WillardPublicSchools
 Student Focused | Strongly Connected | Success Driven
The Pride

 
March 6, 2015
In This Issue
Your Voice

District Communication Survey

 

Please click on the link above to participate in a quick 2 minute survey asking for your input on an important school issue.   

Willard Parks

 

Youth Soccer Registration

Opens: February 23rd - March 14th

http://www.willardparks.com/youth-soccer.html

 

Youth Volleyball Registration

Opens: February 23rd - March 14th

http://www.willardparks.com/youth-volleyball.html

 

NEW PROGRAM: 

Youth Flag Football Registration

Opens: February 23rd - March 14th

http://www.willardparks.com/youth-flag-football.html

  

Summer @ THE WAC

Register today for Willard Aquatic Center Activities

http://www.willardaquatics.com/

  

  
  
  
District Office

KINDERGARTEN SCREENINGS  

 

Willard Orchard Hills        April 10th        869-0600
Willard South                   April 14th        862-6308
Willard East                     April 15th        742-4639
Willard Central                 April 21st        831-4440
Willard North                    May 8th          742-2597 

___________________________________________________________

 

35 years ago when I was in high school if we wanted to "hang out" there were three places to go:  A local car-wash parking lot, a convenience store parking lot, or the local arcade.  In the 21st Century of digital social media the places to "hang-out" has changed.  Adults often are suspect of these sites such as Facebook, Twitter, and others however this is where the kids go to "hang-out" with friends.  Your son / daughter can be sitting in the living room with you and be in constant conversation with multiple friends located in locations all over town or even around the world. 

 

Wednesday night I made the decision to cancel school about 8:30p.m.  I put the word out on my "Twitter" account that school was officially cancelled on Thursday March 5th.  I noticed that I had a couple of HS students that had sent me a Twitter notification sharing that they thought I should cancel school.  I responded to their "Tweet" which I believed took them by surprise.  I continued throughout the evening and the questions spread to many other students.  I had a blast and enjoyed "hanging out" with some great Willard HS students on Twitter responding to questions and comments.  It has given me an idea how to turn this into a formalized digital "focus group" with students.  I believe I can get some great feedback from them about our district.  

 

Have a great weekend and Spring Break!

 

Dr. Medlin

Superintendent  

Athletics & Activities

Our Tigers and Lady Tigers have ended their seasons which officially brings winter sports to a close.  I wanted to take this opportunity to thank all of our seniors in boys basketball, girls basketball, wrestling, cheerleading, dance team, jazz band and winter guard.  You could not have done a better job representing our school and community!!!

 

Spring sports has begun practicing, albeit indoors, and there is a lot of enthusiasm and expectations for the upcoming seasons.  I will start including schedules in next week's Pride.
  
It's Good To Be A Tiger! -  Have a great Spring Break!
  
Jeff Staley
Director of Activities/Athletics
High School

Next week starts spring break with the end of third quarter today, Friday, March 6th.  It has been a snow-filled quarter but also some great accomplishments by students.  One of the greatest annual events is quickly approaching for seniors with graduation scheduled at JQH arena on May 16 at 8 PM.  The March Senior informational meeting was Tuesday, March 3rd.  Seniors were given details, dates, and expectations for graduation.  The presentation will be available online for students and parents to view. 

 

Parent-teacher conferences are planned for March 19, 2:30 - 6:30 PM, and March 24, 5-8:30 PM, at the high school.  Some teachers may choose to pilot other strategies to increase the effectiveness and communication processes during conferences.  Parents may contact the high school office to schedule appointments with teachers.  Additional information will be communicated to parents in the coming days. 

 

Finally, congratulations to Hunter Yeargan on being a State Champion in wrestling.  Hunter pinned another wrestler who had more than 100 matches in a row!  It is GREAT to be a Tiger!

 

Curt Graves

Principal 

Middle School

The Peer Ambassadors just finished hosting a Friday Fun Night on February 27, and raised over $500 to support their program.  During the fun night, students participated in dodgeball, karaoke, face painting, and open gym.

