WillardPublicSchools
 Student Focused | Strongly Connected | Success Driven
The Pride

December 12, 2014
Join Our Mailing List
In This Issue
Your Voice
  
Willard Parks

 

Winter Basketball Registration

December 1st - 13th

Visit: http://www.willardparks.com/youth-basketball.html

 

Santa's Workshop

December 13th

Visit: http://www.willardparks.com/santas-workshop.html 

 

 
 

 

 

 

 

 

  
District Office
Snow Days!!!!
I looked on my weather channel app. this morning and discovered that there is little to no chance for snow all through next week.  That is great news!  My hope is to always get to Christmas without calling school out for snow.  I was out one morning about 2 weeks ago driving roads at 4:30a.m. to determine if conditions were suitable for school.
  
That morning, like many others, demonstrated different road conditions in the North portion of our district compared to the South.  That particular morning the South side of the district was worse then the North. The Willard School district is 113 square miles and extends approximately 10 miles North of Willard and South to a point between Mt. Vernon and Sunshine Street on the bypass.  Weather can be significantly different in one part of the district in contrast to another.
  
The goal is to make a decision to cancel school by 6:00 each morning.  The district then communicates this decision out on the district website, social media, (Facebook / Twitter), local news outlets, and phone calls to parents.  Parents that believe conditions are not safe for themselves or their child to drive should never allow that to occur.
  
Willard has an option of calling a "Late Start" to school.  Late Start only effects the Middle School and High School schedules.  Days that are designated as Late Start changes the start time for grades 7-12 to 9:30a.m.  This option is utilized when district officials believe road conditions will improve during morning hours to an acceptable level for safe transportation. 
  
I have lived in Southwest Missouri all my life.  I am not na�ve enough to believe that a snowstorm can't develop in the next week however, technology is giving us the all clear at this point.  If you are interested in receiving district social media you can learn more on our district website www.willardschools.net.
  
Have a great weekend!
  
Dr. Medlin

Superintendent 

Like us on Facebook    Follow us on Twitter     willardschools.net

Athletics & Activities

 

I could not be more proud of our Tigers as they continue to do amazing things all while excelling in the classroom!

 

Congratulations to the wrestling Tigers on their third place finish in the Neosho Tournament!  They followed that up with victories over Rolla, Kickapoo, Marshfield, and Camdenton to start the year 4-0!!!!  They will be at home next Tuesday against Nixa and Reeds Spring and then travel to Republic on Wednesday.

 

Good luck to our Tigers and Lady Tigers as they continue to work towards district championships next week. The Tigers travel to Blair Oaks Saturday and to Marshfield on Friday. The Lady Tigers will travel to Central on Thursday. Good luck Tigers!!!!!

 

Last weekend the Speech and Debate team travled to Monett.  Going to semifinals was Macy Greenup in DI and James Ritzendollar and Katie Schroeder went Super Session in Student Congress. Placing in finals: Conor Wadle 4th in USX, Jonah Perry 6th,Ryan Largent 4th, Cameron McMurtrey 2nd, and Hayden Onstott 1st in HI.  Kimberly Jones placed 4th in DI, and Ashlyn Wadle and Grace Black placed 6th, and Linsday Smith and Brie Jarvis placed 1st in Duo. Landon Summerville placed 5th in Prose/Poetry and in the Quad Katelynn Wilson placed 2nd! The team overall placed 2nd in sweeps out of 22 schools!  Great Job!

  

Its Good To Be A Tiger!

 

Jeff Staley

Director of Athletics/Acitvities

Like us on Facebook  Follow us on Twitter

High School

WHS administration is excited about the upcoming Academic Breakfast planned for December 16.  Personal invitations were sent to all students and parents meeting the academic criteria.  More than 400 RSVP's have been received.  Mrs. Kiesewetter and other staff have  done a tremendous job of organizing this event.  I am truly looking forward to recognizing and celebrating the academic successes of so many students.

 

Finals are scheduled for December 17, 18, and 19.  A finals bell schedule has been revised allowing additional time for completion of comprehensive final exams.  WHS does have a couple of dual credit courses through local universities that dictate earlier final completion due to scheduling.  Otherwise, all students are expected to complete finals during the scheduled times.  The finals schedule is available to students in the office and posted on the high school website.

 

It is GREAT to be a Tiger!

 

Curt Graves

Principal  

 

  
Middle School
7th graders at Willard Middle School were given a unique assignment that required them to develop a model house that was energy efficient to prevent the loss of heat. The students worked on building their model house after researching and learning how energy is not lost but conserved as it is transferred and transformed. 
  
 
A special thanks goes out to Mirowski Inspections, LLC  for their help on this assignment.  Steve Mirowski, the owner, came out three different times to assist students in their learning.  Steve took pictures (mirowskiinspections.com) of each house using his thermal imaging camera so students could identify areas to improve.  Then he returned to take a second picture after adjustments had been made by students.  Check out some of the photos!
  
  
Don't miss out on this years drama production.  A Little Princess will be performed tonight and Saturday night starting at 7:00.  Here is a quote from a mom that recently moved into our district: "I was amazed at the play performed tonight by the 7th and 8th graders at Willard Middle School. It was better than a lot of high school plays I have seen. Talented kids and an amazing teacher. Thank you Amanda Graves for your time and patience." 
 
Tiger Technology classes are working on designing their own website using Weebly.  Check out some of their sites: mrslovelandwms.weebly.com.
  
