LVMS Weekly Newsletter
Week of January 23rd
CAPTURE THE MOMENT: WONDER, DISCOVERY, & EXPLORATION
Upcoming Events
Thursday, January 26th
Girls’ Basketball v. Comfort (Home)
Friday, January 27th
Early Release (A Schedule)
District UIL Meet at LVMS
Thursday, February 2nd
Basketball vs. Comfort (Girls Home / Boys Away)
Saturday, February 4th
District Basketball Tournament
Monday, February 20th
President's Day, Student Holiday
Friday, February 24th
Track and Field Meet at Blanco HS
Attendance...
As you know, absences from class may result in a serious disruption of a student’s mastery of the content. Mrs. Spexarth visited all 7th grade math classes this week to chat with students about the importance of attendance and to help students use their wicked math skills to calculate attendance percentages. Don't forget that a student must be in attendance at least 90% of the days the class is taught in order to receive credit or a final grade in a class. As always, we appreciate students and parents for making every effort to avoid unnecessary absences.
Update from LVMS
Both Mrs. Gearing and Dr. Lofton-Bullis will be on hand to assist Mrs. Spexarth and the LVMS staff to ensure that all campus operations continue to run smoothly and efficiently. They are both available through District email, as well.
Gifted and Talented Student Referrals
The G/T spring referral window for students in grades 1-12 is now open. Please visit the Academics & Student Services page on the district website, or click on the link below, for the referral form.
http://www.lagovistaisd.net/users/0001/curriculum/GT%20Referral.pdf
All referral forms must be signed by a parent/guardian and are due on Wednesday, February 1st. If you have any questions, please contact Randenne Kelley.
Anchor Time - UIL Practice
Early Release on Friday, January 27th
Also, below is a copy of the bell schedule for our early release day on January 27th:
Best of Luck to Our UIL Coaches and Teams Next Friday!
CEIC Representatives Needed!
This is the awesome group that looks at our campus needs and plans the Campus Improvement Plan for the upcoming year and makes recommendations involving all kinds of fun stuff!
If you would like to serve, or know someone who would, please email Dr. Lofton-Bullis at suzy_lofton@lagovista.txed.net. We will likely meet two times this year. Dates will be set according to what works best for those who volunteer. Thanks!
EVERY WEDNESDAY IN LVISD IS COLLEGE DAY! BE SURE TO SPORT YOUR FAVORITE COLLEGE'S GEAR!
Got GRIT??
What it is, why it’s important, and how to help your child get it. Grit is defined as having perseverance and passion for long-term goals and working hard toward challenges, even when failure and adversity presents itself. Grit is a “non-cognitive” skill, similar to self-control, resiliency, and curiosity. Researchers now realize that grit is as important, if not more, than academic skills! We know that teaching literacy and math skills are important for a student’s long-term success. But what happens when the math gets a little tricky? Or when the reading is “boring”? What keeps a student from giving up? G R I T! That’s what! And, grit can be taught.
Here’s how to help your child develop grit:
1. Praise the effort, not the grade.
When you praise the “stick-to-it-ness” of your child’s efforts, they will be more determined to continue working hard. Praising your child’s hard work will encourage them not to give up.
2. Let them struggle.
As hard as it is to see your child struggle, they need to learn how to work through frustration and failure. If you swoop in and save them before they fail, they will never learn how to deal with failure, which is a part of life. While they’re struggling, praise their effort!
3. Create and talk about your own goals.
If your goal is to clean the basement, repaint the bedroom, or run that half-marathon, talk about it as a family. Share what small steps you are taking along the way to meet your goal, and talk about your own struggles and how you plan to get past them.
4. Keep and model an open mindset.
An open mindset is believing that things can change, that we can improve our skills and knowledge, and that we can get past challenges. Instead of saying, “I can’t do this!” you can say, “I can’t do this….yet.”
5. Find ways to challenge your child.
Encourage your child to try new things, even if they aren’t sure they’re any good at it. Trying new things is how we learn from our mistakes. Give them age appropriate chores at home. Find new hobbies and involve your child. Praise their effort along the way!
For more information about grit, check out the UPenn website, with work by Psychologist Angela Duckworth: https://sites.sas.upenn.edu/duckworth
Credit to: Kayla Marston M.Ed.
