November 24, 2015
Good afternoon.
As I approach the Thanksgiving holiday break, I would like to
give thanks for the opportunity to serve as principal of LMS. I realize how truly blessed and fortunate I
am to be able to work here and serve our students, staff and parents. Thank you,
parents, for the chance to work with you and your children.
Should you need to contact me, please be aware of my plan to
take a few days with my family next Monday and Tuesday.
If anything comes up that requires immediate attention, feel free to
contact our office at 314-993-3900. I
will attempt to catch up on emails as quickly as possible upon my return.
CONGRATULATIONS
and THANKS
Congratulations
to LMS teacher Dave Aronberg. Dave was recently
voted the 2015 Soccer Coach of the Year for public schools in Class 3.
Thank
you to Tarza Tawfiq, LMS Clinic Aide.
Tarza will be leaving us to pursue other professional
opportunities. We appreciate all that
you have done.
CALENDAR ITEMS
Monday, 11/30
Discovery Ed testing (through Thursday,
12/3). See below.
Monday, 12/7
SRI (Reading) assessments for selected
students (through Thursday, 12/10)
Tuesday, 12/8
LMSPA Board meeting; 1 pm
Wednesday, 12/9
Orchestra Concert; Grade 6; LHWHS
Performing Arts Center; 7 pm
Thursday, 12/10
Band Concert; LMS; 7 pm
Friday, 12/11
Early Release Day; 12:40 pm
Friday, 12/18
Early Release Day; 12:40 pm
Last Day for Quarter 2/Semester 1
Monday, 12/21
Winter Break (through Monday, 1/4)
CORRECTIONS/ADDITION
HEALTHY THOUGHTS
(from Nurse Patrick and Coach Wojtow)
Eating a
healthy breakfast is associated with improved cognitive function (especially
memory), energy, reduced absenteeism, and improved mood. Think quality of
food, not quantity of food. Adolescents should eat breakfast each day to
maximize their potential. Mornings can be rushed, so consider grab and go
options to set students up for breakfast success. Breakfast options are
also available in the cafeteria prior to the school day.
NURSE NOTES
Medication (both prescription and over the counter) must be
brought to the nurse’s office by a parent or other responsible adult. Per Ladue
School District policy: medications may not be transported by a student and
will not be released to a student. Please refer to Ladue's medication
policy for more information:
Ladue Medication Policy
NEW ITEMS
Ski
Club/Remaining Spots
We still have about twenty spots available for
LMS students who are interested in joining our ski club. Parents will
need to email Mark Biernbaum directly (mbiernbaum@ladueschools.net) if your child is interested. The last day to purchase
the discounted ski/board pass is November 30, no exceptions. This date is set by Hidden Valley.
LMSPA/Panera Bread
Doesn't warm soup and bread sound great for dinner? Visit
the Panera Bread bakery-cafe at 10550 Old Olive Street Road, Creve Coeur, MO
63141 on Tuesday, December 1, from 4pm - 8pm and a
portion of the proceeds from your purchase will be donated to the LMSPA to fund
great programs for our LMS community. Just
bring the attached flyer (to the Blackboard Connect update email) and they'll
take care of the rest. Thank you and enjoy!
LMSPA
Gift & Project Fundraiser
The following is from the
LMSPA Co-Presidents, Elizabeth Lochmoeller and Reagan Minkler:
Please watch for your
Winter Gift & Project letter, arriving in the mail soon!
What
is Gift & Project?
If you're new to LMS or
if you've ever asked yourself that question, the info below will help to answer
that.
The Gift and Project
(lovingly called "G & P") Fundraiser is the LMSPA's biggest
fundraiser. G&P takes place twice each school year: Winter,
around the holidays, and Spring, near the end of the school year. The
funds raised every year through G&P make up over 50% of the annual LMSPA
budget.
Through this fundraiser,
families donate to the LMSPA in honor of our wonderful Ladue Middle School
Faculty and Staff. As a family you decide whom you wish to honor with
your donation. You may honor as many individual staff members as you'd
like. Each staff member then receives a letter letting them know who has
honored them by donating to the LMSPA (donation amounts are not disclosed).
