January is National School Board Appreciation Month.  This year in Lovejoy ISD, each campus will be recognizing one of our school board members for the entire month of January.  WSMS is so excited to honor LISD school board-vice president Amy Smith.  

Amy and her husband, Abe, have four children in the Lovejoy Independent School District.  Amy is a graduate of the inaugural Leadership Lovejoy Class and Leadership Allen/Fairview Class XXIV. Amy's experience in the Leadership Lovejoy Class inspired her to create and implement the Lovejoy Letter Campaign. This campaign is a way for students and parents to personally express their appreciation and gratitude for all of the employees of Lovejoy ISD.  Amy received the PTA Lifetime Member Award in 2016 and previously served as the PTA President at Puster Elementary.  

 

She is a graduate of Baylor University where she received her BBA in Marketing and obtained a second degree from Ouachita Baptist University in Early Childhood Education.  After teaching for four years in the classroom and after the birth of their first child, she opened a Kumon Math and Reading Center in McKinney. After ten years of growing a successful Kumon Center (and three more children later), Amy sold the business in May 2014.  From 2014 to 2018 she was an event planner and fundraiser for the Baylor Scott and White Health Care Foundation raising funds for many medical initiatives within the system. Currently, Amy is the Business Development Officer at Commercial Bank of Texas, N.A. who has a long history of generously supporting Lovejoy ISD.

 

When Amy is not running children around to their various activities, working or volunteering, you can find her on the tennis court.  She has been married for 21 years to Reverend Doctor Abe Smith. Abe is a United Methodist minister as well as a life coach through his company SmithCoaching.com.

 

Amy is an excellent example of the LISD Graduate Profile pillar of Working for Justice Through Community Servicethrough her leadership on the LISD school board.  Throughout the month of January, Amy will be partnering with our campus to share more about her civic service on the LISD school board with our students.  Please take some time over the next few weeks to personally thank Amy for her service to Lovejoy ISD.

Front Parking Lot After School

We have noticed an increased number of parents picking their kids up in front of campus after school. This disrupts our bus traffic and is a safety concern for students. Beginning Wednesday, January 22nd, the front parking lot will be coned off between 4:00 pm and 4:15 pm. Traffic in the front parking lot will be released to exit the campus as soon as buses depart and the flow of traffic in our carpool lane slows.  The fastest way to exit the campus after school is to follow the carpool lane; once your student is in your vehicle, exit through the exterior carpool lane.  

Geography Bee - Thursday, January 23

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 23 at 4:15 p.m. in the WSMS cafeteria. Typically, about 30 students qualify for the school bee. Students that qualify for the school bee will receive a letter the week of January 6 letting them know specific details about the school bee. Additional information about the National Geographic Bee can be found  here  .

Hour of Code: January 24-30

Willow Spring's students will participate in Hour of Code during the week of January 24 .   Hour of Code is a global movement by Computer Science Education Week and Code.org where millions of students around the globe celebrate computer science and computer programing.  Student will complete coding activities from Google, Code.org and other websites participating in Hour of Code during their advisory class.

Signs of Suicide Presentations at WSMS

This year, WSMS counselors will present, Signs of Suicide, a Suicide Prevention presentation to our students.  The parent presentation of this may be viewed on our Facebook page.    Please follow this link for more information on this program.  You can also visit the Signs of Suicide website for more information,  sossignsofsuicide.org/parent  If you have concerns or do not wish your student to participate in this program, please contact your child's counselor.  Student presentations will be January 29th for 7th grade and January 30 for 8th grade. 

Winter Pep Rally - Friday, January 31

Our Winter Sports Pep Rally will be Friday, January 31 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...

District Bump Up Day

On January 31st, All WSMS 8th grade students and core teachers 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. In addition, 6th grade students will be visiting WSMS to learn more about our programs and courses as they prepare for registration.  Here is the tentative schedule for the day:

Schedule for the Day

WSMS Winter Pep Rally 9:30--10:15.  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 and a few core classes.  

12:15--6th grade students depart for SCIS

1:00--8th grade students return to WSMS.  All 8th grade students will attend periods 5-7 once they return.  

  Bump Up Day Bell Schedule  

Academic UIL - Save the Date

Academic UIL competition is on the horizon, and we are looking forward to attending this year's competition on April 3 and 4, 2020 at Heritage Middle School in Colleyville!  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. Students who make the team (3 members plus one alternate for most teams) will begin practices as determined by the team coach.  Practice days and times will vary with each competition and coach. Tryout dates, times, and locations will be publicized in early February . If you have any questions, please contact Heather Lamb at [email protected]

2020-2021 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 2020-2021 school year. Parent Registration Presentations will be held on:

• Parents of current 6th graders:  At WSMS, February 4, 9am-10 am - Parent Registration Presentation
• Parents of current 7th graders:  At WSMS, February 4, 11am-12 noon - Parent Registration Presentation
• Parents of current 6th graders: At WSMS, February 4, 5:30pm-6pm - GT Information Meeting
• Parents of current 6th graders: At WSMS, February 4, 6:00pm-7:00pm - Parent Registration Presentation
• Parents of current 7th graders: At WSMS, February 4, 6:30pm-7pm - GT Information Meeting
• Parents of current 7th graders: At WSMS, February 4, 7:00pm-8:00pm - Parent Registration Presentation
• Parents of current 8th graders:  At LHS, February 10, 6:00pm-7:00pm Parent Registration Presentation
• Parents and current 8th graders:  At LHS, February 10, 6:00pm-8:30pm LHS Elective Showcase, Immediately following parent meeting

2020-2021 WSMS Cheer Information Meeting (for parents only) - February 11th

When: February 11th at 5:30 pm

Where: WSMS Room c200

Agenda: Will go over the cheer tryout process, the difference between A, B, and C squad, and the financial obligations for cheer.

Parents: Due to a lack of space, please do not bring your students to the information meeting on February 11th.

More information can be found at  www.tinyurl.com/wsmscheer

2019-2020 WSMS STAAR Testing Calendar

Date	Who?	Event
Feb. 24 - April 3		TELPAS (ESL Students Only)
April 7	7th Grade	STAAR Writing
	8th Grade Pre-Algebra 8th Grade Geometry	STAAR Math 8
	8th Grade Algebra	8th EOC Rotations
April 8	8th Grade	STAAR Reading 8
May 5-6	7th Grade GT Algebra 8th Grade Algebra	STAAR Algebra EOC
May 12	7th Grade 8th Grade	STAAR Math 7 FitnessGram
May 13	7th Grade 8th Grade	STAAR Reading 7 Science & Social Studies Rotations
May 14	7th Grade 8th Grade 8th Grade	FitnessGram STAAR Science 8 STAAR Social Studies 8