District Newsletter
Pride
The
Pride
The
Pride exists to update, celebrate, and inform, the community concerning weekly
events at Willard R-II
April
29, 2011
District
Office
Why
is the school district building a house in front of the high
school????
This
has been a pretty common question over the past year. It doesn't take long
in the explanation for the person asking the question to say: That is a
great idea!!! The house is not just "A House". It is a lab classroom
for special needs students. Most parents will never understand the concept
of hoping and praying that your child will be able to transition into the "real
world" after high school. Those of us that personally know that
feeling, and have said those prayers, understand the importance of this
effort. Young people with significant disabilities may never use
Algebra II, but they must develop the skills to make meals, make a bed, wash
dishes, and clean a home. Huge obstacles such as sitting a
table, folding clothes, or even combing their hair, seem so small to
us but are in reality life skills that we help students to learn. All
young people need to develop lifetime hobbies such as gardening, or how to
care for a yard, to carry out productive happy lives. This
"classroom" will give teachers the sitting needed to help implement these
lifetime skills.
Two
years ago, the federal government passed legislation to allow significant
stimulus funds to flow to public schools. As a district, we understood
that we could only count on these funds for a short time. Therefore, we
tried to find the best use of these funds which would have long term
effects. The Transition House was born. In 2009-2010, the district
started a new building trades program. This program allowed students to
learn skills involved with residential construction. This program helped
to make the Transition House a reality. Sandy Gold, Director of Special
Education, and Steve Vaughn, Building Trades Instructor, initiated the project
from inception and will soon see its completion. The Young Men in the
Building Trades class have stepped up and represented themselves with excellence
in workmanship and attitude. They have become friends and roll models for
many of the students in the High School Special Education classes.
I
am extremely proud of this project. It is an example of the excellent
tradition that exists at Willard. It is my hope that this Transition
House (classroom) will provide teachers greater ability to help some
of the hopes and prayers of parents to come true for their
children. They deserve it!
Have
a great weekend!
Kent
Activities
|
I
heard numerous jokes about being able to see the sun yesterday. I've
even noticed it is out again today. However, our Tigers have
provided their own light this past week with some amazing
accomplishments! Congratulations
to the baseball Tigers on their 7-6 victory over Republic last night
running their record to an impressive 14-4 on the season. With
several rainouts, here is the newly revised schedule: The Tigers
will travel to Parkview tonight for a 4:30 start. They will then
travel to Neosho on Saturday (make-up) for a 1:00 game. Next
week they will host Branson on Tuesday and Nixa (make-up) on Wednesday and
then travel to Rogersville on Thursday before hosting Marshfield on
Friday....whew! Good luck Tigers! Congratulations
to Skylar Frazier for winning the shot put at the Aldo Sebban Relays at
MSU! Skylar also finished 2nd in the discus event.
Congratulations to Bailey Hession on her 2nd place finish in the
1600m! With mother nature now calming down, we will once again try
to host the first annual Jason Pyrah Invitational this Monday. We
will also be hosting the COC JV meet tonight starting at
4:00. Girl's
soccer has shown a lot of patience with the weather after winning two in a
row. They haven't played in awhile but will start things back up
this weekend with the Willard Invitational. The tournament starts
today at 4:00 with games being played on both fields. Our Tigers
will start things off against Hillcrest on the main field at 4:00.
The tournament will conclude tomorrow with the championship game at
1:15. Next week the girls will travel to Carthage on Tuesday, will
host Republic on Thursday, and will travel to Greenwood on Friday.
Good luck ladies! A
special congratulations to Christian Stack on qualifying for the Sectional
golf tournament in Columbia! Christian shot an 82 at Hickory Hills
Country Club on Thursday during the district tournament to move
on. I
want to take the time to mention that the Willard Mt. Zion Presbyterian
church will be hosting the C.A.R.E. Mobile on June 9th. C.A.R.E. is
a partnership between Children's Miracle Network, Cox Health and a family
of donors. This service provides free physicals to any
student who calls and makes an appointment. You can call 861-6773
(Monday-Friday, 8:00am - 5:00pm) to make an
appointment. It's
Good To Be A Tiger! Jeff
Staley - Director of
Operations |
Jeff
Staley
Director of
Operations
Willard R-2
Schools
High
School
Willard High School slogan for
the past two weeks – Rain, Rain, Go Away. The weather has frustrated many
activities lately; however, with only two or three activity / athletic school
weeks remaining it will be a “mad dash” to the finish line.
