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Willow Springs Middle School Principal Newsletter - November 16, 2017
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Dear WSMS Parents and Guardians,
We hope everyone is looking forward to a great Thanksgiving break! I would like to compliment our 8
th
grade students for their community service work on Wednesday. They represented themselves, their families, and our school very well. I have received feedback from our service locations about how nice it was to work with our students. Thank you to our 8
th
grade teachers and parents who helped make Wednesday a great day of service learning. To wrap up the day, our 8th grade volleyball team defeated the WSMS faculty in three sets during our faculty/student volleyball game--congrats to our 8th grade volleyball players!
Would you like to help out at Willow Springs?
I hope everyone has a Happy Thanksgiving.
Sincerely,
Kent Messer
Principal
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Club Day - Friday, November 17th
Club Day is Friday, November 17th a
nd we will be on an activity bell schedule. For copy of the activity bell schedule, please
go here
. Students participating in the Extreme Club must wear a helmet. Students who are in the K9 and Kritters Club must have permission from Mr. Abney before bringing an animal to school. Students may leave their equipment for Guitar Club, Extreme and Remote Control Club in the front office. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact Kathy Stone.
College Board PSAT 8/9 - Wednesday, November 29
On Wednesday, November 29th, WSMS 8th graders will take the College Board's PSAT 8/9 test. This assessment is an opportunity for students, parents, and teachers to assess a student's math, writing, and reading skills needed to be college-ready. For more information on the College Board's PSAT 8/9 test, you can visit
this website
. The PSAT 8/9 assessment will begin promptly at 9am on Wednesday, November 29th and will last approximately 3.5 hours. 8th graders may want to bring a bottle of water for testing. All 8th graders will eat C lunch that day. We ask all 8th graders to leave their cell phones at home on testing days. If students choose to bring their phones to school, they will be asked to sign a waiver and place their phone in a bin that will be removed from the room during testing. Phones will be returned after testing. While we will take precautions to keep all phones safe, we cannot be held accountable for lost or damaged phones. If you have questions or concerns, please contact Kay Bordelon, [email protected].
Sex Education & Your Willow Springs Student, December 4th and December 5th
Students in grades 7 and 8 will be shown the AIM for Success program - Freedom to Succeed on December 4th and December 5th at Willow Springs Middle School. Students will participate in the program through their math classes, with a trained AIM presenter. The Aim For Success, Inc. motivational programs have educated over a million young people across America during the past 17 years on topics such as sex, drugs, alcohol, and bullying. AIM has been educating our Lovejoy students for more than 12 years!
Click here
for an overview of the program.
Flapjacks for Finals - Thursday, December 14th
As a middle school tradition, we will be kicking off final exam week with "Flapjacks for Finals" on Thursday, December 14th from 8:00 a.m. - 8:55 a.m. in the cafeteria. Please encourage your son or daughter to stop by the cafeteria for hot cakes.
Final Exams, December 15th-20th
For a copy of the fall semester final exam schedule, please
click here
.
Final exams will officially begin, Friday, December 15th. Teachers are expected to provide students with final exam reviews by Friday, December 1st. In addition, all final exam reviews will be loaded on the WSMS website on December 1st (under both student and parent) and teachers will upload exam reviews into their Google Classrooms. Please encourage your son or daughter to begin working on their final exam reviews early. As they begin to study, encourage them to study every night in short 15-20 minute increments rather than "cramming" the night before the test. Research shows that students who study in small chunks of time over a period of days are more successful on assessments.
We will be sending out more information about middle school final exams over the next few weeks.
NJHS Meeting - Wednesday, December 20th
The next NJHS meeting is Wednesday December 20th at either 8:15am or 4:05pm in Ms. Lamb's room, C104. Students need to bring a print out of their grades as well as their service hours log.
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Campus Information and Reminders
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Safety Corner
Willow Springs Middle School is equipped with security cameras inside and outside the building. The interior cameras provide views of all hallways while the exterior cameras provide views of the building periphery.
11th Annual Spelling Bee Winners
Congratulations to Lauren Dumin on her first place finish in the Spelling Bee today. Our second place finisher was Justin Larimer. All were so prepared and professional. We congratulate our winner and all of our contestants for participating in the Spelling Bee!
Lauren Dumin - 1st place
Justin Larimer - 2nd place
Neelesh Iyer
Eric Wang
Ahmed Mawla
Humzah Ahmad
Battle of the Books
And the Champions are.....
Congratulations to our
WSMS Battle of the Books Student Champions, The Book Thieves.
Team members
Tucker Ashley, Ailas Kokoricha, Shruti Subramaniyan and Jannat Verman
fought a fierce battle to come out on top. The Book Thieves then went on to battle 4 teacher/staff teams. In this epic battle, the LISD Red Building Adminstration Team ran away with the title of 2017 WSMS Battle of the Books Overall Champions! Congrats to Dennis Muizers, Crystal Hume, Kelly Cowan and Brie Smith!
This past weekend we had several students participate in the all region band competition at WSMS. Over 15 schools participated, with over 1000 students auditioning. Congratulations to the following students for winning positions in the Region 25 2017 All Region Band. We are so proud of you!
