District Newsletter

Willard R-II Central Office

This week I read an article in an educational magazine called High School Today (Sept. 08 edition) which outlined a study comparing GPA (Grade Point Average) and participation in activities. The following data was recorded: * Students that participated in no school activities in 2007-2008 had an average GPA of: 2.02 on a 4 point scale * Students that participated in one school activity in 2007-2008 had an average GPA of: 3.17 on a 4 point scale * Students that participated in two school activities in 2007-2008 had an average GPA of: 3.52 on a 4 point scale * Students that participated in three or more school activities in 2007-2008 had an average GPA of: 3.62 on a 4 point scale Two variables were highlighted to explain the correlation of data. 1. Students that are involved in activities feel "connected" to the school. 2. Activities teach strong work ethics such as discipline, attendance, and team work.

I agree 100% with the findings of this study. One of my former pastors shared with me his belief of how kids have changed in the last 20 years. He said, "Kids 20 years ago would join something just to be a part, now kids must feel that they are a part of something before they will join". In public schools many times activities are the hook that help students to connect with academics. In other words when someone is critical of the money we spend on athletics , band trips, uniforms, or facilities, I can truthfully and honestly say that activities are just like A-1 sauce on a steak, salsa on chips, mustard on a brat, ketchup on fried potatoes, varnish on a nice piece of oak, mufflers on a nice motorcycle, or icing on a cake, they all help to bring out the best in what they support! (This is making me hungry!!!)

Have a great weekend!

Kent

Dr. Kent E. Medlin Superintendent of Schools

Director of Operations

It has been a very busy week for Willard activities and it is only going to get busier from here on out.

The soccer Tigers made history this week as they played in the first COC soccer match in school history. For the past several years, Willard has fielded a soccer team but not enough schools in the conference participated in order to recognize it as a conference sport. Well, after the conference realignment and the addition of the new schools, soccer is now an official conference sport. AND WILLARD IS UNDEFEATED! In their first ever COC game, Willard defeated Webb City 6-0 on Tuesday. Their game vs. Lebanon on Thursday was postponed. They will travel to Monett next Monday, host Ozark on Tuesday before participating in the Monett Tournament next weekend.

The football Tigers are proving their metal as they are in the middle of one of the toughest schedules in the state. Coach Wickwar took his squad to Ozark last Friday and against all odds had the Ozark Tigers on the ropes. In the end, the score came up a little short but the Tigers fought a great fight and are proving that great things lie ahead for this team. Tonight they have another opportunity to prove themselves as they travel to Webb City to face the 3rd ranked team in the state. Game time is 7:00pm.

The softball Tigers lost a heartbreaker last Friday to Strafford in 15 innings! The ladies then dropped a COC contest to Ozark on Tuesday before being rained out on Thursday against Branson. The make-up of the Branson game will be Tuesday, Sept. 30th at Willard. The ladies will participate in the Ozark Fall Classic this Friday and Saturday. Their first game is Friday at 5:00 vs. Lee's Summit West followed by a game at 8:00. Next week the girls host Nixa on Tuesday and are at Neosho on Thursday.

The volleytigers remained undefeated this week as victories over Central and Bolivar ran their record to an impressive 4-0 to start the season. We are hosting the Lori Endicott Invitational this Saturday with pool play starting at 8:00am. The volleytigers will play their first match at 9:00. Semifinals will begin at 6:00pm. The ladies will then travel to Kickapoo next Tuesday and will be at Rogersville on Thursday.

The cross country Tigers will open their season tomorrow at Strafford. Good luck to Coach Giboney and all of the running tigers!

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

Special Services

The Special Services Department has been busy preparing for numerous inservice training opportunities for our staff. Twelve new staff members participated in an all day training this past Wednesday that covered topics such as: Sped Track computer program training, Special Education process, and Explaining Procedural Safeguards to Parents. I would like to thank the Process Coordinators (Kelli Akers , Shannon Roberts, Susie Thieman, and Janet Turner) for making that a successful workshop. We are very excited to have such a great group of newcomers, and we are expecting great things from them.

The veteran staff has also been invited to participate in a training seminar similar to this one next week. Two different dates are available: Tuesday, September 16 from 4:00-6:00pm Wednesday, September 17 from 3:00-5:00pm

For those of you interested in CPI, Crisis Prevention Institute, training, you will be sending out an invitation via email next week regarding dates and times. This is the crisis prevention program adopted by the district and all staff members who work with special education and at risk students are encouraged to receive this training. The initial workshop is an 8 hour program and the annual recertification program is 4 hours. These trainings are led by Tom Davis and Tammy Murray. Watch your email for more information early next week. Amy Stroder, Assistant Special Services Director

Willard High School

The staff at WHS wanted to recognize students for positive accomplishments. We often look at recognizing athletic or activities events (and nothing wrong with that) but we also need to recognize students who have high achievement, high attendance, or are working hard to make changes in their academic career. On Tuesday, September 9th we hosted our first Honors Assembly. We recognized the following categories in an assembly in front of the entire student body: Straight A Honor Roll ( 83 Students 10-12 Grades ), A-B Honor Roll ( 155 Students 10-12 Grades ), Academic Letter ( 166 Students 10-12 Grades ), Increase in Cumulative GPA of .5 or above ( 9 Students 10-12 Grades ), and Perfect Attendance ( 67 students 9-12 Grades ). It was a great assembly and a positive start to a new tradition. Kudos to WHS staff for working hard to ensure we recognize students who are making and taking positive strides.

