It is hard to believe that Monday is May 1st and that we only have 20 days left of school. We are committed to finishing strong and look forward to the continued learning and special experiences our students will have in our last four weeks of the school year.
Next week, we will be celebrating teacher appreciation week. I am deeply grateful to our Lovejoy ISD teachers both as a fellow educator and as a parent. The impact that teachers have had on my own children is profound and has been life changing for both Claire and Jacob. I know so many of you feel the same way about the impact teachers
have had on your children. There has never been a more important time to show our teachers the gratitude and respect that they deserve for the crucial role they play in our schools, district, community and, most importantly, our children's lives. Our teachers deserve to be celebrated and recognized for what they are: selfless, dedicated, loving professionals who are deeply invested in the growth and learning of each of their students. Fulfilling our commitment to each Lovejoy ISD student and living Lovejoy’s Legacy of Excellence would not be possible without our teachers.
I would like to personally invite you to attend our annual STEM festival tomorrow at Lovejoy High School. STEM Festival runs from 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p m and is a ton of fun for the entire family My children love it so much that they have been asking when the next STEM Festival will be since they attended last year. We look forward to spending part of our Saturday at this special event.
There is only ONE LOVEJOY and we are ALL LEOPARDS!
Katie Kordel Superintendent
Lovejoy ISD is excited to share that we will be partnering with AlphaBEST Afterschool Program to provide high
quality, affordable care for students in Prekindergarten through 6th grade beginning in the 2023-24 school year. Additionally, this partnership will allow the District to offer options for child care on professional development days, teacher planning days, designated holidays and school breaks.
If you are interested in learning more about AlphaBEST, please join us for a parent night on May 17th at 6:30-7:30pm at the Lovejoy Child Development Center. Also, be on the lookout for registration information in Connect with Katie and your students’ campus newsletter in the coming weeks. In the meantime, if you have any questions please contact Amanda Puckett at amanda puckett@lovejoyisd.net.
Thursday morning several Lovejoy ISD Board members, Superintendent Katie Kordel, District leadership, and a small group of parents and community members gathered in a circle at Hart Elementary to talk over coffee.
Superintendent Katie Kordel said, "Coffee talks have a wonderful opportunity to connect informally with our parents and community members. Lovejoy is extremely fortuante to have such high levels of parent engagement. We are grateful to everyone that has come out this school year to join us at a coffee talk."
WHAT CLASS INSPIRED YOU THE MOST AND WHY?
AP US Government and Politics! This class inspired me to major in political science in college and go to law school!
WHO WAS YOUR FAVORITE TEACHER(S) AND WHY?
Mr Barter was one of my favorites! I had him for AP US History and AP Gov, his classes were always my favorites and he was so engaging! Mrs. Dollinger was also another one of my favorites! She welcomed me to lovejoy with open arms when I moved in the middle of my sophomore year, she will always have a special place in my heart! Student council with her as our teacher was one of my favorite memories from lojo!
WHAT ACTIVITIES WERE YOU INVOLVED IN? DID THEY IMPACT YOUR CAREER CHOICES?
Student Council and Lovejoy Swim and Dive!
WHAT IS ONE OF YOUR FONDEST MEMORIES FROM LISD?
2020 graduation, Lovejoy really made my class feel special and did the most for us during the middle of the pandemic! The car parade was something I’ll never forget!
WHAT IS YOUR OCCUPATION?
Student and Athlete on the UConn Swim and Dive Team
WHAT DO YOU KNOW NOW THAT YOU WISHED YOU KNEW BEFORE YOU GRADUATED LOVEJOY HIGH SCHOOL?
To not worry so much about finding new friends/friend group in college, you will find your people!!
ONCEALEOPARD, ONCEALEOPARD, ALWAYSALEOPARD ALWAYSALEOPARD
Lovejoy ISD offers a variety of summer activities including summer enrichment and athletic camps for children entering pre-kindergarten through 12th grade. Enrichment and athletic camps are offered in weekly sessions with morning and afternoon options available.
Lovejoy ISD Summer Activities provide many benefits for children including opportunities for:
Academic Growth: Reinforcing skills learned during the school year.
Socialization: Developing important social skills such as teamwork and communication, as they interact with their peers in an engaging environment.
