District Newsletter

Willard R-II Central Office

January 28th to February 1st, is recognized as School Board Recognition week. During the years that I have served as Superintendent at Willard I have never had the same Board of Education two years in a row. This fact brings challenges as well as benefits. Board member service is not easy work. Four years ago the state was in the middle of a funding crisis. The BOE and I together had to make very difficult decisions regarding funding that year. During the past five years, Willard has never been without a building project. Upon completion of current projects the district will have expended almost 40 million dollars in capital projects in these 5 years. These efforts have required great amounts of vision, time, energy, planning, communication and teamwork in order to be successful. During this time our district has passed two major Bond Issues and one Levy to support students. Our current board is comprised of both veteran as well as newly elected board members. I believe this is a strength of our team. We have experience that helps to ground our efforts and new eyes that help us to remain fresh and well connected to the community. As a whole they work together to support the goals and the mission of the district. These seven individuals dont always have the same mind on issues but there is one idea that each of them shares with great fervor: This commitment is:

* The Willard District will make all decisions based on what is best for children.

Caroline Puckett, President, 19 years

Karla Shaffer, Vice-President, 6 years

Mark Anderson, 3 years

Ron Crighton, 3 years

Jana Copeland, 2 years

Mike Graves, 2 years

Steve Vaughn, 1 year

Join me this week in a collective pat on the back to our team members on the Board of Education. Job well done!

Have a great week!

Kent

Dr. Kent E. Medlin Superintendent of Schools

Director of Operations

The Lady Tigers are on fire! Congratulations to Coach Killingsworth and the lady tigers on their championship run in the NEO Tournament last week. The ladies defeated Tulsa Hale, Waggoner, OK, and Miami, OK to go undefeated and take first place. This runs their winning streak to 8 in a row! They will have a huge COC showdown tonight as the #2 ranked team in the state, Bolivar, comes to town. It will be a 3-game night with the freshmen starting at 5:00. They will then travel to Branson on Thursday and to McDonald Co. on Saturday. We will also be hosting the 9th COC tournament all week with games on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Saturday.

The Tigers got a big win on Thursday as they defeated state ranked Willow Springs in the first round of the Nixa Invitational. They followed that with two good efforts against KC O'Hara and Mt. Vernon. The boys will host Hillcrest on Friday with the JV starting at 6:00. This will also include Courtwarming activities between games.

Congratulations to the wrestling Tigers as they took 2nd place in the Seneca Tournament on Saturday. The wrestlers have some time off before hosting the district tournament on Feb. 8th and 9th.

It's good to be a Tiger! Jeff Staley, Director of Operations

Director of Special Services

Friday morning brought cold, blustery weather and the desire to remain in the special services office where the never-ending paperwork could be tackled. An early-morning meeting at South, however, provided reason to step out in the cold and get rejuvenated! While at South, I experienced again the importance of team efforts and how those teams change with the circumstances. At this meeting, parents, transportation, building principal and special services worked together for student safety and success while reviewing issues that needed attention and improvement. After the meeting, visits to the special services classrooms at South were so enjoyable and reminders of friendships and the importance of quality teachers and paraprofessionals. In each room, the instruction, interactions, and excitement at student accomplishment reinforced my beliefs that excellence in education is an on-going process and goal for Willard staff and that each student is valued as a person and a learner. Sandy Gold, Director of Special Services

Willard High School

This past week the many of the High School classes were engaged in conversations and discussion about Dr. Martin Luther King, his involvement and contributions Civil Rights Movement and the ice storm of 2007 and the effects on Southwest Missouri.

The HS Counseling department is beginning to schedule students for the 2008 - 2009 school year. We will be looking at course enrollment numbers to determine the number of course sections and type of elective courses we can offer. A reminder to parents the state graduation requirements are 25 credits which leaves little "wiggle" room in the schedule.

Summer school is an avenue for students who have lost credits for a variety of reasons. Summer school enrollment forms are available at the HS counseling center. Summer School dates will be Monday, June 2nd - Friday, June 27th. We are fortunate to have a strong career and counseling team to assist students in scheduling a path for success. For more information regarding scheduling for summer school or fall 2008 please contact the High School.

