Winter Weather Information

Winter Weather Information

It is that time of year again!  Here are some helpful “Winter Weather”  tips:

Dress Appropriately – Please consider sending your student to school in a warm winter coat. You are welcome to put a lighter jacket in the backpack. We never know what morning or afternoon recess will bring so it is better to be prepared.

Late Start Policy: “Late Start” does NOT APPLY to the Elementary or Intermediate school.

• “Late Start” will be announced on the news or radio the evening or morning of bad weather.
• The Elementary and Intermediate bus routes will be run a the usual times with the HS and MS routes AFTER these routes. This should allow for a little more time for our student drivers to get to school safely on mornings of unpredictable weather.
• School buses are safe. However, if you would like to bring your student on mornings of bad weather please feel free to do that.
• Curbside Service: We strongly encourage you to drop your students off at the curb on bad weather mornings. Parking and walking across the parking lot may not be the safest choice on slick mornings. Our staff is always greeting students in the hall and can make sure they find their way to class.
• What if school is dismissed early? Early dismissal will be announced on the news or radio stations. Students will follow the directions submitted at the beginning of the year on the inclement weather forms. If no form was submitted students will follow their usual after school routine. Unfortunately we will not be able to contact each family and let them know school has been dismissed. We will do our best to post this on our website
• Winter Illness: Oh yes it is also that time of year for colds and other illnesses. Please remember that if your student is sent home from school with a fever, he/she needs to be fever free for 24 hours before returning to school. If your child is sick and not coming to school please call our office and let us know. We also like to know what symptoms they are experiencing in case other students become ill with the same symptoms.

We hope for a mild winter! Students need to be outside exercising as much as possible this time of year. Teachers need students to be outside releasing all their energy too:)

Veteran's Day Assembly Video

Breakfast Items Needed

Breakfast Items Needed

Please sign up on our Volunteer Spot
Volunteer Spot

Wear Red, White, and Blue tomorrow!

 Veteran's Day Breakfast (8:30 am) and Assembly (9:30 am) is tomorrow. Don't forget to wear Red, White, and Blue, in honor of our Veterans.

Family Movie Night

Free Family Movie Night

Come and Join us Friday, November 21, from 6:30-8:30 for a fun FREE movie and popcorn night.  We will be watching Maleficent. All you need to bring is your PJ's, chairs, pillows, and blankets.  Soda and Candy Bars can be purchased for $1 each.  Hope to see you all there.  

Only 25 Yearbooks Left

Pre-order your 2014-2015 Yearbook Now

We only have 25 left!

Jostens has agreed increase our order amount by how many books are ordered until December 31.  We have purchased 125 this year, but you will be guaranteed a book if your order before December 31.  After January 1, you will only get a book if there are any left.  You can order online or send in $15 in an envelope with your students name, teacher, grade, and Yearbook on the front. Please send a check or money order (payable to Willard East).   If there are any books left after January 1, the price will go up to $17.        ORDER HERE

Veteran's Day Assembly

Veteran's Day Assembly

Veteran's Day Breakfast/Assembly Information   

Who can come: All Veterans and their family.

Where: Willard East Elementary

When: Tuesday, November 11th, 8:30 AM Breakfast and 9:30 AM Recognition Assembly.

Details: Veterans will sign in at the office and wear a visitor pass. After signing in all Veterans will go to the multipurpose room to enjoy breakfast. Students who bring a Veteran must check into class first. They will then be called down after 8:30 AM to meet their Veteran in the gym.

GNC T-shirt Order forms due Nov. 6

GNC Shirt Orders Due Nov 6

Shirt orders are due November 6.  Shirts will be yellow with black logo.  Shirts are $9.00 each.  If you would like to order a shirt and do not have an order form just put the money in an envelope with: Name, Shirt size, Teacher Name, and Grade.     

Red Ribbon Week

Red Ribbon Week

October 27-31

Our theme this year is "iTune out Drugs." To celebrate our drug-free week, on Monday red ribbons will be given to each student to wear throughout the week.  There will be different red ribbon games all week and dress-up theme each day.

