A Message from the Principal
 
Willow Springs Middle School Principal Newsletter - September 28, 2017

 
 
 
 
 
 
   
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Dear WSMS Parents and Guardians,
 
   
It has been another great week at WSMS.  The weather is beginning to cool and feel more like fall. Tomorrow, we have our first Club Day of the year.  Club Day is a time for students to learn more about themselves while meeting other students and teachers that share similar interests. It's another opportunity for our students to find a middle school "niche".  I have definitely found mine as I have the privilege of sponsoring the Guitar Club, which is very rewarding for me.  The guitar club members provide great entertainment and I am always amazed by their playing ability.
Have a great weekend! Go Leopards!

    
Sincerely,
Kent Messer
Principal
Willow Springs Middle School
1101 West Lucas Rd, Lucas 75002
Office: 469-742-8417
Mobile: 214-293-9938
@WSMSLovejoyISD
#wsmslovejoy


Club Day - Tomorrow, September 29
Tomorrow is Club Day and 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.
 
   
No Pass - No Play: Six Week Progress Report Grades
Next Week, September 29th, will be the last day for six week progress reports.  Although we have moved to a nine week grading system this year, UIL requires all schools to check eligibility after the first six weeks and again at the end of the first grading period if it exceeds six weeks.  Based on our district academic calendar, we will have two eight week grading periods in the fall.  Our first grading period will end on Friday, October 13 th .  For a copy of the UIL eligibility calendar, please click here .
 
Your student could earn a $25 iTunes card!
It's time for the annual WSMS Battle of the Books! Please encourage your students to participate in this fun event. Student and teacher teams are already forming. Using books as ammunition, participants will go head-to-head in this epic battle that will test each competitor's knowledge of the 4 selected titles. Students may compete as individuals or as teams with up to 4 students per team. The student champs will earn a $25 iTunes card and will get to compete against in our teacher teams to see who will be the Overall Grand Champions. The EPIC battle will take place on November 14. Tell your students to stop by the library to get more details and to sign up a team.
 
 
WSMS Fall Back to School Social & Dance - Tomorrow!
Our Fall Back to School Social and Dance is tomorrow, September 29th from 4:30 p.m.-6:30 p.m. at WSMS. We will have a DJ and music in the cafeteria as well as basketball, volleyball, and soccer in both gyms.  Cost for the dance is $10.00. Tickets may be purchased online until noon tomorrow by  clicking here .  

-Students are welcome to purchase snacks and water during the dance  

-Chips, Goldfish, Teddy Grahams, M&M's and Kit Kat's and bottled water for $1.00  

Chaperones: We need at least 12 chaperones for this event to be able to offer all of the activities.

Chaperoning is easy, very little work, and it's fun to watch the kids having a good time (they forget we are there). Please arrive by 4:15pm and plan to stay until the dance concludes.
**Please make sure you have completed your online volunteer clearance.**
 
To sign up to volunteer as a chaperone please  click here !
 
Please contact Maria Ritchie at [email protected] with any questions.
 
 
Additional Dance Information
*This is not a date dance so middle school students will not need a date to attend.  

*Students will not need to change clothes or get into any special attire.  Students will wear what they will be wearing to school and must be in dress code.  

*After school athletics will only practice during 8th period so students can attend the social/dance.  Coaches will make adjust to their schedules so practices are over by 4:15.  

*This is for Willow Springs students only, students who attend a campus other than Willow Springs will not be allowed to enter.

*Once school is dismissed at 4:00, students staying for the dance will report to the Auxiliary Gym until the dance begins at 4:30.  

*Once students enter the dance, they will not be allowed out of the building until 6:30 p.m. If your son or daughter needs to be picked up early, please come to the cafeteria doors in the courtyard to check your student out.
 
*7th Grade Parent pick up will be in the back of the school in the courtyard.

*8th Grade Parent pick up will be in the front of the school near the main entrance.  
 

Picture Retakes - Tuesday, October 3
Picture retakes with Legacy Studio are Tuesday, October 3 for students that did not have their picture taken on August 25 or for students needing a retake. For parents who originally purchased a package and want their child to have a retake, please have your son or daughter bring those original photos with them on this retake day. Students who did not have their picture taken on August 25 may have their picture taken and a proof with order information will be sent home within two weeks.
 
