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Willow Springs Middle School Principal Newsletter - September 27, 2018
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Dear WSMS Parents and Guardians,
Rain...Rain...Go away! Looks like we will be dry tomorrow for Leopard Friday tomorrow at LHS. Leopard Friday is a great tradition in Lovejoy and always a fun event for the entire community.
We are encouraging all of our students to wear their WSMS spirit shirt tomorrow for Leopard Friday and again next Thursday for our Fall Pep Rally.
Next week, we will have our fall pep rally on October 4th at 3:15pm in the main gym. During the pep rally, we will honor several of our teams and organizations for all their hard work and dedication in representing WSMS during the fall season. In addition, our band, choir, cheerleaders, and color guard will all perform. All parents are welcome to attend and are encouraged to park in a parking space not designated as a fire lane in the front parking lot to enter and sign-in through the front office. Go Leopards!
Sincerely,
Kent Messer
Principal
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Early Dismissal, Friday September 28
School will be dismissed at 12:50pm. Please
click here
for a copy of the bell schedule.
Leopard Friday, September 28
The Lovejoy Independent School District will host a free community event on Friday, September 28th from 5:00 PM - 7:00 PM: Leopard Friday.
On Leopard Friday, the Courtyard at Lovejoy High School will be transformed into a showcase of our students, clubs, community, and organizations. There truly is something for everyone, regardless of age. Join us for choir karaoke, the rubber duck game, baked goods, the opportunity to try multiple sports, and much more.
A community pep rally will be held at 6:00 PM in the Lovejoy High School Courtyard. All Leopard fans are invited to form a spirit line on the field prior to kick off.
Sonny Bryan's will cater a BBQ dinner. Tickets may be purchased via the
Online Payment Center, or at the Lovejoy High School store. The ticket order deadline is September 26th. A small number of tickets will be sold at the door.
ParentPortal Update Needed ASAP
The PowerSchool ParentPortal is now open for you to complete the online Enrollment & Student Information Forms. Please
click here to 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, emergency contacts, authorized pickup, FERPA acknowledgments, Student Code of Conduct, Student Handbook, etc.
As of today, there are 163 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.
No Pass - No Play: Six Week Progress Report Grades
Tomorrow, September 28th, will be the last day for six week progress reports. Although we have moved to a nine week grading system this year, UIL requires all schools to check eligibility after the first six weeks and again at the end of the first grading period if it exceeds six weeks. Based on our district academic calendar, we will have two eight week grading periods in the fall. Our first grading period will end on Friday, October 14
th
. For a copy of the UIL eligibility calendar, please
click here
.
Picture Retakes - Tuesday, October 2
Picture retakes with Legacy Studio are Tuesday, October 2 for students that did not have their picture taken on August 31 or for students needing a retake. For parents who originally purchased a package and want their child to have a retake, please have your son or daughter bring those original photos with them on this retake day. Students who did not have their picture taken on August 31 may have their picture taken and a proof with order information will be sent home within two weeks.
Principal's Coffee - Wednesday, October 3rd
I would like to invite you to our upcoming Principal's Coffee, on Wednesday, October 3rd at 9:00 a.m. The Principal's Coffee is a forum discussion for all 7th and 8th grade parents to visit with me about the middle school experience over a cup of coffee.
Sarah Pierson will be here this week as our guest speaker. Ms. Pierson, a Community Educator at Children's Advocacy Center of Collin County. Her topic for this presentation will focus on how to keep our kids safe online. In this presentation you will learn:
Pep Rally - Students Wear Your Grade Level Spirit Shirts, Thursday, October 4
Thursday, October 4 we are having a pep rally in our main gym. Our choir will perform the National Anthem and our WSMS band will also perform. We will be on our pep rally bell schedule. Please
click here
for the bell schedule.
All parents are welcome to attend and are encouraged to park in a parking space not designated as a fire lane in the front parking lot to enter and sign-in through the front office. Overflow parking is available in the back of the school and parents may enter and sign-in through the west courtyard door.
School Holiday - Friday, October 5 and Monday, October 8
Our fall break is Friday, October 5 through Monday, October 8. School resumes on Tuesday, October 9.
Save The Date - Sebastian and Friends Sing-A-Long, Saturday, October 20
Join Sebastian and his "Under the Sea" friends for a morning of singing your favorite Disney's The Little Mermaid tunes! Meet the characters and enjoy fun activities with the cast of Disney's The Little Mermaid, Jr. Click here for more information. Tickets $25 per student and can be purchased online at the Parent Payment Portal.
Career Day at WSMS!
