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Lovejoy Independent School District
Celebrating 100 Years of Excellence in Education
Centennial Logo Designed by Hudson Samuels, LHS Student
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A Message from the Superintendent
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I am a Christmas kind of guy and I love this time of year. Regardless of how you celebrate this season including the New Year, please accept my sincere wish for you and your family to have a very blessed holiday season.
My wife announced we are 99.9% finished with our holiday shopping which is a record for us. We have lots of grandkids, and finding the perfect gift is high on my priority list. I also like to find toys that make a lot of noise since after Christmas morning, the toy will go back to their parents' house.
We have a lot of successful things to report regarding your kids. If you have a chance, please make time to go by the high school and take a walk through our Art Gallery. You will see some incredible work from our kids of all ages, and the show has been curated by some of our high school art students. Also, last weekend was the Dallas Marathon, and we had some of our Cross Country team who competed in the Relay event. One of our Cross Country runners completed her first half marathon. It is a good time to be in Lovejoy.
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Wednesday, December 20th, is the last day for students prior to Christmas break. The 20th is an early release day. Please be sure to check with your campuses regarding early release information.
Monday, January 8th, is the first day of school for 2018. We look forward to welcoming the students and staff back to school on this date.
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Elementary Schools to Host
Late Night Leopards
Campus Campouts
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An exciting new event will be held at the elementary campuses this spring: Late Night Leopards - Campus Campouts. This event will accomplish two things: Campus Campout will provide a memorable experience for the parents and students at the elementary level, and will also generate funds through business sponsors and a camp fee. The funds raised from this event will help to replace state funding lost from the last legislative session. If you know of a business which would have interest in sponsoring a portion of this event at any or all of the campuses, please contact the appropriate campus principal:
Hart Elementary School, Lacey Moser - Principal
Lovejoy Elementary School, Wendy Craft - Principal
Puster Elementary School, Kevin Parker - Principal
Late Night Leopards - Campus Campout dates are:
Hart Elementary School - April 20, 2018
Lovejoy Elementary School - April 13, 2018
Puster Elementary School - April 27, 2018
For additional information and frequently asked questions, please
click here
.
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Lovejoy Visual Arts
K-12 Art Evolution
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An opportunity remains for you to experience a portion of the Fine Arts Festival. You may enjoy a self-guided tour of the K-12 Art Evolution Show located in the Lovejoy High School Art Gallery during regular school hours. This show was managed, curated, and hung by Lovejoy Visual Arts Seniors Emma Wigginton and Tad Greenwald. Emma and Tad are great examples of the strong work ethic and success students experience in the Visual Arts program.
Lovejoy ISD's Visual Arts Program is focused on creating an unparalleled K-12 visual arts experience which is founded in learning and tradition, rooted in process and practice, and committed to exploration and student voice. The K-12 Art Evolution is a collection of work which is a visual representation of the journey a student takes from Kindergarten to 12th grade. The students' work showcased in this exhibition reflects the focuses on process, risk-taking, student voice, and innovative discovery which lie at the core of our teaching philosophy and student experience. This ultimately separates Lovejoy Visual Arts from most other art programs. The personal expression of creativity, problem solving, care, and resolve which spills from this work is a great expression of our students' experience at every point of their K-12 evolution.
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Lovejoy Students Compete in
Dallas Marathon
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Members of the Lovejoy Boys Cross Country team participated in the Dallas Marathon as a high school relay team this past Saturday. They were paced against elite male runners and had the opportunity to meet Shalane Flanagan, winner of the New York City Marathon. Pictured below from left to right are Brady Laboret (LHS Sophomore), Preston Tiff (LHS Senior), Ryan Brands (LHS Senior), Alex Pedersen (LHS Freshman) and Brett Pedersen (LHS Junior).
Congratulations to Evie McGowan (LHS Junior) for completing her first ½ marathon. Evie finished well below her goal time at 1:43.
