May 16, 2014



Friday afternoon, the sun is shining, and we have five days left in the school year.  It can’t get much better than this.

CALENDAR ITEMS

Monday, May 19
8th grade Boat Building
Grade 6 locker cleanout
Tuesday, May 20
8th grade Boat Building
Grade 7 locker cleanout
Wednesday, May 21
8th grade Boat Races; LHWHS Pool
Grade 8 locker cleanout
LMS Variety Show; Gym; 1:00 – 3:00 pm
Thursday, May 22
8th grade Six Flags trip
Friday, May 23
7th graders to Swing Around Fun Town
6th graders to St. Peters Rec Plex
8th grade Farewell Assembly; 12:00
End of 4th Quarter

CONGRATULATIONS and THANKS

Congratulations, again, to the LMS staff and students for our 2014 recognition as a National School Of Character.  This also includes very special thanks to all former LMS who contributed to the growth of our Character Education program over the years, culminating in us achieving this recognition.  Thank you, so much!

Congratulations to the student members and coaches/sponsors of Girls On Track.  The LMS team recently received an Honorable Mention for their service project; the equipment swap.  The team, comprised of seventeen young ladies ranging from 6th - 8th grade, competed in their 5K race May 10th.  As a result, several great accomplishments occurred:  14 girls ran their FASTEST time ever
10 girls ran the 5K race under 30 minutes, 7 girls finished in the top ten time for their age group, 2 girls placed 3rd (bronze medal) in their age group, and 1 girl placed 2nd (silver medal) for her age group.

Best wishes to the student members and coaches/sponsors of our LMS Science Olympiad team, who are currently participating in the National Competition in Florida.  This is a historic year for our LMS team, marking their 20th appearance at the National Competition.  That is the 7th most appearances by any middle school in the country in Science Olympiad's 30 year program history.  For those of you who are interested, for the past few years the National Coordinator has streamed the award ceremonies. It is my understanding that you can watch the live stream of this on Saturday, beginning at 6:30 pm, at: http://www.scienceolympiad2014.com/media.html

CORRECTION(S)

NEW ITEMS

LMS Sports/Physicals for next year
Did you know that LMS has a thriving 8th grade sports program? Sports offered are: cross country (co-ed) and volleyball (girls) in the fall; basketball for boys and girls in the winter; and track & field (co-ed) and field hockey (girls) in the spring. Parents of current 7th graders who are interested in participating in the 8th grade sports program for next year can print forms out from the website below or get them from the front office. Students must have a physical dated February 1, 2014 or later. The Ladue Schools Family Assistance Program is sponsoring physicals on Saturday, May 31 from 8-12 at Ladue High School for a $15 fee. Students who plan on participating in 8th grade sports may get a physical there if needed.  Find the sports forms here: http://teachersites.ladue.k12.mo.us/lms/jtheodosiou/8th_grade_sports/welcome.html
If you have questions, email Sarah Schwartz (8th grade AP) saschwartz@ladueschools.net or Coach Jason Theodosiou (8th Grade Sports Coordinator) jtheodosiou@ladueschools.net 

Math/Communication Arts recommendations for next year
If you have a current 6th or 7th grade student, you should have recently received mailings regarding their recommended placements in Mathematics and Communication Arts for the 2014-2015 school year.  If you have questions regarding either of these placements, please access and complete a Request for Placement Review form located on our school website.  Forms regarding Mathematics should be sent to myself, while forms pertaining to Communication Arts should be sent to Dr. Tiffany Taylor-Johnson, LMS Associate Principal.  Deadlines for receipt of these forms at the LMS Office for review is May 30, 2014.
If you wish to have your current 6th or 7th grader considered for Math Acceleration (i.e. “skipping over” the next course in the sequence), please access the Secondary Mathematics Acceleration Request form located on our school website.  Once completed, please send this form to the LMS Office, to my attention.  Once received, I will review your student’s past performance and standardized testing results.  If your request for review is approved, then we will schedule testing in early August, 2014.  In order to “skip over” the next Mathematics class in the sequence, students must score 90% or better on EACH chapter/unit exam of the course they wish to “skip” in order to exhibit mastery of the concepts.  Should a student score less than 90% on each of these exams, we will then halt the testing process at that time and keep the student in the recommended Math class.  The date for receipt of these forms is stated as July 31, but I would like these as soon as possible to make plans for any August testing.

UPDATED ITEMS

8th Grade Information/Graduation
Schedule for May 23
8:10 – 8:20
·      Students report to their Team classrooms.  Students will be divided alphabetically and assigned to a specific teacher.
8:20 – 9:20
·      Graduation rehearsal in the Gym.  Students can bring yearbooks to sign afterward.
9:20 – 10:30
·      Yearbook signing in the Cafeteria.  Near the end of this time, students will lead students back to their lockers to drop off their yearbooks and retrieve sack lunches.
10:35 – 11:05
·      8th grade Lunch in the Cafeteria.  Serving lines will be open for students who do not bring sack lunches.
11:05 – 11:55
·      Students will return to designated Team classrooms.
12:00 – around 1:30? (I am not sure how long this will take.)
·      8th Grade Graduation ceremony.  Students may leave with parents once concluded.
After ceremony – 3:05
·      Remaining students will report to their Team’s Science classrooms.
Parking
·      Due to limited parking, I have reserved a shuttle from Ladue Chapel, which should run from 11:30 am until around 3:00 pm.  The shuttle will pick up passengers at the back, right-hand corner of their parking lot.

REPEAT ITEMS

School Climate Survey
I think I posted a past message regarding valuing your input regarding school climate at LMS.  If I failed to do so, my apologies.
In either event, if you could please complete the survey at the link below, we would appreciate it.  The survey link will remain open until the end of next week.

LHWHS Sports Physicals for next year (for current 8th graders)
Attention all 2014-2015 LHWHS incoming freshmen!  Are you planning on participating in a high school sport next school year?  If so, the Ladue Horton Watkins High School Athletics Department must have a current physical and parent permission on file. Students are not eligible to try out for a sport without these documents on file. These forms must be dated on or AFTER February 1, 2014 to be valid for the 2014-2015 school year.  Completed forms can be turned into the Athletics office now through August 4, 2014 for fall sports. Please visit the Athletics tab on the Ladue Horton Watkins High School website to download the needed forms. 
For the fourth year in a row, DUE CARE will sponsor physicals provided by Logan College of Chiropractic to all Ladue Horton Watkins High School students.  Physicals will only be $15 per student on Saturday, May 31 from 8 a.m.-1 p.m. in the LHWHS Cafeteria. Appointments are not needed!  However, parents must be present to sign all forms at the completion of the physical examination.  If you haven't made arrangements for getting a sports physical for the 2014-2015 school year, we encourage you to take advantage of this special opportunity. If you have any questions, please call the LHWHS Athletics and Activities Office at (314) 983-5421.

LMSPA eBlasts
If you are not currently receiving LMSPA email news blasts but would like to, please click on the following link to subscribe:

Board Briefs
Information regarding Ladue Board of Education meetings and work sessions can be found on boardbriefs.blogspot.com

I hope you have a great afternoon and weekend.

Thank you, one week early, for a great school year. 

Greg


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