In the tradition of previous
years, the seniors have placed a large banner in the commons identifying the
number of school days left before they graduate. Graduation is scheduled for Friday May
20th at Willard Athletic Complex. Commencement Services will begin at
7:30pm, and of course the “rain” option is the HS
Gymnasium.
SGA held a Mud Volleyball
Tournament as part of “Spring Fever Reliever” week. The weather became bad forcing the teams
out of the “mud hole” and ending the tournament prematurely without a declared
winner. Rumor has it another
attempt will be made before school is out to determine the champion. All proceeds of the tournament were
given to a charitable organization.
Thank you to the Willard Fire Department for their help with the
tournament. The actions
of the student participating in the tournament affirms our beliefs that 15-18
year old young people have not moved very far away from their past, as five year
olds stomping in every mud and water puddle.
Vocal Music will be hosting their
“Spring Concert” on Monday (May 2nd) at WHS. If you want to hear some fantastic
music, I encourage you to attend.
It will be a spectacular evening of music and fun.
Each year, Willard Theater
performs for elementary students in the spring. As the elementary children walk in the
single file lines behind their teacher, our High School students come to a
complete stop to say hello and “pound knuckles”, “fist bump”, or give “high
five’s”. Mrs. Chappell
and her team of students will be performing for the elementary students on
Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday morning.
COC Art Show began last night
(Thursday April 28th) at the Nixa Faught Administrative
Building. WHS artist competed
in multiple categories and their artwork will be displayed at WHS the week of
May 9 - 13. Teressa Fielden
and Robin Mason head up WHS Art department and their team of student artists in
the competition. I have
listed our WHS award winners in their category:
1st in Colored Pencil: Sindy Gallegos
1st in Ceramic Sculpture: Matt Stock
2nd in Computer Graphics: Chelsea Wolf
3rd in Watercolor Painting: Sindy Gallegos
3rd in 3D Design: Kevin Bledsoe
Honorable Mention in Colored
Pencil: Sydney
Wooldridge
Honorable Mention in Graphite
Pencil: Morgan
Church
Honorable Mention in Mixed
Media: Hannah
Ferguson
Honorable Mention in Ceramic
Sculpture: Rain
Chapman
The Vocational Ag students have
been very busy with contests, Districts, and State competition. At State competition Willard FFA was
prepared and “came out of the gates hot”.
Bradley Rummel - Ag Services
Proficiency – 1st Place – Qualifies for National
Competition
Dylann Bishop - Ag Education Â
2nd Place and received Gold Medal for TreasurerÂ’s
Book
Jennifer Williams – Job Interview
– 2nd Place
Ag Sales Team – 15th
place – Sean Sieloff, Michael de la Torre, Dylann Bishop, and Austin
Reade
Myles Clopton - Ag Mechanics
Repair and Maintenance Placement Proficiency Area Winner
Zac Condon – Wildlife Management
Proficiency Area Winner
Remi Hampton – Swine Production
Entrepreneurship Proficiency Area Winner
Rebecca Pummill – Gold Medal in
SecretaryÂ’s Book
Casie Illig- Gold Medal in
Beginning Record Book Placement
Grace Madsen – Gold Medal in
Completed Record Book Ownership
Lastly, I want to congratulate
Austin Reade in receiving his FFA State Degree. He will be added to the long list of
Willard State FFA Degree recipients.
Great job Austin.
Have a great
weekend,
Stewart Pratt, HS
Principal
Middle
School
Greetings once again from Willard
Middle School. After days of dark skies and nearly a foot of rain, we are once
again enjoying a beautiful day with a dose of sunshine, which really helps lift
the spirits for everyone. We are wrapping up our week today (Friday) with a
visit from high school music students, who perform vocal music selections and
dance numbers for our students and staff to enjoy. This is a great chance for us
to see the amazing progress that some of our former middle school students have
made, and for our current students to see what is possible for them in the
future with continued effort and work. The spring sports seasons are winding
down, with both softball and track concluding their schedules this week. We
congratulate them on their hard work and successes in competition. Drama club
members and their "fans" will be able to look back and celebrate their
accomplishments with the Encore Awards Ceremony, with tickets being sold until
May 3rd for $7. This is always a fun event, and I think there is usually a huge
selection of pie and deserts! Our National Junior Honor Society students went on
an outing to see a movie on Thursday night (4/28) and it was a fun night to
enjoy a good movie and fellowship with a fantastic group of kids. Many things
are coming to a conclusion in the coming weeks, including the school year
itself, but we hope everyone (kids and adults) understands that there are still
important things to be accomplished, and we can't afford to waste even one day
we are given. Enjoy each day, and make the most of it. Don't just count the
days, but make each day count. Thanks for checking on us, and have a great
weekend. Tom Merriott Asst Principal
Intermediate
School
One of the new clubs at WIS this
year is our Go Green group. The goal of this group is to encourage students to
be more involved in ways to make a positive difference for our Earth. Some of
their work this year included a paper bag project, creating recycled holiday
gifts, and helping to plan special Earth Day activities for our school. One of
the larger projects they took on was to create a video entry for the Missouri
Department of Natural Resources Earth Day 2011 Video Contest. We are proud to
report that
their video was selected as one of two state finalists!! They
headed out early this morning on their way to Jefferson City where the winning
entry will be announced today. We wish them the best of luck and hope they enjoy
the other Earth Day activities. A special thanks to Ms. Pippin and Ms. Harron
for sponsoring this group.