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Earlier this week, Puster Pre-K families enjoyed a play date which included a visit by our School Resource Officer Victoria Fritzler. Officer Fritzler is a member of the Town of Fairview Police Department. #lovewhereyoulearn
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TCEA Recognizes Lovejoy Educator
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The Texas Computer Education Association (TCEA) recently selected Elizabeth Benno as a finalist for the Instructional Technology Specialist of the Year Award. The Educator Awards ceremony will be held on February 6th in Austin. Congratulations to Elizabeth on this recognition.
Elizabeth is an Elementary Digital Literacy Coach.
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Foundation for Lovejoy Schools
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2017 Annual Appeal Ends December 31
As the end of the calendar year approaches, the Foundation for Lovejoy Schools would like to say thank you for your generosity to the annual appeal campaign. We have received donations from 555 donors totaling $194,265. This is just shy of our goal of $200,000 and 650 donors. If you have not yet donated or you wish to make a final end-of-year, tax-deductible donation, please
click here
. Without you, we could not carry out our mission to enhance the educational experience for Lovejoy students and staff.
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Lovejoy Ladies' Night Out
Join us for a Lovejoy Ladies' Night Out to raise funds to award grants to Lovejoy ISD. The event will be held on Wednesday, January 10, 2018, at Cross Creek Ranch in Parker. This event sold out last year. Tickets are on sale now.
For pricing and ticket information,
click here
or contact Cindy Booker at 469.742.8043
.
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Curriculum Express
News from the Deputy Superintendent
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District Priorities and Student Experiences
Dear Lovejoy Community:
As we approach the last five days of school this semester, I hope each student in your home has experienced an engaging and positive first half of the school year.
Tonight, I will be sharing the District Improvement Plan with our Board of Trustees. Our annual improvement plan describes initiatives we are implementing to accomplish each of the Board Priorities. The Board Priorities are:
- Lovejoy ISD will continue to demonstrate growth in student academic achievement as evidenced by a broad range of academic measures appropriate for the elementary, intermediate, middle, and high school levels.
- Lovejoy ISD will continue to build a comprehensive plan for communication to build capacity in the community's understanding of critical district practices aligned to student experiences and student outcomes which are fundamental for continuous improvement.
- Lovejoy ISD will continue to take action to be recognized as the employer of choice for educators who believe districts should be defined by a culture of superior work ethic, mission-driven behavior, continuous improvement, growth mindset, and positive relationships with students, parents, and colleagues.
- Lovejoy ISD will become a lighthouse for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) education which serves to prepare students for the future of their choosing within these ever-expanding fields.
- Lovejoy ISD will continue to develop revenue generating strategies as well as budget efficiencies to ensure the Lovejoy student experience is maintained at current levels.
In addition to the districtwide work aligned to accomplish each Board Priority, we have important work occurring at each campus, which ensures the Board Priorities are evident in the experiences of each student. Each campus principal will be sharing one aspect of their Campus Improvement Plan aligned to one of the Board Priorities. For example, Mr. Winkler, Principal at SCIS, will be describing the student experiences this school year with the addition of an additional STEM course for all students at Sloan Creek Intermediate School. The expansion of STEM learning at SCIS aligns with Board Priority #4.
The District Improvement Plan, as well as each Campus Improvement Plan, will be posted online by the end of the week.
We hope you continue to love where you learn. If you have feedback to help us improve, please do not hesitate to contact me on my cell at 214.385.1967.
Respectfully,
Dennis Muizers
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Lovejoy Boys Basketball
The Varsity team beat Arlington Heights in the opening round of the Granbury Tournament, and dropped a couple of very close games over the next couple of days. This tournament has served our boys program well over the years with great competition and opportunities for team bonding and leadership development.
The Leopard Varsity team lost a tough game last night to the Prosper Eagles 51-29. The Leopards were led in scoring by Luke Ledebur with 8 points and Trevor Hawley with 6 points. The Leopards play a solid Rockwall team on Friday, and move into district play against Forney the following week on Friday, December 22nd, at 5:30 PM for JV and 7:00 PM for Varsity.
The Junior Varsity team ended up going 1-2 in the Prosper Tournament, with two tough losses to The Colony and Flower Mound. They finished the tournament on a high note, with a great win over Creekview Carrollton 56-38.
