Connect with Katie.10.04.2024.Issue11 by Lovejoy ISD

Connect with Katie

OCTOBER

04, 2024

Lovejoy Lovejoy Leopards Leopards

from the Superintendent MESSAGE

LovejoyCommunity,

It is Leopard Friday! Leopard Friday is a treasured Lovejoy tradition. We are excited to see our communitytonightat5:00p.m.intheLovejoyHigh School Courtyard. Families and attendees will enjoy games, food trucks, music, a community pep-rally, and more! After the event officially begins at 5:00 p.m., we will have the community pep-rally at 6:00 p.m., and encourage everyone to attend the home football game at Leopard Stadium StadiumagainstMelissaHighSchoolat7:30p.m.Thereisnodoubtthattonight willbeanextraspecialFridayNightLightsinLovejoyISD.

AtMondayNight’sBoardofTrusteesMeeting,theBoardapprovedacharterfor theformationofaBondPlanningCommittee.Wewouldliketoinviteyoutobe a vital part of Lovejoy ISD’s future by applying to serve on our Bond Planning Committee. This is an opportunity for you to help shape the educational environmentandopportunitiesforourstudents.

TheBondPlanningCommitteewillstudyDistrictfacilityandcapitalneedsand recommend priorities to the Board of Trustees for a possible future bond election. This will include items such as facilities, fleet, technology, furniture, fixtures, equipment, etc. Serving in an advisory capacity, Lovejoy ISD’s Bond PlanningCommitteewillprovideinputinsupportofDistrictstrategicgoalsand associatedshortandlong-rangecapitalneeds.TheBondPlanningCommittee will strategically balance the District's identified capital needs and long-term financial decision making in order to achieve Lovejoy ISD’s mission and commitmenttotheLovejoyexperience.

We are seeking committee membership from all segments of our community. Youruniqueperspectiveswillhelpuscreateacomprehensiveplanthatreflects ourcommunity'saspirationsandaddressesourchallengesandopportunities.

If you are interested in serving on the Bond Planning Committee, please complete the application form linked here by Monday, October 14, 2024 at 8:00 a.m. Applicants will be notified of their status by the end of the business day on Wednesday, October 16th, and our first meeting will be held on Wednesday,October30thfrom6:00p.m.to8:00p.mAfulllistofmeetingdates andtimesisprovidedontheapplication.

Thankyouforconsideringthisopportunitytomakealastingimpactoncurrent andfutureLovejoyISDstudents.Together,wecanstrategicallyandthoughtfully planforthefutureofourstudents,District,andcommunity.Aspecialthankyou to the parents and community members that have served on our Capital PlanningCommittee.Weareabletomoveintothisnextphasethoughtfullyand strategicallybecauseoftheirfeedbackandinvestment.

ThereisonlyONELOVEJOY,andweareALLLEOPARDS!

LovejoyProud, KatieKordel

Superintendent

PRINCIPAL

APPRECIATION

October is National Principal Appreciation Month! Join us in celebrating our outstanding principals in Lovejoy ISD! We are deeply grateful for their leadershipandcommitmenttoeverystudentandstaffmember'ssuccess.This weekwearecelebratingourtwoelementaryprincipalswith“FunFacts”below!

H O N O R I N G

Holly Haynes

Q:HowManyYearshaveyouworkedineducation? A:24

Q:Whatisthebestthingaboutbeingaprincipal?

A: I love the little passing conversations with kidsgetting out of their cars, in the hallway, waiting in the lunch line - I can learn so much about a student in the smallestmomentofqualitytime.Theymakemelaugh!

Q:Whatisa"funfact"ortalentthatstudentswouldbe surprisedtoknowaboutyou?

A: I LOVE music. I sang in a capella and show choirs in high school and college. I sing in my car on the way to andfromworkeverydayandIALWAYShavemusicgoing inmyhomewhileIclean,cookanddoprojects.

Q:Whatsongdoyouknowallthelyricsto?

A:Ican'tnamejustone!Seeabove!AnyFleetwoodMac songisagoodstartingplace!

Q:Ifyoucouldhaveasuperpower,whatwoulditbeand why?

A:Ithinkthischangesdependingonneed.Rightnow,I'd like to be able to duplicate myself to be in more than onespotatime-I'dbesoawesomeatallofthethings!

H O N O R I N G

Shannon Acosta

Q:HowManyYearshaveyouworkedineducation? A:24

Q:Whatisthebestthingaboutbeingaprincipal?

A:Beingabletowatchthegrowthandachievementsof both students and teachers The hugs from students everydayarealsoabonus!

Q:Whatisa"funfact"ortalentthatstudentswouldbe surprisedtoknowaboutyou?

A:AfunfactisIdonothaveamiddlename.

