December 11, 2015
Good
afternoon. I hope that your week has
gone well.
As we enter
the winter months, with colder morning temperatures, I just wanted to remind
everyone that I don’t have anyone “on the clock” to monitor the front doors and
let students in until 7:15 am. Although
there are many mornings when I am here early, and begin watching for arriving
students at 7 am, I can’t guarantee that I will always be available (i.e.
morning meetings or commitments out of district). I just don’t want kids standing outside in
freezing temperatures for extended periods of time until our Teaching Assistant
goes on duty.
I have also
reminded teachers of this, in case your student comes in earlier than normal
arrival times to work with them.
CONGRATULATIONS
and THANKS
Congratulations and
thanks to Twinda Murry, Ruth Panhorst, Elizabeth Dalby, Jessice Sparks and the
members of the LMS 6th Grade Orchestra for their performance on
December 9.
Congratulations and
thanks to Aaron Lehde, Michael Faris, Betsy Cytron, Katie Solomon, Scott Harris
and the members of the LMS 6th, 7th and 8th
Grade Bands for their performances on December 10.
Congratulations
to Kathleen Mercury, who received an LEF grant to fund her “Backyard Brains”
learning project. Backyard Brains will use off-the-shelf
electronics to create devices to teach students about neuroscience.
Thank
you to Courtney Hanstein and other LMS classroom teachers for coordinating a
service project to celebrate Inclusive Schools Week. Courtney recruited several classes to work
together with her Life Skills class to make cards, crafts and placemats for the
American Cancer Society's Hope Lodge. The Lodge is a place where those
receiving cancer treatments in the St. Louis area stay if they are from out of
town. The students created wonderful pieces that will bring a lot of joy to
people in our community.
Thank
you to all students, parents and staff who contributed to the St. Louis
Challenger Baseball program in memory of Joseph Goldman. Contributions totaled $1,207 which will go to
supporting 66 teams and over 800 players in Missouri and Illinois. Special thanks to our LMS National Junior
Honor Society and sponsors Lisa Kovarik and Kevin Kearns who coordinated this
effort.
CALENDAR ITEMS
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)
Monday, 1/4
Professional Development Day for
Teachers; No School for Students
Friday, 1/8
Ski Trip to Hidden Valley (after
school)
Tuesday, 1/12
LMSPA Executive Board meeting; 1 pm
Semester 2 After School Activities
begin
Thursday, 1/14
8th Grade Parents to Lunch;
12:14 pm
Friday, 1/15
Ski Trip to Hidden Valley (after
school)
Monday, 1/18
No School; Dr. King Holiday
Wednesday, 1/20
6th Grade Registration Night
for 2016-2017; 6 pm
Friday, 1/22
6th Grade Parents to Lunch;
10:38 am
Thursday, 1/28
7th Grade Parents to Lunch;
11:26 am
Friday, 1/29
Ski Trip to Hidden Valley (after
school)
CORRECTIONS/ADDITION
HEALTHY THOUGHTS
(from Nurse Patrick and Coach Wojtow)
NURSE NOTES
As we begin to enter
cold and flu season, please recall Ladue guidelines regarding ill students
staying home from school. Please follow this link for details:
When to Keep Your Child Home
From School
Fever is a symptom of illness and not an
actual diagnosis. Fever usually indicates that the body is battling an
infection. A child with a fever greater than 99.9 degrees Fahrenheit needs to
stay home from school until the fever is gone for at least 24 hours without
medication (acetaminophen or ibuprofen).
Students are not
permitted to bring any medication (over the counter or prescription) to or from
school. All medications must be transported by an adult. All
medication (over the counter and / or prescription) requires a doctor's note or
prescription label. See link below for further information.
Ladue Medication Policy
Hand washing is like a
"do-it-yourself" vaccine—it involves five simple and effective steps
(Wet, Lather, Scrub, Rinse, Dry) you can take to reduce the spread of diarrheal
and respiratory illness so you can stay healthy. Regular hand washing,
particularly before and after certain activities, is one of the best ways to
remove germs, avoid getting sick, and prevent the spread of germs to others.
Scrub vigorously for 20 seconds...try singing "Happy Birthday" to
yourself for a timing guide! Hand washing is quick, it's simple, and it
can keep us all from getting sick. Hand washing is a win for everyone...except
the germs.
NEW ITEMS
Schedule
changes for Semester 2
I am requesting that all desired schedule changes (primarily for
Elective classes) be submitted to Carol Stephens in our Welcome Center Office
by Thursday, December 17.
