Tiger Nation
January 2020
January- School Board Appreciation Month
January is School Board Appreciation month. School districts across the state recognize the outstanding work of their school boards. WIlls Point is fortunate to have such a dedicated school board. A board member’s job is not just attending a two hour meeting once a month.
Special meetings, serving on committees, attending continuing education courses, and supporting school and community events are just some of the responsibilities of a school board member. Most impressive about our school board members is their ability to continuously make decisions based on what is best for our students and staff. They understand the importance of working as a team and by doing so, the district has experienced many successes under their leadership. Please join me in thanking them for their hard work and commitment to the students and staff of Wills Point ISD.
Tiger Techs with Mrs. Whitaker
It has been an exciting month on the Instructional Technology front as we begin a new semester! The awesome teachers at Primary are learning how to utilize the new Interactive Flat Panels they have received and the students are loving their chances to come to the board as well as see great things in the Virtual Reality world.
District wide, we are implementing some in-ear translators for our ESL students with little to no English and it is an absolute game-changer for these students who previously have had very few resources to hear important instruction and learning and to be able to communicate themselves with their instructors. This device will allow for clarity in context and in the environment as well as immerse them in both languages to learn English even faster.
We have had a couple of teachers earn Level 1 for Tiger Tech - Ms. Gray, Interventionist at Primary and Ms. Cox, Pre-K teacher at Primary. Our most recent Tiger Techs were recognized at the last School board meeting on January 13th. They are Amy Spurger (ELA teacher at the Middle School), Tiera Homer (Algebra teacher at the High School), and Christina Covin (High School Instructional Coach). We may be half way through the year, but our teachers are still dedicated to professional development and working hard to make the learning relevant for our students.
Mother/Son Night! Wills Point PTO
Helping Parents Keep Kids Safe Online
All families are invited!
We invite all parents in the district to join us on February 4th at 6:00 p.m. in the Middle School Cafeteria for our informational meeting, “Keeping your Children Safe in the Real and Digital World,” presented by the Children’s Advocacy Center of Van Zandt County.
Revolutionary Learning!
Our 5th graders have been learning about the American Revolution and creating projects to showcase their learning. Students have been choosing from various formats, such as creating a political cartoon to depict a conflict between Great Britain and the American colonies, designing an 8-frame comic strip retelling a major event that led to the American Revolution, creating a “Fakebook” page on an American Revolution leader or group, generating a song, poem, or poster that highlights a cause of the revolution from the perspective of a Loyalist or a Patriot, writing an article for the Boston Gazette about the Battle of Lexington and Concord, constructing a crossword puzzle with 15 key terms describing the revolution , designing a Google slide presentation about the events leading up to the war, writing a letter to a relative back in England explaining what is happening in the American colonies, or creating a timeline showing at least 8 events with illustrations and descriptions of events. The students are excited to share their learning with others, and they are having a difficult time selecting just one activity to complete!
Future Meteorologists!
In science, our 2nd graders are learning about the weather. They have been looking at a variety of concepts related to weather like air temperature, types of clouds, what is precipitation, and it’s different forms ( rain, hail, sleet, and snow). Our students have also been tracking our local weather. Using data sheets, students record the temperature, wind speed and direction, amount of rainfall. In addition to these activities, Mrs. Balderas’s class recently Skyped with a classroom in Illinois. Mrs. Balderas’s class asked the Illinois class about what the weather was like where they lived as well as answered questions about the weather in Wills Point.
Plickers with Primary
Plickers is an assessment tool that allows teachers to collect “on-the-spot” formative assessment data without students using devices or paper and pencil tests. Plickers was created by a teacher who wanted a quick and easy way to check student’s understanding. Primary teachers, Ms. Brock and Mrs. Martinez, used Plickers to assess students. Mrs. Martinez, a 1st grade Bilingual teacher, used Plickers to assess her students in reading comprehension and the kids loved it! Mrs. Brock used Plickers with her Pre-K class. She did a pre-assessment over animals. She will use Plickers again to complete a post assessment once she teaches and end the unit over animals.
