Connect with Katie.01.31.2025.Issue24 by Lovejoy ISD

Connect with Katie

JANUARY 31, 2025

Lovejoy Lovejoy Leopards Leopards

LovejoyCommunity,

LovejoyISD’sLegacyofExcellencecontinues!We are the proud home of the 5A UIL VEX Robotics State Champions! Congratulations to our Robotics competitors and Coach Bryan Sparrow on this truly remarkable achievement. Combined, Lovejoy High School Robotics only lostonematch,andthatwaswhenwewereina match against each other! Lovejoy High School RoboticsearnedtheStateChampionshipaswell as asfirstandsecondplaceawardsinskills.

BondPlanningCommittee:FinalMeeting

In Lovejoy ISD, we believe in providing excellent student opportunities, prioritizing safety and security, supporting our students and teachers with the tools they need to succeed, and emphasizing efficient operations. On Tuesday, our community-based Bond Planning Committee held their final meeting. The committeeincludesparents,students,andcommunitymembers.Thepurposeof the Bond Planning Committee was to develop a clear vision for Lovejoy ISD’s physical learning environments and capital assets, including capital planning priorities. The committee studied District capital needs and is recommending prioritiesforapossiblefuturebondelection.AtaSpecialBoardMeetingonthe evening of Thursday, February 6th, the recommendation of the Bond Planning CommitteewillbesharedwithourBoardofTrustees.Themeetingwillbeginat 6:00 p.m. with the Board retiring into closed session. The Bond Planning Committee Presentation will take place at approximately 7:00 p.m. in open session. We are extremely grateful for their important role in the future of LovejoyISD.

CinderellaMusical

Congratulations to Lovejoy High School performing arts on a remarkable performance of the musical, Cinderella. The production featured outstanding talent by so many of our students. My family and I attended on Friday evening and enjoyed the absolutely magical performance. It was precious seeing little girls in the audience dressed up as Cinderella excited to meet the “real” Cinderella.

STEMFest

Last Saturday morning at STEM Fest, students and families interacted with live animals,exploredcoderobots,learnedaboutstormscience,hydroponicgardens, drones, 3-D printing, veterinary science, and more! The hands-on and interactive exhibitsbroughtscience,technology,engineering,andmathtolifeforourLovejoy learners. I was extremely impressed with the projects and presentations of our elementaryschoolstudentscientistsandengineers.

It was a good thing that Lucas Fire-Rescue was already onsite with their drone displaywhenthefirealarmwasaccidentallytriggeredbyMr.Glaze’sMadScientist exhibit.LucasFireChief,TedStephensgaveMr.GlazeaJuniorFirefighterbadgeto makehimfeelbetter.WeloveMr.Glaze’senthusiasmforteachingscienceandhis awesomesenseofhumor!

OurdeepestgratitudetotheLovejoystudents, staff, and community organizations that contributed to the success of this hands-on learning event. We would like to give a very special thank you to Kelly Cowan, PK-12 Mathematics Curriculum Coordinator, for her leadershipandfacilitationofSTEMFest.

Wishing you and your family a wonderful weekendfilledwithmuchLOVEandJOY.

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

LovejoyProud,

KatieKordel Superintendent

Superintendent Kordel and family at the Cinderella musical

Junior Katie Payne as Cinderella and Superintendent Katie Kordel

Lucas Fire Chief Stephens with Superintendent Kordel presenting Mr Glaze with a Junior Firefighter badge!

The Bond Planning Committee wrapped up it’s sixth and final meeting on Tuesdaynightbyvotingintablegroupsforprojectprioritiestobeincludedin their bond package recommendation to the Board. Next Thursday, February 6th at a Special Board Meeting, the committee will present their recommendation. The study of our capital assets initially began in November 2022 when the Board of Trustees approved the Capital Planning Committee Charter. Since then, multiple stakeholder based committees, including this BondPlanningCommittee,havemetatotalof18timesovera20monthperiod touring campuses, evaluating assessment data and facility needs. We are deeplygratefulfortheirimportantroleinthefutureofLovejoyISD!

Robotics had an amazing showing at the 5A VEX UIL State Championship in Houston. 1082 (Lovejoy) walked away with all the top awards! 1082R was the top team in the qualifications and selected 1082E as their alliance partner for theeliminations.Combined,theyonlylost1matchtheentireday,andthatwas when they were in a match against each other! Therefore, Lovejoy Robotics tooksolepossessionoftheStateChampionshipaswellasthefirstandsecond placeawardsinskills!!

