Heartland MS Family Newsletter

Heartland Happenings - January 26, 2025

Greetings Heartland Families!

January is now in the rearview mirror and we're heading face-first into February. The February/March time frame tends to be the most difficult for our students. There aren't many scheduled breaks that allow them to rest and recharge which sometime helps to contribute to misbehavior. Students have to learn to focus, persevere, and weather the storm until we hit Spring break. At Heartland, our February word of the month is Leadership so we really try to emphasize how our students must create their own success, even when times are hard! If you should have a student struggling be sure to remember that warmer weather and Spring are just on the horizon. Spring sports organization meetings are happening and we are looking forward to getting back outside! Baseball, track, golf and tennis are on the agenda for this Spring and I'm looking forward to cheering our teams to victory! Please remember, if you have a 7th or 8th-grade student who is playing a Spring sport and has not participated in any other sports this year - they will need to have a physical on file prior to starting practices or tryouts.

Last Friday, we had the honor of announcing and celebrating our 24/25 Heartland Rookie Teacher of the Year, Mrs. Alexandra Williams. Mrs. Williams joined us the Spring semester of 2024 and has been such joy to work with since. She is a wonderful 6th grade geography teacher and serves in many other capacities at Heartland including: a member of our Foundations team which helps to address climate and culture at our school, co-sponsors our RZE step team, and sponsors our gaming/esports club. She has an incredible gift of connecting with her students and colleagues and we are so lucky to have her in our Heartland family. Well deserved, Mrs. Williams, well deserved!

Looking ahead, as many of you know Edmond Public High Schools participates in a rather large philanthropic week in which hundreds of thousands of dollars are raised to give to a local organization or charity. Heartland MS contributes to the cause in our own small version of SFHS's Double Wolf Dare Week. Our week is coined...Double "PUP" Dare Week where we focus on People Uplifting People! During the month of February, we will be hosting multiple events to help raise money for EPS's common thread, No Boundaries International, LLC. Learn more about the organization by clicking HERE. We have started to plan and organize events/activities that our students will surely enjoy...all for a great cause! Stay tuned!

I look forward to another phenomenal week here at the Heart! As always, should you have any questions, suggestions or ideas please feel free to reach out to our office!

WE ARE...HEARTLAND!

Respectfully,

Veronica Johnson

Principal, Heartland Middle School

405-340-2972

Grade Level Newsletters

6th Grade

Click HERE to view the 6th Grade Team Newsletter!

7th Grade

Click HERE to view the 7th Grade Team Newsletter!

8th Grade

Click HERE to view the 8th Grade Team Newsletter!

Electives

Click HERE to view the Electives Team Newsletter!

Heartland MS Hosts EPS's Superintendent's Student Advisory Committee (SuperSAC)!

6th & 8th Grade Parents - Oklahoma Preventative Needs Assessment

Dear Parent or Guardian:

The Oklahoma Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services is conducting an important survey on student behaviors and beliefs. The survey is called the Oklahoma Prevention Needs Assessment(OPNA) Survey. Your child’s class is set to take this survey in early February 2025. The purpose of the survey is to gather information needed to plan prevention and intervention programs in our community and schools. These programs will address problems of alcohol, tobacco, and other drug use, school dropout, delinquency, violence, mental health, and other issues in our schools and communities. Please click the button below for more information.

Oklahoma Prevention Needs Assessment Survey Passive Consent Parent Letter 24/25

Heartland High Five - RISE Above Donut Party!

As we all know, at Heartland.... WE RISE! Thunderhawks show Respect, Integrity, Self-Control, and Effort in all that they do! Students have the opportunity to earn "High-Fives" from their teachers. If a teacher sees a student going above and beyond the RISE expectations, they can earn a high-five from their teachers. Every morning, on the morning announcements, administrators pick high-fives from a bucket and recognize those students exceeding the RISE expectations. Starting new this Spring, we will be celebrating all students that receive a high-five from a teacher at the end of each month with a donut party. We want to ensure that each student that receives a high-five gets the recognition that they deserve and not just those that are randomly selected to be featured on the announcements. Hopefully this will continually encourage students to make good choices, ones that help to positively shape their character.

Heartland Backpack Program

The Heartland Backpack Program provides a monthly delivery or pick up
of nutritious food for Heartland students and their families in need of
extra support.

Heartland Middle School Facebook Page

Join/Like our page for the latest on all things Heartland Middle School!

Interested 7th Graders Visit the Edmond Public Schools Agriculture Facilities!

Heartland Athletics Update

Click the link to find out more about Spring sports: Baseball, Track, Tennis & Golf.

ATHLETIC ELIGIBILITY

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.