Connect with Katie.10.21.20022.Issue12

Connect with Katie

W E E K L Y N E W S A N D I N F O R M A T I O N F R O M T H E S U P E R I N T E N D E N T

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Table of Contents

SUPERINTENDENT'S MESSAGE

Lovejoy Community,

It is difficult to adequately express the complexity and responsibility of the principalship. It is even more difficult to find an adequate expression of my deep appreciation for the leadership of our Lovejoy principals. As CEOs of their school, principals

Demonstrate Instructional Leadership

Provide a Safe School Environment

Support and Develop Teachers

Cultivate Positive Relationships

Build Culture

Create a Shared Vision

Manage Budgets and Resources

Supervise Personnel

Partner and Communicate with Stakeholders

Analyze Data, and Manage School Facilities

The magnitude of the principal role is put into perspective when you realize that this is by no means a comprehensive list. Principals are nothing short of heroes and seldom receive the recognition they deserve for their relentless dedication and remarkable leadership. These impactful leaders support Lovejoy

ISD’s legacy of excellence and make sure our students are receiving an outstanding educational experience.

Superintendent's Message Continued

October is Principal Appreciation Month. Ms. Haynes, Ms. Craft, Ms. Halpin, Mr. Koder, and Dr. Zambiasi are highly deserving of recognition. I hope you will join me in making a specific effort to express the deep gratitude our Lovejoy community has for these amazing educational leaders. There is only ONE LOVEJOY and we are ALL LEOPARDS!

Katie Kordel Superintendent

Fast Fact

School Funding Formulas

DISTRICT HIGHLIGHTS

Lovejoy Letter Campaign: A Tradition of Gratitude

The annual Lovejoy Letter Campaign for teachers and staff members has begun! Many of you are familiar with this beloved tradition, but for those of you who are not, it is the time of year when we write appreciation letters for each of our teachers and staff members across the district.

The letters do not have to be elaborate or lengthy. The goal is for our community to write a note of thanks to show gratitude to their teachers, the staff, and administration in our district. It is an opportunity for us to take the time to let each person who makes a difference throughout the school day know how much we value them.

Please clearly label the envelope with the staff/teacher’s name and LLC (Lovejoy Letter Campaign) and return the letter to the box at your campus no later than Friday, November 13th.

This letter writing campaign has become such a meaningful tradition in our district. We really appreciate your time and effort to help us tell our teachers and staff thank you for all that they do!

Parent and Community Engagement

Parent and community engagement is a priority in Lovejoy ISD. Recently, the district connected with parents at events including:

GT Advisory Committee

Special Education Advisory Committee

Leadership Lovejoy PTO/PTSO Meetings

We value the time and commitment made by our extraordinary community, as well as the resulting partnerships, opportunities, and insights that are gained through these stakeholder meetings.

Gifted & Talented Advisory Committee

The new LISD Special Education and Gifted and Talented Advisory Committees held their initial meetings this week. The committees include parent and staff representatives from each LISD campus as well as district level staff. The committees' work will focus on enriching the student experience with each of these programs by focusing on family/community connections, student programming, and communication.

Special Education Advisory Committee

National Principal Appreciation Month

Meeting

Closed Session @ 6:00PM in D100

Library

Open Session is expected to begin at approximately 7:00PM

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.

STUDENT ACTIVITIES & RECOGNITIONS

Lovejoy Band

The LHS Band competed in the Region 25 UIL Marching Contest on Saturday, October 15th. The Lovejoy Band earned a first division rating and will advance to the Area Marching Contest on Saturday, October 22nd. The Area Marching Contest preliminary performance will be at 3:00pm at the McKinney ISD Stadium. We hope to see our Band fans in the stands!

Tennis Area Champs!

The Leopard Tennis Team defeated the Hallsville Bobcats 10 2 to become Area Champions and advanced to the Regional Quarterfinals this week! Unfortunately the Leopard Tennis Team was edged out 10 9 after a tough 5 hour marathon agains the Corsicana Tigers (ranked #18), bringing our playoff season to an end. Congratulations on an incredible season!

Hannah Gonzalez Reaches 700 Career "Kills"

The volleyball team celebrated a career milestone for our Senior Middle Blocker, #12 Hannah Gonzalez as she achieved 700 career kills. A "kill" is a spike, or attack, in volleyball that cannot be returned by the defensive team therefore resulting in an immediate point for the offensive team. Join us in celebrating Hannah's amazing accomplishment!

The Leopards will wrap up district play this week with McKinney North today (Friday) at 5:00pm at home. We are ready for The Jungle!!

Region 25 Orchestra Qualifiers

A big congratulations to the following orchestra students for auditioning and being selected to be members of the Region 25 Orchestra:

Jackson Perry, Viola Hannah Mao, Viola Emily Perry, Harp

These talented musicians auditioned against hundreds of students from Plano, Allen, Wylie, and Sherman.

Jackson, Hannah, and Emily will perform with the Region 25 Orchestra on December 10th.

Additionally, Emily Perry has also qualified to move on to Area Auditions.

Congratulations!

This past weekend the Lovejoy Swim and Dive Varsity team competed at the Northwest invitational. Both boys and girls teams finished in 1st place by a landslide.

Maria Faoro placed 1st in diving by a wide margin and set a new school record! On the swimming side, the girls did not hold back. Senior Julia Stall was the MVP scoring 53 points. Honorable mentions go to Grace Hu, Ava Easley, and Kyra Chagarlamudi for each scoring 50 points and above. They were down 6 varsity swimmers, but the boys still came out on top.