Exploration: Trying new activities and exploring areas of interest which can help them discover new passions and talents.
Access to Resources: Interacting with resources and learning opportunities that may not be available to them during the regular school year.
Skill Development: Reinforcing previously learned skills as well as developing new skills necessary to excel in each activity or sport.
Healthy Habits: Promoting a healthy lifestyle and the importance of physical activity.
April 29
May 1-5
May 5
May 9
STEM Fest
Teacher Appreciation Week
School Lunch Hero Day
Board of Trustees Workshop - LCDC Library
The Board will convene in open session and then move to closed session @ 8:30AM in C113. The Board is expected to reconvene in open session at approximately 9:00AM.
May 14
May 18
May 22
Mother's Day
Speech Pathologist Day
Board of Trustees Meeting - LCDC Library
The Board will convene in open session and then move to closed session @ 6:00 PM in C113. The Board is expected to reconvene in open session at approximately 7:00PM.
May 22-25
May 26
May 27
LHS Early Release
Early Release (All Campuses)
Class of 2023 Graduation
Congratulations to our broadcast journalism students at Willow Springs Middle School. Student journalists recently received results from two state competitions, UIL Interscholastic League Press Conference “Keep It Real” convention and Texas Association of Journalism Educators Best In Texas.
Our weekly announcements, WSMS News, received the association’s highest rating, Award of Distinguished Merit, for the sixth year in a row. For the second time, the program won a coveted Silver Star Award which represents the top 10% of all broadcasts in the state. Only 8 broadcast programs across the state received a Star Award. WSMS News was the only middle school to receive this award against five 5A and 6A high schools. Multiple students won Individual Achievement Awards: eight gold medals, six silver medals, two bronze medals and one honorable mention Click here for a list of ILPC awards and winners!
All of our first place winners advanced in the Tops In Texas competition. Click on the link above and click on Tops in Texas to the right to view some of the competition. Notice, they are all high schools in Texas.
Journalists also won 26 awards in TAJE Best In Texas, including two Superiors and multiple Excellent and Honorable Mentions. Scroll through to see our students’ work against high schools all over the state! Click here for a list of TAJE award winners!
We finished our District Schedule on Friday night with a 7-6 comeback win over McKinney North. This win solidified a second straight District Championship with an 11-1 District record and a 21-6 overall record. We will play two non-district games this week against Frisco Independence and Celina, and then proceed to the playoffs next week May 4-6th. Opponent to be determined! We are looking forward to a strong playoff run!
On April 21 and 22, LHS had 20 students compete in the UIL Regional Academic competition at UT Arlington. We are incredibly proud of our students' performance and excited to celebrate the following results with our community including TWO STATE BOUND students. Hannah Mao in Computer Science and Madeleine Hays in Ready Writing will compete on May 17 – 18 at UT Austin. Please join us in wishing them all the best!
Calculator Applications
Coach Caleb Goff
5th Place Team
17th place - Hannah Mao
20th place - Nathaniel Bognot
21st place - James Bognot
23rd place - Josh James
Computer Science
Coach Pam Ford
3rd Place Team
2nd place - Hannah Mao- STATE BOUND
7th place - Josh James
10th place - Shilohk Navaneethakrishnan
15th place - Lucas Liu
Current Issues & Events
Coach Cheryl Anderson
5th Place Team
7th place - Katherine Smith
13th place - Eric Oesterling
25th Helen Miller
29th Katelyn Helfand
Feature Writing
Coach Elyse Pollard
5th place - Calla Patino
Literary Criticism
Coach Jasen Eairheart
23rd place - Jocelyn Kim
Mathematics
Coach Caleb Goff
4th Place Team
6th place - Sam Chen
14th place - Hannah Mao
16th place - Josh James
19th place - James Bognot
Number Sense
Coach Caleb Goff
5th Place Team
16th place - Josh James
19th place - Hannah Mao
20th place - James Bognot
29th place - Nathaniel Bognot
Ready Writing
Coach Cheryl Anderson
2nd place - Maddie Hays - STATE BOUND
Social Studies
Coach Cyndi Anderson
21st place - Kiah Pandey
Science
Coach Theresa Dollinger
4th Place Team
7th place - Hannah Mao
19th place - Emily Perry
21st place - Josh James
30th place - David Fagner
The 2023 LHS Pop Show, Decades, was a hit for everyone who attended. The choirs showered us with our favorite tunes from the 60s & 70's to more recent hits post millennium. Energetic choreography brought to life all of the large ensemble numbers. Many choir soloists were showcased. The Lovejoy Choir sang their hearts out and once again made the stage shine with their talent! Decades was an outstanding showcase of music talent.
