WSMS Principal Newsletter

Willow Springs,

We hope that you and your families enjoy the chilly weekend and a day off on Monday. Please take notice of the counselor section of this newsletter as it contains important information about course registration and upcoming college and career lessons for both grade levels. Our students were hard at work this week interviewing one of our board members for media class, designing robotic hands in science, and engaging in a reading-based "escape room" activity in Reading Language Arts. It is our joy to watch them learn and grow. Thank you for your continued partnership.

January 15 - Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, No School

January 25 Counselor Xello Lesson 7th Grade

January 29 Counselor Xello Lesson 8th Grade

February 16 Bump Up Day

Save The Date: WSMS Spring Social March 22

Warm Regards,

Caitlin Eldredge

WSMS Principal

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.

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

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.

Beginning 10/23, students should begin carrying 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.

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.

Tutorial Schedule Click Here

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

We would like to encourage you to talk to students about competing in this year's Academic UIL Competition in April. This competition gives our students an opportunity to experience what it's like to compete in a high-stakes, fast-paced academic setting. We will have more information on the specifics soon. If you or your students have any questions, please reach out to,

Joseph Washburn (joseph_washburn@lovejoyisd.net). We are seeking students to compete in the events listed below:

Spelling

Number Sense

Calculator Applications

Science

Social Studies

Mathematics

Our lost and found is overflowing with water bottles, lunch boxes, string bags, and clothing. Please ask your students to check the lost and found for their items.

Items will be donated or disposed of on January 26th.

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.

On Jan 25 (8th grade) and Jan 29 (7th grade) we will be visiting with students about Xello.

Xello is an online program your child is using in school to help them prepare for the future. It offers a variety of activities from kindergarten to the end of high school. These activities help students build self-knowledge, explore their options, and create achievable plans. They develop the 21st-century skills needed to thrive in the world of work.

Parents will receive a Bright Arrow notification on 1/17/24 with instructions on how to create a parent account so they can view their students' work in future readiness.

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 Dates

We are excited to start the registration process for the 24.25 school year. Here are the tentative dates for parent and student meetings.

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

2023-2024 PTO Meetings:

February 21, 2024

April 17, 2024

May 17, 2024

The Willow Springs PTO loves to spoil our teachers and make them feel special. This month we are doing one of their favorite things, which is stocking their lounge with snacks and drinks. Their faces light up when they see the fridge full of drinks and tables full of snacks. Check out my list on Amazon and have your items delivered directly to the school or sign up through our sign-up genius and deliver items to the front office on January 25th by 9am (non-perishable items may be delivered early)

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/30E0F4AA9A62AA2F85-47121472-willow

Check out my list on Amazon

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.

How does Lovejoy ISD calculate GPA?

Mark your calendar for January 24th at 6pm in the Lovejoy Childhood Development Center for a discussion around understanding course selection, GPA policy, and postsecondary planning.

Come Learn the Facts!

Intended audience: Willow Springs and Lovejoy HS parents

Hosted by: Council of PTOs

Presenters: Stephani Kranz, Carrie Robbins and Sarah Thrash

Lovejoy ISD recently entered into a partnership with My Community Credit Union. This partnership is intended to enhance student opportunities in the areas of financial literacy and provide hands-on learning experiences for future careers related to finance. An MCCU branch is scheduled to open at Lovejoy High School in the fall of 2024.

On Friday, October 27th, MCCU kicked off their Debit Card Design Contest. The contest is open to all Lovejoy ISD students. Three debit card design winners will be selected representing grades K-5, 6-8, and 9-12. The winners will have their designs on our Lovejoy Leopard MCCU Debit Cards and will receive a $100 gift card!

Content Rules:

Must be an original image/design/artwork.

Participants may submit up to 2 designs.

Parent consent is required.

Submissions are due to marketing@mccu.coop by midnight on January 26.

Winners will be announced on March 1.

Final Card Size: 2-1/8 by 3-3/8

Scan the QR Code for Official Rules and additional details, or visit mccu.coop/lovejoy.