Girl's Basketball
The Lady Vikings hosted Blanco this week at home.
The 8th grade B team fought hard and it was a low scoring, very close game. At the half, the score was tied 2-2. In the second half, we executed our press defense the Lady Panthers could not handle the pressure and they turned the ball over several times. The Lady Vikings pushed the ball hard up the floor at every opportunity, but we struggled converting those opportunities into baskets. With a minute left in the game, the Lady Vikings were behind by 2 points. However, we kept fighting and took a great shot to tie the game. We played smart defense and Blanco turned the ball over once giving the Lady Vikings the ball with 30 seconds left. As the clock was winding down we worked hard to get an offensive rebound to take the lead and win the game, 8-6. Avery Nichols contributed 4 points and Hailee Cosgrove, Dakota Hutchins had 2 points. A well earned victory for the Lady Vikings!
The 8th grade A team played an excellent game against the Lady Panthers. Blanco played a zone defense, but the Lady Vikings were able to find the scoring opportunities and convert those into baskets. At the end of the 1st quarter the Lady Vikings were leading 6-0. Once the Lady Vikings settled into their press and man to man defense, the Lady Panthers turned the ball over several times. At the half, the score was 18-4, Lago Vista. Blanco came out strong in the 3rd quarter holding the Lady Vikings to only 4 points and them scoring 10 more points, putting the score 22-14. In the last quarter the Lady Vikings relentless pressure defense kept Blanco from scoring any more points and we racked up another 8. The final score was 30-14, Lago Vista. Jade Press led the scoring with an impressive 14 points, 8 rebounds, and 5 blocks, Esther Long contributed 8 points, one being a 3 pointer, 3 rebounds, and 2 blocks. Heather Power scored 6 points and added 1 rebound. Lastly, Grace Rhone had 2 points, 4 rebounds, and 3 blocks. Way to go Lady Vikings!
The 7th grade 'B' team game was a success, in that the Lady Vikings scored their first game in the double digits! It was a hard fought battle with lots of lead changes. Lago Vista stayed point for point with Blanco until the last 2 minutes of the game, when Blanco went up by 4 points. A score from the Vikings put the score at 14-16 and a steal by the Vikings almost gave them a chance to tie, but time ran out before the shot. The leading scorer of the game was Morgan Moreland with 8 points. Makayla Ward had over 5 rebounds and Reese Raley had 3 steals.
The 7th grade 'A' team game was much more of a battle that the first time they played Blanco. The press was easily broken, forcing us to abandon it and rely strictly on our offensive ability to score. The score at the end of the 1st quarter was 8-8. The Vikings took the lead in the 2nd quarter and never looked back, ending the half at 14-10. Lots of great cuts and shots from the Vikings put them up 22-16 at the end of the 3rd, and then a few more points from both sides left the final score at 26-20, Lady Vikings win. The leading scorers for the night were Emma Vincent, who made 6 of 7 shots for 12 points, and Gina Chiappone with 8 points. The leading rebounder for the night was Bella Zaleski with 8.
The Lady Vikings host Florence at home again next week at 5:00pm.
Boy's Basketball
The boys basketball team traveled to Blanco on Thursday evening.
The 8th grade boys 'B' team had an exciting game that went into overtime. The boys came out a little flat against Blanco to begin the game and found themselves down by 8 points at the half. The boys dominated the action in the second half with a much more focused effort. Regulation ended with a 17-17 tie. The teams played a one-minute overtime and the Vikings were able to hit a basket and a free throw to win by 3. Hunter Phillips and Anson Eleuterius played very well at the end of regulation and overtime. Adrian Hernandez also played a strong defensive game for the Vikings.
The 8th grade boys 'A' team came out of the gate strong in their game. Blaze Seely was the focal point of the offense. Blaze went to the free throw line 8 times and sank 7 of them. That is 87.5%, for those of you who like math. The rest of the first half, the boys had control of the game with the Vikings up by 9 at halftime. The second half, Blanco starting making some deep threes and slowly cut into the lead. With the game tied at 34 with 45 seconds to go, Blanco came down and hit a 22-foot shot to go up by three. The Vikings were unable to respond and ended up losing 34-40. Overall, the Vikings were led by Josh Alexander, Blaze Seely, and David Rague. All three players were all over the floor and played with great intensity.
