Connect with Katie.12.19.2024.Issue20 by Lovejoy ISD

Connect with Katie

DECEMBER 19, 2024

Lovejoy Lovejoy Leopards Leopards

from the Superintendent MESSAGE

It’s the most wonderful time of the year! On behalfofLovejoySchoolDistrict,Iwouldliketo wishyouandyourfamilyalltheblessingsofthis joyous season. On Tuesday, the Foundation for Lovejoy Schools brought love and joy to our schools. Thanks to the Foundation and the incredible generosity of our community, teachersandstaffreceivedaholidaybonus.We aredeeplygratefultotheFoundationandallthe

donorswhomadethispossible.Thevalueourcommunityplacesoneducators isoneofthemanyblessingsthatmakeLovejoyISDuniquelyspecial.

Yesterday, we celebrated what might be our most adorable tradition kindergarten Grinch Day! There were big and little Grinches, Cindy Lou Whos, and even a few Max the dogs. I had the honor of being mistaken for the real Grinch by a few of our students. Their wide-eyed stares and whispered suspicions were priceless proof that my costume left quite an impression! Don’tworry,though noholidayjoywasstolen,justlotsofsmilesandlaughter shared!

Many of us had the pleasure of experiencing the incredible talent and hard work of our student musicians this week. A special thank you to the adorable Lovejoy Child Development Center students for their enthusiastic songs and dances, the A Cappella Choir for their moving performance at the Board of Trustees meeting on Monday night, and the Jazz Band for skillfully filling the districtofficewiththefestivesoundsoftheseasontoday.

On Tuesday evening, the Bond Planning Committee gathered to debrief the facilitytourstheytooklastSaturdayanddiscussspecificprojectpriorities.Our bondplanningprocessisaprioritybasedapproachgroundedinLovejoyISD's strategicplan,targets,andgoals.Bymakingrecommendationsforthedistrict's capital planning, the committee plays a crucial role in our strategic efforts to provide LovejoyCommunity,

provide students with an exceptional educational experience. We are deeply gratefulforthepersonalsacrificeoftimeourstudents,parents,andcommunity membershavemadetoengageinthisimportantwork.

Thank you for sharing your precious children with us. The opportunity to be a partoftheirgrowthandexperiencingthemanyjoysofthisseasonwiththemis oneofourgreatestgifts.

We hope your winter break is filled with time with those you love, and we look forwardtoseeingyouinthenewyearwhenstudentsreturntoschoolonJanuary 8th.

ThereisonlyONELOVEJOY,andweareALLLEOPARDS!

LovejoyProud,

KatieKordel Superintendent

ProjectConsiderations

01 PRIORITY BASED APPROACH

Meeting # 4 Fast Facts December 17, 2024

The bond planning process is a priority based approach grounded in Lovejoy ISD's strategic plan, targets, and goals. Applicable strategic targets, developed by the Lovejoy 2030 stakeholder based committee, may be found on the reverse side.

03

IMPROVEMENTS IMPACTING ALL CAMPUSES ARE BEING CONSIDERED BY THIS BOND PLANNING COMMITTEE

Potential improvements impacting all campuses, include but are not limited to: Campus Renovations to Learning Environments, Repair or Replacement of MEP (Mechanical, Electrical, Plumbing) Systems, Safety and Security Enhancements, Transportation Equipment, and Technology Infrastructure,Systems,andTools.

04 LISD CAMPUSES HAVE ROOFS NEARING END OF LIFE

05 HART ELEMENTARY’S SEPTIC SYSTEM IS 25 YRS OLD

Hart Elementary School’s septic system has reached end of life at 25 years oldandoccupies2acresoffieldspace. HartistheonlyLovejoyschoolwith asepticsystem.