1082E&1082RUILSTATECHAMPIONS

1082E1stplaceskillsaward

1082R2ndplaceskillsaward

Please join us in congratulating Lovejoy Robotics students, parents, and Robotics Teacher, Mr. Bryan Sparrow, on this absolutely phenominal accomplishment!!#LegacyofExcellence

InhonorofSchoolBoardRecognitionMonth,weaskedeachofourTrusteesa unique question. This week, we are honored to recognize School Board Trustees,MollyMcLaughlinandMarkWheelis.

Question: How has serving on the Board of Trustees connected you withtheLovejoycommunity?

Serving as a trustee has deepened my appreciation for how our community unites families and creates opportunities for every child.I’vebeenblessedwithafront-rowseat to the many accomplishments and success stories across our district, broadening my perspective on what makes Lovejoy special. And connecting with parents, students, and teachers to hear about their experiences is oneofmyfavoritepartsofthisrole.

-JulieMcLaughlin

JULIE MCLAUGHLIN Trustee MARK WHEELIS Trustee

Question: What is your favorite Lovejoytradition?

One of my favorite Lovejoy traditions is Leopard Friday. The contagious community connection, Friday Night Lights, and outstandingFineArtsperformancescreatean exciting and inspiring atmosphere. It’s a special time to celebrate and support our studentsandcommunity.AttendingLeopard Friday with my family is always a highlight, bringing us together as One Heart. One Lovejoy. -MarkWheelis

As part of School Board Recognition Month each Trustee is invited to spend time on a Lovejoy campus where they are celebrated for their leadership and service to Lovejoy ISD. This is a particularly special day for our students who enjoy meeting their Guests of Honor!! Thank you, Trustees, for your unwaveringdedicationtoLovejoy’sstudents,teachers,andstaff!

Last Saturday morning at STEM Fest Lovejoy students and families interacted with live animals, explored code robots, learned about storm science, hydroponic gardens, drones, 3-D printing, veterinary science, and more! The hands-on and interactive exhibits brought science, technology, engineering, andmathtolifeforourLovejoylearners!!

We were extremely thankful that Lucas Fire-Rescue was already onsite with theirdronedisplaywhenthefirealarmwasaccidentallytriggeredbytheMad Scientist exhibit. Lucas Fire Chief, Ted Stephens gave Mr. Glaze (aka the Mad Scientist) a Junior Firefighter badge to make him feel better. We think it worked!

Our deepest gratitude to all of the Lovejoy students, staff, and community organizationsthatcontributedtothesuccessofthishands-onlearningevent! WewouldliketogiveaveryspecialthankstoKellyCowan, PK-12Mathematics CurriculumCoordinator,forherleadershipandfacilitationofthisevent!

JoinusfortheMajesticsDanceTeam’sContestShowoffs!!!

Our amazing Majestics Dance Team is gearing up for competition, and we’re invitingyoutoattendourContestShowoffs!MarkyourcalendarsforThursday, February6that7:00PMintheLHSBigGymforanunforgettablenightofdance. Thisfreeeventisopentoallfriendsandfamilyandwillfeatureperformances bythe2024-2025MajesticsDanceTeamandthe2025MajesticsRookies.

It’saneveningfullofenergy,talent,andcommunityspiritthatyouwon’twant tomiss!Wehopetoseeyouthere!

Sloan Creek Intermediate, Willow Springs Middle School, and Lovejoy High School will host 4th, 6th, and 8th graders on Friday, February 7, 2025 for LovejoyISD’sAnnualBumpUpDay.

Bump Up Day was created to assist students with transitioning to a new campus and to help generate excitement for the new experiences they will have. Students will travel to the campus they will be attending for the 20252026schoolyearandhavetheopportunitytotourthecampus,askquestions, andeatlunch.

Students will be able to charge their lunch account. Student Nutrition will adjustpermissionstoallowthis.Studentsin4thand6thwillbecharged$4.25 foraregularmeal,$5.00forapremiummealandwillneedtopayforany“ala carte” or “extras”. 8th Graders who will eat at Lovejoy High School will be chargedeither$4.75foraregularmealor$5.50forapremiummealaswellas any“alacarte”or“extras”theychoose.

Campuses will be sharing specific information with their parents, guardians, andstudentsthroughemailandnewslettersasthedategetscloser.

Strong school attendance is correlated with higher academic performance. Additionally,averageDailyAttendance(ADA)isametricthattheStateofTexas usestodeterminefundingforpublicschools.Eachweek,thisattendancedata willbeupdatedsoourcommunityisawareofourmostrecentADA.

