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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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Ready or not, summer is just around the corner. We will graduate the Class of 2018 on Saturday, June 2nd, at the Allen Convention Center. If you have not yet attended one of our tradition-laden graduation ceremonies, I would encourage you to attend.
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I often hear discussions regarding whether student athletes should focus on one sport in high school as opposed to playing two or more. While this is not definitive information, the recent NFL Draft may provide some useful information. Twenty-nine of the 32 first-round draft picks were two-sport athletes and 14 of the 29 were three-sport athletes.
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U.S. News and World Report
Ranks Lovejoy High School
#231 in the Nation
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U.S. News and World Report released their 2018 rankings of the Best High Schools in the nation this morning. We are proud to announce Lovejoy High School is ranked #231 in the Nation and #45 in Texas.
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Lovejoy Country Run
Saturday, May 12th
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Join us for the 12th Annual Running with the Leopards Country Run this Saturday, May 12th at Lovejoy High School. The 1k Fun Run will begin at 7:30 AM and the 5k Run will begin at 8:00 AM at Leopard Stadium. The Country Run is coordinated by Lovejoy Leopards, Inc. (LLI) and benefits the Lovejoy athletic booster clubs. Please
click here
to register. If your business is interested in sponsoring the Country Run, please
click here
for the sponsorship form.
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Computer Science Team
Takes 2nd at State
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The Lovejoy Computer Science team traveled to Austin to compete in the UIL State Academic Computer Science contest after placing 1st at the Regional competition in April.
The Lovejoy Team placed 2nd in the team event which consisted of the written test and programming competitions. Pictured below: Andrew Chang, Sam Bell, Coach Pam Ford, Mark Wen, and Kyle Sorstokke.
On the Computer Science written portion, two students earned top spots for Lovejoy at the State meet. Mark Wen took 2nd place:
and Sam Bell took 3rd place:
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Journalism Students
Place at State
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Senior Hannah Ortega and sophomore Kelsey Carroll both placed at the UIL State Academic Meet in Austin on Friday. Ortega took third in headline writing in class 5A. Carroll placed fourth in feature writing. Ortega also qualified for state in feature writing. It was the second consecutive trip to Austin for the pair as both qualified for state in feature last year. Lovejoy finished fourth overall in the journalism team competition. Both have qualified with enough points to be named to the UIL All-State journalism staff for a second straight year along with junior Parker Nolan. Sophomore Lily Hager has also qualified for the All-State staff.
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Red Ledger and Lovejoy News Network
Receives Gold, Silver and Bronze
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The Red Ledger
received
seven Tops in Texas awards
, 15 golds, six silvers, three bronzes, and eight honorable mentions out of 26 total categories in the 5A online division from the
Interscholastic League Press Conference (ILPC)
on Saturday, May 5, at the state convention in Austin. The Lovejoy News Network also received two honorable mentions.
The Tops in Texas award can be described as the "best of the firsts". In presenting the award, the first place winners from the MS, 1A, 2A, 3A, 4A, 5A, and 6A conferences in a certain category, such as sports feature, are compared and one of the six is crowned as the best example of that certain category in the state. All the Tops in Texas winners' work will be published in a special booklet from ILPC.
Senior Anna Stockton and 2017 graduate Caroline Smith took third in
news feature
behind Sanders. Sophomore Lily Hager received second in
sports feature story
behind Ortega and an honorable mention in
editorial writing
. Nick Smith received an honorable mention in sports news story, and sophomore Hannah D'Iorio took second in
feature writing
behind Carroll.
Junior Avery Degenhardt won
second in computer art
, and senior Carson Lewis received an honorable mention in the same category. In infographics/sidebar, senior Emma Overholt
won first
, and senior Sophie Starnes and 2017 graduate Will Anderson received an honorable mention.
Seniors Grant Dennis and Bradley Davis
won first
in video story, and Nolan and senior Falyn Brothers
won second
in the same category. Sophomore Shivani Radhakrishnan
took second
in multimedia package.
For the Lovejoy News Network, junior Sylvia Hansen took home an honorable mention in documentary, and Dennis received an honorable mention in intro sequence.
The Red Ledger was also one of only five online publications in the state to receive the
Gold Star Award
, which is ILPC's highest honor. Both broadcast and newspaper received the state's top rating, the Award of Distinguished Merit, as well.
