Lovejoy Independent School District

 
Email Express
December 7, 2016


On this day we pause to remember and honor the citizens who were killed in the attack on Pearl Harbor.  We offer our thanks and gratitude to all who have served and are serving to protect our freedoms.




A Message from the Superintendent



Dear Lovejoy Community:
 
It was good to see so many of you at the Fine Arts Festival this past weekend.  This showcase event was filled with incredible works of art on display, as well as amazing performances.  The hard work and dedication of your students to achieve at the highest level was evident throughout the event.  Special thanks to the dedicated faculty and staff for going above and beyond to make this a successful event.  Be sure to take a look at the "Fine Arts" section of this Email Express for an opportunity to provide feedback and to enjoy some great Festival moments captured by LHS Senior, Eric Miller. 
 
An opportunity remains for you to experience a portion of the Fine Arts Festival.  You may take a tour of the K-12 Art Evolution Show located in the LHS Art Gallery. This entire show was managed, curated, and hung by LHS Senior Joelle Benigno for her senior project, with the help of LHS Senior, Paige Christiansen.  The work in the space is a great representation of the district's focus to vertically align the Visual Arts K-12 program.  The professionalism with which Joelle managed and hung the show is an excellent example of the commitment and resolve the Visual Arts team works to instill in all students.  Congratulations to Joelle and Paige for making this show truly spectacular.





Inclement Weather
With the first bit of cold weather forecast for tonight, I wanted to remind everyone of our protocol regarding 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 may be found in the "Stay Connected" section of this Email Express. 


Robotics
Congratulations to the Lovejoy Robotics Team for taking 1st and 3rd place in their first competition, the Cumby Starstruck. This qualifies the team for the North Texas Regional Qualifiers and the U.S. Open Qualifier tournament for the VEX World Championships. There were 24 teams, including notables Southlake Carroll, Richardson Berkner, Greenville, Garland Neo Bots, Skyline, and two strong homeschool teams-Iron Wave and Unchartered Waters. All of these were State qualifiers last year.
 
Congratulations to team member participants:  Jonathan Tiner, Ryan Luther, Hunter Tombaugh, Max Hooper, Chase Barnes, Connor Redding, Matthew Franks, Jolina Tran, Madison Hubbard, and Austin Marlar. 




Computer Science
The Computer Science team took 2 advanced teams and 3 novice teams to the Southlake Senior High Computer Science contest last weekend.  Congratulations to the following top finishers: 
 
3rd Place Advanced Programming Team
Brice May
Sam Bell (also received 10th place on the written test)
Ben Buhse
 
5th Place Novice Programming Team
Zoe Kahana
Josh Engler
Will Pearl
 
Abhinav Devalla placed 10th on the written exam for novices.





The Red Ledger
The Red Ledger , Lovejoy High School's award winning on-line newspaper, was named a finalist for the Crown Award, presented annually by the Columbia Scholastic Press Association (CSPA) in New York, for the category of digital publications.
 
The Red Ledger is one of just 14 high school online newspapers nationwide to receive this honor. The newspaper will receive either the Gold or Silver Crown at the CSPA national convention in Manhattan on March 15th - 17th. Last year, the newspaper received a Silver Crown.
 
According to the CSPA website, "... the Crown Awards are considered at Columbia by panels of invited judges, working in small groups to review each publication. Crown Awards summarize overall excellence in the entire publication."
 
Editors in chief are Hallie Fischer, Jillian Sanders and Caroline Smith. 


