LVMS Newsletter

Monday, September 2 - Labor Day(Staff and Student Holiday)

Tuesday, September 3 - Professional Learning(Student Holiday)

Picture day is Sept 10th...here is the online order link just in the off chance your student loses their form before it comes home...they will be handed out next week.

Online Order link: https://shop.imagequix.com/g1001159168

We met with LVPD and TxDOT this week, and we are working on a long range solution for the left turn into the school but here are some short term options for you.

1) From 1431, turn left on Dodge Trail, then go right on Diamond, right on Bar K and then take a right on 1431 to enter the parking lot.

2) Drop off at the baseball parking lot across Bar K. We have a crossing guard there to make sure that students can cross the street safely. If you're just dropping off, there's no need to pull into a spot. Just drop and go! If you need to pull into a spot, go down a little ways from the cross walk so you can back out more easily.

I made a short video to go over this...it's not my best work - I didn't even have actors! - but it gets the point across. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qQOB8EP6s4w

Dear LVMS Families,

We are excited to kick off the 2024-2025 school year and can't wait for students to build strong relationships on campus.

I am hoping you might be willing to help us build a vibrant and connected school culture at LVMS. Fundraising is something that helps to fund student activities and give teachers additional resources to support students. Through our partnership with School Funding Group we are simply asking for a minimum $20 dollar donation, and for that donation, you will receive numerous discounts on brand names like Amazon, Home Depot, Nike and Oakley. These discounts can far outweigh the cost of your donation.

The proceeds of this fundraiser will help fund:

• Teacher Training
• Teacher Supplies
• Student Incentives
• Technology for the classroom
• UIL and OAP Supplies
• School Improvement

We appreciate any support you can give and can't wait for this to be the best school year ever!

https://schoolfundinggroup.com/donate/09319fd9-40c1-4ee2-8760-20064db23e99

We've gotten a few questions about the switch from students having their own iPads to take home with them to a class set. The main driving force behind this was the increasing amount of research talking about the negative impact screen time has on adolescents and their mental health.

We believe that iPads can be an effective tool for our teachers and students, but we no longer felt that giving students 24/7 access to a device was in their best interest. We are working out the kinks in the process of having class sets, and we are working through them as quickly as we can.

If you have questions or concerns, please let me know!

Attention 8th Grade Students and Parents,

We would like to inform you that the PSAT 8/9 will be administered to all 8th graders during the school day on Wednesday, October 23, 2024. This test is a great opportunity for students to practice for future SAT tests and gain valuable insights into their academic skills.

If you have any questions or need further information, feel free to contact Mrs.Bentley @ kbentley@lagovistaisd.net.

Thank you for your support!

LVHS Cheer is hosting a Mini Cheer Camp 2024 on September 21 from 9 AM to Noon at LVHS gym for student between Kinder and 8th Grade. Cost is $50 per participant and there will be a show off at 11:30 AM in the main gym. Please fill out this form to participate - https://forms.gle/zYvdUTJG9ZnhPJvp8 - payment will be collected on check in day - CASH or CHECK only!

Per Texas State Law, in order to receive credit for a course or grade level, a student must be in attendance 90% of the time. Absences whether excused or unexcused count towards the total.

But even more important than the law is that when your child misses school, they miss the amazing instruction that is happening and there's no way to ever truly make that up. Last year, our students missed a total of 3,320 days of instruction which equals 24,900 hours of awesome teaching that went unexperienced.

We want all of our students to be able to take advantage of as much great teaching as possible, so that's why this year we are encouraging all parents to "Strive for 5!" Strive for 5 or less missed days for your child this school year. Please do not misunderstand- if your child is sick, please, please, please keep them home. However, try to plan vacations around our school holidays so that your child can avoid missing as much instruction as possible.

Many parents don't realize that the vast majority of our funding from the state is directly tied to our daily attendance. Each student that is present each day equates to about $37 in funding. If a student is absent, that amount is lost. $37 may not seem like much, but it adds up quickly! When looking at last year's numbers, LVMS lost $122,840 in funding due to attendance.That funding could allow us to hire more teachers equating to smaller class sizes to benefit our students.

Again, if your child is sick, please keep them home. The last thing we want is for your child to be miserable here at school and to possibly cause another child to be sick. What we are trying to limit is avoidable absences.