The newspaper and broadcast staffs have won more than 150 awards this year, including
picking up 65 "Best in Texas" awards
from the Texas Association of Journalism Educators in March.
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Award-Winning
WSMS Journalism Students
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Leopard Life
Congratulations to LeopardLife print newspaper/newsmagazine and online news site for earning 32 gold, silver and bronze combined individual awards at the ILPC convention in Austin. You may
click here
to view the full listing of ILPC Awards.
The publication also earned a 3rd place finish for Middle School and Junior High publications in the National Student Press Association Best of Show category at the Journalism Educators Association and NSPA convention in San Francisco. Additionally, the publication was awarded 3rd place during the fall JEA/NSPA show in Dallas.
Pictured below (from left) are LeopardLife staff: Ailsa Kokoricha, Editor-in-Chief, Parker Post and Lindsey Hughes, managing editors; and Claire Easley, Editor-In- Chief. Photo by Eliza Coit, yearbook photo editor.
Broadcast Journalism
The Broadcast Journalism program, WSMS TV News, received its first ever "Broadcast Distinguished Merit" UIL Texas rating. Only 12 schools received this honor, two of which were middle schools and the remainder were 5A and 6A high schools. You may
click here
for full results.
For UIL ILPC individual awards, please
click here
.
Gold
Individual On-Air Talent - Kendall Carll
Technical Directing - AnnaBeth Smith
General News Writing - Ailsa Kokoricha
Silver
General Sports Writing - All Sports Staff
Anchor Team Presentation - Kendall Carll, Brinley Eckols
Daily Announcements - WSMS Staff
Bronze
Graphics - Eric Wang, Hannah Brookshire, Ailsa Kokoricha
Honorable Mention
General Feature Writing - Ainsley Abernathy, Cheney Roberts
Media students placed in all 4 categories of the JEA National Middle School Contests: News Story, Feature, Sports, and Documentary with 10 total awards. You may
click here
for details.
Rosette Yearbook
The Rosette Yearbook from WSMS placed in the top 10, receiving 8th at the national show in Dallas.
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A Great Season for
Leopard Lacrosse
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Boys 5th/6th Grade Teams
The Lovejoy Lacrosse boys 5th/6th grade Black Team won the DFW Youth Lacrosse League D2 City Championship. The playoffs were held on the weekend of April 28th - 29th in Frisco. During the regular season, the 5th/6th grade Black Team had a record of 12-1. During the playoffs, the team went 4-0 beating Southlake, Coppell, Prosper, and Highland Park in the championship game.
The Lovejoy Lacrosse boys 5th/6th grade Red Team finished the regular season 7-2-1 and went 5-0 in their division. The 5th/6th Red Team also qualified for the DFW Youth Lacrosse League D3 city playoffs. During the playoffs, the team made it to the Quarterfinal round, losing to Southlake.
Boys 7th/8th Grade Teams
The Lovejoy Lacrosse boys 7th/8th grade team won the DFW Youth Lacrosse League D2 City Championship. The playoffs were held on the weekend of April 28-29 in Frisco, Texas. During the regular season, the 7th/8th grade team had a record of 9-1. During the playoffs, the team went 4-0 beating St. Mark's, Frisco, Prosper, and Trinity Valley (Fort Worth) in the championship game.
Varsity Team
Under first year coach, Andrew Hodgson, the Varsity team finished the regular season with a 7-6 record and qualified for the Texas High School Lacrosse League State Playoffs as the #9 seed. The Varsity team lost to Highland Park in the first round of playoffs.
Sophomore midfielder, Trevor Batastini, received All-District Honors from the Texas High School Lacrosse League for the 2018 Spring season.
Freshman attackman, Garrett Haas, received Honorable Mention from the Texas High School Lacrosse League for the 2018 Spring season.
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KWHS Investment Competition
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A team of four Lovejoy juniors was invited to compete in the global finals of the KWHS Investment Competition hosted by The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.
Medici Capital was comprised of Andrew Chang, Collins Morgan, Seth Roundtree and team captain, Rithik Tangella. The team attended a day of investment training, followed by a full day of portfolio presentations from 18 international teams. Medici Capital was the only student-led group in the finals, which allows for coaches and investment mentors, and placed as follows:
2nd Place Region 3 (The Americans, Europe, Africa & Oceania)
Top 8 Globally
Greatest portfolio gain globally (72% return)
First team to represent Texas in the KWHS finals
The KWHS competition is "judged on the development of an investment strategy and how well students articulate their strategy in writing, not on the percentage gain of the portfolio." Students began with $100,000 to manage in Wharton's OTIS simulator over a ten week period, as they competed against 1,500 teams worldwide.