Here is a link to their video entry:
http://www.youtube.com/moearthday#p/f/2/pf96Zn3F2zE#p/f/2/pf96Zn3F2zE
Enjoy your spring weekend!
Orchard
Hills
WOHE
has had a busy week! We have recovered from the MAP test and had some
great things occur this week. Wednesday, we had our monthly Tiger Pride. The
kids were excited when the WILLARD HIGH SCHOOL DRUMLINE showed up! Let's
just say the house rocked! The kids loved it! It was wonderful to
see high school students who once graced the doors of our elementary schools.
Thank you Mr. Chapman for making this happend for the WOHE kids. Hopefully, we
will see some WOHE drummers in the future!
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Friday
we welcome our newest crop of kindergarteners to WOHE for screening. We are
excited to see our newest students!
Have
a wonderful weekend!
Dr.
Rhonda Bishop
Willard
Orchard Hills Elementary
"All
Roads Lead To Willard- 2010-2011"
Willard Central
The rains seemed to bring a flood
of activity with them at WC this week! On Wednesday, our 3rd and 4th grade
students braved the elements for the MO Conservation Department Forestry program
at Hammond's Field before being rained out of our MAP celebration Springfield
Cardinals' baseball game. Even though the weather was cold and rainy, the
hotdogs, laughs and soaked memories are ones we will not soon forget! On
Thursday, we welcomed our new Kindergarten students for the 2011-2012 school
year to WC for screening. Thanks to the help of Mrs. Gromer and countless
others, we were able to meet more than 50 future Willard Tigers. The WC
make-up day for screenings will be May 17th and it is already filling up
fast! On Friday, our 3rd grade students visited the George Washington
Carver National Park to provide some real-life connections to their science and
social studies units of study. It is a great trip loved by our students
and I appreciate Mr. Nichols' and Mrs. Jones' work in orchestrating this
event. Also on Friday, our 2nd grade students put their economics
instruction from this year in to action. After taking a loan out from WC,
creating their own classroom restaurants, applying for jobs, creating menus and
advertisements, our 2nd grade students served family and friends lunch on Friday
in order to put their reading, writing, speaking, math and economics skills in
to practice. After paying back their loans (with reasonable interest!),
the profits will be used to purchase technology and other interactive learning
materials for the classroom.
As you can see, it was a busy week of
fun and learning at WC. We are all ready for the weekend and ready for
more adventures to come in MAY!
May 2-6 Book Fair
May 5 Fine
Arts Night 5:00-7:15
May 9-13 Teacher Appreciation Week
May 16 PTO Meeting
6 p.m.
May 25 Field Day
May 26 and 27 Snow Make Up Days
May 27 Last Day
of School
Shane Medlin, Principal
Willard Central Elementary
2625
North Farm Road 101
Springfield, MO 65802
417.831.4440
417.831.2486
fax
Willard Central Intelligence
Agency
Willard
South
We
had a great crowd Thursday evening for our Kindergarten music program and our
Fine Arts night. Mrs. Reynolds and her barnyard crew performed E-I-E-I
Oops! to a packed house. It was a great program with lots of energetic
farm animals, I mean kindergartners! Mrs. Kynion had another amazing art
show with artwork for each child posted around the building. This will be
her last art show here at Willard South. She will be retiring at the end
of the school year. I would personally like to thank Mrs. Kynion for going
above and beyond and touching the lives of each child with the love of
art. THANK YOU!
Next
week our 3rd and 4th graders will enjoy a MAP testing reward by attending a
Springfield Cardinals game on Monday, May 2nd. The forecast looks pretty
good for now, we are hoping for sunny skies!
