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Willow Springs Middle School Principal Newsletter - November 17, 2016
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Dear WSMS Parents and Guardians,
We hope everyone is looking forward to a great Thanksgiving break! Congratulations to our theatre and choir students for their outstanding performance of Legally Blonde last week, they made our school and community proud.
I would also like to compliment our 8th grader students for their community service work on Wednesday; they represented themselves, their families, and our school very well. I have received feedback from our service locations about how nice it was to work with our students. Thank you to our 8th grade teachers and parents who helped make Wednesday a great day of service learning.
I hope everyone has a Happy Thanksgiving.
Sincerely,
Kent Messer
Principal
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Stuff the Stocking - Collection for Homeless in the Holidays through December 15
Hands4Hope is collecting small gifts for homeless families to be given along and stuffed inslide holiday stockings for families in need through Family Promise of Collin County. The club looks to the community to help make the holidays brighter for families this season.
Items needed include gift cards, new and unused gum and candy, toiletries, books, crayons, lotions or candles, coloring books, and stuffed animals (without any hazardous or hard eyes) to put in stockings. Items are being collected in brightly colored, decorated boxes outside the Student Support Center until December 15.
College Board PSAT 8/9 - Wednesday, November 30
On Wednesday, November 30th, WSMS 8th graders will take the College Board's PSAT 8/9 test. This assessment is an opportunity for students, parents, and teachers to assess a student's math, writing, and reading skills needed to be college-ready. For more information on the College Board
's PSAT 8/9 test, you can visit
this website
.
The PSAT 8/9 assessment will begin promptly at 9am on Wednesday, November 30th and will last approximately 3.5 hours. 8th graders may want to bring a bottle of water for testing. All 8th graders will eat C lunch that day. We ask all 8th graders to leave their cell phones at home on testing days. If students choose to bring their phones to school, they will be asked to sign a waiver and place their phone in a bin that will be removed from the room during testing. Phones will be returned after testing. While we will take precautions to keep all phones safe, we cannot be held accountable for lost or damaged phones. If you have questions or concerns, please contact Kay Bordelon.
Advisory Schedule - Friday, December 2
Friday, December 2 we will have advisory. For copy of the activity bell schedule for advisory, please
go here
.
LISD Fine Arts Festival - December 2 & December 3
Lovejoy Arts will kick off its annual district event, the Fine Arts Festival, on Friday, December 2, 2016, at Lovejoy High School. Featured performances include concerts by the Lovejoy Band program, a preview of the Varsity Cheerleaders UIL performance, and a performance by the WSMS Cheerleaders. The Visual Art galleries will be open for touring between concerts and performances.
The Festival continues all day on Saturday, December 3, 2016, with the first performances beginning at 10:00 AM at Lovejoy High School. This year's Festival will feature artwork from students from all campuses participating in visual art courses. The newly renovated LHS Visual Arts Gallery will be open for public tours. We will host performances from the elementary music programs, choir, Color Guard, orchestra, studio dance, Majestics, and theatre programs throughout the day.
Please come support our Lovejoy Arts programs and see the amazing works being presented. For a complete Fine Arts Festival schedule please click here.
We hope to see our Lovejoy Arts parents involved in donating or volunteering to help make the Festival a success.
To serve as an adult volunteer, please click here.
For additional information, please contact Fela Mathy, Director of Fine Arts.
Sex Education & Your Willow Springs Student, December 5th and December 6th
Students in grades 7 and 8 will be shown the AIM for Success program on December 5 and December 6 at Willow Springs Middle School. Students will participate in the program through their math classes, with a trained AIM presenter. The Aim For Success, Inc. motivational programs have educated over a million young people across America during the past 17 years on topics such as sex, drugs, alcohol, and bullying. AIM has been educating our Lovejoy students for more than 12 years!
Flapjacks for Finals - Monday, December 12
As a middle school tradition, we will be kicking off final exam week with "Flapjacks for Finals" on Monday, December 12 from 8:00 a.m. - 8:55 a.m. in the cafeteria. Please encourage your son or daughter to stop by the cafeteria for hot cakes.
Final Exams, December 13 -16
For a copy of the fall semester final exam schedule, please
click here
.
Final exams will officially begin, Tuesday, December 13. Teachers are expected to provide students with final exam reviews by Friday, December 2. In addition, all final exam reviews will be loaded on the WSMS website on December 2 (under both student and parent). Please encourage your son or daughter to begin working on their final exam reviews early. As they begin to study, encourage them to study every night in short 15-20 minute increments rather than "cramming" the night before the test. Research shows that students who study in small chunks of time over a period of days are more successful on assessments.
