Willard Central students were “treated” to a great week this week. On Wednesday, nearly 100 parents flooded WC for the Fall Parties. Students were spoiled to have their parents provide candy treats and fall games and activities. The time together made for a memorable afternoon. On Thursday, the 2nd grade treated the entire school to a sneak preview of their musical concert “No Turkey for Perky”. In this program, Perky is the Hanks’ dog who unfortunately is no longer treated to Thanksgiving Day turkey when pepperoni pizza becomes the substitute for the traditional Thanksgiving meal. The 2nd grade did a wonderful job on their concert Thursday evening while getting everyone in the mood for the upcoming holiday.

As we look ahead to next week, please plan to stop by school and pick up your Mr. Z’s fundraising items on Thursday, November 8th after school. Items will be prepackaged and ready for pick up in the gym after the dismissal bell.

Have a wonderful weekend, GO TIGERS, and continue to “Reach for the Stars.” — Shane Medlin, Principal

Last week was an action-packed week at Willard Central! Mrs. Gromer organized a wonderful Red Ribbon Week to remind our students about the importance of making healthy choices. We would like to thank Chief McClain from the Willard Police Department, Mrs. Chappell and the Willard High School Drama Department, Louie from the Springfield Cardinals, and Reverend Tim Banks from MADD for taking the time to share with WC’s students about making positive choices.

Last week was also Student-Led Conferences. Students were able to sit down with their parents to demonstrate what they learned about during the first quarter of school at various centers before meeting with the classroom teacher. I would like to thank the WC special area teachers for providing sibling childcare during conferences to allow for uninterrupted time for students to share all of their learning with their parents. These teachers provided childcare for more than 90 kids. WC would also like to thank PTO for providing a wonderful dinner to the teachers on Tuesday evening. Thanks to everyone’s efforts, Student-Led Conferences were a wonderful success.<br />

To complete our action-packed events for the week, our librarian, Mrs. Roth, hosted the Book Fair. Thank you to her and to the wonderful parents who volunteered to manned the Book Fair for making it a success!
With all of the happenings of last week, the 3-day weekend was greatly appreciated by staff and students alike. As we look forward to this week, we will have our Fall Parties at 2:45 on Wednesday and our 2nd grade students will have their music concert on Thursday evening at 7:00. We have another wonderful week ahead of as we continue to “Reach for the Stars” at Willard Central. –Shane Medlin, Principal

We have had a fun and busy week of learning and celebration this week at Willard Central.  The 4th grade celebrated Missouri Day on Wednesday by creating edible maps of our state and other activities that brought MO’s rich history to life.  The WC Science Cadre also hosted an Outdoor Classroom Workday on Thursday afternoon to beautify our facilities while creating an inviting outdoor learning area.  Our 3rd grade students and Mrs. Chatman held their concert on Thursday evening.  Their musical performance was a sight to behold.   They shared the importance of nutrition through music under the premise of a television news studio called “5 a Day Live.”  Friday, our newly elected student council members facilitated the 1st Quarter Terrific Tiger Celebration recognizing student achievement for the first quarter of this year.  Everyone at WC has worked hard this week while celebrating the learning taking place at Central.

As we look ahead to next week, don’t forget these important events:

• Student-Led Conferences on Tuesday and Thursday.
• Red Ribbon Week
• Book Fair
• NO SCHOOL on Friday.

Have a wonderful weekend and rest up for another amazing week at WC.  As always, remember to “Reach for the Stars.”  –Shane Medlin, Principal

Special area classes are often one of the most enjoyable times in a student’s day.  PE, music, art, computer lab and library time appeal to student interests and give them a chance to share their abilities in a different setting.  For this reason, this time is an invaluable opportunity to reach students academically in areas that they may share a special interest or have special skills in.  WC is blessed to have special area teachers that realize this and harness students’ interests while connecting their activities to the learning that is taking place in the classroom.

There are several ways that special area teachers connect classroom learning to their curriculum.  Mrs. Bailey consciously connects her art lessons to teaching math concepts such as geometric shapes and symmetry.  She also has students routinely complete constructed response questions about their artwork.  Coach Brown connects math concepts in her lessons through calculating heart rates during exercises and working math problems during games.  Mrs. Chatman also connects math concepts with musical notes and beats while she is connecting songs and musical genres to social studies units and literature.  Mrs. Roth has created a blog for students to create book reviews for their library books.  During her library lessons, Mrs. Roth also teaches and reinforces classroom reading strategies.  Mrs. Bougher has partnered with Mrs. Roth to have students type their book reviews for the blog  and to publish other works on the web in the computer lab.

