I can't even believe how fast time moves in the month of December and I'm shocked that the semester only has two and a half more weeks left in it. Those two weeks will go very quickly - I'm certain. I know this because I have about 4 weeks worth of items I need to complete... Why can't time move slow in December? I know that I included this in my last newsletter but I just wanted to reiterate that the hard cut-off date to turn in any late work is December 16th. Please talk with your student and review their assignments on infinite campus. Also, be aware that if your student received a bad grade grade on an assignment, they are welcome to resubmit the assignment. Just have your student communicate with their teacher for further clarification of how'd they'd like resubmission to be done. Students tend to always wait until the very last minute to get things done and the more we can nudge them along, the better the outcome!

It was a great first couple of days of "Decking the Heartland Halls!" We had tons of participation in the dress up days from students and staff and hope to have even more participation this week! We've started our door decorating contest and I appreciate all of the parent donations to help make this a fun event! The line-up of all dress up days is listed in the graphic below! On deck this week we have:

• December 5th - All I Want For Christmas Is You - Duo-Trio Day
• December 6th - Candy Cane Lane - Dress Like A Candy Cane
• December 7th - Frosty The Snowman - Winter Hat/Headgear Day
• December 8th - Bright Lights - Neon/Shiny Clothing
• December 9th - Sleigh Ride - Plaid/Flannel Day

A huge shout-out to our Winter sports teams! It's so fun and exciting to see our students participating in the sport that they love! Additionally, I love the support that our students show one another at these events! The number of students attending the basketball games and cheering for their friends is AWESOME! Makes the games even more exciting as the energy levels are high! Thank to our amazing student section for keeping your comments clean and cheering your friends to victory! I look forward to watching and enjoying some holiday concerts in the near future!

1 week down, 2.5 weeks to go! Let's finish the semester strong, Heartland!

WE ARE...HEARTLAND!

Respectfully,

Veronica Johnson

Principal, Heartland Middle School

405-340-2972

Here's the deal -- I realize everyone is in a rush to drop off and pick up. I get it - believe me! However, there are some practices happening that are not safe & we need to address those.

1) Picking Up/Dropping Off on Penn Itself. We have a few parents who are stopping on Penn Ave to have students get in and out of the car. Not only does this stop traffic for the other billion cars that are traveling down the street - but - it's simply not safe. I've even noticed cars make an immediate illegal u-turn after dropping off. Please help us out by trying a different method for pick up/drop off.

2) Dropping Off at the North Entrance We have SEVERAL parents who are now skipping the line, driving around to the North side of the school and dropping their students off in the bus loop after the buses leave in the morning. This may be a practice we need to utilize in the future - however - we are currently not staffed for supervision of these students as they come in. We ask that you utilize the car rider line and not drop off in the North bus loop.

3) Picking Up and Dropping Off in the East Parking Lot. The East parking lot by the tennis courts is used for staff parking. Many parents are driving around the North side of the building and into the East parking lot to drop off and pick up their student. Again, this area is not properly supervised. The more students that gather over on the East side, the more likely something dangerous/inappropriate can happen.

4) Students Dropped Off Early or Picked Up Late. We have supervision of students scheduled from 7:10 am to 2:40 pm. We've consistently had students waiting out front until deep in the 4:00pm time. These students are not supervised. AND - they're bored.. Bored and not supervised turns into many things at the middle school level. We ask that you please make arrangements to have your student picked up at the normal time - OR - ride the bus home. Additionally - we're having many students dropped off on campus and waiting for doors to open for a long time. Some as early as 6:00am. An hour and ten minutes is a long time to wait once it gets really cold outside..

In short - I ask that we all follow the normal procedure for pick up and drop off for the safety of our students.

This is a reminder for most but I wanted to send it out to avoid any confusion.

All medication administered at school must be brought into the school and picked up by an adult. Medication cannot be transported to and from school by the student.

All medication, including over-the-counter medication, to be given at school must be accompanied by a completed Authorization for the Administration of Medication form. This form must be signed by a medical provider and include specific instructions on how and when to administer the medication. This form is available in the office and on the district website. Medication will not be held at the school without this form.

Prescription medication must be in a prescription container with the pharmacy label. The instructions on the label must match those on the Authorization for Administration of Medication form. Any non-prescription medication (e.g., cough syrup, ibuprofen, etc.) must be in the original, unopened container.

The written authorization for all medications is effective for the current school year and must be renewed each school year.

Substances not approved by the FDA will not be stored or administered by school personnel.

The complete medication policy can be found on the district website

Thank you ~ School Nurse Torie Moore

Students are required to wear their student ID each and every day. All students have received their initial ID for the year. Students that do not have their ID are expected to print a temporary sticker badge to wear for the day. This should only be used in emergency situations. Students are allotted 5 free sticker badges per month and will be charge $1 for every badge thereafter until the end of the month. Students wearing a sticker badge will not have access to the snack bar and be last in lunch lunch line. I recommend purchasing a new ID for $5 if your student has lost their ID.

This is one of the district's many safeguards for our schools. IDs provide a quick glance of students that belong to our school, their grade level, and which parts of the building they should be in during the day.