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Campus Information and Reminders
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Safety Corner
Willow Springs Middle School is equipped with security cameras inside and outside the building. The interior cameras provide views of all hallways while the exterior cameras provide views of the building periphery.
Congratulations to our Battle of the Books Student Champions!
After a close and well-fought battle of 5 student teams, this year's student champions, for the second year in a row, are Asians United. Team members are David Bao, Tajvir Singh, and Richard Dunham. Congratulations boys! Each received a $25 Cinemark gift card! After winning the student battle, the team was challenged by 2 teacher teams -- Chapter Chicks (Tamara Sakuda, Rachael Merrick, Kim Sullivan) and the Bookie Rookies (Connor Johnston, Heather Lamb, Lacey Moser, Allison Youderian). Another very close battle ended in victory for the Bookie Rookies! Better luck next year students. Congrats to all!
Spelling Bee Results!
Congratulations to Justin Larimer on his first place finish in the Spelling Bee today. Our second place finisher was Tajvir Sigh. Thank you to all of our students who competed in the Spelling Bee!
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Aurea
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Carlisle
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Ashton
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Cook
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Michael
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Harris
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Neelesh
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Iyer
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Andrew
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Juarez
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Chaney
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Kelly
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Sam
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Lamping
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Justin
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Larimer
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Tajvir
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Singh
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Nabeel
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Syed
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Eli
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Taylor
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Dinah
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Thadikonda
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Kevin
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Xu
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Arturo
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Yundt-Pacheco
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Final Exam Reviews
Teachers provided students with a copy of the final exam review this week. In addition, an electronic copy has been posted in Google Site and on the WSMS website under "Parent Resources." Teachers will be going over their review in class prior to the final exam. Each review will provide vocabulary, concepts, and/or skills needed to be successful on the final. Students will be expected to take the information from the review and apply it to questions on the exam that include graphs, charts, maps, diagrams, and excerpts. These application based questions provide a foundation for the level of thinking that aligns with the higher level thinking of our state standards in middle school and high school. Rather than studying the review for 2-3 hours the night before the final exam, we encourage students to prepare for each exam by studying for approximately 15-20 minutes a day. In addition, students should refer to notes, handouts, assignments, and their textbook to support their learning and preparation. For an example of a final exam review topic and how it might be tested on the final exam in each of the core subjects, please
click here
(these questions are from the 7th grade curriculum in ELAR, math, science, and social studies).
Final Exam Grades
Final Exams are a summative assessment over material that has been covered during the first semester. Teachers will be closing out their grades for the first semester once final exams have been completed. As a result, students will not have the opportunity to re-take their final exam. The summative data from final exams will provide teachers with a road map for instructional planning and intervention during the spring semester. As the semester comes to a close, please continue to work with your son or daughter to stay on top of their school responsibilities. This time of year is traditionally very busy for our students and families, both often get pulled in several different directions as we approach the holidays. If you or your student needs any assistance or support with academic or behavioral support, please partner with our teachers, counselors, and administrators. Let's work together to ensure that our students finish strong in their first semester of learning.
Academic UIL
Academic UIL competition is on the horizon, and we are looking forward to attending this year's competition on March 24 and 25, 2017! The competition will be held at Coppell Middle School West, which is located at 1301 Wrangler Drive, Coppell, TX 75019.
All students in grades 7 and 8 are eligible to try-out for a team. Students may compete in as many events as they would like as long as the events they enter compete at different times during the competition day. Tryouts for the competitions will occur shortly after we return from Winter Break. Students who make the team (3 members plus one alternate for most teams) will begin practices as determined by the team coach. Practice days and times will vary with each competition. Tryout dates, times, and locations will be available after the break. If you have any questions, please contact
Laura [email protected]
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WSMS All Region Band Audition Results
Congratulations to the Willow Springs Band for a fantastic showing at Region 25 All Region Band Auditions. All of our students who worked hard to prepare this music represented Willow Springs with pride and should be congratulated for their perseverance.
Fourteen Willow Springs Band members won positions in the 2016 Region 25 Bands. (Six students were named alternates.) Please join us in congratulating these students for their outstanding achievement. Over 900 students auditioned for these positions! It is truly an honor worth of recognition and will be an amazing educational experience for each of them.