Reality Check

As a valued stakeholder, we know how much our district matters to you. Therefore, we believe it is important that you have accurate and transparent informationaboutLovejoyISD.WiththeintroductionofRealityCheck,weare taking proactive steps to address misinformation and disinformation. It is our hope that this resource will serve as an informational tool for our community andfurtherLovejoyISD’scommitmenttocommunication.

On Friday, January 31st, our 5th Grade students at Sloan Creek traveled to Lovejoy High School to rotate through Fine Arts options for elective selection for 6th Grade. Students were able to explore elective options such as Band, Orchestra, Choir and Art. This was a fun opportunity to see first hand what electiveslooklikeatthehighschoollevel.LovejoyHighSchool’sverytalented studentsdidanamazingjobhighlightingtheelectives!

Lovejoy Swim & Dive had an outstanding performance at the District Championships! Both Men’s and Women’s teams finished in 2nd place overall, and had over 20 athletes qualify to compete at Regionaltournamentnextweek!

In diving, Maria Faoro took 1st place, while Kennadie Hummel earned 2nd. Maria also shattered her own record withanimpressivescoreof502.25!

On the swim side, Sean and Ava Easley each claimed 1st place in the 100 Freestyle. Additionally, the Men’s 200FreestyleRelaytook1stplaceand is now the top-seeded team heading into the Regional Championship! It’s shaping up to be an exciting week aheadinNewCaney!

ETAisanexhibitionfocusedonshowcasingtheexceptionalworkofhighschool artists around North Texas. "Emerging Texas Artists" presents an opportunity forvisualartistswhoareredefiningwhatispossibleinthehighschoolstudioto share their work and ideas in a formal gallery exhibition. This blind juried exhibition is open to all mediums, formats, subject matter, and approaches createdbystudentscurrentlyenrolledin9-12thgrade.

This collection of 51 works was selected from over 220 submissions as exemplars in creative risk-taking, innovative approach, and complex ideation. Jurors,EllaRichardsandNarcisoArguelles,selectedtheseworksbasedsolely onthevisualqualitiesoftheworkandconnectedstatementwithnoknowledge ofstudentname,age,orschool.Therangeofapproachanddepthofpersonal experience and expression in this work is a beautiful picture of the intellect, diversity,andbrillianceoftheseartistsandtheirwork.

Congratulations to each of these artists for their vision, work ethic, and distinctionasoneofTexas'topEmergingArtists:

VeronicaYe('25)-BestinShow

HannahGapp('25)-Juror'sAwardandInnovationAward

AmeliaElliott('25)-InnovationAward

MarySheridan('26)-InnovationAward

CarolineMatthews('25)-HonorableMention

KyraChagarlamudi('25)

DanaColston('25)

MarisaGreen('25)

OliviaGuarriello('26)

PetraPipinich('26)

KeshavSubash('26)

LukeSussman('25)

Lovejoy Softball traveled Saturday to Guyer High School for a double header against the Southlake Carroll Dragons and Denton Guyer Wildcats. Though scores were not kept for these scrimmages our girls competed at the highest levelagainsttwoverytalented6Ateams.Wecouldnotbemoreproudoftheir performance and are ecstatic for future games to come! The girls will scrimmage tonight against Allen High School, game time is 6:00 pm at Allen HighSchool!Wehopetoseeyouthere!

Congratulationstoallthebandandorchestrastudentswhowerepartofthepit orchestra for the LHS musical performance of Cinderella! These students workedincrediblyhardformany,manyhoursstartinginNovember.Lastweek, there were four performances of Cinderella, including two on Saturday. Every performance was better than the last! We are so grateful for band and orchestra’sroleinthisproductionandtheirhard

PitOrchestraMembers Flute.................................LilyBednar,AudreyOesterling,MihayaSakai,BelindaSloan

TheWrestlingteamtook3rdplaceattheDistrictChampionship!Theyhave11 athletes moving on to Regionals on February 7th in College Station! CongratulatetoallourwrestlersandCoachDebuque!

In addition to wining the UIL State Championship this week, Robotics competed Kalahari Classic VEX Robotics Competition in Sandusky, Ohio last weekend. "Signature" events, such as this one, bring about the best competition in the world. Matter of fact, the highest current skills score was postedwhilewewerethereat131,byateamoutofOhio.LovejoyRoboticshad agreatshowingandtookaway2judgedawardsoutofonly8judgedawards. No other organization had multiple teams win judged awards! There were a totalof168teams.

