March 25, 2016
Good afternoon. I hope that your week has gone well. In an effort to help parents of current Fifth Grade Center students become aware of our building, I will be including them in the weekly Update emails and blogs through the remainder of the school year. FGC parents, we look forward to working with you and your children in the coming years.
Here are a couple of quick items for your attention:
- Cell phones and students - We understand that cell phones are a reality for many/most middle school children. With the potential for distractions and other issues, I ask that cell phones and other communication devices carried to school by students be turned off and stored in their secured/locked locker during the “business day” from 8:15 AM to 3:05 PM. Due to their capability for internet access, teachers may allow student cell phone use in their classrooms for educational purposes. Otherwise, I would hope that cell phone possession and use during the school day will not become a major issue. I would appreciate it if you could reinforce this with your children. We will do the same here.
- MAP testing will occur during the weeks of April 11 and April 18. A more complete schedule is included in the UPDATED ITEMS section below. It is important that students are present at school on these days (as with any other day), get plenty of sleep the night before and a good breakfast that morning.
- Permission slips for end-of-year grade level field trips are due on the following dates: Grade 6 on 4/8, Grade 7 on 4/8 and Grade 8 on 4/29. These should be turned in to your child’s team teachers, unless otherwise noted.
- Channel 9 did a piece on our recent I Am LMS Day. In case you did not get a chance to see it, here is a link:
CONGRATULATIONS and THANKS
Congratulations to LMS teacher Nancy Chambers and seven students who competed in the State MathCounts competition in Columbia, MO. All of the students placed in the Top 25 and five placed in the Top 10 as individuals. They are: Will Bender (6th-grade) - 1st place; Jeremy Ouyang (8th-grade) - 4th; Anna Zhong (8th-grade) - 5th; Stephen Jiang (7th-grade) - 6th; Jason Ding (7th-grade) - 8th; William Pan (7th-grade) - 19th; and Harry Chen (7th-grade) - 23rd.
In the Countdown Round, Stephen placed 1st, Anna 2nd, and Jeremy 3rd. The LMS team of Jeremy, Anna, Stephen, and Jason placed 1st in the team competition. The top four students in the state advance to the national competition. Will and Jeremy have won an all-expense paid trip to Washington, D.C. May 7 - 10.
Congratulations again to Nancy Chambers and twenty-three LMS students who competed in the 38th Annual Math Educators of Greater St. Louis (MEGSL) math competition at Florissant Valley Community College on March 19. Results of the competition were:
TEAM AWARDS - 6th grade: 1st Place (Will Bender, Winston Chen, Aditya Kondepudi, and Daniel Xu); 7th grade: 1st Place (Harry Chen, Stephen Jiang, William Pan, and Alex Zhou);
8th grade: 3rd Place (Lena Liang, Katie Shaw, Lilly Tung, and Anna Zhong).
INDIVIDUAL AWARDS - 6th grade: Will Bender-2nd, Daniel Xu-3rd, Aditya Kondepudi-5th, Winston Chen-6th; 7th grade: Stephen Jiang-1st, William Pan-3rd, Harry Chen-7th, Alex Zhou-9th; 8th grade: Anna Zhong-4th.
ESTIMATION GOLF - 6th grade: 1st Place Will Bender, Aditya Kondepudi, Sophia Liu; 7th grade: 1st Place Harry Chen, Stephen Jiang, William Pan.
Other students who attended were Michael Cao, Rohan Tatikonda, Ryan Tung, Eric Yin, Darren Teh, Shriya Koneru, Jason Xu, Ben Wang, Connie Chen, and Simerjeet Singh.
LMS students who comprise the En Passant Chess Club participated in the Missouri State championships on Saturday, March 19. The 6th grade team earned the title of Missouri State Champions - team members are Benjamin Liu (Co-Captain), Roshen Chatwal (Co-Captain), Arya Bhushan, Domenic Fenoglio, Aryan Gowda, Ian Rothstein, Alex Rybak, Kanisk Shanmugam, and Daniel Ye. Benjamin Liu was also named the Missouri State Champion in the Individual competition. A second team from En Passant, composed of LMS 7th and 8th grade students, captured 4th Place in the Team Competition. LMS students who are members of that team include Jason Pummer (Co-Captain), Sophie Kras (Co-Captain), Katie Eisenmann, Seth Goldman and Joshua Wolk. Great job!
KMOV's News 4 Schools was at LMS before Spring Break to do a story on the Ladue Middle School's Science Bowl Team who recently won the regional competition and will be heading to Washington, D.C. in April to compete in the national competition. The LMS team, as well as science teachers Martin Long and Hugh McMonigle, are featured in the segment linked here and aired a few evenings ago on KMOV. Best wishes to the team members and coaches.
Our sincere thanks and appreciation go out to LMS parents Cate and Dean Small. The Smalls made a $5000 donation to the Ladue Education Foundation, which allowed for the purchase of Chrome Books for the LMS Math department. If you are interested, there are other grant requests that should be accessible through the LEF website. Thank you, again.