The money raised goes to
many gifts and projects that the LMSPA funds for our school community each
year.
You will be receiving a
letter soon in the mail describing some of the many things that the Gift &
Project Fundraiser has helped to do for our school.
We hope you will honor
your student's teachers and other LMS staff members with a donation.
Thank you!
LMS Office Closed
Please be aware that our LMS Office will be closed on the
following:
·
Thanksgiving
break – Wednesday, 11/25 through Friday, 11/27.
·
Winter
break – Monday, 12/21 through Friday, 1/1.
Infinite Campus Messenger
We plan on beginning the following after the beginning of semester
2:
In an effort to provide consistent communication about missing
assignments, an email will be sent each Thursday afternoon through Infinite
Campus indicating any assignment your child has not turned in. We are
hoping this communication will help you assist your child with the completion
and submission of assigned work. We chose Thursday because it would give
students the day on Friday to either turn in already completed work or discuss
with teachers what needed to be done for various assignments over the weekend.
Messages will be sent to anyone identified as a “guardian” of a
student at LMS and will be sent at 3:30 pm on Thursdays. More information
about the missing assignments can be found on the Parent Portal or on
individual teacher websites.
UPDATED ITEMS
Students in Clayton Road Businesses After Dismissal
Unfortunately, we continue
to have isolated instances of inappropriate behaviors from a very limited
number of LMS students who frequent businesses on Clayton Road. This goes for both Early Release and Regular
school days on Fridays. As communicated
in the past, the actions of a very few can reflect on our school. We hope to be good neighbors to our local
businesses and will keep trying to get the word out that, although students in
such situations have left school grounds, they still represent us all. I would greatly appreciate any help you can
provide.
REPEAT ITEMS
DE
2 Testing
We conduct what we call “benchmark testing” each year to track
student growth. This is through a
program called Discovery Education (DE).
The initial testing occurred in early September. Round 2 is scheduled for November 30 through
December 3. In order to get our testing
completed during these four days, we run a Block Day schedule, holding four
class periods each day instead of our normal eight.
The schedule we will follow during this week will be:
Monday – Periods 1, 3,
5, 7 (Blue day for 6th grade Electives/Explo)
Tuesday – Periods 2,
4, 6, 8 (Blue day for 6th grade Electives/Explo)
Wednesday – Periods 1,
3, 5, 7 (White day for 6th grade Electives/Explo)
Thursday – Periods 2,
4, 6, 8 (White day for 6th grade Electives/Explo)
On Friday of that week, we will run a normal eight-period day.
After School
Activities/Last week of the Semester
We typically
do not offer After School Activities prior to a holiday, nor do we hold these
the last week of the semester. After
checking with coaches and activity sponsors, there is a need to change this for
this semester. As a result, we WILL be offering coaches and sponsors
the option of holding practices and activities on the following dates:
·
Tuesday,
December 15
·
Thursday,
December 17
Not all Activities
will be held on these days. I have asked
sponsors to provide this information to our Office staff so that this
information can be communicated to students through our school-wide
announcements as these dates approach.
Field Trips and
payment options
We are now providing a third payment option (if needed) for
field trips. This will be an online
option through the MySchoolBucks program (currently being provided to make
online payments to student lunch accounts) through a section designated School
Store. MySchoolBucks can be accessed
through our district website, near the bottom of the page.
Our first two preferred forms of payment for future field trips
will be either the online option noted above or by personal check. Should either of these payment options not be
possible, we will accept cash as a last resort.
If you prefer to take advantage of this online option, please
look for the “Field Trip title” noted on the permission form sent home with
your student, as well as the “Open date” and “Closing date” to submit payment.
Ski Trip Dates
The following are Ski
Trip dates for 2016:
·
Jan 8
·
Jan 15
·
Jan 29
·
Feb 5
·
Feb 19
Feb 26 - Make up day if needed
Feb 26 - Make up day if needed
LHWHS Renovation Initiative Information
For your information,
the Ladue Schools Today - High
School Renovation Initiative segment is now online.
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 that you and your
families have a wonderful Thanksgiving.
If you are traveling, please be safe.
My best to you,
Greg
