July 30, 2013

To the Parent of LMS Students for 2013-2014:

On behalf of the faculty and staff of Ladue Middle School, I hope your summer months have been safe, happy, and productive.  To the parents of returning seventh and eighth grade students, we welcome you back.  To the parents of incoming sixth grade students and those new to Ladue, we welcome you to the LMS family.  To all, we hope the 2013-14 school year is outstanding for all involved.

This will be one of the lengthier messages I send out this year.  My apologies, but I thought it best to include information about as many topics as possible prior to the beginning of the school year.  It is my plan to send out parent update messages at the conclusion of each week during the year.  These will be sent out through our Blackboard Connect e-mail system, with a link to the LMS Principal Update blog.  Using the blog format will allow these messages to be archived for quick reference of current and past postings.  I hope this process meets your needs for timely school/home communications.

School Supplies

Information regarding school supplies can be found on the Ladue Middle School website.

Packet Pick Up days

Please be aware that parents must accompany their students to pick up their packets on August 5 and August 6.  Due to confidentiality, we cannot provide a student packet to a parent of another child or to an adult who has not been designated as a student’s guardian unless written permission has been given including parent/guardian signatures.   No faxes, phone calls, or e-mails will be accepted.

Immunizations

By state law, all incoming eighth grade students must have completed specific immunizations (and be able to show evidence of such) prior to attending school.  A Blackboard Connect message was sent out recently to those parents/households that are affected.  Please be aware that packets cannot be provided to those eighth grade students and parents on August 5 and 6 (Packet Pick Up days) until documentation can be provided to our School Nurse.  Please also note that eighth grade students may not be able to attend school on May 14 if this information is not provided.  We greatly appreciate your cooperation.

LMS Community Night

Community Night is an opportunity for parents and students to acclimate themselves to our building, put materials in lockers, and turn in necessary forms/information to school personnel (from your packets).  Members of the LMS Dads Club will also be cooking and providing BBQ and other dinner items in the cafeteria free of charge.  LMS Parent Association members will also be on hand to sell LMS Logo Clothes (shorts, shirts, etc.).  Teachers will not be in their classrooms that evening.  Because we will not have our full staff available, we sincerely ask that students come with a parent.

One other item that should be addressed is locks and lockers.  Locks will not be provided by LMS.  Students will be assigned to a specific locker based upon proximity to their team classrooms.  In order to keep our records accurate, we require that students place their school items in the locker assigned to them.  Information regarding assigned locker locations/numbers will be printed on the student schedule.

School Day Schedule

Our school day will begin at 8:15 a.m. and end at 3:05 p.m.  Students arriving on campus prior to 8:05 a.m. will be monitored by building staff members in the following areas: eighth grade and seventh grade in the gym, sixth grade in the cafeteria.  We will not have adult supervision until 7:40 a.m., therefore we recommend that parents not drop off students prior to that time.

Our students eat lunch during three 30 minute lunch shifts: sixth grade, 10:38 to 11:08 a.m.; seventh grade, 11:26 to 11:56 a.m.; and eighth grade, 12:14 to 12:44 p.m.  Students are expected to dispose of their trash, clean their tabletops, and sweep the floor around their tables before dismissal by supervisory staff members.  If weather permits, students have the option to move to the back parking lot area for basketball, soccer, and socializing during the latter portion of their lunch shift, but only if their areas in the cafeteria have been cleaned.

Transportation and Student drop off/pick up

If you are a returning parent, you are well aware of the challenges faced each morning with coordinating the arrival and traffic flow of approximately twenty school buses and over two hundred cars on a normal day.  In response to this, the school district secured the services of a consultant this past year to observe our traffic patterns and make recommendations for improvements.  These are as follows:

Morning drop off: 

Buses will now drop off students in the circle drive, at the front of the building, in the mornings.  Cars will be directed to proceed toward the rear of our building, drive down the maintenance road, and return to the building through our back parking lot.  Students can exit cars at the back of the gym and enter the nearest gym doors.  Cars may then exit back through the front parking lot onto Clayton Road.  Once all buses have arrived and unloaded, school personnel may route cars through the Circle Drive onto Conway Road.  In either event, it is important to know that: 1.) Cars cannot exit the campus by going up the hill toward the Administrative Center and exit via High Downs Avenue.  This is a private, one-lane road that cannot accommodate such large numbers of vehicles.  2.) If at all possible, we ask that drivers make right-hand turns onto either Clayton or Conway Roads.  Without traffic lights, left-hand turns exiting our campus further complicates our traffic flow.  Please also be aware that student drop off in the bank parking lot across Conway Road causes traffic back ups not only for that street, but also for vehicles exiting our campus through the circle drive, as students must cross the street to our campus.  On a few occasions, students have exited cars while still on Conway Road – I must sincerely stress that this should not occur due to potential safety reasons.

Afternoon pick up:

Buses will line up in the circle drive prior to dismissal at 3:05 p.m.  Bus riders will be dismissed to locate and board their buses at the dismissal bell.  A board near our flagpole will show the location of all buses, by number.  Students should reference this board to locate their bus and board in a timely manner.  Buses will be released from the circle drive within a maximum of ten minutes after dismissal.  Cars will not be able to enter the circle drive prior to buses being released. Students who ride cars or walk will be monitored in the Welcome Center Lobby by school staff, then will be released through our front doors after buses leave.  Cars arriving on campus prior to the release of buses will be directed to proceed to the back of our building, go through the back parking lot, and line up on the maintenance road facing our building until buses leave. Once this occurs, cars may then proceed into the circle drive to pick up students.  

Maps:  Visual aids to help explain morning and afternoon traffic procedures are now posted on the Ladue Middle School website for your reference.  The link for these maps is http://www.ladue.k12.mo.us/lms/images/Traffic2013.pdf

Meet The Teacher Night

This night is a great opportunity for parents and teachers to make an initial contact and discuss information about coursework, expectations, and planned activities.  Parents will follow an abbreviated version of their student’s schedule this evening, following a brief meeting in the gym from 6:30 to 6:45 p.m.  Due to the tremendous turn out on this evening, parking will be available at Ladue Chapel and shuttle buses will circulate between that location and LMS to address our very limited parking.  Shuttles should begin running at 5:30 p.m. and end at 9 p.m.

Administrative/Counselor Assignments

Our administrative team has some changes from last year.  We are welcoming two new members of our team: Mrs. Sarah Schwartz, Administrative Intern and Mr. Scott Lackey, Assistant Principal.  In addition, Dr. Tiffany Taylor-Johnson’s new title is LMS Associate Principal.  Administrative/Counselor pairings for the 2013-2014 school year are as follows:

Grade 6         Scott Lackey, Assistant Principal    

Roger Scherck, Counselor

Grade 7         Tiffany Taylor-Johnson, Associate Principal

                        Janey Worthington, Counselor

Grade 8         Sarah Schwartz, Administrative Intern

                        Beth Mothersbaugh, Counselor

On behalf of everyone here at LMS, we hope you have a great remainder of your summer and look forward to receiving your students on August 14.  With our combined efforts, this can be a great school year.  We sincerely value your support and thank you for choosing Ladue Middle School to serve the needs of your children.

Thank you, again.

Gregory Baber, Interim Principal

Ladue Middle School