Dear Firebird Community,

We hope everyone has had a great week and enjoyed the cooler weather. It has been a great week at Willis as we settle back into routines and see our students focused on learning in their classrooms.

Next Thursday, November 2, we will be hosting our annual Willis Showcase. This is an opportunity for our current students and families, prospective Firebirds, and members of our community to visit campus and see what is happening at Willis. There will be music performances, interactive activities, content displays, games, and much more. We encourage you to stop by anytime between 6 and 8 pm. Feel free to bring family and friends. We hope to see you next Thursday.

Wishing you a safe and restful weekend!

Jeff Delp, Principal

Email: delp.jeff@cusd80.com
Location: 401 South McQueen Road, Chandler, AZ, USA
Phone: 480-883-5707
Twitter: @principaldelp

This week's Willis spotlight classroom is 8th grade science with Mr. Ringo. Students in Mr. Ringo's classes enjoy the hands-on activities, engaging conversations, and opportunities for relevant learning.

Mr. Ringo's students have been studying chemistry (properties of matter, mixtures, solutions, reactions, etc.). After reviewing the potential recipes for bubbles (one from an MIT paper), students experimented with the creation of their own bubble solutions.

Today, the kids competed to test their bubble solution. The goal was to blow a bubble to cover a styrofoam plate in a minute, or less. As you can see from the pictures, many of the students excelled at this. Mr. Delp...not so much.

If you are interested in mathematics, physics and bubbles, feel free to peruse this 36 page article entitled, Aging and Burst of Surface Bubbles (MIT).

WE NEED YOUR HELP!

Student Council has started our annual change drive to support the Chandler Care Center. Each year, our students have the opportunity to put change in an envelope for various Willis staff members. At the end of the change drive, the staff member with the most money in their envelope will wear a turkey costume for a day!

Not only is this a fun project, the proceeds collected go to an extremely good cause. The Chandler Care Center provides a great deal of support to our school community. The funds we raise are used to purchase items for their annual Thanksgiving Family Assistance Day.

The change drive runs from 10/23 - 11/03. Please encourage your student to make a donation, or donate at next Thursday's Willis Showcase. Thanks for your consideration and support!

Mrs. Ryskamp and her Spanish classes set up an Ofrenda in the library to celebrate and learn about Dia de los Muertos. An Ofrenda is a traditional means of celebrating the lives of lost love ones. In Spanish class, students not only learn a new language, but they explore important cultural components of Spanish speaking communities. Come to the library and see the beautiful Ofrenda display.

On Wednesday, the Willis Choir sang at the CUSD Choral Festival and had a great time. The Willis Choir also performed at the Chandler High School Choral Step-Up Concert at the Chandler Center for the Arts. The attached pictures are a combination of all three of Mr. Holley's schools after singing together for the first time. Willis's students are on the left side of the pictures with ACP Middle in the middle and Andersen Choir on the right. Thank you for all the support you have created for the choir students this year.

On Wednesday evening, Ms. Maria Huntington (WJHS parent liaison) hosted a parent forum with guest speaker Dr. Scott Nelson. Dr. Nelson is a retired school psychologist who volunteers his time and support at Willis. Dr. Nelson spoke with attendees about the challenges of adolescent behavior and the thoughts and feelings that often underlie these behaviors. He spoke about how important it is to provide students with predictability, stability, and patience. The more kids know about what happens next, the less they worry. The less they worry, the more confident they become. Dr. Nelson encouraged parents to give encouragement and praise freely.

We are thankful to Mrs. Huntington, Dr. Nelson, and volunteer Maritza Moreno (former Willis student) for their work to organize and provide this opportunity.

The Willis AVID students took time to create and send thank you cards to all the presenters and organizers of Latino Leaders week through City of Chandler. This was a fantastic opportunity for our students to learn about a wide variety of career opportunities and interact with leaders in various professions. Thanks again to the City of Chandler's Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Team for providing students these opportunities!

We're having a book fair! Starting next Friday, October 27, students will be able to come to the media center from 8:30-3:30 to explore and buy things from our book fair. Thursday, October 26 we will be having a VIP preview day for teachers and students. If you would like a pass for the preview day, please talk to Mrs. Dial or your ELA teacher. Get more information about what we will have available on our website.

Book Fair Homepage (scholastic.com)

Peer influence, like our choices, can be positive or negative and the power of peers is especially strong for adolescents. Peers can influence the choices that our kids make because there is a strong need for acceptance. Peers are an integral part of a collective experience as we grow up that can be challenging but also enriching. Figuring out how to navigate peer relationships and influence can be tough for both parents and adolescents, as the consequences can be long-term.

8th Grade Counselor: Maria Falcon-Murray

(480)883-5728 falconmurray.maria@cusd80.com

7th Grade Counselor: Michele Chapin

(480)883-5726 chapin.michele@cusd80.com

STEAM and 7/8 Support Counselor: Shauna Goldberg

(480)883-5706 goldberg.shauna@cusd80.com

School Social Worker: Kimberly Boersma

(480)883-5717 boersma.kimberly@cusd80.com

School Behavior Specialist: Kacy Irvine

(480)883-5731 irvine.kacy@cusd80.com

School Psychologist: Jennifer Duffy

(480)883-5780 duffy.jennifer@cusd80.com

Here is a link to the Mental Health Resources in our community:

Mental Health Resources

Monday, Oct. 30th

• BOOK FAIR in MC
  

• 4:00 HW Hub - MC
  

• 4:30 Girls Cross Country @ Eastmark JH (AWAY)

• 5:30 Boys Cross Country @ Eastmark JH (AWAY)

Tuesday, Oct. 31st

• BOOK FAIR in MC
  

• 4:00 HW Hub - MC

• 4:00 Chess Club - M19

Wednesday, Nov.1st

• BOOK FAIR in MC
  

• 8:15AM Student Council (C4)

• 3A/B/C Craft in the MC
• 4:00 HW Hub - MC
• 4:00 Fantasy Club - M19
• 4:30 7th Boys Basketball @ Crismon HS (AWAY)
• 5:30 8th Boys Basketball @ Crismon HS (AWAY)
  
• 4:30 7th Girls Softball @ Crismon HS (AWAY)
• 5:30 8th Girls Softball @ Crismon HS (AWAY)

Thursday, Nov.2nd

• BOOK FAIR in MC
  

• 3A/B/C Bullet Journaling in the MC (Weekly)

• 4:00 HW Hub - MC
• 4:00 Drama Club - M18
• 4:30 7th Boys Basketball @ Queen Creek JR (AWAY)
  
• 5:30 8th Boys Basketball @ Queen Creek JR (AWAY)
  
• 4:30 7th Girls Softball @ Queen Creek JR (AWAY)
• 4:30 8th Girls Softball @ Queen Creek JR (AWAY)

• 6:00 - 8:00 PM WIllis Showcase

Friday, Oct. Nov.3rd

• BOOK FAIR in MC

• 3A/B/C Movie in the MC (weekly)

Website: cusd80.com/wjhs
Location: 401 South McQueen Road, Chandler, AZ, USA
Phone: 480-883-5708
Facebook: facebook.com/wjhsfirebirds
Twitter: @willisfirebirds