 

Peer Ambassadors are selected by their peers, recommended by their teachers in the 6th grade, and remain in the program during middle school.  They are involved in many activities throughout the year.  To begin with, they attend Leadership Ranch where they learn cooperation, problem solving, and teamwork skills. They also, spend a portion of their summer training for conflict resolution to help with mediation throughout the school year. 

 

During registration, they help 7th graders adjust to their surroundings by being a resource to help them find their classrooms and open their lockers. During the school year, Peer Ambassadors help new students feel welcome by taking them on a tour of the building, help understand the lunch routine, and be a friendly face at school.

 

We are thankful for all the work Peer Ambassadors do to make WMS a great place to learn.  Our Peer Ambassadors are Taylor Bagley, Grant Harris, Sarah Kiesewetter, Angel Lara, Makayla Malachowski, Sara Morris, Canton Post, Hannah Riggin, Ben Sanders, Alyssa Textor, Levi Thedell, Brennon Woodcock, Eli Bingham, Sarah Brooks, Aidan Davis, Emalee Flatness, Milana Hainline, Denzel Ransom, Sydney Schader, Danaysia Schmehl, Reed Schweighardt, Cheyenne Terry, and Brooke Williamson.

 

  

Amelia Yates

Assistant Principal

Intermediate School

Spring Break already?  Even with a few snow days sprinkled in over the last month, you could literally feel the anticipation for Spring Break in our students and teachers today.  WIS celebrated positive behavior in the building with our 3rd quarter iChoose movie reward day.  Approximately 550 students spent a big part of their 1/2 day relaxing and watching a movie with snacks and drinks.  Needless to say, we have a great group of students this year and it was awesome to be able to tell them "thanks" for just being good kids!

 

Our Spring Showcase has been rescheduled for Thursday, March 19th due to our most recent snow day.  We hope you can join us that evening from 6:30-8:00 as our students show off what they have been working on in class as well as some of their talents and interests.

 

We hope everyone has a great Spring Break and gets a chance to get outside and enjoy some warmer weather!

 

Tom Davis
Principal 
North Elementary School

 

South Elementary School

 

East Elementary School

 

Central Elementary School

WC had a busy week wrapping up the 3rd quarter.  Students have been finishing up projects and units of study in the classroom while our 1st grade students were busy preparing for their 1st grade music program.  They did a great job sharing the favorite children's Chinese tale of Tikki Tikki Tembo set to music.  Thank you to Mrs. Chatman, staff and our students for making a memorable performance.  

 

On Friday, we celebrated our students' hard work from this quarter with our Willard Way Celebration.  Students who were caught being Respectful, Responsible and Ready to Learn throughout the quarter earned the chance to participate in some "Minute to Win It" games.  There were plenty of laughs and fun to go around as we honored our students for their good choices. 

 

After our early dismissal on Friday, our entire staff will be together to share information from The Leader in Me training we missed due to the inclement weather on President's Day.  We are excited to dig deeper into these resources as a staff and school community to support our students!


Hopefully the winter weather is behind us just in time for a sunny, warmer Spring Break!  We will be finishing up reading about our adventures of Humphrey to get ready for our Family Reading Night celebration on March 26th.  We hope all of our families can come celebrate the story together!  Enjoy the break with your family and friends and come back recharged ready to tackle the 4th quarter!

 

Shane Medlin

Principal 

Orchard Hills Elementary School

 

Special Services

 

Curriculum, Instruction and Assessment

Essential Skills

 

Collaboration, communication, solving problems, thinking critically, and creating a product that will work for them (students)!  It is important for students to be self-directed learners.   Aside from the common core, an important part of the curriculum is for students to be able to create, evaluate, analyze, apply, understand, and remember.  This starts at a very young age. 

 

As part of my "mini-spotlight" buildings and teachers are promoting the essential skills through different activities that are inside and outside of the school day.  Along with Lego and Mindcraft after school facilitated activities, students are also exposed to learning opportunities provided by outside organizations like Whole Child Learning Company which provides STEM activities for kids starting in kindergarten.   This article features the elementary side of essential skills; however there are wonderful "happenings" in all the buildings that I will be highlighting in future articles!

 

Have a wonderful Spring Break!

 

Angela Stevens

Director of Curriculum, Instruction and Assessment

 





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