|
Willow Springs Middle School Principal Newsletter - February 14, 2019
|
If you would like to update your district/campus email preferences or change your email address, please click on the Update Profile link at the footer of this email. You will receive an email from Constant Contact which will allow you to update your information and campus news preferences.
Dear WSMS Parents and Guardians,
Happy Valentines Day. The registration process for the 2019-2020 school year is underway. Please see below for information about student registration meetings. Have a great long weekend.
Have a great weekend!
Kent Messer
Principal
|
|
Upcoming Student Holidays - Friday, February 15th and Monday, February 18th
Monday, February 18 is a designated bad weather day
. If we do not have a school closing due to bad weather
,
it is a student and teacher holiday
. If needed, Friday, March 30th is the second bad weather make up day; otherwise, it will also be a student and teacher holiday.
WSMS One Act Play - Feb. 22, 23 & 28
Lafayette No. 1 by Mandy Conner
SHOW TIME: 7:00 pm
DATES: Feb. 21, 22, 28 and Mar 1
TICKETS: $5 for students, $7 for adults
LOCATION: WSMS Cafetorium
As the yellow fever epidemic ravages the streets of 1816 New Orleans, no one thinks of the orphans known as the Forgotten--except for Lizzie Landry. Lizzie brings bread from her mother's kind employer to the band of homeless youths she's befriended, even though local police and politicians consider them nothing but a nuisance. But when the epidemic entangles Lizzie's fate with those of the Forgotten, they all must band together to hold the city accountable for their most vulnerable citizens. A haunting historical One Act Play.
This 40 minute DRAMA, is our UIL competition piece for One Act Play, on March 2 in Grand Prairie. Each night at our home show there will be a guest critic to provide feedback for the cast and tech. Audience is welcome to stay, but may leave after the performance if they choose.
8th Grade Service Learning Project, February 26th & 27th
Our 8th grade service learning project will be Tuesday, February 26th and Wednesday, February 27th.
Our 8th grade students will be assigned a service location at either North Texas Food Bank, Meals on Wheels, or Heritage Ranch Assisted Living. Half of the 8th grade students will participate on Tuesday and the other half will participate on Wednesday.
-
All students will be placed in groups based on their 8th grade science teacher/class. On the day students remain on campus, they will follow their regular bell schedule.
-
All students will need to bring a sack lunch.
-
All 8th grade students will be asked to fill out and turn in a waiver signed by their parent to participate in this event.
We are in need of 10 parent volunteers for each day (February 26th & 27th). If you are interested in chaperoning this event, please complete
sign up here
.
This is for 8th grade students only. Remember that that all volunteers need to have LISD volunteer clearance to participate.
More info to come.
2019-2020 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 2019-2020 school year. Parent Registration Presentations will be held on:
-
Parents of current 8th graders: At LHS, February 11, 6pm Parent Registration Presentation
-
Parents and current 8th graders: At LHS, February 11, 6:30pm LHS Elective Showcase,Immediately following parent meeting
-
Parents of current 6th graders: At WSMS, February 26, 9am-10 am - Parent Registration Presentation
-
Parents of current 7th graders: At WSMS, February 26, 11am-12 noon - Parent Registration Presentation
-
Parents of current 6th graders: At WSMS, February 27, 5:30pm-6pm - GT Information Meeting--
DATE CHANGED
-
Parents of current 6th graders: At WSMS, February 27, 6:00-7:00pm - Parent Registration Presentation--
DATE CHANGED
-
Parents of current 7th graders: At WSMS, February 27, 6:30pm-7pm - GT Information Meeting--
DATE CHANGED
-
Parents of current 7th graders: At WSMS, February 27, 6:00-7:00pm - Parent Registration Presentation--
DATE CHANGED
For a complete registration timeline, please click here.
Contact the Student Support Center at
469-742-8422
if you have any questions about these dates.
Academic UIL - Tryout Information
It's time for tryouts, and 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. (Please see the
conflict schedule
to help determine which events work best for your student.)
Times and locations of tryouts can be accessed by clicking
here
. Team practices will begin the week of February 25th
. If you have any questions, please contact Laura Rogers at
[email protected]
or the coach of the event your student is interested in.
