Connect with Katie WEEKLY NEWS AND INFORMATION FROM THE SUPERINTENDENT
NOVEMBER 15, 2023
y o j e v o L s d r a p o e L
CONTENTS 04 MESSAGE FROM THE SUPERINTENDENT 15 MOANA THEATRE PRODUCTION 17
THANKSGIVING FEAST HOSTED BY LCDC
17 1ST GRADE TURKEY PERFORMANCE 18 FISHING TAKES 1ST PLACE
05 GIVING THANKS IN LOVEJOY
06
19
ALL REGION BAND HOSTED BY WSMS
20
BASKETBALL STARTS SEASON STRONG
21 BOYS GOLF TIMES THREE!
LEOPARD FRIDAY
07 VOLLEYBALL IS HEADED TO STATE! 08 FOOTBALL BI=DISTRICT CHAMPS! 09
FOUNDATION FOR LOVEJOY SCHOOLS
09 HAPPY THANKSGIVING 10 BOARD ACADEMY REGISTRATION 10 ATTENDANCE UPDATE 12 SENIOR NIGHT
22 LOVEJOY ROBOTICS CHAMPIONS!
23 SWIM & DIVE SUCCESSES 24 BOARD OF TRUSTEES INVITATION 25 LOVEJOY LINKS 29
DISTRICT AND CAMPUS NEWSLETTERS
29 COMMUNITY NEWS
MESSAGE from the Superintendent Lovejoy Community, We have so much to be grateful for in Lovejoy ISD. Students who remind us on a daily basis of our purpose and inspire us with their potential. Remarkable teachers and staff who have dedicated their lives to supporting the growth and development of our students. Involved and supportive parents and community members. Our shared investment and collective commitment distinguish Lovejoy ISD and creates a culture that you have to experience to fully understand. A very special Lovejoy ISD tradition is the Lovejoy Letter Campaign. Appreciation notes are written by students, parents, and the community to each teacher and staff member. Our PTO invests considerable time into facilitating this effort. It is difficult to adequately express what it means to receive an envelope filled with special notes of gratitude. Thank you to each of you that wrote a letter as well as to those who generously provided pies to Lovejoy staff. Our students may begin their holiday break on Thursday of this week, but the Leopards are definitely not powering down. Our Varsity Volleyball Team earned their way to the state tournament and will play their semi-final match against Lamar Fulshear on Friday, November 17th at 1:00 p.m. at the Curtis Culwell Center in Garland. The winner will play in the State Championship game on Saturday, November 18th at 3:00 p.m. Our Varsity Football Team earned the Bi-District Championship and will play Ennis this Friday, November 17th at 7:30 p.m. at Wildcat-Ram Stadium in Dallas. Friday is a big day for Lovejoy. Let’s show up big to cheer for our Leopards! Congratulations to our Robotics Team on their success at the tournament in Abilene this past weekend. 1082T won Excellence and Tournament Champion. We wish you a very Happy Thanksgiving and hope that next week is filled with quality time spent with those you love. If you are traveling, be safe and enjoy your adventures. We look forward to seeing you on November 27th and hearing about your break. There is only ONE LOVEJOY and we are ALL LEOPARDS! Lovejoy Proud,
Katie Kordel Superintendent
GIVING THANKS
IN LOVEJOY
Across the district, students, staff, and parents demonstrated what it means to #LiveLovejoy with letters of appreciation, pies, performances and classroom celebrations! Thank you Lovejoy Community and PTO’s your heartfelt gratitude and appreciation. Wishing our all our Lovejoy Leopards a Happy Thanksgiving!
LEOPARD FRIDAY After being rescheduled twice, we were so grateful for good weather during our annual Leopard Friday event and pep rally. A BIG thank you to our fine art and athletic programs, students clubs, boosters, PTO’s, and the entire Lovejoy community for making this event fun and successful!
VOLLEYBALL IS
HEADED TO STATE!
We are THRILLED to share that your Lovejoy Volleyball Leopards are STATE BOUND! Our girls fought HARD for five sets Friday night agains the Wakeland Wolverines to place themselves in the Region 2 Finals. On Saturday, after an exciting three set match against the Reedy Lions, your Leopards came out on top securing their spot in the State Tournament this weekend! Please join us for a State Send Off on Thursday, November 16th at 4:00 p.m. in the LHS Courtyard! Let’s show our Leopards what it means to be #OneHeartOneLovejoy! On Friday, your Lovejoy Leopards will take on the Fulshear Chargers at the Curtis Culwell Center in the State Semi-Final game at 1:00pm. Link to purchase game and parking tickets. On behalf of the volleyball team and coaching staff, thank you for all your encouragement and continued support!
