September 25, 2015
Good afternoon. I hope
the week has gone well for you.
I was struck today by yet another indication that I am old and
that the world is changing faster than I can keep up. During a weekly meeting with LMS
administrators and counselors, the question arose regarding Apple watches being
worn to school by students. I must
confess that I had to ask Assistant Principal Scott Lackey, who formerly served
as our building’s Technology Coordinator, what an Apple watch was. My understanding now is that this device not
only serves as a watch, but also has Internet/email/text capabilities. At this time (allowing us some more thought
and discussion) we have determined that these can be worn to school but should
not be used for any other reason than to tell time (other uses will be based on
teacher discretion), as per our practices with cell phone and other personal
technology devices. Should issues arise
in the future that would cause us to re-think our position, I will let you
know. This was not covered in principal
school eighteen years ago.
CONGRATULATIONS and THANKS
A huge Thank You to the sixty parents that
helped chaperone Monday's 7th grade field trip to Trout Lodge and
City Museum. The trip was a huge success
and would not have been possible without the amazing support of our
parents. We also wish to thank our generous parents who donated money to
cover scholarships for the trip. We had fifty-eight
families donate a total of $2,520, completely covering our scholarship
needs. Thank You parents for stepping up to support our school programs
like you always do.
Because 6th Grade Camp is next week, the office staff,
counselors, administrators and TAs helped celebrate our outstanding Custodians
today (the official day is next Friday).
Milan Rakic, JB Tate and Steve Bell do SO much for us each day, with
little recognition. I wanted you to know
how important they are and to publicly thank them for their efforts and
commitment to the students and staff at LMS.
CALENDAR ITEMS
Monday, 9/28
6th Grade Camp session 1 (through
Wednesday, 9/30)
Wednesday, 9/30
6th Grade Camp session 2 (through
Friday, 10/2)
Friday, 10/2
Custodian Appreciation Day
Thursday, 10/8
Fire Drill; period 1
Friday, 10/9
Anti-Bullying Assemblies
·
Grade 8: 8:20 – 9:15 am
·
Grades 6 and 7: 9:49 – 10:45 am
Early Release Day; 12:40 pm
End of Quarter 1
Tuesday, 10/13
LMSPA Executive Board meeting; 1 pm
Mentor/Mentee Swimming activity; 3:10 to 5 pm;
LHWHS Pool
Wednesday, 10/14
Hearing Screenings; Grade 7 students and all
students new to Ladue (see below)
Thursday, 10/15
LMS Picture Re-Take Day (see below)
Earthquake Drill; beginning of period 3
Monday, 10/19
Scholastic Book Fair (through Thursday,
10/22); LMS Library
Tuesday, 10/20
LMSPA Fundraiser Product delivery to
school (projected date)
Wednesday, 10/21
Regular student attendance day
LMS Fall Parent Conferences
LMSPA Fundraiser Product pick up
(projected date)
Thursday, 10/22
Early Release day; 12:40 pm
LMS Fall Parent Conferences
LMSPA Fundraiser Product pick up
(projected date)
Friday, 10/23
No School
CORRECTIONS/ADDITION
NEW ITEMS
NJHS Fundraiser
The National Junior Honor Society is
sponsoring a fundraiser in memory of their classmate, Joseph Goldman, who
passed away last May. The students would like to give a donation in
his name to the Challenger Baseball program, a baseball league for students
with disabilities. Because Joseph loved
trains so much, students will create a “Joseph Goldman Positive Train of
Thought” where students can donate money and be given a paper train car where
they can write a memory about Joseph or (if they never knew Joseph) a positive
thought to share with LMS. Train cars will be sold before school and
at lunch the week of October 12-16. The “Positive Train of Thought”
will be displayed somewhere in the school.
Once it’s taken down the train cars with memories of Joseph will be given
to his parents. Donations for this project will also be accepted at
parent-teacher conferences.
UPDATED ITEMS
REPEAT ITEMS
Picture Re-Take Day
As indicated above, this is scheduled
for October 15. This is primarily for 1)
those students who were absent on our original Picture Day on August 26, and 2)
those students whose pictures taken on August 26 have significant flaws. Although students and parents may not wish to
purchase picture packages, we ask that all students have updated/current
pictures for our student database system.
Picture packets from August 26 should arrive at school soon for
distribution.
Ladue Athletic Booster Club
All parents, teachers and coaches are
invited to the Ladue Athletic Booster Club’s 1st Annual Parent
Party. In addition to raising money for
Ladue Athletics, the Booster Club would also like to encourage school spirit
and spend time together as a community.
The event will occur at The Shack (Frontenac) on October 17 from 7 to 11
pm. Tickets are $50 per person and
checks can be made out to The Ladue Athletic Booster Club. They can be mailed to the Booster Club c/o
Ladue High School at 1201 South Warson Road (63124).
Parent Conference Sign Ups
Please be aware that the conference time slot of 3:20 – 3:40 pm on
Wednesday, October 21 has been opened.
You should notice this when accessing the website.
Just a reminder that:
PT Conferences are Wednesday, October 21,
2015 (3:20-7:40
p.m.) and Thursday,
October 22, 2015 (1:20-7:20 p.m.). Your child was given a postcard on Friday, August 28 to take home. Please refer to the post
card for instructions on how to sign up.
To sign up, please visit the following
website:
https://www.myconferencetime.com/laduems/
You may also access the website by
going to our school's webpage using the following link:
http://www.ladue.k12.mo.us/lms/
Prior to signing up, please carefully
review the instructions that
are provided on the first page of the website.
The online scheduler went live at 8:00 p.m. on Friday, August 28. Slots fill up very quickly, so please sign
up ASAP.
Lunchtime Lectures
Lunchtime Lecture series, sponsored by the
Ladue Middle School Parent Association, have begun.
The next lecture will occur on November 4, presented by Joanne
Curran (Learning Consultant and Tutor), who will speak on Homework and Study
Strategies.
All Lunchtime Lectures will occur in the LMS Library, beginning
at noon for about one hour. Please be
aware that our food allergy protocols prohibit peanut- and/or tree nut-based
food items in our building outside of the Cafeteria and Staff Lounge.
Annual Hearing Screenings/Grade 7
Hearing screenings are scheduled for October 14, for
all 7th grade students. If you would prefer to not have your
child's hearing screened, please contact Nurse Patrick at cpatrick@ladueschools.net
Community Forums and Open
Houses/LHWHS
The
district will host two types of functions regarding the potential LHWHS
Renovation plans to date:
·
Community Forums – September 24 and September 30, both beginning at 7 pm
in the LHWHS Cafeteria.
·
Open House/Tours of LHWHS – The week of October 5 through 9, beginning
at 6 pm each evening. High School and
district administrators will be available to answer questions and guide
visitors through the building. Each tour
is expected to take about 20 minutes.
Additional
background and research, as well as funding plans and current concepts under
consideration can be found at:
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
Dr.
Tiffany Taylor-Johnson, LMS Associate Principal, will be honored this evening
at the St. Louis American Foundation’s 28th annual Salute to
Excellence in Education Scholarship & Awards Gala at America’s Center. I look forward to attending and helping
celebrate her dedication to public education and her contributions to LMS and
our district.
I
hope you and your families have a safe, fun, and relaxing weekend.
Greg
