Heartland MS Family Newsletter

It was another jammed packed week full of celebrations and events! Last Monday, we were able to recognize and celebrate those 7th & 8th grade students that qualified to be inducted into the Edmond Honor Society. In order to qualify, each student had to maintain at least a 3.75 GPA or higher for the 2 previous semesters. Academic excellence has always been a priority at EPS and it was wonderful to be able to celebrate the 200+ students that qualified! Speaking of celebrations, yesterday was National School Resource Officer Appreciation Day! If you have ever had to meet SRO Amy Brooks, you know how awesome she is! She is pivotal in our efforts to ensure our Thunderhawks are safe physically and emotionally!

We have dedicated this upcoming week to celebrating Black History Month! Although our students have been learning about black history since the start of February in their advisory and core classes, this is the week we will cap things off with a bang with our Black History Month Assemblies! We have invited all West Edmond elementary 5th graders and special programs from SFHS to come and partake! Our assemblies will feature performances from our students which include dancing, singing, stepping, poetry reading, artistic displays AND...we will welcome Kuinten Rucker, founder and president of Stop the Violence, to be our keynote speaker! This will be a true collaboration of our Santa Fe vertical and we are so excited!

Lastly, we are well on our way to meeting our fundraising goal for Double "PUP" Dare Week! "People Uplifting People" is Heartland's mini version of Santa Fe's Double Wolf Dare Week! "PUP" week will officially kick off on February 21st and last until February 27th! We will be a raising money for EPS's common thread, No Boundaries International and our goal is to raise $7,500! Click HERE to learn more about No Boundaries International. Also, please be sure to see the graphics below to learn more about the activities we will host and how you can contribute!

Just a reminder that there is no school tomorrow, February 17th. Our teachers will be learning, growing, and developing. We will be thrilled to welcome students back on Tuesday February 18th. Before I go, the weather has some snow, precipitation, and bone chilling cold temps forecasted for this upcoming week. Please pay particular attention to the news, district social media, and Heartland's Facebook page for the latest updates on school cancellations. Should we have to transition to remote learning, we will follow the same plan as this previous week. As always, should you have any questions, ideas or suggestions please feel free to reach out to our office. Let's have a fantastic week, Thunderhawks!

WE ARE...HEARTLAND!

Respectfully,

Veronica Johnson

Principal, Heartland Middle School

405-340-2972

As you already know, the district sent out communication regarding the need to add additional minutes to the school day due to unforeseen inclement weather days. In order to stay in compliance with State regulations for required seat time, EPS middle schools are required to add 5 minutes to the school day making the day last from 7:40am - 2:25pm. I have dispersed the 5 minutes amongst classes adding 1 minute to all class periods (taking one minute away from advisory and one minute from 7th hour) to make all instructional class periods the same exact amount of time, 43 minutes. I have created a graphic for you to reference below. Please note that this schedule does not start until next Tuesday, February 18th. Should you have any questions regarding the new bell schedule, please feel free to reach out to our office. Thank You!

Students who enrolled after Fall Picture Day (September 28, 2024) can take their portrait on Spring Picture Day in order to have their portrait in the yearbook.

For students who already have a yearbook portrait (taken in the fall), Spring Pictures are optional and will not go in the yearbook. These students must have an order form for Spring Pictures to take a photo. Due to time constraints, Spring Pictures cannot serve as a retake day for students who already have a fall yearbook portrait.

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