Kara
Crighton-Smith, Principal
Willard
East
"Goldie
Locks and the Three Bears" made an appearance at our Kindergarten program last
night. They have started their theatrical careers with a bang and we look
forward to more exciting performances from these students in the years to come.
Hats off to Mrs. Kuchta, for having Kindergartners transition from their
singing formation to playing instruments. If you have ever worked with
Kindergartners, you know what a feat she pulled off last night.
Teacher
Appreciation Week is NEXT week May 2nd - 6th. Please be sure to let our teachers
know how much they are appreciated. Some recent media portrayals of our teachers
have not been favorable. Hopefully, the tide will turn next week and our
teachers will receive the recognition and celebration that they deserve. Please
consider looking up those teachers who made a difference in your life and
telling them "Thank you" next week.
What: Spring Carnival
Extravaganza
When: Friday May 6th 6:00PM - 8:00PM
Join us for our final
fundraiser and community event of the year!
Melinda
Miller, Principal
Willard East Elementary
Special
Services
This week was Administrative
Assistants Day. Our office has been blessed with a wonderful assistant. Melissa
Baker is the glue that keeps our department together. She is very organized, and
almost knows our every move before we do it. We would like to thank Melissa for
everything she does for us.
For Autism Awareness Month, members
of the staff gave a workshop to help district teachers and staff with their
understanding of Autism. Shannon Roberts, Angie Havens, Ashlie Ellis, and Amy
Earl did an overview, talked about sensory and fine motor issues, how
communication plays a big part in Autism, and information from a parent's
viewpoint. There were 56 people
signed up to attend. A big thank you
goes to these women, who are always
looking for ways to educate and assist anyone that is working with a student
with Autism.
Janet Turner, Process Coordinator
Willard
Parks and Recreation
Spring
Soccer & Volleyball: Thank
you to everyone who is participating in youth soccer and volleyball. Game
schedules can be found at www.willardparks.com.
Youth
Baseball/Softball Registration:
Baseball and Softball registration is going on now. The deadline to register is
May 6th. Leagues are open for ages 3-12. Registration forms are available at the
Recreation Center.
The
Great Egg Hunt: Thank
you to everyone who attended the 2011 Willard Easter Egg Hunt on Saturday April
16th. Over 300 people gathered to hunt eggs and have fun. Thank you
to the sponsors of the hunt that included: Willard Bulls Eye, Uniti-Built Homes,
Willard Care Center, Willard Veterinary Clinic and the Springfield
Cardinals.
WillardÂ’s
3rd Annual Frisco Runaway Triathlon:
Saturday
June 18th, 2011 7:30am at the Willard Community Building. The
distances are 300 yards swimming, 12 miles biking and a 5K run. The fee to
participate is $50 if you preregister and a $55 day of registration. All
participants will receive a shirt, lunch and a participation metal. For more
information please call 742-2262.
CHILDREN'S
DANCE CLASSES: SPRING SESSION
Let
your child grow through dance and experience its magic. These children
dance classes offer an excellent way to keep fit, learn coordination, rhythm,
social skills, confidence, and it's FUN!
The spring
eight-week dance session will begin March 8th - May 3rd. Creative Dance is
offered for ages 3-5; Ballet & Tap classes are available for ages 5 &
up, the fee is $50. Combination classes of Ballet, Tap and Jazz for
children ages 9 & up with prior dance experience will be taught, fee is
$65. Classes are taught Tuesday's OR Thursday's depending on age and/or
level. Call Ms. Patrice for class availability and registration
information at 818-3659.
2nd
Session Adult Co-ed Volleyball:
Games for adult volleyball continue. Games schedules can be found online at www.willardparks.com.
Youth
Competitive Volleyball:
Thank you to everyone who registered for Competitive Volleyball. The season will
begin shortly.
Spring
Fling Dance:
Willard Parks and Recreation will be hosting a Spring Fling Dance at the
Recreation Center on Friday April 29th from 7pm – 10pm. All ages are
welcome. The fee to come is $3 and includes a DJ, dancing, food, and fun. Ages
10 and under must be accompanied by any adult.
MenÂ’s
Competitive Basketball:
Thank you to all of the people that participated in the 2011 Willard MenÂ’s
Competitive Basketball League. Game schedules can be found at www.willardparks.com.
Youth
Bowling 2011:
Willard Parks and Recreation is currently taking registrations for the 2011
Youth Bowling Season. This season is open for 1st – 8th
grade and the fees are below. All of the bowling will take place at Holiday
Lanes in Springfield.
