December 18, 2015
Good afternoon
to everyone.
The first
portion of this school year has gone by quickly and smoothly (for a Middle
School).
I hope you and
your families enjoy the next two weeks.
If you are traveling, please do so safely.
Thank you,
once again, for everything you and your children do to make this a great place
to work, to learn, and to teach.
CONGRATULATIONS
and THANKS
Congratulations to Roger Scherck (LMS
Counselor). Roger graduated from the LACE Character
Education Academy on Friday. LACE is a complex and comprehensive
year-long professional development experience for school leaders to
help develop the knowledge, skills and attitudes necessary to create,
implement and evaluate programs and processes that make their schools true
learning communities in which character education is a vital part of the
curriculum and culture. It is a MAJOR commitment!
Congratulations to
Martin Long (8th Grade Science, Pioneer Team) who was recognized as
the winner of the 2015 Holiday Sweater Contest in a vote by his colleagues.
CALENDAR ITEMS
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
Ski
Trip Fridays and morning traffic
Ski Trip Fridays will begin on January 8 (see dates below). These mornings result in significant
increases in car traffic as parents bring their children, with their ski or
board equipment, to school.
After experiencing these mornings over the past five years, I
would suggest that you try to drop your student(s) off at school prior to 7:45
am, if possible. Students entering the
front and back entrances will be able to deposit their equipment (clearly
marked with their name and grade level) in a designated location in our Welcome
Center Lobby for safekeeping during the day.
Registration Dates for 2016-2017
Information will be made available on the following dates:
8th grade registration meeting @ LHWHS 1/13/16, 7pm
8th grade Parents to Lunch - 1/14/16
7th Grade Parents to Lunch - 1/28/15
6th Grade Parents to Lunch - 1/22/16
To
Parents of 7th Grade Girls
The 8th grade girls basketball team does not have enough players
to make a team, so we are opening up 5 spots for 7th grade girls. This is a free, no cut, all- play program that
practices on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 3:10-4:10. Games are after school on Tuesdays, Wednesdays
or Thursdays. In order to play, students
must meet academic and citizenship requirements and turn in signed forms,
included a physical dated after February 1, 2015. You can find the forms on the “activities” tab
under “8th grade sports” on the LMS website. If your child would like to play, please
download and return the forms ASAP. Practices
have already started, so your child may practice on the first day back to
school (January 5) if her forms are submitted that day to Mrs. Schwartz in the
Assistant Principal’s office.
LHWHS
Basketball Chili Supper
The yearly Basketball Chili Supper will be held at LHWHS on
January 22. I am attaching a flier to
the Blackboard Connect Parent Update email if you are interested.
Class Meetings on January 5
The Character Ed committee reviewed the results of the student
School Climate Survey that was taken earlier this month and voted to have class
meetings on the first day of third quarter, January 5th. These will occur at the beginning of the
school day, with a full 8-period day to follow with slightly shortened class
periods.
The class meetings will continue the discussion about how to be
an ally to students who are teased/bullied/disrespected.
UPDATED ITEMS
REPEAT ITEMS
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
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
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.
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
All our best to you and your
children.
Greg
