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Willow Springs Middle School Principal Newsletter - January 5, 2018
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Dear Parents and Guardians,
I hope you and your family had a safe and relaxing holiday, see everyone back on campus on Monday, January 8, 2018. I know it is hard to believe, but we will begin the registration process for the 2018-2019 school year in four weeks. Please see information below on details.
Sincerely,
Kent Messer
Principal
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Thursday, December 21st - Friday, January 5th is Winter Break. School will resume on Monday, January 8th.
School Holiday - Monday, January 15
Monday, January 15 is a school holiday
WSMS 3 on 3 Basketball Tourney and Student Social - January 19th
Our winter social will be on January 19th from 6:00--8:00 p.m at WSMS. From 5:00--6:00 p.m., we will hold our annual 3-on-3 basketball tournament in the WSMS gyms. The cost is $30 per team, which will also admit your student into the social. Proceeds will go to the American Heart Association. Beginning at 6:00, we will have a DJ in the cafeteria and the gyms will be open for volleyball and basketball after the 3 on 3 tournament. Cost for the social is $8.00 on-line and $10.00 at the door. Students will have the opportunity to purchase pizza, snacks, and water at the dance. All items can be purchased for $1.00.
More information to come about parent chaperone sign ups.
NJHS Meeting - Wednesday, January 24
The next NJHS meeting is Wednesday, January 11 at either 8:15 a.m. or 4:05 p.m. in room C104. Students need to bring current grades from Power School.
Geography Bee - Wednesday, January 25
All 7th and 8th grade history classes took a preliminary quiz to determine which students qualify for the National Geography Bee the week before finals. The school Geography Bee will be held January 25 at 4:15 p.m. in the WSMS library. Typically, about 30 students qualify for the school bee. Students that qualify for the school bee will receive a letter the week of January 8 letting them know specific details about the school bee. Additional information about the National Geographic Bee can be found
here
.
8
th
Grade Yearbook Recognition Ads -
now through February 2nd
Parents wishing to purchase an 8th-grade recognition advertisement for the WSMS yearbook congratulating their child for their success at WSMS may do so online through Jostens from now until February 2nd. Parents must pay online and submit the artwork, photos and sentiment by going
here
.
Winter Pep Rally - Friday, January 26th
Our Winter Sports Pep Rally will be Friday, January 26th in our main gym at 9:30 AM. We are needing to do a morning pep rally so our 6th grade students from SCIS can participate before they tour our school. We will have performances from our band, choir, orchestra, colorguard, dance, and cheer programs. We will also recognize all of our winter sports programs and other students who participated in competitions in the months of December and January. All parents are welcome to attend and are encouraged to park in a parking space not designated as a fire lane in the front parking lot to enter and sign-in through the front office. Overflow parking is available in the back of the school and parents may enter and sign-in through the west courtyard door. More info to come...
Its that Time Again! 2018-2019 Registration Meetings
It is time to begin the process of registering current 6th, 7th, and 8th graders for the upcoming school year at WSMS and LHS! Middle school and high school counselors will begin speaking to students in late January about elective classes, core class selections, how to register online, and what to expect in the 2018-2019 school year. Parent Registration Presentations will be held on:
Parents of current 8th graders: At LHS, February 12, in the evening, 6pm - 8pm
Parents and current 8th graders: LHS Elective Showcase, February 12, Immediately following meeting
Parents of current 6th and 7th graders: At WSMS, January 30, 9am-10 am - Daytime Registration Presentation
Parents of current 6th and 7th graders: At WSMS, January 30, 6pm-6:30pm - GT Information Meeting
Parents of current 6th and 7th graders: At WSMS, January 30, 6:30-7:30pm - Evening Registration Presentation
For a complete registration timeline, please click here.
Contact the Student Support Center at
469-742-8422
if you have any questions about these dates.