Stewart Pratt, Principal

Willard Middle School

The South America team is starting their interdisciplinary unit this semester. They are discussing environmental issues with the students in all core subjects. This is great way for kids to connect with the curriculum by seeing the topic in different curriculum areas. They are also collecting phone books for the next several weeks. Feel free to drop off you phone books at the Middle School office if you would like them to be recycled.

Middle School choir program begin tryouts for their annual musical in February. Mrs. McKinney and Dr. Summers will be working very hard over the next several weeks to deliver a wonderful performance. This is always an exciting time for those students and we wish each one of them the best. Amy Sims, Principal

Willard Intermediate School

Friday, WIS honored approximately 500 students for achievement, attendance and improvement at their first semester Honor Assembly. Our Student Council students did an awesome job of coordinating and conducting the assembly. Thanks to those students, and their sponsors for making it a special event for our student body. And thanks to our special guest, the "Tigeropoly" Banker, for his help in doling out the cash prizes awarded to some of our lucky student winners. Julie Germann, Principal

Willard Central Elementary

One of the 3 principles of an Accelerated School is Empowerment with Responsibility. This means that when one sees a problem, instead of complaining about it or looking away, they accept responsibility for it and put the time and energy into working towards a solution. While it is always wonderful to see this process in action, it is especially rewarding to see it happen with children. Last week, a group of students approached me about starting the Willard Central Boys and Girls Club. Their groups purpose is to beautify the WC school campus and surrounding community by collecting trash, preventing litter, and recycling waste. These 4th grade students collected trash on the playground and then made posters with the collected items to educate their fellow students. They shared information about the amount of trash they see littered along the roads on their bus rides home and invited all WC students to join them in making a difference at Community Time. I am proud of these 4th grade students for their boldness, and for seeing a problem and choosing to make a difference instead of ignoring it. Thank you for living out what it means to have Empowerment with Responsibility.

As we look ahead to this week, please plan to join us on Thursday evening from 5:30-7:00 for our All-Star Family Math Night. The math cadre has worked hard to plan an evening of fun and learning around different sports. Come and enjoy the math sports stations, some free concession stand food, and a chance to take aim at me at Sploosh-Ball Dodgeball. It should be a memorable evening and we are looking forward to a great turnout. Until then, "Reach for the Stars". Shane Medlin, Principal

Willard East Elementary

We are glad that everyone survived a slippery Tuesday! We hope you enjoyed your 4 day, instead of 3, weekend!

Again, I would like to thank Willard East parents for working to improve the flow of traffic and safety issue at our end of the day parent pick-up area. We have had lots of compliments regarding our efforts to keep safety our first priority! < /p > < p > Upcoming events at Willard East:

February 1st - 19 PTO Cookie Dough sale (More info coming soon)

Feb. 1st = January Tiger Pride Assembly 2:45

Feb. 11 = Midterms go home

Feb. 18 = Make Up day

Feb. 23 = February Fling 9AM - Noon

Feb. 29 = February Tiger Pride Assembly

Melinda Miller, Principal

Willard North Elementary

Today we celebrate the 100th Day of School! It is the big turning point in the school year and we are officially on the downhill slide! Our Wall of Fame is getting so many Paw Prints this year! It is a great sight! Our students are doing so many wonderful things and the recognition is adding up. Have a wonderful week! Rhonda Bishop, Principal

Willard South Elementary

Willard South will have fifteen fourth graders attending the 2nd Annual KOZ Honor Choir in Bolivar, Missouri on Saturday , February 23, 2008. The bus will leave Willard South at 7:30 AM with a public concert at the Fine Arts Building on the campus of Southwest Baptist University at 3:30 PM the same day. The students are Ashleigh B., Katelynn B., Emily B., Bailey B., Tiarra C., Sarah C., Anne G., Michaela G., Bailey H., Josee M., Alexsandra R., Coral R., Shekiera R., Kaylynn S. & Katie W. They will also sing for the Willard School Board on Thursday, February 21 at 7:00 PM. 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.