Heartland MS Family Newsletter

It is so wonderful to witness our Hawks doing that things that they love most! This past week, I was able to cheer on our cross country runners, watch our orchestra students at the All-City Orchestra Festival, watch some Thunderhawk football, cheer on our volleyball team as we hosted the conference tournament (softball was during the day at Memorial), watch a little snippet of the Charlie Brown Christmas winter play audition...and much more! Additionally, our choir students auditioned for the COCDA regional honor choir yesterday and Heartland had a wonderful showing! All of this to say, I couldn't be more proud of all of the students that continually put themselves out there and work to achieve success outside of the classroom as well! There is so much talent at Heartland and I am honored to get to witness our Hawks thriving at this thing called life! As we transition from Fall to Winter sports, be on the lookout for all of the try-out information. We will be making morning announcements and posting graphics on our social media with all of the details!

Wednesday is Custodian Appreciation Day! I can't tell you how lucky we are at Heartland to have a supportive crew as top-notch as our day crew. Taryn (head custodian and facility manager) and Ana (day porter) are a perfect match for us. If you get a moment in time - I encourage you to send them a note of thanks for not only keeping our facility beautiful, running and moving forward - but - taking the time to get to know and work with kids as well. If you ever visit during lunch, you'll see that they both are just as important to our students as any adult in that room. (If you would like to send a kind note - please send it to Taryn and she can also give it to Ana. (Taryn.Johnson@edmondschools.net)

Please remember that we have parent/teacher conferences coming up in early October on the 10th and 14th. The times for middle school have changed and we will be open from 3:30 - 7:00pm on those evenings. If this is your first time having a student in a secondary school - please know that the set-up for this is completely different in comparison to elementary school. This is a first come first serve "cattle call" style event. Each teacher will have a table area and you are welcome to visit with as many or as few teachers as you would like. Also, you do not have to have a conversation with a teacher if you don't need to. I always tell parents to focus on the two or three that they know they truly want to talk with and move on from there. More on that in the next edition.

Before I go, I want to remind you that the missing assignment deadline is Wednesday, October 16th. Students will not be able to turn in work from the first quarter once we start the 2nd quarter after Fall Break on Tuesday October 22nd. Please be sure to check on grades via Infinite Campus and ensure that your student is making progress towards getting those assignments turned in. Each grade level will be hosting incentives to help students finish the 1st quarter strong! As always, should you have any questions, ideas, or suggestions. Please feel free to reach out to our office! I look forward to another great week!

WE ARE...HEARTLAND!

Respectfully,

Veronica Johnson

Principal, Heartland Middle School

405-340-2972

This Fall Semester Edmond Public School Middle and High School Counselors are working to teach students about mental health and how to seek help if they are worried about themselves or a friend. We are using a program called SOS Signs of Suicide. The program teaches students about this difficult topic and encourages them to seek help.

SOS has been used by thousands of schools for over 20 years. Studies have shown that it effectively teaches students about depression and suicide while reducing the number of students’ self-reported suicide attempts.

Through the program, students learn:

• how to identify potential suicide risk in themselves or another student

• to ACT (Acknowledge, Care and Tell a trusted adult) if concerned about themselves or a friend

• who they can turn to at school for help

SOS curriculum is conducted in a classroom setting by a School Counselor. During this one time 45 minute lesson, students will watch age-appropriate video clips and participate in a guided discussion about depression, suicide, and what to do if they are concerned about a fellow student. Following the video, students will complete a brief depression screening form. This form cannot provide a diagnosis of depression but does indicate whether a young person should seek help from a mental health professional.

We encourage you to visit www.mindwise.org/parents for information on warning signs for youth suicide, useful resources, and some of the key messages students will learn.

If you have any questions or concerns about your child’s participation in this program please contact your student’s school counselor at

6th grade- Elaine Siemer/Cara Bowerman

7th grade- Kim Treece

8th grade- Neika Jackson

405-340-2972

Opt-out of the SOS Curriculum by completing this form.

Heartland Students!

We will be reminding you through Advisory next week, but I wanted to go ahead and get this out to you. If you want to play basketball, please sign up by completing the correct Google form. You must sign up using your school email account. Listen to announcements for more information about when tryouts will start. This form will let the coaches know who is interested in playing and provide them with their email to contact you about tryouts. I cannot reiterate enough that you are to only sign up for YOUR grade! Thank you and have a great weekend!

Ms. Brown

8th Grade Boys

7th Grade Boys

8th Grade Girls

7th Grade Girls

Please take a few minutes to look over the Edmond Public Schools Dress Code policy #4510. and STUDENT DRESS CODE (REGULATION) Here are a few key points.

• Hats/Headwear: Students shall not wear hats or headwear in the building unless a medical or religious exception exists.

• Clothing: Clothing must cover areas from one armpit across to the other armpit, down to the upper thighs. Tops must have shoulder straps. Rips or tears in clothing should be below the pocket area of jeans or pants. The top and bottom clothing items must be touching (No mid-drift).

• Shirts may not be sheer or mesh and must cover the entire trunk of the body. Messages on shirts shall not include illegal drugs, alcohol, tobacco or other products that may not be utilized by children. Vulgar and/or obscene messages are prohibited and will be subject to discipline under the student discipline code.

• Pants, shorts, skirts, and skorts shall be worn at the waist and must be no shorter than mid-thigh.

NO BLANKETS

• Over the past school year, we have observed more students bringing blankets to school. We would like to remind everyone that blankets are not encouraged. If a student brings a blanket to school, it will be confiscated and returned to them at the end of the school day. Thank you for your understanding and cooperation.

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