Connect with Katie.01.26.2024.Issue23

Connect with Katie WEEKLY NEWS AND INFORMATION FROM THE SUPERINTENDENT

JANUARY 26, 2024

y o j e v o L s d r a p o e L

CONTENTS 04 MESSAGE FROM THE SUPERINTENDENT 06 SCHOOL BOARD APPRECIATION MONTH 09 THSCA COACH OF THE YEAR! 10 9TH ANNUAL LJVA PORTRAIT SHOW 11 LIVING LOVEJOY: LOVEJOY VISUAL ARTS 11 CCMR PARENT PRESENTATION 12 STEM IS SWEET! 13 LCDC REGISTRATION IS NOW OPEN! 13 ATTENDANCE UPDATE 15 DISTRICT CALENDAR

21 REGION BAND PERFORMANCE

22

A TASTE OF CULTURE

16 WRESTLING TAKES 5TH PLACE IN DUALS

17 POWERLIFTING PRIDE 18 FOR THE LOVE OF BOTS!

23 GIRLS SOCCER GOVERNOR’S CUP 24 HEART OF A TEACHER 27 BOARD MEETING SUMMARY 29 LEOPARD LIFE 35 CAMPUS NEWSLETTERS 35 COMMUNITY NEWS

MESSAGE from the Superintendent Lovejoy Community, Each January, we have the privilege of celebrating our dedicated Lovejoy ISD Board of Trustees during School Board Recognition Month. Lovejoy ISD Board Members provide a vital connection between our schools and the Lovejoy community. As elected community leaders and volunteers, our board members work selflessly on behalf of our students. Each of our seven board members truly exemplify servant leadership.

We have two special traditions in Lovejoy ISD during School Board Recognition Month. Our schools adopt a trustee and provide them with the opportunity to engage with students and staff. We love that during their school engagement visits trustees get to experience the incredible opportunities that their leadership and governance has made possible for our students.

We also hold a School Board Appreciation dinner where the The Lovejoy Visual Arts Program (LJVA) presents trustees with a unique gift that they created to honor the special and significant role of a school board trustee. This year, LJVA students used a casting technique called “draping” to create beautiful ceramic bowls. Each bowl was glazed with student quotes about acts of service that have made a difference in their lives. The quotes were gathered from visual arts students in classes at all of our schools.

Students also created stunning wood serving utensils from reclaimed walnut boards. LJVA students showed their dedication when the hardness of the wood required some additional carving time before and after school. Service is a core belief in the Lovejoy Visual Arts Program which is fitting given they used their artistic gifts to create a work that represents the service and care our Board of Trustees gives through their time, talent, and commitment to our community.

A special thank you to Brice McCasland, LJVA Coordinator, Lauren Rivera, LJVA Teacher, the LJVA Gallery Managers, and LJVA students for making this meaningful recognition possible.

There is only ONE LOVEJOY and we are ALL LEOPARDS! Lovejoy Proud,

Katie Kordel Superintendent

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THSCA COACH OF THE YEAR! Congratulations to Natalie Puckett, Head Volleyball Coach, on receiving the 2023-2024 THSCA Volleyball Coach of the Year presented by Texas Farm Bureau Insurance! Lovejoy ISD is extremely proud of you and grateful for your tremendous impact on our athletes and volleyball program.

Lovejoy Visual Arts would like to invite you to the 9th Annual Portrait Show; February 6th from 5-7pm. This collection of work is an investigation of the concepts of identity and self through the eyes and hands of students of all ages and stages of exploration in LJVA. Whether dealing with honest representation or the languages of abstraction and symbolism, the work chosen for this exhibition speaks to the ever-evolving idea of how we see ourselves and the world around us.

This carefully selected exhibition is a celebration of the diversity and personal experience that is found within our student body and Lovejoy community.

Please join us to celebrate these selected artists at the Lovejoy High School Gallery opening, Tuesday, February 6th from 5-7pm. If you are unable to attend the night of the opening, the exhibition will be up for viewing until February 13th during school hours.

LIVING LOVEJOY: TRUSTEE GIFTS

CCMR PARENT PRESENTATION Thank you to all of our parents who came to our CCMR Parent Presentation #3 on Wednesday night.

Lots of important topics, including understanding course selection, GPA policy, and post secondary planning were discussed.