1082E made it to the Divisional Finals and were also awarded the Think award.Theypostedthe3rdbestskillsscoreatthecompetition.Theywere the8thseedintheirdivision,losingonlyonematchinthequalifications. 1082R won the Design award. That is the second highest award given at tournaments.Theymadeitintotheeliminationroundswith1082J. 1082Jwasthe18thseedinqualificationsandwent5-3inthosematches. 1082S was selected for the elimination rounds and also posted their best overallskillsscoreof75whichwas40thoverall.

1082M lost 2 different matches by just 1 point, causing them to fall out of theeliminationbracket.Theirendrankwasstill26thintheirdivision.They had a winning record and would have been in the top 10 if they had won bothofthosematches.

Weare#LovejoyProudofourRoboticsteams’hardworkanddedicationtotheir craft, literally traveling across the country this week, and performing exceptionallywellinhighlycompetitivearenas!!

Girls Basketball,Girls Soccer, and Baseball spent their morning reading to our littleLeopardsatPusterElementary. Thistraditionisafavoriteforstudentsof allages,aswellasourteachers! Thankyoustudentathletesforvolunteering yourtimetoinspireouryoungestlearners!

1082E (left) with 937X from Arizona and their Divisional Finalist trophy

1082E with the Think Award

The varsity girls soccer team (8-1) started their district season 3-0 with wins againstAnna,Denison,andWalnutGrove.LastTuesday,thegirlsbeatAnna3-0. Goals were scored by Emma Nelson, Riley Pulley, and Lainey Pierce. Assists werebyEmmaNelsonandKinleyShort.LastFriday,thegirlsbeatDenison9-0. GoalswerescoredbyKinleyShort(4),EmmaNelson,EllaYork,andChloeReyna (3).AssistswerebyEmmaNelson(2),EllaYork,ChloeReyna,AJSelf(3),Bailee Neatherlin,andJosselynSchuler.OnTuesday,thegirlsbeatWalnutGrove2-0. Goals were scored by Emma Nelson and Kinley Short. Assists were by AJ Self andEllaYork.KenleaSwadenerwasingoalforthecleansheetswithhelpfrom defenders Margo Chester, Cam Newhouse, Brenna Wallace, Josselyn Schuler, andBaileeNeatherlin.

TheJVgirlssoccerteam(3-1-1)startedtheirdistrictseason1-1.LastFriday,the girlsbeatDenison8-0.GoalswerescoredbyMeganKinser,ClaireBeveridge(3), MorganSuder(3),andAddyGreen.AssistswerebyClaireBeveridge(2),Morgan Suder, Drew Chevalier (2), Madison Simpson, and Ava Lowe. Kirsten Yoakum andEmmaJarboewereingoalforthecleansheet.OnTuesday,thegirlslost31 to Walnut Grove. The lone goal was scored by Claire Beveridge and assisted byBeccaDenham.

The girls have home games on the following nights this season: Friday 1/31, Friday 2/7, Friday 2/21 (Future Leopard Night), Tuesday 3/4, and Friday 3/14. Come on out and support the girls as they compete for another district championship!

Varsity

Junior Varsity

Can't remember where you saw a flyer? Not a problem! Leopard Life is connected to all campus newsletters, Connect with Katie, campus websites, ANDLovejoyISDmobileapp!

Thisisanopportunityforparentsandcommunitymemberstoconnectwith LovejoyISDTrusteesandSuperintendentKatieKordelinaninformalsetting. During Community Coffee Talks, Lovejoy ISD leadership listens, shares and engagesin opendialogue/discussionwithourcommunity.

February26,2024 6:00p.m.-7:00p.m. WillowSpringsMiddle(Cafeteria)

April29,2024 9:00a.m.-10:00a.m. HartElementary(LeopardLair)

Lovejoy SAT Prep classes are open for registration. Click heretoregister!

ExtendedDayLeopardAcademyisan opportunity for your child to participate in enrichment activities onhisorhercampusbeforeandafter 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 personalinterests.

Registrationisopenforthefollowing academies for students in kindergarten through 6th grade. Choose from one of the links below formoreinformation.

DISTRICT & CAMPUS

NEWSLETTERS

Lovejoy ISD is committed to creating strong connections and providing clear communicationwithourLovejoyparentsandfamilies.Belowyouwillfindlinksto the most recent newsletters from each campus. Sign up for weekly Principal Newslettersheretostayinformed!