WillardPublicSchools
 Student Focused | Strongly Connected | Success Driven
The Pride
September 25, 2015
In This Issue
Willard Children's Charitable Foundation

WCCF Pickin and Praisin
Sat Oct 10  3-9:30 p.m.
Willard Children's Charitable Foundation will host a community fundraiser on Saturday, October 10, from 3:00 - 9:30 p.m. at the Willard High School theater...  More
Willard Parks
    
Board of Education
On rare occasions, members of the board of education find themselves at a crossroads of life where their board service conflicts with other life choices, to a point where the conflicts become unmanageable.  Such, regretfully, has been the situation with 5 year board member John Hartley.  Those who know Coach Hartley know he is "all in" on anything he does, exemplified by a long and successful tenure as a teacher and coach in the Willard district.  At the time he first ran for the board he was part of the sales force of a large sporting goods company.  Today, Coach Hartley is back doing what he loves most, teaching and coaching at New Covenant Academy, as well as continuing his "off season" baseball development program.  Unfortunately for Willard, his dedication to his job creates a conflict with his commitment to school board service.  So, with appreciation for his service, and regrets for losing his wisdom at the board table, the Board of Education unanimously accepted his request to resign from the Board.  

What does that mean for the board?  An announcement was released after our meeting on Tuesday, asking for patrons interested in serving on the board in his vacant position, to send a letter of interest to the District Office by Oct. 6.  On that date, the board will review the applications and determine a process for making an appointment from those applications, with the goal of filling that seat by October 22 .  This appointment will serve until the April 5th general election.  During the board filing period, which opens in late December, there will be 3 board positions to vote on.  Two positions are the regular three year positions, currently held by Dr. Devon Jarvis and Mr. Kip Baker.  The third position will be a one year position, to fulfill the term vacated by Mr. Hartley.

The board has many important decisions facing us. In the coming weeks and months, we will continue to share information on the possibilities of another bond election, the needs that would be addressed by that bond, and what we believe are some much better options for taxpayers to gain their support of the bond election.  The board has taken to heart the outcome of the last election, and thanks to some very prudent decisions regarding repayment of current debt, we find ourselves in a much better financial standing moving forward to address the most critical needs for maintenance and growth.  

It IS GOOD to be a TIGER!!

Julie Germann,
President 
Athletics & Activities
Believe it or not, we are starting to enter district tournament season already for Fall sports.  Time doesn't just fly by....it has a jet pack strapped to its back with a big bottle of Nitro on it!

Congratulations to the football Tigers on their big COC victory over Ozark last Friday!  This is the third year in a row that our Tigers have defeated Ozark....pretty sweet!  Our boys have their hands full this week as they travel to Webb City tonight.  Kickoff is at 7:00pm.  Next week is Homecoming week at Willard!  Parade will be on Wednesday and the crowning of our Homecoming Queen will be before the game.

Congratulations to the cross country Tigers as the boys squad finished in first place at the Willard meet last Friday, defeating Branson, Rogersville, and Republic.  The boys team then finished in 5th place out of 18 teams at the Nixa Invitational.  Next week, we will host the Willard Highline Invitational on Thursday.

Congratulations to the VolleyTigers on their win over Neosho last night!  The girls will host Carthage next Tuesday and travel to Branson on Thursday.

Congratulations to the soccer Tigers on their 10-0 victory over Hillcrest last night in the first round of the Willard Fall Classic.  The tournament continues today and Saturday.  Next week, they will host Nixa on Tuesday and travel to Bolivar on Thursday.

The softball Tigers will look to get back on the winning side today as they take part in the huge Springfield Tournament today and tomorrow.  The girls will then travel to Cassville next Tuesday and to  Pleasant Hope on Thursday.
High School
Willard High School SGA students have been working with Mr. Graves to begin the Outstanding Class Competitions.  These competitions are intended to promote school spirit and school pride through healthy, fun competition.  Points will be awarded for various competitions including percent attendance, highest percent of A's, lowest percent of F's, participation in homecoming activities, and many more.  Rewards will be given periodically.  However, the big year-end reward for the overall winning class will be an end of the year Spring Bash Picnic in late April.  We are excited to get this competition underway next week!