How old were you when you decided what you wanted to be when you grew up? What do you love about your career? What do you dislike? Do you enjoy sharing your experiences in your chosen career? If the answer to the last question is YES, we want to invite you to share your career with WSMS students. On Friday, November 2nd from 9:30am to 12:50pm, WSMS will hold our 4
th
annual Career Exploration Day. This event is designed to provide students exposure to a wide variety of careers. Face-to-face conversations and hands on investigation gives students the opportunity to consider careers in fields otherwise unknown. We are looking for professionals in the following fields. This list is not exhaustive!
Advertising / Marketing
Agriculture
Architecture
The Arts - music, dance, theatre, visual arts
Automotive
Business
Computer Science
Construction
Culinary Arts
Data Science
Education
Engineering
Fashion
Government
IT
Journalism
Law
Media
Medical
Military
Nutrition
Research
Retail
Security
Science
Sports
Technology
Transportation
Veterinary
If you are interested in helping, please fill out the Career Exploration Presenter form here. We look forward to seeing you on November 2nd!
PTA Reflections- "Heroes Around Me"
WSMS PTA is excited to kick off another year of celebrating Arts in Education with participation in the National PTA Reflections Competition. All students are encouraged to get in touch with their inner artist by interpreting the 2018-2019 theme, "Heroes Around Me." Students may submit work(s) in dance choreography, film production, literature, music composition, photography, or visual arts. For rules and entry forms click
here
or visit the WSMS front office. Entries are due to the Willow Springs office by November 2nd. Please contact Nicole Dubree at
[email protected]
with any questions.
Your student could earn a $25 Cinemark card!
It's time for the annual WSMS Battle of the Books!
Please encourage your students to participate in this fun event. Student and teacher teams are already forming. Using books as ammunition, participants will go head-to-head in this epic battle that will test each competitor's knowledge of the 4 selected titles. Students may compete as individuals or as teams with up to 4 students per team.
The student champs will earn a $25 Cinemark card and will get to compete against our teacher teams to see who will be the Overall Grand Champions.
The EPIC battle will take place on Tuesday, November 13 , starting at 4:15 pm. Tell your students to stop by the library to get more details and to sign up a team.
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Campus Information and Reminders
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Safety Corner - Cell Phone Use-Carpool Lanes
We have observed parents on their cell phones during carpool pick up and drop off. Please remember that it is now a state law that drivers are not to be on their cell phones in school zones. For the safety of our students, and other drivers, please do not use your cell phone during carpool drop off or pick up. Thank you for your cooperation and support of our student's safety.
State Fair Tickets/Absences
All WSMS students will be receiving a complimentary state fair ticket tomorrow. If your son or daughter does not receive a state fair ticket, please have them check with their 2nd period teacher.
Just a reminder that if your son or daughter attends the state fair during a school day, he or she will be counted absent. WSMS and LISD do not accept fair receipts as documentation for the absence or as a waiver for the day. Thank you for your cooperation with this.
WSMS Yearbook
Parents - Do you have great pictures of your student from last summer's vacation, staycation or mission trip? We would love to use your favorite one in the yearbook. Please email the picture with your student's name and a brief description to [email protected].
The WSMS Store will be open every Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday from 11:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. Stop by to get your school spirit gear!
If you are interested in volunteering in the school store this year, please email
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.
Developing Student Ownership in Learning
One of our goals is to work with students to build ownership and responsibility in their own learning. Consider having your student make first contact with his/her teachers by emailing them about assignments and/or tests. For example, if your student has not completed a homework assignment or a test, please encourage your student to do the following:
-
-
Go to the Google Classroom to print off and complete the assignment and/or any test preparation materials
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Email their teacher and ask questions about the assignment or missing work
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Talk to their teacher about the missing assignment or test
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Know how and where to turn in the assignment or complete the test
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Volleyball Results vs Allen Ford - September 24th
7th Grade
A Team - Won
B Team - Won
C Team - Won
8th Grade
A Team - Won
B Team - Lost
C Team - Won
Football Results vs Wylie McMillan - September 25th
7th Grade
Red - Won
Black - Won
8th Grade
Red - Won
Black - Lost
Boys Basketball Meeting - Monday, October 1st
The preseason Parent Meeting for Middle School Boys Basketball Tryouts is Monday, October 1st from 6:00-6:30 pm in the LHS Main Gym. We will go over tryout dates, times, and procedures.
