We've made it to the Labor Day weekend! This point is always the first marker of the school year. It's that moment in time when we stop thinking about the craziness of the beginning of the year and focus on the routine that will get us through December. Please be reminded that we will not have school on Monday Sept. 5th in observance of Labor Day, as well as Sept. 6th for our district collaboration day. We are thrilled to welcome our students back on Wednesday Sept. 7th!

I want to give a big shout to out Heartland Thunderhawk athletics!! Our Thunderhawk athletes have been making us proud, not only within their sport, but with their sportsmanship, commitment to persevere and academically within the classroom! Congratulations to Softball, Volleyball, Football, and Cross Country teams for keeping true to our middle school mission of providing students with an opportunity to learn the game, develop in the game, and have fun along the way! It has been such a pleasure visiting with many of our Heartland families at the sporting events and cheering on our Thunderhawks together!

Here are a couple of reminders as your student attends a sporting event as a spectator. School behavior expectations continue at after school events. As mentioned in the letter from Jason Hayes, principal at Santa Fe High School, all students must sit in the stands at athletic events. They will not be able to roam around as we all know that misbehavior heightens when there is no supervision. My "go-to" when situations begin to arise is to call parents and have them come pick their students up. Additionally, we remind students to call you for their rides with lots of time left in the sporting events. We are experiencing a few students who seem to begin the process of calling home once we are already sitting outside the stadium after the game. Be sure to work with your student on the procedure and expectations for your family.

Lastly, thank you all for your support in participating in Kona Ice Day last Friday! We have a great partnership with Kona Ice and a portion of their sales is donated back to the school to help fund other activities and events for our students! Mark your calendars, our next Kona Ice Day will be Sept 16th!

Please know that my door is always open and you can feel free to reach out to me with any questions or concerns you may have!

WE ARE...HEARTLAND!

Respectfully,

Veronica Johnson

Principal, Heartland Middle School

405-340-2972

• Eligibility is run mid-week. For example - we run eligibility on Thursday morning based on grades posted on Wednesday evening. If a student is listed as "ineligible" - that means they can not participate in any OSSAA games scheduled for the next calendar week of Sunday - Sunday. By OSSAA rules - students can still practice during that time. However, individual coaches may have other team rules regarding practice.
• Probation vs. Ineligible. The first week a student has a grade that qualifies them for the eligibility report - they are listed as "on Probation"... At that point in time - they can still participate and play in games. (Again - team rules may be more strict) If the student raises the grade by the next eligibility report run - their name comes off the list and they are good to go. If there is still a grade in question - the student becomes ineligible.
• If a student is listed as ineligible - AND - raises their grade (yay!!) the next time there is a grade in question -- they move back to the probation category. Therefore, there is always a week of grace after a student has worked to get their name off of the list.

Please feel free to contact Heartland Athletic Director Laura Brown with questions as I know it can be confusing.