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Willow Springs Middle School Principal Newsletter - October 18, 2018
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Dear WSMS Parents and Guardians,
Fall is finally here, enjoy it while you can-it doesn't last long in North Texas. Our teachers and students continue to work hard as we move into the tenth week of school. With the first grading period behind us, this is usually the time of year that students are settled into campus routines and class expectations. Please continue to work with your son or daughter to build ownership and responsibility in their learning. I have heard great feedback from our teachers and staff about students checking PowerSchool, visiting course websites, and following up with teachers about their learning. If you need any additional information about your student's performance in class, please do not hesitate to contact his or her teacher, counselor, or assistant principal.
We are looking forward to a great Red Ribbon Week with our students and staff next week. Have a great weekend.
Sincerely,
Kent Messer
Principal
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ParentPortal Update Needed ASAP
The PowerSchool ParentPortal is now open for you to complete the online Enrollment & Student Information Forms. Pleaseclick here to access the Parent Portal. Completion of these forms is required every year for every student. Please take a few minutes to update your contact information, emergency contacts, authorized pickup, FERPA acknowledgments, Student Code of Conduct, Student Handbook, etc.
As of today, there are 33 students whose forms have not been updated.
PLEASE NOTE: Regarding the Release of Directory Information for School Use:
In order for your child's picture to appear in the Yearbook, you should answer "YES".
IMPORTANT - Students and parents have a separate login/password for PowerSchool. Students should never have access to ParentPortal or use their parent login. If students were to access the ParentPortal on a school or public computer and not log out, family demographics as well as sibling's grades would be open for others to access. If you have any questions, you may contact Carol Vik at 469-742-8415.
Sebastian and Friends Sing-A-Long - Saturday, October 20
Join Sebastian and his "Under the Sea" friends for a morning of singing your favorite Disney's The Little Mermaid tunes! Meet the characters and enjoy fun activities with the cast of Disney's The Little Mermaid, Jr.
Click here for more information. Tickets $25 per student and can be purchased online at the Parent Payment Portal.
Grade Level Spelling Bee Tryouts - Monday, October 22
Willow Springs Middle School will be hosting our 11th Annual Spelling Bee on November 15 at 9:30 a.m. in the cafeteria. Grade Level Spelling Bee tryouts will be on Monday, October 22nd after school. All 7th grade participants will try out in room C600/Mrs. Moss's room; 8th grade participants will try out in room C605/Mrs. Heid's room. Tryouts will begin at 4:10 p.m. promptly in room C600 and C605. (No makeup tryouts will be held, so make sure to come if you are interested!) Students must participate within their appropriate grade level, and the top six spellers from each grade and one alternate from each grade will advance to the campus-wide Spelling Bee on November 15th.
Coin Drive October 22 - 25
Our PALS group will be hosting a Coin Drive for the Breast Cancer Foundation. All donations will be made in honor of Angie Carraway.
Red Ribbon Week October 22-25
Red Ribbon Week will be next week! It will be a busy week filled with parent presentations, student presentations, activities and a Pep Rally... all designed to help students learn about the dangerous impact of drug and alcohol usage. Each day during 2nd period, teachers will present an IMAP Mini-Lesson to students.
Click here for the RRW Flyer of daily themes.
Drug Awareness Parent Presentation: Thursday, October 25
Our Unexpected Journey - Helping Parents Be Prepared
Susan Hoemke will be sharing her son Hayden's story and their dark journey through his downward spiral into drug use, addiction and legal issues. Their seemingly perfect family life came to an abrupt end when they found themselves uneducated about - and unprepared for - managing these issues. They lost their sweet, beloved son Hayden in 2014 just before his 23rd birthday. The Hoemke's experience was tragic, and one they wish no parent would have to experience. Sadly, many will and are today.
Mrs. Hoemke will bring some light to this darkness by sharing her experience in hopes of providing some information about how drug abuse can start, what to watch for, and tools to handle these situations, if they do occur. All parents in the district are encouraged to attend the presentation at Willow Springs Middle School in the Band Hall on Thursday, October 25th at 9:00 AM.
Pep Rally - Thursday, October 25
Thursday, October 25 we are having our Red Ribbon Week pep rally in our main gym. 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.
Orchestra Concert - Thursday, October 25
Our Orchestra Fall Concert is quickly approaching on Thursday, October 25th. All orchestras are working very hard on preparing this music and we are looking forward to our performance! Our concert is currently set to be in the courtyard at Lovejoy High School starting at 6:00 p.m. All families will need to bring their own chairs and/or blankets to sit on to watch the orchestras perform.