RUN-A-THON ---SAVE THE DATE!!! MONDAY, OCTOBER 15th
We are planning on having our first ever Run-a-thon at the middle school on October 15th!! Coach Kelly and I are still tossing ideas around... but we thought it would be really fun if we did this in an evening under the stadium lights around the track and had glow in the dark gear for the kids. We asked the kids about it, and they were pretty excited. We will start the event at 7:30. There will be a cap of 25 laps (around 6.2 miles).Mark your calendar ASAP because I think it will be a blast for the kids!
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Foundation for Lovejoy Schools
North Texas Giving Day: Thank You!
The Foundation for Lovejoy Schools would like to say thank you to the Lovejoy Community for raising over $114,000 from approximately 450 donors on North Texas Giving Day. The Foundation is well on their way to reaching their $200,000 goal by December 31 with great support from Lovejoy families and the community. Every gift is valuable to the mission of enhancing education in Lovejoy. If you are considering making a donation to the Foundation, please
click here
for more information.
Men's Tailgate Tournament - Tickets Go On Sale Friday, September 28
Gentlemen, please plan to join the Foundation for food, beer, and a double elimination corn hole tournament, guaranteeing all players two games. The tournament will be at the home of John and Kris Dunaway on Wednesday, October 24. Sponsors for the event are Renfrow Dunaway Group, Lee Lewis, Fable Security, and Chick-fil-A Stacy Road and Twin Creeks Village. Registration and additional information to be announced at
www.foundationforlovejoyschools.com
. Please contact Laura Berend, Executive Director of the Foundation for additional information.
Volunteer Background Application Now Available
For the safety of our students, a criminal history record is obtained annually for every person interested in volunteering at a LISD campus. Upon completion of the background check, applicants will be notified of approval to volunteer.
Please
click here
to access the Online Volunteer Application. The online application is a secure link.
All information regarding volunteer applications received for the 2017-2018 school year has been deleted. If you submitted an application prior to August 2018, you will need to complete another application.
Thank you for your assistance with this very important matter. Your interest in serving as a volunteer is appreciated. Should you have any questions, or require assistance, please contact:
Stacey Dillon
Assistant to the Superintendent
469.742.8003
Google Classroom Email Summaries for Parents/ Guardians
In the next few days, you may receive an invitation to subscribe to summaries from your student's Google Classroom classes if your email address is in PowerSchool. As a parent/ guardian, you may receive email summaries showing your student's progress in Google Classroom. You may choose daily or weekly emails, and unsubscribe or remove yourself from Google Classroom anytime. Guardian summaries include missing work, upcoming work, and class activity. As a parent/ guardian, you must receive and accept an email invitation before you receive email summaries. If you accepted an invitation last year, you will have remained connected to your student and continued to receive email updates. When accepting the invitation if you are logged into Google on the web browser, the Google account logged into will be accept the invitation instead of the email address the invitation was sent to. Please make sure you are not logged into a different Google account than the email was sent to when accepting the invitation. Following is a sample of the email invitation you may receive:
For additional information regarding Google Classroom email summaries for guardians, please
click here
. If you have questions, please contact the Library Media Specialist for your campus:
Lovejoy High School
Willow Springs Middle School
Sloan Creek Intermediate School
Tutoring and Test Prep Now Enrolling
ACT and PSAT/SAT classes will be starting soon. 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 1 letter grade or more. Turn those C's into B's. Click here:
Tutoring 101@Lovejoy High School
for additional information.
Senior Class Council - Collecting for Those Affected by Hurricane Florence
The Senior Class Council is accepting donations for those affected by Hurricane Florence. Collection boxes will be located in each school from September 19th - September 28th. Requested items include:
Deodorant
Diapers
Baby Wipes
Travel Size Shampoos/Conditioners
Toothbrushes
Toothpaste
Soap
Other Hygienic Items
The Senior Class Council thanks you for your support and for your assistance in helping those in serious need.
Senior Project - To Raise Funds for Autism
Zachary Taylor
, a senior at Lovejoy High School, is asking for your help with his senior project:
"Hi! My name is Zachary Taylor and I am a senior at Lovejoy High School. My senior project is on the topic of Autism. There are 2 events I would like to bring to your attention.
The first event is Leopard Friday on September 28th. I will have a table in the Lovejoy High School courtyard with information on Autism as well as selling the Autism Awareness ribbon for $1 each. All proceeds from this event will be donated to Autism Speaks. Their mission: "Autism Speaks is dedicated to promoting solutions, across the spectrum and throughout the lifespan, for the needs of individuals with autism and their families through advocacy and support; increasing understanding and acceptance of people with autism spectrum disorder; and advancing research into causes and better interventions for autism spectrum disorder and related conditions." More information can be found on
their website
.
