District Newsletter

Inclement weather make up days: March 21 April 25 (early dismissal) May 21 May 22 May 23

Willard R-II Central Office: Close your eyes and picture this:

It's a Friday night in the Ozarks. Groups of people are standing and cheering for their school. Various chants in regard to a specific school can be heard over the commotion in the room. People are laughing, patting each other on the back, and glad to be a part of their team getting the trophy.

This scenario sounds like a regular Friday night at Willard High School. However, last Friday night this atmosphere was not an athletic event. Last Friday night Willard was one of 50+ other districts that received an award for Distinction in Performance. Willard had three tables of teachers, administrators, and Board Members in attendance to receive the recognition. This distinction award is in regard to the manner in which public schools are accredited with the State of Missouri. Willard has received the highest possible level of state accreditation. It was a thrill to accept this award for the second year in a row. The "distinction" level has been presented to districts for the last seven years. Willard faculty, administration, staff, and BOE have all worked hard to earn this award. What this all comes down to is the fact that we are working hard for kids. That is something that I take great pride in. Normally, banquets offer a somber, composed, atmosphere. That is not the case at this banquet. There is lots of whooping and hollering as each school is presented the award. When Willard was announced there was one simple chant, it went like this:

WE ARE WILLARD!!!!!!

I think that says it all!

Have a great week!

Kent

Dr. Kent E. Medlin Superintendent of Schools

Director of Operations: A couple of BIG announcements for spring sports....the baseball team has purchased baseballs that float and track has added the 100 meter backstroke to its events! Just kidding! The rain and winter weather are causing some delays in getting everyone outside but they are still hard at it indoors as the coaches and athletes continue to prepare for the spring season.

Some construction updates as they relate to athletics. The backstop at the baseball field is ready to be replaced. We just need 3 or 4 dry days in a row to get it done. The locker room facility was scheduled to break ground last week but they have run into the same problem with wet ground.

Congratuations to the Willard Speech and Debate Team. This past weekend Willard competitors won finalist medals in six events in the MSHSAA District Speech and Debate Tournament. Willard medalists are D. Harrington in Dramatic Interpretation, D. Wroolie in Extemporaneous Speaking, T. Bankston in Prose Reading, and J. Fugitt in both Oratory and Lincoln Douglas Debate, and B. Dunn in Storytelling. B. Dunn also qualified for State.

Congratulations to S. Slatten for her performance at the Mid-Missouri Marimba Competition on Saturday in Lebanon. The contest featured marimba players from Kansas, Indiana, Iowa, Illinois as well as Missouri, and featured a master class & concert by the world-renowned Leigh Howard Stevens. She received the "Excellent" Rating for her performance.

The following students were notified that they received Outstanding Musicianship Awards from the Missouri State University Jazz Festival held 2 weeks ago. The students are: C. Rodman, C. King, E. Smith, N. Bruce, and S. Bowers.

It's Good To Be A Tiger! - albeit a wet one! Jeff Staley, Director of Operations

Director of Special Services:Willard Special Services hosted a Paraprofessional In-service on Wednesday with 30 of our support staff in attendance. It was great seeing and visiting with paraprofessionals from across the district and sharing experiences. The purpose of the in-service was to hear strengths and concerns, suggestions and comments, and many of the more vocal paras provided us with their input! Working as a team and supporting one another were at the top of the list as to what helps the paras in the high needs classrooms maintain a love for their job. Several stories were shared that demonstrated what outstanding team efforts exist in most buildings. Concerns expressed were over frequency and intensity of some students' behaviors and the need for a mentoring program for the new paras to our district. We appreciate everyone's attendance and will be investigating methods to support our paraprofessionals as they work to support our special needs students.

A special thank you goes to our licensed therapists Angie Havens and Maria Harless, for the dedication, concern, and expertise they demonstrated during the planning for the return of our HS student with significant injuries. These professionals rescheduled their on-site therapies to collaborate with St. John's therapists, conferenced with high school administration and provided us guidance as we discussed preventive measures for safety for our student. Watching and hearing these therapists at each of the needed meetings brought a renewed respect for them both professionally and personally and reminded me of the outstanding services they provide. Thank you Angie and Maria for being a part of our team. Sandy Gold, Director of Special Services

Willard High School: The past week Willard Journalism students involved with Broadcast ( Eye of the Tiger ) and the HS newspaper ( On The Prowl ) focused on 1st amendment rights of free speech and free press. Students examined the scope of the amendment and the challenges the amendment has faced through the court system. The past Eye of the Tiger broadcast included a segment devoted specifically to the 1st amendment the responsibilities for those who report events and examine issues. WHS journalism courses provide an avenue for students to gain understanding on newspaper and television broadcast design, production, and delivery, but most importantly the journalism program provides a meaningful avenue in which students inform others. Stewart Pratt, Principal

Willard Middle School: Mrs. McKinney and Dr. Summers did an outstanding job with the musical last Thursday and Friday. The students were fantastic and worked very hard on making the production a success. Thanks for your commitment!

