Lovejoy Community,
Significant challenges bring significant opportunities. The opportunity to deeply examine current state, assess alignment of practices with priorities, and collaboratively design our envisioned future. I am extremely proud of how our Financial Sustainability Committee continues to champion Lovejoy ISD’s legacy of excellence while focusing on a stronger financial future. Together, and with relentless focus is only way we will slay our financial dragon.
The Lovejoy Financial Sustainability Committee had their fourth meeting on Tuesday, March 15. I am extremely grateful for the investment of the over 40 parents, staff, and community members that are serving on this committee. Based on Financial Sustainability Committee member input, the following four categories of focus have been identified.
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I look forward to continued engagement with our Financial Sustainability Committee as we target specific actions within each area of focus that will move us toward our shared objective.
Dr. Jennifer Duplessis, Assistant Superintendent of Finance and Operations, will provide a public update on the March 15 meeting of the Financial Sustainability Committee as well as a budget update at the Board of Trustees meeting on Monday, March 28.
There is only ONE LOVEJOY and we are ALL LEOPARDS!
Lovejoy Proud,
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Katie Kordel
Superintendent
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Financial Sustainability Committee Members in Action on March 15. |
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FEBRUARY 24 INCLEMENT WEATHER UPDATES |
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Following the icy weather that closed schools on February 24, LISD will be requesting a bad weather day waiver from the Texas Education Agency. If this waiver is granted, our K-8 campuses will not make up this day. Lovejoy is eligible to file this waiver because our K-8 students will be attending school on April 18 and we added 3 minutes to the school day to address the days missed on February 3 & 4 due to inclement weather. |
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Following the bad weather that closed schools on February 3 & 4, the district added minutes to the K-8 school day to make up one of those days and will make up the other day on April 18. Lovejoy High School will make up one day on April 18, but did not need to add minutes to their school day at that time because they had additional minutes accumulated due to their longer school days.
After the February 24 bad weather that closed all campuses, Lovejoy High School is currently 105 minutes short of the 75,600 instructional minutes required by the State. The State requires campuses to make two adjustments to their calendar before applying for a bad weather day waiver. Since Lovejoy High School has not added minutes to the calendar to make up for these lost minutes, we are not eligible to apply for the bad weather waiver day for LHS. Therefore, we need to add additional minutes to the Lovejoy High School calendar. Lovejoy High School will add 35 minutes to the end of the early release days on May 24, 25, and 26th. Instead of dismissing at 1:00 PM, dismissal will be at 1:35 PM.
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We all want the very best for our students and that is why it is imperative for children to attend school regularly. When children are not in school, they miss out on engaging learning opportunities as well as important instructional knowledge and subject matter content. Regular attendance is also important to teacher-student interaction and engagement with peers. Setting good attendance patterns develops a valuable routine for students that benefits them now and into adulthood.
Additionally, Lovejoy ISD suffers financially when students miss school for non-essential reasons. Since in the State of Texas school districts are funded based on attendance, Lovejoy ISD is negatively impacted financially when our students are not present at 10:00 a.m. for attendance on their campus. Year to date, Lovejoy ISD has lost $1,368,517.50 in revenue based on attendance alone. As we continue to have district-wide discussions regarding our financial challenges, it is important to quantify that impact to the district. $1,368,517.50 would provide ALL of the following:
6 Teaching Positions
Staff Raises
Increase in the district contribution to employee medical benefits
300 Chromebooks
15 Classroom Libraries
For all of these reasons, we believe it is imperative that as a district we explore why our attendance is lower than our peers and what steps will be necessary to prioritize student learning and attendance.
What can you do to impact attendance?
- Review Lovejoy ISD’s school calendar and whenever possible schedule health care appointments and family trips/vacations before or after school, or during school breaks or holidays.
- When scheduling appointments with health care providers, choose a time that will allow your child to begin or end their day at school. A student who has an appointment with a health care provider, but attends school for a part of that same day and provides a care provider note, receives credit for attending the whole day.
- Switch between morning and afternoon appointments so that your child doesn’t miss the same class.
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The elementary campuses had an extra fun week filled with 3rd Grade field trip to the Arboretum, St. Patrick's Day, and Hart Talent Show! #OneHeartOneLovejoy |
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Hart Elementary School teachers perform their Mid-Year Convocation Lip-Sync routine in granny costumes!!! |
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Thank you to all the families that shared your heart-warming Spring Break pictures with us on Social Media! We are so grateful our families enjoyed quality time, adventures, and rest! |
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WORLD DOWN SYNDROME AWARENESS DAY |
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Lovejoy ISD - Wear your craziest socks on Monday, March 21 to celebrate and bring awareness to our friends with Down Syndrome.
