District Newsletter

Willard R-II Central Office The Willard Pridenewsletter has been written for four years to celebrate events in our district. Today it saddens my heart to deviate from this normal path, however it is necessary. Many of you know Karla Shaffer, one of our seated members of the Board of Education, passed away this weekend. Karla had been fighting cancer for over a year. During this entire ordeal she remained active on the Board of Education and was just re-elected last month. Karla was one of the initial seven board members that gave me the opportunity to come to Willard five years ago. During that time she earned my respect not only as a member of the board but also as an advocate for the underdog, and all children. Karla was always ready to help and serve in any way possible. Karla cared about people and worked to help them succeed. I can say that it was an honor to become her friend! Karla had a passion for the Willard School District that was unequaled! She was truly one of a kind and will be greatly missed by her family, friends, and our school district! Even though I am sad, I know in my heart that she is in a better place, healthy, smiling, and probably taking care of a child.

I look forward to the day when we meet again!

Kent

Dr. Kent E. Medlin Superintendent of Schools

Director of Operations It's time for the Tigers to start gearing up for district play and several teams will get to do it in Tigerland!

The soccer Tigers will start district play this Saturday as the 4th seed. They will play 5th seeded Joplin McCauley at 9:00am this Saturday. The other 3 quarterfinal games will be at 10:45, 12:30, and 2:15. Semifinals will be on Monday starting at 5:00pm and the championship game will be on Wednesday at 6:00. A special congratulations to the girls on their double overtime victory over Nixa last night!

The baseball Tigers will begin district play on Monday as the 5th seed. They will play Bolivar at 2:30. Monday's games will start at noon and will continue into Monday night. Semifinals will be Tuesday starting at 4:30 and the championship game will be on Thursday at 6:00.

The track Tigers will compete in district events this Saturday in Nevada. Field events will begin at 11:00am. Sectionals will be next Saturday in Branson. A special congratulations to Z. Thompson on signing a track scholarship with Neosho Community College! Zack currently holds the school record in the shot put.

A special congratulations to C. Martin and D. McFadden on qualifying for the state golf tournament! The golfing Tigers will tee off in the state tournament at Rivercut on Monday with play continuing on Tuesday. Good luck Tigers!

It's Good To Be A Tiger! Jeff Staley, Director of Operations

Director of Special Services The Special Services Department would like to take this time to thank the incredible group of paraprofessionals that work with us. They are an amazing group of people!! They make the classrooms of the Willard School District a wonderful place for kids to learn. So, when you see a paraprofessional this week, give them a pat on the back. We also want to thank them for stopping by for our Paraprofessional Open House last Thursday, so we could say thank you in person. What a great afternoon in our office!!

We have some very exciting events coming up as the school year winds to a close:

* Tuesday, May 6th Life Skills classes go on their annual fishing trip to Bois DArc Conservation Area

* Saturday, May 10th 1st Annual Partners in Strength Rally Willard High School weight lifting students will partner up with students with disabilities to compete in this Strong Mantype rally. We will have 60+ students competing together.

* Thursday, May 15th the Early Childhood Special Education classes will be going to the Dickerson Park Zoo to learn about the letter Zand Zoos.

We would like to thank our wonderful teachers, paras, and staff for creating such wonderful activities to promote learning and teamwork for our students. Amy Stroder, Assistant Director of Special Services

Willard Middle School Exciting times at WMS. With only three weeks left, we are packing in as much as possible to give students a great finish on the 07-08 school year. This week will feature several special activities, including the following: All week we will be focussed on Project Outreach, which will bring awareness to helping others. All proceeds will be going to the American Cancer Society and the Heifer Project. Money will be raised through soda sales, and hat day, which will provide some fun as well. For $1, students can get a sticker that allows them to wear a hat all day! Mrs. Damron's Spanish class cooked up some special food from south of the border today, in celebration of Cinco de Mayo, and thankfully invited others to have a taste as well. The Drama club is preparing for the Encore Awards Ceremony on May 15, and deserts will be available! The 8th grade dance will be this Friday, May 9th, and should be a great way to have some fun as we wind down the school year. We will also welcome Mr. Lawley and his Fast Forward group from the high school, and they will give a presentation this week for our students. Mr. Compton will be heading up a career day for the 8th grade students this week, and finally, we will be having a meeting soon for anyone wanting to go on the Washington D.C. trip next year. All of that, and track season is wrapping up, and the choir is having a concert on Tuesday night as well. What a busy time of year, and we wouldn't have it any other way. Thanks for your help and support. Tom Merriott, Assistant Principal