 
Girls Basketball Parent Meeting for 7th-12th Grade Players - Tuesday, October 3
We will have our parent meeting for all 7th -12th grade players that are interested in playing basketball this season on Tuesday, October 3rd at 6:30 p.m. in the Lovejoy High School lecture hall. Coach Boxell will be talking about information on the tryout process for all of our teams, practice/game/holiday schedules, expectations of parents and players for the season, etc. This will be a very informative meeting. Players do not need to attend. If you are unable to come to the meeting Coach Boxell will be happy to set up a meeting with you individually. All the information that will be covered in the meeting will also be provided by email after the meeting.
 
 
Pep Rally - Students Wear Your Grade Level Spirit Shirts! Thursday, October 5
Thursday, October 5 we are having a pep rally in our main gym. Our choir will perform the National Anthem, band, color guard and cheerleaders will also perform. We will be on our pep rally bell schedule. 

Please  click here for the bell schedule.

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. 


School Holiday - Friday, October 6 and Monday, October 9
Our fall break is Friday, October 6 through Monday, October 9. School resumes on Tuesday, October 10.




Campus Information and Reminders

Safety Corner
For security purposes, we will be locking all exterior doors to Willow Springs at 8:55 AM.  This means that students that arrive after 8:55 AM will not be able to enter the building through the courtyard; they will need to enter at the front of the school and obtain a late pass from the front desk.  If you drop your student off in the morning, please assist us in getting your son or daughter in the building prior to 8:55 AM.  During the school day, teachers and students have been asked not to open exterior doors for anyone.  This means they are not to open doors for parents, teachers, coaches, custodians, etc., even principals.  All parents and/or visitors should enter the building through the front door.  All campus or district personnel are expected to use their access badge or keys to enter the building.  Thank you for assisting us in keeping Willow Springs safe and secure during the school day. 
 
 
After School Procedures
As school dismisses at 4:00 every day, we are asking our students to exit the building by 4:10. If they remain in the building, we ask that they be in a classroom for tutorials, the CAT, the Library, or the Fine Arts wing for rehearsals. We will be sweeping the halls between 4:00-4:10 asking students to move to their designated location. If your student needs to remain on campus past 4:10, please encourage them to remain in tutorials, the CAT, the Library, or the Fine Arts wing until you arrive.


WSMS School Store and Student Spirit Shirts
Our Willow Springs School Store is open from 11:15-1:15 on Monday, Tuesday and Thursday. 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.
 
 
 
WSMS Percussion Success
The WSMS Percussion Ensemble is the National Winner in the 2017 Mark of Excellence/ National Percussion Ensemble Honors Project. The Mark of Excellence is a national music competition which honors music programs and their ensembles for the highest standards in performance. You may click here for additional information. To enjoy the audio submissions, please click on the following links:
 

 
Congratulations to the following students involved in these recordings:
 
Maddy Allen
Andres James
Daniel Khalil
Annika Kjellgren
Joshua Lass
Carson Person
Christina Taylor
Charis Vela
 
 
State Fair Tickets/Absences 
All WSMS students will be receiving a complimentary state fair ticket early next week.  If your son or daughter does not receive a state fair ticket, please have them check with their 7th  period teacher. 
 
Just a reminder that if your son or daughter attends the state fair during a school day, he or she will be counted absent. WSMS and LISD do not accept fair receipts as documentation for the absence or as a waiver for the day. Thank you for your cooperation with this.



Athletics

Volleyball Results - September 21
 
7th Grade
A team: Won 2 - 1
B team: Lost 0 - 2
C team: Lost 0 - 2
 
8th Grade
A team: Won
B team: Won
C team: Won
 
 
Football Results - September 26
 
7th Grade  
Black team: Won 26 - 12
Red team: Won 24 - 22
 
8th Grade
Black team: Won 32 - 8
Red team: Tied 0 - 0


WSMS PTA


PTA Membership Deadline - October 15
Willow Springs Parents: If you have not had the opportunity to purchase your WSMS PTA membership you can do that today. Our deadline to send in memberships to TXPTA is October 15th. Please fill out the form you can find here and make payment. You can mail it to Willow Springs Middle School or bring it to the front office. We appreciate your support. Last year we received an award from TXPTA for having over 500 members in our WSMS PTA. We have kept those numbers for three years straight. Currently we have close to 285 members. Please help us achieve that goal once again. Let's go for four!!!
 