FOOTBALL BI-DISTRICT CHAMPS! Your Lovejoy Leopards defeated Longview Pine Tree Friday night 34-6 to claim the Bi-District Championship and advance to the Area round of playoffs. The Leopards are now 10-1 on the season and will face the Ennis Lions this Friday, Nov. 17th at 7:30pm at Wildcat-Ram Stadium in Richardson. The support this season from our Lovejoy community has been second to none. Be sure to continue supporting our Leopards this Friday in Richardson as we fight to keep this special season going! Link to Purchase Tickets Clear Bag Policy
FOUNDATION FOR
LOVEJOY SCHOOLS
At Friday’s football game the Foundation for Lovejoy school’s representatives made a ceremonial check presentation to Lovejoy ISD. The Foundation for Lovejoy Schools Board of Directors of the would like to say “thank you” to all who support the Foundation’s work. This year the Foundation celebrates its 20 th Anniversary of enhancing education in Lovejoy. To date the Foundation has contributed $6 million to help enhance the educational experience of our students. Learn more on the Foundation for Lovejoy Schools website.
HAPPY THANKGIVING
BOARD ACADEMY REGISTRATION The Lovejoy ISD Board Academy is designed for anyone considering public service on the Board of Trustees as well 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 state-required training requirements, and discuss the difference between Board oversight and day-to-day operations of the district. Information will also be shared on the guidelines, logistics, and timelines to run for a Board seat. The Board Academy will be on Wednesday, December 6 from 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m.
ATTENDANCE UPDATE Strong school attendance is correlated with higher academic performance. Additionally, average Daily Attendance (ADA) is a metric that the State of Texas uses to determine funding for public schools. Each week, this attendance data will be updated so our community is aware of our most recent ADA.
DISTRICT CALENDAR EVENTS
CALENDAR EVENT LINKS
STUDENT CALENDAR
DISTRICT CALENDAR
CAMPUS CALENDARS
ATHLETICS CALENDAR
FINE ARTS CALENDAR
Campus, 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.
SENIOR NIGHT At the football game Friday, November 10th Lovejoy ISD recognized seniors in Football, Band, Majestics, Color Guard, Cheer, Cross Country, Fall Tennis, Fall Golf, and Athletic Trainers. These students have shown exemplary dedication to their training and teams. We are incredibly proud of these well-rounded, talented, and hardworking students (and their parents)! Congratulations, Lovejoy High School Seniors!
MOANA THEATRE PRODUCTION The WSMS theater department had a successful two night run of Moana Jr. at Lovejoy High School. We had over 60 students participate in the musical which was many student's first show! Thank you students, parents and LHS Theater booster club for all of your help and commitment to create such a great show.
CONNECTING LOCAL BUSINESSES AND THE LOVEJOY COMMUNITY WHILE SUPPORTING LOVEJOY ISD THROUGH REVENUE GENERATION The Lovejoy ISD Community Partner program is a new way for local businesses to support Lovejoy ISD and connect with the Lovejoy Community! Community Partner advertisements are featured in our weekly District newsletter, Connect with Katie, Living Lovejoy videos, and District Social Media. Interested in becoming a Community Partner? Click HERE to learn more!
THANKGIVING FEAST HOSTED BY LCDC LCDC hosted their Annual Thanksgiving Feast on Wednesday, November 15th. Parents, extended family and students celebrated with a special lunch. We are thankful for our LCDC families and students.
1ST GRADE TURKEY PERFORMANCE Puster Elementary 1st graders performed in the first ever PES Turkey Day performance today! Students sang and danced to Thanksgiving themed songs, as well as recited poems for a very full audience of family members. The song Super Turkey was definitely a student and crowd favorite! Mrs. Grall, Music Teacher at Puster, did an exceptional job preparing students and hosting the event! Thank you, Mrs. Grall!
