|
Willow Springs Middle School Principal Newsletter - April 11, 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,
We have had a great week of testing as our 7
th
grade students participated in the STAAR Writing test and our 8
th
grade students participated in the STAAR Reading and Math tests. All of our teachers and students did an excellent job of creating a positive testing environment. Our next round of STAAR tests will be the 8
th
grade Algebra I EOC the week of May 6th. Our final STAAR tests will be given the week of May 13th. Thank you for everyone's support during this busy week.
With soccer being the only sport in season for the next 7 weeks, carpool traffic will move a little slower before and after school. Please make sure you continue to follow carpool procedures to ensure student safety. As a reminder, please drive slowly through the carpool lane, watch for students crossing into the back parking lot, and please do not use cell phones. This time of year our carpool line clears out around 4:15. If you are in a hurry, please arrive before 4:00 or after 4:15 as traffic will move the slowest during the 4:00-4:15 block.
Also, if you pick up after school in the front parking lot, remember that it will be coned off until 4:15 to ensure a safe departure for our buses. Once all buses have exited the campus, the cones will be removed to allow cars to exit the front parking lot.
I hope you have a great weekend!
|
|
WSMS Principal's Coffee - Friday, April 12th - Incoming 7th Grade Parents
I would like to invite you to our upcoming Principal's Coffee, on Friday, April 12th at 9:00 a.m. The Principal's Coffee is a forum discussion for all incoming 7th grade parents to visit with me about the middle school experience over a cup of coffee. During the discussion, I will provide information about the overall 7th experience at Willow Springs and answer any questions you may have. Attending parents are encouraged to park in the front parking lot to enter and sign-in through the front office.
Academic UIL
Competition week is finally here! Here are the details for the competition.
April 12
th
Details:
If your student is involved
in Modern Oratory, Impromptu Speaking and/or Oral Reading
, the first rounds will be held on
Friday, April 12
th
. Students will be called to leave class at 1:50 p.m. so that they can change into their speaking event attire. The bus will depart WSMS around 2:30
p.m. to travel to Coppell MS North. The first event, Impromptu Speaking, begins at 4:15 p.m., followed by Modern Oratory at 5:30 p.m., and Oral Reading at 6:30 p.m. (The speaking event dress code can be found by clicking
here
.) The event rounds take approximately an hour, depending on the number of contestants.
Please be aware that if your child makes it out of this preliminary round, they will be competing in the finals, which are on Saturday.
The bus will depart Coppell MS North after the Oral Reading competition is complete, hopefully around 8
p.m., and return to WSMS between 8:30 and 9 p.m. If you would like to pick your student up early, you will need to come to the cafeteria at Coppell MS North and sign your child out. If you
would like someone else to pick up your child in Coppell, I will need you to fill out and return an alternate travel release form. Then, the person whom you designate to take your child home will need to come sign them out at CMS North.
April 13
th
Details:
All other competitions (except Ready Writing and Editorial Writing) will be conducted on Saturday, April 13
th
.
The bus will load in the front of WSMS at 6:15 a.m for a 6:30 a.m. departure.
If you are taking your child to CMS North, please be aware that we need your student to be there 30 minutes prior to their competition start time so that they can check in with us and get to their scheduled room on time. The bus will depart Coppell MS North after the Awards Announcements are complete, hopefully around 2 p.m., and return to WSMS between 2:30 and 3 p.m. If you would like to pick your student up earlier, you will need to come to the cafeteria at Coppell MS North and sign your child out. If you would like someone else to pick up your child in Coppell, I will need you to fill out and return the alternate travel release form. Then, the person whom you
designate to take your child home will need to come sign them out at CMS North.
WSMS Book Fair -- Book Fiesta!
Our Book
Fiesta
Fair is just 2 weeks away --
April 15-18
! Our students always get excited about the homeroom competitions, but we are equally excited to get some great books in their hands before the long summer break. Students will be able to earn points for their class to win a
DONUT PARTY
by purchasing books for themselves and their teachers. There will also be fun trivia questions for students to answer to earn more points for their class. Along with many fun books at various reading levels, we will also have the
summer read choices for rising 7th-9th graders.
The list this year appears to be the best yet!
Upcoming Student Holidays
April 19th is a designated bad weather day. It will be a student and teacher holiday if we do not have a school closing due to bad weather between now and then.
Save the Date - WSMS presents Who Hath Done It?: A Shakespeare Murder Mystery Dinner Theatre Experience
April 25,26 & 27 at Willow Springs at 7 pm
Tickets MUST be purchased in advance as meals must be repurchased. Tickets are $27 for adults and $20 for children.