WSMS 3 on 3 Basketball Tourney - March 1
On March 1st, WSMS will hold our annual 3-on-3 basketball tournament in the WSMS gyms from 4:30--6:00. The cost is $40 per team and each team can consist of 3-4 players. Students are welcomed to come and watch this tournament free of charge. We will have pizza, snacks, and water for purchase. All items can be purchased for $1.00.
WSMS Cheer Tryouts - March 20 - 22
Students who are trying out for 7th or 8th grade cheer will meet in the main gym at WSMS from 4:30-6:00 pm March 20th and 21st to practice and prepare for tryouts which will be held on March 22nd from 4:30-9:00 pm in the WSMS Main Gym. Please email [email protected] if you have any questions about the WSMS cheer program or if you missed the informational parent meeting on February 12th.
Save the Date: STAAR Testing This Spring
|
|
Campus Information and Reminders
|
Safety Corner
For security purposes, we ask that visitors enter the building one at a time. To encourage this, please do not hold the door for visitors behind you. We would like to make it a safety habit that every visitor ring the bell to enter the building. Once you enter the building, all visitors should sign in at the front office. Please bring your driver's license to help expedite the process. If you are a cleared volunteer, your driver's license will not be needed if you sign in as a volunteer.
Bringing Your Student Lunch
As a reminder, parents can bring a lunch of their choice to their own son or daughter but are prohibited under the Texas Administrative Code to bring lunch for other students. For example, we have had parents bring Chick-fil-a for their son and three of his friends. This is a violation of the Texas Administrative Code. In addition, if a parent brings food for other students, the parents of the other student may object to their child being provided a lunch from an outside restaurant due to diet or medical concerns of their child. In the future, if a parent brings lunch for more than one student, we will inform the parent that SCMS and LISD are only permitted to allow parents to deliver food for their own student. For more information about the Texas Administrative Code, please
click here
. Thank you for your cooperation in supporting the nutrition and safety of our students.
February Nutrition Newsletter
Click here for this months newsletter.
WSMS Color Guard Update
The WSMS 7th and 8th grade teams win first place in their classifications at the Haltom High School Competition.
WSMS MathCounts Team Competes in Regional Competition
On Saturday, February 2 the Willow Springs MathCounts team competed in the Preston Trail Regional MathCounts Competition on the campus of UTD. The MathCounts Competition Series is a national program that provides students the opportunity to compete in live, in-person contests against and alongside their peers. Created in 1983, it is the longest-running MathCounts program and is open to all sixth, seventh, and eighth grade students.
The regional competition consisted of over 200 individual competitors and 30 teams from the Northern Dallas area. The Willow Springs team consisted of 10 seventh and eighth grade students. Six students competed as individual competitors, and four competed both as individual and as team competitors. The students put forth outstanding efforts, with two students scoring in the top 25% of all competitors
. Hannah Mao
finished just outside the top six, reaching both the Countdown Round and a spot in the state competition with a 16th place finish.
Patrick Dunleavy
finished in 33rd place. In addition to exceptional individual efforts,
Hannah Mao
,
Patrick Dunleavy
,
Joshua James
, and
Harry Wang
performed masterfully finishing 7th, missing the state competition by one place.
8th Grade Parents: PSAT 8/9 Student Reports
On Tuesday, February 19th, 8th grade students will receive PSAT 8/9 Student Reports. WSMS Counselors will meet with 8th graders through their math classes to review our school's performance and explain how to understand the Student Report. Students will also create a College Board account. The College Board's interactive web site is a useful tool for viewing College Board assessment scores, finding resources for improving academic skills, and college and career planning. Students will be required to create a username and password for this web site. We will ask students to write this information on their Student Report, so you can access this information at home. Students will continue to use this web site throughout high school, so keeping this information in a safe place will be important. If you have any questions about PSAT 8/9 scores, please contact your student's counselor.
AIM for Success Student Survey Results
On November 27th and 28th, WSMS students attended the AIM for Success program. Aim for Success addresses the problems of teen pregnancies, the escalating STD epidemic and emotional pain often associated with teen sexual activity. The speakers encouraged students to abstain from sex until marriage so they could have an easier time reaching their goals and dreams. At the end of the presentation students took an anonymous survey. The survey compares WSMS Students with other students across the country who have also participated in the program.