8th Grade Students to Visit Lovejoy High School
On January 26th, All WSMS 8th grade students will be visiting Lovejoy High School to learn more about the registration process and course offerings. Our 8th grade students will tour the building and see the facilities of different elective programs. They will also have the get to eat lunch in the LHS cafeteria. On the same day, 6th grade students will be visiting WSMS to learn more about our programs and courses as they prepare for registration.
- WSMS Winter Pep Rally 9:30--10:30. SCIS 6th grade students will participate in this pep rally once they arrive.
- 10:30--8th grade students depart for LHS, 6th grade students begin tour of WSMS. 6th grade students will visit all elective courses.
- 12:15--6th grade students depart for SCIS
- 1:30--8th grade students return to WSMS. All 8th grade students will attend periods 6-8 once they return.
Group Photos and Retakes - Tuesday, January 30
Group photos day is Tuesday, January 30 with retakes for students that are new or missed portrait day for the yearbook. Please have your child dress in the appropriate attire recommended by their teacher for group photos or for portraits individually.
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Campus Information and Reminders
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Safety Corner
For security purposes, all exterior doors to the campus are locked during the day. If your student is dropped off early or picked up late for tutorials, practice, rehearsal, etc., please encourage them to stay inside the building when the weather is cold. Once they exit the building in the evening, the doors will lock behind them. During the winter months, please encourage your student to wait inside until you arrive. They can wait in the rotunda in the front hall at WSMS.
Inclement Weather
School closures will be determined based on safety. In the event of a school closure, notifications will be announced on the district's website, Facebook, and Twitter pages. We will also announce any closure through the media and by phone. Links to our social media accounts are shown below.
Lovejoy ISD App
The Lovejoy ISD App is available for download on both Apple and Android devices. To download the app for Apple devices, please
click here
. To download the app for Android devices, please
click here
.
Lost and Found
All items that were in the WSMS lost and found were donated to ACO on December 19th.
Final Exams Make Up
If a student was unable to take a final exam this week, they can make it up after winter break on Monday, January 8th through Friday, January 12th. Please feel free to contact your son or daughter's teacher to schedule a time to make up a final exam.
Final Exam Grades
Final exam grades will be posted in PowerSchool by Wednesday, January 10th. Final Exams are a summative assessment over material that has been covered during the first semester. Teachers will be closing out their grades for the first semester once final exams have been completed. As a result, students will not have the opportunity to re-take their final exam. The summative data from final exams will provide teachers with a road map for instructional planning and intervention during the spring semester.
Willow Springs Coding Club - New Spring Offerings begin January 17
Willow Springs will offer new Coding Clubs in the spring semester. UT Dallas will offer
Coding with MicroBit
,
Drawing & Animation with JavaScript
, and
Programming in Java
at WSMS this spring. All clubs will begin January 17th.
Please contact Kay Bordelon, [email protected], if you have any questions about after school Coding Clubs.
WSMS Yearbook Extended Sales - is February 2
Happy New Year! Now that we are in 2018, the last day to order a yearbook approaches in one month. Order online to guarantee your child's 2018 yearbook with an extended sale from February 2. We will need to give our yearbook order number total to our publisher and need an accurate sales count so please do not miss this deadline. We cannot guarantee your child a yearbook if you miss the order deadline. Click
here
to place your order today.
"Engaged in a Healthy Lifestyle" Suicide Prevention Parent Presentation - February 20
We will have a parent preview of our "Engaged in a Healthy Lifestyle" / Suicide Prevention program after the 9:45am general PTA meeting on Tuesday, February 20th in the WSMS aux gym.
"Engaged in a Healthy Lifestyle" Suicide Prevention Student Presentations - February 27 & 28
We
"
will present Engaged in a Healthy Lifestyle" / Suicide Prevention information to WSMS students on Tuesday February 27th and Wednesday February 28th through 7th period classes. If you have any questions or concerns about this presentation please contact WSMS counselors, Kay Bordelon at 469-742-8424 or Kathy Stone at 469-742-8423.
Academic UIL
Academic UIL competition is on the horizon, and we are looking forward to attending this year's competition on March 24 and 25, 2017! The competition will be held at Coppell Middle School West, which is located at 1301 Wrangler Drive, Coppell, TX 75019.
