Willow Springs School District

October is #NationalPrincipalsMonth! Today we're highlighting and celebrating Mr. Chris Rodgers, Willow Springs Elementary School Principal. Mr. Rodgers has worked in education for 21 years, 13 of those years in administration. Here's a short Q&A with Mr. Rodgers! Q: What do you want students and staff to know about you? A: That I want what is best for kids and to help them learn and grow. We often have to make tough decisions, but every decision made is in the best interests of students and staff. I know I’m blessed to work with a building full of amazing teachers that share the same passion for educating our kids and preparing them for the future. Q: What do you like most about being an educator? A: It’s a very rewarding job and I love the opportunity to make a difference in our kid’s lives. You can form relationships to last a lifetime with both students and staff. Q: What advice would you give to someone seeking a career in education? A: Education is a very challenging field, but very rewarding. My advice to others is to always do what you believe is right and what is best for the kids. Teaching kids is all about what you can do to improve their quality of life and it’s a great opportunity to build relationships. Lastly, it is important to find a balance; remember to prioritize your life, faith, family and then your career! Thank you Mr. Rodgers for all that you do, we appreciate you! #OneWillow

On Saturday, the Willow Chess Team hosted the annual Sally Hatton Memorial Chess Tournament! The high school was represented by six players and won the second team spot. Kyle Collins-Redd was the undefeated winner, Caleb Leichliter was in fourth and earned 4.5 points out of six matches, Isaac Miller and Joseph Mansfield won three games each, Matt Sabulao earned 2.5 points, and Sophia Barrett earned two wins. The middle school was represented by six players and won the second team spot. Sabastian Puher and Otto Schuette earned four wins out of six games, tying for the third place. Heidi Bennett, Kyell Robertson, Ayden Bennett and Aubrey Miller got three points each, and tied for seventh. The elementary school was represented by Kane Bennet, who won first place, Michael Iacovlev, who was in third place, and Tristan Bennet, in fourth place. They helped the school win the first team overall. Great job, Bears!🐻♟ #OneWillow

Mrs. White recently did a classroom activity called Reciprocal Teaching! Students were in groups of two or three and one student played the role as a teacher, while the other one played the role as the student. The teacher would ask the question while the student answered. If the student had a difficult time answering the question, the 'teacher' would help them with the answers they were given by giving them hints. They would reverse roles on the next question. The students' favorite part was being the teacher! #OneWillow

🚨 Important information regarding Parent/Teacher Conferences! Thursday, October 26th will be an early dismissal day due to Parent/Teacher Conferences. Dismissal will be 12:45 PM. All buildings (except for preschool) will have Parent/Teacher Conferences on Thursday, October 26th from 1:00-6:00 PM. 🐻 High School Information - Parents should have been contacted by their student's GAP teacher to schedule an appointment for their conference. If you have not made an appointment, contact your student's GAP teacher. If you're unsure who your student's GAP teacher is, you may contact the High School office. 🐻 Middle School Information - Teachers have scheduled times to meet with each parent. If a parent has a specific teacher they want to meet with, you will be given time to meet with that teacher. If you don't have an appointment scheduled, contact the Middle School office. 🐻 Elementary School Information - Teachers have scheduled times to meet with each parent. If you don't have an appointment scheduled, contact the Elementary School office. The Get Roasted Coffee Company truck will be set up from 2:00-6:00 PM. The book fair will also be set up in the elementary and middle school libraries for families to shop at until 6:00 PM. #OneWillow

Willow Springs Elementary would like to recognize the following students as Pawsitive Bears, who have shown the character trait of Bravery during the First Quarter of school! Kindergarten: 🐻 Olivia Coffman 🐻 Davyd Kiiko 🐻 Easton Bailey 🐻 Leia Pilkington 🐻 Zoie Richardson 🐻 Kevin Phillips 🐻 Rylee Ward 🐻 Magdelyn Wilson 🐻 William Schwalm 🐻 Carson Tiger First Grade: 🐻 Colin Workman 🐻 Katrina Kester 🐻 Madelyn Gorla 🐻 Gideon Shelton 🐻 Jordan Green 🐻 Finley Forrest 🐻 Kaleb Adams 🐻 Jason Buckner 🐻 Emma Hileman 🐻 Khyree Dye Second Grade: 🐻 Sky Calder 🐻 Kaylee Riley 🐻 Amelia Green 🐻 Bentley Grogan 🐻 Melody Hall 🐻 Kaden Kester 🐻 Joshua Johnson 🐻 Jeremy Johnson 🐻 Alia Barstow 🐻 Holden McKinzie Third grade: 🐻 Katherine Rogers 🐻 Faith May 🐻 Malachi York 🐻 Avery Jones 🐻 Jenci Stoltzfus 🐻 Landon Haas 🐻 Alex Hogan 🐻 Paisley Davis 🐻 Brantley Reed 🐻 Ismail Gerasimov *not pictured Fourth Grade: 🐻 Abigail Warren 🐻 Josh Breshears 🐻 Jenna Minton 🐻 Colton Collins 🐻 Haevyn Johnson 🐻 Alvena Risner 🐻 Hunter Compton 🐻 Keaghan Messex 🐻 Kennady Kester 🐻 Mykul Moffis Great job, Bears! #OneWillow

The Elementary and Middle School Books Fairs are open to shop this week! 📖 Students can shop all week. Families are invited to shop on Thursday, October 26th during parent teacher conferences. Shop online and/or purchase gift cards at this site: https://efairs.literati.com/?school=willow-springs-elementary-school-willow-spgs-mo

First grade students had so much fun visiting McWilliams Pumpkin Patch yesterday!🎃 #OneWillow