LHS Speech and Debate
Congratulations to the following novice students who earned their membership into the National Speech and Debate Association: 
 
Eden
Amin
Kaitlyn
Magee
Meghan
Blumenthal
Shalin
Mehta
Zachary
Farrell
Marsella
Palmer
RuiYi
He
Melody
Quintero
Sanjana
Jacob
Shivani
Radhakrishnan
Kaitlyn
Johnson
Ashley
Rihani
Tyler
Johnson
Jentry
Sipes
Austin
Keefer
Matthew
Sipes
Brandon
Kofahl
Rithik
Tangella
Anastasia
Kusbit
Naomi
Thadikonda
Garrett
Larson
Valerie
Wu
Yu
Yang
 
In order to qualify for initial membership, students must earn 25 points by competing in speech/debate tournaments. Students earn points at every speech and debate competition in which they compete. Points measure student progress, motivating continued participation. 







Quiz Bowl
This past Saturday, the Quiz Bowl team traveled to Houston to compete in the Houston Holiday Hoedown (HO HO HO) tournament against 28 teams from across the state. The team got off to the best start in program history, and finished the prelim rounds with a 6-0 record - including victories over St. Thomas, Cinco Ranch, Seven Lakes B, Seven Lakes C, Lamar (McAllen), and Carnegie Vanguard. This earned the LHS Quiz Bowlers a #3 seed and a 1st round bye for the afternoon tournament.  The LHS team finished the day with a respectable 6-1 record.
 
Additionally, the LHS team recently completed a semester-long nationwide, online tournament. For 8 weeks, teams competed against other teams from across the nation in weekly matches. The LHS Quiz Bowlers won 2 matches and qualified for the tournament of champions, advancing to the semifinals where they fell short of advancing further to the finals by only 5 points (less than 1 question).
 
The Varsity team is composed of Noah Corbitt, John Reaves, Tommy Rousey, Marcus Mao, and Katherine Guo.
 
The LHS team is currently ranked #3 in the state, having compiled a 20-12 match record and qualifying for both the state and national tournaments.  Congratulations to these students on the strongest semester of quiz bowl in school history.

 
HOSA
Last Thursday the HOSA organization competed in part one of their online testing.  Congratulations to the following students:
 
Noel Augustine placed 4th in Transcultural Health Care
 
Miranda Perry placed 4th in Epidemiology
 
The following students have a two-part test (on-line & skills).  Following are the results from the on-line test. The next step is the skills portion which will be at Centennial High School in Frisco on February 17th and 18th. 
 
Taylor Carty placed 2nd in Clinical Nursing
 
Kennedy Miller placed 2nd in Home Health Aide
Paige Christiansen placed 6th in Home Health Aide
 
Lauren Payne placed 1st in Sports Medicine
Marlee Jenkins placed 2nd in Sports Medicine
Olivia Bullock placed 4th in Sports Medicine
Logan Meyer placed 10th in Sports Medicine
 
Ellie Hager 2nd place in Biomedical Debate
Mikey Franks 2nd place in Biomedical Debate
Caroline Smith 2nd place in Biomedical Debate
Sean Gassman 2nd place in Biomedical Debate
(Biomedical Debate Consists of Teams of 4)
 
Hannah Karst placed 6th in Veterinary Science
 
Gabby Glorioso placed 11th in Medical Spelling


LHS Band
Out of over 1000 entries in the region, the following LHS Band students have earned a place in the region band. As you can see below, many have also qualified for the Area level of competition in January which may certify them for All State. This is the greatest number of students to qualify at the region level and area level in the school's history.
 
LHS Junior Jack Supan will be going into the Area auditions, having already been named to All-State Jazz band on guitar, another first for Lovejoy High School. 
 
