A Message from the Principal
 
Willow Springs Middle School Principal Newsletter - November 5, 2020

 
 
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Dear WSMS Parents and Guardians,

Can you believe we only have two weeks of school before Thanksgiving Break?!?!  I can hear you now scrambling to buy your turkey!  This semester has been unprecedented, but the way our students and staff have persevered through (and continue to do so) is impressive to say the least.  We continue to have to do things a little differently than we would like, but all in all school is still school.

As we come into the season of thanks and giving, area families are in need now more than ever.  If you are in a position to donate canned goods to local families I encourage you to do so.  Our National Junior Honor Society students are hosting a food drive to donate to the Allen Community Outreach.  Each homeroom class is responsible for a certain type of food, so please check with your child to see what they are responsible for bringing.  This event begins tomorrow and will go through November 18.  

Apparently middle school students need an extra initiative to be successful in donating food for a good cause, so students came up with a Mr. Parker Challenge.  They came up with 5 "things" I would potentially have to do if they hit their canned food goal of 6,000 items.  What are the chances right?  Here is the list which I will draw one out of a hat to pay my debt to WSMS in the event they raise 6,000 items (I'm feeling confident in this one):

  • Banana Split dumped on Mr. Parker (not a big deal; I'm around middle schoolers all day)
  • Eat crickets (80% chance I don't do this, but gag reflex will definitely kick in if I do; least excited about this one)
  • Has to be a student for a day (again, not a big deal because my maturity level would allow me to be successful)
  • Take the 8th grade STAAR Reading test (not my favorite because I would have to explain to Dr. Goddard why there are students scoring higher than me)
  • Dress up like my favorite Disney character (I've done worse)

This may add a little more excitement to a food drive, or I hope so anyway.  Anything for the kids.



Have a great week!


Kevin




Kevin Parker
Principal
Willow Springs Middle School
1101 West Lucas Rd, Lucas 75002
Office: 469-742-8417
Mobile: 469-667-2280
@WSMSLovejoyISD
#wsmslovejoy



New Information

REMINDER! ParentPortal Update Needed
The PowerSchool ParentPortal is now open for you to complete the online Enrollment & Student Information Forms. As of today, there are 162 accounts that have not been updated. Please click here to access the Parent Portal. Parents will access the enrollment forms in their PowerSchool Parent Portal - left navigation panel - "Enrollment & Student Forms." Completion of these forms is required every year for every student. Please take a few minutes to update your contact information and other forms.


REMINDER! Picture Retakes - November 6th
Picture proofs have been received and have been distributed to students through their math classes last week.  If your student is virtual for Q2, please stop by the front office to pick them up.  On the proof itself, you will see ordering information.  
 
Picture Retakes will be on November 6th.  This will be for students who missed the original picture day, new students and for those that wish to have their picture retaken. Students on campus will have the option to come have their picture retaken before school, during an elective class or during their lunch period.  For virtual students, a sign up will be going out with time slots, as we did originally.
 
Should you have any questions, please feel free to contact Leslee Cox at 


NEW! NJHS Service Project: ACO Thanksgiving Box Drive, November 6 - 18
It's that time of year when giving just a little can change a needy family's entire holiday season. Willow Springs homeroom classes are partnering with NJHS to hold a Thanksgiving Box Drive for Allen Community Outreach. NJHS students will be working with 7th and 8th-grade homeroom classes to put together a Thanksgiving Box for needy families in our community. Each class will be assigned ONE item to bring, and the students may bring as many of that item as possible (The more the better) Allen Community outreach will combine the items to form a box that contains everything a family will need in order to cook a traditional Thanksgiving meal. The food drive will begin on November 6 and last until November 18.
 
In addition to canned goods, each homeroom will ask for one volunteer to provide a $15 dollar gift card to Kroger or Walmart for the purchase of the turkey.

 
REMINDER! Lovejoy Letter Campaign: Now through November 13th
Lovejoy Family!!  The 7th annual Lovejoy Letter Campaign for teachers and staff members has begun!  Many of you are familiar with this beloved tradition, but for those of you who are not, it is the time of year when we write appreciation letters for each of our teachers and staff members across the district. 
 
The letters do not have to be elaborate or lengthy. The goal is just for people to write a note of thanks to show appreciation to their teachers, the staff and administration in our district.  It is the opportunity for us to take the time to let each person who makes a difference for us throughout the school day know how much we value them.
 
Please clearly label the envelope with the staff/teacher's name and LLC (Lovejoy Letter Campaign) and return the letter to the box located at a specified location of each campus no later than Friday November 13th.  Please feel free to share this message as we spread the word about the campaign. We do not want to add any extra burden to our kids and parents, but we do want to share how much we appreciate our teachers and staff - especially this year in these very unusual times!
 
#shortandsweet #showappreciation
 



NEW! "Stop The Bleed" Student Training
Welcome to the first ever Willow Springs "Stop The Bleed" training program.  This program is a difference maker and will allow students to possess a critical skill set that can be carried with them throughout their entire lives.  Stop The Bleed training allows students to learn how to administer initial care in a life threatening situation to an injured individual.
 
Although this training is not mandatory for our students, we are required by state law (86RHB496) to offer it to all students in grade levels 7-12.  If you choose to sign your child up for this free training, keep in mind they will be exposed to photographs of injured individuals that will contain severe injuries.  Students will learn how to tend to laceration, broken bones, puncture wounds, etc.  Students will also learn skills such as applying a tourniquet, applying pressure to injuries and bandaging an injured individual.
 