Thank you to Aaron Lehde, Betsy Cytron, Michael Faris, Katie Solomon, Scott Harris and the members of the LMS 7th and 8th grade Jazz Bands for an outstanding evening last night. The Night of Jazz is always a wonderful experience and exemplifies the dedication and work of our staff and students. My personal favorites were Phat Kat by the 7th graders and Hola, Senor Loco by the 8th grade.
CALENDAR ITEMS
Tuesday, 4/5
Election Day; LMS Library (this will affect parking in our front lot)
Scholastic Reading Inventory (SRI) testing
Wednesday, 4/6
Scholastic Reading Inventory (SRI) testing
Friday, 4/8
Science Olympiad team leaves for State Finals (on Saturday, 4/9)
Rhythm & Hues (LEF Fundraiser); 7 - 11 PM
Monday, 4/11
MAP testing; Grade 6, English/Language Arts
Tuesday, 4/12
MAP testing; Grade 6, Mathematics
LMSPA Exective Board meeting; 1 PM
Wednesday, 4/13
MAP testing; Grade 7, English/Language Arts
Thursday, 4/14
MAP testing; Grade 7, Mathematics
Percussion Concert; LHWHS Performing Arts Center; 7 PM
Friday, 4/15
Early Release Day; 12:40 PM
Monday, 4/18
MAP testing; Grade 8, English/Language Arts
Tuesday, 4/19
National Library Worker Day
MAP testing; Grade 8, Science
Choir Concert; LHWHS Performing Arts Center; 7 PM
Wednesday, 4/20
NJHS Induction; LMS Cafeteria; 8:30 AM
MAP testing; Grade 8, Mathematics
Thursday, 4/21
Grade 8 Trailblazer team to Springfield, IL
Monday, 4/25
MAP testing; make up exams (through Friday, 4/29)
Grade 8 Pioneer team to Springfield, IL
Tuesday, 4/26
Grade 8 Patriot team to Springfield, IL
Wednesday, 4/27
Administrative Professionals Day
Band Concert; LHWHS Performing Arts Center; 7 PM
Saturday, 4/30
Dogwood Parade and Festival
CORRECTIONS
HEALTHY THOUGHTS (from Nurse Patrick and Coach Wojtow)
Did you know that teenagers are America’s most sleep-deprived group?
According to most sleep experts, the average teenager needs about nine hours of sleep per night for healthy growth and functioning. Fewer that 10% of US teens get that much on school nights, which is why teen sleep deprivation is often called a national public health epidemic. According to the Centers for Disease Control, nearly two-thirds of American high school students get under eight hours, and as many as two-fifths get six hours or fewer of sleep on school nights.
This is an epidemic with consequences that go far beyond nodding off in class. Chronic sleep loss in teenagers is associated with increased auto accidents, depression, suicide, sports injuries, diabetes, substance abuse, risk-taking, and a host of other health and behavioral issues.
NURSE NOTES
Immunization Information
There have been some immunization changes required by the state of Missouri that will affect students going into 8th grade next school year. Students entering 8th grade will now be required to have a meningitis immunization and a Tdap immunization prior to starting 8th grade. Your child may have already had both of these immunizations. Please check with your pediatrician to see if these have been completed and, if not, get an appointment scheduled. Please send the updated immunization records that reflect that your child has these immunizations. The nurse's office will accept the records immediately - no need to wait until summer!
You may email: cpatrick@ladueschools.net, fax (314)-983-5965, or send in a paper copy of the record to the nurse's office. For more information please go to:
Christina Patrick, MSN, RN
Ladue Middle School Nurse
Phone: 314-983-5530
Fax: 314-983-5965
Spare Clothing
While spring cleaning, please consider the LMS Nurse’s Office when purging outgrown or unwanted clothing. Larger sizes are especially appreciated, with elastic waistbands.
Student Medications at School
This is a reminder that students are not permitted to carry any medication (over the counter or prescription) to, from, or during school. All medication 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 on Ladue Schools’ medication policy.
NEW ITEMS
Heroin Presentation
The LHWHS parents association is hosting an evening with a NCADA community educator. The educator will present a 10-15 minute film and a powerpoint presentation on Heroin usage in High School. It will be followed by a 30 minute panel question and answer session. The panel will include the educator, David Tabscott (LHWHS counselor), Kelly Ross MD (parent and pediatrician) and hopefully some parents. We would like to extend an invitation to LMS parents to attend. The event is April 18 at 7 PM in the LHWHS Performing Arts Center.
Autism Awareness
According to Autism Speaks.org, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) indicates that in the United States 1 in 68 children (1 in 42 boys and 1 in 189 girls) have been diagnosed as having Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). This means that anyone reading this post either has been, or knows someone, that is directly affected by this condition.
To bring awareness to the global public health priority that Autism presents to our world today, Autism Speaks commissioned every April 2 as World Autism Awareness Day. On this day, people are asked to wear blue in support of those affected by Autism.
