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Willow Springs Middle School Principal Newsletter - November 21, 2019
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Dear WSMS Parents and Guardians,
We hope everyone is looking forward to a great Thanksgiving break! Our students have had a great week wrapping up our Thanksgiving box drive through Allen Community Outreach and our Turkey Trot donations for the City of Dallas Emergency Fund. As a campus, we were able to provide a Thanksgiving dinner for 26 families and we raised over $2400 for those impacted by the North Dallas tornadoes last month. Thank you to our students, staff, and parents for exemplifying the Graduate Profile by
Working For Justice Through Community Service
and being
Engaged in a Healthy Lifestyle.
Congratulations to our Turkey Trot winners:
7th Grade Boys--William Carlson 8th grade Boys--Andrew Poulton
7th Grade Girls--Savannah Smith 8th Grade Girls--Kailee Littlefield
7th Grade Teacher--Mrs. Hannah Brewton
8th Grade Teacher--Mrs. Allison Novicke
Best of luck to our LHS Varsity Volleyball Team in their upcoming playoff game this weekend. The LHS Volleyball team is competing in the State Tournament tomorrow at the Curtis Culwell Center in Garland. The semi-final game is at 1:00 p.m. Please see below for more information.
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LHS Volleyball Game Dismissal - Friday, November 22nd
As many of you already know, our Leopard Volleyball team has made it to the UIL State Tournament and will play their next game on Friday, November 22nd at 1:00 p.m. at the Curtis Culwell Center in Garland.
Students who will be checking out after 10:30 must be physically checked out of school by a parent, guardian or another authorized adult. Students are prohibited from being checked out of school by anyone other than their own parent/guardian or someone approved in the parent portal for release, unless parent has given other approval.
If you have made arrangements for your student to travel to the game with another approved adult, you may complete the
In order to receive an approved absense, students will then need to turn in their ticket stub from the game (with their name written on the back) to our attendance office or front office when they return to school on Monday, December 2nd.
By waiting until after 10:30 a.m. to check out of school, it provides students an opportunity to share in the State Championship experience and allows them to be counted present for state attendance/funding purposes.
WSMS & PTA Presents a look at Sex Education & Your Willow Springs Student
Students in grades 7 and 8 will be shown the
AIM for Success: Freedom to Succeed student presentations on December 3rd (7th grade) and December 4th (8th grade)
at Willow Springs Middles School. Students will participate in the program through their math classes with a trained AIM presenter. The Aim For Success, Inc. motivational programs have educated over a million young people across America during the past 18 years on topics such as sex, drugs, alcohol, and bullying. AIM has been educating our Lovejoy students for more than 16 years!
For a quick overview of the program
click here
.
Principal's Coffee-December 12th - Supporting All Types of Learners at WSMS
I would like to invite you to our upcoming Principal's Coffee, on Friday, December 12th at 9:00 a.m. The Principal's Coffee is a forum discussion for all 7th and 8th grade parents. Topic for this session will be programs we have in place to support all types of learners--this includes students who receive support through PST, 504, and Special Education.
Attention 8th Grade Parents!
Important 8th grade Recognition ADS!!!
TO ALL 8TH GRADE Willow Springs MS PARENTS: FRIDAY 12-13 IS THE DEADLINE FOR THE 8TH
GRADE RECOGNITION ADS.
All 8th grade recognition ads must be paid for and submitted online by Friday, December 13th via the
jostensyearbooks.com
link.
Flapjacks for Finals - Monday, December 16th
As a middle school tradition, we will be kicking off final exam week with "Flapjacks for Finals" on Monday, December 16th from 8:00 a.m. - 8:50 a.m. in the cafeteria. Please encourage your son or daughter to stop by the cafeteria for hot cakes.
Final Exams, December 16th-19th
For a copy of the fall semester final exam schedule, please
click here
.
