The first week of school we experienced a heat wave. The second week of school the flood waters rose. I guess that is just good old Missouri weather. Staff and students have done a good job getting through these first challenges. Lets all pray for good weather!!

We have had an excellent start. Teachers and children are getting back into the groove of learning. This year the district theme is:

Work Hard

Work Together

Do It With Class

There is no doubt that the efforts of a team will out produce the collective efforts of individuals. When people work together it provides energy for success. If teachers isolate themselves in their classrooms they will never learn what is possible when people team their efforts. If teachers, coaches, sponsors, administrators, support staff, board members, etc… are all working in concert then great music can be made. If they don’t work together then it is simply noise. I believe we have worked well as a team for many years. It is my goal this year to improve on our teamwork. If this improvement is realized it will be awesome for kids!!!

Kent

Dr. Kent E. Medlin

Superintendent of Schools

A Rose:    To WHS Students who are welcoming our newly enrolled students entering the High School

A Rose:    To HS Communication Arts ( #1 in COC ) and HS Mathematics ( #3 in COC ) Students and Faculty for leaving ”claw marks” all over the MAP test.

A Thorn:   To the lightning which “knocked out” our phones and air conditioning on Tuesday.

A Rose:   To AT&T for repairing the phone system along with WHS Maintenance Dept. and Allen’s Mechanical for repairing the AC on Tuesday.

A Rose:   To WHS Students who “chewed up” the ACT test and raised out ACT Composite scores for 2007.

A Rose:   To WHS Students for their questions and feedback in the class assemblies held on Tuesday.

A Rose:  To WHS Students, Parents, and Faculty who have made 2007-2008 begin with a smooth start.

  “Achievement is largely the product of steadily raising one’s level of aspiration and expectation.”

                               Jack Nicklaus (1940 – )
                               American golf champion

The first full week has flown by!   We are lucky to have the following new staff members in our building.  They are doing an outstanding job and we are glad to have them on our team.

Wendi Brower – 8th grade Special Services Teacher 

Jennifer Dinamarca - 8th grade Language Arts Teachers

Josh Graves – ISS Teacher

Tom Merriott – Assistant Principal

Jan Michaelree – Speech Path Teacher

Matt Stone – 7th and 8th grade  Social Studies and Study Skills Teacher

Doris Wallace – Paraprofessional

Thanks – Amy  Sims, Willard Middle School Principal

The Fall season has begun and Mother Nature can’t make up her mind!

The softball Tigers started their season with a resounding 11-3 victory over Kickapoo on Tuesday.  The girls will be playing in the Joplin Tournament all weekend.  They will host Marshfield next Tuesday in the first home game at their newly remodeled field.  A HUGE “thank you” to the Booster Club and all softball parents on the tireless work.  The field got a new fence, new scoreboard, new dugouts, new tractor, and a new storage shed!

Football begins their season tonight in the Jamboree held at JFK Stadium in Springfield.  They will taking on Parkview, Cassville, and Neosho.  The scrimmage will begin at 7:00.   They will begin their real schedule next Friday by hosting Central at 7:00.  It will be nice to be back home this year!  The complex is taking shape with new lights, new grandstands, new goal posts, new scoreboard, and a new flag pole (compliments of Morelock/Ross) all completed and the new restrooms and concession stand will be finished soon.

The soccer Tigers will be opening their season next Thursday in the Willard Fall Classic.  Play will continue through the weekend.

The volleytigers will open their season at Central on Monday.  Game time is 5:00.  They will then travel to Fair Grove on Tuesday and will have their home opener on Thursday vs. Hillcrest.

A special congratulations to Cassie Robinson on her first place finish in the girls golf match vs. Nixa!

Jeff Staley, Activities Director

District MAP results were made available last week and we have been busy evaluating our own scores and doing comparisons with other schools in the COC.  Last year, Willard R-II was 4th in Communication Arts in the COC and this year we have moved into 3rd place!  Last year , Willard R-II was 5th in Math in the COC and this year we have moved into 4th place!   A big congratulations for that improvement overall!

 Congratulations also to HS Communication Arts for scoring the highest in the COC!  Grade 3 in both Communication Arts and Math were 2nd in the COC! 

Our composite ACT scores went from 21.9 last year to 22.3 this year.  The state composite for the past two years has been 21.6.  Willard R-II continues to exceed the state composite score and showed a larger increase last year than has been shown for several years. 

A full report of achievement scores will be given at the September board meeting.  Have a great weekend!

It’s that time of year when MAP results start to trickle in from the state department. As we do not have individual student reports yet, we do have building-wide results.

Math State Target = 35.8

Willard East = 57.3 :)

Communication Arts State Target = 42.9

Willard East = 59 :)

Willard East continues to score above the state targets but there is always work to be done. Teachers work in collaborative teams to review and analyze this information. Once all the data is analyzed our school works to provide the best learning environment possible for all students to be successful on these high stakes tests. As always we are proud of the hard work of Willard East teachers and students!

More information can be found on the DESE Website.

Getting MAP results each year often becomes a “good news, bad news” venture for our schools, but at Willard Intermediate we have lots to celebrate about our students’ achievements last year.  195 students in our building scored in the ADVANCED catagory of either the Communication Arts or Math MAP Test.  In Communication Arts we scored 10% higher than the state benchmark, and in Math we scored 23% higher than the state benchmark for adequate yearly progress.  We are proud of those accomplishments, but the work is never done, as we continue to strive toward even greater student achievement.  “Bring Your Best Game!”

It has been such a great start to our year!!  Every piece has fallen into place and we are back to business.  The heat has cooperated and we have been able get outside and enjoy our new walking track on the playground.  Thank you PTO for making this huge project happen!   We are also excited about our new parking lot in the front.  Again, this is another project that has helped our campus function more efficiently. How funny that asphalt makes us so happy! Have a wonderful week!

Rhonda Bishop, Principal

This first full week of school has been full of learning!  I have had the pleasure of sitting in on lessons in every classroom in the building and I have seen first hand the learning and teaching taking place.  It is great to see students already composing stories, creating community maps,  and strengthening reading strategies.  It is also wonderful to see how students and teachers are coming together to form new classroom teams and partners in learning. 

This week also marked the beginning of Community Time.  Together we are starting our days celebrating learning and each other’s accomplishments.  It is a treat to watch kindergartners’ faces as they learn the WC school song and hand movements and to see our new 4th grade students step us as the student role models for the school.

We would like to invite WC parents to our Parent Orientation Night on Thursday, August 30th.  This evening is designed for parents and teachers to sit down together to go over grade level and classroom expectations for learning.  Childcare will be provided and these informational opportunities will be held in 2 sessions to accommodate parent needs.  The sessions will run from 6:00-6:30 followed by a 15 minute break before a repeat second session is offered from 6:45-7:15.  Please plan to join us for this informational evening.

We would also like to invite you to view Willard Central’s new blog at http://willardcentralkids.edublogs.org/.  Our new Computer Lab Instructor, Michelle Bougher, has worked hard to create an informative and easy to navigate site.  Her hard work is greatly appreciated and she is a wonderful addition to the WC Team.

Have a wonderful weekend and remember to “Reach for the Stars.” –Shane Medlin, Principal