Last night (Thursday Sept 11th) our FFA students worked with Southwest Missouri Farm Bureau to host their regional meeting. The event was held at Willard Middle School and our FFA students cooked, served, and provided the food for the event. The guest speaker for the evening was gubernatorial candidate U.S. Representative Kenny Hulshof. Our FFA students did an outstanding job of representing our school, and we received many compliments from the Farm Bureau patrons. Great Job FFA!

A reminder to all WHS parents, "Open House" is Tuesday September 16th from 6:00pm - 7:30pm. Stewart Pratt, Principal

Willard Middle School

This week at the Willard Middle School saw the students as well as staff begin to settle into the routines of the school year. It is hard to believe, but we are almost to mid-quarter, which means 1/8th of our school year is already gone. If time truly does go by faster when you are having fun, we are having a blast! This week we had several things going on, including our first pep assembly, in preparation for the start of the fall sports seasons. We also had a guest speaker with NASA connections visit our 7th grade science classes, and give a great presentation for our kids. A new club is in the process of getting started called TCS (Tiger Competition Series) that will allow students a chance to get together once a month for a couple hours after school and enjoy fun and fellowship while participating in various activities. The first night will feature a dodge ball tourney, and we hope to have a big group to kick off this great idea. We are continuing to work toward what should be a fantastic "Growl Nite," which is just a couple of weeks away. The donations of time, talent, and treasure from the community and the students have been great. Finally, we had a moment of silence on the eleventh to remember those who lost their lives seven years ago, and for those who continue to serve our country and keep our freedom. What a blessing to be in such a great country, and such a great community. Tom Merriott Assistant Principal

Willard Intermediate School

WIS kicked off a new reading improvement program this year titled iTime. The purpose of this time is to allow students the opportunity to improve their reading ability and comprehension strategies. We are confident that the best way to impact student achievement in every area of school is through reading. Students attend iTime with their homeroom teacher every day for 40 minutes. Currently every student in the building is being administered the DRA reading assessment to determine current reading abilities. We appreciate the effort all of our staff have put into getting this program up and running and we know it will have a positive effect on learning at WIS!

A reminder that our fall fund raiser is currently under way. We will be selling our Tiger Savings Cards until Wednesday the 17th. Cost is $10. Please contact our building if you would like to purchase one. Thanks to everyone that has supported this effort! Tom Davis, Principal

Willard Central Elementary

Bicycles seemed to be the theme for the week at Willard Central. From the Tour of Missouri bike race this week to a bicycle safety unit in PE, bikes have been on everyone's mind. Thanks to a grant secured by Dr. Royal, Coach Brown started a unit on bicycle safety this week for all of our elementary students. The grant provides bicycles, tricycles , and pedal cars for each student to learn bike safety. The grant also provides for a helmet for each student upon completion of the unit. It has been great to see students riding around the driving course Coach Brown created in the gym (complete with street signs) and talking about the importance of wearing a helmet. (Just ask your child what happened to the cantaloupe that wasn't wearing a helmet.) The other elementary schools can look forward to this unit visiting their buildings in the coming weeks. Have a great weekend and remember, Willard Central is Wild About Learning! Shane Medlin, Principal

Willard East Elementary

Today was picture day! Picture day is always a fun day to see kids looking their best with their best smile. We always look forward to seeing the pictures in a few weeks. Health Screening Monday - Cox nurses will be here to help Nurse Rita with health screenings. Midterm - it is hard to believe that it is already time for midterms. Wednesday is the last day to add grades and midterms will be sent home with students on Monday. Please use midterm time as a time to reflect and set goals with your students. There is still time for improvement if needed. Open House - Tues. Sept 23 is Open House. PTO will be sponsoring a chili super at 5:00 with classrooms opening at 6:00PM. K - 2 teachers and classrooms will be open from 6:00PM - 7:00PM. 3rd and 4th will be available from 6:30PM-7:30PM. Open House is a great time for your child to showcase his/her work and show you around the school. Book Fair - Mark your calendar for Sept. 19-25 and our Library Book Fair. This is a great place to have the librarian help you pick out books on your students level. Teachers also create wish lists for the classrooms that you are welcome to donate to. Have a great weekend! Melinda Miller, Principal

Willard North Elementary

Willard North has been BUSY!! We celebrated Grandparent's Day on Monday. We had lots of grandparents! The children were so proud to present their program and show their memory baskets! On Tuesday, we dismissed early, but the Tour of Missouri Bike Race came right down past our school! The Tiger Tales students were there to cheer them on!! On Tuesday we also had Volunteer training in our building. We are looking forward to our First Grade Parent Night next Tuesday and Kindergarten night on Thursday!! Have a great week! Rhonda Bishop, Principal

Willard South Elementary

This has been a short but exciting week at Willard South. This past Friday Citizens Memorial Hospital came to school and conducted health screenings on students in Kindergarten through 3rd grades. Parent and teacher volunteers helped check little eyes, ears, and noses. It was wonderful to see everyone pulling together to help our students.

Each classroom has been participating in a PTO fundraiser. Five gallon water jugs were given to each room. The first class to collect 40 pounds of change wins a pizza party. Buckets and buckets of change were brought in. Mrs. Baumgarten's 3rd grade class exceeded expectations and brought in 64 pounds of change!!! Way to go 3rd grade! Stay tuned for the grand total. We are still counting it all!

Friday is our Grandparents Tea. Second graders are excited to have their loved ones come in and share in this special time.

Have a great week from everyone at Willard South Elementary! Angela Stevens, Interim Principal