Heartland MS Family Newsletter

What a cold end to the week! I know that the forecast over the next several days is going to be bone chilling cold so I hope this newsletter finds you warm and cozy, in front of a fireplace. Thank you all for your flexibility as we continue to navigate all of the unpredictable weather this Spring semester. Should we encounter any inclement weather in the future we will follow the same virtual learning format with assignments posted on Canvas and Google Meets hosted by teachers in the morning and afternoon should your student have any questions regarding the work to be completed. As we finish this weekend - please remember to keep track of any school related information regarding closures and such by checking local media sources and district social media. Who knows what will happen over the coming weeks. At this point - I'm going to prepare for just about anything!

Moving forward, 8th grade parents, please know that your student met and heard from the Santa Fe HS freshman counselors and principal last Thursday. What an exciting time for them! They learned about how to be successful in high school and were highly encouraged to get involved in school activities. Additionally, they received their high school enrollment packet. If you haven't done so already please be sure to ask to review the packet with them. It's VERY important!!! Edmond Santa Fe offers tons of fun elective courses that you may need to discuss with your student. Continue to have conversations regarding their future and what courses may lead them in that direction. The enrollment packets are due back to their sciences teachers by Monday, January 27th. It is so important that the packets are returned or the Santa Fe counselors may have to choose electives for them. Lastly, Future Freshman night at SFHS will be held this Thursday, January 23rd from 6pm - 7pm at SFHS. Please plan to attend with your student so that you can learn all the 'need to knows' to help make the transition to high school a smooth one.

Looking ahead, we have tons of events on the horizon! We are in the planning stages of many incredible activities that our students are sure to enjoy. Black history month, Edmond Honor Society, School Counselor's Week, Double Pup Dare Week (DPDW)...just to name a few! And

Spring sports are now starting to organize. We only have a few weeks of Winter sports left and your student will need to decide if they are going to participate in a sport in the Spring. I certainly encourage all our students to give it a try. Options will be... Golf, Tennis, Track, and Baseball. You should start to see information in the next few weeks regarding meetings, tryouts, and such. Team sports help teach adolescents accountability, dedication, leadership, and many other skills. I highly encourage our students to give it a shot. I tell our students often that middle school, in most cases, is the last time to try a brand new sport. By high school, it may be too late!

Don't forget - we are out of school tomorrow Monday, January 20th - in honor of the Martin Luther King Jr. Federal Holiday. We look forward to welcoming our Hawks back on Tuesday, January 21st. 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

If you have heard from your student, we are in the process of modifying our hallways procedures starting Spring 2025. The change was motivated by a couple of things:

1. We've noticed that the unstructured time of the day (passing period, lunch, courtyard) are the times that we see most student misbehavior. With this unstructured time, we've been experiencing hallway congestion as students stop to socialize with friends, unnecessary roughhousing, and issues with self control. Mind you, this is not the case for all students but we do know is that middle schoolers thrive in structure and the ability to predict their day and create their own success.
2. Because our students have multiple teachers throughout the day, it's hard for our students to get acclimated to a new classroom in a timely manner so as to not waste valuable instructional minutes.

After collecting feedback from staff/students and in an attempt to address some of these issues, we have modified how we do our passing time:

1. Our passing time is 4 minutes between classes. We have created a pathway for students to walk during the first 2.5 minutes of this time. Students can talk and socialized but must keep their feet moving to address the congestion issue. Think of it as a "lazy river." This is always a great way for students to move around and get their blood flowing as they have likely been sitting in classes for long periods of times. Students are consistently hearing the words "walk and talk" from the adults supervising.
2. Once 2.5 minutes have passed, students will hear a bell and they have the remaining 90 seconds to go directly to class and complete the "Strong Start" tasks. Those tasks include entering the class calmly, going directly to their seat, getting out their supplies/chromebook, and start on their "do now" or "bellwork." If they have not completed these tasks by the time the 4 minute bell has rang, they are tardy. This "Strong Start" procedure is consistent from classroom to classroom so students know exactly what to do without being prompted by their teacher and allows for the teacher to get started with instruction without having to wait for students to wind down from an unstructured passing time.

This procedure was created by teachers and presented to staff for their approval as we need all adults to be on board with implementation for optimal success. Obviously we will assess over the next few weeks and modify as needed. But we have to start somewhere rather than continue to be reactive to student behavior. We are well aware that specific accommodations will be made for students as needed. Thank you for your support and for speaking with your student regarding appropriate behavior at school. The below button is the presentation used to introduce this modified procedures to our Hawks. Please reach out to your grade level administrator should you have any questions or concerns.

Ms. Johnson

Dear Parent or Guardian:

The Oklahoma Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services is conducting an important survey on student behaviors and beliefs. The survey is called the Oklahoma Prevention Needs Assessment(OPNA) Survey. Your child’s class is set to take this survey in early February 2025. The purpose of the survey is to gather information needed to plan prevention and intervention programs in our community and schools. These programs will address problems of alcohol, tobacco, and other drug use, school dropout, delinquency, violence, mental health, and other issues in our schools and communities. Please click the button below for more information.

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