Parents and Community members often ask why schools schedule these professional “days off” during the school year.  I will guarantee our patrons that these are not days wasted.  Teachers began the morning with a presentation at 7:30 a.m.   Teaching is a profession that is much more difficult than it was years ago.  No child wants to sit in a classroom of a teacher that has not improved in their delivery during the past 20 years.  It is much more difficult to maintain the attention of students due to their constant exposure to entertainment.  In this day and age, teachers must be able to present interesting, relevant, engaging lessons in order to capture the attention of students for seven hours every day.  This means that we must continue to learn and improve the way we perform.  There is no other way to do this than to schedule time for teachers to learn new methods and techniques of instruction.  Today is a day that students get to play, but teachers are at school working hard learning!

Have a good weekend.

Kent

Dr. Kent E. Medlin

Superintendent of Schools

As a child, I loved it when my teachers had work days and the kids got a three-day weekend. As my twin brother and I were chasing each other through the house before being banished outside to the farm, I am sure my mother wondered if our teachers were missing us and pondering what they were doing. As a principal all of these years later, I can finally tell my mom that the teachers were too busy learning and growing in their profession to miss me.

Friday was a day filled with professional development for our teachers as we worked together to find new ways to meet our students’ needs. Teachers participated in trainings on writing instruction with the district’s teaching specialist, analyzed MAP data and developed brain-compatible lessons to address areas of concern, received training on the district’s online Acuity testing program, participated in a district-wide bully training in-service, and met with cadres around math, science, and communication arts needs. It was a busy and productive day for teachers that will have a positive impact on students and learning.

I am sure the teachers are glad to have their students back today. I bet they are even feeling like my mom and glad to have the break from me. Have a wonderful week and we will continue to “Reach for the Stars” at Willard Central. –Shane Medlin, Principal

This week, while taking a “walkabout” through the hallways I noticed serveral classes in “lab” areas. As I entered the rooms you could feel the energy as students were actively discussing, examining, and analyzing problems in front of them. Watching the students tackle the lessons, I was reminded how often things appear simple on the surface, but upon further investigation become quite different. In activities involving lab settings, many life skills can be touched upon as students work to complete a simple assignment. The process of “learning by doing” is one tool used to help students “connect” the classroom to life.

Thanks to the generosity of MSU, we were able to have nationally recognized motivational speaker Mr. Jimmy Cabrera speak to our students and teachers about the relationship between attitude and being successful in anything in life. His presentation “What’s in your backpack?” was exciting and well received by all!
Speaking of success, if anyone happened to see a Hummer limo full of Intermediate school students cruising around town you were not imagining things. Over 110 of our students earned a “Limo Lunch” by selling 10 or more of our Tiger Savings cards. Approximately 60 more students attended as guests of those that sold 15 or more cards. Thanks for all the hard work. You guys look great!
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This week, Willard North kicked off their new year with the first Super Tiger Celebration!  This year we have revamped our student awards.  Our awards spell out I ACT.  The letters stand for Improvement, Academics, Character and Teamwork.  Students will get “pawprints” and they will be placed on our student Wall of Fame.   We also received our new school shirts!  5th grade student Chase did a great job of designing it!  First grade took a walking field trip to the library and Pizza Hut!  Our PTO Read-A-Thon kicked off on Thursday!  Our goal is $12,000!  Get those kids reading!  Have a wonderful weekend!

Rhonda Bishop

You think our Tigers can play football? Well, we can sing a little as well!

Last week I reported that Willard ranked #1 in Southwest Missouri on the number of students it placed on the 9/10 All-District Choir. Well, we’ve done it again! This time Willard ranks #1 in the 11/12 All-District Choir! Mr. Lawley has placed 19 students in the selected group and they are: M. Lenz, L. Padgett, E. Scott, S. Yonke, H. Masters, K. Thomson, L. Nothum, L. Warren, A. Askren, L. Loveland, M. Carleton, S. Scott, C. Scott, B. Compton, D. Lawley, J. Scott, Z. Nilsen, E. Rippee, B. Lyons.

Speaking of football…I’m not sure how many times our football team has been ranked in the state but we are now! The Tigers have climbed to #10 in the state in this weeks poll and #4 in the Newsleader poll of classes 4-6! The undefeated Tigers will host Branson in a key COC showdown tonight at 7:00pm. They will not be home again until district play on October 19th so come out and support the Tigers! By the way, we defeated Reeds Spring at Homecoming last week 42-7. A special congratulations to L. Roberts on being chosen as the 2007 Homecoming Queen!

Congratulations to the soccer Tigers on their victory over Hillcrest last night 2-0. They will be at Greenwood tonight and we will be hosting the Willard JV Soccer Tournament all day tomorrow. Next week the Tigers will host Bolivar on Tuesday and New Convenant on Friday.

The volleytigers had an up and down week as they went to Lebanon and defeated the Yellowjackets on Monday but then suffered their first COC defeat of the season at Reeds Spring on Tuesday (we will be looking for revenge at districts!). The girls will host Rogersville next Tuesday and will be at Bolivar on Thursday.

The softball Tigers had a nice COC win over Rogersville this week and then found out that they are the #4 seed in their district tournament. The girls will host Ash Grove on Monday and Hillcrest on Tuesday before starting district play next Thursday. Willard will be hosting the tournament and the lady Tigers will play Rogersville at 4:00 on Thursday. That game will be followed by the Bolivar vs. Buffalo contest. The winners will play in the semifinals on Friday starting at 4:00. The championship game will be on Saturday at 3:00.

Congratulations to K. Hession (9th), A. Bird (12th), and J. Bird (23rd) on their finishes in the Willard Cross Country meet held this week. There were a total of 71 runners in the girl’s division. Also, congratulations to R. Cook on his 16th place finish out of 63 runners in the boy’s division.

It’s Good To Be A Tiger!

Jeff Staley, Director of Operations