This year, Ladue Middle School will Light it Up! Blue to show our support for the World Autism Awareness Day on Monday, April 4. The impetus to commemorate this day began with a LMS student who has a brother diagnosed with Autism. This student recently approached Mr. Quentin Alimayu (7th Grade Social Studies teacher, with a son diagnosed with Autism) to inquire about establishing an Autism Awareness day at school this year. Together, with the administration, our counselors, and other teachers at LMS, we chose Monday, April 4 to celebrate this day (since there is no school on April 2). Students will be encouraged to wear their Ladue blue in honor of the millions of individuals and families affected by Autism, including those in our school community.
UPDATED ITEMS
MAP Testing schedule
MAP testing will occur in April. We ask that parents avoid the following dates in terms of planned absences, appointments, etc.
Grade 6
Monday, 4/11
English Language Arts, 11:12 AM to 1:31 PM
Tuesday, 4/12
Math, 11:12 to 1:31 PM
Grade 7
Wednesday, 4/13
English Language Arts, 8:15 to 11:26 AM
Thursday, 4/14
Math, 8:15 to 11:26 AM
Grade 8
Monday, 4/18
English Language Arts, 8:15 AM to 12:14 PM
Tuesday, 4/19
Science, 9:06 AM to 12:14 PM
Wednesday, 4/20
Math, 9:54 AM to 12:14 PM
Makeup Exams
Will be held during the week of 4/25
REPEATED ITEMS
Rhythm & Hues
The Ladue Education Foundation will provide an evening of music to benefit the students of the Ladue School District. This event will occur on April 8, from 7 to 11 PM, at Majorette in Maplewood (7150 Manchester Road). More information and the purchase of tickets can be found at www.laduefoundation.org
Dads Club
The Ladue Middle School Dad's Club, in partnership with the Ladue High School Dad’s Club, is sponsoring a Trivia Night on Friday, April 1 at 7 PM at the JCC in Creve Coeur. The event is sure to be a fun evening and is intended to provide LMS parents with an opportunity to socialize with other LMS parents, while also creating an opportunity to begin building new relationships with parents and administration of the Ladue High School community.
The event is designed as a “friend-raiser” and is very affordably priced at $15 per person, or tables of ten for $150. There are only 18 tables available and they are selling quickly.
Registration for the event and additional information can be found at http://laduedadsclub.com/2016-trivia-night. The Dad’s Clubs of LMS and LHS will hold a joint meeting on Tuesday March 8 at 6:30 PM in room 116 at Ladue High School to discuss the event further and how you can participate as a table captain, registrant or volunteer for the event. Questions can be directed to LMS Dad’s Club President Joe Mulligan at 314-503-4384 or joemulligan910@gmail.com
Cardinal Glennon fundraiser
Two of our own Jessie Eastlund (8th grade) and Christina Von Ruecker (6th grade), will be participating in the 6th annual Drea's Dream Gala at the Edison Theater on April 2, 2016 at 7pm. Proceeds from the Gala will benefit the dance therapy program at Cardinal Glennon Children’s Hospital for kids with cancer and other special needs. Tickets can be purchased through the following link: Drea's Dream Gala 2016
8th Grade Slide Show
This year, our goal is to have every child represented with at least 1 photograph. The slide show is intended to be a stand alone activity at the party and will be around 10 minutes long.
We would love to have your photos from 6th, 7th and 8th grade school activities such as school parties, ski club, field trips etc. Group pictures with higher resolution are preferred. We would appreciate you including as much detail as possible (childs names, activity and year photo was taken). Please submit your photos to lms8thgradeformal@gmail.com.
If you have a large amount of group photos we can accept DVDs during our Spring conferences March 9 & 10. Please mark the DVD with your child’s name.
To allow enough time to produce a slide show, please submit your pictures by April 4. If you have any questions please e-mail Julie Eastlund at: lms8thgradeformal@gmail.com.
Book Drive
Trey Fruend, LHWHS freshman, is sponsoring a book drive for children and teens of patients at Siteman Cancer Center. Trey, who is working on his Eagle Scout Project, wishes to collect new or gently used children and teen books. A collection bin is located in the LMS lobby, by the Welcome Center, with a final pickup of donated books scheduled for April 15, 2016.
Challenger Baseball Program
Does your child enjoy helping others, playing baseball or need volunteer hours for activities, such as National Junior Honor Society? My Name is Maya Wasserstrom, and as part of my Girl Scout Gold Award, we are continuing to expand our LMS partnership with Challenger Baseball. Last year, LMS students provided over 100 hours as buddies or special event help. Challenger Baseball is a program for children and adults with developmental disabilities, and they are always in need of buddies to help out players during the games. We welcome volunteers ages 10 to 20 and no baseball experience is required. Most games are at Tilles Park and you can attend once or come weekly. Starting in April, Challenger Baseball will have games every Saturday at 9 AM and 10:30 AM. You can register (takes 2 minutes) or learn more about Challenger at: www.challengerbaseball.org. Please feel free to contact me at, mayaerin1@gmail.com and I would be happy to answer questions. I am also tracking LMS hours for special projects and would love to record them for you.
WANTED: Gently used baseball gloves (especially adult size). I will be collecting these during the LMS Spring Parent Portfolio Conferences to provide to players with the Challenger Baseball Program.
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
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
Have a great weekend.
Take care,
Greg