Attendance Reminders

• The tardy bell rings at 8:40. Instruction begins immediately at this time.
• Official attendance is taken each day at 9:45. If your child is not physically present at that time, they are counted absent.
• All attendance notes should be given to your child's teacher or emailed to Terri Harkins at tharkins@lagovistaisd.net. Notes should be returned within 3 school days of the absence or appointment.
• Typically, the later in the school day you can schedule needed appointments, the better. You definitely want to avoid the 9:45 time frame if possible.

Lago Vista ISD is proud to share our new bus route lookout system e-Link by Versatrans. Once you

have registered your Lago Vista ISD student through Ascender ParentPortal and have requested bus

transportation, your student’s route information will be located in our e-Link portal. Please allow 2-3

business days after registering.

You will need your student’s ID number to create and access your e-Link account.

To get started, please visit the Lago Vista ISD e-Link website below:

https://thebusportal.com/LagovistaTX/elinkrp/login.aspx

Transportation changes are not necessary for the middle school.

Attention Viking Fans and Supporters!!! Show your support for the Valkyries Drill Team by ordering a Viking Horn! Each horn is $20, with an option to personalize it with you or your students name, number, and sports beads for an additional $5 for a total of $25. Orders received before August 30th will be ready for pickup on September 3rd in time before the first home football game. Payment will be due at time of pickup via cash or check. No Venmo or other e-payment will be accepted. Proceeds go directly to the Valkyrie’s Drill Team to help fund their activities and competitions. For further information please email Contact.BTownsend@gmail.com. Thank you for your support! https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSep443gAZONlfiZG6LNZ78jAAiCsWAwm6_BHLmoNGyqRW1bCQ/viewform?usp=sf_link

7A Vikings vs. Jarrell

Our 7A team suffered a hard loss against Jarrell Monday evening in 3 sets. They have worked hard all week to learn rotations, positions and where to go on the court and when. There has been a lot of information in a very short amount of time that they have had to digest. I am very proud of their efforts and being able to implement some of what they have learned this past week. They won the first set but fell short the next two. There were a lot of good things that happened! Ashlynn Evans had a great block, Danni Tristan and Evelyn Brown had a good run with some serves, we had a few situations where the team had 3 touch plays with a couple of kills from Sienna Todd, and sometimes they all knew where to go on the court. I am confident that with each experience they will continue to grow and improve! Great job ladies! Also contributing to the team were: Scarlett Wright, Towner Sims, Autumn Clements, Nova Baker, and Eva Navarro.

8A Vikings vs. Jarrell

The Lady Vikings opened their volleyball season with a straight set win! The girls took on the Lady Cougars @ Jarrell this past Monday evening. From the first serve to the last the Lady Vikings were in complete control throughout. If there were any first game jitters, it didn’t show as the girls dominated the first set winning 25 - 9. Their serves were aggressive from the get go, and they transitioned from defense to offense quickly while staying on the attack. The girls never allowed Jarrell to get comfortable in the match. There was no let off in the 2nd set as the ladies continued their outstanding volleyball play dominating the set 25 - 6. Each win is super important this year as there is no longer a season ending district tournament. The district championship will be determined by the outcomes each week of the season.

Members of this year's 8 A Team are: Rain Nelson, Brinkley Gold, Leya Sund, Sloane Wolfe, Kinsley Boyd, Lauren Carpenter, Te’a Turner, Amelia Ferguson, Lila Rodriguez, Molly Cortez.

The girls next match is in a couple weeks when they’re back on the road to take on the Lady Bulldogs of Burnet Middle School.

7B Vikings vs. Jarrell

The Lady Vikings kicked off the season with a win against the Jarrell Cougars in two tight games. Despite a close match with both teams matching each other serve for serve, our team pulled ahead thanks to some exceptional serving from Gracyn Koncak, Cora Larkin, and Lauren Wood. Our captains and setters, Lauren and Teagan Pilz, led the team with great communication and leadership. Gracyn's hustle as our libero was crucial in maintaining our defensive strength. In this first match of the season, Brookley Janson, Cori Davis, and Tallulah Hardy began to get comfortable with our rotations as defensive specialists, showing promising progress. Aubrey Alves, Emery Smith, Isabella Faz, Starri Dannelley, and Victoria Porras made notable contributions with their movement at the net, enhancing our offensive strategy. Overall, it was a fantastic team effort and a great start to the season. Go Lady Vikings!