To see the results of the survey,
click here
.(Survey results are attached). If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact WSMS counselors, Kathy Stone or Kay Bordelon.
Since we are entering the FLU season, we just wanted to remind you of the District Policies about students attending school with illnesses. Students MUST STAY HOME from school if they have experienced vomiting, diarrhea, or a fever of 100.0 or higher in the last 24 hours, without the use of medications to lower the fever, or stop the vomiting or diarrhea. This will help prevent the spread of illnesses to other students and staff as well as prevent your own child from contracting another illness since their immune system is already still low and trying to recover from their previous illness. Please read the attached letter about Flu from the CDC by clicking
HERE.
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 by phone. Links to our social media accounts are shown below.
Lovejoy ISD App
The Lovejoy ISD App is available for download on both Apple and Android devices. To download the app for Apple devices, please
click here
. To download the app for Android devices, please
click here
.
Twitter and Facebook
Are you following the district on
Twitter
? Have you liked us on
Facebook
? Join us on social media for news and announcements.
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.
|
WSMS Soccer Tryout Information
Boys Middle School Soccer
There will be a Boys Middle School Soccer Parent meeting on Monday, February 25th at 6:00 PM in the library.
Tryouts will be held March 4th, 6th, and 7th. The 8th graders will tryout from 3:20-4:20 and the 7th graders will tryout from 4:10-5:20. There will be no makeup tryout dates. On Friday, March 8th, we will be talking to each player individually letting them know if they made the team. We will talk to the 8th graders during 8th period and the 7th graders after school.
The only equipment the boys need to bring with them are a pair of cleats, if they have them, and shin guards. We will provide balls, bibs, cones, and water.
If you have any questions please contact Coach Alex Duran at
Girls Middle School Soccer
There will be a Girls Middle School Soccer Parent meeting on Monday, February 25th at 6:00 PM in the main gym.
Tryouts will be held on March 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th. The 8th graders will tryout from 8:00-9:10 and the 7th graders will tryout from 7:00-8:15.
There will be no makeup tryout dates.
On Friday, March 8th, we will be talking to each player individually letting them know if they made the team. We will talk to the 8th graders during 1st period and the 7th graders before school from 7:45-8:45.
The only equipment the girls need to bring with them are a pair of cleats, if they have them, and shin guards. We will provide balls, bibs, cones, and water.
If you have any questions please contact Coach Ian Keeble at
8th Grade Girls Basketball vs. Rockwall Williams
A Team: Won 38-12
B Team: Won 40-10
C Team: Won 16-8
8th Grade Boys Basketball vs Rockwall Williams
A Team: Won 35-25
B Team: Won 59-38
A Team Tournament Results
*The Willow Springs 7th grade boys A team participated in their district tournament this past weekend. They ran into a very good Wylie McMillan team and were defeated by a score of 46-32 but had a strong season overall.
*The A-Team Girl's 8th Grade Tournament: Friday night against Rockwall Williams 38-9 WIN and Saturday morning against Allen Curtis 41-29 LOSS. It was a rough loss, but an overall great season.
*
The 8th grade boys A team beat Rockwall Utley in the first game and lost to Wylie Burnett in the semi finals. 8th grade basketball.
|
For your mortgage needs we hope you will consider
Black Swan Mortgage Pro
. Stephanie Cigainero, owner of
Black Swan Mortgage Pro
is pledging 10% of her pay on Circle of Partners transactions, which will be matched by her employer
Movement Mortgage
. Stephanie has been in the home loan mortgage business since 2006 and may be reached at 469.531.0257 or at https://movement.com/lo/stephanie-cigainero/
. She is married to her best friend and Australian native, Josh. They have two daughters, Aspen a 5th grader at Sloan Creek and Maia. They are a host family to foreign exchange student Alessia Bellometti.
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.
Classes are conveniently located at Lovejoy High School. Call 972.359.0222 or email [email protected] for additional information.
|
Save the Date - March 2 - STEM Festival and Open House for Prospective Families
Save the date! Lovejoy ISD will host the second annual STEM festival on March 2 at Lovejoy High School. The event will be held from 10:00 AM - 3:00 PM. We hope you will join us for an exciting day filled with fascinating speakers, hands-on experiments, Makerspace, student exhibits, robotics lab, cool contests with prizes, food trucks, and much more.
