Connect with Katie.03.07.2024.Issue29

Connect with Katie

Lovejoy Lovejoy Leopards Leopards

from the Superintendent MESSAGE

LovejoyCommunity,

Yesterday,LovejoyHighSchoolhostedShattered Dreams for our 11th and 12th grade students. Shattered Dreams is a high school-based program that promotes responsible decisionmaking among high school students regarding intoxicatedanddistracteddriving.Thisimpactful program poignantly conveys how irresponsible choicescanshatterdreams.

Shattered Dreams utilizes a realistic demonstration of an intoxicated driver related crash and the aftermath including the impact on innocent victims, friends, and family members. This program had a deeply personal impact on Lovejoy High School because it was planned and implemented by our Parent Teacher Student Organization (PTSO), students, educators, local first responders, and community members. Kasey Havens, Lovejoy High School PTSO President captured it best when she stated, “Shattered Dreams is a perfect example of the power of collaborationbetweenstudents,parents,staff,andthecommunity.”

The Lovejoy High School PTSO sponsored Shattered Dreams, making this an exceptional example of how parent-school partnership positively impacts our students.LovejoyISDwouldliketothankthefollowingpeopleandorganizations that helped in planning and executing Shattered Dreams. Their involvement is a humbling reminder that our schools and community are filled with people who caredeeplyaboutothersandarewillingtostepforwardtomakeanimpact.

LovejoyHighSchoolPTSO

LHSStudentCouncil

LHSJournalism,Broadcast&ProductionCrews

LHSFamiliesofStudentVolunteers

DirectorofSafetyandSecurity,CaseyLittlefield

LHSAdministration&Staff

LucasFireDepartment

FairviewFireDepartment

DoctorsandStaffatMedicalCityMcKinney

TexasDPSOfficers

PHIMedicalFlightCrew

CollinCountySheriff'sOffice

MitchNolte,Attorney

JohnMarkCaton,Pastor

TheintentionofShatteredDreamsistomaketheeventappearasrealisticas possible.Wewanttobeclearthattheeventwasentirelystaged.Nostudents wereindangerandnocrimeswerecommitted.

Wewishourstudents,families,andstaffasafeandrestfulspringbreak.Wecannot waittoseeourstudentsbackatschoolonMonday,March18th.

ThereisonlyoneLOVEJOYandweareall

LovejoyProud,

KatieKordel Superintendent

LEOPARDS

!

WSMS ORCHESTRA

SWEEPSTAKES X 3

The Willow Springs Concert, Philharmonic, and Chamber Orchestras participated in the UIL Concert and Sight-reading Evaluation at Allen High School on Tuesday, March 5th. We are incredibly happy to report that ALL THREE groups received SUPERIOR ratings from all SIX judges winning them each a SWEEPSTAKES AWARD!! This is the highest score they could have received and not an easy task! WSMS was only 1 of 2 schools who received straight1’sfromallsixjudgesforallgroups!

Thestudentsperformedthreedifferentpiecesonstagewiththeirensembleand werejudgedontone,technique,andmusicianship.Inthesight-readingportion of the contest, students received a piece of music that they had never seen or heardbefore. Theyweregivenseventoeightminutestolearnitwiththehelpof their teacher, Ms. Ashley Dickens. After the set time was up, the students performedthepieceforthejudgesandwereevaluated.

Philharmonic Orchestra

LOVEJOY CDC REGISTRATION VIDEO

Chamber Orchestra

ATTENDANCE

UPDATE

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

KINDERGARTEN ROUND-UP

Calling all future Lovejoy Leopards!!! Hart and Puster Elementary Schools invite parents and rising kinders to our 2024 Kindergarten Sneak Peak on Tuesday, March 26th from 6:00 p.m. - 7:00 p.m.

During the hour long event, students will rotate through activities in kinder classes, while parents receive kindergarten informationfromcampusadministrators.

Don't wait! Children 5 years of age by September1stareeligibleforKindergarten registrationonlinetoday!

