Dear Wonderful Lovejoy Community:
“A successful man is one who can lay a firm foundation with the bricks others have thrown at him."- David Brinkley
I’m not sure I’ve ever been more pleased with a school start than I have been this week. I have seen students, staff, administrators, bus drivers, food service, parents and community members show great respect, encouragement, patience, love and enthusiasm for each other and their school/district.
One Heart One Lovejoy was truly evident this week as we began to establish what that means in our daily lives. The foundation of care, respect, encouragement and love are indeed prevalent in Lovejoy ISD and our community.
It has been awesome….and we are just getting started. The joy on the faces of our kids this week was simply priceless.
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Next week is a big one, not only do we get to celebrate being with our awesome kids again, but it’s a birthday week! I hope your kids will join us in wearing their favorite Disney or Leopard spirit wear on Thursday, August 29.
I am reminiscent of my favorite birthday that was many years ago…
My 10th birthday was something to remember. It was a big thing on my block that day. The news spread - it was the place to be on that Saturday afternoon. I was the "King of the Block" if only for a few hours that afternoon. My dad got me one of the highlights of the party as a gift - a brand new neon green Nerf Football. Life was so much simpler then. Now when I scramble to decide between a 64 gig or a 128 gig, or version 10.0 versus 18.2 of the newest thing for Brock, a Nerf Football seems so simple. But, nonetheless it was the hit of that party. I wonder how we've moved so far away from the simple things which meant so much and get wrapped into the "web" of choices we have today.
The oval entertainment system we simply called "Nerf" led to hours of neighborhood fun. That was until - "the long bomb." Being ten and all, I really wanted to show my stuff. And why not? I had reached double digits! I asked my dad to throw me a long one as I went sprinting in my "chucks" and headed toward the street. It was a beautiful spiraling pass, just enough over my shoulder that I could make the famous one-handed catch. I reached, I dug deep, and reached further and extended my arm and hand as to emulate Spiderman in his finest hour. I clutched and clawed and brought the ball in. It was as if I was born to be one with the Nerf... my neon green friend. However, in my excitement, I forgot to quit running. I turned my head forward again only to feel the thud of what I believed to be a middle linebacker from the Chicago Bears who happened to come to my birthday party. Thud! My feet upended, my breath was knocked out, and my little neon green friend went dribbling away. As the blur began to fade, I saw this tall figure soaring before me. I could not quite make it out, but it seemed to be a towering presence. Broad at the top, legs thin but long...but why is it holding up a red flag? The cobwebs of the blow began to smolder and the vision of my attacker became much clearer.
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My birthday surprise not only came in the form of a football, but in the unbecoming presence of a strategically placed mailbox with a red flag. For the next several years we lived there, my powerful attacker who truly "delivered" that day had a slight tilt in its step and made me often smile as I was reminded how the highlight of that 10th birthday party had very little to do with cake and ice cream, and everything to do with the joys of being introduced to double digits in quite an eventful way.
Thomas Edison once said, "Many of life's failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up."
After my 10th birthday, I knew I could take any hit and be able to brush it off and get up. As I grew older, I knew many of "life's hits" were so much harder, and the getting up was even harder to do.
I don't know exactly what you are dealing with today. I have a pretty good idea of what your
kids deal with every day and I can tell you, the
Life Lesson of a Mailbox
is an important one.
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In life, we never expect to take a big hit. If we did we would often avoid it, duck under, or move out of the way to get around it. But I wonder if life has its mailbox moments to build capacity in us?
Had the mailbox moment not happened to me, I probably would have never realized how important it is to have "real" friends, an unconditional loving dad, a heartfelt mom who wiped away tears and stood by me, and how tough I really could be when faced with a difficult situation.
Whatever your situation is today, embrace it. Figure the best way to move forward out of it and make yourself better because of it. Walk the deck with those you influence and help them to see how to navigate the mailboxes of life and reach the potential of who they can become. They need us for that.
It’s what we call GRIT… (Growth, Resilience, Integrity and Tenacity)
"He, who makes no mistakes, makes no progress."
- Teddy Roosevelt
Here's to life's leaning mailboxes!
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The Foundation for Lovejoy Schools hosted a new family dinner on Saturday. It was a great event! Dena and I enjoyed the opportunity to welcome our new families home to Lovejoy.
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The first day of school was amazing…from welcoming our elementary Leopards, to the Senior Breakfast and Senior Walk…we truly celebrated One Heart One Lovejoy.