WSMS Theatre - Save the Date! November 1, 2 and 3
The WSMS Theatre and Choir department will be presenting Disney's The Little Mermaid Jr. Click here to purchase your tickets!
WSMS Career Day 2018
On Friday, November 2, WSMS will hold our annual Career Day! This event will give students the opportunity to visit with professionals from various professions to learn about potential career fields.
Students will sign up online Monday, October 15
th
during 2
nd
period.
Students will sign up for TWO career fields of interest. Students will also sign up for TWO alternate career fields (in case their first choices are full).
On November 2nd, students will visit FOUR career presentations - two they have selected, and two they will be assigned - perhaps a career field they didn't know existed!
If you are interested in presenting your career to students, but you have not signed up yet, please
sign up here
.
PTA Reflections - "Heroes Around Me" - Deadline November 2nd
WSMS PTA is excited to kick off another year of celebrating Arts in Education with participation in the National PTA Reflections Competition. All students are encouraged to get in touch with their inner artist by interpreting the 2018-2019 theme, "Heroes Around Me." Students may submit work(s) in dance choreography, film production, literature, music composition, photography, or visual arts. For rules and entry forms click
here
or visit the WSMS front office. Entries are due to the Willow Springs office by November 2nd. Please contact Nicole Dubree at
[email protected]
with any questions.
Yearbook Early Order Deadline - November 2
There is still more time to order your WSMS Yearbook at the lowest price of the year of $40.00. Yearbook may be purchased online only by electronic check, PayPal, debit, or credit card. For more information, pleaseclick here. The price will go up to $50.00 after November 2.
7th Grade Hearing /Vision Screenings - November 7th and November 8th
Tuesday, November 7th and Wednesday, November 8th, WSMS nurses will be performing the required State Hearing/Vision screenings on all 7th grade students. If your child wears glasses or contacts, please make sure they bring them to school on those dates.
Your student could earn a $25 Cinemark 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 Cinemark card and will get to compete against our teacher teams to see who will be the Overall Grand Champions.
The EPIC battle will take place on Tuesday, November 13 , starting at 4:15 pm. Tell your students to stop by the library to get more details and to sign up a team.
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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, gyms, and the cafeteria; while the exterior cameras provide views of the building periphery and entrances.
Students feeling under the weather?
As you know, it is prime cold and flu season. To help best manage our students and to keep in line with the policy in the Student Handbook, if students are not feeling well at school, they need to be checked out through the school clinic. The student must be fever free (Temperature of 99.9 or less for 24 hours without the use of over the counter medications to keep the temperature down) and must NOT have vomited or had diarrhea in the last 24 hours.
Thank you for your attention to this important matter.
The WSMS Store will be open every Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday from 11:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. Stop by to get your school spirit gear!
If you are interested in volunteering in the school store this year, please email
Reporting an Incident at WSMS
One of our top priorities at Willow Springs Middle School is to ensure the safety of all of our students. Our most important asset in this is the eyes and ears our students can provide us on campus. We will begin using the Safe Schools Alert System this year for students and parents to report incidents they are aware of happening. You can access the system by going to
www.lovejoyisd.net
. Under Quick Links click on "REPORT IT!" You will have four ways to submit an incident. Furthermore, you will receive an access code to follow the progression of how an incident is being handled.
Developing Student Ownership in Learning
One of our goals is to work with students to build ownership and responsibility in their own learning. Consider having your student make first contact with his/her teachers by emailing them about assignments and/or tests. For example, if your student has not completed a homework assignment or a test, please encourage your student to do the following:
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Go to the Google Classroom to print off and complete the assignment and/or any test preparation materials
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Email their teacher and ask questions about the assignment or missing work
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Talk to their teacher about the missing assignment or test
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Know how and where to turn in the assignment or complete the test
Student Nutrition Newsletter for October
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Volleyball Results vs Allen Curtis - October 11th
7th Grade
A Team - Lost
B Team - Won
C Team - Lost
8th Grade
A Team - Lost
B Team - Lost
C Team - Lost
Girls Basketball Meeting - Monday, October 22nd
The preseason Parent Meeting for Middle School Girls Basketball Tryouts is Monday, October 22nd at 5:30 in the WSMS Main Gym. We will go over tryout dates, times, and procedures.