Final exams will officially begin, Monday, December 16th. Teachers are expected to provide students with final exam reviews by Friday, December 6. In addition, all final exam reviews will be loaded on the WSMS website on December 6 (under both student and parent) and teachers will upload exam reviews into their Google Classrooms. Please encourage your son or daughter to begin working on their final exam reviews early. As they begin to study, encourage them to study every night in short 15-20 minute increments rather than "cramming" the night before the test. Research shows that students who study in small chunks of time over a period of days are more successful on assessments.
We will be sending out more information about middle school final exams over the next two weeks.
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Campus Information and Reminders
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NEW! 13th Annual WSMS Spelling Bee Results
Congratulations to Garrett Payne on his first place finish in the Spelling Bee today. Our second place finisher was Alissa Chang. All were so prepared and professional. We congratulate our winner and all of our contestants for participating in the Spelling Bee!
Winner- Garrett Payne
Runner up- Alissa Chang
Participants:
Brielle Taylor
Jocelyn Kim
Liam Dunleavy
Allie Silverio
Paari Palani
Declan Finnigan
Katelyn Coleman
Haley Richards
Jamie Brunson
Matthew Urquhart
Zoe Pitan
Gabe Gillespie
WSMS All Region Band Announcement
Lovejoy ISD just hosted both Phase 1 and Phase 2 of Region 25 Middle School Band auditions this past week on November 9 and November 11. This process began with 1,080 students auditioning in Phase 1, and is now completed with 300 All Region Band members being selected for 2019!
The All Region Band Clinic/Concert will be Friday evening, December 13, and the morning of Saturday, December 14, with a concert in the early afternoon on Saturday. All rehearsals and the FREE concert performances will be at McKinney High School. Students will receive a schedule of all the rehearsals, etc, and a music binder with the band pieces they will play! There are three levels of All Region Bands--the top band is Wind Symphony, the second is Symphonic Band, and the third is Concert Band. Placement in any of the bands is an honor!
Students who auditioned for Phase 2 but did not place--I am so proud of you. You played well and represented yourselves, your school, and your community with pride. Congratulations on an outstanding effort and on making it this far!
Please join me in congratulating the following students on their placement in the All Region Band:
Flute
Kevin Zhang, Wind Symphony
Tamanna Verma, Symphonic Band
Brielle Taylor, Concert Band
Clarinet
Caleb Born, Concert Band
Bass Clarinet
Joshua Varughese, Concert Band
Alto Sax
Kat Smith, Symphonic Band
Bari Sax
Davis Miller
Trumpet
Reagan Wagner, Wind Symphony
Jonah Vuong, Wind Symphony
Joe O'Brien, Concert Band
Aaron Wimbish, Concert Band
French Horn
Payton Archer, Concert Band
Trombone
Joe Bluestein, Wind Symphony
Liam Dunleavy, Symphonic Band
Euphonium
Brady Kofahl, Wind Symphony
Nicole Young, Concert Band
Tuba
Justin Poteet, Symphonic Band
The following students were selected as alternates:
Noah Marsden, Clarinet
Adrian Phan, Tenor Sax
Ashby Lyn Williams, Tuba
Joshua James, Percussion
Willow Springs & Middle School Matchup (MSM)
MSM is a unique weekend tournament for middle school baseball players in areas that do not have formal middle school teams. MSM align players by middle school and give them the chance to represent their school and play ball with kids that will be on their high school teams.
Eleven of your Willow Springs students had an incredible MSM debut. These young men had 4 shut outs, allowed only 4 runs in 6 games (0.67 runs/game), and won their Gold Bracket Tournament Championship.
WSMS Players:(Front row left to right)Caden Stubblefield, Grant Yerkes, Alexander Franklin, Grant Harlan, Lorenzo Osteguin, Aarren Marshall, Kyle Branch, Parker Daniels(Back row left to right) Will Fahrendorf, Nolan Novotny, Colton Williams
Lovejoy High Varsity Player Coaches: (Left) Kolby Branch and (Right) Matt Piccorillo
Congratulations boys, what a great weekend!!