LMS
Buzz Book (From the LMSPA)
If there are any changes needed to the LMS 2015-2016 buzz book, please
email dawn.trautmann@rsmus.com by Friday, December
18. We will be providing an
update to the buzz book upon the return to school after Winter Break. Please let Dawn know if you are okay that the
corrections will be sent electronically.
From
our Library
We will be having a
"Winter Reading Club" over winter break.
To participate in our
winter reading program, students need to simply read two books over winter
break, and then write a short (50-100 words) review of each book. They will
then be entered into a drawing to win a $15 Amazon gift card!
To submit the review
they need to log into the Destiny catalogue using their network username and
password, look up the book, and submit a review! If they are unable to log in,
they may also email reviews to mfrese@ladueschools.net
UPDATED ITEMS
REPEAT ITEMS
Grade
8 Basketball
8th grade boys and girls basketball team sign
ups were last week. If your child would like to participate, it is not too
late! This is a free, no-cut, all-play program that meets after school
(3:10-4:10) on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Games are on Tuesdays, Wednesdays or
Thursdays after school. There is a late bus available after practices. Students
must turn in forms and a recent physical (dated after February 1, 2015). The forms
are available in the Welcome Center or online under the "Activities"
tab. The first practice is December 8. Email Coach Theodossiou (jtheodosiou@ladueschools.net) if you would like to sign your child up.
LMS
Yearbooks
Don't get left out of this year’s school
memories. Order your 2015/16 yearbook today. You can place your order
online at https://www.yearbookordercenter.com/index.cfm/job/8647
You can also place an
order by phone at 1-866-287-3096.
The price of the
yearbook is $28 and orders can be placed through winter break to guarantee that
pricing. After January 3, prices will increase to $35.
Any questions about
yearbook purchases can be directed to Sharrie Cognac atscognac@ladueschools.net
(Baber note: I don’t
believe that the links below transferred.
As a result, I am including the documents as attachments to the
Blackboard Connect email.)
Honor Our Wonderful LMS Faculty and Staff This
Holiday Season - Please Act Today, Don't Delay!
Dear Ladue Middle School
Families,
With the holidays upon us
and 2015 drawing to a close, it’s a great time to honor our wonderful Ladue
Middle School Faculty and Staff.
With their talent and
dedication, Ladue Middle School was recently named a 2015 National Blue Ribbon
School by the U.S. Department of Education, a 2015 Gold Star School by the
Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, and a 2014 National
School of Character by The Character Education Partnership.
LMS annually produces award
winning academic, arts and athletic teams, and provides opportunities for all
students to participate in unique field trips and extracurricular activities
such as the Ladue Ski Club.
You should have recently
received a letter in the mail describing some of the many things that the Ladue
Middle School Parent Association's "Gift & Project" Fundraiser
has helped to do for our school.
Click here if you'd like to view the Winter Gift
& Project letter.
Gift & Project is the
LMSPA's biggest fundraiser. The funds raised every year through G&P
make up over 50% of the annual LMSPA budget, and allow the LMSPA to continue to
do many things over the course of the year to elevate our children's learning
experience and help support our children, their families and the LMS staff.
We hope you will honor your
student's teachers and other LMS staff members with a donation. Thank you
to everyone who has already donated!
To donate: You may complete the paper teacher and
staff acknowledgment form (download it here if
needed), and drop off or mail your form with your donation check, made out to
the LMSPA, to the LMS office. Please be sure to note "Winter Gift
& Project" on your check's memo line.
Or, you may make your
Winter Gift & Project donation and select your teacher and staff honorees
online by clicking here.
PLEASE NOTE: You have
only seven days remaining until the Friday, Dec. 11th donation deadline to have your name(s)
included in the letters letting LMS faculty and staff know who has honored them
with a Winter Gift & Project donation (donation amounts are not disclosed).
Questions? Please
contact your Gift & Project Co-Chairs, Melissa Garza and Julie Stappenbeck:
Melissa Garza
melissahgarza@gmail.com / 571-249-9265 cell
melissahgarza@gmail.com / 571-249-9265 cell
Julie Stappenbeck
jstappenbeck@yahoo.com / 314-504-0785 cell
Thank you for supporting
the LMSPA.
Happy Holidays!
LMS Office Closed
Please be aware that our LMS Office will be closed on the
following:
·
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.
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 you have a great
remainder to your Friday and weekend.
Greg
