching capacity.  Orchard Hills remains one of the districts fastest growing schools.  An addition of four classrooms and additional learning space will allow for continued growth 4-5 years into the future.  WOHE Administration and Teachers are excited about 21st Century Learning design for this addition. 

 

Student Activities.  Track / Turf / Tennis  -  The last student activity added at Willard High School was wrestling in 2002.  Since that time the high school has grown by over 400 students.  That is the size of Ash Grove, Walnut Grove, and Everton high schools put together!  There are still only 5 basketball players on the court, 6 volleyball players on the court, 9 baseball and softball players on the field, etc......    Tennis will provide additional opportunity for these students to get plugged into school.  It is proven time after time that students who are involved in activities also achieve greater success in academics. 

 

The track is significantly past its normal lifespan.  The district painted the track 3 years ago to gain a couple more years however the base underneath the track is severely degraded.  The district has learned that significant savings occurs when track and turf facilities are made at the same time.  Therefore it is advantageous to proceed with both projects concurrently.  It is proven that turf provides greater safety to athletes and reduces severe injury year after year. 

 

Land Willard Public Schools continues to grow and therefore we are always on the lookout for possible large tracks of property which could be used for future schools.  Two opportunities have presented themselves to the district.  One piece of land was in foreclosure and the other was offered to the  district  by the current owner.  One parcel is close to Orchard Hills and the other is close to Willard.  The district has negotiated fair prices on both pieces of property.  The price is significantly less then what was paid several years ago prior to the recession. 

 

Stay tuned to next week's Pride to learn how the Bond Issue will affect your pocket book!

 

Have a great Labor Day weekend!

 

Dr. Medlin

Superintendent

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Athletics & Activities
Sometimes I hear people say that student/athletes receive too much attention.  They are treated differently.  They get privileges that others do not.   Well.....YES THEY DO!  And truth be told, they deserve a whole lot more!  I'm constantly amazed as I watch some of our young Tigers show up at 6:00am for band practice; spend six hours in the classroom; go to a sports practice; go home and do homework; and then get up the next morning and do it again. No, they are not perfect.  However, the vast majority of them deserve everything they get......and much more.....they deserve our respect.   I just wanted to take some time to point this out.  We are so lucky to live in a community like Willard and to be represented by such an outstanding group of young men and women! 
  
The VolleyTigers are hot right now!  They are 10-1 on the season after winning the Lori Endicott Tournament last Saturday and defeating Fair Grove last night.  The girls will look to continue this success as they play in the Hillcrest Tournament tomorrow.  Next week they will host Lebanon on Tuesday and will travel to Rogersville on Thursday.
  
The football Tigers have climbed to #5 in Class 5  in the state after defeating Neosho 35-8 last week.  They are a perfect 3-0 and will put that to the test tonight as they travel to Nixa for a huge COC showdown.  Gates will open at 6:00pm in Nixa.
  
Congratulations to the softball Lady Tigers on their exciting come-from-behind victory over Nixa this week!  The girls scored 4 runs with two outs in the bottom of the 7th inning to win 4-3.  They will play in the Ozark Tournament tonight and tomorrow.  Next week they will host Carthage on Tuesday before traveling to Republic on Thursday.
  
The soccer Tigers keep improving and are about to get on track as they will travel to Republic next Tuesday and will host Carl Junction on Thursday. Last week, the boys defeated Greenwood before losing a hard fought game vs. Ozark.
  
Good luck to our Lady Tiger golf team as they are playing in the Willard Invitational today at Greene Hills!
  
Also, good luck to the Cross Country Tigers as they run in St. Louis this weekend.  Last week they ran against some of the best competition in the area and Chloe Andrews finished 17th out of 158 runners, Megan Hergesheimer finished 32.  Justin Johnson finished 51st out of 254, Zach Manes finished 53.

 

It's Good To Be A Tiger!

 

Jeff Staley
Director of Activities/Athletics
High School

It is hard to believe that we are at the middle of 1st quarter.  Grades will be officially posted for students and parents on Monday, September 15.  The student information system (SIS) is a great tool to assist parents, students, and teachers in communicating.  Parents who do not have a login are invited to contact the high school office. 

 

Next Friday, September 19, will be an early out for students.  Staff will be participating in professional development activities related to student learning and instruction.

 

It is GREAT to be a Tiger!

