District Newsletter

Willard R-II Central Office

One of my favorite pro sports teams is the Kansas City Chiefs!!!! Go Chiefs! Two weeks ago the Chiefs played one of their arch rivals the Denver Bronco's. This rivalry always rises to the occasion and produces a great game. This year the Chiefs went into the game without a win while at the same time the Bronco's were undefeated. It was a great example of a team that played over and above their heads. The game resulted in a huge victory for the winless Chiefs. What is hard to believe is that the very next week the Chiefs were shut out by the Carolina Panthers 34 to zip!!!! Last night I watched the Willard Volleyball Lady Tigers whip Nixa who had a front row of hitters that were all 6 ft. tall or more! Why did we win? We out hustled and utilized our defensive giants! (all of them are about 5 feet 2 inches) It was an incredible win! The point to all of this is as follows: I believe that each of us have been given incredible talents, however it is up to us to tap into them. I am not sure that I would ever be happy in a job that created no challenges. All of us need a few mountains to climb because when we reach the peak and look out to find there is another, we have confidence because we have seen what is possible. All the ladies in the district office are dieting and are actually succeeding! (I'm going to be in BIG trouble for including this as an example!) The reason why is because they are accountable to each other and continually build each other up and encourage one another. All students need to understand what it feels like to be part of something that is bigger than themselves. It is proven that students involved in activities have a higher GPA than those students who are not involved. I believe that Willard employees excel because they believe their job is more than a paycheck! All of these examples help to explain why Homecoming is Special. It is something special to be a Willard Tiger. It is bigger than the sum of the components. When we put all the talents together anything can be accomplished. Tonight may just be that special night! I hope you will come and be a part!

Have a great weekend! Kent

Dr. Kent E. Medlin Superintendent of Schools

Director of Operations

It doesn't seem possible, since it seems like we just got started, but here I am reporting on Homecoming week! The entire high school is buzzing about the activities that have taken place during the week and will culminate tonight at 6:30 at Tiger Stadium. The Homecoming court are: M. Martin, S. Sechler, B. Fletcher, H. Masters, and B. Church. There will be a Willard first this afternoon as the SGA will sponsor a Homecoming Parade that will start at approximately 2:45. The parade will go from the high school to Downtown BBQ. After the queen is crowned the Tigers will take the field against their new COC rival Neosho. Kickoff is scheduled for 7:00. Then the festivities will come to a close with the Homecoming dance at the high school.

Watch out, the volleytigers are starting to get hot as they upset preseason favorite Nixa last night in Nixa! This was a huge win for the volleytigers and runs their record to 14-6 on the season and 2-2 in the COC. The girls will travel to the Licking Tournament this Saturday before resuming conference play next week as they host Neosho on Tuesday and travel to Carthage on Thursday.

The soccer tigers are something you have to come out and see. The young men are playing an exciting style of soccer and it is fun to watch. This was on full display last weekend as they defeated Rogersville, Monett, and Bolivar to claim the championship of the Willard Fall Soccer Classic! After suffering a small setback with a close loss to Nixa, they came back and defeated Bolivar last night 2-0 at Bolivar. Their next match will be next Thursday at Branson.

Both the golf team and softball team ended their seasons this week in district play. The lady golfers took 5th place out of 14 schools in the district tournament on Monday. The softball team defeated Ash Grove last week before losing a heartbreaker to Joplin in the district tournament. Congratulations to both programs as they competed very well all season!

Need another reason to come to the Homecoming game tonight? I've got a good one. After 14 years wearing the same uniforms, the Cutting Edge will be sporting their new look tonight at halftime. It is quite impressive. Of course, they retired their old uniforms they only way they knew how....by being crowned Grand Champion of the Heart of America Marching Festival in Lawrence, KS last Saturday! The band also received the Outstanding Color Guard, Outstanding Percussion, Outstanding General Effect, and was selected Best in Class in the large band category. The band will compete in the Broken Arrow Invitational this Saturday.

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

Director of Special Services

Special Services would like to welcome paraprofessionals Tricia Haviland and Julia Barger who joined our staff recently. Tricia is working at Willard South supporting special needs students throughout the day. Julia is working at Willard Central Elementary assisting students with autism and MR students as they spend part of their day in the regular classroom settings. Both are doing an outstanding job and have quickly assumed a variety of duties to help these students succeed.

