Heartland MS Family Newsletter

The first two days are in the books and I couldn't have asked for a better start to the school year! The students seem to be genuinely excited to be back and our faculty has never been stronger and more connected! I wanted to take a moment and send a quick shout-out to our faculty and staff! We have several new faces at Heartland this year but all teachers, new and old, has dove in head first and we are ready for the new school year! We are so grateful for all their hard work and your student(s) is the ones that will benefit! For those of you that are new to the Heartland Family Newsletter - the beginning of the year brings lots of events and excitement to schools at all levels. It can be difficult to keep track of it all! We will try to have all the major events listed below so that you know what to put on the family calendar. If there are changes along the way - we'll try our best to keep you in the loop with time to spare.

As Thunderhawks, WE RISE! We show Respect, Integrity, Self-Control and Effort in all things that we do! The first two days going over our RISE expectations and ensuring that our students know how to be successful at Heartland! Be sure to have a conversation with your student about your expectations for their behavior at school. Heartland is a large school and we want to ensure that everyone is on the same page! Last Friday, we got to show our school spirit at our first all-school assembly! The energy was high and our students had a blast! We introduced our Fall sports, talked about after school clubs, played games, and much more! We look forward to providing an atmosphere where all of our students feel like they BELONG!

As we dive into the new school year, please be reminded that we are not allowing parents to pull in the parking lot to pick up/drop off your student. You must remain in the car line and pull up in the pick up/drop off loop. We are also not allowing parents to drop off their child on the North side of the building. Supervision is key and we want to make sure that all of Hawks are safe! Our goal is to get everyone in the building by 7:35 and cleared out of the building by 2:35. If you just trust the process and follow the guidance of those directing you, the line does move rather quickly. Here's a quick tip for car rider families... The line is ALWAYS the shortest at 7:10a. We encourage you to arrive early to make your experience as short as possible. The closer you get to 7:40a - the longer the line is.

I want to send out a special thanks to all the HPO members that helped sell gear and direct parents on our walk-through days. Our Heartland Parent Organization is wonderful team of parents that helps to provide our school with funds, resources, and services that will enrich and maximize the education of every student and benefit the school. Many hands make light work, and every little bit of support makes a big difference so please reach out our HPO and find ways to volunteer and pour into our school!

Speaking of HPO, I would also like to invite each of you to our 4th annual 'Back to School Bash" this Friday (8/23) on the South porch from 6pm-8pm. Our fantastic HPO is organizing this event and it promises to be fun for the whole family. There will be food trucks, games, raffles and great music! Bring your lawn chairs and yard blankets and let's celebrate the new school year together! The weather is supposed to be just a little bit cooler but we will also have the building open so that we can cool down if need be! I look forward to enjoying great company and chatting with all of our wonderful Heartland families!

WE ARE...HEARTLAND!

Respectfully,

Veronica Johnson

Principal, Heartland Middle School

405-340-2972

Once again Heartland Media Center is partnering with local bookstore Best of Books to sell copies of books that students will read in their English and Literacy classes. Students are not required to purchase copies of these books - the school provides books that students will use while in class. Some families prefer that students have their own copy of these books so that they can highlight, underline and refer to the books at home. If this is you, and you would like to help support Heartland Media Center, you may use this link to order from Best of Books. You may choose to pick up the books in-store, have them delivered to your home, or have them delivered to your student at school. The media center will receive a portion of all sales as store credit, which will be used to purchase more books for the school library. Thank you for your support!

The AIMSWEB exam is a universal screener that we administer 3 times a year to monitor the academic progress of your student in comparison to national norms. This Fall, the test will take place on Wednesday August 28, 2024. Your student will take a reading and math test over the course of 4-5 periods. It's not a timed test and will not count for a grade in any of their classes.

I urge you to have a conversation with your student and encourage them to try their absolute best! Based on the results, we will determine if your students needs to be put in FOCUS, an academic intervention program, that helps to close any academic gaps they may have should they need a little bit of targeted help. The unfortunate thing about FOCUS is that it does take the place of one of their electives. The great thing is that they will get the one-on-one help that they need!

Providing a Safe and Orderly Environment is a Primary Concern at The Heart!

Our aim is to make the drop off & load line before and after school even safer with your help.

Morning Drop Off Procedures:

• When arriving in the morning, do follow the traffic circle to the south entry of Heartland. Your student may exit their vehicles along the sidewalk on the north side of the drive where Heartland supervisors are directing traffic. Please do not allow your student to exit your vehicle until you have reached the front of the line and are directed to do so. Students have 2 choices once they have entered the building: 1.) students can report directly to their advisory class until advisory begins at 7:40 OR 2.) students can report directly to the new cafeteria for breakfast and then directly to advisory after they have finished their breakfast.

• As directed by our educators, pull up all the way to the front. We will be using the left & right lanes for vehicle departure.

• Students being dropped off at school may arrive after 7:10 am. Our educators arrive on duty at 7:10.

• You will not be allowed to enter the parking lot area to drop your student off. Please stay in the drop off car line.

• No students will be allowed to be dropped off at the North Entrance (bus loop).

Afternoon Pick Up Procedures:

• Our dismissal bell rings at 2:20pm. Our students take a few minutes to get to the car rider area. You may expect the line of traffic to begin moving at approximately 2:25 pm.

• As directed by our educators, pull up all the way to the front of the line between the car line supervisors. Our students will watch for you and will walk to where you are stopped.

• Please do not make arrangements with your student to pick up in any other area besides the South side pick up line. In the past we've had parents try to pick up in the East parking lot or at ACT 2 Methodist Church. Those areas are not supervised and we want to ensure that all students are properly

Thank you in advance for maintaining a safe loading and unloading area for our Thunderhawks.

When each of us are on campus, we are an adult that our students look to as an example. Continue to be kind and courteous to fellow drivers, educators, and our students.

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, 6th Grade

Laura Brown - Asst. Principal, 7th Grade

Paul McQueen - Asst. Principal, 8th Grade

Kim Treece - 6th Grade Counselor

Neika Jackson - 7th Grade Counselor

Cara Bowerman - 8th 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