End of Year Celebration Recap

The Willard School District presents two staff awards each year - Educator of the Year and Support Staff Member of the Year. For each award, nominations are accepted via online forms from staff, parents, students, and community members. The awards are presented at the district’s April 10, 2023 End-of-the-Year Celebration.

2023-24 Support Staff Member of the Year Finalists:

• High School: Courtney Sly, Librarian Assistant 
• Middle School: Corena Arnold, Food Service Manager
• Intermediate North: Kelly Cofer, Secretary 
• Intermediate South: Christian Taylor, Instructional Support Para
• North Elementary: Liz Wiley, Academic Interventionist
• Central Elementary: Beth Ryan, Para
• East Elementary: Curtis Barker, Custodian
• WOHE: Linda Welch, Custodian
• South Elementary: Sara Brown, Nurse

2023-24 Educator of the Year Finalists:

• High School: Jill Wooldridge, Librarian
• Middle School: Kara Wooderson, Science Teacher
• Intermediate North: Megan Angel, Guidance Counselor 
• Intermediate South: Autumn Farmer, Librarian
• North Elementary: Dana Runyan, Instructional Coach 
• Central Elementary: Jill Berry, 2nd Grade Teacher 
• East Elementary: Amy Smith, 1st Grade Teacher
• WOHE: Amber Carlyle, Cross Categorical Special Education Teacher 
• South Elementary: Kelly Dunn, 4th Grade Teacher

Congratulations to the Support Staff Member of the Year, Linda Welch, Custodian at Willard Orchard Hills Elementary, and Educator of the Year, Megan Angel, Guidance Counselor at Intermediate North.

We are blessed with the best educators and support staff and are so proud of our team!

Willard Athletic Booster Club Car, Truck, and Bike Show - Spring Sport Showcase

Make sure to mark your calendars and spend the day with the family looking at cars, eating good food, listening to live music and celebrating Willard Athletes!

The event takes place Saturday April 22, 2023 at the high school! The car show begins at 10:00 a.m. with awards and Spring Sport Showcase taking place at 3:00 p.m.



Live Music: Joey Herd

Food Trucks:

• Tinga Tacos
• Bacon Me Krazy Food Trailer
• I Love Tacos Taqueria
• NoBaked Cookie Dough

Inflatables: 417 Inflatables

Miscellaneous:

• The Tiger Warehouse
• WHS Cheer Face painting
• Project Grad Beef Raffle Tickets
• Spring Athlete Showcase

We look forward to seeing you there!

WHS Athletes Sign to Play Collegiate Sports

Congratulations to both of our athletes who signed this week to compete at the collegiate level!

Samara Knox - Stunt - Drury University

Allie Baird - Stunt - Drury University

We are so proud of these athletes and know they will continue to represent Willard schools well!

Willard Bands Spring Concert

Mark your calendars for the Willard Bands Spring Concert on Tuesday, April 18, 2023. Each of our 7th-12th band students will be showcasing their hard work from this semester.

The concert begins at 7:00 p.m. in the Main Gym at Willard High School. We look forward to seeing you there!

DESE Strategic Planning Stakeholder Survey

As a member of the education community in Missouri, we are asking you to participate in the Missouri State Board of Education (Board) and Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) Strategic Planning Stakeholder Survey. Your participation is vital as the state is looking to gain insight into its education and strategic planning.

The survey is designed to gather feedback from a variety of stakeholders — including educators, families, community members, and business leaders — on the areas of focus that should be prioritized in Missouri’s public PK-12 education strategic plan. The insights gathered from the survey will be used to guide the state’s education policies and initiatives over the next several years and your participation will help ensure that the Board and DESE have a comprehensive understanding of the needs of students, families, and educators across the state. The survey is easy to complete and should take only about 10 minutes. Your responses are completely anonymous, and your input will be kept confidential.

The deadline to complete the survey is Friday, April 21, at 5:00 p.m. We encourage you to take advantage of this opportunity to have your voice heard and to contribute to the improvement of education in Missouri!

Thank you for your time and for your commitment to education in the state.

Summer Discovery Enrollment Open

Students in Kindergarten through 8th grade will have the opportunity to experience an integrated learning experience focused on Math, English, and Science investigations and design challenges throughout our Summer Discovery program. Students in 9th - 12th grade will take courses related to the credits they are working to attain.

If you have a student who will attend Summer Discovery in grades K-8, please complete this form. If you would like to register your child for Summer Discovery in grades 9-12, please contact a counselor at the high school.

Summer School Dates:

June 5th - June 30th

Summer School Time:

7:30 a.m. - 2:00 p.m.