GT REFERRALS

GRADES 1-11

Lovejoy Gifted and Talented (G/T) Testing Referral window opens Monday, March 18th. Referrals are due Thursday, April18thby5:00p.m.

Learn more about the G/T program and referral process on the Gifted and Talented website. For student specific questions, contact Brie Smith atbrie smith@lovejoyisd.net.

MWORKER DAY

Monday, March 4th we celebrated Maintenance WorkerAppreciationDay!

Thank you James Nix, Larry Ehart, Jose Arce, JuanGonzalezandDarcy Harris for making sure our buildings are functional, safe spaces forourstudentsandstaff to learn, teach and thrive!

SCHOOL SOCIAL EDUCATIONAL

WORKER WEEK

We were #LovejoyProud to celebrate Ms. Anjie Lindblom this week during National School SocialWorkerWeek!

School Social Workers are trained mental health professionals with a degree in social workwhoprovideservicesrelatedtoaperson's social,emotionalandlifeadjustmenttoschool. SchoolSocialWorkersarethelinkbetweenthe home, school and community in providing direct as well as indirect services to students, families families and school personnel to promote and support students' academic andsocialsuccess.

We are incredibly grateful for the resources Ms. Lindblom provides to our students,theirfamilies,andourteachers.

DIAGNOSTICIAN WEEK

Lovejoy ISD is fortunate to have outstanding educational diagnosticians that serve students acrossourdistrict.

Educationaldiagnosticiansundergospecialized training to use academic and psychological tests to assess students suspected of disabilities, isolate factors that could enhance students’ performance in the classroom, and prepare formal evaluation reports. Diagnosticians provide information to ARD Committee

Committee meetings and assist special and general education teachers by developingandrecommendingstrategiesandmaterials.

CONNECTING LOCAL BUSINESSES AND THE LOVEJOY COMMUNITY

WHILE SUPPORTING LOVEJOY ISD THROUGH REVENUE GENERATION

TheLovejoyISDCommunityPartnerprogramisanew way for local businesses to support Lovejoy ISD and connect with the Lovejoy Community! Community Partner advertisements are featured in our weekly Districtnewsletter,ConnectwithKatie,LivingLovejoy videos,andDistrictSocialMedia.

InterestedinbecomingaCommunityPartner? ClickHEREtolearnmore!

READ ACROSS

AMERICA

Hart and Puster students celebrated Read Across America this week. Reading for pleasureisalifelonghabitthatwearepassionateaboutinstillinginourstudents!

PUSTER WRITES

ENLISTED LEOPARDS

Recently, it was brought to Puster Elementary’s attention that two former Lovejoy students, Specialist Kyle Linvill and Specialist Nick LaSane, could use some extra mailwheretheywerestationed.OurPusterteachersandstudentsgotrighttowork writing letters and making cards to ensure they felt the LOVE from Lovejoy! Puster was delighted the Specialists took the time to send a handwritten note in return. PusterandLovejoywishesthemthebestonthenextlegoftheirjourney.

LOVEJOY CHILDREN’S

CHOIR PERFORMANCE

TheLovejoyChildren'sChoir(LCC)participatedinafast-paced,engagingClinicand ConcertthisFridayandSaturday.70childrencametogetherfromHart,Puster,and Sloan Creek to sing and perform a variety of music from around the world. They capturedtheheartsoftheirfamiliesandteachersastheypresentedhope,joy,and beauty on the high school auditorium stage. LCC is an auditioned choir led by LovejoymusicteachersBrookeGrall,WendyHebert,andHopeCooksey.

The Lovejoy Children’s Choir was formed in 2010 and provides 4th, 5th and 6th graders in Lovejoy ISD an opportunity to explore challenging choral literature with students who are committed to an exceptional musical experience. LCC allows 6th grade students to continue singing while also pursuing band, orchestra, or visual arts.WearefortunatetohavesupportfromLovejoyISD-ourLCCparents,Lovejoy administrators,andourLovejoyHighSchoolChoirDirect,KellyMartin.

