Willard Intermediate School

A busy short week at WIS!  It was great to see so many parents make it out this week for our parent/teacher conferences and book fair.  We appreciate all the hard work our teachers have put into making this such a positive time for our students and parents.  The dinner provided to our teachers by our PTO was great!  As we move into the second quarter of the school year we want to encourage students to keep up the hard work on their studies in order to either improve low grades or maintain good ones.

The building was buzzing today with excitement about our classroom fall parties.  A special thanks to our parents that volunteered their time and money to make these possible. 

A reminder that the WIS PTO meeting will be Thursday November 6th at 6pm in our library and our first DARE gradation of the year that same night at 6:30 in the main gym.

Enjoy the three day weekend!

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WIS students were given the chance to redeem “ibucks” they have earned during the 1st quarter on Friday the 24th.  Students earned these by demonstrating positive behaviors that go along with our character words of the month.  Prizes range from candy all the way up to an iPod shuffle!  We are so appreciative of all the businesses, parents, and teachers that helped to make this happen for our students.  We look forward to rewarding WIS students for going above and beyond at the end of each quarter this school year.

Our first Title I reading night of the year was a huge success!  We had a great turn out and everyone enjoyed dinner and a scavenger hunt that incorporated some of the reading strategies the students have been working on.  Thanks to everyone that made it out and to Mrs. Gehring and Ms. Starkey for making this event so much fun.

A reminder that school will not be in session on 10/31.  Enjoy the three day weekend!

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WIS looks forward to an exciting Red Ribbon week as we prepare ourselves for a drug free life.  Here is the schedule for the week of October 20th:

Mon–Hat Day–Hats off to a drug-free life!  Wear your favorite hat.
Tue-Twins (or multiples)–Be a drug-free friend.  Find a friend (or several!) and dress alike.
        Red ribbon assembly with Mrs. Chappel’s theatre group.
Wed –Team Day–Being drug-free is a team effort.  Wear your favorite team’s gear.
Thur–Career Day–You’ve got a future ahead and being drug free is an important part of it.  Dress in clothes like you’ll wear to work someday.
Fri–Decade Day–Be drug-free through the decades.  Dress in your favorite decade.

Congratulations to Miss Ellis and Mr. Hayes along with the 95 students, parents, and teachers that represented WIS in the St. Johns Sunshine run last weekend.  We are very proud of everyone’s effort and self discipline that went into preparing for this run.  Female participants from WIS swept the 10-14 age group for the 2nd time in the last three years!

We will be hosting our parent-teacher conferences on October 28th and 30th.  1st quarter grade cards will be distributed at this time.  Parents are encouraged to contact their child’s teacher at 742-4242 to set up a conference time if they have not done so yet.

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WIS enjoyed 2 days of fun this week with the winners of our Tiger Card sales limo lunches.  Over 150 of our students received pizza and a limo ride on Tuesday and Wednesday.  Thanks again to our supporters for making this possible. 

Our teachers are preparing to start Acuity testing next week in both Communication Arts and Math.  This program is designed to prepare our students of the state MAP assessment in the spring.  All students will participate in this testing three times over the course of the school year.

A reminder that 1st quarter ends Friday the 17th.  Grade cards will be distributed during parent teacher conferences on October  28th and 30th.  Conference times will be from 4:00-7:30 both nights.  If you did not sign up for a conference time at back to school night please contact your child’s teacher at 742-4242 to set up and appointment.

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I want to take this opportunity to recognize the hard work and extra time that the staff at WIS have put in to make all of our plans for this year a reality.  It is very easy to overlook the individual efforts of the teachers in our building when things are running smoothly.  I have been guilty of this myself.  I know that a great school and district do not happen by accident!  It is the intentional efforts of our teachers on a daily basis that make our school a great place for students and I am blessed to play a role in it.

Here are a few of the initiatives and programs our teachers have taken on this year:
-Professional Learning Communities – 3rd year
-Missouri Reading Initiative – 1st Year
-Revisions and updates to curriculum based on state assessment (MAP) scores
-DRA testing – assessment of each students reading ability
-iTime – New reading strategies class
-Acuity testing – preparation for our state assessments
-Classroom blogs – to help communication with parents
-Terrific Tuesdays – positive contacts with parents
-After school activities and clubs – Running club, cooking club, class clown club, tutoring, etc.

The next time you see a teacher tell them “thanks” for all they do!

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