WSMS Principal Newsletter

Hello Parents,

I'm wishing you and your families a blessed Spring Break. We will be staying home and exploring some fun local sites such as Glen Rose, Texas. We plan to relax and reflect, getting ready for a strong finish to the school year as Mr. Eldredge is also an educator. I will also be practicing to throw the first pitch at a Lovejoy baseball game later this month! Please take careful notice below of the Spring Social information and required parent permission form for the event. We are looking forward to this fun WSMS school tradition. Thank you for your continued support.

Save the Date!

Spring Social March 22 at 4:15 PM

7th Grade Awards Ceremony May 13 time TBD at WSMS

8th Grade Awards Ceremony May 18 4:00 - 5:00 PM Lovejoy High School

Sincerely,

Caitlin Eldredge

WSMS Principal

When: 4:15 - 6:15 in the WSMS Cafeteria 3/22/24

What to wear: Regular school attire, something that might glow!

What to bring: Students may carry their phones at the event. Jeremiah’s Ice will be on site for optional purchase (cash and cards)

Activities: Music/DJ in the cafeteria, pizza, Jeremiah’s Ice, and games in the Main Gym! Please join us for this fun WSMS tradition. We hope to see you there!

3/19/24 at midnight is the firm deadline for parents to fill out this form. If the permission form is not filled out by the deadline, your child will not be able to attend the event. A final count is needed on this day to plan for adequate staff member supervision, security, and food orders.

Students will drop off backpacks in the auxiliary gym at dismissal time. They can pick up their belongings at the conclusion of the event. Pizza and a drink is provided at no cost. Jeremiah's Ice will be on site for purchase as dessert, Jeremiah's accepts cash and cards. We will have food, fun, music, and social time for the students. It's a great WSMS tradition!

We understand that sometimes middle schoolers want to wait until the day of the event to see if friends are attending. We would rather have an overestimate than under, thank you for your partnership and understanding on this item. Please fill out the form by the deadline if your child is unsure or wants to wait to decide. - WSMS Administration

"The registration deadline for the Academic UIL competition in Coppell is coming up on March 22. We still have available spots on the following teams:

• Calculator Applications for grades 7-8 (See Hope Cooksey)
• Number Sense for grades 7-8 (See Ryan Vollmuth)
• Social Studies; 2 8th grade spots available (See Regan Campbell)

This year's competition is on Saturday, April 13th at Coppell East Middle School. Students will board the bus at Willow Springs at 6:40 AM, and return around 3:00 PM. Concessions will be available for student purchase at the event. If you have any questions about the event, please contact Mr. Washburn (joseph_washburn@lovejoyisd.net)."

Our online lunch payment system, MySchoolBucks, has informed us there will be an increase to the current $2.75 program fee for each transaction when funding your student’s meal account. Beginning on March 7, 2024 the program transaction fee will increase to $3.25.

MySchoolBucks states the increase is due to rising payment processing interchange fees and increased operational costs. If you would like to make changes to your saved payment methods or automatic payment setting, please log into your MySchoolBucks account. If you have questions about your account you can call their support team at 855-832-5256.

Our current MySchoolBucks limit per transaction is $240. If there are siblings within the district Student Nutrition can transfer funds between siblings. As an alternative to the online payment system, the Cafeteria Cashiers do accept checks with no transaction fee.

The Willow Springs Concert, Philharmonic, and Chamber Orchestras participated in the UIL Concert and Sight-reading Evaluation at Allen High School, March 5th. I am incredibly happy to report that ALL THREE groups received SUPERIOR ratings from all SIX judges winning them each a SWEEPSTAKES AWARD!! This is the highest score they could have received! This is no easy task! WSMS was only 1 of 2 schools who received straight 1’s from all six judges for all groups!

Our campus does not accept meal service deliveries. Parents may drop off food items for their child only at lunch time. You may drop off lunch for your child only. We do not distribute orders throughout the day. Students may pick up dropped off lunches on their way to the cafeteria for lunch.

Please note that our office staff is not authorized to receive or distribute dropped off medication to students. Please contact our nurse, Ms. Glover, if you have questions about medication procedures through the school clinic.

At WSMS, we are noticing a sharp increase in the number of students arriving to school without their chromebook and charger. While we have a limited number of loaner devices in order to support our students on district wide assessments, the demand for them is very high at this time. We kindly ask for your partnership in reminding students about this expectation.

It is expected that all students use their Lovejoy issued devices during instructional time and testing. All other personal devices must remain off and put away unless they are being used as approved testing modification. Students must obtain prior approval if their personal telecommunications or other personal electronic devices are to be used for instructional purposes while on campus. Students are responsible for:

● charging their device every night

● bringing their device and charger to class every day

● maintain and caring for their device

Student devices and chargers are considered instructional materials, the same as a textbook, and are expected to be in class every day. Parents will have an opportunity to purchase insurance on their district issued device. Parents/students will be responsible for covering the cost of repair if insurance is not purchased. Prices vary based on the extent of the damage. A replacement, loaner device will be provided to students when their device is out for repair. Lost chargers will incur a $10 replacement fee.

