WillardPublicSchools
 Student Focused | Strongly Connected | Success Driven
The Pride
January 22, 2015
In This Issue
Quick News
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School will now be in session on Monday, March 28 & Friday, May 20.

The Board of Education unanimously approved language for a $5.5 Million No-Tax-Increase Bond Issue to be placed on the April 5, 2016 ballot. 

Candidates for School Board
Seven patrons have filed to run for the three open school board seats in the upcoming April 5 election. Voters will elect two directors for three-year terms. 

The district calendar for next school year (2016-17) has been set.

Our next Breakfast Club will be held Thursday 2/4 at 7:15 a.m. at the district office. 
Willard Parks

Youth Spring Soccer Registration Now Open
Registration Ends:  March 5th
 
 
Valentines Dance
February 5th @ THR REC
 
         
District Office
Willard Chamber Choir "Rocks the House" at MMEA Performance!!!

Artists, musicians, actors, athletes, leaders, etc....  take advantage of opportunities to demonstrate their skills.  A "Big Performance", "Playoff Game", or "Community Event" sets the stage for this to occur.  Leaders look at these opportunities like a dog looks at a bone!  However, there is a bit of fear that is mixed into the opportunity.  They question whether or not they will be good enough, whether their personal skills are enough to achieve success, whether enough work and effort has been expended to win?
  
Yesterday I was privileged to attend a performance by the Willard Chamber Choir at the MMEA (Missouri Music Educators Association) Conference at Lake of the Ozarks.  This conference allows for select groups from among the best and most successful groups around Missouri to perform. 

The group led by Mr. Jerry Scott has been working on the performance for some time.  In rehearsal it was evident that the students were anxious about the performance.  At that moment there is always a question if the group will rise to the occasion or fade under pressure.  The question was quickly answered as Willard took the stage and rose to the occasion.  The performance was literally outstanding!  I don't know who was more proud between myself, the parents, instructors, or the students.  The performance ended with a standing ovation and huge emotional satisfaction on a "Mission Accomplished!"  The kids began to realize that they had not only met but exceeded expectations.   I applaud the hard work of the students and the dedication and expertise of the instructors past and present K-12.  This was a reminder of what we are able to help young people achieve in Willard Schools.  


Have a great weekend
Dr. Medlin
Superintendent
Athletics & Activities
I don't get goose bumps very often.  When I do, the event that causes them is something that I will never forget.  That happened not once, but twice, during the Chamber Choir's performance at the MMEA convention in Tan-Tar-A on Thursday.  Congratulations to Mr. Scott, Mrs. Green, and the entire Chamber Choir on giving the performance of a lifetime!

Congratulations to the Lady Tigers on their victory over Joplin last night!  The girls will be playing next Monday, Tuesday, and Saturday in the Seneca Tournament.  Good luck ladies!

Our wrestling Tigers are currently ranked 5th in the state in Class 3 as a team!  Here are our wrestlers who are currently ranked:
#113 - Tallon Heimbach  - 8th in the state
#120 - Alex Garrett - 5th
#138 - Nicholas Chavez - 2nd
#160 - Kyle Caldwell - 3rd
#195 - Hunter Yeargan - 1st!
Their COC tournament is tomorrow in Carthage.  Wrestling starts at 9:30am.

The Tigers will be hosting Hogan Prep out of Kansas City tomorrow with the JV starting at 2:00pm.  There will be a chili supper fundraiser for Willard Alum, Aaron Wallace, in the commons area starting at 4:30.  Aaron has been through several rounds of cancer and we are rallying around him in his battle this time.  "Once a Tiger....Always a Tiger Aaron"!!!!!
Next week, the boys will travel to Carl Junction on Monday in a make-up of a game that was postponed due to weather.  They will then travel to Ozark on Friday.

A special congratulations to the 8th grade boys basketball team on winning the COC championship over Nixa this week!  The Tigers ended the season with an impressive 16-1 record!!!  We will be recognizing the team during our home game vs. Webb City on Feb. 9th.

It's Good To Be A Tiger!
Jeff Staley
Director of Activities/Athletics
High School
 
I want to express how awesome and talented our students are!  This past few weeks I have been reminded and observed several instances where staff provide support allowing students to drive the learning; great and amazing things happen.  I think it is important that we recognize and celebrate these things.  

For instance, the WHS Chamber Choir produced one of the most amazing and awe-striking choral performances I've ever attended at the Missouri Educators Association State Conference on Thursday.  The students performed flawlessly and produced an amazing product.  Kudo's to Mr. Scott and Mrs. Green!

Did you know the WHS Speech and Debate team was recently named as a Top 50 in the nation?  There are 3098 schools with speech and debate teams.  The tireless efforts, early mornings, and after school work shows that effort still earns.  Mrs. Tobin and Ms. Russell do a great job with students!

WHS sends students to state and national competitions annually.  Our students score above the state average in every assessment category and above the national average on the ACT.  

With all these accolades, the majority of our students that come every day, do what is right, treat each other with respect, and do their best to truly make WHS great.  I once heard a coach quote, "Any player can make one great play, but great players make lots of good plays every day!"  We have "great players" at WHS!