Our fifteen students participating in Horses of Hope have completed four of the six sessions and have made tremendous progress in skills they have worked on while on horseback. Riding sessions are on Monday from 4-6:45 at Sac River Stables. All are welcomed to come watch the excitement!

Sandy Gold, Director of Special Services

Willard High School

If you came to the high school this week you would have noticed some unique themes and activities as our students centered around Homecoming '08. Clothing, decorated lockers, and class competitions allow students to become involved and be a part of a larger theme. Obviously, on "decade day" some of the clothing worn must have come from the parents. Leg warmers, big bell bottom jeans, platform shoes, and free spirit "hippie style" clothing were very popular. Considerable educational research has shown for student success a key component is involvement. This week we have had high levels of participation as students demonstrate their school spirit. Being a part of team type setting is good for all students. It has been a great week of building school pride and spirit and a "hats off" to SGA for all their hard work making it a success. Stewart Pratt, Principal

Willard Middle School

This week has been a very busy one at the Willard Middle School. With only one week left in the first quarter, students and teachers alike are working to make sure that the first quarter grades are the best they can be. We encourage everyone to take advantage of the parent-teacher conferences coming at the end of the month, and see what you child has been doing at school if possible. The 7th and 8th grade boys basketball tryouts will begin on Oct 27th, so make sure and sign up if you are wanting to be a part of the fun this winter. The Young Chef's Club will be on Oct. 21st, and the menu will be "spooktacular!" The NJHS Fun Night will be Friday, Oct. 24th at the Campbell's Haunted Corn Maze, and we invite anyone who would like to go to see Mrs. Jennings. Finally, the October Tiger Competition Series (TCS) will feature two events, including flag football, and a chess tourney. These competitions will be held on Oct. 21, from 2:35 - 4:00. Sign up before the 20th if you would like to participate. Have a great week, and thanks for checking on us. Tom Merriott, Asst. Principal

Willard Intermediate School

WIS enjoyed 2 days of fun this week with the winners of our Tiger Card sales limo lunches. Over 150 of our students received pizza and a limo ride on Tuesday and Wednesday. Thanks again to our supporters for making this possible.

Our teachers are preparing to start Acuity testing next week in both Communication Arts and Math. This program is designed to prepare our students of the state MAP assessment in the spring. All students will participate in this testing three times over the course of the school year.

A reminder that 1st quarter ends Friday the 17th. Grade cards will be distributed during parent teacher conferences on October 28th and 30th. Conference times will be from 4:00-7:30 both nights. If you did not sign up for a conference time at back to school night please contact your child's teacher at 742-4242 to set up and appointment. Tom Davis, Principal

Willard Central Elementary

It has been a wonderful week at Willard Central! A huge thank you to all of the families who came out to support WC at McTeacher Night. While we have not heard the total profit from the evening, the manager shared that it was a record sales night for their location! It was great to see everyone there and sit down to share dinner as a very large Willard Central Family.

Becky Garst, our Missouri Reading Initiative trainer, was with us this week as the teachers worked on writing instruction. Mrs. Garst modeled lessons in classrooms and collaborated with teachers around strategies to improve student writing. MRI has been wonderful professional development for our teachers and is positively impacting students. Please take a moment to ask them about their writing journals and "Seeds" notebooks. You will be impressed by your young authors!

The 3rd grade was blessed with beautiful weather for their field trip to George Washington Carver's Historical Site on Thursday. This field trip connects the learning that has been taking place in science for our students and was a memorable trip teachers and students alike. Find a WC 3rd grader and ask them about the uses Mr. Carver found for the peanut. Some of their answers will surprise you!

Please remember that our PTO fundraiser orders are due back on Tuesday, October 14th. We cannot say thank you enough for your support of our students and school.

Have a great week and as always, WC is "Wild About Learning!" ~ Shane Medlin, Principal

Willard East Elementary

Happy Homecoming!!! At 2:30 today our students will be able to enjoy the 1st ever Willard Homecoming parade. We will walk down to Tiger Alley and witness history in the making. Please be sure to support our Parents as Teacher program at the game tonight by purchasing a snow cone.