This show is a great family outing - Seating is selected in person at WSMS at the time of ticket purchase. There are twelve tables, 12 at each table - so only 144 seats each night! we are already over 50% sold out!!!
This ticket includes a three course meal catered by Italian Villa and the interactive experience!
You do NOT want to miss this one!!!
Custodian and Cafeteria Staff Appreciation Week
Willow Springs Middle School is fortunate to have a Custodial Staff committed to providing a clean, beautiful, healthy environment for our students and staff. Our hard-working custodians clean our halls, restrooms, cafeteria, and classrooms every day to provide our students with the best learning environment possible. WSMS Cafeteria Staff are here bright and early every day to prepare delicious, appetizing meals for students and staff. Our students often comment that the WSMS cafeteria is the best! We want to recognize these dedicated staff members. Please join us in honoring our Custodians and Cafeteria Staff during the week of April 29 - May 3. Students will help clean the cafeteria during this week and help with trash collection throughout the week. The WSMS PTA will be providing Treat Bags for staff to thank them for their outstanding service. If you would like to contribute, please bring donations to the front office by April 19th.
Click here
for the sign-up of donations needed.
Parents Night Out - May 10th
STAAR Testing
STAAR tests for all of our students are below.
Please keep the STAAR testing dates in mind while scheduling doctor appointments and orthodontics appointments. If a student is pulled out of school once he/she has begun their STAAR exam, the state requires it be graded "as is". If you have questions or concerns regarding any conflicts you may have with the STAAR testing dates, please contact Kathy Stone at
[email protected].
Upcoming STAAR Tests This Spring
|
Date
|
Event
|
Who?
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
May 6 - May 10
|
STAAR Algebra EOC Exam
|
7
th
Grade GT Algebra
8
th
Grade Algebra
|
|
Fri. May 10
|
STAAR Drill
|
All Staff
|
|
Mon. May 13
|
Grade 7 Math STAAR
Grade 8 Math STARR Retest
|
All 7
th
Grade
(Except GT Math)
|
|
Grade 7 GT Math Rotations
|
7
th
Grade GT Math
|
|
Grade 8 FitnessGram
|
All 8
th
Grade
|
|
Tues. May 14
|
Grade 7 Reading STAAR
Grade 8 Reading STAAR Retest
|
All 7
th
Grade
|
|
Grade 8 Sci/SS Rotations
|
All 8
th
Grade
|
|
Wed. May 15
|
Grade 7 FitnessGram
|
All 7
th
Grade
|
|
Grade 8 Science STAAR
|
All 8
th
Grade
|
|
Thurs. May 16
|
Grade 7 in Classes
|
All 7
th
Grade
|
|
Grade 8 Social Studies STAAR
|
All 8
th
Grade
|
Scoliosis Testing
Our school Nurse, Gretchen Young, will be screening all ALL 8th grade BOY students for possible Scoliosis on Monday May 13th and ALL 7th grade GIRL students on Wednesday May 15th during their Fitnessgram Test. Scoliosis screening is required by House Bill 832 passed by the Texas Legislature in 1985.
Students will be required to remove their shirts for the screening. Girls WILL NEED TO WEAR one of the following under their blouse or shirt: swim suit top, bra or sports bra. The procedure for screening is simple and quick, it requires the back to be visually examined while standing straight and bending forward. For this examination, boys and girls will be seen separately and individually examined by the WSMS nurse.
If you do not wish for your student to be screened you must have your child examined by your healthcare provider and an affidavit submitted to the nurse's office on or before May 10th. Parents will be notified of the results of the screening only if professional follow up is necessary.
If you have any questions or concerns, or wish to submit medical documentation regarding your child, please contact Gretchen by email or phone at 469-742-8420.
National Junior Honor Society Applications for Current WSMS 7th graders
7th grade students eligible to apply for National Junior Honor Society will be notified by letter during the last week of April. Student eligibility will be based on the cumulative GPA of 94.0 for the first three grading periods of the 2018-2019 school year. Upon receiving this letter, students will be allowed to pick up an application for NJHS in the front office at WSMS.
All applications will be due by 4:30 on May 17th
. This is a firm deadline. Students will receive acceptance letters in August during the first week of school. The induction ceremony will be held during the first six weeks of the 2019-2020 school year. More information regarding specific eligibility requirements for NJHS will be coming at a later date.
|
|
Campus Information and Reminders
|
Safety Corner--Social Media Accounts
It has been brought to our attention by a WSMS parent that there is a hack going around on Snapchat. From what we understand, this student
was bombarded with texts and calls of mean and inappropriate messages along with friends being blocked. Please keep an eye for this sort of activity on your students and visit with your students about hacks that can happen on social media accounts. Thank you for your help in keep our students safe online.