A BIG thank you to our PTSO for sponsoring the event!

STEM IS SWEET!

Rube Goldberg

The Sweet Life of a Candy Chemist

LCDC REGISTRATION IS NOW OPEN!

ATTENDANCE UPDATE Strong school attendance is correlated with higher academic performance.

Additionally, average Daily Attendance (ADA) is a metric that the State of Texas uses to determine funding for public schools. Each week, this attendance data will be updated so our community is aware of our most recent ADA.

CONNECTING LOCAL BUSINESSES AND THE LOVEJOY COMMUNITY WHILE SUPPORTING LOVEJOY ISD THROUGH REVENUE GENERATION The Lovejoy ISD Community Partner program is a new way for local businesses to support Lovejoy ISD and connect with the Lovejoy Community! Community Partner advertisements are featured in our weekly District newsletter, Connect with Katie, Living Lovejoy videos, and District Social Media.

Interested in becoming a Community Partner?

Click HERE to learn more!

DISTRICT CALENDAR

CALENDAR EVENT LINKS

STUDENT CALENDAR

DISTRICT CALENDAR

CAMPUS CALENDARS

ATHLETICS CALENDAR

FINE ARTS CALENDAR

Campus, District, and Athletics Calendars are linked above for the convenience of our community. *Please note event dates, times and locations are subject to change and should be verified by participants.

WRESTLING TAKES 5TH PLACE IN DUALS Congratulations to the Lovejoy Varsity wrestling team took 5th in the State Duals on Saturday, January 20th!

POWERLIFTING PRIDE Our boys and girls had a great 1st meet in Princeton last week. We had a lot of personal best from everyone on the team. We look forward to competing again next week. Our girls will go to Wylie on Thursday February 1st and our boys will be at Prosper Saturday February 3rd.

Here are our results from the meet.

Boys: Luke Susman - 1st Place in the 198 division Gavin Prince - 2nd in the 220 division Ben Susman - 3rd in the 198 division Ty Smith - 4th in the 220 Girls: Reese Wallace - 1st in the 148 division Teni Segun - 4th in the 148 division Carys Evans - 1st in the 123 (Unequipped: which means no equipment used)

FOR THE LOVE OF BOTS! Lovejoy Robotics competed with 6 teams this past Saturday at the Wylie VRC Tournament and we're so proud to share that 1082E [ Carbonated Potato ] won the Tournament Championship! 1082R finished 2nd in Skills and as a Tournament Finalist and also brought home one of the top awards.. the Design Award! 1082J had a strong day competing with lots of effort and ended as Semifinalists and as the 3rd ranked team overall.. and they also won the Build Award! 1082S was a Semi-Finalist and 4th in skills and 1082M was 3rd in skills rank with a finish of Quarterfinalist. 1082H had their strongest showing yet and ended as a Quarterfinalist as well! We are #LovejoyProud of all these amazing students and we're excited at what is next for them.

1082E

1082R

1082J

Please join us this Saturday, Jan. 27th at Lovejoy High School to watch your Lovejoy Robotics teams compete against top teams around North Texas. The tournament begins at 8:45 AM in the LHS Main Gym and the elimination rounds begin at 3:30 PM. We hope to see you there to cheer on our teams!

HOSA WINNERS ADVANCE TO STATE! Last weekend, Lovejoy ISD HOSA students participated in the HOSA Area 3 Leadership Conference. We are extremely proud of all our HOSA students who were involved. Three Lovejoy High School HOSA members advancing to the State Leadership Conference in Galveston, Texas!

Layne Dechant and Mila Kamali (pictured together) advanced in Health Education.

Saankya Jagarlapudi advanced in the Research poster competition.

REGION BAND PERFORMANCE The LHS Region Band performed and did an amazing job! The clinicians were very impressed with our students’ playing ability and rehearsal etiquette. All of our Lovejoy Region Band members represented our community with pride and poise! Congratulations to all!