Next week is homecoming week.  Be sure to check the WHS website for activities such as pep assembly and parade times.  The theme selected by SGA for this year is "Southern-style Shindig".

The FFA will be hosting a "Pumpkin Patch" this October.  Be looking for dates and times to be posted on the high school website soon.  The ag building is filling up with pumpkins quickly!

Willard High School administration hosted the first of four community meetings in the library on September 24th at 6:30 PM.  The next community meeting will be December 1st.  We hope you will join us for this collaboration time and look forward to visiting with you.

It is GREAT to be a Tiger!  

Curt Graves
Principal
Middle School
This week was a busy and challenging one for middle school athletics. Our Volleyball Tigers won all their games at Neosho last Tuesday; however all teams lost on Thursday at home against Nixa. The 8th grade A team lost a hard fought battle in three games to a very good Nixa team. Many comments were made that it didn't look like a middle school volleyball match.  

Our Football Tigers played Ozark on Thursday night. The 8th grade A team lost their battle but the B team ran them over. The 7th grade teams won both of their games! 

Cross Country Tigers had a meet at Nixa on ThursdayWe had one 7th grade girl medal, three 8th grade girls medal, and one 7th grade boy medal.  Out of 20 teams the 7th grade boys got 3rd and the 8th grade girls got 3rd.  It was a good night! 

Many new clubs started meeting this week:  Mr. Greenhaw's Tech Club, Academic Club (will hold an information meeting next week), Speech & Debate, OHHS Club, and Science Club.  Drama Club held auditions for their upcoming production this week. Willard Middle School is the place to be for after school activities!  There is something for everyone!



We spent Friday celebrating a milestone birthday for our principal and friend, Amy Sims. We chose to celebrate with her by dressing by decade 70's, 80's, and 90's, students and staff included. Happy Birthday, Mrs. Sims! 
                                              Amelia Yates
                                                                                  Assistant Principal                                    
                                                                    
Intermediate School
Welcome to Fall!  It is hard to believe that we are already 6 full weeks into the new school year.  The cooler weather has been appreciated by our students as they have recently been completing their 1st quarter physical fitness assessments.  All students at WIS are tested in five fitness areas four times a year.  The five fitness areas are: cardiovascular (mile run), flexibility (sit and reach), arm strength (pull-ups), core strength (sit-ups), and agility (shuttle run).  Based on the results of their 1st quarter scores, students will develop individual fitness goals to work on throughout the school year.  The results of these assessments will be shared with parents through the quarterly progress report.  

To help our students accomplish their fitness goals, they participate in targeted activities every Monday in addition to their regular P.E. class each week along with a focus on proper nutrition.  Parents can help in these efforts by making sure their children are dressed for physical activity every Monday including comfortable, non-restrictive clothing and athletic shoes.  It would also be great to engage your child in a conversation about their fitness goals and encourage them to reach them.  Our goal is a healthy mind in a healthy body!

Our annual Tiger Savings Card fundraiser will be kicking off on Friday October 9th.  This is the primary fundraiser for our PTO and pays for the majority of our Spring team field trips.  Be looking for this information to come home soon and thank you in advance for your support.

Have a great weekend!

Tom Davis
Principal
North Elementary School
It has been a great week at Willard North!  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 had our first fundraiser assembly on Friday and we will be selling coupon books.  They are $20 and have some great deals in them.  Willard North will receive half of the money raised from the coupon books!
Looking Ahead...
Monday, September 28-Picture Retakes/Early Childhood Pictures
Wednesday, September 30-Super Tiger @ 2:30
Friday, October 2-Elementary Tailgate @ Central Office 5:30/Football Game 7:00
Friday, October 9-Early Dismissal (Students dismiss at 12:30)

Have a great weekend!

Amanda Hambey
Principal 
South Elementary School
This week our teachers have been working hard to administer the Development Reading Assessment to each student.  Teachers use this valuable resource to set reading goals and guide individualized instruction for each student. Don't forget to have your students read each night to help them become more confident and fluent readers.  You can be a great role model by reading to them also! 
 