Click here
to learn more about the competition.
Pictured below are Seth Roundtree, Rithik Tangella and Collins Morgan.
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Foundation for Lovejoy Schools
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Denim and Diamonds 2019
Planning for Denim and Diamonds 2019, which will be Saturday, February 2nd at the Marriott Legacy Town Center in Plano, is now underway. The Foundation is gathering ideas and working on some new, fun and exciting things for next year's event.
The Foundation is requesting your input and help. If you are interested in learning more about the different areas in which you may serve or just want to provide feedback, this is an opportunity for you. Please join us for a lite lunch tomorrow, May 10th at Rick's Chophouse in McKinney at 11:30 AM. This will be a great time to talk about Denim and Diamonds, answer questions, listen to ideas, and plan for next year.
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A Message From
The Deputy Superintendent
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Thank You to the Lovejoy Foundation
and Community for Invest in Excellence
 Dear Lovejoy Community:
As we approach the end of the school year, it is time again for a very important tradition which occurs during the month of May. Our partnership with the Foundation for Lovejoy Schools (FLS) is one of the cornerstones which makes Lovejoy a very special school district and community. Later this month, the FLS Grant Patrol will be surprising teachers to let them know their grants to enhance the education of Lovejoy students will be funded for the 2018-19 school year.
In February, teachers who serve on the Invest in Excellence grant committee, prioritized the grants submitted by our teachers in January. The Invest in Excellence committee reviewed and rank-ordered the grants which request more than $5,000 from the Foundation for Lovejoy Schools. As a reminder, Invest in Excellence is a process which began in partnership with our Foundation for Lovejoy Schools ten years ago to ensure the generous donations of the community are continually impacting our district programs. Invest in Excellence is a teacher-driven process which exemplifies the strong partnership between the Foundation and the District.
Based on the available funds raised from both the Annual Appeal and the Denim & Diamonds Gala, the Foundation Grant Committee and the Foundation Board have determined which grant submissions will be funded for the upcoming school year. Fortunately, a large number of the prioritized grant submissions are filled through the tremendous generosity of the Lovejoy community.
Now that funding decisions have been made, later this month the board members of the FLS will surprise teachers at the campuses or in their classrooms with their annual Grant Patrol. In the coming weeks, we hope you hear exciting stories from your students about their teachers being surprised by the FLS Grant Patrol.
Thank you to each board member of the Foundation for Lovejoy Schools for your hard work and continual commitment to Lovejoy ISD. Also, thank you to the many generous parents and community members who make our teachers' dreams of continuously improving the educational experience of Lovejoy students come true by funding their grant requests.
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
Deputy Superintendent
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Lovejoy Baseball
The Leopard Varsity Baseball Team competed in the first round of the 2018 UIL State Baseball Tournament this past Thursday and Friday against the Texarkana Texas High Tigers. Game 1 was played at Leopard Park on Wednesday, May 2nd, with the Leopards falling to the Tigers 8-2. The Leopards traveled to Texarkana's Tiger Field for game 2 on Friday, May 4th. The Leopards lost a very tough Game 2 by the score of 3-0. The Leopards had another successful season, making the State Playoffs for the second straight year. Many players will return for the 2019 Baseball campaign. Congratulations to our Leopard Baseball Team.
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LHS Golf
Allie Bianchi
continues to prepare for the 2018 UIL State Golf Tournament appearance and competition on May 21st and May 22nd at the White Wing Golf Club in Georgetown.
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LHS Track
Three Lovejoy athletes will compete in the UIL State Track Meet in Austin on May 11th and 12th.
Grace Ridgeway
Pole Vault
Will Muirhead
1600m
Chase Van Wagoner
Long Jump
For those unable to travel to Austin for the State Track and Field Championships this weekend, NFHS is televising the event online. You may
click here
for additional information.