3rd Grade Smartboards: While our 3rd graders were enjoying the Pioneer Theater in Marshfield, MO last Friday, our tech department and maintenance were installing Smartboards in their classrooms. Imagine their surprise upon return from a fun-filled day to find such a great piece of technology to use in their classroom. I am not sure who is more excited, the students or the teachers. We are anxiously awaiting some additional training from our tech department but the teachers have jumped right in and started figuring out the best instructional uses for these new tools.

Leadership Team: Willard East leadership team consists of a group of teachers coming together for the common good of our students and staff. This team works closely with me on decisions that we make for our school. A lot of our time this year is going to spent talking about ways that we can work smarter and not harder. We ask more and more of our teachers every year so we need to evaluate what we are doing and what is best for our students. This will be a year-long work in progress but at the other end of the year we hope to have some guidelines in place when adding and removing events from our calendars and our "plates."

Enjoy your weekend and GO TIGERS!!! Melinda Miller, Principal

Willard North Elementary

Last Friday, we hosted "Readers are Leaders" to kick-off our fall PTO Read-A-Thon. It was amazing and we had some really awesome readers! Click on the following link to see the readers in action! Many thanks to our PTO crew who put this awesome event together!

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McTeacher Night was a great success on Tuesday Night! Thanks to everyone who came out to support Willard North!

Have a wonderful weekend! Rhonda Bishop, Principal

Willard South Elementary

Our theme for the year is Willard South is GOING GREEN! Our staff has been working hard to implement some "green" projects for our students and community members. Today Darlene Prater, "the queen of two-dimensional trash turned three-dimensional treasure", spoke with all of the students during their special class time. What a perfect person to show kids how artists recycle! Our Technology Cadre is in the process of getting recycling bins for plastic materials to help patrons and Willard South staff in the recycling process. We are also recycling paper throughout the building. Each classroom has their own recycling container for paper only. WOW, it is amazing how much we can all do to help reduce, recycling and reuse materials. Have a FABULOUS weekend!

UPCOMING EVENTS: Tuesday, October 14th-PTO meeting at 6:00 & 4th Grade Music Program at 7:00 Friday, October 17th-End of 1st Quarter

Kara Crighton-Smith, Principal

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

Willard Park Board News

Movie in the Park: The Parks Department would like to announce our first ever Movie in the Park on Saturday October 18th at 6:45pm. Come join us at Jackson St. Park next to City Hall and enjoy watching MONSTER HOUSE and E.T. The event is free to attend. Bring your family, friends, lawn chairs and blankets. Come hungry and leave happy as we will be selling hot-dogs, hamburgers and many Halloween treats!

Safe Halloween: The Parks Department would like to invite you to attend Willard's Annual Safe Halloween Festival. This year's festival will be held Saturday October 25th at 5:45pm at the Willard Recreation Center. Major changes have been made to make this year's event the best ever!

New Parks and Recreation Website : A new Willard Parks and Recreation website is currently under construction: The new site will launch December 1st, 2008. The new site will make registration easier and will be updated on a regular basis.

Christmas at the Willard Recreation Center : On Saturday December 13th at 6:30pm, come to the Willard Recreation Center. We will be watching a Christmas movie in the gym and you can come and get your picture taken with Santa. Also we will be hosting a Silent Auction (items include sports memorabilia and gift certificates from local businesses). All proceeds from the night will benefit the Willard Baseball Program. Don't miss the first annual Christmas in Willard at the Recreation Center.

Winter Camp Registration: Are you looking for a place for your child to go during the Winter Break? Sign them up for the Willard Parks and Recreation Winter Camp. Registration will be held November 17th December 12th. The camp days are December 22, 23,26,29,30 2008 & January 2, 2009. Ages accepted will be K 6th grade and the fee is $17.50 per day.

Mark your Calendars Now: Sports: Youth Basketball Session 2 Registration: December 1st 31st Youth Cheerleading Session 2 Registration: December 1st 31st Adult Basketball Registration: December 1st 31st Competitive Basketball Registration: December 1st 31st

Other Events/Activities: City of Willard Springfield Cardinals Spirit Night: June 2nd , 2009 City of Willard Outing to the Springfield Cardinals Game: June 4th, 2009

For more information on the activities listed and all of the Willard Parks and Recreation activities please call (417)742-2262.

Thank you so much!!!