An Open House for prospective families will be held during the STEM festival. We hope you will invite your friends and family members who are interested in Lovejoy to join us for this event. Check out this
video to see all the fun events and activities coming to the STEM Festival.
Look for more details in the next edition of Email Express.
Lovejoy STEM Festival CANgineering Competition - March 2
Lovejoy is pleased to announce the first ever CANgineering Competition at the Lovejoy STEM Festival on March 2. Form a team and get creative. Your team will compete to build a structure made entirely of canned and non-perishable foods. The best in show will win a prize.
Click
here
for detailed information regarding the CANgineering Competition. Gather your family and friends and join us for this exciting competition!
Java & Jazz - March 1
The Lovejoy High School third annual "Java and Jazz" joint concert with the Lovejoy Jazz Band and LHS vocalists will be here before you know it. Join us for an evening of great music starting at 7:00 PM on Friday, March 1. The musicians are sounding great and have a huge program to perform.
Admission is just $5.00. Coffee and dessert items will be available for a small fee. There will be an open dance floor for students and parents alike. The musicians and vocalists will perform a combination of classic swing-era classics and slow ballads. We hope to see you on the dance floor.
Lovejoy Gifted Association Announces Rocket Build and Launch Events
3...2...1... Lift-off!
Celebrate the 50th anniversary of the first people to land on the moon with the Lovejoy Gifted Association's Rocket Fest. The Lovejoy Gifted Association is partnering with the Dallas Area Rocket Society (DARS) for their annual LGA Rocket Fest. This event is suitable for students in grades 3 thru 6. Participants may choose between a basic and an advanced rocket model.
There will be a Rocket Build Party in the Sloan Creek Cafeteria on Wednesday, March 6th from 6:30pm to 8:00pm where a volunteer from DARS will talk the junior rocket scientists through building the basic rocket step-by-step. Participants purchasing the advanced rocket may pick up their build package that same evening and are welcome to start building at SCIS or build at home.
The rocket launch will be held on Sunday March 24 in the front parking lot of Lovejoy High School at 12:00 noon, where volunteers from DARS will provide the launch equipment and make sure the launch process happens in a safe and orderly fashion.
You may reserve a spot and purchase your rocket kit from the Lovejoy Gifted Association Store at
https://my.cheddarup.com/c/rocket-fest-2019 no later than Feb 17th, 2019. Each rocket package comes with rocket engines for two launches. Please note that junior rocket scientists must be accompanied by an adult at both events. The Lovejoy Gifted Association is a non-profit organization that supports the G/T programs across all schools in Lovejoy ISD. The LGA Rocket Project is a fundraiser and proceeds will flow back into Lovejoy ISD. If you have questions, contact Jay van Rijn at [email protected].
Hop Into Spring Chess Tournament - March 30
This annual Lovejoy Tournament continues to be a hit around the metroplex. Come join your fellow chess players on March 30 at Sloan Creek for a wonderful day of chess play. This five round tournament awards the top three players in each section a trophy and fourth place receives a chocolate bunny. Gather up a team from your school and compete together. Registration is going on now. Please visit North Texas Chess Academy's
website
to register.
Lovejoy Offers Group Counseling
Lovejoy is offering group counseling for students for a variety of areas. The groups will meet weekly, during school hours, and will be facilitated by Lovejoy's Social Worker, Noelle Gove, LCSW. The overall goal of the counseling groups is to address student's social/emotional needs that may be impacting their experience and success at school. Groups are being offered, based on need, to every campus in the district, grades K-12.
If you are interested in your student participating in a group, please
click here
to complete the interest form. Noelle Gove will be in contact with parents regarding further details of the group and to obtain consent for student participation. This form is not a consent for counseling, but rather a survey of interest.
Lovejoy Lacrosse - Boys' and Girls' Teams Registration Now Open
Registration is now open for the boys' and girls' 2019 Spring season of Lovejoy Lacrosse. Join the most exciting, fastest-growing sport in the country.
Register now for Boys and Girls: Grades Kindergarten through High School
Hurry, as rosters are filling quickly!
|
|
STAY CONNECTED
|
|
|
|
|
