Your family should have received one copy of the book Mr. Popper’s Penguins Friday. We are excited to announce this as our family book club this year. We will have a celebration during Read Across America week the week of Feb. 27. More information will come closer to this date.
Some ideas:
Older students can read the book then give to parents to read to younger sibling.
Older student can read to younger sibling.
Parent/adult can read to students at night, in bed with a flashlight before bedtime. (This is a great way to settle down before bedtime.)
You don’t have to read a whole chapter at a time but the y are short chapters.
The book is nothing like the movie. So if you have seen the movie it’s no big deal.
Thank you for your help and flexibility during our little episode of bad weather this morning! When the bad weather hits early in the morning it’s hard to prepare for all the scenarios that arrive. A BIG pat on the back to our bus drivers who take such good care of our students in the morning.
Below is an explanation of “Late Starts” that was posted last year:
Since snowy weather is here I thought that I would share some information regarding the new Willard R-II “Late Start” plan. When “Late Start” is announced on the news or radio it will only apply to the middle school and high school. This will equal a 2 hour late start for the high school and middle school.Elementary and Intermediate routes will run as usual before and after school.
Our elementary and intermediate schools have a late starting time compared to other schools. Our school buses are very large and very safe when it comes to driving in snowy weather. It is important to remember that at the high school we have a lot of student drivers. In order to give them more time to warm up their cars and get to school slowly and safely, our district made the decision to implement “Late Starts.” It will be a shorter day for high school students because they will still be dismissed at 2:30, their regular dismissal time.
“Late Start” Times:
Elementary & Intermediate same start and dismiss times
Middle School & High School 9:30 start time and 2:30 dismissal
Hopefully we will not have to use many or any at all this year. If you have any questions please feel free to call our school office. We would be happy to clarify for you.
We will be collecting the items below until December 9th. You can send in items assigned to different classes too if you would like. The more supplies the more students we can help!
For those of you who are new to collecting these little treasures, and even for those who are seasoned veterans, here are a few tips from the trenches…
Collection Sheets are awesome! IF….the Box Tops are only taped or glued, aren’t expired and aren’t “bonus” (3, 5, 6 bonus Box Tops rather than a single). These save your friendly neighborhood Box Top Coordinator a TON of time if they’re done correctly! Collection sheets can be printed from BTFE.com or www.boxtops4education.com/activitycenter. The cay even be found in the classrooms and school office. These seem to make collection more fun for the kids because they’re color sheets, word searches, mazes, etc.
If you don’t have collection sheets or simply don’t want to use them, PLEASE trim your Box Tops before sending them in (on or just outside the dotted line is PERFECT…any extra “edges” are just more weight I pay postage for when I mail off thousands of Box Tops twice a year. All that extra really adds up in a big shipment.
Please watch the expiration dates. Yes, Box Tops have expiration dates! ) Usually the’re good for 2-3 years after you buy the product. Unfortunately, we can’t get credit for expired Box Tops and it just breaks my heart to throw old ones away.
Lastly, if all my dreams were to come true, Box Tops would all come to me in snack size ziploc bags (this is how I group them for mailing..50 per bag). Otherwise, in an envelope or loose is perfectly fine.
Please, please don’t take all these “rules” the wrong way. I love to receive and process Box Tops and am honored to be able to help our school get extra money for technology, equipment and supplies. I just thought if everyone was aware, we could all work together to make things a little easier.
Remember, we also collect Campbell’s soup labels and pop can tabs for fundraising. These can be turned in (packaged separately, please) to you teacher in the “Box Top” collection container in each classroom.
Thank you so much for contributing to the success of all our kids at Willard East!
Sincerely,Michelle MaggardPTO Box Top CoordinatorWillard East Elementary
It’s that time of the year to support your school financially. Even in our economically hard times we have great support for our Willard East Community. Thank you in advance for your purchases and/or donations for Willard East.
Your student will bring home his/her packet today after school. I highly recommend setting up the online account and emailing family members to buy from your child online.
Quick Start Options: (DUE THURSDAY SEPT. 15)
Turn in Goal Sheet – All the student has to do is turn back in the goal sheet and they get a sticker and their name entered into a drawing for a stainless steel water bottle.
6 item Pink Tickets – Turn in a pink ticket for every 6 items sold and your child receives a mood pencil.
If 145 students return ONE pink ticket Principal Miller will KISS A PIG!!
12 item Yellow Tickets – Students who sell 12 items by the Quick start date above will have their name entered into a drawing for an iPod Touch.
20 Items sold = Limo ride to lunch one day
50 Items sold = One night stay at Castle Rock Water Park in Branson
60 Items sold = Two nights stay at Castle Rock Water Park in Branson
100 Items sold = $50 cash
Exception option: If you would rather make a cash donation instead of selling brochure items you are welcome to do so. Your child will also receive prizes that are available to other students.
Today is our first “Costumes for Community Service.” Once a month we will host a dress-up day and raise money for a designated charity, group, or program. Today’s dress-up theme is Pajama Day. This is always a favorite with our students and teachers. The program we are sponsoring this month is our Joplin Adopt-a-Classroom Mrs. Avery’s Classroom.