Last night we honored Mr. Adam Webb for all that he does for our school district and we also celebrated our seniors and their families! ❤ #OneWillow

Our 5th graders had a farm visit on Monday with Kelly Hinds!🚜 Students learned a lot from Kelly and watched as they combined corn!🌽 #OneWillow

Please help us welcome our next new teacher feature, Mrs. Kameron Thomas! About Mrs. Thomas: "Hello! While I may be new to WSES, I am not new to fourth grade. This is my third year teaching fourth grade. This is kind of a welcome home since my husband (Chris) and I are Willow alumni. We have two children, Brynlee and Everly. I enjoy being outdoors, spending time with my family and reading. Willow Springs has always been my home, but I am excited to now also work in the community that I love!" Welcome to Bear Nation Mrs. Thomas, we're so happy you're here!🐻 #OneWillow

🚌 It's National School Bus Safety Week and we want to take this time to thank our bus drivers and transportation department for making student safety their top priority! Help us thank our transportation department for their heart and commitment to our students!❤️ #OneWillow

October is #NationalPrincipalsMonth! Today we're highlighting and celebrating Mr. Nick Schmitt, Willow Springs High School Principal. Mr. Schmitt has worked in education for 28 years, 7 of those years in administration. Here's a short Q&A with Mr. Schmitt! Q: What do you want students and staff to know about you? A:That I want what is best for the students. Sometimes we have to make decisions that people may not agree with, but we do what we feel is in the best interest of students to help them learn, grow and be prepared for life after high school. We are always looking for ways to provide our students and staff with new opportunities so we can make this the best school possible. Q: What do you like most about being an educator? A: Being able to see students learn and grow over time. I have always been at the High School level, so seeing kids come in as a Freshman and then seeing where they are as a Senior and how they have grown and changed and to know that you played a small part in that is the best part of being in education. Q: What advice would you give to someone seeking a career in education? A: A career in education is a great choice, but it is important to find the fit. It can’t be just a job. You have to love what you do and where you are doing it. Who you work with is important. They can help you during tough times and celebrate with you through the good times. The good times definitely outweigh the tough times. Being able to see students learn and grow over time is what it is all about. Thank you Mr. Schmitt for all that you do, we appreciate you! #OneWillow

Picture Retake Day is Tuesday, October 24th!📸 If you're satisfied with your child's picture, no further action is required. If you purchased and were unhappy with your picture package, please send your picture package to school with your student on retake day. Your retake picture package will be produced and shipped to the school four weeks after retake day. Please note, if your child is photographed on the original and retake picture days, the retake picture will replace the original picture in certain products, like the yearbook. Students who were absent for picture day should come to school prepared to have their picture taken. If you have not pre-ordered, please use the retake order code that is designated for your school below to place your order at: https://inter-state.com/Order?utm_campaign=Coordinator%20Program%20-%20Retake&utm_medium=email&_hsmi=217333162&utm_content=217333162&utm_source=hs_automation High school order code: 80702DF Middle school order code: 80705Y Elementary school order code: 80700Q To see your order history, check your Inter-State account by visiting: https://inter-state.com/SignIn?s=/account/orders

40 7th and 8th grade girls from the Willow Springs Middle School had the opportunity to visit Missouri S&T for the Expanding Your Horizons STEM conference on Friday! The Expanding Your Horizons STEM conference at Missouri S&T is an immersive experience for middle school students. The conference kicked off with a presentation from Dr. Robin Verble highlighting her career in wildland fire and ecology. After that, students moved around campus to various hands-on presentations in many areas of STEM. The conference ended with a demonstration titled “Is it Science or Is it Magic” from Dr. Gary “Smitty” Grubbs. This year’s conference hosted over 400 students! #OneWillow

Reminder! The Elementary and Middle School will be hosting book fairs the week of October 23rd!📖 To buy Literati gift cards for the upcoming book fairs, visit this site: https://efairs.literati.com/?school=willow-springs-elementary-school-willow-spgs-mo

Congratulations to the Willow Springs Bear Pride Band for placing 1st in class 1A at the Branson Marching Invitational! In our class they got: 🏆Best Visual 🏆Best Music 🏆Best Color Guard 🏆Best Outstanding Effect They will perform in finals at 6:15 pm tonight. #onewillow

The Willow Springs High School Woodshop class is doing a raffle for a Glider Swing on November 21! See the flyer below for more information.

The Willow Springs Middle School Staff Member of the Week is Mr. Wilson! A little info about Mr. Wilson: 🐻 This is his 6th year in education. He previously worked at the West Plains School District for 4 years before coming to Willow Springs. 🐻 This is his 2nd year at Willow Springs Middle School. "I am a huge fan of the St. Louis Cardinals and Kansas City Chiefs. In my free time I enjoy spending time with my family, watching my kids play sports, coaching baseball, and playing golf. In the summer you can find me knee deep in a river fishing. I am blessed to have the opportunity to work with some of the most interesting students every day. I couldn't imagine being anywhere else, doing anything else." Congrats Mr. Wilson and thank you for all that you do! #OneWillow

Thank you, seniors!🐻❣️ Last night we honored our volleyball seniors Katlyn Brixey, Aspen Crudgington and Lili Leija. Each senior also chose an educator to thank that had an impact on them. Both JV and Varsity came away with wins against Cabool and Varsity secured their 20th win! #OneWillow

Liliana Leija is hosting Spike Wars on November 3 for her senior project! Spike wars will take place in Munford Gymnasium November 3 at 6:30 pm. Anyone coming to watch spike wars will have to bring non-perishable, snack sized, individually wrapped, food items to donate to the backpack program. All proceeds from the event will go to the backpack program! Come support Lili's senior project!