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LHS Wrestling
This past weekend, five high school and two middle school wrestlers competed in the Texas Freestyle State Championship. Competing in the women's division were sophomore Katherine Heath and junior Lilly Musselman. Both women won matches in the tournament but fell just short of placing. Competing in the middle school age-division were 7th grader Brindley Eaton and 8th grader Ella Musselman. Musselman capped off a great year with another State placement as the bronze medal winner. Eaton finishes off another state championship with a gold medal. This marks the second time Brindley finishes the rare "double" champ, winning the freestyle and folkstyle state championships in the same year. Competing in the men's division were freshmen Jack McKinney and Jakob Underwood as well as sophomore Grant Sessions. McKinney and Sessions both wrestled well in tough brackets, but did not place. Underwood placed 4th in the state in his bracket, wrestling well throughout. Jakob completes his season having placed in every tournament he entered this spring.
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This section of Email Express highlights news reports/articles featuring Lovejoy over the previous week.
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Important News From Student Nutrition
Regarding Change in Student Meal Accounts
In an effort to help minimize negative balances at the end of the school year, beginning Monday, May 14th, and for the remainder of the school year, students will no longer be able to charge meals which result in the student incurring a negative meal account balance. Students may continue to use their lunch accounts as long as they have a positive meal account balance. Households with students who currently have negative balances will receive reminder emails and phone calls. Federal regulations prohibit us from rolling over negative balances to the next school year. Please arrange to remit payment for any negative balances your child may have incurred.
All positive balances will be rolled over to next school year. If you have a graduating senior, funds may be transferred to any sibling in the school district. To request a meal account refund, please complete a refund request form, located on the Student Nutrition website. For assistance, please contact us at 469.742.8041.
The Department of Student Nutrition Services thanks you for your understanding and for allowing us to serve your student(s) this school year.
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Sports Physicals and Cardiac Screening
The Lovejoy Sports Medicine Department is offering sports physicals and hosting "Who We Play For" for cardiac screenings. Physicals and cardiac screens are open to all 2018 - 2019 incoming 7th - 12th grade student athletes. A parent or guardian should attend the physical/screening with the student to sign permission forms.
Saturday, July 21, 2018
Willow Springs Middle School
1101 W. Lucas Road, Lucas, TX 75002
$20 per student for physicals
(Please make check payable to Lovejoy Athletics)
$15 per student for cardiac screen
(Please make check payable to Who We Play For)
Please
click here
to RSVP for each student registering for a physical and/or cardiac screen. Space is limited and registration will close when capacity is full.
Payment and consent forms are due at Willow Springs Middle School on Saturday, July 21st. Only cash or checks will be accepted. Payment may not be made by credit/debit card.
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Summer Enrichment Camps
Online registration is now open for Summer Enrichment camps. Click here for a complete listing of camp offerings and additional information.
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Lovejoy Summer Athletic Camps
Registration is open for Lovejoy ISD Summer Athletic Camps.
Click here
for details.
Lovejoy Athletics is pleased to announce its partnership with Geno Pierce's Performance Course for the 2018-2019 school year. Performance Course brings with it a proven track record of championship success. Performance Course offers many different courses from high-intensity to foundational programs.
There is something for everyone.
Click here
for details and registration links.
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Kids 1st Summer Camp
Kids 1st is now accepting registrations for summer camp.
Click here
for additional information.
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Lovejoy High School Musical Theatre Camp
The Lovejoy High School Theatre Department will produce Disney's The Jungle Book - Kids this summer.
Students will work together to produce and perform Disney's The Jungle Book- Kids. Students will develop confidence, sharpen their musical and theatrical skills, and create wonderful memories along the way. Directed by Jessica Brewster, LHS Head Theatre Director, and musically directed by Anne Tracy, Puster Elementary Music Specialist, this show will be an unforgettable experience.
There are three camp opportunities available, which will run simultaneously:
● Lovejoy HS Summer Musical Theatre Camp
- for students completing 3rd grade through 6th grade who want to perform on stage.
● Lovejoy HS Summer Technical Theatre Camp
- for students completing 3rd grade through 6th grade who want to work behind the scenes.
● Lovejoy HS Summer Musical Theatre Intern Camp
- for students completing 7th grade through 8th grade who want to work with the LHS Theatre staff to produce the show.
You may
click here
for additional information and for registration.
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Swim Camps
Metroplex Aquatics will host summer camps:
June 4th - June 22nd
June 25th - July 13th
July 16th - August 3rd
The camps are open to all levels of swimmers who are able to swim 1 length of the pool without stopping or holding onto the lane rope. For additional information, please
click here
.