Freshman Band Mr. Cody Newman, conductor Rachel Akinfolarin, trombone Shounak Guduguntla, trumpet Devin Goins, percussion

Wind Ensemble Dr. Kevin Sedatole, conductor Anup Ghumman, percussion Max Rattleff, percussion Justin Poteet, tuba

Wind Symphony Dr. Jaclyn Hartenberger, conductor Megan Lyons, horn Adrian Phan, tenor sax Mihaya Sakai, flute Caleb Born, clarinet Ian Marshall, bass clarinet Emily Dillon, clarinet Jack Kuhn, trombone Philip Daverio, trumpet Merryn Berner, percussion

Symphonic Band Dr. Kelli Pence, conductor Sarah Gable, clarinet Adam Kent, trumpet

A TASTE OF CULTURE On Friday, January 19, the Lovejoy High School PTSO hosted a Taste of Culture as part of Student Council's Diversity Week. A dozen different dishes were offered to students, including savories like samosas (Indian) and jambalaya (Cajun) and sweets like baklava (Egyptian) and tres leches cake (Mexican). About 250 students sampled foods from around the world with no passport needed!

We appreciate the volunteers who worked hard to prepare and serve these dishes, and the administration for their support of enrichment opportunities like these.

GIRLS SOCCER GOVERNOR’S CUP Last week the Girls Varsity Soccer Team traveled to Georgetown to play against some top competition in the Governor's Cup. In their first game, vs. Smithson Valley, the girls won 1-0 thanks to a late goal scored by Bailee Neatherlin and assisted by Gracyn Thompson. In their second game, vs. Abilene, the girls won 30 thanks to three early first half goals scored by Katie Manders, Lainey Pierce/Margo Chester, and Kylee Dziubinski. Assists were by Kylee Dziubinski, Nicole Young, and Kenzie Lavender. In their third game, the girls tied Highland Park 0-0. Goalkeepers, Natalie Lenart and Kenlea Swadener, collected three clean sheets with support from defenders Margo Chester, Bailee Neatherlin, Katie Manders, Nicole Young, Natalie Burns, Josselyn Schuler, Brenna Wallace, and holding midfielders Hannah Daehnert and Ainsley Johnson.

District starts on Friday, 1/26, vs. Melissa at Kenny Deel Stadium. Varsity kicks off at 5:30 p.m. and JV at 7:15 p.m.

BOARD MEETING SUMMARY

Lovejoy ISD is committed to providing consistent, transparent communication with our community and employees. We hope this meeting summary will support you in staying connected and informed. Click the image on the left to open the summary in Google Docs.

Regular Board Meetings and Workshops are now recorded and archived on the Lovejoy ISD website. You can access Regular Board Meeting and Workshop recordings by clicking the image on the right.

The full Regular Board Meeting agenda with supporting documents may be viewed by clicking the image on the left.

BOARD MEETING RECOGNITIONS

The pledges will be led by Hart Elementary School 3rd Grader, William Rios.

January is School Board Recognition Month. Lovejoy ISD students, staff and administration are proud to recognize our Board of Trustees for their outstanding leadership and service.

The Lovejoy Visual Arts Program (LJVA) was recognized for the unique gift that they created to honor the special and significant role of a school board trustee.

Leopard Life

LOVEJOY LINKS

LOVEJOY THEATRE: THE WIZARD OF OZ

ANNUAL STEM FESTIVAL 02.24.24

Leopard Life

LOVEJOY LINKS

PRE-K REGISTRATION OPEN!

LOVEJOY LACROSSE

STUDENT COUNCIL BLOOD DRIVE

Leopard Life

LOVEJOY LINKS

NUTRITION NEWS

ORCHESTRA SPIRIT

SAT TEST PREP

KINDER G/T REFERRALS

Leopard Life

LOVEJOY LINKS

MCCU DEBIT CARD DESIGN CONTEST Lovejoy ISD recently entered into a partnership with My Community Credit Union. This partnership is intended to enhance student opportunities in the areas of financial literacy and provide hands-on learning experiences for future careers related to finance. An MCCU branch is scheduled to open at Lovejoy High School in the fall of 2024.

Card Size: 2-1/8 by 3-3/8

Scan the QR Code for Official Rules and additional details, or visit mccu.coop/lovejoy.

On Friday, October 27th, MCCU kicked off their Debit Card Design Contest. The contest is open to all Lovejoy ISD students. Three debit card design winners will be selected representing grades K-5, 6-8, and 9-12. The winners will have their designs on our Lovejoy Leopard MCCU Debit Cards and will receive a $100 gift card!

Contest Rules: Must be an original image/design/artwork.

Participants may submit up to 2 designs.