Q:Whatsongdoyouknowallthelyricsto?

A:TotalEclipseoftheHeart

Q:Ifyoucouldhaveasuperpower,whatwoulditbeand why?

A: Teleportation because It would allow me to travel anywhereinstantlytoeithervisitfamily,getgreatfood, relax,andmostimportantly,nothavetouseamodeof transportation.

CUSTODIAN

APPRECIATION

On Wednesday, October 2nd, Lovejoy celebrated National Custodian Appreciation Day. We want to recognize the Lovejoy ISD Custodial Team for theirhardworkanddedicationtoourschools,staff,andstudents!

Lovejoyhas30custodiansacrossthedistrictthatareresponsibleforcleaning over 850,000 ft.² daily. Their efforts keep our schools, classrooms, and offices clean and welcoming. Rigo Valdivia, Custodial Supervisor said, “I am so thankfultohaveacrewthatIcanrelyon.Theyarealwayswillingtohelpout beyondtheirduties.Icallthem,‘Theheroesoftheday.’”

Lovejoy ISD truly appreciates everything our custodial team does on a daily basis to maintain a positive and clean environment for all. Their attention to detailandcommitmenttoourdistrictdoesnotgounnoticed!

UNDERSTANDING

THE TEEN BRAIN

LHSPTSOwouldliketoinviteallparentsin theDistricttojoinusforapresentationby the Grant Haliburton Foundation on “Understanding the Teen Brain: A Work in Progress.” The teen years are a critical brain development stage. It’s a time for establishing good mental hygiene routines and coping skills to support positive life outcomes. We will be discussing brain developmental changes, learn practices thatsupporthealthyhabits,andexplore

strategies for fostering resilience to navigate life’s challenges. Join us on October22ndat6pmintheLovejoyChildDevelopmentCenterLibrary.

BOND PLANNING COMMITTEE

The Board of Trustees approved the formation of a Bond Planning Committee at the September 30, 2024 Board Meeting. The Bond Planning Committeewillbeastakeholderbased committee that studies District capital needs and recommends priorities for a possible future bond election. Learn more about the committee and apply here:

https://www.lovejoyisd.net/page/bond -planning-committee.

BOARD ACADEMY

REGISTRATION

The Lovejoy ISD Board Academy is designed for anyone considering public service on the Board of Trustees as those that would like to learn more about local school district governance. School Board Members will explain the roles and responsibilities of serving on the Board, review the statestate-required training requirements, and discuss the difference between Boardoversightandday-to-dayoperationsofthedistrict.Informationwillalso be shared on the guidance, logistics, and timelines to run for a Board of Trustees seat. The Board Academy will be on Wednesday, December 4, 2024 from1:00p.m.to3:00p.m.

ATTENDANCE UPDATE

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

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.

DISTRICT CALENDAR

HART 1ST GRADE

LEOPARD LEARNING

There is amazing learning happening at Hart Elementary. This week students found sight words during shared reading and then moved into conferring conferences with their writing pieces. Some of our writers were beginning to addspeechbubblestobringtheircharacterstolife.

PUSTER 2ND GRADE

LEOPARD LEARNING

Lastweek2ndgradersatPusterpracticedtheirscientificwritingskillswithforce andmotion.Theyfirstwroteahypothesis.Then,choseavariabletotesttoseeif it would make the paper airplane go farther. Finally, they wrote the results in completesentences.Cross-curricularlessonsaretheBEST!

SCIS KINDNESS

ASSEMBLY

BrianWilliams,amotivationalspeakerwhohastouchedover2.5millionpeople across the globe, spoke to the Sloan Creek students on October 2nd. Brian’s message is simple yet powerful: everyone, regardless of their circumstances, hastheabilitytopositivelyimpactsomeone’slife. HechallengedSloanCreek students to a 15 Day of Kindness Challenge. SCIS set a goal of 5,000 acts of kindnesstoseewhocanspreadthemostpositivity.SloanCreekstudentcouncil decoratedtheentryandcourtyardwithwordsofaffirmationandkindness.We havealreadyhitthegroundrunningtocompleteourkindnesschallenge.SCISis ready to make a difference at school and community! Thank you Sloan Creek PTOforsponsoringthispresentation!

MONOCHROMATIC ABSTRACT PAINTINGS

AtWillowSpringsMiddleSchool,artistsareworkinghardinthestudiotocreate monochromatic abstract paintings. Students played 20 questions where they drew out symbols as answers and turned those symbols into a super personal compositionaboutfamily,theirfavoritethings,andtheirhobbies!Thecurrent explorationisfocusingonselfexpression,symbolism,andharnessingourbest craftsmanship!