The Freshmen team won the McKinney Tournament gold bracket. On the first day of the tournament, they defeated Plano Williams 59-34. The second day of the tournament was a similar outcome with a 62-40 win over McKinney High School. The Leopards' first matchup on Saturday was against Highland Park and they came out on top 61-49.
Willow Springs Middle School
Congratulations to the 8th Grade A Team for winning the Collin County Hoopfest. The 7th Grade A Team won their last two contests after dropping their first game.
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Lovejoy Girls Basketball
Princeton Tournament
The JV Black team won the Consolation Championship of the Princeton Tournament, going 3-1 last weekend. The Leopards opened up the tournament with a convincing 48-27 win over John Paul II. In the second round, the Leopards fell to Krum by a score of 50-31. The Leopards bounced back with two wins to end the tournament, with wins over Caddo Mills 50-21 and Keller Central 38-33.
The JV Red team finished in 2nd place in the Princeton Tournament, Consolation Bracket, going 2-2 for the weekend. The Leopards fell to Keller Central and Dallas Thunder. The Leopards had wins over Krum and Frisco Lebanon Trail.
The Lady Leopards Varsity Girls Basketball team won the championship of the Princeton Tournament, going 3-0 for the weekend. The Leopards defeated Lubbock Christian 52-33, Frisco Lebanon Trail 54-34, and Krum 54-35.
District 15-5A
The Lady Leopards began District 15-5A play last night against the Highland Park Lady Scots with the JV Black team securing a 40-30 victory. The JV Red team played the Grapevine Lady Mustangs and came away with a 27-18 victory. The Varsity Lady Leopards also defeated the Lady Scots last night, 48-28, to earn their 1st district victory. The Lady Leopards are currently ranked #16 in the latest 5-A State Poll. They travel to West Mesquite this Friday to take on the Lady Wranglers in another 15-5A District game.
Willow Springs Middle School
The 8th grade Lady Leopards played in the Collin County Hoop Fest December 8-9. Unfortunately, the team dropped 2 losses in a row and were knocked out Saturday morning by McKinney Johnson in overtime, with a score of 17-23. Friday night, the Leopards were defeated by Frisco Scroggins, with a score of 4-30.
The Leopards 7th Grade A Team competed in the Collin County Hoopfest. Friday night, they played Frisco Scoggins and won 38-32. Saturday morning, they played Frisco Clark and came away with the win of 28-15. In the championship game, they defeated Frisco Vandeventer, with a score of 41-17. The 7th Grade Leopards are currently undefeated with a record of 5-0.
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Lovejoy Swim and Dive
The Swim team enjoyed amazing performances over the weekend at the 5A TISCA Invitational, including a new team record by Junior Natalie Womack, and 3 wins last night in a tri-meet against The Colony and Hebron High School. 5A TISCA was as fast as it has ever been, and the team was ready to meet the challenge. The Leopards had several outstanding performances on Friday which earned the team 4 individual swims and 2 relay swims at finals. Highlighting the meet were the top notch performances by Senior Sloan Carevic who went an in-season best time in the 100 breastroke (1:12.19) to finish in 11th place. Junior Natalie Womack earned two finals swims, with two lifetime-best swims in the 100 fly (1:00.44) finishing 7th, and lowering her own school record in the 100 yard backstroke (:59.35) where she finished in 2nd place. Sophomore Jakob Feldman had a phenomenal meet, crushing two lifetime-best swims in the 200 free, shaving off 3 1/2 seconds to go 1:53.63 and 13 1/2 seconds in the 500 Free (5:02.30), which earned him a 10th place finish at the meet.
The girls 200 free relay (Sloan Carevic, Amelia Poulton, Sydney Myers, Natalie Womack) finished in 8th place with a time of 1:48.01, and the girls 400 free relay (Sloan Carevic, Monica Malik, Sydney Myers, Natalie Womack) completed the meet with an in-season best performance of 3:50.81 to finish 4th place overall.
Last night, the girls team swept the meet, earning wins against both Hebron (138-107) and the Colony (142-113). The boys team split the meet, losing against Hebron (115-170) while beating the Colony (148-133). Along the way, the team earned a combined 19 new lifetime-best swims, as we get closer and closer to 200 lifetime best swims for the season.
