LISD Expect Excellence Newsletter

Before Spring Break our LHS YELL Officers and LISD Admin Team presented at the Chamber Board Meeting. Our YELL Officers introduced the 2024 DuckPluck event that is coming up in May. They are selling $5 Duck tickets for chances to win $750, $500, $250 & $100 cash. All proceeds go to YELL Scholarships. This year YELL is giving three $1,000 scholarships! The LISD Admin Team #expectsexcellence and presented an LISD Overview Presentation for the Board covering everything from new courses like PTech to LISD Financing, from safety to athletics. We are so glad that our young leaders are representing LHS so well. We are always pleased when we can make LISD connections in our community. Thank you to all who contributed!

Have a great week!

Levelland ISD Expect Excellence.

Best Regards,

Becky McCutchen

Levelland ISD
Superintendent of Schools

Do you ever wonder, "Who did that?" Do you stop to think, "Who keeps us going?" Well, it was probably one of these guys or our girl! These are our people. It's Maintenance & Ground Appreciation Week! They work quietly behind the scenes around LISD every single day and make things happen. They work underground in muddy holes. They work on top of scalding roofs. They de-ice. They build, fix, move, and do our heavy lifting. They repair, paint and plumb. They keep us cool and warm. They mow, weed, trim, edge, and water. And they do all of this so that we can teach our students comfortably on a daily basis! We appreciate their hard work every day but recognized them during Maintenance & Grounds Week. If you see one of our Maintenance or Grounds people pitching it to help where needed on your campus, it's never too late to give them a hug to let them know that we appreciate what they do for us.
https://files.gabbart.com/455/maingroundvideo24.mp4

ABC celebrated Texas Public School Week this week celebrating all things Texas! ABC students dressed like a Texan, and enjoyed a hoedown, picnic lunches, planting, horse races, roping, and a Texas story! Everyone had a rootin-tootin good time learning about Texas! Thankyou to all the ABC educators for pitching in! https://files.gabbart.com/455/hoedown.mp4
Wait! Who had more fun, the kids or the teachers?

We love when our community comes to read at ABC! Mrs. Abi Swain invites you to come be Reading Heros! Thank you to these volunteers who visited us during Texas Public School Week!

LMS is excited to share that 5th-Grader Caleb Willey won the Levelland District Bee today by spelling the word composition. The Bee included students from Capitol and South as well. The Bee went for Ten Rounds. The Runner-Up was LMS 6th-Grader Katherine Bunker. Caleb will continue on his spelling journey and compete in the Regional Bee in Lubbock in March. Congratulations to all the students making it to the District Bee and to Caleb!

South Elementary second graders have been studying weather in science. They completed their weather unit when National Weather Service Meteorologists Marissa Pazos and Jordan Salem visited them from the Lubbock Weather Forecast Office. The students were completely engaged in the lesson which taught them more of how to measure the weather. The kids had great questions and appreciated the great weather presentation! Thank you to Mrs. Jessica Mortimer for #expectingexcellence and organizing this special event! Also, remember if you need to seek shelter from a tornado, LHS is a safe shelter and Dr. Birdwell will get LHS open for you.

LHS Student Council Sponsor Scott Lawson shares that he took our Student Council to the District 5 Conference for Student Councils in our area. At the conference, our student council served as one of the officer schools and helped lead several activities and projects. Our students learned more ways to promote citizenship, scholarship, and leadership while at the convention. LISD is so proud that we have so many great leaders amongst us! Way to go kiddos!

Congratulations to the LMS National History Day students! They competed before Spring Break and 3 are advancing to State! Way to go kids!

Did you know that Dr. Seuss created the word "nerd"? He did! His 120th birthday was before spring break and our Levelland ISD elementaries celebrated. We found activities of cooking and using green icing, completing puzzles, reading beloved Dr. Seuss library books, and being winners for eating in our cafeterias. What a fun way to learn something about Dr. Seuss. Congratulations to the Cafeteria winners too!

It is always good to be recognized! LHS Yearbook Advisor Kelly Buckner shares that Walsworth Publishing announced that they chose the LHS 2023 El Lobo Yearbook to feature in the newest edition of their inspiration book named Possibilities. Levelland High School's 2023 El Lobo Yearbook was chosen as an honorable mention. Our students showed exceptional examples of theme, covers, photography, and page design in last year's yearbook. Now their pages will inspire other schools. Congratulations to our Yearbook students!

What an honor it is to have our South Choir singing at the TTU Women's Game! These kids had a fun time singing the National Anthem at the Texas Tech women’s basketball game last Saturday! Thank you to South's music teacher, Mrs. Jennifer Turner, for organizing this for our students! Way to go kiddos!

Levelland ABC GT students hosted a Hot Cocoa Bar before spring break as their semester project! They planned this event together and named themselves the "Happy Hot Cocoa Company!" Each student wore their special uniform, took orders, read orders, and fulfilled orders. They had to take money and give the proper change. There was a lot of learning going on in this event on so many levels. Thank you to Mrs. Toni Williams for your guidance with these awesome kids! One student even stated, "We're millionaires!" You can tell by the last photo that that is so true! Thank you to all the community people for stopping by to purchase your fancy hot cocoa and cookie! Great job littles!
https://files.gabbart.com/455/hotcocoavideo.mp4

Juniors & Seniors receive graduation rings in a nice ceremony!