Bryn Goldsmith, English Horn, Area
Alex Bowen, Bass Trombone, Area
Mikey Franks, Oboe, Area
Jesse Vela, Percussion, Area
Sophia Heussner, Clarinet, Area
Sarah Jahnke, Flute, Area
Nick Pitkin, Trumpet, First Chair Overall, Area
Patrick O'Brien, Trumpet, Area
Brady Duke, Tenor Sax, Area
Garrett Martin, Trombone, Area
Elizabeth Hess, Clarinet, Region
Courtney Reid, Bass Clarinet, Region
Joe Harris, Horn, Region
Jonas Fowler, Percussion, Region
Samuel Phillips, Percussion, Region
Keolakainoa Kawahigashi, Percussion Region
Brandon Kofahl, Horn, 9th Grade Region
Kyle Easley, Trombone, 9th Grade Region
Joel Reaves. Trumpet, 9th Grade Region
Noah Cooper, Percussion, 9th Grade Region
MJ Dear, Euphonium, 9th Grade Region
Sophia Pitkin, Flute, 9th Grade Region
Jake McTee, Trumpet, 9th Grade Region
Ethan Etchieson, Percussion, Jazz Region
Sam Oates, Trumpet, Jazz Region
Joel Reaves, Trumpet, Jazz Region
Garrett Martin, Trombone, Jazz Region
Jack Supan, Guitar, Jazz Region
 
 
Megan Taylor, Oboe, Region Alternate
Samir Mehta, Oboe, Region Alternate
Emily Rippy, Clarinet, Region Alternate
Jacob Oates, Tuba, Region Alternate


LHS Girls Basketball
The Lady Leopards Basketball team won the Lufkin Hudson Tournament going 5-0 and improving their overall record to 11-1 on the season. The eleven game win streak is the longest winning streak since the 2010-2011 season when the Leopards reached the State Finals. The varsity team has been recognized for their outstanding play by TGCA with a ranking of #8 in the state for class 5A. Their next home game will be on December 12th versus Sanger. Please come out and support these young ladies.
 
Members of the 2016-2017 Varsity Girls Basketball team are:  Allison Hubble, Gabby Ornelas, Ashleigh Tyler, Taylor Meixelsperger, Kaylee Rekieta, Kim Lyne, Tori Hanson, Roni Hanson, Autumn Purcell, Meredith Ehlmann, Meredith Welch, Bethany Smith, Ireland Miller, and Carsen McFadden.

Fine Arts Festival

Thank you to everyone who attended the 2016 Fine Arts Festival. It was a magical two days filled with amazing visual artwork and outstanding performances. We sincerely hope you enjoyed the time you spent at the Festival whether it was for one performance or several hours of entertainment. Each year, the Fine Arts faculty strive to improve the Festival and the experience of our students and parents. Please take time to respond to the Festival survey by clicking here .  Thank you again for sharing your wonderful students with us, and enabling our district to provide this opportunity for our community.
 
The following photographs of the Fine Arts Festival are courtesy of LHS Senior, Eric Miller.




And, a few photographs courtesy of LISD staff:





A Message from the Deputy Superintendent
Tests and a Growth Mindset


Dear Lovejoy Community:
 
I hope everyone is staying warm in this recent cold front.  It is hard to believe we have just seven days left in this semester.  Next week, final exams are scheduled for high school students and major exams for many of our students in grades 5-8.
 
This time of year, I am often included in discussions with parents about grades, grading, and semester averages, etc.  Grades and the importance of grades, or emphasis on grades, are often different in each family and sometimes for each child within the same family.  This reality makes grading policies and philosophies one of the most challenging or controversial topics in schools.
 
Stanford professor, author, and past presenter at Learning @ Lovejoy, Dr. Carol Dweck's book Mindset:The New Psychology of Success uncovers the differences between two core mindsets.  Dweck shows how success in school, work, sports, the arts, and almost every area of human endeavor can be dramatically influenced by how we approach our goals. People with a fixed mindset-those who believe that abilities are fixed-are far less likely to flourish than those with a growth mindset-those who believe abilities can be developed through hard work, good strategies, and mentorship.   Mindset reveals how great parents, teachers, managers, and athletes can put this idea to use to foster outstanding accomplishment.  
 
A key part of Dweck's research addresses the issue of praise.  As Dweck describes, over time, praising an outcome rather than the effort put forth to achieve an intended outcome or reach a goal can actually be more detrimental and cause us to have a more fixed mindset.  In schools, we often see this when students are unwilling to try something new for fear of failure. 
 