Parent consent is required.

Submissions are due to marketing@mccu.coop by midnight on February 29.

BUMP UP DAY: FEBRUARY 16TH Sloan Creek Intermediate, Willow Springs Middle School, and Lovejoy High School will host 4th, 6th, and 8th graders on Friday, February 16, 2024 for Lovejoy ISD’s Annual Bump Up Day. Bump Up Day was created to assist students with transitioning to a new campus and to help generate excitement for the new experiences t hey will have. Students will travel to the campus they will be attending for the 2024-2025 school year and have the opportunity to tour the campus, ask questions, and eat lunch. Students will be able to charge lunch and any a la carte/snacks purchases to their lunch account during their visit to their Bump Up school. Please make sure funds are available in your student's lunch account. Lunch prices for students visiting Sloan Creek IS or Willow Springs MS will be $4.00 for a regular meal or $4.75 for a premium meal. Lunch prices for students visiting the high school will be $4.50 for a regular meal or $5.25 for a premium meal. A la carte/snack prices vary. Please refer to this document for specific pricing.

Leopard Life

LOVEJOY LINKS

EXTENDED DAY LEOPARD ACADEMY Leopard Academy is an opportunity for your child to participate in enrichment activities on his or her campus before and after school. Our goal is that these enrichment opportunities will allow our Lovejoy Leopards to develop creativity and critical thinking skills through activities related to their personal interests.

Registration is open for the following academies for students in first through 6th grade. Choose from one of the links below for more information.

Board and Card Game Academy Yo Yo Academy

COMMUNITY COFFEE TALKS This is an opportunity for parents and community members to connect with Lovejoy ISD Trustees and Superintendent Katie Kordel in an informal setting.

During Community Coffee Talks, Lovejoy ISD leadership listens, shares and engages in open dialogue/discussion with our community.

August 29, 2023 6:00 p.m. - 7:00 p.m.

Sloan Creek Intermediate

February 28, 2024 8:00 a.m. - 9:00 a.m.

Lovejoy High School

November 30, 2023 12:00 p.m. - 1:00 p.m.

Hart Elementary School

April 30, 2024 9:00 a.m. - 10:00 a.m.

Willow Springs Middle School

Leopard Life

LOVEJOY LINKS

ALUMNI SPOTLIGHT Calling all Lovejoy Alumni! The Lovejoy Independent School District is excited to engage former LISD students and our community through Alumni spotlights in the district newsletter, as well as LISD social media. Alumni spotlights are a fun way for the district to celebrate our students' educational, professional, and personal journeys after graduation. If you wish to participate, please complete this form for our LISD Communications Department.

ALUMNI SPOTLIGHT INTEREST FORM

Lovejoy ISD is proud to continue facilitating student opportunities through the Professional-to-Student Engagement Portal. Sign-up and share your talents!

Lovejoy Community Professionals: Who are Lovejoy Community Professionals?

Engage with students by sharing their Industry & Business Leaders expertise and knowledge Parents Mentor students through various Lovejoy Alumni career and college ready experiences Lovejoy Neighbors Strengthen students skills in the areas Senior Community Members of communication, collaboration, Heritage Ranch Community Members critical thinking and problem solving Family Members of Lovejoy Students Build leadership skills, develop self confidence

DISTRICT & CAMPUS NEWSLETTERS Lovejoy ISD is committed to creating strong connections and providing clear communication with our Lovejoy parents and families. Below you will find links to the most recent newsletters from each campus. Sign up for weekly Principal Newsletters here to stay informed!

DISTRICT NEWSLETTER Connect with Katie

SLOAN CREEK INTERMEDIATE Principal Newsletter

HART ELEMENTARY Principal Newsletter

WILLOW SPRINGS MIDDLE Principal Newsletter

PUSTER ELEMENTARY Principal Newsletter

LOVEJOY HIGH SCHOOL Principal Newsletter

Leopard Life

COMMUNITY NEWS

The Lovejoy ISD Community News website is intended to facilitate connections and raise awareness of local events, activities, fundraisers and organizations that might interest Lovejoy families.

The information featured on the Community News website is submitted by community members. Lovejoy ISD is not affiliated with the organizations and does not claim to endorse them.

CLICK HERE

Connect with Katie . January 26, 2024. Issue 23