WSMS Principal Newsletter
February 2, 2024
Principal's Message
Willow Springs,
Please be sure to read the important information below regarding registration. This week is national school counselor week. We are so grateful for our amazing and caring counselors at WSMS, Ms. Miller and Ms. Collins. I hope you have a wonderful weekend with your families. Thank you for your partnership and support.
January 29 - February 9 MAP Testing Window
*Please be sure to bring charged devices.*
February 6th - 8th Grade RLA STAAR Field Test
February 15th - School Marshal Day
February 16th - Bump Up Day
Save The Date: WSMS Spring Social March 22nd
Warm Regards,
Caitlin Eldredge
WSMS Principal
District Issued Devices
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.
**State Required - Stand Alone Field Test
Attention Parents:
As required by Texas Education Code, Section 39.035, students in the following grade levels/courses will participate in a state-required stand-alone field test for STAAR Reading Language Arts on February 6, 2024.
LHS - English II
WSMS - 8th Grade Reading Language Arts
SCISl - 5th Grade Reading Language Arts
HES - 4th Grade Reading Language Arts
All students who are scheduled to take the 2024 Spring STAAR in the identified subject/ course will participate in the stand-alone field test. The field test is scheduled to be less than 15 questions. Please reach out to your campus administration if you have questions.
Annual Bump Up Day to take place on February 16, 2024
Sloan Creek Intermediate, Willow Springs Middle School, and Lovejoy High School will host 4th, 6th, and 8th graders on Friday, February 16, 2024 for Lovejoy ISD’s Annual Bump Up Day. Bump Up Day was created to assist students with transitioning to a new campus and to help generate excitement for the new experiences they will have. Students will travel to the campus they will be attending for the 2024-2025 school year and have the opportunity to tour the campus, ask questions, and eat lunch. Students will be able to charge lunch and any a la carte/snacks purchases to their lunch account during their visit to their Bump Up school. Please make sure funds are available in your student's lunch account. Lunch prices for students visiting Sloan Creek IS or Willow Springs MS will be $4.00 for a regular meal or $4.75 for a premium meal. Lunch prices for students visiting the high school will be $4.50 for a regular meal or $5.25 for a premium meal. A la carte/snack prices vary. Please refer to this document for specific pricing.
2023 Campus Federal Report Card
Attention Parents:
Please see the 2023 Campus Federal Report Card. The information is being shared about the district and your child’s campus with you as part of its obligations under the federal Every Student Succeeds Act of 2015 (ESSA).
Federal Report Cards for the state, the district, and each of the district’s campuses are now available on the district’s website and also available on the Texas Education Agency’s website at: https://tea.texas.gov/texas-schools/accountability/academic-accountability/performance-reporting/federal-report-cards.
Information on these report cards includes:
- Part (i): General Description of the Texas State Accountability System
- Part (ii): Student Achievement by Proficiency Level
- Part (iii)(I): Academic Growth
- Part (iii)(II): Graduation Rate
- Part (iv): English Language Proficiency
- Part (v): School Quality or Student Success (SQSS)
- Part (vi): Goal Meeting Status
- Part (vii): STAAR Participation
- Part (viii): Civil Rights Data
- Part (ix): Teacher Quality Data
- Part (x): Per-pupil Expenditure
- Part (xi): STAAR Alternate 2 Participation
- Part (xii): Statewide National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP)
- Part (xiii): Cohort Rate of Graduates Enrolled in Postsecondary Education
- Part (xiv): Additional Information – Chronic Absenteeism
Deliveries
Our campus does not accept meal service deliveries. Parents may drop off food items for their child only at lunch time. 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.
Student ID Badge Info
Academic Tutorial Schedule
Please see the campus tutorial schedule below. If you do not see the teacher's name or have questions, please email your child's teachers directly to partner with them if your child needs academic assistance. Thank you for your support.
Leopard Time- Leopard Time is from 12:21 - 12:54 each day. All students at WSMS are assigned a Leopard Time teacher for attendance and monitoring purposes. 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
LISD Calendar
Please go here for LISD calendars.
February Nutrition Newsletter
Click Here to view the nutrition newsletter
Powerschool App
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:
- Log out
- Update app
- 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:
Need Chromebook Charger?
Visitors to Willow Springs and Office Hours
WSMS office hours are 8:00 a.m. to 4:35 p.m. Monday through Friday.