WSMS PTA has only one major fundraiser a year and that is our check writing campaign. 100% of the money you donate allows us to continue to provide meaningful programs to our children such as AIM for Success, Red Ribbon Week, Suicide Prevention Program, Cyberbullying, Environmental Awareness, Reflections and a few programs in the works for the Spring. We can only provide these programs with the help of your generous donations. You will find the donation form here. Thank you again.


CAT Volunteers Needed! 
Parents are invited to help in the Center for Academic Training (CAT) this Fall! Volunteers are asked to help read a test aloud to a student. If you are able to help for an hour on one of these days please view our calendar and select a time that works best for you by clicking here. We need volunteers between 11:15 to 1:20 ( 1-hour time slots available) Thank you in advance for your support and time. Please contact Cynthia Beets, [email protected] for any questions
 

District and Other News


 
Foundation for Lovejoy Schools
 
Men's Tailgate Tournament:  Wednesday, October 11
It is time for the men to sign up for the Men's Tailgate Tournament. Join us for food, beer, and a cornhole tournament. The tournament is double elimination, so everyone is guaranteed to play two games. The tournament will be held at the home of John and Kris Dunaway in Lucas. Sponsors for the event are Renfrow Dunaway Group, Lee Lewis, Nine Band Brewing, Tom Grisak Estate Homes Realtors, Estate Life Magazine - Lucas and Fairview, Chick-fil-A of Allen, and the Dunaway Family. For more information and to register to for the event click on the following link: Men's Tailgate Registration .
 
Wednesday, October 11
6:30 PM
120 McMillen, Lucas, Texas





Lovejoy High School Parent Technology Session: October 4
Google Boot Camp - Calendar and Classroom
Would you like to access course calendars to see due dates and other information? Do you have questions about Classroom or Guardian Email Summaries? Bring your lunch or dinner and join us for a Parent Tech session on Wednesday, October 4th, at either 11:00 AM or 6:30 PM in the Lovejoy High School Library. We will take a look at where you can find course calendars and subscribe to them, how your teen turns in work on Google Classroom, and what is included in the Guardian Email Summary. There will be a Question/Answer session at the end.  We hope to see you there.
 
Wednesday, October 4, 2017
Lovejoy High School Library (2nd Floor)
11:00 AM - Bring Your Own Lunch and Learn
6:30 PM - Bring Your Own Dinner and Learn
 
 
Lovejoy Leopards, Inc. 9th Annual Golf Tournament: Friday, October 6
Lovejoy Leopards, Inc. will host their 9th Annual Golf Tournament on Friday, October 6th at Twin Creeks Golf Club in Allen.  Registration will begin at 7:30 AM with a Shotgun Start at 8:30 AM.  Click here for the registration form and for additional information.
 
 
Evening with the Majestics: Friday, October 13, 2017
The annual Evening with the Majestics will be Friday, October 13th. All Lovejoy ISD students in grades K-6 are invited to join the Majestics as we celebrate Homecoming. "Mini Majestics" (grades K-4) and "Majestics in Training" (grades 5-6) will perform the pre-game Fight Song in the Victory Lines on the field, and will then sit with the Majestics and participate in "stand routines" in the bleachers.  Click here for additional information.  Click here to complete the registration form and be a part of the Homecoming tradition. 




Eagle Project:  Hurricane Harvey Relief
A message from Hunter Kight, WSMS 8th grader:
 
"My name is Hunter Kight, I am an 8th grader at Willow Springs, and I've just started my eagle project. I have chosen to help the hurricane Harvey victims for my project. Many of the victims did not have flood insurance and this looks to be the most costly natural disaster in U.S. history. The clean-up and rebuild effort will take more than a year. There is a time during disasters like this that charities experience donor fatigue. This is where donations drop to their lowest. Through my project I am trying to reduce donor fatigue, by collecting basic essential items. I have partnered with the Salvation Army to collect supplies like canned goods, baby food/formula, hygiene items, diapers and cases of water. Large donation boxes are located at each school to collect these items. I will leave these boxes out until November 3, 2017. Please consider supporting this effort by filling the boxes and helping the victims."
 
Click here for additional information.