Athletic Superlatives
2019 Padilla Poll All-State:
2nd Team Punter - Jaquez Thompson
2nd Team Linebacker - Savion Kellum
2019 All-Smoaky East Texas Team:
3rd Team Utility - Jaquez Thompson
Hon Mention QB & Safety - Tyler Baker
Hon Mention H Back & DE - Josh Etheridge
Hon Mention DT - Markethian Lyons
Hon Mention LB - Aaron Hardman
Hon Mention LB - Savion Kellum
Hon Mention Punter - Jaquez Thompson
2020 Letterman to Leadership Scholarship Winner
Addison Prather
ACADEMIC ALL STATE
Jaylee Phillips
Emilie Cabaniss
Addison Prather
Shayla Gandy
Justin Perez
Gerardo Gonzalez
Josh Etheridge
Markethian Lyons
Ryan Kvapil
Football
Special Teams Justin Garza
Outstanding Lineman Markethian Lyons - Def Juan Martinez - Off
Mac Payne Hustle Josh Etheridge
Outstanding Back Justin Perez - Off Tyler Baker - Def Joey Tyler - Def
OTSS Cameron Penney
Tennis All-District
1st Team
Kash Adams
Joshua Schreffler
Holden Fletcher
Weston Baker
Cade Phillips
Maddie Hiler
Sawyer Sewell
McKenzie Moore
Kristin Dunn
2nd Team
Jacob Sanford
Jacob Daniell
Jacob Daniels
Marisa LaJone
Grayce Malone
Abby Kreil
Katelyn Bryant
Claira Huff
Cathryn Davis
Top Linebacker Conner Brownrigg
MVP Savion Kellum
Off MVP Ja'Quez Thompson
Def MVP Aaron Hardman
Top WR Seth Resnick
Captains Aaron Hardman Juan Martinez Josh Etheridge Savion Kellum
Volleyball
First Team All-District:
Addison Prather
Second Team All-District:
Kalyn Dryman
Honorable Mention:
Emilie Cabaniss
Taylor McCullough
Kristen Dunn
First Team Academic All-District:
Emilie Cabaniss
Kalyn Dryman
Kristyn Dunn
Shayla Gandy
Kirsten Hatten
Hannah McMath
Addison Prather
Second Team Academic All-District:
Taylor Dyess
Savannah Heimbuecher
Maddie Hiler
Kamryn Kilgore
McKenzie Moore
Emma Todoroff
Megan Wadsworth
Cross Country
First Team
Kaylee King
Hallie Lovvorn
Jaylee Phillips
Estanislao Reyes
Second Team
Leslie Gonzalez
Stephanie Mirales
Bailey Dykes
Arik Phillips
Cole Williams
Renato Medina
Regional Qualifiers
Leslie Gonzalez- (Individual and Team)
Arik Phillips - (Individual and Team)
Nathan Allen- (Individual and Team)
Team Regional Qualifiers
Kaylee King
Stephanie Mireles
Hallie Lovvorn
Bailey Dykes
Lexi Taylor
Alice Bryant
Estanislao Reyes
Cole Williams
Christopher DeLaCruz
Xavier Torres
Renato Medina
Facilities with Mr. Russell
This past month Wills Point ISD announced that the turf at Ken Autry Davis field will be replaced with new turf starting in late April. WPISD is contracting Hellas Construction to remove the old and install the new and improved turf. Hellas is a well known company with excellent references from projects they have completed for other schools and organizations. If you are wanting to see some of the fields that Hellas has installed, check out their website or visit AT&T Stadium. We are excited about the upgrade to our playing surface at the stadium and look forward to the excellence that will take place on that field this coming school year.
Scholarships
On January 13th six WPHS student athletes sign Letters of Intent to continue their education and academic career at the next level. Marsia LaJone will be attending Huntington College in Alabama to play tennis for the Hawks. Attending Dallas Baptist and partpaticting in cheer and stunt will be Makaylee Dyess. Addison Prather will be attending East Texas Baptist University to participate in Cheer and Acro. Maddie Hiler will be attending Austin College next year to play tennis. Cash Adams will be attending Dallas Baptist to play tennis for the Patriots. Josh Schreffler will be taking his tennis skills to East Texas Baptist next year to attend school.
Hooray It’s the 100th Day!
Health Science
Students were studying the digestive system in Mrs. Reynolds Health Science class recently. They were able to take food items and mix with acid that would resemble the process that takes place in the body. Students were able to see the final results of the processes food after completing all the steps.
UIL Academics
Junior High
On January 13th we had 73 students attend UIL academic competition in Brownsboro. Both 7th and 8th grades were 4th place overall by a narrow margin. We are very proud of our WPJH students for all their hard work.