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I enjoyed the opportunity to visit our campuses for lunch this week. It has been fun!
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On Wednesday I met with Texas State Senator Angela Paxton. She is a former educator, has two of her own children pursuing teaching and is a big fan of Lovejoy ISD. I am looking forward to a great partnership with the Senator.
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Lovejoy Visual Art Students Earn Global Recognition
We are so proud to extend the highest congratulations to Lovejoy Visual Art (LJVA) students
McKenna Christiansen,
LHS Senior (2019 AP Studio 2D Design, recognized as AP Studio 2D exemplar),
Katie Miller,
LHS Class of 2019 (2019 AP Studio Drawing, recognized as AP Studio 3D exemplar), and
Avery Silliman,
LHS Class of 2019 (2019 AP Studio Drawing, recognized as AP Studio Drawing exemplar) for being selected by the AP College Board as global examples for the 2020 AP Studio Art Portfolio’s Sustained Investigation. Their personal bodies of work were selected from over 66,000 portfolios to be 3 of only 12 perfect scoring Sustained Investigation examples worldwide. This unprecedented honor is not a mere reflection of the highest score possible in all four categories of Inquiry, Practice/Revision, Process, and Drawing/2D/3D skills, but recognition of the innovative, forward thinking, and standard setting ideation and voice in both their work and their writing.
Being selected as a global example for AP Studio Art is the highest level of recognition possible for an AP Studio Artist as it serves as an exemplar of what is possible looking forward; not what is the norm or the expected. We could not be more proud of LJVA and these three young women and the work ethic, thoughtfulness, intent, and diligence behind their incredible bodies of work. The level of intelligence, care, commitment, personal voice, and risk taking they demonstrated through their work and dialogue continues to grow and shape the legacy of LJVA.
To view
Mckenna Christiansen’s
body of work, read her artist statement and the corresponding scoring commentary from the College Board please visit:
To view
Katie Miller’s
body of work, read her artist statement and the corresponding scoring commentary from the College Board please visit:
To view
Avery Silliman’s
body of work, read her artist statement and the corresponding scoring commentary from the College Board please visit:
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Lovejoy Students Volunteer in Future Medical Caregiver Program
Congratulations to LHS Junior
Pahul Ghumman
, LHS Senior
Daiyan Chowdhury
, LHS Junior
Chris Abdalla
and LHS Sophomore
Claire Easley
for their service in the Junior Volunteer Program this past summer. The Junior Volunteer Program is a 6-week program
designed to provide qualified students with experiential and educational information about healthcare careers and volunteerism. The Lovejoy students were part of a group of 22 students chosen from a field of 89 applicants. Their time in the program included rotations through various departments including ER, Surgery, Food Services, Pharmacy, etc.
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Mark Your Calendars! LHS Varsity football opens the 2019 football season against the Colleyville Heritage Panthers at Allen’s Eagle Stadium in the Tom Landry Classic on Saturday, August 31 at 7:00 PM.
Join us as we support Leopard football, cheer, band, color guard and the Majestics. Bring everyone you know, and let’s fill the stands.
Proceeds from the game will fund scholarships for Lovejoy students. The more fans we have on our side – the more scholarships our students will receive.
Tickets will be available for purchase at LHS the week prior to the game and at the stadium 90 minutes prior to kickoff.
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We are pleased to announce the
Lovejoy ISD Community News Page
. This new addition to the Lovejoy ISD Website includes news from our schools, programs, booster clubs, student organizations, Foundation for Lovejoy Schools, community, and more. Check back often for up-to-date news on events and activities.
This Week's News:
Enrollment Open for Lovejoy District-Led SAT Courses
Lovejoy Gifted and Talented Referral Form Open Through September 14
Foundation for Lovejoy Schools Award $405,103 in Grants
Chess Club Enthusiasts – Register Now!
BYOP Elementary Night with Lovejoy Volleyball
Evening with the Majestics
Junior Mini Cheer Camp
Public Lands Trail Cleanup
For the latest Athletic News, download the "Lovejoy Leopards Athletics" app.
For the latest Fine Arts News, follow
@LovejoyArts on Twitter, or like them on Facebook at Lovejoy Arts.
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I hope you and your family enjoy a great weekend. We can't wait to welcome your students back to school on Monday!
Proud Lovejoy Leopard,
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Michael Goddard, Ed.D.
Superintendent of Schools
Lovejoy Independent School District
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Twitter, Facebook and Instagram
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