We are always flexible with our “costume” and the groups that we sponsor. We have a lot of requests from different groups to support. Rather than have random fundraisers for different groups throughout the year we only host these monthly events. You are welcome to submit your request to the office and we can plug it in to the calendar if there are open dates.
Donations – Usually students donate anywhere between $0.25 – $1 per month. However, we have had families and/or students donate considerably more than that depending on the program we are sponsoring for the month. Each student and/or family have connections to different causes.
Schedule – In order for you to plan for these days, our schedule of ”costumes” and the program we are supporting are listed below.
September= Joplin Adopt-a-Classroom, Sept. 2nd – Pajama Day
October = Ozarks Food Harvest and/or Willard Food Pantry, Oct 7th – Crazy Hair
November = Jeans for Genes (Down Syndrome), Nov. 4th – Wear jeans
December = Willard East Holiday Drive, Dec. 2nd - Crazy Hat
January = Willard Children’s Charitable Foundation, Jan. 6th – Favorite Color
February = Joplin Adopt-a-Classroom, Feb. 3rd – Costume TBA
March = Willard East Read-a-thon, March 2nd – Favorite Character in a Book
April = Junior Diabetes Foundation, April 13 – Costume TBA
May = Project Graduation, May 4th – Costume TBA
Every year we have LOTS of organizations that request hosting fundraisers. This process has streamlined fundraising for organizations outside of the school district to a more manageable process.
Now that things are starting to slow down and become more routine, we wanted to give you a little bit of information about our end of the day parent pick up. We know that student safety is your number one priority as well.
Afternoon Safety Concern: Please do not walk across the parking lot to pick up your student at the end of the day. You need to use the car pick-up line. It is very dangerous to have parents and students crossing back and forth while we are trying to direct cars. Once one parent walks across, others think it is okay to walk across and pick up their student too. This creates a safety concern for all students and their families. This process goes much more quickly when EVERYONE goes through the car line. You should NOT enter the building between 3:25 and 3:40 to pick up your student. If your child needs to picked up before 3:25 you will need to call ahead.
We want you to have your student as soon as possible. Over the years we have developed a system that is as efficient and safe as possible.When everyone works together this process takes less than 10 min. Once we start loading cars all students are usually picked up before 3:45.
The “inside scoop:”
3:35 Bell rings and students make their way down the hallway to car pick-up.
3:36 Students proceed outside to sit on sidewalk and wait to hear their name called to go to their car.
3:40 Cones are removed, after shuttle busses arrive, to allow flow of traffic two exits.
3:45 All students accounted for.
We always welcome suggestions to help make any of our routines run more smoothly. If you have a suggestion or idea that would be helpful please let us know. Our school community has always been very respectful in regards to student safety issues.
Thank you for working with us to create the best environment for your children.
As we gear up for our first full week of school, here are some updates and reminders from Willard East Elementary:
Monday Early-Out – Every Monday we dismiss at 3:10. Please remember that this means your student will dropped off a little bit early if he/she rides the bus. Teacher remain at school after our students leave for professional development until 4:30PM.
PTO Meeting – Our first official PTO meeting will be Tuesday April 30th 6:00PM in the Willard East Library. (I may have posted the wrong date but the OFFICIAL date is August 30th. Sorry for the confusion.)
Volunteer Training – If you plan to volunteer at school and/or be a Homeroom Parent you are required to attend Volunteer Training. There will be a morning session and an evening session offered. Please call our office to RSVP for one of the following times:
Tuesday August 30th 9:00AM
Tuesday August 30th immediately following the PTO meeting approximately 7:00PM
Parent Orientation is a very important night for parents to gain information about their child’s classroom. Please mark your calendar for the following dates:
Kindergarten & 1st Grade = Thursday August 25th 6:30PM
2nd, 3rd, & 4th Grade = Thursday Sept. 1st 6:30PM
Child care will be provided in the gym both nights.
Free/Reduced Lunch Applications: This is a reminder that you must re-apply every year for Free/Reduced lunch status. If you do not re-apply your child will be charged regular price for breakfast/lunches from the first day of school. If you re-submitted your application at Meet the Teacher Night, your status should appear in your child’s lunch account within a couple weeks.
New lunch account policy: Due to thousands of dollars in unpaid lunch account balances, our district has implemented a new policy regarding lunch balances. If your child’s lunch account defaults over $10 your child will receive a “Tiger meal” which consists of a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, milk and at least one side item. You will be notified when your child’s lunch account is overdrawn by $5 so that you have time to update your account. Please contact our office if you need to make special arrangements for your child’s account. You are also able to pay online by following the link below:
Your family should have received one copy of the book Mr. Popper’s Penguins Friday. We are excited to announce this as our family book club this year. We will have a celebration during Read Across America week the week of Feb. 27. More information will come closer to this date.
) Usually the’re good for 2-3 years after you buy the product. Unfortunately, we can’t get credit for expired Box Tops and it just breaks my heart to throw old ones away.
Willard R-2