Middle School

Some of Mrs. Cook's students embraced the holiday spirit last week as they decorated the Christmas tree in their classroom!🎄 #OneWillow

Lots of basketball going on this week!🏀 🏀 The boys JV and varsity teams will be playing in the Mansfield Invitational this week. 🏀 The girls varsity team will play tonight at Gainesville at 6 pm, this is a varsity only game. The JV girls will play at Mountain View on Thursday around 7:30 pm after our middle school boys, this is only JV. 🏀 The middle school boys will host West Plains tonight at 5:30 pm and will be at Mountain View on Thursday at 5:30 pm. 🏀 The middle school girls will host Thayer on Tuesday at 5:30 pm. Go Bears!🐻 #OneWillow

Students in Mrs. Drake's 8th grade Medical Detectives class has been learning about the different lobes of the human brain. They even dissected a sheep brain and identified the various parts of the brain. #OneWillow

Here are the Middle School Staff Members of the Week for the last 2 weeks! 🐻 Sara Buckner, Head Cook at the Middle School 🐻 Tanya Spencer, 6th Grade Math Teacher About Mrs. Spencer: • 19th year teaching. Previously, taught 6th grade reading and math in Tennessee. • 12th year at Willow Springs Middle School • "I love reading, spending time with my family, and traveling." Congrats to both Sara Buckner and Tanya Spencer!

Andrea Simandl was nominated to win $100 worth of classroom supplies from Kirk Nettles Insurance Agency, Inc! JW Murrell, the local agent in Willow, was also there to help make the presentation! Congratulations Mrs. Simandl and thank you Mr. Nettles for supporting area teachers! #OneWillow

Join us on Wednesday, December 13th from 5:00-7:00 pm for the annual Christmas Extravaganza!🎄 There will be fun Christmas themed activities set up by school extracurricular groups and classes/departments for the community to participate in on High Street (between the middle school playground and the elementary school). Santa Claus will also be making a visit all the way from the North Pole!🎅 Don't miss this night full of fun holiday cheer!❤️💚 #OneWillow

Yesterday we celebrated MO Beef Day! All three schools were educated on beef by our Willow Springs FFA officers. The elementary students were given coloring pamphlets and got to meet Hazel the heifer! Middle school and high school students watched a presentation, received stress balls in the form of cows, and also got to see Hazel the heifer! Students were served spaghetti with fresh local beef for lunch yesterday and learned about the importance and benefits of fresh local meat and produce. The Mo Beef Kids program, which Willow Springs Schools participate in, connects schools and their food service professionals to local cattle farmers and ranchers to “beef” up school lunches. #OneWillow

Yesterday we celebrated MO Beef Day! All three schools were educated on beef by our Willow Springs FFA officers. The elementary students were given coloring pamphlets and got to meet Hazel the heifer! Middle school and high school students watched a presentation, received stress balls in the form of cows, and also got to see Hazel the heifer! Students were served spaghetti with fresh local beef for lunch yesterday and learned about the importance and benefits of fresh local meat and produce. The Mo Beef Kids program, which Willow Springs Schools participate in, connects schools and their food service professionals to local cattle farmers and ranchers to “beef” up school lunches. #OneWillow

✨Join us on Tuesday, December 12th from 5:00-7:00 pm for an open house of our new facilities - the Bear Training Facility and Innovation Hall!✨ The Bear Training Facility, located at 901 N Ferguson Street (next to the football practice field), is a training facility open to all athletes and students in weight training classes. Innovation Hall, located at 908 Springfield Road, is a Career and Technical Education Center that houses hands-on programs such as Aviation, Bear Media, Carpentry, Criminal Justice and Engineering. We are excited to showcase the progress of our new programs and look forward to seeing you on December 12th! #OneWillow

Tuesday, November 28th Willow Springs Schools will be celebrating MO Beef Day! Help us show our local farmers support by dressing like a farmer on Tuesday!👨‍🌾

It’s #TeacherProud and #BearProud Tuesday! Willow Springs is excited to join other school districts across the region in celebrating teachers and district staff. Our nominees for the month of November are: 🐻 Jessica Cunningham - Willow Springs Elementary School 1st grade teacher 🐻 Amanda Marks - Willow Springs Elementary School special education teacher 🐻 Amber Lewis - Willow Springs Middle School 5th grade science teacher 🐻 Jerry Wickens - Willow Springs High School american government and criminal justice teacher 🐻 Kenny Smith - Willow Springs Schools transportation Congratulations to this month's recipients, we are so grateful for all the hard work and dedication you give to our district and students! Stay tuned for our recipient spotlight videos! #OneWillow

There will be no school November 22-24 for Thanksgiving break.

The 6th grade science club recently spent some time picking up trash around the elementary and middle school playground!✨ #OneWillow

The Willow Springs Middle School Staff Member of the Week is Ms. Sara Batson! A little info about Ms. Batson: 🐻 She has taught a variety of grade levels including preschool, fourth, sixth, seventh, and eighth grades and all the core subject areas. However, she has spent most of her career teaching ELA in the eighth grade here at Willow Springs until this year where she took the position as the 8th grade Special Education Teacher. 🐻 She has been in education for 19 years. 🐻 "I enjoy reading, being outdoors (it doesn't matter to me if I'm working in the yard or near the water as long as I am outside), going to the gym, and spending time with friends and family." Congrats Ms. Batson and thank you for all that you do! #OneWillow

Join us Saturday, November 18th at 10:00 am for the Bears for a Better Christmas cornhole tournament! All proceeds from the tournament will go to Bears for a Better Christmas to purchase toys, books, and warm winter clothes for kids. There will also be a bake sale and silent auction going on. If your family lives within the Willow Springs school district, has kids 0-15, and needs assistance with gifts, warm items, and books for Christmas stop by MUNCH to sign up as soon as possible.

Mr. Wilson's Adaptive PE class recently enjoyed a Scooter Grand Prix, spike ball, stacking cups and yard darts!✨ #OneWillow

On Friday, we honored and celebrated those who have sacrificed so much for us!🇺🇸 We appreciate everyone who joined us for our Veterans Day breakfast and assembly that was student-led and organized by Kaylee Pendergrass and the Willow Springs FACS and FCCLA! Thank you to Mrs. Courtney Foster and Mr. Jeff Conger for speaking at today's assembly! We also want to thank the 4th grade choir, high school choir and Mr. Good for performing! Thank you, veterans! We are forever grateful for your sacrifices.❤️🇺🇸 #OneWillow

The Willow Springs Middle School Staff Member of the Week is Mr. Tanner Barnes! A little info about Mr. Barnes: 🐻 He is in his second year teaching and second year at Willow 🐻 "I love helping kids do and learn things they never knew they were capable of. That's where my passion of teaching and coaching comes from. In my free time, I have a love/hate relationship with golf, I enjoy deer hunting and really doing anything outdoors, I like Kansas basketball, and I enjoy watching football on Sundays. Go Bills!" Congrats Mr. Barnes and thank you for all that you do! #OneWillow

The first edition of the Willow Springs District Digest is available now!🐻 See all the exciting things that happened during the first quarter by clicking this link: https://go.willowbears.com/newsletter

Here's what Mrs. Drake's students have been up to recently! The 7th grade Intro to Business students learned how to calculate cost of goods sold by calculating the unit price of a cup of “dirt and worms”. After the calculations, students made their own dirt and worms and enjoyed the sweet taste of success! They also talked about how COGS effects profit and the adjustments that companies might be forced to make. Mrs. Drake's Project STEM students were tasked with creating paper rollercoasters. Students were required to stay within design and time constraints while learning about potential and kinetic energy!