Heartland MS Family Newsletter

I hope that everyone is enjoying some time off and this beautiful Fall weather! Not a lot of new items for this week so I'll keep this edition short and sweet! There are a few hidden gems below including some information regarding Red Ribbon Week, Fall picture retakes and guidelines for Halloween costumes on October 31st!

Starting Oct. 28th, Heartland Middle School, in conjunction with our fantastic Heartland Parent Organization, will be hosting our First Annual Thunderhawk Donation Drive! All students will have an online account in which families, friends and communities members can donate funds to our school! Funds will be used for staff appreciation, student/staff celebrations, fund teacher grants and much, much more! This donation drive will be run much like what you experience in elementary with a "fun run." Parents will help to create an online account on mybooster.com on behalf of their student and can email their individual link to any potential donors! Our school goal is to raise $15,000! Students that reach individual donation goals will be able to participate in a fun color run, student vs. staff olympics, line dancing party and more! We are so excited to partner with our community to help fulfill all of our school needs! More information to come throughout this upcoming week!

Before I go, I want to thank each and every one of you that attended our Fall parent/teacher conferences! We had a great turn out and many conversations were had to help guide our Hawks and strengthen our partnership with parents. We all know that it takes a team when it comes to the success of our students and we truly understand the value of collaboration with our parents. If you missed out or couldn't make it, feel free to reach out to any of your student's teachers via email. They would be happy to schedule a phone conference or a time to meet in person. A special shoutout to our HPO and all that volunteered or contributed to help feed our teachers! 14 hour days are always made much sweeter when we see our HPO volunteers and their smiling faces! Thank you all for always having our backs!

Just a quick reminder that tomorrow is a professional development day for teachers. This is intentional time used to help grow and nurture our teachers! We look forward to welcoming our Thunderhawks back on Tuesday, October 22nd. As always, should you have any questions, ideas, or suggestions please feel free to reach out to our office!

WE ARE...HEARTLAND!

Respectfully,

Veronica Johnson

Principal, Heartland Middle School

405-340-2972

Red Ribbon Week is the oldest and largest drug prevention program in the nation, reaching millions of young people each year.

• Red Ribbon Week is designed to be an awareness campaign that gets information to the general public about the dangers of drug use.
• Red Ribbon Week is designed to get people talking to other people and working on activities that will help rebuild a sense of community and common purpose.
• Red Ribbon Week is designed to help parents and schools deliver an effective drug prevention curriculum.
• Red Ribbon Week is designed to create critical mass, which is necessary to reduce destructive social norms/behaviors and promote positive social norms/behaviors.
• Red Ribbon Week is designed to be positive and fun, two things necessary to maintain a positive school culture!

Just a reminder that costumes will be allowed on October 31st. Here are the final reminders regarding what will and won't work in a MS setting. When it comes to wondering whether something is appropriate or not - I ask that you err on the side of caution.

Please remember - when you are planning that perfect Halloween costume - we must remember to be school-appropriate. Here are some guidelines to help in this process.

1. Obviously - no representation of weapons. The general rule is - if you have to ask whether it's appropriate - it probably isn't.
2. Masks can be worn during the passing period - but - will not be worn during instructional time.
3. Nothing offensive or obscene can be worn. Remember - what may be OK in some settings may not be OK in a school setting.
4. The school dress code applies when it comes wearing costumes (on this day more than ever).
5. Students will NOT be permitted to wear body paint or full inflatable costumes.

Heartland Admin will be the determining factor on school appropriateness if a costume comes into question. Students will be asked to change should we deem a costume to be inappropriate. A suggestion from someone who's been through this a million times - the school day is long so dress for comfort.

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