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Willow Springs Middle School Principal Newsletter - October 24, 2019
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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.
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Dude Be Nice - October 28 - November 1
As children morph into teenagers, parents often see and hear children make comments that can be interpreted as rude, gossipy, defensive, and argumentative. Although these negative changes are developmentally normal, adults must continue to teach, model and remind students the importance of kindness, gratitude, and inclusivity.
This year, WSMS is partnering with LHS and SCIS to promote kindness across the district with a program called "Dude Be Nice." Throughout the week, students will see and be asked to participate in different activities that promote kindness on campus. On Tuesday, October 29th, all WSMS students will participate in a "Dude Be Nice" presentation, sponsored by the PTA. If interested, parents are invited to attend either presentation. Presentations will begin in the Main Gym at 2:10 (7th Grade Presentation) and 3:15 (8th Grade Presentation). For a copy of the bell schedule please
Click here.
We encourage all students to purchase and wear a Dude Be Nice shirt on October 29th to show unity and support of kindness across our campus! Limited sizes are available. To purchase the shirt, click here:
https://lovejoy.revtrak.net/lhs-dude-be-nice/
ParentPortal Update - DUE NOW
The PowerSchool ParentPortal is now open for you to complete the online Enrollment & Student Information Forms. Please
click here
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, FERPA Acknowledgments, General Waivers, and other information.
As of today, there are 100 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.
REMINDER! Club Day - Friday, October 25
Club Day is Friday, October 25 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.
NEW! National Prescription Take Back Day - October 26, 10am - 2pm
Did you know the non-medical use of Rx drugs ranks second only to marijuana as the most common form of drug abuse in America? The majority of teens abusing Rx drugs get them from family and friends - and the home medicine cabinet. We encourage all WSMS families, to take their old and/or unused prescriptions this Saturday, October 26th to a center near you. There are locations in Fairview, Allen, McKinney, Plano, Murphy, and Wylie! Click on the link for the location nearest you:
https://takebackday.dea.gov/
LAST CALL! 2019-2020 Reflections - DUE Monday, October 28
The Willow Springs PTA is pleased to announce the theme for this year's Reflections contest: "Look Within". We encourage ALL 7th and 8th graders to participate in this annual competition which promotes student creativity and expression. The categories include dance choreography, film production, literature, music composition, photography and visual arts. Students may enter works in one or more categories with no limit to the number of entries in a single category.
The deadline for submission is Monday, October 28th by 3pm
. Every student who participates will receive a certification of recognition signed by the Texas PTA President and recognition on the Texas PTA website.
In order to participate, students must complete an
entry form
.
For any further questions or concerns regarding Reflections, please contact
Christy Payne
.
LAST CALL AT SALE PRICE! WSMS Yearbook Deadlines
IMPORTANT YEARBOOK DEADLINE FRIDAY 11-1!!!
Important 8th grade Recognition ADS!!!
TO ALL 8TH GRADE Willow Springs MS PARENTS: FRIDAY 12-13 IS THE DEADLINE FOR THE 8THGRADE RECOGNITION ADS.
All 8th grade recognition ads must be paid for and submitted online by Friday, December 13th via the
jostensyearbooks.com link.
NEW! Shoe Collection & Arbor Day Opportunity
You're invited to participate in two upcoming environmental events to help our community.
First, WSMS will celebrate National Recycling Day (November 15) with a shoe collection. The PTA will be collecting your outgrown athletic shoes November 4-13 at WSMS. All sizes are needed and will be donated to those in need. The students will see collection bins in the main hallway for their donations.
Second, the city of Lucas will host an Arbor Day celebration during its new Farmers Market on November 2 from 8 a.m. to 12 p.m. Members of the local Legacy 4-H club will be giving away tree saplings and mulch. More information is available at:
Arbor Day Celebration - City of Lucas
REMINDER! 7th Grade Hearing /Vision Screenings - November 4 and November 5
Monday, November 4th and Tuesday, November 5th, 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.
