Heartland MS Family Newsletter

I must say that from a full building perspective - this has been an EXTREMELY smooth start to the 24/25 school year. I want to thank our school community - including parents and teachers - for working together as we provide an AMAZING place for your student(s) to learn. Should a problem arise - and you have specific questions about your student or questions regarding policies and procedures - we ask that you contact the specific grade level principal of your student for more information.

Veronica Johnson - Lead Principal

Laura Brown - 8th Grade Principal

Dana Williams - 7th Grade Principal

Paul McQueen - 6th Grade Principal

A HUGE shout-out to our FANTASTIC Heartland Parent Organization for organizing and putting together an AWESOME Back to School Social! Everywhere I looked, I saw students singing and dancing, parents enjoying family and great food, and faculty/staff laughing and enjoying each other's company! It's moments like these that make me truly grateful to be serving such a wonderful community! It was great to visit will all of you and to provide such a wholesome environment for our students and families to socialize! Thank you all for showing up and supporting our school! Our partnership is what will help to make your student(s) successful here at Heartland! I can't encourage each of you enough to get involved!

I would like to personally invite each of you to our Open House tomorrow night from 6pm - 8:15pm. Teachers will be on campus and we will be running a shorten scheduled. In saying that, parents will have the opportunity to visit each of their students' classes for a brief 10 minute period and then transition to the next class. We will start in 1st hour at 6pm (we will not be going to advisory) and then end the evening with 7th period around 7:45pm. There will be a five minute transition time from class to class. At the end of the night there will be a 30 minute period to double back to see a teacher if you have a couple of last minute questions. This schedule might not be the most conducive model for those that have multiple students in multiple grade levels. I would suggest that you come in with a game plan and visit the teachers you feel you know the least about, switching between grade levels as needed. Teachers will be going over their syllabus, course content, expectations, and answer any general questions you may have. I ask that if you have specific student concerns please make an appointment to meet with the teacher individually. Open house is not the time for individual parent/teacher conferences as the classes are only 10 minutes long. Your student should come home Monday after school with a written schedule for you to take with you to Open House so that you know exactly when and where to go. Buckets will be located at each of the exits for you to drop your student's paper schedule in for a chance for them to win the raffle for a prize! Hope to see you there!

Before I go, congratulations to all the Fall sports as they are now up and running with games and meets happening all the time. It's great to see our Heartland students successful both inside and outside of the classroom.

WE ARE...HEARTLAND!

Respectfully,

Veronica Johnson

Principal, Heartland Middle School

405-340-2972

Heartland administrators hosted grade level POD talks this week to talk about how Thunderhawks show Respect, Integrity, Self Control & Effort at all times and in all areas of the building! Please continue to have conversations with your student regarding school appropriate behavior. Each of our Thunderhawks now know our expectations and we look forward to creating and fostering an atmosphere conducive to learning!

Our open house at Heartland is a mini snapshot of what your student goes through during the day. We will run a regular schedule - starting at 6:00p. 10-minute class periods and 5-minute passing periods.... If you do not have a copy of the schedule for your student - please use the following link to have your student write down where you should go. Remember - it's good to know both teacher name and room number if possible as most of us don't memorize the numbers - we just know where people are located. You can enter from the North or South entrance on this night!

Click Here...

The AIMSWEB exam is a universal screener that we administer 3 times a year to monitor the academic progress of your student in comparison to national norms. This Fall, the test will take place on Wednesday August 28, 2024. Your student will take a reading and math test over the course of 4-5 periods. It's not a timed test and will not count for a grade in any of their classes.

I urge you to have a conversation with your student and encourage them to try their absolute best! Based on the results, we will determine if your students needs to be put in FOCUS, an academic intervention program, that helps to close any academic gaps they may have should they need a little bit of targeted help. The unfortunate thing about FOCUS is that it does take the place of one of their electives. The great thing is that they will get the one-on-one help that they need!

Now that we've gotten into the swing of things, I thought I would take moment to explain how we do our grading at Heartland Middle School. This is different than what we have done in the past so please be sure to take note. In order to better prepare our students for success in high school, we've implemented a grading policy that stairs steps at each grade level to help encourage academic success.

Middle school truly is a transition phase in our student's lives and we want to ensure that our 6th graders feel supported as they transition into middle school and that our 8th graders are prepared for the rigor of high school. What we have learned is that when we send our students to Santa Fe, many of them struggle to meet the grading expectations because they are so use to the leniency they encountered in middle school.

Formative assessments are evaluations of someone’s learning progress in a classroom. Think of formative as their daily work and what helps teachers know if their students are learning the material. Formative assessments include:

• Quizzes
• Games
• Daily Assignments
• Projects
• Presentations
• Participation Activities
• Group Activities

Summative assessments are evaluations of what someone has learned throughout a course. Summative assessments almost always take place at the end of a course or at the end of a unit to break a course into more manageable chunks. They’re often cumulative, and they’re used to evaluate a student’s long-term information retention. Summative assessments include:

• Tests
• Final exams
• Papers
• End-of-class projects

At the top of each grade level box it says "50-Based, 25-Based, 0-Based." For each grade level, that is the lowest percentage grade they will receive on an assignment. For example, if a 6th grader turns in an assignment and gets every answer incorrect, they will receive 50% credit on the assignment but for 8th graders, if they don't turn in an assignment, they will receive a 0%. If an 8th grader turns in their completed assignment and gets all answers incorrect, they will receive 25% credit.