As Dweck shared with Lovejoy educators, "If there could be one key take away from this book: I would hope we could all do a better job of praising student's efforts and not just the grade they achieve."  She also shared that one strategy we could all adopt is, "At the end of each day, ask each student, 'What was your one glorious struggle today?"
 
As you consider books to read over the holiday season, I would highly recommend Dweck's book Mindset as a resource for considering how we support and parent our children through the various challenges which will be encountered in school and in life.
 
We hope you love where you have chosen for your child to learn.  If you have feedback to help us improve, please do not hesitate to contact me on my cell at 214.385.1967 or via email at dennis_muizers@lovejoyisd.net .
 
Respectfully,
Dennis Muizers

Foundation for Lovejoy Schools

Glitz and Glam Lovejoy Ladies' Night
Tickets go on sale Friday, December 9th, at 9:00 AM
 
"No costume, no wig, no table décor to rig.
Your winter glam you can wear,
Games, food and fun to share."
 
Join us for a Glitz and Glam Lovejoy Ladies' Night to raise funds to award classroom grants to Lovejoy ISD. The event will be held on Tuesday, January 24th, at Noah's in Fairview. Buy your tickets early, as seating is limited.  This event sells out every year.

For pricing and ticket information,
click here or contact Cindy Booker at 469.742.8043.
   
 
Kendra Scott - Allen, Gives Back to the Foundation for Lovejoy Schools
Just in time for your holiday shopping! Kendra Scott in Watters Creek will hold a "give back" event which will give the Foundation 20% of sales on December 14th, from 5:00 PM - 8:00 PM. We hope you will join us on the 14th for this special event. Kendra Scott will provide snacks and beverages during the event.


2016 Annual Appeal Ends December 31, 2016
As the end of the calendar year approaches, the Foundation for Lovejoy Schools would like to say thank you for your generosity to our annual appeal campaign. We have received donations from 561 donors totaling $169,509.75. This is just a little shy of our goal of $200,000 and 650 donors. If you haven't donated yet 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 experiences for Lovejoy students and staff.
ICYMI:  In Case You Missed It

This section of Email Express highlights news reports/articles in which Lovejoy has been featured over the previous week.


 
News

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.
 
 
Senior Project:  Meg Fuentes
Meg Fuentes, a Senior at Lovejoy High School, is working with the Crohn's and Colitis Foundation of America to raise money and awareness for Crohn's disease and Ulcerative Colitis.  Her goal is to help fund Camp Oasis, which sends sick kids to summer camp with other patients who suffer from these diseases, and ultimately to help those without a voice by letting them know they are not alone.  Click here to access Meg's fundraising page.  Help Meg reach her goal in finding a cure and giving a voice to those like her who have this silent but debilitating disease.
 
Substitute Nursing
Lovejoy ISD is currently accepting applications for substitute nurses.  The application may be found by clicking here .  Please contact Melissa Page with any questions at:  469.742.8013 or melissa_page@lovejoyisd.net .
 

 
Upcoming Events  


Lovejoy Cheerleaders Host Parent Night Out:  December 9
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.
 
 
BYOP® (Volleyball Winter and Spring Sessions): Pre-registration ends December 15
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. This program is geared for students from age 5 through age 10.
 
Click here for full details regarding Session 1 and Session 2.
 
 
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
 
Visit www.lovejoylacrosse.com for information regarding the program and the upcoming Spring season.
 
Hurry, as rosters are filling quickly!


 
Where Are They Now?

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.

Aaron Fuller - Class of 2016
Congratulations to Aaron Fuller, and the Washington Huskies on their Pac-12 Championship.  The Huskies will play Alabama on December 31st in round one of the BCS.  Aaron is featured on the regional cover of Sports Illustrated this week.  

 
Stay Connected  


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.
 
Love Where You Learn

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)