Archery will be heading to Crane this weekend for their first tournament. We would like to wish the 25 kids going best luck!!!  Wrestling will be going to Carthage this Saturday to compete in their COC tournament.  Go get 'em!!!
  
Amy Sims
Principal
Intermediate School

 

North Elementary School

 

Like us on Facebook      WillardNorth  

  
South Elementary School
 WOW....what an amazing performance by our fourth graders on Thursday.  They performed Elf Impersonator to students, staff and parents.  We even had a special guest performance from Elvis himself! It sent the girls screaming.
  
  
  
   
  
  
A big THANK YOU to our talented and generous music teacher.  Mrs. Christensen goes above and beyond to make each grade level performance a memorable experience for students and parents.  She ensures that each child has a special part in each musical.  I truly appreciate her energy and talent!
  
  
UPCOMING ACTIVITIES;
  • 12/16--Tiger Pride Assembly at 2:30
  • 12/18--Winter Classroom Parties at 2:45
  • 12/19--Bike Giveaway Assembly for 1st & 2nd Grade at 10:00
  • 12/19--Students Dismissed at 12:30

Kara Crighton - Smith

Principal

Like us on Facebook   South Elementary

East Elementary School

We want to thank all of our Willard East families and community members who have donated to our Holiday Toy Drive! We have more children to support than usual this year and are glad to be able to provide for all of them. THANK YOU!

 

Next week is going to be a super busy and fun week. The energy and excitement level at the elementary before the holidays is immeasurable. Each grade level will participate in holiday fun day activities. Principal Miller will have a special read aloud time and Winter Parties will be Thursday Dec. 18th
  
We would also like to thank all of our volunteers who helped in the Holiday Shop with the kiddos. We had some moms and dads show up at the last minute that really saved the day for the kids. Holiday Shop was a success!
  
Melinda Miller
Principal  

Like us on Facebook      Willard East 

Central Elementary School

As the 1st semester draws to a close, there is a lot of focus on assessments and evaluating students' learning in schools.  However, as we prepare for the Christmas break, WC students have been encouraged to share how they are growing as leaders with their families. 

 

Several staff members have started introducing Stephen Covey's book, The Leader in Me, to our students.  Covey's familiar work about leadership shares 7 habits that highly effective people possess to be successful.  As these habits start to become embedded in our daily school life, we are asking parents to join us in this mission to grow happy, healthy, successful leaders for now and our future.  Parents can learn more about these 7 habits by following the link below. 

 

Click HERE to access The Leader in Me Parent Guide.

Thank you for your partnership as we support the leader within each student!
  

Shane Medlin

Principal  


Orchard Hills Elementary School

 

  
Special Services

 

We are blessed to have several community businesses that support our schools in Willard. They allow our students with special needs to participate in community based job instruction partnerships, donate necessary materials and supplies for special projects and often go above and beyond in a variety of ways that often don't get acknowledged.

Freedom Bank is one of those special community partners for the Willard Special Services Department. On December 3, 2014, a group of approximately 25 were given the opportunity to visit Missouri State University's John Q. Hammons arena, home of MSU Bears basketball! This is the 2nd year that Freedom Bank has partnered with our life skills classes at the middle school and high school to provide a community based field trip.

 

Last year, students went to Hammons Field to see the Springfield Cardinals. When the students arrived, they were greeted by Boomer, the MSU mascot and were able to shake his hand and get their pictures taken. Next, they toured the press room, the court, and private viewing boxes. Students were then treated to lunch, drinks, t-shirts and a gift bag, all provided by Freedom Bank and their employees! Before leaving, students were able to watch a part of the men's basketball team practice, meet some of the players and the coach all before returning back to school. It was an experience the students will never forget!

 

On behalf of the district, I would like to extend a huge THANK YOU to Freedom Bank, Matt Kelley and Misty Severs, along with all of the other employees who made this possible for a very deserving group of students.

We appreciate you!   www.willardspecialservices.weebly.com

 

With Pride,

Caryn McDonnell

Director of Special Services

Curriculum, Instruction and Assessment

Currently Willard Schools has 9 Instructional Coaches assigned to different buildings throughout the district.  A coach's' role is to assist teachers in the district with best instructional practices in all subject areas including classroom management and behaviors. 

 

This year coaches have been hard at work implementing Comprehensive Literacy Model Lesson Cycles. The Comprehensive Literacy Model Lesson Cycle develops a vision of highly effective instruction in an exceptional classroom. Teachers practice self-assessment and experience peer conversations with the intention of stretching their bank of instructional practices.

 

This year, each teacher will observe a literacy lesson modeled by the instructional coach. Following that lesson, the instructional coach and the teacher collaborate to create a new and enhanced lesson. Through processing conversations, adjustments are made to fit student needs and curriculum requirements. That teacher models the newly created lesson for her grade level team members. As the teachers observe their peer teacher, they record strengths as well as the necessary shifts they want to implement when teaching the lesson in their own classroom. The following week, the team meets with the coach to debrief on the observed literacy strategy and discuss next steps for their students. Following one teacher cycle, each team member walks away with two new lessons to teach.

Instructional Coaches do a great job supporting teachers and the curriculum in order for students to learn best in our district!
 
Angela Stevens
Director of Curriculum, Instruction and Assessment




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

 The Pride is a publication of Willard R2 School District.


Copyright © 20XX. All Rights Reserved.