Out of 73 schools across the state Wills Point Junior High Future City Teams earned 3 Special Honor Awards, and an overall award of Second Place for their Engineering Future City Competition at UTA on Saturday January 25th.
8th grade results
Calculator - Ethan Kornegay 4th
Chess - Jayce Parker 1st, Carson Maddox 3rd; 1st place team - J. Parker, C. Maddox, G. Cox, K. Collins
Dictionary Skills - Makenna Goebel 3rd
Listening - Jeremiah McLaughlin 1st ,Leslie Leija 2ndT; 1st place team - J. McLaughlin, L. Leija, H. Comer, M. Oldham
Maps, Graphs, and Charts - Charleston Sanders 4th
Mathematics - Ethan Kornegay 3rd; 3rd place team - E. Kornegay, Y. Frykholm, H. Stokes, R. Odom
Music Memory - 3rd place team - H. Mihlan, E. Mata, A. Galope, H. Lowery, C. Cooper
Number Sense - Colton Zinke 1st, Robert Odom 3rd; 1st place team - C. Zinke, R. Odom, E. Kornegay, E. Mata
Science - Hannah Morgan 2nd, Charleston Sanders 4th; 2nd place team - H. Morgan, C. Sanders, B. Cox, Y. Frykholm
7th grade results
Chess - Ewan Hayden 1st, Richard Carpenter 3rd, Arik Sanko 5th; 1st place team - E. Hayden, R. Carpenter, A. Sanko, A. Webb
Dictionary Skills - Jayce Parker 1st place, Richard Carpenter 6th; 2nd place team - J. Parker, R. Carpenter, M. Guarjardo, A. Sanko
Editorial Writing - Mavery Salisbury 1st
Impromptu Speaking - Alex Moore 2nd
Listening - Daytona Schwed 4thT
Maps, Graphs, and Charts - 3rd place team - J. Dennis, E. Hayden, S. Taylor, V. Emerson
Ready Writing - Presley Mixon 1st, Cathryn Dixon 2nd
Music Memory- Danika Jones 1st, Gracie Mize 3rd; 1st place team - G. Mize, L. Ramirez, D. Jones, S. Arvizu, A. Mills, T. Hastings, J. Hammons
Science - Joe Porter 2nd, Kevin Cervantes 5th; 2nd place team - J. Porter, K. Cervantes, L. Young, V. Emerson
Spelling - 3rd place team - J. Parker, V. Emerson, P. Mixon, R. Carpenter
Middle School
Our students competed in UIL in Brownsboro this month, and we are so proud of their accomplishments and awards. Our 6th graders competed on January 13th in 16 events with over 50 students participating, and our 5th graders competed on January 25th in 9 events with over 30 students as participants. We are thankful for our coaches that worked with our students before and after school to prepare them for their successes, and a special thank you to Mrs. Lindsey and Mrs. Spurger for serving as our grade level UIL Coordinators. Congratulations to the following students and teams:
6th grade Individual awards -
Macie Sline - 2nd place, Ready Writing
Samantha Ortiz - 6th place, Art Memory
Rheiyana Carraway - 4th place, Oral Reading
Adasyn Mullin - 5th place, Impromptu Speaking
Kaden Engledow - 2nd place, Number Sense
Joe Gilleland - 2nd place, Listening
Jacob Venable - 6th place, Mathematics
Braedyn Littrell - 1st place, Chess
Luke Cole - 2nd place, Chess
Micah Barnes - 3rd place, Dictionary
Joseph Totty - 6th place, Maps, Graphs, and Charts
Ellie King - 2nd place, Spelling
Lucas Waller - 5th place, Spelling
6th grade Team events -
Chess - 1st place team overall - Braedyn Littrell, Michael Sullivan, Luke Cole, Witt Smith
Number Sense - 2nd place team overall - Jacob Venable, Gavin Dusek, Cheyenne Horn, Kaden Engledow
Mathematics - 3rd place team overall - Ian Sanko, Rheann Shaw, Jacob Venable, Bryce Nichols
