This is the last edition of The Heartland Family Newsletter for first semester of 22/23. THAT WENT FAST. It never seems like it when you're in the middle of it but when you look back - it's crazy fast. We've had some AMAZING success this semester and identified opportunities for growth when we come back for the second semester. As a reminder - should your family be moving over the break - we ask that you give our registrar a call or email so that we can either update your record or prepare to send records once they are requested by the new school. As I said last week, if you have any students moving into your neighborhood - please let them know that our offices will once again open on January 6th so that they can come in and hopefully complete the enrollment process. School starts back on January 9th which is quite a bit later in comparison to normal. Please make sure you are aware of those dates.

Looking back, we had a fantastic week full of dress up days, door decorating contests, Holiday concerts and sporting events! Please reference the pics below for a glimpse into our week! I can't say enough about our performing arts programs here at Heartland! I thoroughly enjoyed attending the choir concert and orchestra concerts and am soooo looking forward to our band concert this upcoming week! I even got to see a snippet of our 6th grade drama students performing for some Frontier Elementary Falcons! Seeing our students thrive in doing the things they love brings so much joy to my heart and makes the difficult days/long hours well worth the effort! Heartland is full of amazingly talented artist, performers, musicians, athletes and so much more! I feel thankful everyday to lead such an incredible community of students, faculty, staff and families!

Looking ahead, we have semester finals before us. Monday and Tuesday of this week, our teachers will be giving their comprehensive semester finals and you can reference the graphic below to see which subjects are on which days. The goal of semester finals is to evaluate which of the covered State standards have been mastered by your student. The data is invaluable and helps our teachers plan for the Spring semester in preparation for State testing. April will be here before we know it. I encourage you to have a conversation with your student about the importance of trying their best on their semester finals.

It was another great week of "Decking the Heartland Halls!" On deck for the last three days are:

• December 19th - What Are You Doing NYE? - NYE/Fancy Attire
• December 20th - Grandma Got Run Over By A Reindeer - Ugly Sweater
• December 21st - Blue Christmas - Grade Level Challenge - Winter Assembly

1. 8th Grade - Green
2. 7th Grade - Red
3. 6th Grade - White
4. Staff - Blue

We will celebrate a wonderful Fall semester with an all-school assembly on Wednesday full of fun minute-to-win -it games, celebrations and even a student/staff volleyball game!! During the assembly, we will also hear from a representative from City Care, this year's DWDW Common Thread recipient for Edmond Public Schools' philanthropic weeks. Lots of fun things ahead of us! Lastly, this will be my last newsletter of the year! Expect to see me back in action NEXT YEAR! From the bottom of my heart, from my family to yours, may the Holiday season fill your home with joy, your hearts with love and your life with laughter!

Let's finish the semester strong, Thunderhawks!

WE ARE...HEARTLAND!

Respectfully,

Veronica Johnson

Principal, Heartland Middle School

405-340-2972

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.