WSMS Career Day 2019
On Wednesday, November 6th, 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 Tuesday, October 22nd during Advisory.
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 6th, 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!
LAST CALL for Presenters!
Our Career Day is not complete without your expertise! We need your help to make Career Day a meaningful experience for our students. If you are interested in presenting your career to students, but you have not signed up yet, please
sign up here
.
Thank you!
NEW! NJHS Service Project: ACO Thanksgiving Box Drive, November 8 - 21
It's that time of year when giving just a little can change a needy family's entire holiday season. Willow Springs Advisory classes are partnering with NJHS to hold a Thanksgiving Box Drive for Allen Community Outreach. NJHS students will be working with 7
th
and 8
th
grade Advisory classes to put together a Thanksgiving Box for needy families in our community. Each box will contain all of the items and non-perishable groceries needed to cook a traditional Thanksgiving meal. The food drive will begin on
Students will be asked to provide the following:
$15 Walmart Gift Card (to purchase a turkey),
Bisquick, Cornmeal or Corn muffin mix, Flour, Sugar, Pumpkin pie filling (canned), Fruit pie filling (canned),
Box of pie crust mix,
Box of Jell-O mix, Box of pudding mix, Canned vegetables (variety), Canned fruit (variety), Canned yams, Marshmallows, Stuffing mix, Instant mashed potatoes, Canned gravy or gravy packets, Cranberry sauce, Chicken broth, Cream of chicken, Cream of mushroom, Evaporated milk, 1 container of salt (unopened), 1 container of pepper (unopened,) 2 to 3 casserole size foil baking pans (13x9), 3 foil pie pans
NEW! WSMS Theatre - Save the Date! November 14, 15, and 16
The WSMS Performing Arts will be presenting ANNIE JR. Tickets will go on sale to the public on Monday, October 30th at 10am.
NEW! WSMS Spelling Bee - Friday, November 15
The WSMS Spelling Bee will be on November 15th from 9:30-11, in the cafeteria. Parents are welcome to attend.
Author Dennis Lee to visit WSMS - November 19
On November 19th, our 7th graders will have a unique experience as they hear from Author/Ventriloquist Dennis Lee.
Robotics Club - Every Thursday After School
Interested in Robotics....Join Us! The WSMS Robotics Club will meet every Thursday after school. Students should come to room C300, right after school, with pickup being 5pm. Please sign up by joining the Robotics Club classroom. The code is
ubltty5.
If you have any questions, please contact Sylvia Woods at [email protected].
Gardening Volunteer Opportunity
Do you have a green thumb? Do you enjoy gardening and helping get kids out in nature more for hands-on learning? We need you to join the Willow Springs "Guardians of the Green" parent group! This parent group will support what Dr. Messer and Mrs. Perez want to accomplish this year and beyond with outdoor learning projects, nature education and beautification around campus. To get involved, join the Facebook Group called "Willow Springs Guardians of the Green" or contact Lisa Wilkins at [email protected] or 214-206-7407. Thank you!
Summer Educational Trip: Costa Rica
For the past three years, students at WSMS have been provided an opportunity to extend their science learning in 7th and 8th grade by participating in a summer trip to Costa Rica. This trip is hosted by WorldStrides, a company with over 50 year's of experience with student travel working with middle schools across the country to provide summer learning experiences. This year's trip is Coastal Conservation. Students will zipline through the rainforest canopy, hike through a cloud forest, horseback ride through the rainforest and visit National Parks and Costa Rican beaches. Students will discover Costa Rica's rich culture and traditions, and experience incomparable learning moments. S
ign up today at
worldstrides.com/signup
using Trip ID 181112. If you have any questions, contact Jennifer Perez at
j[email protected] .