These activities are just the tip of our special area teachers’ instructional iceberg.  By connecting classroom learning to student interests in special area classrooms, we know students will be more successful in learning and retaining information.  This is evidenced by WC’s significant rise in student achievement on the MAP test this last year.  Thank you to our special area teachers for your part in this success and for all of your hard work.  Teachers like you are why they are called “special” classes. 

Have a great weekend and continue to Reach for the Stars.  –Shane Medlin, Principal

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

Homecoming.   What a wonderful time to celebrate and take pride in our school, traditions, friends and community.  When I started at Willard Central last year, I told many people that coming to Central felt like “coming home.”  This year, the sense of school pride, friends, and community has only deepened and I am so proud of the new staff members that call Willard and Central home.

This week I have been blessed to watch 4 new staff members to Central take kids under their wings and into their care during some difficult social and academic times.  These new teachers to our school have poured themselves into our students, their fellow staff members and our school community.  They have made Willard their home and will be a blessing to our district for years to come. 

As we continue to grow as a district, I am thankful that we continue to bring in quality educators that are quality people too.  I am also proud of how we keep the “big” personal.  Enjoy the big game under the Friday night lights and enjoy the wonderful place we call home.    –Shane Medlin, Principal

We are off to another amazing week at Central.  In honor of Constitution Day, our 4th graders shared the history of the Constitution and our Bill of Rights at Community Time.  Mrs. Peterson’s 2nd grade class followed them by reciting the Preamble of the Constitution.  We have a wonderful group of students and they did a great job starting off our week. 

Enjoy the Homecoming Week’s festivities and come support the Tigers on Friday night!!  Go Tigers!!

Willard Central is ready to “Reach for the Stars.”  Today was our Accelerated School’s kick-off assembly.  We introduced the 3 Principles of an Accelerated School through a “Star Wars” skit.  Through this performance, students learned the importance of being united and working together for a common purpose.  [In this case it was to help the young Jedi Starreacher (Mr. Medlin) save Princess Amedallia (Mrs. Jones) from Darth Disrespecto (Mr. Nichols).]  After the assembly, students were given their Accelerated School t-shirts and we braved the rainy weather for our schoolwide picture outside. 

It has been a wonderful week of learning and fun.  Have a great weekend and please remember that we will be dismissing 25 minutes later on Wednesday, September 12th for the Tour of Missouri bike race.

August is drawing to a close and we are looking forward to cooler school days in September.  We have many exciting activities in the coming days and we hope you can join us.  On Friday, September 7th, we will have our Accelerated Schools Kick-Off Assembly during Community Time.  While I will not be riding in on a powder blue Cinderella car this year, the planned festivities will be memorable and connect with our school’s theme, “Reach for the Stars.”  (If anyone has the Millennium Falcon or the Starship Enterprise for me to ride in on, I would be eternally indebted to you.)  Students will also receive their school t-shirts on Friday and we will be taking our all-school picture for the yearbook cover.  It should be a great week of learning and fun! 

On a personal note, I want to thank all of the students and their families for donating to the penny drive to raise my bail money for the MDA Lock-Up for a Good Cause.  Thanks to your generosity, WC was able to contribute $554.88 to this worthy cause that serves Willard and local students, while keeping me from being hauled off to the slammer and locked away.  I am blessed to be a part of such a wonderful and supportive school community. 

Have a great Labor Day and enjoy your 3 day weekend.  We will see you Tuesday for another amazing week at Willard Central.

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

Willard Central is off to a wonderful start!  Our theme for 2007-2008 school year is “Reach for the Stars.”  To ensure the best education for the 402 students in our care, we are thrilled to welcome the following team members to the Willard Central Family:

Mrs. Terrie Sexton, 3rd Grade
Mrs. Melanie Jones, 3rd Grade
Miss Lauren Baer, 4th Grade
Mrs. Michelle Bougher, Computer Lab
Mrs. Debbie Gromer, Counselor
Mrs. Tonya Lyons, Special Services
Miss Allison Tourville, Special Services
Mrs. Tanya Barnett, Special Services
Mrs. Candace Follis, ESL
Miss Aimee Sims, Paraprofessional
Miss Lindsay Stanton, Paraprofessional

We are looking forward to starting our Community Time on Monday morning and we are excited for the amazing year ahead of us.  Please join us at Willard Central as we “Reach for the Stars” this year.

Shane Medlin, Principal