A great time was had by all who attended the 2023 "Decades" Pop Show presented by the Lovejoy HS choirs this past Thursday and Friday. A special thank you to all the parents and volunteers who helped make these performances a success!
On Tuesday Puster Elementary hosted it's first (annual?) tie dye event benefiting the Puster art program and it was a huge success! Students enjoyed creating their own unique work of art - their tie dye shirt and then played in with friends on the Kindergarten playground. The weather held up and fun was had by all! Thank you Lovejoy Visual Arts students, Puster staff, Paige Christiansen, and Brice McCasland for volunteering your time and expertise!
WSMS/SCIS Orchestra Solo & Ensemble Contest April 13, 2023
181 of our WSMS and SCIS orchestra students participated in our middle school solo and ensemble contest, and we had incredible success!!
ALL of our student solos and ensembles earned ratings of Superior or Excellent from our judges! We also had 28 solos and ensembles receive the extra special "Exemplary Musician" award this year. Incredible!!!!
Willow Springs Middle School
The 13 entries that received the Exemplary Musician award are:
Claire Wu- Violin solo
Jenna Li- Violin solo
Naoise Wheeler- Violin solo
Christian Fiorello- Cello solo
Catie Simpkins- Violin solo
Emily Hibberd- Violin solo
Kamran Fatehdin- Violin solo
Audrey Casey- Violin solo
Alice Lee- Cello solo
Ruby Spinney- Violin solo
Keith Goeders- Cello solo
Gia Oommen- Cello solo
Justen Mao & Christian
Fiorello- Violin and Cello
Duet
The 15 entries that received the Exemplary Musician award are:
Kimi Wang, Cello solo
Jacob Wang, Bass solo
Raymond Zhang, Violin solo
Cayna Craver, Bass solo
Allison Counts, Viola solo
Helen Caldwell, Cello solo
Ella Hang, Violin solo
Riley Daigle, Violin solo
Munachiso Osuagwu, Viola solo
Camilla Cubas, Violin solo
Adrian Ngai, Cello solo
Jacob Zhu, Viola solo
Riley Daigle and Arianna Contreras - Ensemble
Charli Rohr, Munachiso Osuagwu, Sydney Klein - Ensemble
Audrey Le, Victoria Wong, Izzy Konecny, Ella Hang, Mia ZhangEn
The Girls Track and Field team are Area Champions! They will now advance to the Regional Championship to be held at the University of Texas at Arlington on Friday, April 28th and Saturday, April 29th.
Leila Ngapout - AREA CHAMP - 100 meter
Kailey Littlefield - AREA CHAMP - 800 meter, AREA CHAMP - 1600 meter, Runner-up - 400 meter
Amy Morefield - AREA CHAMP - 3200 meter, Runner-up - 800 meter
Sara Morefield - Runner-up -1600 meter, 3200 meter
Sara Salsgiver - Runner-up - Pole Vault
Camryn Benson - 3rd 1600, 3rd 3200, 4th Pole Vault
Lauren Dolberry - 3rd 300 hurdles
4x400 (Lauren, Mia, Bella, Amy) - AREA CHAMPS
4x200 (Bella, Mia, Lauren, Leila)Runner-up - (New school record of 1:39.2)
4x100 (Taylor M, Bella, Mia, Leila) - 3rd (New school record of 46.99)
Boys Track and Field will have a total of 7 athletes advancing to the Regional Championship!
Coltson Adamson - Long Jump - 1st Place, 1st Place Triple Jump
Carson Brownlow - Pole Vault - 4th Place
West Wilson - Shot Put - 4th Place, 2nd Place Discus
Will Carlson - 3200 - 3rd Place, 1st Place 1600
Nick Yarad - 3200 - 1st Place, 3rd Place 1600
Caden Gary - 3200 - 2nd Place, 2nd Place 1600
Joe Bluestien - 800M - 3rd Place
Congratulations Leopards and good luck!