Willard Intermediate School These closing weeks are full of lots of activity. We "graduated" our last DARE group last week, held a great farewell party for our 6th graders, and wound up the last of our MAP testing. This week, we have science classes fishing, our 5th grade is attending the symphony and Thursday evening will be our Fine Arts Night and Talent Show from 5:30 to 8:00. May 20th will be the debut performance of the next generation of the "Cutting Edge", as our 6th grade band holds their concert. Julie Germann, Principal

Willard Central Elementary It has been an unforgettable week at Willard Central!!! We celebrated the 3rd and 4th grade students hard work on the MAP test by attending the KY3 WeatherSchool and a Springfield Cardinals Game on Wednesday at Hammonds Field. A great time was had by all and we appreciate the parents who were able to join us for this memorable day! We also celebrated the many talents of WC students on Tuesday evening at Fine Arts Night. Student artwork was on display for all to see while 4th grade students performed in a Talent Showcase on the stage. A special thank you to Mrs. Bailey and Mrs. Chatman on creating a wonderful evening. We would also like to thank Mrs. Roth for all of her extra hours running the Book Fair this week as well. To cap off the week, the 4th grade students took their annual trip to Jefferson City on Friday to see our states government in action.

If this wasnt enough excitement, the Willard Central PTO spoiled our staff each day for Teacher Appreciation Week. From wonderful meals and desserts to fabulous daily prizes to mountains of chocolate treats, our staff was showered with appreciation and support. Thank you to all of the parents who blessed our teachers during this week and thank you to Mrs. Dawn Gardner and Mrs. Ginny Kroenke for all of their hard work! It was an unforgettable week!!

As we look ahead to the rest of this month, the excitement continues. Mark you calendars for these upcoming events:

May 6th First Grade Field Trip May 8th Family Science Night 5:30-7:00 May 8th and 9th Kindergarten Screening May 12th PTO Meeting at 6:00 May 15th Field Day May 16th High School Graduation May 17th 4th Grade Party May 23rd Last day of school. Terrific Tiger Celebration in the morning. Early Dismissal at 12:40.

Remember to Reach for the Stars and have a great week! ~ Shane Medlin, Principal

Willard East Elementary Huge Success!!! The Willard East Extravaganza held Friday May 2 was a huge success! The basket auction and raffle ticket sales raised over $3,500 for our guided reading library and classroom libraries. Thank you to everyone who attended, donated items, bid on items, and bought raffle tickets. Our staff and students are grateful. We also like to thank our Teacher Fear Factor participants for sacrificing their pride to celebrate meeting our goal in collecting Box Tops for Education. This we raised over $1,600 in Box Tops alone. Below are our classroom winners and their Fear Factor event: K = Mrs. Ball who got a beautiful make-over by her students 1 = Mrs. Dorland who ate baby food 2 = Mrs. Pliler who kissed a snake 3 = Mrs. Hillenburg who ate "gross jellybeans" Yes, they were gross 4 = Mr. Gann who got a pie in the face Principal Miller did ALL of the above since our students met their goal!

Teacher Appreciation Week - Don't forget to let your student's teachers know how much you appreciate them this week! We have lots of things planned but it is always nice to hear from students and parents that their hard work and dedication is appreciated.

Field Day May 13th - We are still looking for parent volunteers for Field Day. Please check in with your child's teacher if you can help.

Countdown - The countdown has begun for the last day of school! Only 15 more days and it has been a great year!

Melinda Miller, Principal

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

++++++++++++++++ Bob Andrus, Technology Director Willard R-II School District