District Newsletter

Willard R-II Central Office For two solid weeks I have either sat in front of the TV or taped the Democratic and Republican National Conventions. Call me crazy but I do care about this enough to sit though many of the speeches attacking the other party, the other person, or the other ideas. I come away with at least one thought: Why isn't education one of the highest priority issues in these LONGGGG Speeches?????? It is my belief that our public education system is not perfect. (Not even in Willard!) But I believe that education of young people is the most important investment that we can give to the next generation. I am not naive enough to think that all the schools across the country do as good a job as the schools in Southwest Missouri. If that was the case there would be no need to talk about school choice or voucher systems. Education is an issue that must be held in the same regard as the economy, national defense, oil, foreign relations, etc& One of the reasons that I LOVE being the Superintendent of Willard is because the school is the centerpiece of the community. Maybe if education was believed to be one of the centerpiece issues of our country, legislation was crafted to support that belief, and funding was budgeted to fund this belief, it would solve many of the other issues that we face. As we enter into a time of political spin and derogatory commercials please spend some time to become educated on the candidates. The reason that you have the ability to research and make an informed decision is because some teacher in some classroom.

Hummmmmmm. Something to think about!

I need to include a 2nd part to this week's Pride article and publicly say Thank You to five ladies who help make me successful in running this district machine of 550+ employees and 4200+students. I have watched these ladies work many extra hours, simply because they care that the job gets done and the school runs smoothly. I won't even try to tell you all that they do. These district office ladies are 1st class! Sherri Callahan Lisa Blankenship Coleen Bradley Kathie Lea Cindy Twitchel

Have a great weekend!

Kent

Dr. Kent E. Medlin Superintendent of Schools

Director of Operations Can someone say "no-hitter!" A big Tiger congratulations to S. Sechler on throwing a no-hitter this past Tuesday against Bolivar. She was supported by some outstanding defense as the Tigers defeated the Liberators 1-0 running their record to an impressive 3-0. The game against Republic on Thursday was postponed due to wet weather and has been rescheduled for Thursday, Oct. 2nd. The girls will host Strafford Friday night with the game starting at 5:00. They will then travel to Ozark on Tuesday and host Branson on Thursday before competing in the Ozark Softball Tournament next Friday and Saturday.

The volleytigers have gotten out of the gates in a hurry defeating Buffalo and Hillcrest this week to start their season 2-0. The girls will host Central on Tuesday, Bolivar on Thursday and will host the Lori Endicott Tournament next Saturday. Game times are 5:00 for both contests.

The football Tigers opened their new stadium during the opening week of the season and will help open Ozark's new stadium tonight. In case you didn't make it to the game, all away games can be heard by going to the Willard website , clicking on the football webcast link, and then listening to all the action.

The soccer Tigers are off and running scoring 18 goals! in their season opener against Aurora. The JV won 8-0 and the varsity followed that up with a convincing 10-0 win. The boys will be at Catholic on Monday, game time at 4:30, will host Webb City on Tuesday, game time at 5:00, and will host Lebanon on Thursday, with game time at 4:30.

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

Willard High School We are excited about our new Vocational Ag Building being built at the rear entrance of the High School. Students will find a state of the art facility for students when it opens. We are currently in "in between" mode as our Vo-Ag students and Building Trades students travel by bus to their current locations. Our students are excited and anticipate the opening later this semester, however the key is the patience our students demonstrate as they await the new facility and know how great the future will be with the new building. Stewart Pratt, Principal

Willard Middle School This week at the Middle School we are still settling into our routines, and things are starting to look like normal again while we are adjusting to the new school year and all that entails. Though it was a short week due to Labor Day, we still had several things going on, and preparations continue for many others. This week found many of our students finishing up testing for our new reading program, which should be a great help for many of them this year. We also held a health screening for the students, taking their vitals, testing blood pressure, and checking for scoliosis among other stations. Friday we held a "meet and greet" lunch with all of the students who are new to our district, giving them a chance to get to know one another, as well as visit with our peer ambassadors, who do a great job making them feel welcome. All of the fall sports teams are gearing up for their first contests, and fantastic examples of student work is beginning to appear in the hallways of our school. Great start, great expectations, great school!!! Tom Merriott Assistant Principal

Willard Intermediate School I am very happy to announce that our school has its first ever PTO! We already knew that we had great parents but I am excited to see this group come together with a unified purpose and focus. Our officers for this year are: Carlyn Crocket-President, Grace Kelejian - Vice President, Kathy Hearod - Secretary, and Stephanie Samsel - Treasurer. Be looking for information about this group to be coming your way. The next WIS PTO meeting will be October 2nd at 6:00 pm in our library.