• Monday- "I Mustache You to be Drug Free" (Students will all be given a Mustache to wear, or wear your own!) 
• Tuesday-  "Get Your Red On"  (Wear Red)
• Wednesday- "Drugs Hurt"  (Fake Injury Day)
• Thursday- "Follow Your Dreams, Don't do Drugs"  (Pajama Day)
• Friday- "Willard tigers are Drug Free"  (Willard Tiger Gear)

Tiger Pride Friday

Tiger Pride is this Friday, October 24, at 2:30.  Join us, you don't want to miss all the fun!

Parent/Teacher Conferences

Parent/Teacher conferences are Thursday, October 23, and Tuesday, October 28.  Please contact your student's teacher as soon as possible if you do not know the time. 

Fundraiser Pick Up

Fundraiser is almost over!  Pick up your Fundraiser items from 3:30-7:30, Thursday, Oct 23 in the cafeteria.  A staff member will be there to assist you.  

NO Good News Club Thursday

There will be NO GNC this Thursday due to Parent/Teacher Conferences. Club will resume next Thursday, October 30.  GNC t-shirt orders are due Nov 6.

Text Messages from "Remind" for Willard East Families

Currently we have 165 people signed up to receive text messages from Willard East. These are specific text messages to Willard East families from the office. Teachers are also using Remind to send messages for the classroom. We have learned that over 90% of text messages are read within 3 min. of receiving them.

We would love for you to sign up to receive these messages! You the directions in the image below.

Principal Miller Open House Presentation

Tiger Pride Assembly Information & Tiger T-shirts

This Friday is a big day at Willard East! We host our FIRST Tiger Pride Assembly of the year AND the students will receive their Tiger T-shirts!

Tiger T-shirts:

• Teachers will give these to students on Friday morning and give them time to change in the restroom.
• Mrs. Uckele will take class pictures of each class in their new Tiger T-shirt.
• Students are encouraged to wear their Tiger T-shirt every Friday.

Tiger Pride Assembly:

• Starts at 2:30 and parents are welcome to attend!
• You can take your student with you after the assembly and they will not get charged for an absence. (Kids love to leave early on Tiger Pride day.)
• All Tiger Pride dates are listed on the school calendar to the right of this post.
• Coach J is the "Master of Ceremonies" with Principal Miller serving as his assistant.

Things we celebrate at Tiger Pride:

• Terrific Tigers - Teachers can select up to 2 Terrific Tigers to be recognized at the assembly. This replaces Student of the Month and Student of the week.

• Special Class: Each special class teacher(Art, Music,PE,Library,Computer) may choose a class to recognized based on criteria set within the classroom.

• Academic Achievement: Teachers choose various students they would like to recognize for academic achievement or improvement

• Go Green: Teacher set the criteria for good behavior in their classrooms and will notify students who will be recognized for good behavior.

• Bucket Fillers: Students who have modeled examples of our monthly character education words are recognized.

• Tiger Token Tallies: Students and classrooms can earn Tiger Tokens for good behavior. We keep a running total throughout the year of classrooms who collect the most Tiger Tokens.

• Box Top Tallies: Every year we have a Box Tops Challenge. We will announce the classrooms in the lead collecting Box Tops.

• Perfect Attendance: This is defined by being present at school. Your body has to be at school for perfect attendance. We sometimes have questions about excused absences. There are times a student must be absent from school. If their body is not here they are not considered “in attendance.” The only think that does not count against them is leaving early after the Tiger Pride so you do not have to wait for your student.

• Ice Cream Cake/Lunchroom Conduct: Students with good behavior at lunch are recognized with purple Tiger Tokens. Once a month we draw 40 purple Tiger Tokens and those students receive Dairy Queen ice cream cake at lunch time the following week.

*Celebrations and recognitions may change throughout the year.