RUN-A-THON ---RESCHEDULED - MONDAY, OCTOBER 29TH
We are planning on having our first ever Run-a-thon at the middle school on October 15th!! Coach Kelly and I are still tossing ideas around... but we thought it would be really fun if we did this in an evening under the stadium lights around the track and had glow in the dark gear for the kids. We asked the kids about it, and they were pretty excited. We will start the event at 7:30. There will be a cap of 25 laps (around 6.2 miles).Mark your calendar ASAP because I think it will be a blast for the kids!
Boys Basketball Tryouts for 7th and 8th Grade
Tryouts for 7th and 8th grade boys basketball will take place October 31st-November 2nd. This year the basketball team will have three teams for each grade with 10 players on each team.
Tryouts will take place at Willow Springs Middle school. The boys need to have turned in a physical and completed the online forms found at: www.lovejoyathletics.com
If you have any questions, please contact Jeff Higgins at [email protected]
The schedule for tryouts can be found below:
Tryout Schedule - Practice at Willow Springs MS
7th Grade:
October 31 - 8:00 am through 1st period
November 1 - 7:00 am through 1st period
November 2 - 7:00 am through 1st period - pickup tryout letter after school
8th Grade:
October 31 - 8th period through 5:30 pm
November 1 - 8th period through 5:30 pm
November 2 - 8th period through 5:00 pm - Decisions Made
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On behalf of Lovejoy ISD we would like to thank
Reinhard Real Estate
for participating in the Lovejoy ISD
Circle of Partners
. We thank Reinhard Real Estate for their support of Lovejoy ISD and the important value they place on the education of our children.
Reinhard Real Estate pledges 10% of gross commission to several non-profits including Lovejoy ISD. Their website can be found at
Reinhard Real Estate
. Jeff and Terri Reinhard own Reinhard Real Estate. They are proud Puster parents to fourth grader Ben, and second grader Max.
Lovejoy ISD is pleased to welcome Tutoring 101 to the Circle of Partners. Tutoring 101 and Lovejoy ISD have formed a revenue generating/sharing partnership to bring their services to Lovejoy families. Please see below for several offerings.
Private tutoring is available for students in grades K-12 in all subjects. Tutoring 101 recommends once a week tutoring for an hour to increase grades and learn subject matter more deeply. A once a week appointment usually results in an increase of one letter grade or more. Turn those C's into B's.
What is your SAT/ACT score? Want a better one? What do you need it to be?
Invest in a PSAT/SAT/ACT Prep program not just a class. Tutoring 101 helps high scorers get top scores, average students raise their scores and poor test takers achieve the scores colleges want. Tutoring 101 students have earned admissions and scholarships, and have saved thousands of tuition dollars every year.
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Specialize in working with individual students and their specific needs
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Day-of-test strategies
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One-on-one/small groups
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PSAT/SAT Classes: Tues or Thurs or Saturdays
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ACT Prep Classes: Mon/Wed or Sat
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One on One and Online Prep also available
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School District Employee Discount
Learn about Tutoring 101's all-inclusive PSAT/SAT/ACT programs:
Classes are conveniently located at Lovejoy High School. Call 972.359.0222 or email [email protected] for additional information.
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Foundation for Lovejoy Schools
Foundation News
The Foundation Board of Directors is beginning a search for an Executive Director. Vicki Deerman is serving as the Interim Executive Director and may be reached at [email protected] or 469.742.8043.
Annual Appeal
Men's Tailgate Tournament - Wednesday, October 24
Tickets on Sale Now!
Gentlemen, please plan to join the Foundation for food, beer, and a double elimination corn hole tournament, guaranteeing all players two games. The tournament will be at the home of John and Kris Dunaway on Wednesday, October 24. Sponsors for the event are Renfrow Dunaway Group, Lee Lewis, Fable Security, Chick-fil-A Stacy Road and Twin Creeks Village, and Lovejoy HVAC.
Click here
to register now.
Please contact Vicki Deerman, Interim Executive Director of the Foundation with any questions.
Kendra Scott Gives Back Party - Thursday, December 13
Benefitting the Foundation for Lovejoy Schools
New! Senior Project - Raised Funds for Autism
Zachary Taylor
, a senior at Lovejoy High School, thanks the Lovejoy community for their support of his Senior Project:
"Hello! I would like to extend a huge thank you to everyone who bought a ribbon or two at Leopard Friday and to those who donated online for the Autism Walk this past weekend. We had a great turnout and the weather was perfect during the walk. We finished just in time before the rain started to come down on us. Not only did I meet my goal of raising $500 toward the walk, the donation total was over $700. If you would still like to donate, the deadline is October 29. The combined donations from the ribbons sale and the walk was over $850. We had a fun time walking for such a great cause. Thank you everyone for your love and support of Autism Awareness!