Drug Dogs on Campus
We will have a drug dog on campus for an unannounced visit once a month for the remainder of the school year. When classrooms are selected to be searched, all students will need to exit the room leaving their backpacks and other belongings. The drug dog, the handler, and an administrator will enter the room to conduct the search. At the conclusion of the search, students and the teacher can re-enter the room.
7th Grade Service Learning - Kids Against Hunger
On Wednesday, April 10th, our WSMS 7th graders participated in a day of Service Learning. Our students learned about a non-profit organization, Kids Against Hunger, and helped this organization pack meals for hungry families. With the help of our WSMS Algebra students who packed meals on Tuesday, our students packed a total of 42,552 meals. these meals will provide nourishment for 197 people for one full year. We are proud of our Leopards and the service they performed this week!
TMEA Region 25 All-Region Choir Results
Last Saturday, 23 of our Willow Springs choir members auditioned for a place in the Region 25 All-Region Choir.
14 of our Willow Springs singers were placed into this prestigious choir!
They will perform on Saturday, April 13th at McKinney North High School. Congratulations to all of our singers who auditioned and those who placed!
All-Region Choir 2019
Soprano 1
Romi Kahana
Evelyn Kwon
Jillian Nuckels
Abigail Thomas
Soprano 2
Hannah Dollinger
Ellis Smith
Natalie McLaren
Alto
Kynan Lowrance
Sage Manning
Sadie Mowrer
Tenor 1
Daniel Lamping
Ryder Sullivan
Bass
Will Flinchbaugh
Reece Robinson
Student Attendance
One of our continuing focus areas for this year is to increase our student and teacher daily attendance on campus. Research shows that the more students are in class with their teacher, the more they will learn over the course of the school year. The more students learn, the more success and confidence they will have in middle school. To promote this, we will be recognizing students and staff who have perfect attendance during each nine weeks. Please assist us by working with your son or daughter to ensure they are getting enough rest, eating a healthy diet, and are taking care of themselves overall. In addition, our new state accountability system uses student attendance as criteria for evaluating the performance of schools. We also receive state funding based on our "Average Daily Attendance" of students that are present after 10:00 AM. As you begin to plan out of town trips this spring, please consider keeping your children in school through the Friday before each break. Let's work together to encourage our students to be in class every day.
Congratulations to all of our students who achieved this.
Notes from the Nurse - Medications
If your child has medicine at school, please make sure your child has exactly enough medicine to finish the school year. You are responsible for picking up any extra medicine as the school district has a policy against sending medicines home with students. At the end of this school year, any remaining medicines, including inhalers, will be thrown out. The school cannot store these for you during the summer.
Please remember, if your child is going to continue being medicated at school during the 2019-2020 school year, you will need to complete a new medication sheet at that time and bring a SMALL or travel size bottle of medicine that is not expired.
Immunizations
Early reminder to parents of students that will be 7th graders during the 2019-2020 school year:
It is a State requirement that all 7th grade students must have had 2 required updated immunizations in order to attend school. These required immunizations are, TDaP booster (Tetanus booster) and Menactra (Meningococcal).Please obtain a copy of your child's updated shots and provide it to our school nurse, Gretchen Young, BEFORE August 16, 2019. You may drop it off in person, send it through the mail to Willow Springs Middle School, 1101 West Lucas Road, Lucas, TX 75002, by email to
Gretchen Young
or fax at 469-742-8501.
WSMS School Report Card (SRC) From the Texas Education Agency
I wanted to make you aware that the 2017-18 School Report Card (SRC) from the Texas Education Agency (TEA) is available on the district website under "Quick Links" and then under "Required Postings" or by
clicking here.
The same reports can be accessed on our campus website under the "About" tab and then selecting TEA School Campus Report Cards.
The SRC provides information on the State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness (STAAR), as well as information student enrollment, class size averages, and financial expenditures.
As you may recall, districts do not receive a SRC but the STAAR performance at each campus contributed to Lovejoy ISD being one of only four districts of the 1227 districts and charter schools in Texas to receive the highest rating on the state accountability system with an overall grade of "A" with a scale score of 97 out of 100 possible points.
Please contact me at
[email protected]
or 214-293-9938 if you have any questions concerning our School Report Card from the Texas Education Agency. Thank you for your continued support of WSMS.
Lovejoy School Stores Announce Sale
The Lovejoy High School and Willow Springs Middle School stores will host a sale beginning on March 18. The entire stores will offer items at 50% off. Some exclusions may apply.