Spelling - 2nd place team overall - Lucas Waller, Brooklyn Dixon, Ellie King, Eli Brewer
Dictionary - 3rd place team overall - Ty’vanni McClelland, Rheiyana Carraway, EC Vasques, Micah Barnes
5th grade Individual awards -
Cierra Palmer - 6th place, Number Sense
Lynna Johnson - 2nd place, Oral Reading
Bailey Dennis - 3rd place, Oral Reading
Darien Gutierez - 1st place, Ready Writing
Trey Gail - 1st place, Spelling
Memphis Jones - 3rd place, Spelling
Lindsey Gallegos - 6th place, Spelling
Trey Gail - 1st place, Maps, Graphs, and Charts
Gavin Cox - 2nd place, Maps, Graphs, and Charts
Emma Cox - 1st place, Music Memory
Valerie Seeders - 1st place, Listening
Kelcie Davis - 2nd place, Listening
Mia Hernandez - 3rd place, Listening
5th grade Team events -
Music Memory - 3rd place team overall - Payton Edwards, Cailyn Whitaker, Ariana Valdez, Emma Cox
Woods
On Saturday, January 25th, Woods Intermediate competed at the UIL academic meet in Brownsboro. We want to congratulate all of our students and coaches for their hard work in making this UIL season very successful, and a special thank you to Mrs. Potter for her work as our UIL Coordinator. Woods had 67 students compete at the event, and almost half of our students placed individually. The following second-grade students received individual medals: Creative Writing- Lexi Gail 4th place Paisley Boyd 5th place, Storytelling- Cayleigh Taylor 5th place, Music Memory- Cooper Malouf 3rd place, Kelyn Bain 4th place, Preslee Brewer 6th place, Chess- Connor Rodden 3rd place, Trey Hall 5th place. Our second-grade students also received two team awards. The Music Memory team of Cooper Malouf, Kelyn Bain, Preslee Brewer, and Sophie Saucedo place 2nd and the Chess Team of Connor Rodden, Trey Hall, Bryant Thompson, and Cohen Cecil placed 3rd. Third-grade students receiving medals: Ready Writing- Kemuel Mungin 1st place, Brooklyn Horn 3rd place, Taylor Cole 6th place, Storytelling- Nayeli Munoz 2nd place, Taylor Cole 5th place, Music Memory- Melanie Egenbachera 3rd place, John Rogers 5th place, Elliott Kornegay 6th place, Chess- Cutter Crowell 3rd place. Spelling- Sydney Gail 2nd place, John Rogers 4th place, Oral Reading- Avery Vise 1st place, Mason Cooper 2nd place, Ella Cole 5th place. Our third-grade students also received two team awards. The Music Memory team of Melanie Egenbacher, John Rogers, Elliott Kornegay, Caileigh Glenn placed 1st, and the Chess Team of Cutter Crowell, Abbie Samples, and Rafael Garcia placed 3rd. Fourth-grade students receiving medals: Ready Writing- Brylee Daniels 1st place, Zoey Lawson 5th place, Art Memory- Abigail Jones 1st place, Music Memory-Landry Simmons 3rd place, Journee Hack 4th place, Chess- Jacob Love 5th place, Spelling- Madison Edwards 4th place, Austin Corbett 5th place, Number Sense- Cassidi Williams 6th place. Our fourth-grade students also received three team awards. The Music Memory team of Landry Simmons, Journee Hack, Ava Holloway, Adalyn Strutton, and Gracie Stephens placed 1st. The Art Memory team of Abigail Jones, Rosabel Redding, Kara Thompson, and Cara Haskett placed 2nd with the Chess Team of Jacob Love, Craig Rogers, Corbin Walters, and Kelso Brown placed 3rd.
Staff of the Month!