Holly Xue, Flute, 8th chair, Wind Symphony
Emma Ball, Oboe, Symphonic Band, 2nd chair
Nathaniel Heinrich-Barna, Bassoon, Wind Symphony, 1st chair
Chloe Dorlon, Bassoon, Concert Band, 1st chair
Chris Dechant, Clarinet, 12th chair, Concert Band
Annie Wang, Clarinet, 3rd Alternate
Neil Prakuzhy, Clarinet, 6th Alternate
Greyson Monroe, Bass Clarinet, Wind Symphony, 3rd chair
Brock Stevenson, Alto Sax, 6th chair, Concert Band
Sean Huddleston, Tenor Saxophone, Concert Band, 2nd chair
Hunter Kight, Trumpet, 6th chair, Symphonic Band
Michael Harris, French horn. 8th chair, Concert Band
Mason Muller, Trombone, 3rd chair, Wind Symphony
Dominic Mauriello, Trombone, 1st chair, Symphonic Band
Neelesh Iyer, Euphonium, 2nd chair, Wind Symphony
Ethan Shriner, Tuba, 3rd chair, Symphonic Band
Andrew James, Percussion, 5th chair, Wind Symphony
Josh Lass, Percussion, 8th chair, Wind Symphony
Middle School Match-Up
Middle School Match-Up took place this last weekend, November 10-12. Middle School Match-up is an area Baseball tournament in the Dallas-Ft. Worth Area between local Middle School Teams. The tournament has grown to 59 teams and includes 6th-8th grade. We have 3 teams 6-8th grade from Lovejoy ISD that competed in the tournament over the weekend.
Congratulations to our 8th grade team which took 2nd place in the 8th grade division!
Team Members include: Kolby Branch, Will Branum, Brandt Corley, Ryan Clark, Dominic Dechant, Parker Hutchins, Ian Nash, Casen Smitherman, Chase Tyler, Ian Warren, and Foster Wissman.
The team was coached by JD Smitherman, Tim Scalf, Cade Smitherman (Current Lovejoy Junior Baseball Player) and Stone Scalf (Current Lovejoy 9th Grade Baseball Player).
The 8th grade team was down by 4 runs in the Tournament Semi-Final and was able to come back from that deficit with a Walk off run to win the game!
The 6th and 7th grade teams also competed very well this weekend and will remember this experience for years to come.
Congratulations to all boys that participated in the tournament! Lovejoy Baseball and Lovejoy ISD is proud of all of you!
Student Nutrition Newsletter for November
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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Basketball Pictures - Boys & Girls
Reminder -- Basketball pictures will be Tuesday, November 28th at 7:30 am.
WSMS Cross Country News
The WSMS Cross Country Team had a phenomenal meet on Tuesday! These kids have been putting in hard work and a lot of miles since August. All runners competed well and ran at their highest level, and we swept the meet by winning every division! Go Leopards!
Below are Team results as well as the names of the kids who were in the top 10 in their division and earned a ribbon.
7th Grade Girls - TEAM CHAMPIONS
Amy Morefield - meet champion
Callan Snider - 6th
Bella Landrum - 7th
Emily Reyna - 8th
8th Grade Girls - TEAM CHAMPIONS
Katie Armstrong - 2nd
Avery Ashley - 4th
Isabella Ospina - 6th
Jordyn Caro - 7th
Catie Koh - 9th
7th Grade Boys - TEAM CHAMPIONS
Logan Pedersen - meet champion
Landon Heruska - 6th
Andrew Stiles -7th
Damon Pratt - 10th
8th Grade Boys - TEAM CHAMPIONS
Matthew Murray - 4th
Riley McGowan - 5th
Carson Person - 7th
RUDOLPH RUN COMING SOON! - Get your child and family registered for the Rudolph Run on December 2nd in Allen. The deadline to register online is November 19th. Your child can get a flyer from their PE teacher or athletic coach. Please make sure to mark your child's campus and PE teacher's name so we get the credit for our school. Let's represent Lovejoy Running!!
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Foundation for Lovejoy Schools
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.
Lovejoy Gifted Association Parent Panel: November 16
The Lovejoy Gifted Association invites you to join them for an evening of wit and wisdom shared by parents of recent Lovejoy GT graduates. This is an opportunity to receive answers to questions you may have. The Parent Panel members will share their stories and perspective on how to help you and your children get the most from the GT programs in LISD. It's a great opportunity for families who are new to GT to get a head start, as well as for families who have been with GT and are looking to reconnect as their children's interests continue to evolve and change. The event is sponsored by The Lovejoy Gifted Association and is open to all parents, teachers and students who are interested in learning more about the Gifted and Talented programs. You do not have to be a member to attend. Please contact Piritta van Rijn with questions.
Thursday, November 16, 2017
Parent Panel: 6:00 PM - 7:30 PM
Mix and Mingle: 7:30 PM - 8:00 PM
Lovejoy High School
Lecture Hall
Lovejoy ISD Fine Arts Festival
The Lovejoy ISD Fine Arts Festival will be held December 1st and 2nd at Lovejoy High School. There will be band, choir, and orchestra concerts. You may attend plays and short productions by the middle school and high school theatre programs. The dance department will perform two concerts. Every student enrolled in a visual art course will have one or more works on display. In addition, volunteers from the High School Fine Arts Booster Clubs and district fine arts parents will provide homemade baked goods and beverages for purchase as well as the infamous Fine Arts Festival Chili luncheon. This event is truly a wonderful showcase of the incredible fine arts programs in Lovejoy ISD. Please click here for additional information to include schedules, maps, and details.
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).
November is American Diabetes Month
American Diabetes Month is part of the American Diabetes Association's efforts to bring attention to the disease and those affected by it. The American Diabetes Association's website provides additional information which may be found
here
.
Each Friday during National Diabetes Awareness Month you may show your support for people affected by diabetes by wearing blue. Click here for details.
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STAY CONNECTED
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