Lovejoy High School School Store Hours
8:30 AM - 4:15 PM
Willow Springs Middle School Store Hours
Monday, Tuesday and Thursday
During Lunch
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.
LISD Calendar
|
WSMS Track & Field
Congratulations to the WSMS Track and Field teams on a great season!!
The 7th Grade Girls Team was able to maintain an undefeated season and sealed it off with a District Championship defeating all teams from Wylie, Rockwall, and Allen!!
Overall Team Scores:
7th grade girls - 1st with 110 points
7th grade boys - 5th with 57 points
8th grade girls - 7th with 50 points
8th grade boys - 5th with 57 points
7th Grade Girls Gold medalists:
Sara Morefield - 2400 meter run
Kailey Littlefield - 800 meter run/1600 meter run/4x4
4x400 meter relay - Kendell Coppinger, Annabelle Clay, Cambry Patrick, Kailey Littlefield
7th Grade Girls Silver medalists:
Gracyn Thompson - 2400 meter run
Sara Morefield - 1600 meter run
Jessica McKintosh - High Jump
7th Grade Girls Bronze medalist:
Lauren Dolberry - 300 meter hurdles/High Jump
Cambry Patrick - 400 meter dash/Triple Jump
8th Grade Girls Gold medalists:
Bella Landrum - 400 meter dash/4x4
4x400 meter relay - Malia Bowling, Chloe Schaeffer, Morgan Streeter, Bella Landrum
8th Grade Girls Silver medalist:
Chloe Schaeffer - 800 meter run
|
|
Foundation for Lovejoy Schools
Denim & Diamonds - The Party!
Thank you to everyone who made the 2019 Denim & Diamonds a fun and successful party.
Sponsors, donors, auction bidders, LISD staff and volunteers all came together to make it happen. $322,000 was raised to support education in LISD. The new format was a big hit, so we will make some tweaks and do it again next year. Mark your calendars - February 22, 2020.
Ladies Night Out
Tickets went on sale on March 5 at 10:00 AM.
Click here
for the reservation page and
here
for the Foundation's website.
NEW! Lovejoy Gifted Association Presents - The Little Engine That Wouldn't - April 16
United Sound Club
We are so excited to tell you about an opportunity for our students! The Lovejoy High School Orchestra is extending an invitation to selected special education students to join the United Sound Club. Members of the club will have the opportunity to learn an instrument with the help of peer mentors, and to perform with the Lovejoy High School Orchestra. This is an amazing opportunity for our students! We would love for you to join our amazing crew. For more information please contact us,
Mary Winkler
or
Tracey Snyder
.
Lovejoy Special Olympics Needs Volunteers!
Lovejoy Summer Musical Theatre Camps - July 9-20
We are excited to announce our 2019 musical: Seussical KIDS!
Acting, choreography, lighting, costuming, set building, and painting are just some of the fun activities taking place in Lovejoy's Summer Musical Theatre Camps: Musical Theatre, Technical Theatre, and Intern Camp.
Students will work together to produce and perform Seussical KIDS. Students who attend will develop confidence, sharpen their musical and theatrical skills, and create wonderful memories along the way. Directed by Jessica Brewster, LHS Head Theatre Director, and musically directed by Anne Tracy, LHS Puster Elementary Music Specialist, this show is sure to be an unforgettable experience.
Please read the detailed handouts for more information and a link to register your child. If you have any questions please contact
[email protected]
.
Grades 3-6 Camp Flier, Click
here
·
Musical Theatre Camp (35 student performers)
·
Technical Theatre Camp (7-10 technicians)
Grades 7-8 Intern Camp, Click
here
·
Musical Theatre Intern Camp (assist student performers develop their musical and theatrical skills)
Online registration can be accessed from the flyers or with these links:
Summer Sewing Camp - June and July Offerings
Join the 12th year of summer sewing fun at a new location: Lovejoy High School! Sewing Basics 101 teaches machine and tool basics while making a pillowcase and PJ's. Sewing Skill Builder 201 will continue developing your sewing skills with an individualized project. Sessions are available for two weeks in June and one week in July. You may choose one, two or three sessions! Spots fill quickly. Email [email protected] to reserve your spot. Click SEWING for details about the camp as well as details about a special project option: T-shirt quilt.
Lovejoy Hockey
Lovejoy Hockey is looking to grow. All interested players who are currently in grades 6 and up are encouraged to reach out so we can share information regarding the upcoming spring and fall seasons. Spring registration is right around the corner! Contact the board at [email protected].
|
|
STAY CONNECTED
|
|
|
|
|