FISHING TAKES 1ST PLACE! At the THSBA tournament this past Saturday November 11, there were 239 boats at Lake Texoma. Leopard Fishing took home 1st Place with a weight of 29.95 lbs!!! We had 12 teams that weighed in, but awards were handed out to those placing in the top 34. One of our Anglers, Senior and Captain - Grant Pursifull won the Big Bass Award of the tournament, with one fish weighing in at 5.37 lbs. Great job to all our Anglers! 2nd Place - 14.01lbs - Izak Lenart/Grant Pursifull (Captains) 14th Place - 9.59lbs - Grady Boots/Nick Rowe 26th place - 6.35lbs - Grayson Cox/Carsten Dunn
ALL REGION BAND HOSTED BY WSMS Willow Springs Band hosted Region 25 All Region Band 1,380 students on Saturday and 200 students last night. Students auditioned for membership in All Region Band auditioning with students from Plano ISD, Wylie ISD, Allen ISD, and other surrounding districts. They worked really hard, and as you can see from those numbers, the competition was fierce! Please join me in congratulating the following students on their placement in the All Region Band: George Paulraj, Flute, All Region Symphonic Band Madison Simpson, Alto Sax, All Region Wind Symphony Mylie Ford, Bari Sax, All Region Concert Band William Swiere, Trumpet, All Region Wind Symphony Carter Kowalski, Trumpet, All Region Symphonic Band Nicolas Kelsey, French horn, All Region Symphonic Band Johannes Ebersohl, Trombone, All Region Wind Symphony Dallas Pham, Trombone, All Region Symphonic Band Alex Ferinden, Euphonium, All Region Concert Band Liam Tran, Tuba, All Region, Symphonic Band William Murphy, Percussion, All Region Wind Symphony Alternates: Neha Somagattu, Clarinet, 1st alternate Joshua Mulatu, Clarinet Makayla Liebl, Clarinet We are so incredibly proud of all our band students who went through this process!
From left to right: Neha Somagattu, Mylie Ford, Madison Simpson, Makayla Liebl, Alex Ferinden, Josh Mulatu, William Murphy, William Swiere, Carter Kowalski, Liam Tran, Dallas Pham, George Paulraj, Johannes Ebersohl, Nicolas Kelsey
BASKETBALL STARTS SEASON STRONG The Lovejoy boys basketball program got off to a great start to their season with a sweep of Lebanon Trail Friday, November 10th. The Varsity defeated the Blazers by a score of 53-40 with the Leopards being paced by Tate Ziemkiewicz"s 10 points and 8 rebounds and Brendan Cooper's 10 point effort. Sawyer Black added 9 points and 9 rebounds in his season debut.The JV won their game 59-27 while the Freshman made their first high school game a memorable one with a 47-24 victory. On Tuesday night Freshman and JV teams played against the Poteet Pirates and both teams walked away with Victories! Congratulations a great start to Basketball season!
BOY’S GOLF TIMES THREE! The Boy’s Golf recently competed in three tournaments with strong results! During the Mounger Memorial Nov 1st at the Golf Course of Dallas, both the Black and Red team played. It was a solid showing for the guys. The Black team totaled 313 to take 1st place. The Red team shot 346 and finished 5th. Ben Muirhead won 1st overall shooting a 76. Colton McClure shot 77 and finished 2nd. Lorenzo Osteguin and David Ruggeri shot 80 to finish t-7th. Will Myatt finished t-10 with an 82. In the Michael Eubanks Memorial tournament Nov 7th at Indian Creek Golf Course, the White team (JV) finished 2nd! The guys shot 376 as a team. Barron McClure led the way with a 93. Ethan Topchik carded 94. Most recently, the Leopards competed in the District Fall Preview Tournament Nov 13th at Rockwall Athletic Club. The Red team finished 2nd on what proved to be a difficult day. The team shot 352. Kaden Chae-Kim finished 3rd overall carding a 77. Grady Boots had a solid day shooting 84. Well done, Leopards!
LOVEJOY ROBOTICS CHAMPIONS! This past Saturday we took 3 teams to Abilene, TX for the Battle in the Big Country Tournament- and we walked away Champions! 1082G worked extremely hard and ended ranked 6th out of all teams, and finished as Quarterfinalists. Great job 1082G! Then 1082S ended as Quarterfinalists and they won the Design Award! This is the top award for the engineering notebook, engineering design process and team interview. Finally, team 1082T won the Tournament Championship, almost won the Skills Championship (we ended 2nd place in skills), and they won the highest honor at a tournament- the Excellence Award! The Excellence Award is given to teams that are highly ranked in skills, qualification ranking, their engineering notebook and team interview. Congratulations to all 3 teams on a strong showing at this tournament!
1082GST
SWIM & DIVE SUCCESSES Thursday, November 2nd Lovejoy Swim and Dive had their final dual meet of the season against Mckinney High and McKinney Boyd. Both the girls and the boys came out on top winning the meet by over 100 points! Additionally, Maria, our diver, had her first meet of the season with us and broke her 6 dive record scoring 291.0 points! That's our first record break of the season! Great job Maria! Final score: Lovejoy 1129 McKinney Boyd 702 McKinney High 632 On November 10-11th Lovejoy Swim & Dive attended Dual Meet Champs where we competed against 7 other schools bracket style meet. Overall Lovejoy placed 4th in Division 1 of the competition, losing out to Frisco Wakeland, Walnut Grove, and Allen ISD. Grant Hu set 2 new school records in the 100 backstroke and 50 freestyle. On top of this Grant set a new pool record of 1:49.73 in the 200 IM! Additionally, Austin Stone, Hunter Hedges, Chris Wang, and Grant Hu broke the 200 Medley Relay record on the second day of the competition! Cheer on our swimmers as we head into championship season these next 2 months!
