District Newsletter

Inclement weather make up days: March 21 March 24 April 25 (early dismissal) May 21 May 22 May 23

Willard R-II Central Office This past Saturday night the Willard Children's Charitable Foundation held its First Annual Foundation Gala. Members of the Foundation Board developed the idea several months ago. The big question was: would adults come to a formal dinner/dance? The answer to the question came quickly. If it will benefit the kids of Willard they will come! The Board wanted the dinner to be special. Riverside Inn in Ozark was chosen as the location. It has an incredible tradition and many generations can remember celebrating a special occasion, anniversary, or date at Riverside. True to tradition Riverside gave us a beautiful room and dinner for the occasion. The room was full and laughter filled the house. After dinner, door prizes were given out and the winners automatically gave them back and asked Steve West to come up and auction them back to the crowd. By the time Steve had finished with the door prizes and a couple auction games, an additional two thousand dollars had been raised. It is amazing how people will give when they know the money is for children. All in all it was a very special evening. Many thanks go to WCCF Board President, Mrs. Judy Craig, Sherri Callahan, Willard Schools Board of Education Secretary and the entire WCCF Board for their hard work in making the Gala a huge success.

I look forward to this becoming an annual event.

Have a great week!

Kent

Dr. Kent E. Medlin Superintendent of Schools

Director of Special Services A very special thank you goes to middle school special services teacher, David Anderson, for going the extra mile. David, who teaches 8th grade students with disabilities, translated one of his student's entire IEP (Individualized Educational Plan) into Spanish for the student's parents to ensure better communication between school and home. When reviewing this IEP, I was impressed with the effort David had placed in completing it and making it parent-friendly. David, who has returned to Willard Special Services after serving in the Peace Corp, has also used his Spanish skills to assist at parent/teacher conferences. We appreciate his dedication to his students and parents.

Don't forget to drop by the Transition Fair this Tuesday between 6-8 pm. The Fair will be held at the High School Commons and will be an opportunity to learn about community agencies which can help with post-secondary life for students with disabilities. The high school staff has worked hard to make this a success. Hope to see you there!

Sandy Gold, Director of Special Services

Willard High School One of our students (Stephanie Sechler) came to the office and wanted to do something to help the school. She had an idea to unify the HS students and staff in focusing on one major project to help our students. The passion for the chance to make a change captured our attention and we listened intently to a thought spurred by Oprah Winfreys Big Givecampaign. Stephanie proposed the idea, asked to make a few announcements, and within two days had a large group of students listening, developing ideas, and working on project possibilities. The results of the studentsefforts will be positive, but the key point is the intrinsic motivation to make a difference. We applaud Stephanie and the other students involved in the Big Givecampaign, for making a difference for their fellow students and the future WHS. Stewart Pratt, High School Principal

Willard Middle School Spring is in the air at WMS, and the change of season brings new opportunities for students at WMS to show what they can do. Over one hundred kids are involved in the middle school track program, and are working hard to improve their skills each day. Cheerleading tryouts are coming up soon, the band recently received a I rating at contest, and the choir has both contest and a concert coming in April. Several of our math classes celebrated 3.14 day last week (3/14) and had treats and prizes while learning math. The Academic team is gearing up for competition, and of course, we are all preparing for the upcoming MAP tests, and a chance to show what we can do. Ms. Graves' class has been working on producing an instructional/motivational video that will help us get into the MAP mood, and our focus will continue to be on setting high goals and then reaching them. Fourth quarter is here, and although it is a busy time of year, we are all excited about the warmer weather and the chance to shine for WMS! Tom Merriott, Assistant Principal

Willard Central Elementary I missed the beginning of this week as I was at the Missouri Association of Elementary School Principals Conference. While there, the excellence of the Willard School District was on display. Julie Germann, Intermediate School Principal, served as the associations president for the last year and presided over a wonderful conference representing our district and southwest Missouri proudly. Willard North Principal, Rhonda Bishop, was recognized for being the Southwest Missouri Distinguished Principal and is a finalist for Distinguished Principal of the Year for Missouri. Willard East Principal, Melinda Miller, was recognized as the Southwest Missouri Distinguished New Principal. Congratulations to these Willard Administrators on these honors and for representing our district so well. Willard truly is a distinguished district that is doing great things for kids!

In my absence, 3rd grade teacher Dale Nichols did a great job holding down the fort. As teachers, we are always anxious to leave our classrooms and be away from our students. As a principal, this feeling can be magnified. However, I am blessed to have a school community of teachers , students and parents who make wonderful things happen each day. It was hard being away, and I was excited to return to see my school family.

Here is what we have to look forward to in the next few weeks:

A whole lot of learning and:

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

March 19th Spring Pictures and 3rd quarter grade cards go home

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

March 24th Make up day

March 25th - 28th A well deserved Spring Break

Have a wonderful break and always remember to Reach for the Stars! ~ Shane Medlin, Principal

Willard East Elementary Spring Break is just around the corner. Let's hope that this good weather comes with it and stays for a while. It has been great for the kids to get outside and work off all their energy and get some fresh air!

Updates and Reminders: Make-up Days - March 21st and March 24th WILL BE used as snow make-up days.

Yearbooks - You can still buy your 2007-2008 yearbook!! Don't miss out! These are great gifts and memories for your students to keep forever.

1st Grade Program: Please join us Tuesday March 18 at 2:30 and/or 7:00PM for the 1st grade program about weather.

Report Cards: 3rd Quarter end March 14th and report cards will go home on the 19th.

THANK YOU!!! - All cookie dough has been picked up! Thanks again for supporting Willard East.

MAP Testing Updates: As the countdown begins WE NEED YOUR HELP! The following list of supplies are needed to help our students be successful on the MAP test in April: * Gallon-size ziplock bags * Travel size kleenex packets * #2 pencils * Dum Dum suckers * Hershey's kisses * Smarties Candies * Peppermint candy * Tootsie Rolls East Extravaganza - Friday May 2nd Willard East will host its annual end of the year celebration. This year all proceeds will go to build classroom libraries for your students. Research states that quality classroom libraries have 1,000 - 1,500 books and that doesn't even include being able to go to the school library! You can image it will take teachers a long to accumulate this type of inventory on a shoestring budget. Please help us out and join in the fun at the Extravaganza. More information coming soon!

Congratulations K teacher Mrs. Taylor - Mrs. Taylor gave birth to baby boy Cade Owen on Tuesday afternoon. Mom, dad, and Cade are doing very well and hope to home on Friday afternoon. Welcome to the Willard East family! Melinda Miller, Principal

Willard North Elementary Last week at the District Art Show, five students from Willard North were honored for their exceptional pieces of artwork. Jessica B in kindergarten, Logan G in first grade , Kelsey C in second grade, Christian S in third grade and Jordan S in fourth grade all attended the show. It was a wonderful experience to see work from all the schools. Our students did a wonderful job and we are very proud of them at Willard North.

Tonight is the Willard North Family Fun Night. It will be a great time for all! We have had so much help getting this event coordinated. The PTOS goal this year has been to raise money without doing brochures sales. I am proud of the parents who have worked so hard to stay with this goal. I would especially like to thank Mrs. Kirkland, Mrs. Simpson, Mrs. Miller and Mrs. Getner, also known as the posse who planned this event to the last detail-We appreciate you!

Have a wonderful week! Rhonda Bishop, Principal

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

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