Ms. Stroud, WSMS Art teacher said, “As a studio, we seek to build connections andbridgesfromourpreviouslearningtoeverythingnewthatwetakeon!This pieceexploresvalueincolorasabridgefromgraphitedrawingsourartistsjust completed.Ourstudentartistshavebeenworkinghardtosharpentheirartistic skillsthroughpracticeandexplorationthesefirstfewweeksandweareexcited toseewhereittakestheirpersonalvoicenext!”

WSMS COLOR RUN

FUNDRAISER

WillowSpringsMiddleSchoolstudentshadablastatthesecondannualColor Run campus fundraiser. FUN is one of our district pillars! Around 130 students walkedorranaone-milecourseoncampuswhilestaffmembersandvolunteers tossedcolorpowderintheirdirection.Thiseventisafunwayforourstudents toraisefundsforourcampus-wideEnd-of-YearCelebrationinMay.Additionally, NJHSpartneredwiththeColorRuntocollectitemsfortheirfallfooddrive. Our studentslovetheColorRunandenjoyedtimeoutsidewiththeirclassmates.

Photo Credit: Mr Washburn, WSMS

Photo Credit: Mr Washburn,

SWIM & DIVE

DUAL MEET

ThefirsttwoweeksoftheLovejoySwim&Diveseasonhasgonebyquickly!

The students started off the week with the swimmers competing in their first dual meet of the season against Allen and Plano West. Our Seniors were recognizedandhadagreatmeet!Ourgirlscamein2ndtoAllen,whiletheBoys placed3rd,only2pointsawayfromPlanoWest!

Attheendoftheweek,thedivershittheboardtocompeteintheGarlandDiving Invitational.Upagainstseriouscompetition,MariaFaorowasabletoclutch 1st placeandKennadieHummelclaimed9th.Greatjobgirls!

GraceHu,Junior,gotthe“swimofthemeet”forherstandoutperformancein the200IM!

STEEL MAGNOLIAS

LHS THEATRE

Last weekend, Lovejoy High School Theatre presented three very successful performancesofSteelMagnoliasbyRobertHarling.LHSSeniorSophieKonecny played "M'lynn," senior Clare Christenson played "Shelby," Junior Kathryn Payne played "Miss Clairee," Junior Audrey Murphy played "Ousier," Junior Jasmine Gasser played "Annelle," and Sophomore Chayse Huhnke played "Truvy." SteelMagnolias,setinTruvy’sbeautysaloninChinquapin,Louisiana, isfilledwithhilariousreparteebutalsotragedy. Underlyingstrength andlove give the play, and its characters, the special quality to make them truly touching, funny and marvelously amiable company in good times and bad. Bravo,LovejoyTheatre!!

REGION CHOIR

PLACEMENTS

TMEAChoirAuditionsandPre-AreaPlacement

On Tuesday, October 1st Lovejoy HS choir department sent 9 competitors to region choir auditions. Seven of those students placed in a region choir! Of those7,3areadvancingtoPre-AreaonthepathtoAll-Statechoirand1isan alternate to Pre-Area placement. We are INCREDIBLY proud of how all of our studentsworkedforthisincrediblytoughcompetition.

MixedChoirandPre-AreaCandidate

NandirAltansukh-Chair6(Soprano1)

KatyPayne-Chair4(Soprano2)

ZoeReed-Chair15(Alto2)

TrebleChoir

RachelDobbs-Chair18(Soprano1)

EmilyYork-Chair18(Soprano2)

AudreyMurphy-Chair34(Alto2)

TenorBassChoir

SaayonMahapatra-Chair16(Bass1)

LEOPARD FISHING

THSBA TOURNAMENT

LeopardFishing-TournamentResults

LeopardFishingparticipatedintheirfirstTHSBAtournamentoftheseasonthis past weekend on Lake Ray Roberts and had a GREAT start to the season. LovejoywasabletocomehomeasTEAMoftheTOURNAMENT!! Wearebeyond proud of the performance of all of our anglers! Next up…Lake Texoma on October19th.

213boatsparticipated 25of26LeopardFishingTeamscompeted 12outofthe25teamsweighedinfish 27fishwereweighedinfortheteam.

Boots/Rowe5for24.19lbs1stplace

Cox/Dunn4for9.13lbs14thplace

Riggins/Harrell2for8.12lbs16thplace

Delph/Turnbow3for5.85lbs

Craun/Nguyen2for5.10lbs

Lopez/Washko2for4.96lbs

Griffin/Ralph2for4.30lbs

Wyatt/Wier2for3.34lbs

Stubbs/Dardano1for3.18lbs

Thompson/Wood1for2.31lbs

Dunaway/Prince1for2.16lbs

Lindsey/Starr1for1.12lbs

BAND & COLOR GUARD SHOWCASE

The Lovejoy Band performed in the Melissa Marching Showcase on Saturday. They gave a strong first contest performance and are looking forward to the BandsofAmericaContestANDtheWylieMarchingFestivalthisSaturday.Come support your Lovejoy High School Band at Wylie HS Stadium at 2:45 pm this Saturday!