#RockYourSocks #NotSpecialNeeds
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LHS One Act Play Advances! |
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The LHS One Act Play troupe will be advancing to the Bi-District competition on March 21st!
Congratulations to the directors, cast and crew of Silent Sky!
Special Awards:
Outstanding Technician
Logan “Haven” Berner
Honorable Mention All Star Cast
Jacob Smithwick
All Star Cast
Jillian Nuckels
Best Performer
Chloe “Kore” Russell
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Monica Bonilla Qualifies for State! |
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Please join us in congratulating Monica Bonilla for qualifying for State in powerlifting. She placed 2nd in 181 weight class for 5A division 2. She totaled 770 in three lifts and went up 70 lbs from her last meet! Monica also competed today in Corpus Christi and we are #LovejoyProud! |
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2022 Basketball Achievements! |
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- Karson Templin - 10-5A MVP
- Jax Thompson - 1st Team All-District
- Taiden Conner - 2nd Team All-District
- Kidus Getenet - 2nd Team All-District
- Pete Peabody - Honorable Mention All-District
- Academic All District:
- Juniors: Parker Patel, Kyle Sheehan, Jack Wood
- Seniors: Taiden Conner, Marco Gaccione, Pete Peabody, Jax Thompson
- Coaching Staff of the Year
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Over the past three weeks our Robotics Teams have been busy competing in multiple tournaments. Below is a summary of some of their MANY accomplishments!
- 1082C won Award of Excellence (Div 2) and also made the Semifinals (div 2) - both of which won them a world qualifying spot! They finished quals ranked 2nd.
- 1082X won Innovate Award (Div 2) and also made Semifinals (div 2) - both of which won them a world qualifying spot! They finished quals ranked 4th.
- 1082E won Amaze Award (Div 1) which won them a world qualifying spot! They also made quarterfinals and finished quals ranked 6th.
- 1082Y made Semifinals (Div 2) which won them a world qualifying spot! They finished quals ranked 17th.
- 10820B won Tournament Champion which won them a world qualifying spot! They finished quals ranked 12th.
- 10820J won Think Award which won them a world qualifying spot! They finished quals ranked 23rd.
- 10820A won Semifinals Award which won them a world qualifying spot! They finished quals ranked 7th.
- 10820F won Semifinals Award which won them a world qualifying spot! They finished quals ranked 9th.
- 10820H won Semifinals Award which won them a world qualifying spot! They finished quals ranked 25th.
Finally, Lovejoy sent 4 varsity teams to compete in a 5A competition on Tuesday in South Houston near NASA against 20 other teams from 5A schools. Next up, 10820B is traveling to an invitational MS tournament in Iowa on March 28-30.
- 1082E made Semis and finished quals ranked 19th.
- 1082C made Quarters and finished quals ranked 4th.
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- 1082X won Design Award, made Semis and finished quals ranked 5th.
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- 1082K won Innovate Award, made Semis and finished quals ranked 13th.
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Steven Emory, Puster Elementary School Marshal, is a phenomenal example of the deep service culture within our Lovejoy Staff Community. Steven jumped in to help a parent experiencing car troubles demonstrating how there is only ONE LOVEJOY and we are ALL LEOPARDS! Thank you, Steven, for your selfless contributions AND thank you to our community for lifting this positive action up on social media. |
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Board Brief - March 14, 2022 |
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Lovejoy ISD is committed to providing consistent, transparent communication with our community and employees. One avenue of communication is a timely presentation of Board Meeting minutes to our community. Follow the link below to view a summary of our most recent Regular Meeting notes.
In an effort to consolidate communications coming from the District, we will be including Board Meeting Invitations, as well as Board Briefs in Lovejoy's weekly Connect with Katie. We anticipate this streamlined communication will benefit families on multiple campuses, who receive a numerous campus/district communications.
*It is important to note that these are unofficial Board Minutes that have not been reviewed/approved by the Lovejoy ISD Board of Trustees.
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During the March 14th Board Workshop, Erin Perkins was approved for the position of Director of Elementary Education and Early Childhood. |
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May 7, 2022 School Board Election |
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The following positions will be on the May 7, 2022 ballot:
Position 1 currently held by Chad Collins
Position 2 currently held by Amy Smith
Position 3 currently held by Jeff Wood
The following people have submitted applications to file for a place on the General Election Ballot.
Position 1: Julie McLaughlin and Randy Naidoo
Position 2: Amy Smith
Position 3: Jeff Wood
For additional information regarding the Board of Trustees Election please visit our website HERE.
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Health and Safety Measures. For the most up-to-date information please visit Lovejoy ISD's 2021-2022 Health and Safety Measures website which may be found here.
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Additional Community News |
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For additional announcements, community events, and volunteer opportunities please visit our Lovejoy Community News Website linked below! |
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