2016 Band MS Region 25
Flute
Brynne Davies, Wind Ensemble
Catherine O'Brien, Symphonic Band
Clarinet
Juliet Cano, Concert Band
Bass Clarinet
PK Kotra, Concert Band
Bassoon
Chloe Dorlon, Concert Band
Zachary Iovine, Alternate
Trumpet
Renee Barnes, Symphonic Band
JR Frazier, Alternate
French Horn
Sam Lamping, Symphonic Band
Blake Daehnert, Symphonic Band
Madeline Robinson, Alternate
Davis Mosel, Alternate
Trombone
Zach Garcia, Concert Band
Mason Muller, Alternate
Euphonium
Neelesh Iyer, Symphonic Band
Percussion
Charis Vela, Wind Ensemble
Madelyn Allen, Symphonic Band
Christina Taylor, Symphonic Band
Carson Person, Concert Band
Andrew James, Alternate
Lovejoy ISD hosted both phases of the event on Nov 12 and Nov 14. Thank you, parents and high school volunteers, who helped us run such a smooth contest! You are heroes!
Thank you for supporting the Willow Springs Band! It takes a village, and we love ours!--Ms. Ball, Ms. Abbott, Mrs. Rogers, Mr. Heuer, Mr. King, Mr. Lewis and Mr. Sadler
Keeping Up with Your Kids' Technology
Monitoring your child's phone and technology use is not an invasion of privacy; instead it should be a way to open up conversations with your child about the positives and negatives technology may present. Here are a few ideas to help monitor your children's technology use:
- Periodically check the web browser history on smart phones, tablets, and computers.
- "Friend" or "Follow" your child's social media sites!
- Allow your children to participate in social media only if you have their passwords.
- Create a Digital Family Policy with your children to outline your own expectations of usage.
- Discourage the use of technology behind closed doors. Instead, create an expectation of using smart phones, tablets and computers in the family room.
- Collect all phones, tablets, and laptops at night to charge in a central area of the house. Don't allow your child to keep these in their room at night (alerts through the night will disturb quality sleep time)!
- Subscribe to a Social Media Monitoring tool.
Have you checked your child's apps lately?
We find that many middle-school students tend to use apps created for older teenagers and/or young-adults; we encourage you to check out your children's text messages and apps loaded on their electronic devices. The latest trending apps for many teens are Vine, Instagram, Tumblr, Twitter, Ask.FM, and Snap Chat. Many of you already check your child's text messages, which is great! Next time you check their text messages, also look at their apps to ensure your child remains safe in cyber world.
For information and tips on App Safety click on the following links:
Photo Hiding Vaults on Cell Phones
There are numerous photo hiding vault apps available for smart phones. These apps allow students to hide photos in their calculators, games, and additional places on their phones-some of these apps are free. Click here for a New York Times article on the vault app. Please take some time to visit with your child about cyber-etiquette and remind them that everything they say, send and/or post in an online environment or via text can always become public and permanent.
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WSMS Cross Country News
The WSMS Cross Country Team had a phenomenal meet on Tuesday! These kids have been putting in hard work and a lot of miles since August. All runners competed well and ran at their highest level.
Below are Team results as well as the names of the kids who were in the top 10 in their division and earned a ribbon.
The teams will compete the Tuesday after the break - November 29
t
h - right here at Willow Springs, and would love to have a lot of community and student support! The meet will begin on the track behind WSMS.
7th Grade Girls Team took 2nd place overall to Rockwall Williams
Avery Ashely
Amiya Callicut
Dinah Thadikonda
8th Grade Girls had a 1st place Team finish!
Amelia Carothers
Madison DuBois
Karly Greenwood
Natalie Wong
7th Grade Boys Team took 2nd place overall to Rockwall Williams
Matthew Murry
Andrew Houser
8th Grade Boys had a 1st place team finish, just nudging out Rockwall Utley!