The team will be hard at work during the Christmas break preparing for the Rockwall Quad-Meet, as well as the District 12-5A Championship meet to be held on Saturday, January 20th, at the Rodenbaugh Natatorium in Allen.
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Lovejoy Wrestling
The Lovejoy men's varsity team defeated Plano East, 48-30, on Wednesday, December 6th at Sloan Creek Gym. The team performed beyond their years, defeating a very large 6A school in Plano East. The men were led by pins from all of the following: Senior Michael Shaw, Junior Johnny Dorlon, Sophomores Hunter Duncan, Joe Ridgeway, and Grant Sessions; and Freshmen Ralph Rucker, Jakob Underwood, and Zack Valentine. Our JV wrestlers all competed well, with each winning at least one match. They were led by Freshman Jack McKinney, who finished 2-0 with two falls.
Four ladies wrestled this past weekend at the Texas Ladies Classic and once again, we saw great improvement and great competition. Sophomore Alex LeFort led the team, finishing the tournament with another great effort, bringing home the bronze medal on her way to winning six out of seven matches. Junior Morgan Elvin also wrestled a great tournament. Elvin defeated a state placer among her four wins to place 4th.
Both men's and women's teams will compete this weekend at the EMS-ISD Tournament in Saginaw. We wish the Leopards a safe and productive tournament.
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This section of Email Express highlights news reports/articles featuring Lovejoy over the previous week.
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Lovejoy Lacrosse - Boys' and Girls' Teams
Registration Now Open
Registration is now open for the boys' and girls' 2018 Spring season of Lovejoy Lacrosse. Join the most exciting, fastest-growing sport in the country.
Register now for Boys: Grades Kindergarten through High School
Register now for Girls: Grades Kindergarten through 8th grade
Hurry, as rosters are filling quickly!
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Senior Project Benefiting USO
LHS Senior John Treanor's Senior Project will benefit the USO through in-kind donations. Boxes have been placed for collection at our 3 elementary schools and at Sloan Creek. John shared that he wants to serve in the Navy after college, and has always respected the men and women who serve our country.
Click here
for a list of suggested donation items.
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Family Promise of Collin County
Angelina Mapes,
a 7th grade student at WSMS, is raising funds to benefit Family Promise of Collin County. Angelina hopes to receive enough donations for parents to purchase presents for their children for Christmas. The donation box is located at Willow Springs Middle School.
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MySchoolBucks Convenience Fee
MySchoolBucks, the district's online meal prepayment program, has provided notification regarding an increase in the convenience fee paid by parents using the online payment feature. The fee has increased from $1.95 per payment to $2.49 per payment. This increase is the result of an increase in card scheme fees. The district does not receive any convenience fee funds from MySchoolBucks.
In light of the increase, the district contacted MySchoolBucks. They agreed to increase the maximum payment from $120 per deposit to $240 per deposit. This payment deposit increase is effective immediately. You may contact MySchoolBucks directly by telephone at 855.832.5226 or via email at
support@myschoolbucks.com
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LHS Collecting Donations for Coats for Kids
Lovejoy High School is collecting donations to buy coats for S.M. Wright's Christmas in the Park Event. The purpose is to provide funding and resources for underprivileged children and families through the nonprofit organization For Kids Foundation. Every $15 donated will provide a child in the Dallas area with a new coat. This is a great opportunity for everyone to give back this Christmas. You may
click here
to donate.
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Kindergarten Gifted and Talented Referrels
Referrals for kindergarten Gifted and Talented services are available through the PowerSchool Parent Portal until January 12, 2018.
An information session for the parents of kindergarten students will review the referral process, as well as the G/T services offered in Lovejoy.
Lovejoy ISD Administration Building
Board Room
Friday, December 15, 2017
9:00 AM or 4:30 PM (Session information repeats)
If you are unable to attend and would like more information, a slideshow presentation is now available on the
Gifted and Talented webpage
.