Now that we are in the process of running eligibility for OSSAA activities - there always tends to be some confusion as to when a student can and can not participate. Here are some bullet points to help define when a student can and can not participate.

• Eligibility is run mid-week. For example - we run eligibility on Thursday morning based on grades posted on Wednesday evening. If a student is listed as "ineligible" - that means they can not participate in any OSSAA games scheduled for the next calendar week of Sunday - Sunday. By OSSAA rules - students can still practice during that time. However, individual coaches may have other team rules regarding practice.
• Probation vs. Ineligible. The first week a student has a grade that qualifies them for the eligibility report - they are listed as "on Probation"... At that point in time - they can still participate and play in games. (Again - team rules may be more strict) If the student raises the grade by the next eligibility report run - their name comes off the list and they are good to go. If there is still a grade in question - the student becomes ineligible.
• If a student is listed as ineligible - AND - raises their grade (yay!!) the next time there is a grade in question -- they move back to the probation category. Therefore, there is always a week of grace after a student has worked to get their name off of the list.

Please feel free to contact Heartland Athletic Director Laura Brown with questions as I know it can be confusing.

Once again Heartland Media Center is partnering with local bookstore Best of Books to sell copies of books that students will read in their English and Literacy classes. Students are not required to purchase copies of these books - the school provides books that students will use while in class. Some families prefer that students have their own copy of these books so that they can highlight, underline and refer to the books at home. If this is you, and you would like to help support Heartland Media Center, you may use this link to order from Best of Books. You may choose to pick up the books in-store, have them delivered to your home, or have them delivered to your student at school. The media center will receive a portion of all sales as store credit, which will be used to purchase more books for the school library. Thank you for your support!

Let's take just a minute to talk about the "snack bar" at lunch. For those 6th grade parents who don't know...the snack bar can become an issue because students at this age are not used to financial freedom and free choice. It's difficult for them to spend out of an account as they tend to not understand that the money really exists and there is not an endless supply. I encourage you to have a conversation with your student about your expectations regarding spending at the snack bar. It is a common occurrence, especially in 6th grade, for a student or two to buy SEVERAL ice creams and pass them out to friends. We will work on our end to stop this practice but I also encourage you to check your account and make sure your student isn't spending beyond your expectations. Additionally - 6th-grade students will spend a LOT of time waiting in a snack bar line to get ice cream and then leave themselves little time to eat it. It's growing pains - they'll get through it as they always do.

EPS offers a $20 “Student Technology Protection Plan” (STPP) to help cover the cost of damaged devices such as loss, or damage caused by abuse, dropping, spills, etc. If the device is stolen, students must submit a police report with the claim to use their STPP (Student Technology Protection Plan). Visit Edmond Public Schools’ Technology webpage and select STPP-Student Protection Plan for the most recent information. Chargers are not covered by the STPP plan. Replacement chargers are $35.

Hold: Hold is followed by the directive: “In Your Room or Area” and is the protocol used when hallways need to be kept clear of occupants.

Secure: Secure is followed by the directive: “Get Inside, Lock Outside Doors” and is the protocol used to safeguard people within the building.

Lockdown: Lockdown is followed by the directive: “Locks, Lights, Out of Sight” and is the protocol used to secure individual rooms and keep occupants quiet and in place.

Evacuate: Evacuate is used to move people from one location to a different location in or out of the building.

Shelter: Shelter is followed by commands that state the hazard and safety strategy for the group or self-protection.

Honesty - Being truthful in what I say and do

Enthusiasm - Expressing interest and excitement in what I do

Attentiveness - Concentrating on the person or task before me

Resiliency - Recovering from adversity and finding the inner strength to withstand stress

and do my best

Tolerance- Demonstrating respect for others who do not share my perspective

Leadership- Knowing the way. Going the way. Showing the way.

Accountability - Accepting responsibility for my actions

Nice- Dude. Be Nice!

Discipline- Choosing behaviors to help me reach my goals and finish strong!

Veronica Johnson - Lead Principal, 6th Grade

Laura Brown - Asst. Principal, 7th Grade

Paul McQueen - Asst. Principal, 8th Grade

Kim Treece - 6th Grade Counselor

Neika Jackson - 7th Grade Counselor

Cara Bowerman - 8th Grade Counselor

Email: heartland.middleschool@edmondschools.net
Website: https://heartland.edmondschools.net/
Location: Heartland Middle School, Explorer Drive, Edmond, OK, USA
Phone: (405)340-2972
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/heartlandmiddleschool