We are looking for volunteers to help on Thursday, April 3 at the middle school. Volunteers will help teachers, organize MAP snacks, copy, staple, etc. There will be two sessions 9-11 A.M. and 6-8 P.M. If you are interested in helping please contact the middle school @ 742-2588. Have a great week!! Amy Sims, Principal

Willard Intermediate School: The Sixth Grade Family Fun Night which was postponed due to weather has been rescheduled for Thursday, March 20, from 6:00 to 9:00 pm. The most noteworthy thing that we experienced last week was a FULL WEEK OF SCHOOL! After 2 straight weeks of interrupted school, we were glad to begin playing catch up on lessons, projects and assessments. We're keeping our fingers crossed that the weatherman is wrong this week! Julie Germann, Principal

Willard Central Elementary: WC enjoyed the full week of school last week!! We celebrated the 1st grade concert, How to Be a Friend on Thursday. They did a wonderful job performing their songs and memorizing their lines. We also enjoyed some friendly competition as students have been working hard to raise money for Jump Rope for Heart. Students have been gathering donations for the Heart Association and applying their donations to Mr. Nichols, Mr. Andy, or myself. The gentleman with the highest total will wear a red dress (the symbol of the heart association) while jumping rope at Community Time this week. Stay tuned to next weeks pride to find out who the winner is and to see pictures on the WC Blog.

The following events are planned for this month:

March 4th McTeacher Night at West Chestnut McDonalds location from 4:00-8:00 CANCELLED - Rescheduled for March 18th.

March 4th PUSH program for 3rd and 4th grade students begins. This program will be on Tuesday/Thursdays after school until 5:00.

March 7th 2nd grade field trip to Discovery Center

March 10th PTO Meeting at 6:00

March 11th School Board Candidate Forum at WC. Prospective Board Members will share their thoughts

March 14th Mr. Zs fundraiser party from 6:30-8:00

March 18th McTeacher Night at West Chestnut McDonalds from 4:00-8:00

March 19th Spring Picture Retakes

March 21st Make up day and Terrific Tiger Celebration at 2:30

March 24th- 28th Spring Break

We have an exciting month ahead of us! Please join us as we Reach for the Stars at Willard Central. ~ Shane Medlin, Principal

Willard East Elementary: MAP Testing: It is hard to believe that MAP testing is right around the corner! 3rd and 4th grade teachers recently administered a common assessment to predict our students performance on the MAP test. We will use these results to prepare lessons and extra practice in order to insure our students success.

On that same note we need your help! Our teachers like to provide motivational treats and quotes for our students. If you are able to donate tootsie rolls(small ones), Smarties candies, peppermints, Dum Dum suckers, and/or Hershey's kisses we would really appreciate it. In the past students have mentioned how much they enjoy these treats each morning before the test.

February Fling This Saturday: This is just a reminder that we were able to reschedule this fantastic event! Please join us for food, fun, and entertainment from 9AM-Noon!

Happy B-day Dr. Suess/Read Across America: March is a very exciting month for reading activities. Tuesday March 4 we will celebrate Read Across America with guest readers, an assembly and school-wide silent reading time. Be sure to ask your student what event they enjoyed the most. Melinda Miller, Principal

Willard North Elementary: If we all think positively, maybe we can stop this snow from happening! It was great last week to go 5 days to school. It had been awhile since we had accomplished that. This weekend I volunteered to help with the USA Wrestling tournament for kids ages 5-14 at Willard High School. We had many Willard students who participated in this tournament. As a principal, I was able to see many of my students compete all in one place! I have students that represented 1st-4th grades! They did an awesome job and I am very proud of them!

Willard North was also scheduled to have McTeacher's Night at our Willard McDonalds Tuesday night. This will be rescheduled due to possible weather. We will let you know the date soon!

Have a wonderful week! Rhonda Bishop, Principal

Willard South Elementary: The WS Read-A-Thon Fundraiser will run from March 3-14. We encourage you to become involved by donating money, volunteering to be a guest reader on March 14th (contact the school office to schedule a time) or donating unwanted children's books for classroom libraries! 100% of the contributions will go back to all of the WS classrooms!

UPCOMING EVENTS: Monday, March 3-PTO mtg at 6:00 in the WS library Tuesday, March 4-Community 2000 mtg at 6:00 in the WS library

Kara Crighton-Smith, Principal

For information on the Willard Children's Charitable Foundation, please contact Judy Craig at 742-2506 or Dr. Kent Medlin at 742-2584.