8B Vikings vs. Jarrell

The Lady Vikings started the season with a win over Jarrell in two sets. It was a great team effort to secure the victory. Some key plays were made by Elena Prescott with great serves and outstanding leadership on the court as our setter. Annabelle Parker-Wheeler also helped us out with some fantastic serving. Defensive plays were made by Brooklyn Cushman and Summer Thatcher. Helping us out on the front row was Madison Hawes, Lilah Culbreath, Lucy Smith, Hadley Tullis, and Emma Luow. Giana Vallee and Liliana Wesselman were great communicators on the court and also helped us in serve receive. Lastly, Stella Granger did a wonderful job taking charge as our other setter. We are very proud of our Lady Vikings and looking forward to the rest of the season!

The Booster Club would like to welcome our Viking students, athletes, families, and fans back to school! There is already so much going on at LVMS and LVHS. Get ready for a fantastic year! Please visit our website for information on all things Booster Club at https://www.lagovistasports.com/

VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES:

The Booster Club needs your help! Please consider signing up to help out at the concession stand.

WE ALL ROW!

MS Football -- https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C044CAFAF23A4F85-50417322-2024

MS XC Tri-Meet Relay -- https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C044CAFAF23A4F85-50417339-2024

We encourage all parents to log into your Parent Portal at any time and set up alerts. Follow the directions and screenshots below.

Once you are logged into your Parent Portal, go to the upper right hand corner of your screen and click on the "bell".

You will then click on the View/Set Alerts.

Click on the Set Alerts to go to the menu to set alerts for grades, assignments and attendance.

If you have any problems or questions, please contact Monica Kaiser @ #2503.

Each year, Central Texas students are absent 2.4 million days of school.

Students in Central Texas miss more days of school than their peers across the state in every

grade. The problem worsens in high school, when Central Texas students are absent far more

than in other parts of the state.

Over half of absences in Central Texas were potentially preventable, including routine medical or

dental checkups, traveling, or just skipping school.

Student absences are costly to our region in a variety of ways:

• Students can’t learn: If a student is not present at school, they are missing opportunities to

learn, to socialize, to gain confidence, and to be inspired.

• Teachers can’t teach: It is much more difficult for teachers to teach effectively when they

are “catching up” students who have missed.

• Lost revenue: The state funds schools based on daily attendance - so every day missed

costs schools money. This means missing out on teachers, sports programs, and electives

due to lack of funding.

Each day your student misses costs the school district about $38. In fact, the typical high

school in our region loses almost $20,000 every week because of absences. Across the region,

our schools lose over $91 million a year!

But it’s not just the money! The consequences of poor attendance are huge: high school students

who miss two weeks of school per year are three times more likely to drop out of school than those

who missed one week a year.

If Central Texas increased attendance on average by just 2 percentage points, or three days

per student, we could increase revenues to our schools by over $34 million per year! (Or

put another way, we could hire another 600 teachers...)

Community efforts do have an impact. Central Texas schools who participated in a national

attendance challenge increased their attendance by over 2%, proving we can reach our regional

goal if we all work together.

Doors open at 8:10 - there will not be supervision before then...

1st Period - 8:40 - 9:26

2nd Period - 9:30 - 10:16

3rd Period - 10:20 - 11:06

4th Period - 11:10 - 11:56

A Lunch - 11:56 - 12:26

A 5th Period - 12:30 - 1:16

B 5th Period - 12:00 - 12:46

B Lunch - 12:46 - 1:16

6th Period - 1:20 - 2:06

7th/Advisory - 2:06 - 2:36

8th Period - 2:40 - 3:26

9th Period - 3:30 - 4:15

Reminder - any student who is either using or in possesion of an e-cigarette(vape) of any type is an automatic DAEP(Disciplinary Alternative Education Placement) sentence.

HB 114 makes offenses involving the possession and/or or use of vapes a mandatory DAEP offense. School districts will now be required to place all students who are caught in possession and/or or using vapes (of any kind – not just those with drugs) into their DAEP.

Please share this with your children - it's just not worth it!

Email: eholt@lagovistaisd.net
Website: www.lagovistaisd.net
Location: 8039 Bar K Ranch Road, Lago Vista, TX, USA
Phone: 512-267-8300