LOVEJOY’S “BUS BARN” WAS PREVIOUSLY UTILIZED AS A MILLWORK SHOP

Multiple Lovejoy ISD schools and facilities have roofing needs, including Lovejoy High School which has 234,000 square footage of roofing nearing the end of its life cycle. Roofing failures have resulted in water damage to LISD buildings, impacting student learning environments and resulting in additionalrepairexpenses. 06

LovejoyISD’stransportationfacilitywasacquiredin2009. Itwaspreviously a millwork shop and was retrofitted to serve LISD’s basic transportation needs.

Lovejoy 2030 Strategic Targets

The Grinch's heart grew three sizes today at Hart and Puster Elementary SchoolsduringtheirannualGrinchDay!DistrictLeadershipspent partoftheir dayspreadingholidaycheer(andalittleconfusion)astheyvisitedkindergarten classes. While some students were unsure about Superintendent Kordel's Grinchy ways, their frowns turned upside down when they received their very owncopyofHowtheGrinchStoleChristmas!

FOUNDATION FOR

LOVEJOY SCHOOLS

The Foundation For Lovejoy Schools and seven jolly elves visited our Lovejoy campuses today to spread holiday cheer! Teachers and staff were surprised withaholidaygiftfromtheFoundation...andtheirsmiles,hugs,andgratitude were priceless! Thank you Lovejoy community and Foundation for Lovejoy Schoolsforyourgenerosityanddedicationtoourschooldistrict!Weappreciate youinvestinginthosewhoinspire,teach,andcareforstudentseveryday!!

Holidaydress-updaysandfestivitiescontinuearoundLovejoyISD! Enjoymore funphotosfromaroundtheDistrict!

As a valued stakeholder, we know how much our district matters to you. Therefore, we believe it is important that you have accurate and transparent informationaboutLovejoyISD.WiththeintroductionofRealityCheck,weare taking proactive steps to address misinformation and disinformation. It is our hope that this resource will serve as an informational tool for our community andfurtherLovejoyISD’scommitmenttocommunication. AccessRealityCheckHere

ATTENDANCE Reality Check

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

G/T REFERRAL WINDOW

The Lovejoy ISD G/T referral window is opening soon! Forms will be available in PowerSchool.

Kindergartenreferrals:January1-31 Grades1-11referrals:February1-28

Aninformatonalzoommeetingwillbeheldon December16th. Thezoomlinkwillbeshared incampusnewsletters.

Please email any questions to crystal gaddie@lovejoyisd.net.

25-26 STUDENT CALENDAR

We are pleased to share that the Board of Trustees approved the 2025-2026 School Calendar at the December 16th Board Meeting. The LISD Calendar development process included feedback from multiple district stakeholder groups, parents, principals, and district leaders. We would like to thank everyone involved in the 2025-2026 calendar development process and look forwardtoanotheroutstandingyear.

SANTA VISITS

LOVEJOY CDC

LCDChadaveryspecialvisitorTuesdaymorning.SantaClaushimselfcameto visit. He visited with each class, read a special book, and passed out candy canes.HealsocalledtheNorthPoletobesurethatwewereallonthenicelist. We were very relieved when he confirmed we were! On Santa's way out, he noticed that our mischievous school elf, V, was injured in the nurse's office. SantasharedacandycanewithVandthensprinkledsomeChristmasmagicon him.ItworkedbecauseVwasbacktohisoldtricksthenextmorning!

1ST GRADE READING STRATEGIES

The holiday break may be approaching but there is no slowing down for our learners! This week students in Ms. Ramos’ 1st grade classroom worked in smallgroups developingtheirreadingstrategiesbyfocusingonthesilent‘e’ spellingpattern.Theypracticedencodinganddecodingwordswiththesilent‘e’ beforedivingintobooksthatreinforcedthisskill.Astheyread,studentsapplied theirstrategiestotackletrickywordswithconfidence.

Meanwhile, the rest of the class participated in "Read to Self," where they identified the main idea of texts from their book boxes. They created bubble mapsintheirreadingresponsejournalstoorganizetheirthoughtsanddeepen theircomprehension.