HART FATHER

DAUGHTER DANCE

HartElementry’sMarch1stFather/DaughterDance,“WelcometoYourLeopardEra” wasTHEredcarpeteventoftheseason!!ThankyouHartPTOforhostingthedance and creating a magical evening that Hart Dads and Daughters will remember for a lifetime!

LHS DISTRICT

OAP PERFORMANCE

Saturday, March 2nd the Lovejoy High School theater students competedagainst6otherschoolsin the 5a District 13 UIL One Act Play competition. Lovejoy performed their selection of "The Women of Lockerbie" by Deborah Brevoort. We were one of the 3 schools chosentoadvancetothebi-district competition on March 21st and 22nd in Terrell, TX. Student Zoe Nolan won the best performer for thebestperformerfortheentirecompetition(only2oftheseawardsaregiven for the entire competition!). Chloe Russell won an all-star cast award, Blake Gatlin won an honorable mention award, and Solar Randall won a technical awardforbestsounddesign.Congratulations,LovejoyTheatre!

SLOAN CREEK

OPEN FIELD

Sloan Creek invited 5th and 6th grade students to stay after school and participate in varied outdoor sports andactivities.“OpenField”wasahuge success with Student students engaging in FUN and EXERCISE in the beautifulweather!

LOVEJOY FISHING:

TEAM OF THE YEAR!

CongratulationstoourLeopardFishingTeamforwinningTEAMOFTHEYEARwith theTexasHighSchoolBassAssociation(THSBA)!ThispastSaturday,LeopardFishing had4teamsweighinfishatourlastregularseasontournamentonLakeRayRoberts outof211boats.

16th-GraysonCox/CarstenDunn-8.10lbs

23rd-IzakLenart/GrantPursifull-7.31lbs

24th-JackThompson/ParkerWood-7.24lbs

79th-TrinityMcWhorter-2.14

Our anglers had an impressive regular season! Now to get ready for Regionals on PossumKingdomonApril20th.

LHS COMPUTER SCIENCE TEAM

The Computer Science Programming Team competedinHewlettPackard'sNationalCodeWars competition this past weekend. Both the novice and advanced teams placed out of almost 100 teamsthatcompeted.Theresultsareasfollows:

NoviceTeam4thPlace:ClaireWu,JustenMao, AaronReynolds

Advanced Team 5th Place: Hannah Mao, JoshuaJames,BradyKofahl

The programming contest at Plano West on Feb 17th was also hugely successful. LHS came away withfirstplaceforbothteams.

AdvancedTeam1stPlace:HannahMao, Nolan FinniganandShiloohkNavaneethakrishnan

Novice Team 1st Place: Jett Nguyen, Alyssa Hedgecock,andJustenMao

BOYS POWERLIFTING

Boys Powerlifting competed at their Regional meet last Saturday and finished the daystrongintheirrespectiveweightclassesand4Statequalifications!

GavinPrince-Thirdplace, Statequalification

TySmith-Fourthplace, Statequalification

LukeSusman-Thirdplace, Statequalification

BenSusman-Fifthplace, Statequalification

MathewEvans-Ninthplace

CHEER ALL-STATE

Congratulations to the following cheerleaders who were state recognized through theTexasGirlsCoachesAssociation(TGCA)for2023-2024:

Cheer5AAllStateTeam

AddisonSmith

IsabelJoyner

KarsynSlaughter

JordanMigura

Academic5AAllStateTeam

(Requirements included: Graduating senior, GPA of 94 or above, good moral character)

FinleyAbernathy

AnnabelleClay

SamaraCummings

SPEECH &

DEBATE

The competitive debate season is drawing to a close for our wonderful LHS team, andtheyaren'tslowingdown!

To kick off Spring Break, Assistant Coach Zach Hevron is heading to Austin with seven fierce competitors: Andy Choy, Sophia Dong, Theo Khakoo, Dhriti Pai, Paari Palai, Kiah Pandey, and David Wise. From March 7-9, our kids will be competing in theTexasForensicsAssociationStateMeetarguingtheirwaythroughCongressional, LincolnDouglas,Policy,andPublicForumdebates.