Student Support Center Update
Xello Update
We enjoyed exploring Xello with the students the last few weeks. As a reminder, if you linked your parent account, you can look at their work in future readiness.
If you did not link your account yet and would like to, please reach out to your counselor so they can resend the invite.
Upcoming Grief Group
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.
Spring Registration is coming soon
We are excited to start the registration process for the 24.25 school year. Here are the tentative dates for parent and student meetings. Note, we will be offering 3 in person parent presentation opportunities. Please see below. All information presented will also be on our 24.25 Registration page found on the WSMS website.
Rising 9th Graders
There will be an elective showcase on February 7 to showcase all of the amazing elective offerings your students will have available at LHS. This will be held from 5:30-6:30 in the Lovejoy HS gymnasium. Immediately following will be a Class of 2028 student/ parent night informational meeting from 6:45-7:45. This will be in the Lovejoy HS Auditorium.
Track Tryouts
7:15 a.m.—8:30 am
February 12 - 16
Parent Meeting: February 6, 6pm at WSMS Cafeteria
You may not try out without a PHYSICAL & all online RANKONE FORMS COMPLETE. You must attend all tryout days.
If you have any questions, contact
Coach Davis taylor_davis@lovejoyisd.net
Coach Foshee jake_foshee@lovejoyisd.net
Time Trial Week Schedule:
2/12 Monday - 100 meter Dash
2/13 Tuesday - 200 meter Dash
2/14 Wednesday - 400 meter Dash
2/15 Thursday - Field Event/Hurdle Tryouts (workout for any not interested)
2/16 Friday - Field Event/Hurdle Tryouts (workout for any not interested)
2/20 Tuesday - Track practice- Tryouts Continue
2/21 Wednesday - Track practice- Tryouts Continue
2/22 Thursday - Practice Track Meet
2/23 Friday - Track Practice
Practice Meet is February 22 at Lovejoy High School
If you are an 8th grader and are not in athletics 1st period,
you will tryout with the 7th graders at 7am.
Valentine Day Lunch Sign-up
Only 2 PTO Hospitality events left for the year!
Valentines Lunch & Teacher Appreciation week in May.
Sign up to show our Willow teachers some love this Valentines Day!
https://m.signupgenius.com/#!/showSignUp/30E0F4AA9A62AA2F85-47424610-valentine
PTO General Meeting
2023-2024 PTO Meetings:
February 21, 2024
April 17, 2024
May 17, 2024
PTO Board 24/25
Interested in serving on the WSMS PTO board next year? Please fill out this interest form and someone from our current board will be in contact with you soon!
Membership
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
Volunteer:
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
Connect Your Kroger Card
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.
If you missed a parent presentation from the fall semester or January, don’t worry, we have you covered. All parent presentations and helpful tools are posted at the link below. We have had some difficulty recording the presentations and we are looking into other recording options.
Parent Presentations – Counselors – Lovejoy Independent School District (lovejoyisd.net)
K-8 Lovejoy Softball Bat Girls! Is your daughter interested in softball? Does she play softball? Have her come and join the Varsity team as a Lovejoy Bat Girl for a game! Please sign up for our softball season using the QR code or signup genius link below! Girls need to be dressed in softball attire and have a batting helmet to wear. Each girl will receive a t-shirt as a thank you for their participation! Please sign up by March 1st! Come and support your Lady Leopards! Play Ball!
The Lovejoy Orchestra Booster Club is having a Spirit Week at Ogi's European Bakery & Deli located at 1651 Eldorado Parkway, Suite #108, McKinney, TX 75069 from February 6th - 11th Tuesday - Sunday from 10 am to 6 pm.
9th Annual LJVA Portrait Show
Lovejoy Visual Arts would like to invite you to the 9th Annual Portrait Show; February 6th from 5-7pm. This collection of work is an investigation of the concepts of identity and self through the eyes and hands of students of all ages and stages of exploration in LJVA. Whether dealing with honest representation or the languages of abstraction and symbolism, the work chosen for this exhibition speaks to the ever-evolving idea of how we see ourselves and the world around us. This carefully selected exhibition is a celebration of the diversity and personal experience that is found within our student body and Lovejoy community. Please join us to celebrate these selected artists at the Lovejoy High School Gallery opening, Tuesday, February 6th from 5-7pm. If you are unable to attend the night of the opening, the exhibition will be up for viewing until February 13th during school hours.