The second event is the Autism Walk I will be participating in on Saturday, September 29th in Richardson. My goal is to raise $500 for the walk. Please consider donating to this great cause by c
licking here
. Please search for my name under the "Search for a participant" tab to ensure your donation is counted toward my goal of $500. If you would like to participate in this walk, you are welcome to join my team (Team Draeven) or create your own team.
Autism is on the rise. Together we can help work toward a great cause. Thank you for your time and donations."
Lovejoy High School Cheer
The Lovejoy High School Cheerleaders will host a Junior Leopards Mini Cheer Camp for ages 4 through 4th grade on October 20th. The Mini Cheerleaders will learn cheers, chants, and jumps to prepare for cheering at a Varsity football game. For detailed information, and to register, please click:
Junior Leopards Cheer Registration
.
The registration deadline is Monday, October 1st.
"War & Peace: a Fall Choir Concert" - Monday, October 1
The LHS Choir Department invites you to attend a multi-disciplinary concert of songs about war and peace on Monday, October 1 at 7:00 PM in the LHS Auditorium. All choirs will be featured along with the Majestics officers, flautist Wendy Hebert, and pianist Rebecca Baker. The concert will include songs by Mendelssohn, Rodgers & Hammerstein, and Craig Hella Johnson, among others.
Arrive early to view the artwork of LHS senior
Evie McGowan with a personally curated music playlist beginning at 6:30 PM in the LHS Auditorium.
Lovejoy Softball Grand Slam Club - October 1st
The Grand Slam Booster Club will host a "Good Eats for a Good Cause" fundraiser at the Allen Chili's on Monday October 1. Chili's will donate 20% of your ticket to the Grand Slam Softball Booster Club when you bring this flyer to the restaurant. Come out to Chili's on October 1 and help support the Softball program.
Lovejoy High School Majestics
The Lovejoy High School Majestics will host Evening with the Majestics on Friday, October 12th at the Pink Out football game for Lovejoy ISD students in grades kindergarten through 6th. The mini Majestics will learn a routine to perform on the field during the Pre-Game show. For detailed information, and to register, please click:
Evening with the Majestics Registration
.
The registration deadline is Wednesday, October 3, 2018.
Lovejoy Softball Grand Slam Club - Flats for Bats
The annual "Flats for Bats" fundraiser is underway. The sale will be held through October 11. Anyone interested in having flowers delivered to them please email [email protected].
Checks should be made payable to the Grand Slam Booster Club. Flowers will be delivered on October 20 or 21.
Red Out Homecoming Shirts - Available from LHS Band, Order Now!
Have you purchased your Red Out Homecoming Shirt? Click
here for more information and a printable order form. The deadline to order is October 12, 2018.
Lovejoy Upper 90 Soccer Boosters Host Juggling-A-Thon - Saturday, October 13th
The Upper 90 Soccer Booster Club will host a "Juggling-A-Thon" to help raise money for the program. Each Soccer player will have 30 minutes to get his or her highest number of consecutive ball touches. Prior to this event, the players will be seeking sponsorships for the number of touches they complete during their 30-minute juggling drill. Please help support our 2019 Boys and Girls Soccer program with a sponsorship.
For additional information, please contact:
Alex Duran, Head Boys Soccer Coach
Ian Keeble, Head Girls Soccer Coach
The team will perform their juggling drills for funds on Saturday, October 13th. Additional information will be made available as the event nears.
Lovejoy Senior Requests Assistance with Senior Project
A message from Lovejoy Senior, Alexandra Brungardt:
"As an incoming senior, I have selected a project that is close to my heart. There is a "Toy Closet" at the Cancer Hospital from which patients can choose an item to help during their stay. I want to stock the Closet with as many toys as possible. In order to purchase toys for the closet, donation bins will be placed at each of the schools and the red building. These bins will be collecting gently used Lovejoy Spirit Wear. Once collected, the spirit wear will be sold and the money used to buy Toys for the Closet.
The toys will be donated in memory of Walker Jack Rainey.
I can be reached at [email protected] with any comments or questions. Thank you for your generosity."
3rd Annual Running Over Depression - Saturday, November 10th
Please join us for the 3rd Annual Running Over Depression Run on Saturday, November 10th 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 Leopard Stadium. Running Over Depression is an event being organized by Lovejoy Seniors
Brett Pedersen
,
Michael O'Brien
and
Carson Hockersmith
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. Please
click here
to register. If your business is interested in sponsoring Running Over Depression please email [email protected].
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