TofinishSpringBreak,HeadCoachParkerMorrisonTuasonwilltrektoAustinwith Paari Palani and David Pai for the always exciting UIL State Cross-Examination Debate Tournament. As partners this season, Palani and Wise have had strong showingsinalltournamentsandclaimedthetopspotintheUILdistrictmeet.

Butwait,there'smore!TocloseoutFebruaryandbeginMarch,studentsparticipated in the National Speech & Debate Association district tournament, vying for bids to the national tournament this June. LHS students qualified in Congress and Public Forum.AndyChoy,TheoKhakoo,DhritiPai,PaariPalani,andKiahPandyareeligible to compete at the NSDA national tournament in Des Moines, Iowa. Well done, Leopards!

STEM LUNCH &

LEARN

OnTuesday,February27th,studentsatLovejoyHighSchoolhadtheirfirstLunch& LearnpresentedbytheLovejoySTEMFestival.Lunch&Learnsareanopportunityfor studentstohearaSTEMprofessionaltalkabouttheircareerduringtheirlunchbreak. This month's speaker was Michael Jenkerson, a retired science advisor with the GlobalOceanScience&PolicygroupthroughExxonMobil.MrJenkersonsharedhis researchonmitigatingtheimpactofmarineoperationsontheWesternGrayWhale population that summers on the Northwest coast of Sakhalin Island, Russia. Students learned about the team's research techniques, equipment used for research,andtheresultsoftheresearch.

ThreemoreLunch&Learnsarescheduledforthisyear.Weareexcitedforstudents tojoinusfortheseupcomingopportunities:

March-automotivesystemsengineerwithTexasInstruments

April-cloudengineerwithGoogle

May-MaximizingYourScienceMajorinCollegewithanMD/PhDstudentfromthe StritchSchoolofMedicine

Leopard Life

LOVEJOY LINKS

SOFTBALL SCHEDULE

BASEBALL UPDATES

Leopard Life

LOVEJOY LINKS

ORCHESTRA BOOSTER MARCH STUDENT NUTRITION NEWS

PTO SERVICE AWARD NOMINATIONS

IfyouwouldliketonominatesomeoneaPTOServiceAward,pleasefilloutthe form below. The recognition committee will carefully consider each candidate. Nominations are due by Friday, March 29, 2024. Additional information about theawardscanbefoundhere.

Leopard Life

LOVEJOY LINKS

STEM BREAK

LCDC REGISTRATION

DENIM & DIAMONDS

Leopard Life

MAJESTICS EGG MY YARD LHS ST

Leopard Life

LOVEJOY LINKS

EXTENDED DAY LEOPARD ACADEMY

LeopardAcademyisanopportunityforyourchild 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 criticalthinkingskillsthroughactivitiesrelatedto theirpersonalinterests.

Registration is open for the following academies for students in first through 6th grade. Choose fromoneofthelinksbelowformoreinformation.

BoardandCardGameAcademy

YoYoAcademy

Y 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 engagesin opendialogue/discussionwithourcommunity.

August29,2023

6:00p.m.-7:00p.m.

SloanCreekIntermediate

November30,2023

12:00p.m.-1:00p.m.

HartElementarySchool

February28,2024

8:00a.m.-9:00a.m.

LovejoyHighSchool

April30,2024

9:00a.m.-10:00a.m.

WillowSpringsMiddleSchool

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!

DISTRICT NEWSLETTER

Connect with Katie

HART ELEMENTARY Principal Newsletter

PUSTER ELEMENTARY Principal Newsletter

SLOAN CREEK INTERMEDIATE Principal Newsletter

WILLOW SPRINGS MIDDLE Principal Newsletter

LOVEJOY HIGH SCHOOL Principal Newsletter

COMMUNITY NEWS

TheLovejoyISDCommunityNewswebsiteisintendedtofacilitateconnections and raise awareness of local events, activities, fundraisers and organizations thatmightinterestLovejoyfamilies.

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