 

Curt Graves

Principal

 

  
Middle School
Clubs are up and running!!
  • Mrs. Witt will be working with students this year.  The a capella club,  Femata Nowhere, will be signing away!  
  • If your student is interested in learning advanced building, woodworking and engineering techniques then the WMS Industrial Tech and Engineering Club is for them! This new club meets every Thursday after school from 2:45 until 4:30in Mr. Greenhaw's room 245. Sign up with Mr. Greenhaw!
  • Coding Club meets on Wednesday in Room 230 after school until 3:30.  Students should bring their computer.
  • Book Club had their first meeting on September 10th. Student interested need to speak with Mrs. Wilcox.
  • Drama Club meets every Thursday from 2:30 to 3:30 and membership forms are outside the theatre. Everyone that joins before September 19th will get a club t-shirt. Anyone interested in being on the Drama Club leadership team needs to sign up with Ms. Graves before Wednesday.
SAVE THE DATE
Sept. 18 - Sports Pep Assembly during 8th hour parents are always welcome to attend. 

Thanks, 
Amy Sims
Willard Middle School Principal
Intermediate School
  
North Elementary School

Willard North has enjoyed the cooler temperatures this week!  The students are looking forward to fall and all of the activities that it brings!

 

On Monday night we held our first PTO meeting and had a good turnout.  I appreciate all of the parent support and look forward to a great year.  We are planning our fall fundraiser and spirit wear sales. 

 

We also had our first visit this week from our Pet Therapy Dogs, Tela and Charlie.  This is our third year for Pet Therapy and the students love it. 

   

Looking Ahead...

Friday, September 19-Early Dismiss (Students dismiss at 12:30)

Monday, September 22-K Open House 5:00-6:00 and 1st Grade Parent Night 6:00-6:30

Wendesday, September 24-Super Tiger 2:30

 

Have a great weekend!

 

Amanda Hambey

Principal 

 

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South Elementary School

 

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East Elementary School

 

 

  We must first celebrate the new carpet in the 2nd grade hallway! You never realize how much the little things matter to the kids. We arrived at school early Monday morning to find our newly installed carpet! The kids wanted to run on it and roll on it. They also thought it looked like the video game Minecraft.

 

 

                                                                                                                         

This week was exciting because I was able to get into about every classroom and celebrate learning with our kids. Teachers are amazing! The things that they can accomplish with student learning in such a short amount of time is incredible. After only 4 weeks of school our 2nd graders are writing stories and some 4th graders had 2 full pages of narrative writing. 
  
Melinda Miller
Principal
 

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Central Elementary School

Thank you to the students, parents, staff and extended Willard Central Family for supporting Mrs. Katrosh as she faces surgery this Friday, Sept. 12th. Check out some pictures of the festivities on our Facebook page, just click on the link below..  Mrs. Katrosh - You are in our hearts, thoughts and prayers.

 

We are looking forward to a great week!  The HS drama students will help us "Hero Up" as we get our PTO t-shirts, take our all-school picture for the yearbook and celebrate our school's theme this year.  It will be a great week as we continue to learn and grow because "Heroes aren't born, they're made!"
Enjoy the fall-like weekend!
  
Shane Medlin
Principal 

Orchard Hills Elementary School

 
Special Services

There is nothing like a great cup of coffee in the morning!  No one knows that better than the student employees of THE ROAR, which opened for business on Monday, September 8.  THE ROAR has been in operation at Willard High School since 2003 and is operated by the Career Education/Transition class students under the leadership of Mrs. Erica Poulson, Special Education Teacher.  

 

In addition to providing quality beverages and snacks, THE ROAR offers students an opportunity to learn and develop necessary job skills as they begin to prepare for life outside of school.  Students learn inventory, stocking, food safety, customer service, telephone, money skills and more.  While working at THE ROAR, these students can practice these job skills with the support of their teacher with the hopes to eventually gain employment outside of the school environment as they graduate.  

 

I am looking forward to purchasing my first cup of coffee this year and I am proud of the staff and students who continue to make the unique learning opportunity a success!  

Don't forget, check out our website at Special Services Website 

 

Have a great weekend!

 

Caryn McDonnell

Director of Special Services

Curriculum, Instruction & Assessment
This week Instructional Coaches prepared for the kick-off of our continued assessment work(CAP - Common Assessment Program) with grades K-12. In planning common assessments for the district, teachers across the district collaborate and create high quality assessments for students.  This year there is continued work with math, reading, and science.  High school will be working on assessments for encore classes such as fine arts, music, vocational, foreign languages, FACS, and agricultural.
The Developmental Reading Assessment (DRA) window for elementary students is getting ready to open on September 22nd.  Students will read several short books to determine their independent reading levels.  This creates a baseline for teachers to start reading instruction with students.
The Intermediate School had a parent night Thursday, September 11th on Standards Based Grading.  This year the intermediate school will be launching a standards based grade card for grades 5 and 6 to continue the processes from elementary grades K-4.  
  
Have a wonderful weekend and enjoy the cooler weather.
  

Angela Stevens

Director of Curriculum 




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500 E Kime
Willard, MO 65781

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