4TH GRADE

READERS’ THEATER

FourthgradestudentinMs.Vela’sclassatPusterusedReaders'Theaterscripts to study the structure of drama, analyze plot elements, and determine character changes through dramatic play. They practiced their plays, created props,andblockedoutwhereandhowtheywouldmoveonthe"stage."They culminatedtheunitbyperformingtheirplaysforotherstudents. BRAVO!!

SPELLING BEE

AT PUSTER

Thirty-one 4th Graders participated in the annual Scripts Spelling Beek this week. The event went an unprecedented 18 rounds before finalizing our top three contestants! First Place (center): Zoya Rahim, Second Place (left) Sophia Wang, Third Place (right) Siena Ortiz. We are incredibly proud of the courage andsportsmanshipdisplayedbyallcontestants!Zoyanowhastheopportunity tocompeteintheCollinCountySpellingBeeonFebruary6th.

ROBOTICS AT

SOUTHLAKE

Roboticshad8teamscompeteintheSouthlake1tournamentlastweekend.

Team R won Excellence and were Tournament Champions, once again (ExcellenceAwardrecognizesoverallexcellenceinbothjudgedawardsand performanceawardcategories).

TeamJwontheirfirstjudgedawardforDesign(involvesdocumentingand explaining their engineering design process through a notebook and interview).

TeamEadvancedtotheFinals.

TeamsMandSmadeittotheSemi-Finals.

TeamsGandVadvancedtotheQuarterFinals.

TeamTfacedoneofthetoughestschedulesbuthadgreatdrivingthrough theQualificationmatches.

Robotics will have a nice break until January and will resume competition at Southlake2onJanuary18th.

GIRLS BASKETBALL

Girlsbasketballcontinuestodominateindistrict,improving3-0afterabig43-25 winoverWalnutGrove.JuniorTatumNovickehadastellarnightwith16points whileseniorsSidneyCarrandAevaHaasadded9.TheLeopardsstarteddistrict athomeagainstAnna,witha62-42win.AevaHaasandjuniorPeytonNovicke led the team with 14 points each and Sidney Carr added 13 continuing her careercountafterreaching1000earlierinpreseason.Theteamstraveledoutto Denisonwithanexciting45-40winledbySidneyCarr(13)andTatumNovicke (12).JVlookstoimproveindistrictwiththefreshmancontinuingstrongcoming off a big 48-25 win against Walnut Grove. The Leopards will face off with McKinney North in a home matchup on Friday, December 20 before a short holidaybreak.VarsityheadsdowntoWacoonthe26thtofaceoffintheMTRice Tournament.DistrictwillresumeonJanuary3atMelissa.

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 thelefttoopenthesummaryandpictures.

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.

LEOPARD LIFE

This is a community wide program presented by LISD’s Director of Safety and Security, Casey Littlefield. We hope that you will join us on Wednesday, January15thattheLHSAuditoriumat6 pm as Casey shares the Standard ResponseProtocolsusedwithinschools as well as CRASE (Civilian Response to Active Shooter Event). CRASE provides strategiesandguidanceforsurvivingan active shooter event. If you have ever asked yourself, what should I do if confrontedwithanactiveshooterevent, come learn the strategies of Avoid, Deny,Defend(ADD).

Lovejoy SAT Prep classes are openforregistration.Clickhere tolearnmoreandregister!

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 kindergarten through 6th grade. Choose from one of the links below formoreinformation.

Thisisanopportunityforparentsandcommunitymemberstoconnectwith LovejoyISDTrusteesandSuperintendentKatieKordelinaninformalsetting. During Community Coffee Talks, Lovejoy ISD leadership listens, shares and engagesin opendialogue/discussionwithourcommunity.

February26,2024 6:00p.m.-7:00p.m. WillowSpringsMiddle(Cafeteria)

April29,2024 9:00a.m.-10:00a.m. HartElementary(LeopardLair)

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!