Our safety and security foundation is built on the "Force Multiply" concept.  We believe in empowering our teachers, staff members, students, parents and community members with knowledge that can save lives!
 
If you would like to register your child for this training, please click on the link below.  Each class is limited to 40 spots.  The sessions will be led by LISD security personnel.
 
 




Attention 8TH GRADE PARENTS - Deadline for recognition ads, November 13th
 8th grade yearbook recognition ads are also now on sale! The deadline is Friday 11-13. You can purchase and create your senior recognition ad online via the link below as well. Note all 8th grade recognition ads must be paid for and created online by Friday 11-13.
 


AIM for Success
This program will be offered again this year to WSMS students both in person and virtually on November 30 and December 1. The parent portion will be available for viewing online on November 18. 

Aim for Success is a nonprofit, youth health education organization whose mission is "helping young people make healthy choices that will give them freedom to reach their dreams and goals".
The program your students will be participating in this year is Aim for Success and focuses on "why wait for sexual activity". Topics included are teen pregnancy, sexually transmitted diseases and emotional hurts. Students in 7th-8th grade also receive information on contraception and "how far is too far".

The parent presentation will include the entire student presentation, and additional information for parents on how they can help reinforce the information at home.
If you would like your child to opt-out of this program in December, please contact Kathy Stone and/or Carey Miller.


WSMS Career Day ~ SAVE THE DATE, February 11, 2021, 9:15 - 12:50pm
Come share your professional expertise with Willow Springs students!  Each Career Day presenter will meet with groups of students in 20-30 minute presentations, sharing educational requirements, salary and travel expectations, future prospects, and what a "day in the life" is like in this career field.



Campus Information and Reminders

November Nutrition Newsletter
Click here to view this month's newsletter.


LISD Calendar
Please go here for LISD calendars.


Pictures needed for the WSMS Yearbook
WSMS Rosette Yearbook would love to include in the yearbook any photos of WSMS students participating in the following ways:
1. Summer fun
2. 1st day of school-virtual and/or face to face
3. My virtual learning environment-this can be pictures of the WSMS student in his/her favorite room or spot to participate in virtual learning.
4. Students participating in non-school activities like a club sport, horseback riding/jumping, 4H, cooking/crafts, or other activity that showcases your commitment to the activity
5. Halloween/Thanksgiving/Winter break celebrations/fun
 
Please use the link to upload pictures for consideration in the 2021 yearbook! Please be specific in your explanation of the activity/event. Use the link below to upload your pictures and complete the fields of information:


WSMS All Region Orchestra
This past Saturday our region hosted our Annual All Region Orchestra Contest virtually. 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, Plano, Wylie and Sherman. They sent in recordings of themselves performing certain small sections of the required music for a panel of judges. 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:
Tyse Blumenthal
Victoria Harris
Helena Heinrich-Barna
Ava LaTorre
Olivia Long
Olivia Nickell
Avery Nish
Jackson Perry
Emersyn Runions
Teniola Segun
Effe Sutton
Emily Syzmanski
Landon Truong
Christopher Wang
David Wang
Niina Wheeler
Liam Whittington
 
Please congratulate the following students for making the All Region Orchestra:
Teniola Segun- 10th chair Bass Brahms Orchestra
Chris Wang- 12th chair Cello Brahms Orchestra
David Wang- 14th chair Violin Brahms Orchestra
Niina Wheeler- 24th chair Violin Brahms Orchestra
Helena Heinrich-Barna- 24th chair Violin Beethoven Orchestra





Athletics
Tickets for WSMS Sporting Events
In order to control our environment as best we can, we are requiring attendees to pre-purchase tickets.  The link to do this for the WSMS home games this week can be found here.  All middle school football games will be played at the high school this year in order to increase capacity.


Football Results vs Allen Ford
8th Grade
Red Team - Lost
Black Team - Won
 
7th Grade
Red Team - Lost
Black Team - Lost


Girls Basketball Parent Information and Tryout Details
Middle school basketball informational meeting on Thursday, November 5th via Zoom. Coach Morris will be sending out an email to all Girls Athletics with the information and Zoom link.
 
Middle School Tryouts will be held November 30th(Monday) through December4th (Friday). We will meet with the girls individually on Friday and let them know if they made the team. Practices will start the following Monday.
 
8th Graders will tryout from 7:30am to 9:15am on A-Days and 7am to 8:10am on B-Days.
7th Graders will tryout from 4:15pm to 5:30pm on A-Days and 2:50pm to 5pm on B-Days.
 
The first 7th grade game will be on January 6th (Wednesday).
The first 8th grade game will be on January 7th (Thursday).



WSMS PTO


I hope you enjoyed the long weekend!
 
Thank you to those who participated in our Front of Car Line auction! The money raised will help the PTO pay for programs for our students.
 
We will hold a general meeting of the PTO on November 10 at 9:45am. We ask that you register by Monday morning if you plan to attend: 
 

Warm Regards, 


Christy Payne
WSMS PTO President
2020-2021





District and Other News


Community News
The  Lovejoy ISD Community News Page  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. 

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.



Foundation For Lovejoy Schools
It's not too late to give to the Annual Appeal campaign.  Every gift makes an impact.  Invest today in our students' tomorrow.