Heartland MS Family Newsletter

Spring is upon us and we are on the downhill slide into Spring Break! I don't know about you guys, but we've had a several days with fantastic weather and I've loved every minute of it! The sun is shining and it is a great day to be outside! Our Spring sports are in full bloom and I can't wait to watch our Hawks in action with baseball, track, tennis & golf on deck! This upcoming week, our 7th graders will travel to the OKC Bombing Memorial, 8th graders will visit Francis Tuttle, and our performing arts (band, orchestra & choir) will all be headed to OSSAA District Contest! What an exciting time!

We had a great time participating in Double Wolf Dare Week (DWDW). For those that have been around a bit, you know that Edmond Santa Fe High School participates in a philanthropic week (DWDW) where the students band together and raise money for a specific charity & a common thread charity. The common thread charity is a group that all the schools in Edmond raise money to support. Middle schools in town do participate in a very scaled-down version to support their efforts and our money goes directly to the common thread. Heartland participated by hosting our own Double PUP (People Uplifting People) Dare Week! We hosted student vs. staff all star games for each grade level, a donut day, and a dare assembly to help raise money to support the cause! Be sure to check our Heartland Facebook page to see pics of the all the fun we had...you can click the button below to be taken straight to the page! We were thrilled to be able to donate $6,112 to the common thread, No Boundaries International, last Friday! We look forward to participating for many years to come!

Hawk's Nest is a great place for students to receive additional time or help here at school to complete their missing, make-up, or redo assignments. It is hosted on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 2:30pm - 4:00pm and students have to have a ride home as transportation is not provided. Across all teams, we have seen so many students take advantage of this opportunity. With that being said, know that students need to be signed up to attend and teachers need to confirm with a parent or guardian that they can stay during after school hours. If you would like to have your student stay for Hawk's Nest, please reach out to one of your students' teachers to make this request. They will ensure that your student makes it on the closest available day based on availability. The last day to turn in missing work for the 3rd quarter is this Friday, March 14, 2025.

Last week was National Public Schools Week #PublicSchoolProud. Thank a teacher, bus driver, custodian, lunch lady, counselor or principal. As families you know the value of our school staff. If you feel compelled...send a note, an email, a drawing or a something to share your gratitude.

We are looking forward to a great week full of exciting events! As always, should you ever have any questions, ideas or suggestions please feel free to reach out to our office! Let's have a wonderful week, Thunderhawks!

WE ARE...HEARTLAND!

Respectfully,

Veronica Johnson

Principal, Heartland Middle School

405-340-2972

As you already know, the district sent out communication regarding the need to add additional minutes to the school day due to unforeseen inclement weather days. In order to stay in compliance with State regulations for required seat time, EPS middle schools are required to add 10 minutes to the school day making the day last from 7:35am - 2:25pm. I have dispersed the 10 minutes amongst classes adding 1 minute to all instructional class periods. I have created a graphic for you to reference below. Please note that this effective immediately. Should you have any questions regarding the new bell schedule, please feel free to reach out to our office. Thank You!

Hello, parents of future 7th graders! As we begin to think about enrollment for next school year, I wanted to make you aware of Oklahoma immunization requirements for students before entering 7th grade. All 7th-grade students will need to have documentation of a Tdap vaccine on file - this is typically given between ages 10-12 and serves as a “booster” to the DTaP vaccine given at an earlier age.

Alternatively, you may complete an Oklahoma Vaccine Exemption form and return it to the school.

Please email all immunization records to torie.moore@edmondschools.net.

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.

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

Laura Brown - Asst. Principal, 8th Grade/Athletic Director

Dana Williams - Asst. Principal, 7th Grade

Paul McQueen - Asst. Principal, 6th Grade

Kim Treece - 7th Grade Counselor

Neika Jackson - 8th Grade Counselor

Cara Bowerman - 6th 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