Sophomore Sean Easley was the MVP scoring 51 points. Honorable mentions go to Chris Pages for scoring 50 points.

Congratulations to Grant Hu for being a USA Swimming 2021 2022 Scholastic All America Scholar by maintaining at least a 3.5 GPA in all his core classes. Only 1281 across the nation qualified. Way to go Grant!

Robotics

Lovejoy Robotics competed at LHS this past Saturday and did amazing! LHS Teams all begin with the number 1082 and the letter designates them. 1082E won the top award (State Qualifier), the Excellence Award, 1082X won the Design Award, 1082R won the Think Award, and 1082C formed an alliance with 1082R to end as finalists.

1082S also won the Innovate Award!

Overall it was an incredible day and it was impressive to see all of the robotics community and volunteers come together to make it happen. A BIG thank you i2i and Arista for sponsoring the tournament!

The Princess and the Moon

The LHS Acting and Directing theatre class performed the children's play, The Princess and the Moon for our Puster and Hart Elementary 4th graders on Thursday, October 13th at the LHS auditorium.

The acting and directing students prepared the staged performance while the tech students built and designed the set as part of their class curriculum. When the Puster and Hart students arrived at the theatre, our theatre director, Jessica Brewster, and student director, Jillian Nuckels, discussed audience etiquette and how to be a good theatre patron when watching a live performance.

One Hart 4th grader commented, "I loved the play. It was funny, and the students cheered on the hero of the story." The partnership between our elementary students and our LHS theatre program is a positive learning experience about the theatre and live performances.

The Princess and the Moon Continued

"They worked hard to perform a play for all of us. They memorized their lines and tried their best. They were doing a really good job of acting and using their emotions in the show. It made me feel emotional when Herbert died. I've been working on acting and it makes me want to work on acting more!"

"I liked it. It was really funny because all of the characters made me laugh a lot. It was really good to watch other people doing their dream of acting." Isla Rembold

Ellie Minter

STAFF RECOGNITIONS

Art for All

Willow Springs Middle School Art Teacher, Laci Garza, made this ramp for her students so they would be able to sit at the art tables with their peers. It even has hinges so that it can be stored away when not in use. What an impressive demonstration of Ms. Garza's dedication to all her students!

"Driving" their Teams Forward- Coaches Earn CDL's

!

We want to give a big shout out Coach Benson and Coach Puckett for obtaining their CDL (Commercial Drivers License). In order to obtain a CDL an individual must pass a medical physical test, take and pass 5 different DPS tests, complete 12 hours of classroom/video instruction, spend over 20 hours of driving time and THEN spend 3 Saturdays completing the Region 10 Driver's Safety Course! We also want to thank Johnny Cana for being the best driving instructor and supporter of those seeking CDL certifications.

STAFF SPOTLIGHT

Chris Koder

Principal, Willow Spring Middle School

Professional Background

Prior to serving as the Principal of Willow Springs Middle School in January 2022, I have been fortunate to serve in the following roles:

3 years as an Elementary School Principal

4 years as a Middle School Assistant Principal

2 years as a Science Instructional Specialist

7 years teaching Anatomy and Chemistry

Personal Highlights:

I love to go camping!

Last year I went on a 18 day road trip with the camper I've been married for 14 years and we have 3 kids

My wife is a third grade teacher

Roles and Responsibilities

Drive student success by defining and leading the culture, expectations, and priorities of a campus in alignment with Lovejoy's graduate profile, district priorities and core values. Building and maintaining positive relationships with students, parents, and staff members.

Collaboration, Connection, Community

At Willow Springs Middle School we prioritize these culture characteristics by:

Protecting and valuing our teachers' time

Seeking input from our staff regarding big campus wide decisions

Functioning as a whole, especially with the roll out of Leopard Time Inviting parents to come in for events like Coffee with the Principal to engage in round table discussions Willow Springs

Contact Information Email: chris koder@lovejoyisd.net Work Phone: 469.742.8500

BOARD OF TRUSTEES

Dear Lovejoy Community,

As a Board, we are committed to strong and proactive communication with our community. Part of this commitment is sending an email invitation to our community prior to Board Meetings with a sincere desire for you to be involved and fully aware, so we can come together as a community for our children.

Tuesday October 24, 2022 Board Meeting Public Notice

You may find the full agenda with supporting documentation on our district's BoardBook Premier website HERE.

Sincerely,

The Lovejoy ISD Board of Trustees

Barrett Owens, President

Amy Smith, Vice President Anne Smith, Secretary

Julie McLaughlin, Trustee Jeff Wood, Trustee

Marvin Bobo, Trustee Jason Jaynes, Trustee

Leopard

LOVEJOY LINKS

LHS CHOIR COFFEE LHOUSE EOPARD FRIDAY

Leopard Life

LOVEJOY LINKS

NEW! GREEN WTEAM ILLY WONKA JR.

NEW! LOVEJOY LETTER CAMPAIGN

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. Check out the new Community News format!

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A C

Key Take Aways

Students and/or staff who have tested positive for COVID 19 may return in 5 days if they have been fever and symptom free for 24 hours. (Change from 10 days for students)

Students with a COVID-19 household member who has tested positive are no longer required to quarantine. The district will not maintain a local “dashboard”, reporting positive cases. The district is required to report positive cases to the state. A link will be provided on the website that reflects this information for the district.

The health screener QR code will remain in place at each campus for volunteers and visitors to complete.

Current Covid-19 Illness/Exclusion Protocols