January 18, 2016
Good
morning.
I
have just re-read the speech delivered by Dr. Martin Luther King at the Lincoln
Memorial on August 28, 1963. As we
celebrate Dr. Martin Luther King Day today, I hope each of us takes the
opportunity to honor the sacrifices made by Dr. King and others past and
present in their effort to help each of us judge our fellow man not “by the
color of their skin but by the content of their character.” Dr. King’s eloquent, passionate words remain
relevant to me in these times of intolerance and divisiveness in the hope of
transforming “the jangling discords of our nation into a beautiful symphony
of brotherhood.”
CONGRATULATIONS
and THANKS
The
following is from our Grade 7 Social Studies teachers:
On
Friday, January 8, 7th grade social studies students culminated their week-long
study of West African culture with an African Festival. Students presented about West African food,
call and response music, art, storytelling, dance and drumming. The students did an excellent job with their
presentations. We want to thank Mrs.
Alrutz, Ms. Bullman and Mr. Farris for assisting us. We also want to give a special thanks to our
guest teacher for the week, Mrs. Anoa Alimayu, as well as the parents that gave
up time to help supervise and run activities: Jennifer McLaughlin, Megan Frank,
Nancy Singh, Julie Schuester, Brooke Dahm, Sarah Baumstark, Tammy Hayes,
Lynelle Gage, Tracey Donovan, Reagan Minkler, Darel Shelton, Ruth Price, Tamar
Brown, Lou Robinson, Amy Gunn, Kevin Gunn, Mary Yeldham, Caroline Chicoine,
Sarah Stolker, Hong Xie, Joelyn Levy, Scott Kovacs, Jessica McLauchlin and
Tracy Evans. We could not have done it
without your help!
CALENDAR ITEMS
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
Monday, 1/25
School Board Appreciation Week
Thursday, 1/28
7th Grade Parents to Lunch;
11:26 am
Friday, 1/29
Ski Trip #2 to Hidden Valley (after
school)
Monday, 2/1
School Counselor Week
Discovery Education 3 testing through
Thursday (see schedule below)
Friday, 2/5
Ski Trip #3 to Hidden Valley (after
school)
CORRECTIONS
HEALTHY THOUGHTS
(from Nurse Patrick and Coach Wojtow)
Five great ways to stay active this winter:
1.Ice skating at
Steinberg Ice Rink
2.Rock climbing at
Upper Limits
3.Hiking at Powder
Valley or Castlewood State Park
4.Skiing or tubing at
Hidden Valley
5.Take a stroll through the Botanical Gardens or St. Louis Zoo - no crowds!
5.Take a stroll through the Botanical Gardens or St. Louis Zoo - no crowds!
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
8th Grade
Formal Planning
Please join the 8th grade formal committee on Wednesday, February 3
at 7 pm in the LMS library
to discuss the upcoming dance. We
welcome all individuals interested in volunteering at this event. We will discuss fundraising efforts and all
volunteer opportunities. If you are unable to attend but would like to
help, or if you have any questions, please email the co-chairs:
Goska Cherrick goskacherrick@aol.com
or
Kelly Minifie kellyminifie@gmail.com
Buzz Book
The Ladue Middle School Parent Association, which compiles
information for our yearly Buzz Book, has provided recent additions and
updates. This is attached as an Excel
spreadsheet to the Blackboard Connect update email.
UPDATED ITEMS
Ski Trip revised dates
With the cancellation of
today’s Ski Trip (due to Hidden Valley delaying their opening until Saturday,
January 9), the revised dates are as follows:
·
Jan 15 – Ski Trip #1
·
Jan 29 – Ski Trip #2
·
Feb 5 – Ski Trip #3
·
Feb 19 – Ski Trip #4
·
Feb 26 – Ski Trip #5
REPEAT ITEMS
Chili Supper at LHWHS
The Ladue School District Community Chili
Supper is on Friday,
January 22 at Ladue Horton
Watkins High School Cafeteria from 5 to 7 pm. Purchase
tickets for $6 per person in advance, $8 at the door. OR order online by clicking here (MySchoolBucks.com) and choosing the Chili Supper icon.
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
DE Testing dates/schedule
Monday, 2/1 – White Day, Odd block
periods
Tuesday, 2/2 – White Day, Even block
periods
Wednesday, 2/3 – Blue Day, Odd block
periods
Thursday, 2/4 – Blue Day, Even block periods
(Friday, 2/5 – Regular full-day
schedule)
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 at scognac@ladueschools.net
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.
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 Monday.
Greg