Mrs. Fletcher
Mrs. Lindsey
Mrs. Burnett
Mrs. Milligan
Coach Nine
Mrs. Hatten
Calendar of Events
High School
Feb. 1st- Band Solo and Ensemble @ North Garland
Feb. 1st- Talent Show
Feb. 3rd- Girls Softball vs. Grand Saline
Feb. 4th- Girls Basketball @ Brownsboro
Feb. 4th-Boys Basketball @ Brownsboro
Feb. 6th- JV Tennis @ Rockwall
Feb. 6th- Splash Kingdom Recruitment @ Lunch
Feb. 6th- Band Pre-UIL 6pm
Feb. 7th- Varsity Tennis Kilgore
Feb. 7th- Girls Basketball vs. Mabank
Feb. 7th- Boys Basketball vs. Mabank
Feb. 7th- Softball @ West Rusk
Feb. 8th- Softball @ Eustace
Feb. 10th- Cheer Meeting 6:30pm
Feb. 11th- Varsity Baseball vs. Kennedale 4:30pm
Feb. 11th- Girls Basketball @ Van
Feb. 11th- Boys Basketball @ Van
Feb. 11th- Softball @ Kaufman
Feb. 13th- Jv Tennis @ Ennis
Feb. 13th- International Club Field Trip
Feb. 14th- Varsity Tennis @ Tyler Lee
Feb. 14th- Boys Basketball @ Canton
Feb. 14th - Softball @ Quitman
Feb. 14th- Baseball @ Caddo-Mills
Feb. 15th- Softball Scrimmage vs. Edgewood/ Scurry-Rosser
Feb. 15th - NHS Bingo Night
Feb. 17th- Student Holiday
Feb. 17th- JV/Varsity Baseball vs. Mineola
Feb. 18th- JV Tennis @Kaufman Tournament
Feb. 18th- Softball @ Quinlan
Feb. 18th- Boys Basketball @ Athens
Feb. 20th- Track @ Eustace
Feb. 20th- Softball @ Sulphur Springs Tournament
Feb. 21st- Softball @ Sulphur Springs Tournament
Feb. 21st- Tennis @ Kaufman Tournament
Feb. 21st - Winterguard @ Haltom City
Feb. 21st - Varsity Baseball vs. Edgewood
Feb. 22nd- Softball @ Sulphur Springs Tournament
Feb. 24th- Dual Credit Parent Meeting 6 pm
Feb. 25th- JV Tennis Wills Point Tournament
Feb. 25th- Softball @ Grand Saline
Feb. 26th- ASVAB Test
Feb. 27th- Track @ Eustace
Feb. 27th- JV Baseball @ Crandall Tournament
Feb. 27th- Softball @ Big Sandy Tournament
Feb. 27th- Varsity Baseball @ Bells Tournament
Feb. 28th- JV Baseball @ Crandall Tournament
Feb. 28th- Softball @ Big Sandy Tournament
Feb. 28th- Varsity Baseball @ Bells Tournament
Feb. 28th- Wills Point Tennis Tournament
Feb. 29th- JV Baseball @ Crandall Tournament
Feb. 29th- Softball @ Big Sandy Tournament
Feb. 29th- Varsity Baseball @ Bells Tournament
Junior High
Feb. 3rd- Girls Basketball vs. Van
Feb. 6th- Boys Basketball @ Home
Feb. 10th- Boys Basketball @ Home
Feb. 13th- Valentine Dance - 3:45-5:30
Feb. 26th- Spring pictures
Feb. 28th- Cheer Tryouts
Middle School
Feb. 1st - PTO Mother/Son Nerf Night
Feb. 3rd - 5th grade Science benchmark
Feb. 4th - Keeping you Children Safe in the Real and Digital World @ 6:00 p.m. - MS Cafeteria
Feb. 6th - Kona Ice
Feb. 11th - PTO Fundraiser Glow Party; PTO Meeting at Woods 6:00 p.m.
Feb. 17th - No school
Feb. 19th - Progress reports go home
Feb. 28th - JH Cheer, Mascot, and Drill Tryouts
Woods
Feb. 1st- Mother/Son Nerf Night
Feb. 3rd- Special Olimpics (Basketball) @ Sunnyvale High School
Feb. 4th- Keeping you Children Safe in the Real and Digital World @ 6:00 p.m. - MS Cafeteria
Feb. 11th- PTO Meeting @ Woods 6 p.m.
Feb. 17th- School Holiday
Primary
Feb. 1st Mother and Son Nerf Night
Feb. 3rd National School Counseling Week Begins - Ends Feb. 7th
Feb. 4th CAC:Keeping Your Children Safe in the Real and Digital World (6:00 pm MS Cafeteria)
Feb. 5th World Read Aloud Day
Feb. 10th Kindness Week at Primary Begins - Ends Feb. 14th.
Feb. 10th Dream of Kindness! (Wear Pajamas)
Feb. 11th Peace, Love, and Kindness! (Wear 70’s attire or Tie Dye)
Feb. 12th Kindness Rocks! (Dress like a Rockstar or Celebrity)
Feb. 13th We are Crazy for Kindness! (Wear Crazy hair or socks)
Feb. 14th We Love Kindness! (Wear Red or Valentine’s Day attire)
Feb. 14th Valentine’s Day Parties at 2:00pm
Feb. 17th Presidents Day - School Holiday
Mar. 2nd Dr. Seuss Day