All kindergarten students will be tested at their home campuses in January. Additional testing for referred students is scheduled for both Saturday, February 10th and 24th. Services for identified kindergarten students begin March 1, 2018.
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The Lovejoy Running Club
The Lovejoy Running Club meets every Tuesday and Thursday evening at 6:00 PM near the Duck Pond at Celebration Park. All ages and ability levels are welcome to attend, from novice walkers looking to shed a few pounds, to elite runners gearing up for the next race. If you have questions regarding the running program, you may contact:
greg_christensen@lovejoyisd.net
. P.S. Dogs are welcome.
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Lovejoy ISD Pre-Kindergarten
Space Available
Our
district has offered a Pre-K program as a part of our employee daycare progr
a
m for the past 11 years. On the suggestion of parents, we decided to expand that program and offer a tuition-based program open to our community. We currently hav
e two Pre-K classrooms open at Puster Elementary. This program offers enhancements in music, fitness, art, library, science, technology, engineering, and math. We are enthusiastic about providing a Lovejoy education for community members looking for a rich learning experience which will provide a firm foundation for kindergarten and beyond.
If you are interested in applying, please
click here
. To schedule a tour of the Pre-Kindergarten program, please contact
Stacey Dillon
at 469.742.8003.
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BYOP® (Volleyball Winter and Spring Sessions): Pre-registration ends December 22
BYOP® Program Overview:
This training program is designed for any volleyball player, no matter what skill or ability level, as long as their goal is to become the best they can be. Parents must be fully dedicated to being actively involved in this program. BYOP® will provide excellent volleyball fundamental skills training, as well as life lessons to both player and parent.
BYOP® Program Details:
Each training session will build upon a solid foundation of all fundamental skills needed to participate in the sport of volleyball. Parents must be engaged in every training session and involved in the home training program involving physical and skills activities.
Click here
for full details regarding Session 1 (January, February and March) and Session 2 (April and May).
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Relay for Life: April 6
Relay for Life Gallery Wall Opportunity
Relay for Life is an annual event held at Lovejoy High School to raise awareness of cancer and donate to cancer research. This year's initiative is to bring the Lovejoy community together as a whole to promote a sense of community and care. The entire Lovejoy community is invited to participate in this event on April 6, 2018.
To encourage participation of students at the elementary and intermediate school levels, the LHS Relay for Life organizers are hosting a coloring page activity. Students may
click here
to print the coloring page and decorate it as creatively as they can. They may then turn the page into the receptionist desk at their campus to receive a pencil, sticker or other prize. The event organizers will use all coloring pages to create a gallery wall for the event, which will represent loving support for those whose lives have been affected by cancer.
We hope you will save the date of April 6th and join us for Relay for Life.
Relay for Life Luminarias
Relay for Life is selling Luminarias for the Relay for Life event on April 6th at Lovejoy High School. Luminarias honor those whose lives have been affected by cancer. You may dedicate a Luminaria to loved ones who lost their battles with cancer, someone currently battling cancer, or anyone who has overcome cancer. When you attend the Relay event, you will see the Luminarias placed around the track, decorated with names and sometimes messages to whom they are dedicated. Luminarias are $10. If you would like to purchase one, please
click here
.
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If you would like to provide us with accomplishments of a Lovejoy graduate, please click here. We will share this information in the "Where Are They Now?" section of Email Express. It is a pleasure to report the successes of Lovejoy graduates during their college years and beyond.
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Inclement Weather
School closures will be determined based on safety. In the event of a school closure, notifications will be announced on the district's website, Facebook, and Twitter pages. We will also announce any closure through the media and by phone. Links to our social media accounts are shown below.
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Lovejoy ISD App
The Lovejoy ISD App is available for download on both Apple and Android devices. To download the app for Apple devices, please
click here
. To download the app for Android devices, please
click here
.
Twitter and Facebook
Are
you following the district on
Twitter
? Have you liked us on
Facebook
? Join us on social media for news and announcements.
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As always, please feel free to contact me with questions or concerns.
With Respect,
Ted Moore
Superintendent
Lovejoy ISD
972.415.8129 (mobile)
469.742.8011 (office)
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