Bowling
Fees:
Package
One: Bowling Ball, Team Shirt, Shoe Rental, Awards, and 2 Games:
$70
Package
Two: Team Shirt, Shoe Rental, Awards, and 2 Games: $50
Willard
Play Group: COME
OUT & PLAY with Willard's Playgroup! Come play every Wednesday from 9:30
a.m. – 11:30 a.m. at the Willard Recreation Center. This is an opportunity for
parents and kids to play, socialize and just have fun. Moms and Dads are invited
to bring their infant through Pre-K aged children for FREE PLAY, STRUCTURED
ACTIVITIES & MONTHLY WORKSHOPS. This playgroup is free and open to the
community.
Senior
Activities:
Willard Parks and Recreation is doing its best to try and offer senior
activities and programs to the senior citizens in the community. Every Wednesday
from 11 a.m. – 1 p.m. at the Willard Community Building. All seniors are invited
to attend.
Willard
Parks Website:
Did you know that you can visit the Willard Parks Department online. Go to www.willardparks.com and check us out!
Facility
Rentals: Willard
Parks and Recreation Facility Rentals: Holding Fee: $25, Refundable Deposit: $75
(excluding the Pavilion). Rental Areas: Willard Community Building: $30 hour /
kitchen $30 flat fee, Large Gym at the Recreation Center: $35 hour, Small Gym at
the Recreation Center: $30, Murray Community Room/Patio/Kitchen: $35 hour,
Jackson St Park Pavilion: $10 per hour. For more information contact (417)
742-2262.
2011
Zumba Basic and Zumba Toning Class
Mondays:
6:30pm – 7:30pm at the Willard Community Building
Tuesdays
5:30pm – 6:30pm
Thursdays:
5:30pm – 6:30pm at the Willard Community Building
Punch
cards are available for purchase at the Willard Recreation Center. The fee is
$45 for 10 sessions. Toning sticks/weights required for Zumba Toning. For more
information please contact Summer Kern at 417-425-5302.
Freedom
Fest: The
City of Willard Parks and Recreation Departments annual 4th of July
Freedom Fest Celebration will be held this year on Saturday July 2nd
behind Willard Intermediate School (407 Farmer Road in Willard). This yearÂ’s
activities include a car show beginning at 11:30 a.m., a parade at 5:00 p.m.,
vendors open at 6:15 p.m., and fireworks at 9:30 p.m. This year will feature the
largest fireworks show in WillardÂ’s history. Come and celebrate our independence
at the 2011 Willard Freedom Fest Celebration. For more information please call
(417) 742-2262.
Summer
Camp:
Willard Parks and Recreation will be providing summer camp for children who have
completed Kindergarten thru completion of 6th grade. Summer camp will
run May 31st – August 12th.
-Camp
hours will be 7:30am – 5:30pm Monday through Friday.
-Campers
will need a lunch and 2 snacks (no snacks will be provided) brought to camp each
day.
-Daily
activities, camp shirts and field trips are included in the tuition fee.
Occasionally field trips will cost an additional fee but parents will be
notified prior to the trip.
-Tuition
fees: $85 per week (prepay weekly- no prorated weeks are
available).
-The
first (Memorial Day) and sixth (4th of July) week of camp is $68 due
to the holidays.
-If
entire camp tuition fees are paid in full, there is a $5 discount per
week.
-Mandatory
Parents Meeting May 10th & May 12th at 7pm at the Rec.
Center (parents only need to attend one of the two meetings.
-NEW
CAMP INFORMATION: This year the summer camp program will be broken down into
two camps. One camp will be for K-3rd and one for 3rd Â
completion of 6th grade.
2011
Aquatic Center Dates:
May 29th – August 14th. The Aquatic Center will be closed
every Monday.
Willard
Veterans Memorial:
The
City of Willard is in the process of building a Veterans Memorial. The Willard
Veterans Memorial is to honor all veterans of the U.S. Military Service
(including Army, Air Force, Coast Guard, Marines, Navy, National Guard. and
Reserve) The Veterans Memorial features 648 Veteran paver bricks, 2 park
benches, 3 flag poles and 5 monuments (one for each branch of service). The
Memorial will be placed right across from the Willard Community Building. Bricks
for the memorial are for sale for $60 per brick. Bricks are for sale at Willard
City Hall and Commerce Bank in Willard.
UPDATE:
Construction has begun on the new Memorial. Check it out at the entrance of
Jackson Street Park in Willard.
Kevin
McDonald
Director
of Willard Parks and Recreation
133
N State Hwy Z
PO
Box 187
Willard,
MO 65781
(417)
742-2262
fax
- (417) 742-6868
parkdir@cityofwillard.org