All students in grades 7 and 8 are eligible to try-out for a team. Students may compete in as many events as they would like as long as the events they enter compete at different times during the competition day. Tryouts for the competitions will occur shortly after we return from Winter Break. Students who make the team will begin practices as determined by the team coach. Practice days and times will vary with each competition. Please click
here
to find a document that has the contest descriptions, tryout information, and contest times. If you have any questions, please contact Laura Rogers at [email protected].
Interested in Becoming a Mentor?
Willow Springs is seeking strong adult volunteers to become mentors on our campus. An effective mentor understands that his/her role is to be dependable, engaged, authentic, and tuned into the needs of the student. Becoming a mentor is a great way to pay it forward, make a positive impact on a student's life, and make a positive impact on your own life!
If you are interested in becoming a mentor at WSMS, please contact Kathy Stone at [email protected].
School Store T-Shirt Sale
The school stores, located at Lovejoy High School and Willow Springs Middle School, are getting ready for the cooler weather. Don't miss their special sales as they make room for the new season.
All Short-Sleeved T-Shirts - 50% off
Hurry, as the t-shirts will go quickly at this special price.
The LHS Store is open Monday - Friday from 8:30 AM - 4:30 PM. The WSMS Store is open Monday, Tuesday and Thursday from 11:15 AM - 1:15 PM. In addition to Lovejoy spirit wear, there are a limited number of grade-level spirit shirts for pep rallies, athletic events, and field trips to identify them as a WSMS student, also available for sale in the school store. If you pre-ordered a grade-level spirit shirt, please have your son or daughter pick their shirt up in the school store during lunch. These grade-level spirit shirts may also be purchased by
clicking here
. We will place another order based on our online purchases.
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Boys 8th vs. Rockwall Utley Basketball Results - December 14th
A Team - Won
B Team - Won
C Team - Won
Girls 8th vs. Rockwall Utley Basketball Results - December 14th
A Team - Won
B Team - Won
C Team - Won
WSMS Wrestling
This week we have practices only as we scheduled no competition for the middle school teams this week due to semester exams. Please note that practices over the holiday break are optional for middle school wrestlers. Here is the link for the practice schedule,
Christmas Break practice schedule
Golf Parent Meeting
All 8th grade students interested in participating in
high school golf
in 9th grade are invited to attend an informational golf meeting Jan 18th, at 6:30 PM,in the WSMS library. All those with 8th grade students interested in playing high school golf will benefit from the meeting.
Topics that will be covered include:
1. What makes a high school team, how many teams, how many on a team?
2. What kind of time does high school golf require?
3. Lessons/clinics (Who, Where, Cost)
4. Playing junior tournaments
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Foundation for Lovejoy Schools
Annual Appeal
A message from Cindy Booker, Executive Director of the Foundation for Lovejoy Schools:
"If you have been around the district this week, you may have noticed the thermometers have reached $200,000 on our Annual Appeal signs. On behalf of the Board of Directors of the Foundation for Lovejoy Schools, I would like to say thank you to our community for helping us reach our $200,000 goal for Annual Appeal.
The Foundation received donations from 563 donors totaling $201,375. If you have not yet donated or you wish to make a final end-of-year, tax-deductible donation, please
click here
. If you need assistance with your end-of-year giving, please contact me at [email protected]. Without you, we could not carry out our mission to enhance the educational experience for Lovejoy students and staff.
The Foundation office will be closed for the holidays from December 21st - January 5th. The office will reopen Monday, January 8th, 2018.
On behalf of the Board of Directors of the Foundation for Lovejoy Schools, I would like to extend a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you and your family."
Lovejoy Ladies' Night Out
Join us for a Lovejoy Ladies' Night Out to raise funds to award grants to Lovejoy ISD. The event will be held on Wednesday, January 10, 2018, at Cross Creek Ranch in Parker. This event sold out last year.
For pricing and ticket information,
click here
or contact Cindy Booker at 469.742.8043.