8th graders attended Freshman Preview on Thursday evening and have been meeting with counselors to start the transition to high school this week.  Next week, counselors will begin scheduling and pre-enrollment with high school students.  Near the end of this month, the administrative and counseling staff will begin building the 2016-17 master schedule for next year based from the pre-enrollment numbers.

It is GREAT to be a Tiger!  
 
Curt Graves
Principal
Middle School
The middle school basketball wrapped up for girls last week and boys this week.   The 7th grade A team got 1st place at the Willard 7th grade tournament and the B team got 5th place.  Way to go girls!!!  8th grade girls played in the Nixa tournament.  A team won one and lost one.  B team got 3rd in their tournament.  These girls worked very hard this season and we are so proud of them.  


The COC boys tournament took place this week with 8th at Neosho and 7th in Nixa.   These two groups of boys did a great job and we are super excited with their last games of the season. The 8th grade boys took first place!!  The 7th grade boys won 5th place at the COC tournament but this was just not a typical win.   The last 20 seconds of the game they were tied with Branson Branson had possession of the ball and with our great defense we got the ball back.   Blake Hultgren got the ball and made a layup!  They won by 2 points!  What a great win!  Check out the video of this great play - 7th Grade Boys COC video

7th grade science students are learning about electricity.  We are thankful to have Ozark Electric join us today to talk to the students.   They do a fantastic job at showing the students the power of electricity.  
 
Amy Sims
Principal  
Intermediate

Orchard Hills
We are back in the swing of things for 2nd semester. This week we held our monthly Tiger Pride Assembly. One of the foci during our assemblies is to recognize students who have made good choices and who are exhibiting our behavior expectations. We are thankful for these students and the leadership they show in our school.

We were blessed to have Aubrey Foster, a  4th grade student in Mrs. Peterson's room, sing the National Anthem to begin our assembly (see picture). We also kicked off our Jump Rope for Heart campaign. Thank you to Coach Higgins for taking the lead on this project. Next week we will be doing a fundraiser to benefit the Willard Children's Charitable Foundation (WCCF). This will be a coin drive with pennies counting as positive votes and silver coins as negative votes. We will count the coins daily and update the classes. We look forward to making a contribution to this fabulous organization.
 
Wishing you a blessed weekend,

Dr. Garett Prevo
Principal
Central

Our student leaders took center stage this week hosting principals from around southwest Missouri for their SWMAESP meeting.  Student ambassadors provided a tour of the school showing student learning and sharing about the Leader in Me.  A panel of student leaders shared about the 7 habits, their leadership roles and how they have been learning and growing as leaders.  It was a great chance for our students to shine while sharing their excitement about what school is like when students actively participate in leading the school.

   

Next week, the district will hold the Willard Children's Charitable Foundation (WCCF) Change a Life Fundraiser.  This annual event helps raise money for Willard kids to support medical and educational needs of our students.  So many students have been helped through the work of WCCF.  The goal is to raise at least $1 for every student.  We will be having a hat day on Wednesday and a change drive all week to raise money for this great Willard resource.  The class that raises the most money will win a dodgeball game against the staff!

Enjoy the beautiful weekend and keep reading for our All-School Family Book Club.  Our students are really getting into the story and the magic inside of Mr. Wonka's Chocolate Factory!

Dr. Shane Medlin
Principal
East
We have an exciting week planned next week! We will be celebrating our school-wide book Stuart Little. We have dress up days and Family Reading Night and lots of celebrations planned. Feel free to stop by for the Book Fair any time next week.
Melinda Miller
Principal
North
South
This Thursday marked the 100th day of school. Students and teachers celebrated by dressing up like they were 100 years old. They also enjoyed several math activities including counting, sorting, graphing, estimating, adding and more!  


Next week, we will kick off the Change a Life fundraiser that benefits our local Willard Children's Charitable Foundation.  WCCF was established in 2005 as an affiliate of the Community Foundation of the Ozarks. Its mission is to raise, manage and distribute funds to benefit children in the Willard community and school district. WCCF provides both direct assistance to children and families in need and supports programs that benefit children throughout the district.  Our goal is to have each child donate $1 to support WCCF and our local families. Each classroom that reaches this goal will earn an extra recess. 
Kara Crighton-Smith
Principal
Special Education
Willard continues to have a strong reputation as a quality school district for many reasons. One of those reasons continues to be a strong instructional program for our students with special needs.
 
In the past two weeks, students at WMS and WHS have worked with their parents, teachers, counselors and administration to schedule classes for the 2016-17 school year. The goal is to take all of the pieces of the puzzle and fit it together so that the student has a clear picture of what is next as they enter high school and the adult world. I just want to say THANK YOU to everyone behind the scenes who makes this process effective and successful for kids. These intentional efforts illustrate how our district mission "Student Focused, Strongly Connected and Success Driven" plays out every day.
 
Enjoy the weekend!
 
Caryn McDonnell
Director of Special Services 
Curriculum, Instruction and Assessment




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