https://www.facebook.com/LevellandISD/videos/1108847340444316

LHS students from Mr. Lawson's Digital Media & Career Prep class recently had the opportunity to immerse themselves in the vibrant world of digital arts at the Idigi Digital Arts Festival held at South Plains College. The event, organized by the SPC Graphic Arts Department aimed to expose students to the exciting possibilities within the industry. The students embarked on an enriching journey as they toured the Graphic Arts department, exploring different stations and gaining insights into the innovative projects awaiting them in the program. The festival provided a hands-on experience, allowing students to engage with cutting-edge technologies and methodologies in the realm of digital arts. One of the highlights of the event was a panel discussion featuring industry experts from the Graphic Arts sector in Lubbock. The students had the unique opportunity to listen to valuable insights, tips, and experiences shared by professionals who have made significant contributions to the field. As part of the festival, students participated in a digital art competition, showcasing their creativity and technical skills. We are thrilled to announce that the following students have been recognized for their outstanding contributions and received awards:

Julia Acevedo

Jacob Leal

Ada Niederhauser

Areli Wright

Jayda Williams

Marcos Pena

Shandon Whitfield

Addison Strickland

Moreover, Jasmin Mendoza and Jacob Leal were both awarded $500 scholarships to attend the South Plains College Graphic Arts Department! This recognition reflects not only their artistic prowess but also their dedication to pursuing excellence in the field of graphic arts. Congratulations to all these participating students on their achievements and thank you to the Idigi Digital Arts Festival at SPC for providing this invaluable platform. These experiences will undoubtedly shape the future of these aspiring artists and contribute to the continued success of the Graphic Arts program at South Plains College.
https://files.gabbart.com/455/digivideo.mp4

Films & Animation Entries for you to view:

Emma Pugh: https://files.gabbart.com/.../spider_rotoscope_-_emma...

Adisynn Strickland: https://files.gabbart.com/.../seagulls_rotoscope...

Areli Wright: https://files.gabbart.com/.../jellyfish_rotoscope_-_areli...

Marcos Pena: https://files.gabbart.com/.../e-sports_tournament...

(Graphics courtesy Mr. Scott Lawson)

LMS 6th-Graders were caught arguing in class! Actually, they were challenged by Mrs. Linzee Black with an Argumentative Project! The students picked a topic they believed in to make an argument over. They had to research their claim and come up with evidence to prove why they were correct. They had to acknowledge a counterclaim and form a rebuttal and rhetorical appeals to strengthen their argument. It was fun when they presented their findings to the class! (Photos courtesy Amy Grissom)

South Second Graders performed their "Positive" performance under the direction of Music Teacher Jennifer Turner. What beautiful voices they have and they gave us a positive message: love yourself, don't be negative, and be kind. Great job kids!
https://www.facebook.com/LevellandISD/videos/1875254812929358

LISD first, second & third graders all learned the importance of riding in a Booster Seat in the car for protection. Our Hockley County Extension Office, TexDoT, and Texas A&M AgriLife taught every student about the seats and invited students to bring their parents to receive a free booster seat from Hockley County Extension, TexDot, & AgriLife. After weighing and measuring students, parents were taught how to use the boosters. Then they walked out with a new booster seat for each child. This was an amazing gift given to many LISD parents and we are so thankful that so many took advantage of the gift! Thank you to Hockley County Extention, TexDot & AgriLife! We appreciate you for keeping our students safe!

In partnership with The Wallace Theater, the Texas Tech School of Art recently engaged in an inspiring collaborative initiative with Levelland High School students in Mr. Steven Suarez's Art Classes. This endeavor aimed to foster creativity, artistic expression, and educational enrichment for the participating students. The collaboration began with a field trip to Louise Hopkins Underwood Center for the Arts to engage with the current exhibit belonging to Contemporary Native Ceramics from the Southern Plains. One featured artist was Chase Kahwinhut Earles (Caddo). Students engaged with Mr. Earles as he spoke about Indigenous Futurisms. Earles is a Caddo artist and participant in reviving one of North America’s great ceramics traditions. In trying to understand his ceramic heritage, Earles worked with Jeri Redcorn (Caddo/Patawatomi), who resurrected Caddo ceramics in the early 1990s. Numerous students said, “ This was fun!” “Engaging, self-reflective,” “Found connection to past and future,” and “Enthralling.” Then last week, Mr. Suarez's Art classes continued in a follow-up session with the Texas Tech School of Art initiative to reciprocate the enthusiasm by organizing a visit to Levelland High School, offering insights into the diverse disciplines within the realm of art. Students were then challenged to create their own teapot from clay, as the Caddo once did. These LHS students will return their pots to the Earth just as it was done years ago. The Wallace Theater was the connecting partner in this collaboration, facilitating communication and coordination between Texas Tech School of Art, Landmark Arts, LHUCA, and Levelland High School. Thank you for a great experience!
https://files.gabbart.com/456/artvideo.mp4

LHS is so proud of these two YELL Officers. They spoke and informed the Morning Rotarians, introducing their annual YELL DuckPluck Fundraiser. They are selling $5 Duck tickets for chances to win $750, $500, $250 & $100 cash. All proceeds go to YELL scholarships. Thank you to everyone who has supported so far! YELL teaches our young students to be better leaders, and these two have certainly mastered that! Thank you Grason & Zackary!

NHS is hosting a Food Drive for Bill's Backpacks Saturday, the 23rd from 9 to 12. If you're out and about, they sure would appreciate you swinging by to support our kids helping kids!

Email: rmccutchen@levellandisd.net
Website: www.levellandisd.net
Location: 704 11th Street, Levelland, TX
Phone: 806-894-9628
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LevellandISD/
Twitter: @LevellandISD