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Campus Information and Reminders
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This past Saturday our region hosted our Annual All Region Orchestra Contest at Allen High School. All Region is an individual competition where our students learn a packet of music that includes an etude and excerpts that they have to learn on their own. This music is difficult and stretches them as musicians. They compete against all other musicians from 6th-8th grade in our region. This includes Allen, Mckinney, Rockwall and Sherman. They are sent into the audition room in groups of 15-20 and have to perform small sections for a panel of judges in front of their peers. This is a very intense process and our students did very well!
Please congratulate the following students for going above and beyond and learning the all region music and auditioning:
Helena Heinrich-Barna
Clark Koons
Keaton Penn
Sofia Rodas
Edward Sutton
Chris Wang
James Wilkins
John Witherspoon
Liam Whittington
Helena Heinrich-Barna
Clark Koons
Sofia Rodas
Please congratulate the following students for making the All Region Orchestra:
Alissa Chang- 5th Chair Violin Brahms Orchestra
David Wang- 16th Chair Violin Brahms Orchestra
Niina Wheeler- 31st Chair Violin Brahms Orchestra
Thomas Clancy- 22nd Chair Violin Beethoven Orchestra
Hannah Mao- 9th Chair Viola Brahms Orchestra
Aarathi Devakumar- 31st Chair Violin Beethoven Orchestra
Alex Simpkins- 7th Chair Cello Brahms Orchestra
Jocelyn Kim- 12th Chair Cello Beethoven Orchestra
Perfect Attendance 1st Nine Weeks
During the first grading period, we had 232 students that had perfect attendance. This means these students were in class every period of every day during the first nine weeks. Let's continue to work together to encourage students to increase our perfect attendance. For a complete list of students who had perfect attendance, please
click here.
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.
PowerSchool App
The PowerSchool app is now available in the Apple App Store and Google Play Store. You use the same PowerSchool online login. Enter the District code NJBC.
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.
LISD Calendar
Please go here for LISD calendars.
WSMS Twitter Feeds #wsmslovejoy
@WSMSLovejoyISD (Campus Event Updates)
@sscwsms (Counseling updates)
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CORRECTED! Volleyball Results vs Allen Curtis - October 10th
7th Grade
A Team - Won
B Team - Won
C Team - Won
8th Grade
A Team - Won
B Team - Lost
C Team - Lost
Volleyball Results vs Wylie Cooper - October 17th
7th Grade
A Team - Won
B Team - Won
C Team - Won
8th Grade
A Team - Win
B Team - Win
C Team - Loss
Football Results vs Wylie Cooper - October 22nd
7th Grade
Red - Won
Black -Won
8th Grade
Red - Lost
Black - Won
Athletics Transition to Winter Sports/Offseason
Girls will transition on Tuesday, October 29th, and Boys will transition on Wednesday, October 30th.
Girls Basketball Parent Information & Tryout Details
Middle School Tryouts will be held
October 29th (Tuesday) through October 31st (Thursday)
. Thursday the 24th - During 7th period (for 7th grade only), I will pull all the girls trying out for basketball - this time will allow me to get a first look before tryouts actually start - this is NOT required in order to try out.
We will meet with the girls individually on Thursday the 31st and let them know if they made the team. Practices will start the following Monday (We will only have one week before games start!) I will send an email out on the 31st that will have the practice schedule included.
8th Graders will tryout from 7:30am - 8:50am
7th Graders will tryout from 3:25pm - 5pm
Boys Basketball Tryouts for 7th and 8th Grade
Tryouts for 7th and 8th grade boys basketball will take place October 30th-November 4th. 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
The schedule for tryouts can be found below:
8th Grade:
October 30 - 8:00am through 1st period
October 31 - 7:00 am through 1st period
November 1 - No School for students
November 4 - 7:00 am through 1st period - pickup tryout letter after school
7th Grade:
October 30 - 7th period through 5:30
October 31 - 7th period through 5:30
November 1 - No school for students
November 4 - 7th period through 5:30 - Decisions Made
RUN-A-THON -TUESDAY, OCTOBER 29th
Get ready for the 2nd annual GLOW RUN-A-THON! Grab your glow sticks, your best neon gear, and your running shoes and get ready for a great event!