Next Tuesday, we will kick-off our first Tiger Pride Assembly of the year.  We celebrate the success of students by having this assembly the last Tuesday of every month.  We encourage parents to attend and cheer on all of the outstanding students. Below you will find a list of the awards that are earned each month during our Tiger Pride Assembly.

  • Academic, Character, Most Improvement, Attendance, Special Class Awards, Most Valuable Tiger, Fight Free, Tiger Tales, Volunteer Recognition, and Golden Tray Award

Don't forget to check out our school website for more information on our annual fundraiser.  Here is the link to more information WILLARD SOUTH ELEMENTRY FUNDRAISER� 

Have a great weekend!

Kara Crighton-Smith
Principal
East Elementary School
As you are reading this week's Pride, Willard East is most likely celebrating the first Tiger Pride Assembly. This is always an exciting time of recognition and celebration. Students will also receive their Tiger T-shirts to wear every Friday. We are also excited to initiate Coach F into his first assembly! We will break him in slowly so that he is ready to lead next month's assembly. All of our community is welcome to attend our monthly celebrations. We have quite a turn out of parents and family members so please join us.

Melinda Miller
Principal 
Central Elementary School
This week students have been focusing on Habit 5: Seek first to understand; then to be understood. So many times we only hear half of what someone is saying. We don't take time to listen to the full story before we make our conclusion. Students and staff have been working on becoming better leaders by fulling listening to what someone else is saying before responding while also having courage to share their thoughts and ideas in a respectful way.  Several of student shared these skills through skits at Community Time this week.

Our student leaders also had a big week as we introduced student leadership roles for 2nd-4th grade.  Students will begin the process of applying and interviewing for student leadership positions across our school next week.  We are so excited for the growth of our students as they continue to internalize

the 7 Habits and step up as leaders for their 
peers and our school community.  Another example of this is our student-led See You at 
the Pole event on Wednesday.  Thanks to the students who helped spread the word for this and helped lead out for our students, staff andfamilies.

Shane Medlin
Principal
Orchard Hills Elementary School
Reading and writing have always and will always be foundational to all learning for students. Significant chunks of time are allotted in elementary schedules to focus on the skills that can help students become good readers and writers. 

At Orchard Hills, and across the district, the routine of Daily 5 is used to provide a variety of opportunities to practice these skills. As Daily 5 is introduced, students work on building their stamina to work independently on a given task. It takes some time for students to feel comfortable working independently and to understand the expectations for that time. With practice, though, students' stamina increases allowing for other activities to occur simultaneously. 

One of the options students choose from during Daily 5 is "Work on Writing." During this time, students are given the opportunity to write while being encouraged to practice some of the skills they have recently learned. This structure also allows the teacher the opportunity to move around the room and conference with individual students to help them with specific skills to improve their writing. 

It is a thing of beauty to see 20 first grade students actively  engaged in their writing and a teacher moving around the room encouraging and coaching students toward growth. Below are a couple of images of this structure in action. Mrs. Phinney's students were working hard on their writing pieces and were getting the individual feedback so critical to learning. The good news is, this is happening in all classrooms at Orchard Hills!


Wishing you a blessed weekend,

Dr. Garrett Prevo


Special Services
One of my favorite quotes comes from Dr. Joanne Cashman, Project Director for the IDEA Partnership program from the Office of Special
 
Education Programs.  She suggests that "everyone should come to thetable as a leader and a learner."  This is the kind of person that will make a difference and experience a lifetime of learning.  I am proud to say that we have many individuals here in Willard that could be described this way.  One of those people happens to be a new special education teacher, Kylie Kilpatrick.  Ms. Kilpatrick recently had her Missouri State University group research project published as an infosheet by the Council for Learning Disabilities.   You can find her work at 

We are very proud of her leadership as a researcher and teacher and her commitment to continual improvement as an educator.  Great job!

Caryn McDonnell
Director of Special Education




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