We strive to shine a positive light on student achievement and student character while keeping the event light-hearted and upbeat. Tiger Pride Events are for the students of Willard East and we appreciate you keeping the best interests and well being of our student body at the forefront. We look forward to seeing you at our Tiger Pride Events throughout the school year.

Picture Day

Picture Day is coming, so mark you calenders for October 16.  Start practicing your smiles!

Student Online Accounts

Image Credit: digitalfamilysummit.com

By now you have probably noticed or heard your students talking about all their online accounts. Last week we sent home the login information for RAZ-Kids an online collection of books. The books assigned to your student are on their current reading level.

Other accounts our students are using:

Google Apps: Google Apps is an online suite of tools including but not limited to Docs, Calendar, Sites, and Email. The elementary is not currently using email. These tools provide the opportunity for students to create and share their learning online with students in the classroom and their teacher. These tools work seamlessly with the Chromebook.

Google Classroom: Classroom is a new addition to our Google Apps account provides teachers with a virtual learning environment. Students are able to login to their Google Classroom, follow teacher directions, and complete assignments.

Tumble Books: Another online collection of books for your student to interact with. These are engaging, interactive books to help motivate your student's reading and provide extra reading practice.

How do I access my students online accounts?

My daughters attend Willard East with me so I hear a lot about their online accounts. If you have computers at home your students may be asking you to let them log into their accounts. They may even be logging onto the accounts on their own. My first tidbit of advice is that no filters or settings are better than the "filter" of a watching parent. My own children are never allowed to be on their computers for extended periods of time without me checking on them. At school we have filters that protect our students from seeing inappropriate material. At home, that is the responsibility of the parent.

• Students know their passwords and can give them to you.
• Teachers have posted passwords and information on their websites.
• We have sent home account information. We will continue to send home information and offer Open Computer Lab at Open House for those of you who would like to learn more.

Willard East's one-stop-shop for computer activities and info: Mrs. Uckele, our fantastic Computer Lab teacher, has an awesome website! The kids can access all of their accounts and watch our Willard East videos from her website.

If you ever have questions about students using the internet don't hesitate to call our office and/or speak to your child's teacher. We are excited to be able to prepare our students for the future. Our district is fortunate to provide our students with devices and quality teachers. It's an exciting time for student learning.

Start and End Time Information for Parents

Welcome back to school! What an amazing kick-off to another school year. Pool Party, Fire Department welcome back to school for the kids. We do it right at Willard East! Below is some helpful information for the upcoming week.

Start times:
Students should not be dropped off before 8:10. Students arriving before 8:10 will be required to enroll in Tiger Tales before and after school program.

• 8:10 Buses arrive, dismiss breakfast students
• 8:15 Buses release remainder of students
• 8:20 Tiger Tales dismissed to class
• 8:40 Tardy Bell 

End of Day Dismissal:

In order to accommodate our new students, especially Kindergarten, we dismissed earlier than usual the first two days of school. We will be back on time this week.

• Monday: 3:05 Car rider bell, 3:10 Dismissal Bell
• Tuesday - Friday:
• 3:35: Car rider bell - Students are dismissed from classroom to come to front door.
• 3:40: Bus Bell 

Car Riders:

• You should have received two yellow car signs to hang from your visor. This helps our "Curb Crew" identify your car from a distance to have your child ready to load into your car.
• We request that you use our curb-side service and not walk across traffic to pick up your student. Parents who are waiting in line appreciate your patience.
• Once your student is loaded we ask that you pull up into the grass or parking spot to buckle your child.
• From start to finish our process takes 10 min. It may seem longer if you arrive before 3:35.

Bus Riders: Thanks for your patience the first couple of days. Times and routes should level out this week. Our phones automatically switch to "night mode" at 4:00. You can reach the transportation department at 742-2506 after 4:00PM.

Hopefully this give you insight to the beginning and of our school day. We welcome your input to these processes. Feel free to call or email Principal Miller with input and ideas for these processes.

We are excited to have the 2014-2015 school year underway!