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Sewing Camp
Join the fun at Summer Sewing Camps to be held at Willow Springs Middle School. Sewing Basics 101 teaches machine and tool basics while making a pillowcase and PJs. Sewing Skills Builder 201 continues to develop your skills with your choice of an individualized project. Choose 1, 2 or all 3 sessions, which will take place in June and July. To reserve your spot, email
[email protected]
. Hurry, as sessions will fill quickly.
Click here
for additional information and to learn more about the special 3rd week option: a t-shirt quilt.
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LHS and WSMS School Store Spring Sale
Don't miss the LHS and WSMS School Store Spring Sales. Save 50% on all in-stock merchandise. Store hours are as follows:
LHS Store - Monday - Friday - 8:30 AM - 4:15 PM
WSMS Store - Monday, Tuesday, Thursday - 11:15 AM - 1:15 PM
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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:
[email protected]
. P.S. Dogs are welcome.
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Safety and Security
Safety and security remain our highest priorities. We have specific plans at each campus in response to a security breach. We continue to consider additional measures to address both the perception of safety, as well as the actual safety on every campus.
We would like to ask for your assistance. If you have information about a threat to the safety of a student, staff member, campus, or the district, we ask you to report it.
SafeSchools is our online safety compliance program, which is specifically designed for school use, incident management, and bullying reporting. This program allows students, staff, and parents to report tips on bullying, harassment, intimidation, weapons, drugs, or other threats to school safety by e-mail, via website, text, or by calling 469.919.5861. This system allows us to stay connected and to prevent incidents before they occur. Staff are immediately notified of every tip, and can effectively track and manage incidents to resolution in this web-based system. Multiple administrators throughout the district monitor submissions to assure entries are addressed in a timely manner. Once a tip is entered, tipsters can easily check on the status of their tip and remain anonymous. School officials are notified through e-mail when tips are created and/or updated.
Posters are displayed in every classroom and hallways throughout each of the Lovejoy campuses, providing information as to how to enter a tip.
If you have information about a threat to our safety, do your part and report it. Please remember, you may remain anonymous.
As always, your questions, concerns, and suggestions regarding school security are welcome. Please email, text or call me with your thoughts. My cell number is 972.415.8129.
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Treasured Vessels Foundation
May 10th
The Treasured Vessels Foundation (TVF) is a local, non-profit which assists adolescent girls who have been recovered from domestic sex trafficking. TVF is building a secure community of tiny homes which will provide 24/7 therapeutic programing, with an emphasis in trauma-specific care. The program provides the tools these children need to develop a vision for a new, healthy, happy, and independent life.
You are invited to partner with TVF tomorrow evening, May 10th at Tupps Brewery for a benefit concert featuring Emerald City Band and Lovejoy band "Friday Night School". You may purchase tickets at the box office or through Ticketmaster.
Click here
for additional information.
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LHS Choir Pop Show
May 18th and 19th
Did you love The Greatest Showman? Can't stop humming the songs of Bruno Mars? Wish you could go back to those simpler times before One Direction split up? Then you'll definitely want to get your tickets to the Lovejoy High School Choir Pop Show 2018: Soundtrack of our Lives. The show runs two nights, Friday, May 18th and Saturday, May 19th at 7:00 PM in the Lovejoy High School Auditorium. The pre-show will begin at 6:30 PM. Tickets are $8 for adults and $5 for students, staff and seniors. You may
click here
to access the Fine Arts Box Office and Ticket Sales website.
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WSMS Choir
May 21st
Join the Willow Springs Middle School Choir for the 2018 Pop Show.
Click here
to purchase tickets.
The Greatest Pop Show
May 21, 2018 - 7:00 PM
(6:40 PM Pre-Show)
Lovejoy HS Auditorium
Tickets are $5.00 online (with a $2.00 fee)
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LHS Visual Art Show
May 26th
You are invited to attend the 9th Annual LJVA AP Studio Art Exhibit in Fairview Town Center, May 26th from 5:00 - 9:00 PM. This exhibition is a celebration of the personal bodies of work created by Lovejoy High School AP 2D and AP Drawing students. The work created by these artists is thoughtful, expansive, and far beyond conventional. Please note: the Advanced Placement Art courses are intended to prepare students at the collegiate level of performance and some artwork may contain mature themes. Please come by to experience this one-night opening and congratulate the artists on a phenomenal year of work.
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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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Ben Prengler - Class of 2015
Ben is currently attending SMU in the Tower Scholar Program. He studied abroad last summer at Oxford and will be interning in the White House this summer.
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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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