Give to the Foundation via AmazonSmile
If you plan on purchasing items from Amazon.com, please consider visiting Amazon Smile. Amazon established AmazonSmile to give back 0.5% of the price of eligible AmazonSmile purchases to charitable organizations. When you are ready to shop, log in to your Amazon account by visiting the
AmazonSmile
website for the Foundation for Lovejoy Schools. Once you have logged in, you will have access to the same products, same prices and same service you find at amazon.com. Thank you for your support of the Foundation for Lovejoy Schools.
Toy Drive
The Work Based Learning classes at Lovejoy High School are hosting an annual toy drive in January to benefit the children in Little Leopards. Collection boxes will be placed at each campus and the administration building. Toy collection will begin when students and staff return to school on January 8th. The students are accepting new to gently used toys for children from birth to five years of age. For additional information please click here or contact [email protected].
LHS Collecting Donations for Coats for Kids
Lovejoy High School is collecting donations to buy coats for S.M. Wright's Christmas in the Park Event. The purpose is to provide funding and resources for underprivileged children and families through the nonprofit organization For Kids Foundation. Every $15 donated will provide a child in the Dallas area with a new coat. This is a great opportunity for everyone to give back this Christmas. You may
click here
to donate.
MySchoolBucks Convenience Fee
MySchoolBucks, the district's online meal prepayment program, has provided notification regarding an increase in the convenience fee paid by parents using the online payment feature. The fee will be increasing from $1.95 per payment to $2.49 per payment and will be effective as of December 11, 2017. This increase is the result of an increase in card scheme fees. The district does not receive any convenience fee funds from MySchoolBucks.
In light of the increase, the district contacted MySchoolBucks. They agreed to increase the maximum payment from $120 per deposit to $240 per deposit. This payment deposit increase is effective immediately. You may contact MySchoolBucks directly by telephone at 855.832.5226 or via email at
[email protected]
.
Kindergarten Gifted and Talented Referrals
Referrals for kindergarten Gifted and Talented services will be available through the PowerSchool Parent Portal from December 1, 2017 - January 12, 2018.
An information session for the parents of kindergarten students will review the referral process, as well as the G/T services offered in Lovejoy.
Lovejoy ISD Administration Building
Board Room
December 4 or 15, 2017
9:00 AM or 4:30 PM (Session information repeats)
If you are unable to attend and would like more information, a slideshow presentation will be available on the
Gifted and Talented webpage
after the December 4th presentations.
All kindergarten students will be tested at their home campuses in January. Additional testing for referred students is scheduled for both Saturday, February 10th and 24th. Services for identified kindergarten students begin March 1, 2018.
For questions regarding referrals, please contact Kari Lockhart (469.742.8015) or Brie Smith (469.742.8032).
Lovejoy Lacrosse - Boys' and Girls' Teams Registration Now Open
Registration is now open for the boys' and girls' 2018 Spring season of Lovejoy Lacrosse. Join the most exciting, fastest-growing sport in the country.
Register now for Boys: Grades Kindergarten through High School
Register now for Girls: Grades Kindergarten through 8th grade
Hurry, as rosters are filling quickly!
Worthwhile Senior Project
LHS Senior John Treanor's Senior project will benefit the USO through in-kind donations. He will be placing boxes for collection at our 3 elementary schools and at Sloan Creek. He shared that he wants to serve in the Navy after college, and has always respected the men and women who serve our country. He plans to have the boxes out for collection by December 13th.
Click here
for a list of suggested donation items.
Relay for Life Luminarias
Relay for Life is selling Luminarias for the Relay for Life event on April 6th at Lovejoy High School. Luminarias honor those whose lives have been affected by cancer. You may dedicate a Luminaria to a loved one who lost their battle with cancer, someone currently battling cancer, or anyone who has overcome cancer. When you attend the Relay event, you will see the Luminarias placed around the track, decorated with names and sometimes messages to whom they are dedicated. Luminarias are $10. If you would like to purchase one, please
click here
.
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