In the 7th grade 'B' team game Thursday night versus Blanco, the Vikings came out on top. In the first half, we played an amazing defense led by Malcolm Lockhart, Colby Croxton, Scott Shepherd, and Jase Chapa. By the end of the 2nd quarter, the Vikings were up by 24 points. In the second half, rebounding was led by Jaden Hester and Jordan Johnston. Leading scorers for the team where Scott Shepherd and Jordan Johnston. Leading the team in assists were Colby Croxton and Raul D'Lorm. At the end of the game, the Vikings were victorious with a 42-13 win. It was a great win for our 7th grade 'B' team...great job guys!
Our 7th grade 'A' team had a rough game against Blanco on Thursday night. After many costly turnovers and missed shots, the Vikings were held to one point in the first half. After half-time, the boys came out with a very different attitude. We had kids diving on the floor multiple times, such as Logan Parsons and Hayden Hardy. We continued to press and play amazing defense in the second half and held Blanco's team to only two points. Mikey Dean Ambrose and Arthur Munoz led the team in steals. Bryce Jackson and Ryder Phillips led the team in assists. All of our kids played very hard in the second half. They scrapped and fought every second they could, but it was just too big of a gap from the first half. Though it was a hard fought game, the Vikings fell 22-11 to Blanco.
The Viking boys are off next week before they travel to Comfort on February 2nd.
Make Sure You Know About StayALERT (...and Talk About it With Your Kiddos!)
Users may anonymously report concerns 24-7-365 via the StayALERT website, an e-mail, a phone call to a recorded and monitored line, or via a text message from a cell phone. Photos and video clips pertaining to the StayALERT report may be included. No special app required! Reportable information will be forwarded in a timely manner to a pre-designated school official for review.
To make a report, use one of the methods below:
Website: stayalert.info
Call or Text: (206) 406-6485
Email: report@stayalert.info
Need an LV Window Decal for Your Car?
There is a school-endorsed Etsy store selling window decals to promote school spirit for our Lago Vista Vikings. Each decal has a detailed description along with the option to personalize it.
Visit www.etsy.com and enter "LV Flightline" in the search engine. When you get to the store, pick out the decal or decals of your choice. There are different types of payment accepted, including PayPal.
Decals are shipped locally free of charge. Thanks for your school spirit and GO VIKINGS!
LVISD Monthly Character Trait for February - Fairness
Lago Vista ISD provides character education enrichment through our Monthly Viking Character Traits. Each month, we focus on these character traits through campus and District-wide activities. Our upcoming character trait for the month of February is Fairness. Here are some ways that students and teachers can show fairness:
Play by the rules • Take turns and share • Be open-minded and listen to others • Don’t take advantage of others • Don’t blame others carelessly • Treat all people fairly
To learn more about the District's Character Education program, speak to your student's campus counselor. To see a list of the monthly character traits, please click here.
Stay Connected With These Parent Resources
Parent Connection
Parents are valued partners and we believe that successful learning is best achieved through collaborative partnerships with parents and families. Our Parent Connection page is a one stop shop of resources for parents in LVISD. Click here to check it out!
Stay Connected with ParentLink by Blackboard
Lago Vista ISD uses the ParentLink communication system from Blackboard to assist in alerting parents, families, and employees of important information, such as school closures. ParentLink communicates via telephone, SMS text message, email and push notifications from the ParentLink app. Be sure to add a filter to your inbox so that emails containing the word “Blackboard” are not delivered to Spam. Download the FREE ParentLink app from the iTunes app store or on Google Play.
LVISD Publications and Forms
The District has a one-stop shop for all District publications and forms, including course catalogs, student handbooks, grading guidelines, and special programs information...and we are continuing to build this resource as documents and handbooks become available. Our "Publications and Forms" page is located under the "Parents and Students" tab, as well as on the "Quicklinks" menu on the right side of our homepage. Here is a link to the Publications and Forms page.
Lago Vista Middle School
Website: http://classroom.lagovistaisd.net/default.aspx?LagoVistaMiddleSchool
Location: 8039 Bar K Ranch Rd, Lago Vista, Texas 78645, United States
Phone: (512) 267-8300
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Lago-Vista-Middle-School-1266891766714816/
Twitter: @LagoVistaMS