Shuttle Bus

Middle and high school students have the opportunity to ride a bus from WOHE to either the middle school or high school and back. Departure from WOHE is 6:45 a.m. and arrival back to WOHE is 2:45 p.m.. If your student would like to ride the bus, please select this on the form.

Summer Discovery TigerTALES

TigerTALES enrollment for Summer Discovery will be available in the coming weeks. Stay tuned for more information.

*If you need to enroll more than one student, please complete a separate form for each student.

Cox Care Mobile Shot Clinic

The Cox Care Mobile will be in our District on April 26 in the Middle School parking lot and April 27 in the High School parking lot.

They will be offering Vaccines, Sport Physicals, and Hearing/Vision Screenings. Parents may sign up using the links below and will need to fill out the consent form and bring it to the appointment. If a student leaves to go to the Care Mobile and comes back to school they are not counted absent. See additional information below:

• Sport physicals are free of charge to any student that has Medicaid, no insurance, or qualifies for free or reduced lunches. For all students with normal insurance, the cost is $10.
• We carry both insurance and VFC vaccines for students and all school age required/recommended vaccines. Ages 4 through 18.
• Hearing and vision screenings are free of charge.
• Parents do not have to be present if paperwork is complete.

Please print and complete the Care Mobile Vaccine Consent form prior to the appointment.

Willard Central Elementary 6th Annual Glow Run

Willard Central Elementary is hosting their 6th Annual Runner in Me Glow Run on Friday, April 21, 2023. The $20 entry fee includes a t-shirt and glow gear bag. T-shirts cannot be guaranteed for registrations after March 28, 2023.

Schedule of Events:

• 6:45 p.m.: Registration/Check-In. Concessions and Glow Gear for sale.
• 7:15 p.m.: Little Leader Fun Run (preschool and under only)
• 7:30 p.m.: Family Glow Run/Walk

Please return or mail the attached signed form and payment to Willard Central Elementary at 2625 North Farm Road 101 Springfield, MO 65802. Make checks payable to Willard Central PTO, as all proceeds benefit Willard Central PTO.

2023 WHS Graduation Information

Graduation is right around the corner, so we wanted to share some preliminary details with you!

Graduation tickets are not required! Students may invite as many friends and family as they would like. Graduation will take place on Sunday, May 14th at 3:00 p.m. at Great Southern Bank Arena located at 685 South John Q Hammons Parkway, Springfield, MO 65807. Doors will open at 2:00 p.m., Seniors will begin check-in at 1:30 p.m. at Hammons behind the arena.

Friday, April 14

V Baseball @ Columbia Tournament

V Boys Tennis @ Rockwood Tournament

V Girls Soccer - Willard Classic Tournament

7th/8th Softball @ Ozark Jr High 4:30 P.M.

Freshman Baseball @ Lebanon High School (DH) 4:30 P.M.

Saturday, April 15

V Girls Soccer - Willard Classic Tournament

HS Band - Greater St. Louis Jazz Festival

V Baseball @ Columbia Tournament

V Boys Tennis @ Rockwood Tournament

Monday, April 17

V Boys Tennis @ Bolivar Tournament

7th/8th Track @ Hollister Track Meet

JV Track @ Nixa High School 4:00 P.M.

Freshman Baseball vs Nixa (DH) 4:30 P.M.

7th/8th Softball vs Republic Middle School 4:30 P.M.

Tuesday, April 18

Willard Food Pantry 10:00 A.M. - 2:00 P.M.

V/JV Baseball @ Nixa 4:30 P.M.

JV/V Boys Tennis @ Ozark 4:30 P.M.

JV/V Girls Soccer vs Nixa 4:30 P.M.

MS/HS Band - Spring Concert 7:00 P.M.

Wednesday, April 19

7th/8th Softball vs Bolivar MS 4:30 P.M.

Thursday, April 20

JV/V Boys Golf - Greene Hills Invitational (Greene Hills) 8:30 A.M.

V Track - Jason Pyrah Invitational 3:30 P.M.

Freshman Baseball @ Neosho (DH) 4:30 P.M.

7th/8th Softball @ Carl Junction Jr. High 4:30 P.M.

JV/V Boys Tennis @ Joplin 4:30 P.M.

V/JV Baseball vs Neosho 4:30 P.M.

JV/V Girls Soccer @ Neosho 5:00 P.M.

Friday, April 21

7th/8th Softball @ Nixa B Tournament

V Boys Tennis @ Joplin Tournament

Freshman Baseball vs Carl Junction (DH) 4:30 P.M.

JV/V Girls Soccer @ Parkview 4:30 P.M.

Please visit our District Website Calendar or our Willard Athletics Website for additional details. These calendars will have the most up-to-date information on what's going on, so be sure to check them regularly. We can't wait to see you at our various events!