May 17, 2015

Good afternoon.

I am not sure quite where the school year has gone – the past several months have been a blur of testing, interviews and year-end activities.  Although we have had our challenges, I believe that this year has gone reasonably well.  Whatever progress and accomplishments we have experienced is due to the efforts and diligence of our students and staff.  Your continued support has been critical in this process, and we thank you.  It is my goal to put out a year-end message, including staffing changes for next year, following Memorial Day.      

CONGRATULATIONS and THANKS

Congratulations to LMS students Moses Schindler, Kevin Jiang, and Lenny Chen.  The Mathcounts National Competition was held last Friday in Boston.  The Missouri team of Moses Schindler, Kevin Jiang, Lenny Chen (Parkway West Middle), and Jason Zhou (John Burroughs) came in 18th out of 56 teams.  Both Moses and Lenny scored in the top 25% in the individual competition at 54th and 49th, respectively.  Please congratulate Moses and Kevin when you see them!  All four boys represented their schools and the state well.

Congratulations to the LMS Science Olympiad team. The students traveled to the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and competed against the 61 top teams from 49 states. They had a great showing, earning first place in 2 events (Anatomy - coach Peggy Doty, and Wheeled Vehicle - mentor Bill Middleton) and second in Entomology - coached by Michael Clay. The team placed 13th overall, and we are so proud of the following students:
National Competition Team
Kate Prablek, Justin Chen, Annie Liu, Albert Liu, Seema Patil, Raj Paul, Nevan Giuliani, Max Kornfeld, Kevin Jiang, Ethan Wang, Akhil Kondepudi, Katie Shaw, Gavin Giuliani, Cindy Wang, and Christopher Ye.
National Event Alternates
Shelei Pan, Fayzan Ali, Ansh Rana, and Alexander Ye.
It is impossible to run our school's continually successful team without the dedication of also the coaches. They spend an incredible amount of time with students to prepare them for this level of achievement. Without them, we would not have this STEAM program.
Event Coaches
Amy Baniak, Brian Scheidt, Christine Allen, Liz Peterseon, Emily Chu, Hugh McMonigle, Kathleen Mercury, Kathy Murphy, Kelly Hake, Laurie Lambie, Peggy Doty, Mark Biernbaum, Marting Long, Matt Mortillo, Melody Frese, Michael Clay, Paul Turney, Reva Davis, Sara Eller, and Theo Washington.

Congratulations to LMS Teacher Joan Shacklette and the student members of our Yearbook Staff.  According to Ms. Shacklette, the kids have produced a great book and have been an amazing staff to work with.  Student staff members are:  Grade 8: Davina Lettau, Olivia Wallace; Grade 7: Madison Grady, Annal Liner, Parris King –Levine, Karina Mealey, Bradford Siwak; Grade 6:  Claire McMahon.

Congratulations to LMS French Teacher Beth Heuermann and nineteen LMS French students.  The students took part in the National French Contest Examination in March and sixteen scored high enough to receive recognition from the AATF (American Association of Teachers of French).  They are: 
Kevin Jiang; Gold Medal Winner, First place locally and third place nationally
Ashley Balsavias; Silver Medal Winner, 4th place locally and 9th nationally
Abigail Greenberg; Silver Medal Winner, 4th place locally and 9th nationally
Max Bernickus; Bronze Medal Winner, 9th place locally and 14th nationally
Michelle Zhou; Bronze Medal Winner, 9th place locally and 14th nationally
The following students received Certificates of Honorable Mention:
Carolyn Duncan, Ainsley Watkins, Justin Wayne, Claudia Zegel, Sarah Cornillon, Grace Chicoine, Egret Jin, Abigail Yearout, Alexis Zeldin, Ashlyn Zeldin, and Sarah Ashkar.

CALENDAR ITEMS

Wednesday, 5/20
8th grade Boat Races (see below)
Thursday, 5/21
8th grade field trip to Six Flags
Friday, 5/22
Last day for Students
Grade 8 Farewell Assembly; 12 noon; LMS Gym
Grade 7 and Grade 6 field trips (more information to follow)

CORRECTIONS/ADDITIONS

NEW ITEMS

High Schools list (from our district’s Communications Department)
On May 12, 2015, U.S. News & World Report released their "2015 Best High Schools" list.  As in years past, Ladue Horton Watkins High School (LHWHS) did not appear in the rankings due to the methodology used.  There is a link on the district's website with a ​more detailed explanation and why we anticipate appearing on this list beginning in 2018.

UPDATED ITEMS


REPEAT ITEMS

8th Grade Boat Races
Parents are invited to observe Boat Races on Wednesday, May 20 at the LHWHS pool.  Students will be building boats out of tape and cardboard in Science classes on May 18 – 19 and will race each other to see which boats have the right design to stay afloat and go fast enough to beat the others.  The approximate times for the races are as follows:  Pioneers at 9:05 am; Patriots at 9:55 am; and Trailblazers at 10:35 am.

Current 7th grade students/Immunizations for next year
Students entering 8th grade in the state of Missouri are required to receive the TDaP (tetanus, diphtheria and pertussis) immunization.  This is usually given by a doctor at age 11 or 12.  If your child has not received this immunization, please consult your physician.  If you have records showing that your child has received it, please provide them to the nurse's office.

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
Enjoy the rest of your weekend.


Greg

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