Our fall fundraiser kicks off Tuesday the 16th. We will again be selling the Tiger discount cards that were a huge success last year. The cost of each card is $10 and can be used an unlimited number of times for the entire year. We plan to use the money raised to purchase new playground equipment and technology for the classrooms.

A reminder that our school will dismiss at 1:45 on Tuesday the 16th due to the Tour of Missouri bike race that will be passing through Willard and Springfield that afternoon. A letter was sent home this week outlining the route and times of the race. Thank you for your understanding in working through this event. Tom Davis, Principal

Willard Central Elementary The cooler temperatures and rain have been a welcome relief to summer's heat! The cooler weather and start of football season have really made it feel like "school days." The mild temperatures are not the only thing in the air at WC. There is an excitement around WC for all of the learning taking place by both the teachers and the students. The Willard District as adopted the Missouri Reading Initiative (MRI) in grades K-6 to provide comprehensive literacy instruction for all Willard students. The focus of this year's professional development is writing. As I made my way through the teachers' workroom yesterday, it was wonderful to hear 2 third grade teachers talking about the excitement their students had about creating their writing journals and organizing the classroom libraries. These teachers' energy was contagious as they talked about students who did not want to put their writing notebooks away. They went on to give examples of how students shared about books they had read while making connections to different genres. This enthusiasm for learning is proof of the wonderful investment being made in our students and teachers through the MRI professional development! I am excited for this continued student and teacher growth. This is a great example of how Willard Central is "Wild About Learning!" Have a great weekend! Shane Medlin, Principal

Willard East Elementary It is a pleasure to be back with the Willard East family. This year Willard East is "Roaring with Pride" as our theme for the year is a jungle theme. Our enrollment for the start of the year is 378 which is our lowest enrollment total since the building opened in 2001. As desirable as this number is we are certain that we will continue to see new enrollment as our community continues to grow.

As we complete the 3rd week of school Willard East is already bustling with activity! Today our Kindergarten classes celebrated the end of "Teddy Bear Week" with a teddy bear picnic under our new pavilion. Thankfully the weather was beautiful. At the end of the day we welcomed 2nd grade grandparents to celebrate Grandparent's Day.

Willard East PTO is looking for a few good men/women to serve on various committees to help make the 2008-2009 school year another great success. Please let us know if you are able to help. Some of these activities may not require you to travel to the school during the school day if you would like to volunteer your time. We welcome ALL volunteers and you are a great help to our students and teachers.

Put on your best smile as next Friday Sept. 12 is individual student picture day!

Parents as Teacher is accepting new enrollment for this school year. If you are expecting a child or have a child 0-5 years old you are eligible. Please contact the PAT office at 742-5490 to request a home visit. As a 3rd year parent of this program I can assure you that you and your children will enjoy the experience and opportunity to get to know other families with young children. Melinda Miller , Principal

Willard North Elementary We have enjoyed our 4 day school week and we look forward to getting into our fall routine. Today our 2nd students are walking to the Willard Care Center to visit the residents. On Monday, the second grade will host Grandparents Day with a celebration. The Tour of Missouri Bike race will make its way through Willard on Tuesday. School will dismiss at 1:45 p.m. Tiger Tales will still be in session until 6:00 p.m. Our road in front of the school will be blocked off from 2:14 p.m. until 3:47 p.m. Mighty Mites have started this week and I know there are a LOT of kids involved. It is going to be a great fall! Good luck the Willard Football Tigers tonight at Ozark and the Willard Lady Softball Tigers who play at home tonight. Willard North's own Stephanie S. is one of the pitchers and we are so proud of her! She works at Tiger Tales and is a Willard North graduate! This week we also presented framed artwork completed by Senior 2008 Janine Bird to her mom, Kathy. The artwork, which was a winning piece when the student was elementary school, is displayed in our building and is given back to the student when they graduate from high school. Have a wonderful weekend! 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.