TheLHSColorGuardwon5thoverallinprelims!Thiswasabigcontestandwe areveryproudofallofourbandandguardstudents.

BOARD MEETING

SUMMARY

Lovejoy ISD is committed to providing consistent, transparent communication with ourcommunityandemployees.Wehopethis meeting summary will support you in staying connected and informed. Click the image on thelefttoopenthesummaryinGoogleDocs.

Regular Board Meetings and Workshops are nowrecordedandarchivedontheLovejoyISD website. You can access Regular Board Meeting and Workshop recordings by clicking theimageontheright.

The full Regular Board Meeting agenda with supporting documents may be viewedbyclickingtheimageontheleft.

BOARD MEETING

RECOGNITIONS

STUDENTRECOGNITIONS:NATIONALMERIT

Lovejoy ISD is proud to recognize the 36 Lovejoy High School students who have been recognized in the 2025 National Merit Scholarship Program. 13 of these students have been named National Merit Scholarship Program Semifinalists.Lessthan1%ofU.S.highschoolseniorsarenamedsemifinalists. Weareextraordinarilyproudofthesestudentscholarsandtheircommitment topursuingexcellenceinacademics.

THEPLEDGESWERELEDBYPUSTERELEMENTARYSCHOOL4THGRADE STUDENT,LAWSONMALITO.

LawsonhasattendedPustersincekindergarten.Helovestoplaybaseballfor theNTXTribeasapitcher,firstbasemanandoutfielder.Healsolovesfishing andplayingwithhisfriendsinhisneighborhood.

Lawson’sfavoritethingaboutPusterishisteachers.Hesaid“theteachersare SOnice.”Ifhecouldchangeonething,he’dmakelunchlongerbecause sometimesthelunchlineissolonghedoesn’thaveasmuchtimeashe’dlike toeat.Whenhegrowsup,Lawsonwantstobeadentistandownhisown practicebecausehewouldbeabletopickhisscheduleandhaveFridaysoff.

BOARD MEETING RECOGNITIONS

COMMUNITY RECOGNITIONS: KASEY HAVENS - STATE BOARD OF EDUCATIONHEROESFORCHILDREN'SAWARD

LovejoyISDrecognizedMrs.KaseyHavens,parent,communityvolunteer,and Lovejoy ISD PTO Council President for receiving the 2024 Heroes for Children Award for State Board of Education (SBOE) District 12. This is a prestigious award and Kasey is one of only 15 awardees statewide who received this recognitionfortheoutstandingservicesandvaluablesupportshehasoffered our school community, staff, and most notably, the students of Texas .Kasey and the other 14 award recipients were honored during the SBOE general meetingonSeptember13,2024inAustin,Texas.

COMMUNITY RECOGNITIONS: MAYOR BAINE BROOKS, CITY OF ALLENMCCUPARTNERSHIP

Mayor Baine Brooks, City of Allen, was recognized for helping connect and foster a strong partnership with My Community Credit Union at Lovejoy High School.

MyCommunityCreditUnionisanoutstandingpartnerforLovejoyISDbecause oftheirdeepcommitmenttoimpactingstudentsthroughfinancialliteracyand enthusiasm for customizing programming to the needs and aspirations of LovejoyISDstudents.

LEOPARD LIFE

TheLeopardLifewebsiteisanewadditiontoLovejoy’swaystostayengaged. SchoolrelatedflyersandcommunitynewswillbesharedontheLeopardLife.

Thisweek'sfeaturedflyersare:

LovejoySwim&DivePumpkinPatch(10/4&10/5)

JuniorLeopardsMiniCheerCampRegistration

SAGECoffee7-12thGradeParents(10/10)

LovejoyBowlingClubTryout(10/6)

LacrosseFallSeasonRegistrationisOpen CommunityNews

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!

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 1st through 6th grade. Choose from one of the links below for more information.

Come meet and connect with other parents and district personnel to learn about our SAGE (Special and Gifted Education)programplansfortheyear! Coffee and light snacks will be provided.

September 24th 9:00am - 10:30am (PreK-6thGradeParents)

October 10th 9:00am - 10:30am (7th-12thGradeParents)

Location: Lovejoy Child Development CenterLibrary

Lovejoy SAT Prep classes are open for registration. Click here to learn more andregister!

Lovejoy High School students are invited to audition for Lovejoy Theatre’s upcoming musical, Cinderella! Click here tosignupforCinderellaAuditions!

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!