Trevor Malik
Alex Pedersen
Carter Satterwhite
Cameron Kennedy
Boys 7th Basketball Results - November 14 Monday Games
A team - WSMS 30 Royse City 20
B team - WSMS 25 Royse City 9
C team - WSMS 29 Royce City 10
Girls 7th Grade Basketball Results - November 14 Monday Games
A team - WSMS 19 Royse City 30
B team - WSMS 2 Royse City 14
C team - WSMS 5 Royce City 9
Willow Springs Tennis Tryouts - January 9th-13th
The Willow Spring Tennis tryouts will take place January 9th-12th (Second week back from Christmas break) from 4:30 p.m. - 6:30 p.m. at LHS. During the first week back from Christmas, if tennis players have 8th period athletics they need to meet at WSMS by 8:00 a.m. and we will practice until 8:30 a.m. First period athletes need to be there by 8:30 a.m. and we will practice until 9:00 a.m. I am not at WSMS during 8th period due to being at the High school for Varsity practice. We will use the first week back to go over scoring and get players prepared for tryouts. Please make sure to bring enough water and snacks. The tryouts will be a tournament format and every player will have a match each night. All Skill levels are welcome! Please be able to keep score and bring your own racquet. The sign up sheet will be located outside of the locker rooms in December. Players must sign up to attend. All buses from Willow Springs will end up at LHS for tryouts. Once the team is set, I will send out more information. If you have any questions or concerns please call me at
972-975-2631. I played tennis in college and basketball at a high level. Tennis is very difficult if you have never played. It is important to practice 3-4 times a week with a junior development program.
Please contact Lou Hervey if you would like information regarding his Junior Development Tennis Program and private Lessons. Coach Cherry and I teach privates during the summer. Here is Lou's cell
214-883-3822. - Coach Davis
Other good JD's
High Point Tennis Center
The courts at Mckinney
Eldorado Country Club
Brookhaven Country Club
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Lady Leopards Volleyball Team Advances to State Tournament
The Lady Leopards Volleyball team secured the 5A Region 2 Championship this past weekend, and are moving on to the State Semi-Finals on Friday, November 18th, against Cedar Park. The game will be held at the Curtis Culwell Center in Garland, and will begin at 1:00 PM. Click here to review the Culwell Center's "Clear Bag Policy."
Students wishing to attend the game may receive an excused absence by checking out of school after 10:00 AM. Students will then need to turn in their ticket stub (with the student's name written on the back), or a note from their parent, when they return to school on Monday, November 28th. By waiting to check out of school after 10:00 AM students will be counted as present for state attendance purposes.
NFHS Network and Spectrum Sports will provide live broadcasts of the 2016 UIL Volleyball State Tournament on November 16-19 from the Curtis Culwell Center. Fans, family, and alumni unable to attend the matches may watch the UIL Volleyball State Semifinals live online by clicking here. Subscribers may also watch on the go by downloading the NFHS Network app for iPhone and Android devices.
The Conference 3A - 6A championship matches on Saturday will also be available on Spectrum Sports. Please note, Time Warner Cable SportsChannel is now Spectrum Sports. For more information, please contact Stacey Mitch at [email protected].
Lovejoy Leopard Lacrosse - Boys and Girls Teams Registration Open Through January 6
Registration is now open for the 2017 Spring season of Lovejoy Leopard Lacrosse. Join the most exciting, fastest growing sport in the country. Register for:
Boys: Grades 1st through 12th
Girls: Grades Kindergarten through 8th
Hurry, as rosters are quickly filling!
Lovejoy Leopards, Inc. Hosting 2nd Annual "LLI Gives Back" Drive
Lovejoy Leopards, Inc. is hosting their 2nd annual "LLI Gives Back" drive benefiting Allen Community Outreach. The drop off location is the Lovejoy High School indoor practice facility on Monday, November 28th from 5:00 - 7:00 PM.
Click here for details.
Lovejoy Cheerleaders Host Parent Night Out
Do you need someone to watch the kids so you can do some holiday shopping? Bring them to the Lovejoy Cheerleaders Shop 'N Drop event for a pajama party. There will be games, crafts, movies, and more. The event will be held on Friday, December 9th from 6:00 PM - 10:00 PM in the Lovejoy High School gym. The cost is $25 for the first child, and $15 per each additional child. Proceeds will help support the cheerleaders' upcoming UIL cheer competition. The kids will have a great time, and you will have a few kid-free hours to run your holiday errands. RSVP or email questions to Head Coach
Shelly Wiggins. Click here for additional information.
LEGO Drive for Puster Elementary
Round up your LEGO bricks to benefit the Puster Makerspace. LHS sophomore Collins Morgan is collecting LEGOs for a new LEGO wall he is constructing in the Puster Makerspace, as part of his Eagle scout project for Troop 224. A collection bin will be in the Puster lobby November 28th - December 16th for donation of new and used bricks. Thank you for supporting this project which enhances STEM education at Puster.
November is American Diabetes Month
American Diabetes Month is part of the American Diabetes Association's efforts to bring attention to the disease and those affected by it. The American Diabetes Association's website provides additional information which may be found
here
.
Each Friday during National Diabetes Awareness Month you may show your support for people affected by diabetes by wearing blue.
Click here
for details.
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STAY CONNECTED
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