BOARD OF TRUSTEES INVITATION
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. November 27 2023 Public Notice Website (Public ntoice will be posted a minimum of 72 hours in advance) You may find the full agenda with supporting documentation on our district's BoardBook Premier website HERE. Sincerely, Barrett Owens, President Amy Smith, Vice-President Jeff Wood, Secretary The Lovejoy ISD Board of Trustees
Marvin Bobo, Trustee Jason Jaynes, Trustee Julie McLaughlin, Trustee Mark Wheelis, Trustee
Leopard Life
LOVEJOY LINKS
NEW! DEBIT CARD DESIGN CONTEST Card Size: 2-1/8 by 3-3/8
Scan the QR Code for Official Rules and additional details, or visit mccu.coop/lovejoy.
Lovejoy ISD recently entered into a partnership with My Community Credit Union. This partnership is intended to enhance student opportunities in the areas of financial literacy and provide hands-on learning experiences for future careers related to finance. An MCCU branch is scheduled to open at Lovejoy High School in the fall of 2024. On Friday, October 27th, MCCU kicked off their Debit Card Design Contest. The contest is open to all Lovejoy ISD students. Three debit card design winners will be selected representing grades K-5, 6-8, and 9-12. The winners will have their designs on our Lovejoy Leopard MCCU Debit Cards and will receive a $100 gift card! Contest Rules: Must be an original image/design/artwork. Participants may submit up to 2 designs. Parent consent is required. Submissions are due to marketing@mccu.coop by midnight on January 26. Winners will be announced on March 1.
ACCESS & ACCOMMODATIONS
NEW! ORCHESTRA SPIRIT NIGHT
Leopard Life
LOVEJOY LINKS
NEW! ACCESS & ACCOMMODATIONS
2023 FINE ARTS FESTIVAL
NEW! SOCCER TRYOUT INFORMATION
Leopard Life
LOVEJOY LINKS
MINI CHEER CAMP
NUTRITION NEWSLETTER
COMMUNITY 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 engages in open dialogue/discussion with our community. August 29, 2023 6:00 p.m. - 7:00 p.m. Sloan Creek Intermediate
February 28, 2024 8:00 a.m. - 9:00 a.m. Lovejoy High School
November 30, 2023 12:00 p.m. - 1:00 p.m. Hart Elementary School
April 30, 2024 9:00 a.m. - 10:00 a.m. Willow Springs Middle School
Leopard Life
LOVEJOY LINKS
ALUMNI SPOTLIGHT Calling all Lovejoy Alumni! The Lovejoy Independent School District is excited to engage former LISD students and our community through Alumni spotlights in the district newsletter, as well as LISD social media. Alumni spotlights are a fun way for the district to celebrate our students' educational, professional, and personal journeys after graduation. If you wish to participate, please complete this form for our LISD Communications Department.
ALUMNI SPOTLIGHT INTEREST FORM
Lovejoy ISD is proud to continue facilitating student opportunities through the Professional-to-Student Engagement Portal. Sign-up and share your talents! Lovejoy Community Professionals: Who are Lovejoy Community Professionals? Engage with students by sharing their Industry & Business Leaders expertise and knowledge Parents Mentor students through various Lovejoy Alumni career and college ready experiences Lovejoy Neighbors Strengthen students skills in the areas Senior Community Members of communication, collaboration, Heritage Ranch Community Members critical thinking and problem solving Family Members of Lovejoy Students Build leadership skills, develop self confidence
DISTRICT & CAMPUS NEWSLETTERS Lovejoy ISD is committed to creating strong connections and providing clear communication with our Lovejoy parents and families. Below you will find links to the most recent newsletters from each campus. Sign up for weekly Principal Newsletters here to stay informed! DISTRICT NEWSLETTER Connect with Katie
SLOAN CREEK INTERMEDIATE Principal Newsletter
HART ELEMENTARY Principal Newsletter
WILLOW SPRINGS MIDDLE Principal Newsletter
PUSTER ELEMENTARY Principal Newsletter
LOVEJOY HIGH SCHOOL Principal Newsletter
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.
CLICK HERE
Connect with Katie . November 15, 2023 . Issue 16