Students should carry their student IDs with them while on campus. Whether it is on a lanyard or in a backpack, the expectation will be that a student will be able to produce their WSMS ID card upon request. More information will follow regarding replacement cards if students have lost their ID badge.

Leopard Time- Leopard Time is from 12:21 - 12:54 each day. All students at WSMS are assigned a Leopard Time teacher for supervision. Teachers may request that students leave their assigned classroom to report for academic intervention or extended learning by providing them a signed pass. Passes are also available for the library if students are not requested by an academic teacher.

Priority Tutoring Days are listed below: A priority day indicates that the teachers of the subject listed have priority in requesting students to attend their tutorial. If students are not requested by a priority teacher, a teacher of a different subject may request them. Please reach out to your child's teachers if you have any questions or concerns about Leopard Time.

Monday- Math

Tuesday- Social Studies

Wednesday- RLA

Thursday - Science

Friday - High School Credit Electives

Please go here for LISD calendars.

Click Here to view the nutrition newsletter

The PowerSchool app is available in the Apple App Store and Google Play Store. You use the same PowerSchool online login. Enter the District code NJBC. **Helpful Tip: If your app is not syncing, follow these steps:

1. Log out
2. Update app
3. Log back in

Attendance continues to be a top priority for Lovejoy ISD. It should come as no surprise that attendance has a direct relationship with student learning. Additionally, public school funding is provided by the State of Texas based on each district's average daily attendance (ADA).

Lovejoy has developed an Attendance Task Force consisting of staff, parents, and students to formulate ideas about how to positively impact ADA in our district. One suggestion is to update the community via weekly principal communication on the number of absences each campus has accrued YTD along with the budgetary impact of those absences. This information can be found below:

WSMS office hours are 8:00 a.m. to 4:35 p.m. Monday through Friday.

Each visitor to our campus is required to show ID at the front doorbell camera and state the reason for the visit before clearance to enter the building. Please wait for the door to be unlocked and do not hold open the door for others who have not yet been verified to enter. When students are signing out, a parent or guardian is required to enter the office to sign them out. We do not send our students outside to waiting vehicles. Thank you for supporting us as we keep safety and security the top priority.

In spring, we will be implementing a small group for students who have experienced or are currently struggling with grief. If you have a student who you feel might benefit, please fill out this google form.

We have completed our Spring Registration Meetings for students and parents.

Please visit our WSMS Registration Page for all of our up to date registration information.

Updated PTO General Meeting dates and locations

(Aprils meeting will be off campus due to STAAR testing)

April 17- 10:00am- LCDC Board Room

May 15- 10:00am- WSMS Band Hall

The Willow Springs PTO is accepting nominations for Outstanding Service Awards. This recognition is one of the highest honors which can be bestowed upon an individual by our PTO.

Nominees for this recognition may be a parent, volunteer, teacher, administrator, or a community leader. The recipient is not required to be a PTO member. If you would like to nominate someone for this award, please fill out the form at this link https://forms.gle/idMx4igM9CKiyME19

Recipients can only receive this honor one time. A list of people who have previously received this honor can be found at http://bit.ly/LovejoyPTORecipients.

Nominations are due by Friday, March 29, 2024.

Your membership dues and donation enables us to provide important programs for students and parents, to organize volunteers to support our campus, and to deliver appreciation events for teachers and staff throughout the year. Please encourage your friends to join PTO today. We appreciate your support!

Dues are $10 for individual and $20 for the whole family. Join and Donate Here

If you’d like to know more about volunteer opportunities at Willow Springs please fill out this form and we’ll notify you as needs arise. https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSe-ZUVnniJK4utt6GgYVq8mkXVZVxAlz1uo3VdBkLeXkjnIVA/viewform

Kroger Community Rewards offer a great way to earn money for the Willow Springs Middle School PTO. Just swipe your Kroger rewards card or use the phone number on your Kroger rewards account when shopping to earn money for WSMS.

Visit Kroger Community Rewards website:
www.kroger.com/i/community/community-rewards.

New users will need to create an account which requires a valid email address and a rewards card. Once logged into your Kroger account, search for WILLOW SPRINGS MIDDLE SCHOOL PTO either by name or WG753 and then click Enroll.

The Lovejoy ISD Community News Page includes news from our schools, programs, booster clubs, student organizations, Foundation for Lovejoy Schools, community, and more. Check back often for up-to-date news on events and activities.