Written by 8th grade students

Ms. Conway is our new fifth grade math teacher. Ms. Conway went to SBU in Mountain View.  She graduated from Willow Springs High School. She is 24 years old. She wanted to teach at willow springs middle school because she likes the environment of the middle school. She thinks that Willow Springs is a good school because the students and staff make school good and enjoyable place to work. She went to Willow Springs Schools her whole life. Her favorite subject in school is math. Ms. Conway likes to go to rodeos in her free time. She also grades papers during her free time. She has no children. She hopes to have a good year and have well-behaved students.

Dusty Wells

There is a new fifth grade teacher on the eighth grade hall. His name is Mr. Earls, also known as Nathan Earls. He teaches communication arts (writing/grammar). He graduated from West Plains Missouri State University. He decided to teach here at Willow Springs Middle School for three reasons. The first reason is to have fun. His second reason is to make a difference.  His last reason is because he likes the size of the school. A lot of people think Willow is a small school, but in his experience it is a big school. In his free time he likes to watch baseball. In my opinion he sounds like a pretty good teacher.

Alex Brooks

One of the new teachers at Willow Springs Middle School is Mrs. Heather Miller. She is the new 6th grade science teacher.  So far she has been enjoying the 6th grade science, but she says it is very different from the elementary where she was a long term substitute last year. Mrs. Miller says that Willow is a great school. She likes teaching about science because that is one of her favorite subjects.  She says that all of the teachers are great about wanting students to succeed.  One thing she likes about Willow is that it’s a great place to raise her two children. She says it is a very friendly place to live. Mrs. Miller has lived here for 8 years now. Hopefully she will have a great first year and we hope she enjoys the Willow Springs Middle School.

Kendra Aldridge

Mrs. Brotherton teaches 7th grade communication arts and enjoys her job at Willow Springs Middle School. She has had two jobs before this one, working on her family farm and working as a legal secretary for Steve Privette in Willow Springs. Teaching has been her favorite job by far because she loves working with kids. This is her first year teaching.

Mrs. Brotherton grew up in Willow Springs and has lived here her whole life. Her favorite subject was animal science. In high school she was in FFA (Future farmers of America) and  FBLA (Future Business Leaders of America) and served as  student council representative. In middle school she played basketball and did track and field. She likes sports but her favorite is football. Her favorite team is the Chicago Bears. She also enjoys watching baseball and her favorite team is the Cubs.

Mrs. Brotherton’s favorite thing to do is be with her family. She has one son in kindergarten and a husband of nine years. She also likes reading fantasy books; her favorite book is All Quiet on the Western Front. She also loves to work on her family farm where they raise beef cows.

I enjoyed talking to Mrs. Brotherton. She is a very interesting person who cares very much about the children she teaches.

Terra Brown

Mrs. Leija, our new 7th grade math teacher, was raised in Alton, MO. She now lives in West Plains. Her favorite subject is math. This is her 9th year teaching. When she is not teaching, she likes to go to her kids’ sports games and spend time with her family and friends.

 Her childhood was busy! They had a farm where the raised dairy and beef and they also had a daycare. She was not a troublemaker during school but she said “when it came to be 3:00 I had fun.” I asked her if she got A’s and B’s in school she said “yes and a couple of c’s.” She worked really hard in school. Her favorite color is anything but white. She’s a very colorful person.

When asked how she wanted her own children to do in school she said “WELL!!!!! And with an accountant as a dad and a math teacher as a mom they better KNOW their math!!!!!! Plus, if I will work hard then they will too.” She’s a very cool teacher to get to know. I had fun getting to know her. She’s a really good math teacher and she knows how to explain things really well when you don’t understand.

Abbie Kargel

This year a new teacher is welcomed to the Willow Springs Middle School staff. Mr. Grace is an eighth grade math teacher who is a former Marine Corp sergeant.  Mr. Grace says, “I want to teach to be able to help people in the language of math.” Mr. Grace himself struggled in school up until college. He went to Bartlesville High School in Oklahoma. A few more personal things about Ben Grace are… his favorite color is blue, his favorite animal is a dog, and his favorite sport is bocce ball.

Tia Davis

Amy Pollard, or as most of us know her, Mrs. Pollard, is our new 8th grade science teacher. Mrs. Pollard is not completely new to our teaching staff. Before teaching science she taught in our special services department. She grew up in Ozark, MO with the dream of becoming a teacher so she could help children. Her favorite subject in school was none other than science. She first started teaching in 2004 after earning her Bachelor’s degree from Drury University, and her Master’s degree from Missouri State University. In her spare time she likes being outdoors, going to ball games, and going to the lake with her son Blake and husband Bob. When asked how she liked Willow Springs, her face lit up and she said “I love it, it rocks!” We are glad you love Willow and we hope to see you spread your love of science for many years.

Lacy Tharp

And finally…not a new teacher, but a new position!

Mr. Henry is now our full-time assistant principal. To students at Willow Springs Middle School Brett Henry is known as Mr. Henry. He begin teaching  in 2006, when he felt like he was in a rut and wanted to get involved in something where he could make a positive difference. This year is his 6th year working at Willow Springs. This is the only school he has taught at, and now that he is assistant principal he doesn’t teach any subjects. To him the good things about teaching are students because he likes to see them grow and prosper. The bad things about teaching are students because he doesn’t like seeing them waste their abilities.  When he doesn’t yell at students, he likes to sing to them.

He grew up in West Plains and his hobbies include turkey hunting and fishing on a river. He is a Christian, has a sense of humor, and seriously does shower once a month, whether it is needed or not.

Katya Coursen