The Pride

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

The Special Education Administrative staff have just returned from a very thought-provoking conference at TanTarA.  The Missouri chapter of the Council for Administrators of Special Education sponsor an annual conference to address current and upcoming issues in special education.  Much of the focus of this year’s conference was on the topic of Response to Intervention (RTI).  This three-tiered model involves identifying appropriate scientifically-based interventions needed by at risk learners, the methodical implementation of those interventions, and rigorous record-keeping to determine if progress is being made. 

We were excited to acquire more information about RTI because it is a topic that our department has been exploring in conjunction with the elementary and intermediate administrators for some time now.  We have had two administrative team meetings to brainstorm, several members of our staff attended an RTI informational meeting put on by the Carthage School District, in addition to our recent conference in which we were able to attend multiple break-out sessions discussing different components to this new process.  Our next step is to bring in an RTI trainer to work with our district CARE teams.  It is very exciting to be on the cutting edge of a process that will help us to meet the needs of our ever-growing at risk and special needs population.  We would like to thank those administrators for taking such initiative to explore this new approach with us, and we look forward to seeing how this approach will impact student learning in our district.  

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

I looked on my dictionary website and found that the word “Home” has 31 definitions. Some people believe in the old saying that “Home is where you hang your hat.” I believe home can be much more then a hat rack!! Our school district has many families that have called Willard “home” for several generations. Three of our administrators are part of multi-generation Willard families. Amy Sims and Kara Crighton-Smith are sisters in a family that have six generations of history living in Willard. Jeff Staley has family including seven generations living in Willard. I think these three individuals may have a very special definition of home. Homecoming is a special time for our community. Tonight we will fill the football stadium with Willard fans. Many times we have alumni groups that meet for homecoming with classmates that no longer live in Willard. The atmosphere tonight will be exciting. Well over 350 kids will participate during the evening. Tonight many students will be making memories that they will tell future generations. Currently my family only has a history of two generations in Willard including my wife, Angie and our children Lacey (WHS Class of 2005), Jarred (WHS Class of 2005), and Allie (WHS Class of 2012). The most important thing is that even if you are a first generation Willard student, tonight can be a great evening! Here’s to “Home”!!

Have a great weekend!

Go Tigers!

Kent

Dr. Kent E. Medlin

Superintendent of Schools

 INTERNATIONAL PEACE DAY

The first Pinwheels for Peace were installed on Sept. 21, 2005 and over 500,000 pinwheels were planted in over 1,350 locations throughout the world! On September 21, 2006, approximately 1 million pinwheels were planted in 2,500+ locations! This is the second year that Willard South Elementary has participated in this international event.  A special thanks to our counselor, David Suits and our art teacher, Ann Kynion for their hard work and dedication in this memorable event. 

Don’t miss the annual Willard South Garage Sale this Saturday from 7:00-12:00 in the cafeteria!  You never know what bargains and treasures you will find.  All of the proceeds will help families and students in the entire Willard School District.

Have a WONDERFUL weekend & enjoy the weather!

GREAT THINGS HAPPENING AT WILLARD MIDDLE SCHOOL!!

    BRIDGE BREAKING IN INDUSTRIAL TECH CLASS

    MS TEACHERS WORKING ON PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT IN READING

Note to the staff from our new Assistant Principal, Tom Merriott:   I wanted to let you know that many of you have exceptional things going on in your classes, and I would love to see them if possible. Just this week I have seen a snake eat a live mouse, a model bridge hold a bucket full of weights before collapsing, some fantastic acting in the black box, and cookies being iced to simulate the phases of the moon.

THANK YOU TEACHERS FOR ALL YOU DO FOR OUR STUDENTS!!!!