Congratulations to the UIL One Act Play Company for their incredible performance at Regional competition at Arlington ISD's Performing Arts Center on April 22, 2023 with their show, Nevermore!
We are beyond proud of our entire company and support team for a great One Act Play season! Special awards went to: Outstanding Technician - Ellizabeth Esposito, Honorable Mention All Star CastRyder Sullivan and Reece Robinson, and All Star Cast - Jacob Smithwick.
There is a one night only home performance tonight of Nevermore! at 7 pm in our Lovejoy High School Auditorium. General Admission is $5 for students and $10 for adults. Tickets can be bought at: https://www.lovejoyfinearts.org
Seventh grade students in Ms. Viviana Espinoza’s science classes finished their unit on adaptations and natural selection, and put their learning to work. Students discussed the importance of genetic variance in a species for it to adapt and survive, the types of adaptations (structural, behavioral and physiological) in organisms. The unit teaches students how organisms can change over time with the help of nature or humans (natural or artificial selection)
As part of the unit performance task, students created butterflies to challenge willing teachers to find their "food" source, and try to find as many camouflaged butterflies as possible.
Ms. Espinoza writes, “Students love this activity because they get a chance to use their creativity to blend the butterfly into the classroom surroundings, and realize nature makes it look easy! My students enjoyed this activity so much, I now have more than 100 butterflies blended into the classroom for teachers to find "
Brie Smith, Director of Advanced Academics, visited the classroom to find butterflies and spoke with students about their learning. Student Joel Dykstra said, “We learned about traits and if they are favorable and how they help the organism survive, like natural selection." While Mrs. Smith did not locate all 105 camouflaged butterflies, she truly enjoyed finding them and hearing and seeing how excited students were about their learning.
Here are some butterflies spotted during the day. See if you can find them!
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.
Additionally, Regular Board Meetings and Workshops are now recorded and archived on the Lovejoy ISD website. You can access recordings by clicking the picture to the right. Passwords are noted below the recording links.
The Board of Trustees and Superintendent Kordel recognized Mrs. Anne Smith, Board of Trustee and Board Secretary. Lovejoy ISD is proud to recognize Mrs. Smith for her 6 years of Board Service and significant contributions to Lovejoy ISD.
Natalie Woodared
Superintendent Kordel and Mrs. Anna Koenig welcomed two new hires to Lovejoy ISD. Rene Ratau is a special education teacher at WSMS and Natalie Woodared is our new BCBA (Board Certified Behavior Analyst).
The Lovejoy High School Powerlifting team was recognized for their outstanding achievement in their State Competition. Lovejoy ISD was proud to recognize students, Reese Wallace (1st place at the 5A Region 6 Powerlifting Meet with 14th Place at State), and Will Brown (2nd Place at the 5A Region 6 Powerlifting Meet with 9th Place at State).
Leadership Lovejoy Class of 20222023 was recognized by the Board of Trustees and Superintendent Kordel for their participation in Leadership Lovejoy.
The Curriculum and Instruction and Special Education team presented an overview of our Dyslexia and Take Flight program. A highlight of the presentation included hearing the student perspective.
NEW! THANK YOU GREEN TEAM
NEW! SOFTBALL SPIRIT NIGHT AT NAPOLI'S ALLEN
THIS WEEKEND! ANNUAL LOVEJOY STEM FESTIVAL
NEW! LJVA ANNUAL AP ART EXHIBIT
KINDERGARTEN REGISTRATION OPEN
CHILDCARE & PRE-K REGISTRATION
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.
The Texas Department of State Health Services released new guidance for the 2022-2023 school year regarding Covid-19 and schools. LISD Health and Safety Measures are posted on the District website, linked below.
Director
of Accounting and Procurement
Minimum Qualifications include:
Bachelor's degree in Business or Accounting
Knowledge of accounting and auditing principals
Knowledge of bidding statutes and purchasing procedures
Apply online HERE!
Hiring Manager: Thomas Willman
thomas_willman@lovejoyisd.net