LISD Expect Excellence Newsletter

September 9th, 2024

Hello Levelland Lobos,

I hope you have a wonderful week. As you can see below, there are so many opportunities for student success at Levelland ISD. These successes are led by you and your daily efforts. Your positivity is felt by your students and those around you.

Go Lobos!

Expect Excellence

Becky McCutchen, Superintendent

Do you think you're seeing double? You just might be! Years ago, the Hockley County NewsPress published a fun article on ten sets of Pre-K & K twins at ABC. Fast forward 13 years, and here we are, seeing two of so many! Mrs. Donna Pugh was the principal at ABC in 2011 and stated that she cannot wait to see these students graduate in 2025! The article from the Hockley County NewsPress mentioned ten twin sets in Pre-K & K at ABC. It's incredible that 13 years later, only five sets of twins are left in Levelland. Three of them will graduate this May: Gavin & Gage French, Brent & Brian Billington, and Francisco & Alex Zapata are the remaining twins from the original group photo that are graduating, and Sage & Gunnar Barrera and Kristian & Kenneth Rodriguez are juniors at LHS. But we also have Sarah & Tiffany Cherry, who came to Levelland in elementary school and are graduating in May. In addition to them, there are multiple sets of twins across the district, as well as a pair of adult twins who work for LISD. It's a pretty fascinating coincidence that we have six more sets of twins at LHS, five sets of twins at LMS, two sets at South, six sets at Capitol, a pair of adult twins who work for LISD, and two sets of twins and a set of triplets at ABC this year. It must be something in the water!

https://files.gabbart.com/456/twinsvideo3.mp4

ABC first-graders in Mrs. Cynthia Smith's classes have been studying inventors and engineers. They read about how they build prototypes to test inventions. These students were also engineers as they built a paper boat! After building their boats, they tested their prototypes to see if they would float! Thank you, Mrs. Smith for #expectingexcellence and teaching rigorous concepts so early in the year!

LMS students in Mrs. Luna's science class have been busy learning about force and motion. They had the opportunity to have hands-on experience making their own bouncy balls with Mrs. Rincon and Officers Moody and Rincones. Thank you, Mrs. Luna, for having our special guests engage in your amazing lesson, too! We know this science lesson will bounce around in their heads forever!

Miss Peikart's LHS Theater Department students always engage in the best recycling lesson! An element of theater is designing costumes and Miss Ashley Peikart's students completed their Trash to Treasure Costumes last week. They held a fashion show for several classes. What a great introduction to the importance of costuming for characters in the theater world, and for Keeping Levelland Beautiful with recycling! https://files.gabbart.com/456/theatertrashcostumesvideo.mp4

Capitol students in Mrs. Clara Sanders' classes were caught in a lab learning about the physical properties of matter. Mrs. Sanders #expectsexcellence and challenged students to classify objects into groups by their characteristics and write down physical traits with their Team Capitol partner! Thank you, Mrs. Sanders for connecting science with writing. We love it when learning takes place across all curriculums.
https://files.gabbart.com/462/clarasscience.mp4

South Elementary students have been eating in the library.............well, they've been tasting books! South Librarian Mrs. Tiffany Harkins #expectsexcellence and filled students' minds with good books. They all experienced a Book Tasting! A book tasting is a fun and easy way to introduce new books, genres, authors, award winners, topics, and more to students. Students rotated through designated tables in the library and sampled different books. Students were challenged to take notes as a reference tool when they select books for independent reading. This was a great way to kick off a reading culture in the library! Thank you, Mrs. Harkins!

Levelland ABC PK students in Mrs. Desiree Nock's class learned about emotions this week and read the book "The Color Monster" by Alena Llenas. Students learned that they can feel angry, happy, calm, sad, and scared all at once! The book helped them sort out their different feelings, gaining self-awareness and peace. Students closed the lesson by making play-dough feeling faces. Thank you, Mrs. Nock for helping our littles learn socio-emotional growth and color concepts in a simple, friendly way.
https://files.gabbart.com/463/img_0.mp4

The Walmart Neighborhood Market on 98th and University donated snacks and feminine products for Mrs. Cami Dacus' LHS classroom closet. Taylor Sims, a Levelland local, thought the idea of a classroom closet for students to utilize was a great idea. Mrs. Dacus says, "Being a Manager at this location, Taylor reached out and said he would love to help the kids that come in and out of my room!" We appreciate every bit of support that we get for student success, so thank you, Walmart!

Don't you wish for something in your classroom that you can't afford? Here is the perfect opportunity to get some financial aid!
https://www.levellandisd.net/245817_2

Email: rmccutchen@levellandisd.net
Website: www.levellandisd.net
Location: 704 11th Street, Levelland, TX
Phone: 806-894-9628
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LevellandISD/
Twitter: @LevellandISD