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District Communications
Student and Parent Concerns/Grievances
The faculty and staff of Lovejoy ISD are committed to the service of our students and their parents by responding promptly and professionally to concerns or grievances which may arise.
Student and Parent Complaints/Grievances are governed by LISD Board Policies FNG (LEGAL) and FNG (LOCAL).
How Do You Resolve Parent Concerns?
If you, as the parent or guardian of a Lovejoy ISD student, have concerns regarding your child's education or performance, we want to talk with you. Sitting down and talking with the people who interact most often with your child on a daily basis - his/her teacher, counselor, coach or director- can remedy the majority of concerns.
Most concerns can be and usually are resolved at the classroom/activity/sports or campus level. However, if your concerns are not addressed by visiting with the teacher, campus counselor, coach or director, you may choose to follow the three-level process listed below:
Level One:
Within 15 business days of the incident causing the concern/complaint, you may request a meeting with the next level supervisor which could be the Athletic Director, Fine Arts Director or Campus Principal. The Level One form may be found
here
.
Level Two:
If you are not satisfied with the outcome of the Level One process, within 10 business days of receipt of the Level One decision letter, you may request a meeting with the Assistant Superintendent of Operations (Athletics, Safety, Operations) or Assistant Superintendent of Curriculum and Instruction (Teachers, Administrators, Student Discipline). The Level Two form may be found
here
.
Level Three:
If you are not satisfied with the outcome of the Level Two process, within 10 business days of receipt of the Level Two decision letter, you may appeal the decision to the School Board by contacting the Superintendent. The Level Three form may be found
here
.
Upcoming Events
Running Over Depression - Senior Project
Please join us for the 4th Annual Running Over Depression Run on Saturday, November 16th 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 Lovejoy Leopard Stadium. Running Over Depression is an event being organized by Lovejoy Seniors Zane Edwards, Shalin Mehta, and Thomas Michal 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. To register please
CLICK HERE
.
If your business is interested in sponsoring Running Over Depression please email
Safety and Security Training
Lovejoy ISD is offering "Stop the Bleed" and "Civilian Response to Active Shooter Events" trainings during the month of November. You are invited to join us for this training which is applicable and practical for all community members.
Stop the Bleed
November 19, 2019
6:30 PM - 8:00 PM
Lovejoy High School Lecture Hall
Civilian Response to Active Shooter Events
November 21, 2019
6:30 PM - 8:30 PM
Lovejoy High School Lecture Hall
Community News
We are pleased to announce the
Lovejoy ISD Community News Page
. This new addition to the Lovejoy ISD Webpage will share 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.
For more information on the following topics click the "Lovejoy ISD Community News Page" link above.
Senior Judges Needed!
Register Now! 10th Annual Turkey Chess Tournament
Varsity Football Tickets Available Through School Store
Parking Information for Home Football Games
2019-2020 PTA Reflections Contest - Look Within
Majestics Fundraiser
Homecoming Mums and Garters
On Sale at Lovejoy High School through October 15
City of Lucas Farmers Market
Choir Fundraiser
Majestics Fundraiser
When Life Gives You Lemons Fundraiser
Foundation for Lovejoy Schools Men's Tailgate Party and Cornhole Tournament
Taste of Fairview Benefiting the Foundation for Lovejoy Schools
Red Ribbon Night at Allen Americans
Lovejoy Professional Network Charity Benefit Golf Tournament
Senior Project!
Boys Wrestling Camp
STEM Design Your World Conference for Girls
Senior Project!
Girls Wrestling Camp
Senior Project!
Running Over Depression
Safety and Security Training
Leopard Baseball Buddy League
Mountain Bike Team
Lovejoy High School Cheer Fundraiser
Holiday Poinsettias for Sale
Arthritis Foundation Jingle Bell Run
News from Collin College
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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