LHS Band
Join the Band for the Lovejoy Community Garage Sale on October 27 from 8:00 AM - 1:00 PM. The event will be held in the back parking lot of Lovejoy High School by the tennis courts. You rent a spot, you keep the profits!
Click here to rent a spot or click
here for additional information.
LHS Majestics Dance Team - Mums the Word!
The Lovejoy Majestics will be selling mums in the high school commons area during A, B and C lunch beginning Tuesday, October 9 through October 22 between 11:25 AM and 1:00 PM; and in the evenings, on Tuesdays and Thursdays between 5:30 PM and 8:00 PM.
Majestic Mums are a great Lovejoy tradition with all profits supporting the Majestics Dance Team. A dazzling array of mums and garters will be offered to suit any taste and budget. Unique custom designs are available for mums and garters with numerous decorative ribbons, bling, and sports specific trinkets from football, basketball, baseball, band, theater, choir, fishing, wrestling and so much more. Come by the LHS Commons Area to see the offerings.
NEW THIS YEAR
: Give back to the community by purchasing a teal colored ribbon to place on your mum representing Allen Community Outreach (ACO). $10 for every ribbon purchased will go to support ACO's ongoing efforts to help serve its neighbors and friends facing financial crisis in Allen and the surrounding communities.
- Why purchase your mum from the Majestics?
- Mums are reasonably and competitively priced beginning at $50
- Your support helps the Lovejoy Majestics fund their Spring Show
- You have an opportunity to serve our community by purchasing an ACO ribbon
- The selection process is easy because each basic mum has a variety of ribbons/trinkets- all you do is personalize
- Convenience! Select at school & pick it up there a few days later
- Each of our mums is unique; no two are alike
2nd Annual Lovejoy Professional Network Golf Tournament - Friday, November 2nd
The Lovejoy Professional Network is pleased to announce the 2nd Annual Lovejoy Professional Network Golf Tournament on Friday, November 2from 1:30 PM - 8:00 PM at Heritage Ranch. This year the proceeds will benefit the Lovejoy family of Casey and Jamie Sullivan. Casey passed away earlier this year. He was an avid golfer, music lover, coach and proud father of Ainsley (9th), Ryder (8th) and Piper (4th).
The Lovejoy Professional Network's goal is to fill the course with 144 golfers. The event will include a dinner with a silent auction and raffle giveaway. If you are unable to attend the tournament, you are invited to attend the celebration dinner for Casey. You may click here for details. Please contact Mark Urbin for additional information.
10th Annual Turkey Chess Tournament - Saturday, November 3rd
Register now for Lovejoy's 10th Annual Turkey Chess Tournament. This is a five round USCF (United States Chess Federation) event that will be held at Sloan Creek Intermediate School. Click
here
to register for the event.
Lovejoy High School Thirst Project Hosts Fundraiser - Tuesday, November 6
The Thirst Project is a non-profit organization dedicated to ending the world water crisis. They raise money to provide clean and safe drinking water to those in developing countries, like Africa, India, and the Philippines.
The Lovejoy High School chapter of the thirst project is dedicated to helping out the millions of people facing the world water crisis. Throughout the year, the Lovejoy High School chapter will host events to raise money for the Thirst Project's mission and raise community awareness.
You are invited to join the Lovejoy High School Thirst Project on Tuesday, November 6 at Wild Salsa for a fundraiser. Click here to access the flyer to present at Wild Salsa. 20% of the proceeds will benefit The Lovejoy Thirst Project.
You may click here for additional information regarding the Lovejoy Thirst Project, and to donate.
3rd Annual Running Over Depression - Saturday, November 10th
Please join us for the 3rd Annual Running Over Depression Run on Saturday, November 10th at Lovejoy High School. The 1K Fun Run will begin at 8:00 AM and the 5K Run will begin at 8:30 AM at Leopard Stadium. Running Over Depression is an event being organized by Lovejoy Seniors
Brett Pedersen
,
Michael O'Brien
and
Carson Hockersmith
for their Senior Projects. The goal of this run is to raise awareness about teenage depression and suicide prevention. All proceeds from the run will be donated to The American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. Please
click here
to register. If your business is interested in sponsoring Running Over Depression please email [email protected].
Lovejoy Fine Arts Festival - Save the Date! November 30 and December 1
The Lovejoy ISD Fine Arts Festival is around the corner.Click here for updates on performance schedules, art galleries, and more!
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