WSMS Yearbook Need Your Help
Yearbook staff would love to see how WSMS students celebrate Thanksgivings. During your break, please take photos of what your WSMS student is thankful for, family traditions, or any special holiday moments with friends and family. Please email the photos to
[email protected]
. Be sure to include your WSMS student's first and last name and a very brief description of the event. The first 25 student photos received by Ms. Zetsche will be given a Krispy Kreme donut as a thank you.
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.
ParentPortal Update - Please Complete
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 77 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.
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.
November Student Nutrition Newsletter
LISD Calendar
Please go here for LISD calendars.
WSMS Twitter Feeds #wsmslovejoy
@WSMSLovejoyISD (Campus Event Updates)
@sscwsms (Counseling updates)
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7th Grade Basketball vs. Wylie Burnett
Girls
A-Team Won 53-14
B-Team Won 29-5
C-Team Won 29-2
Boys
A team lost 30-31
B team won 50-15
C team won 64-15
8th Grade Basketball vs. Rockwall Cain
Girls
A-Team won 27-15
B-Team won 25-10
C-Team won 17-2
Boys
A Team won 35-26
B Team won 26-23
C Team won 16-15
WSMS XC Update
The WSMS CROSS COUNTRY teams won 7th grade boys and girls as well as 8th grade boys and girls on their meet Tuesday. They will race again at WSMS on Tuesday, December 3rd.
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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
LHS Visual Arts Campus Exhibition
Join us as we celebrate the fourth annual LHS Campus Exhibition. We are excited to celebrate 55 thoughtfully selected works that exemplify the variety of vision, voice, and process our students take on in our LJVA studios. The work juried for this show was chosen from all levels of study in the LHS Visual Arts program as examples of excellence and innovation by our LJVA Gallery Managers;
Kiley Boots
,
McKenna Christiansen
,
Grace Flinchbaugh
, and
Hunter Ruiz
. We invite you to come and see this wonderful selection of works during school hours until November 18th.
Kindergarten Gifted and Talented Referral Form Opens December 2
The Kindergarten Gifted and Talented Referral form opens on December 2 in PowerSchool. Referrals are due by January 10, 2020. Testing will be held on January 25 and February 1, 2020. Testing will be at Lovejoy Elementary School by appointment only.
Parents must complete the referral form in PowerSchool.
Fine Arts Festival
The Lovejoy ISD K - 12 Fine Arts Festival will be held December 6th and December 7th at Lovejoy High School! Our performing arts programs have created winter concerts and performances with a mix of your holiday favorites, while our Visual Arts teams are designing pieces that will awe you with their talents! Please support the arts in Lovejoy ISD by stopping by and enjoying the sights and sounds of the holidays while celebrating the work our students and staff engage in for this amazing Festival. The LHS Fine Arts Booster clubs will sponsor a delicious chili luncheon, a bake sale full of yummy treats, as well as hot and cold beverages. In addition, the children's craft area and a visit from Santa Claus will round out a merry and bright weekend at Lovejoy High School.
The Festival is requesting your assistance with volunteering (parents from any campus are welcome to volunteer) and donations of both chili and baked goods. Please visit the
Lovejoy ISD Fine Arts Website
for additional information to include schedules, volunteer sign-ups, and more
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.
Inclement Weather
School closures will be determined based on safety. In the event of a school closure, notifications will be announced on the district's website, Facebook, and Twitter pages. We will also announce any closure through the media and through a special edition of Message from Mike. Links to our social media accounts are listed at the end of this communication.
Senior Judges Needed!
Foundation for Lovejoy Schools
Now through November 18 - LHS Visual Arts Campus Exhibition
Softball Booster Club Fundraiser
Safety and Security Training
Registration Closed - Sessions are Full!
Lovejoy Gifted Association Presents Surviving to Thriving
Blackland Prairie Raptor Center Fundraiser
LHS Cheer Holiday Fundraiser - Poinsettia Fundraiser
Kindergarten Gifted and Talented Referrals Open
Light the World Community Event
Band Booster Club Fundraiser
Fine Arts Festival
Arthritis Foundation Jingle Bell Run
Save the Date! Lovejoy Country Run: April 18
Turn Lucas Green
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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