January 16, 2017
Good afternoon.
As we honor the efforts of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., and countless others, in the fight to end racism, bigotry and intolerance, I am reminded of one of his quotes that I believe has particular relevance to LMS. “Intelligence plus character - that is the goal of true education.” We teach content, but just as importantly, we strive to teach character. Our school-wide character education program, developed and supported by school staff and students, endeavors to help students understand and appreciate diversity, understanding and tolerance. We come from different backgrounds, cultures and realities. We will not always agree, but our goal is to foster an environment in which we can have differing opinions and express them in a climate of mutual respect, compassion and understanding.
In a related note, our planned activities scheduled for last Friday’s I AM LMS Day have not been forgotten. We have tentative plans for a “make up” day in the coming month or two and will communicate these when they are finalized.
Our counselors have either begun, or will begin soon, some classroom meetings and presentations with students in order to prepare for our 2017-18 registration and scheduling. Registration forms will be coming home soon for your review and approval. Please make note of the due date for these to be returned to our office.
This is one more reminder that our schedule for next year will look different in its format. We will still list eight (8) class periods on student schedules, but will meet for seven (7) periods each day in order to increase our daily and weekly core content instructional time.
Each student will have five (5) periods of core content classes that meet daily for approximately 53 to 55 minutes. These will be:
- English Language Arts Reading workshop
- English Language Arts Writing workshop
- Mathematics
- Science
- Social Studies
Students in our Gifted/Apogee program will have one period of English Language Arts (in which Reading and Writing are combined) and a period of Apogee as their final core class.
The remaining three (3) non-core class periods will be devoted to Physical Education/Health and Elective selections. These three classes will rotate, meeting two out of every three days. Students will have the choice of filling the two non-PE periods with the following:
- Two (2) year-long Electives,
- One (1) year-long Electives combined with two (2) semester-long Electives, OR
- Four (4) semester-long Electives.
Please keep in mind, as in years past, that Elective classes will be offered based upon student demand, class size parameters and staffing. That is why it is important for you and your child to list alternate Elective choices, in addition to those most desired, on your Registration form before returning it to us.
CONGRATULATIONS and THANK YOU’s
Thank you to the members of the LMS Diversity Cadre for the time spent in planning the activities for I AM LMS DAY. I erroneously credited this work to the administrators and counselors in my last update.
Congratulations to the following LMS students who participated (and sang so beautifully) in the St. Louis All Suburban 7/8 Honor Treble Choir this past weekend: Katie Marks, Bronte King-Levine, Jenna Boltzman, Maromi Sakurai-Kearns and Tori Webb.
Congratulations to the following students who were selected for the Science Olympiad training team: Arya Bhushan, Yuvan Chali, Chris Chen, Samuel Chen, Huamin Gao, Richie Jiang, David Ju, Shriya Koneru, Evan Schreiner, Emily Shaw, Rohen Tatikonda, Ryan Tung, Vyomini Vakil, Anthony Wang and Justin Zhang.
Congratulations to the Ladue Theatre Company's cast of the our upcoming touring musical, Seussical, KIDS!
Jenna Boltzman, Ron Weiss, Kaden Missey, Josh Rosen, Udonne Eke-Okoro, Bronte King-Levine, Jackson Proper, Sophie Guilbeau, Ale Pinon-Dickey, Sydney Patterson, Jahnavi Vishnubhotla, Julia Joseph, Miriam Thames, Ben Rose, Clayton Coughlin, Gil Weiss, Sabrina Fritts, Katie Marks, Samuel Baker, Quinn Calvert, Jane Derdoy, Demi Rosenthal, Lucy McGrosso, Alexis Monsey, Joshua Goldman, Victoria Webb, Anika Speicher, Lucy McGrosso, Sarah Pernik, Vyomini Vakil, Pranavi Chintha, Zoe Zych, Caroline Powell, Angela He, Erika Maguire, Kathryn Schneider, Suparna Chintha.
Our students will tour this musical to several schools in our area on March 9th and 10th. There will also be a free Family and Friends Performance on March 7th at 5:30 in the Ladue Middle School Cafeteria. All are welcome to enjoy this show!
CALENDAR ITEMS
1/16/17
No School; Dr. Martin Luther King holiday
1/18/17
Meeting for incoming 6th grade parents; Apogee meeting 5:30 pm; Registration meeting 6 pm
1/19/17
7th grade Parents to Lunch; 11:24 - 11:54 am
School-wide National Geography Bee; after school; LMS Cafeteria
1/20/17
6th grade Parents to Lunch; 10:35 - 11:05 am
Ski Trip #2
1/26/17
LMS Spelling Bee; after school
2/3/17
Ski Trip #3
NEW ITEMS
A message from the 8th Grade Party Committee
The 8th grade party committee needs your help! This is a parent funded event based on donations. We have raised 1/3 of our goal so far through car wash and raffle ticket sales. Here’s how you can help.....
1. Donate online on myschoolbucks.com
2. Drop off a check in the welcome center made out to LMSPA with 8th grade party noted.
3. Purchase raffle tickets during conferences. Prizes are front seats at the end of the year assembly and reserved parking. $1.00 each.
Money raised will go towards DJ, photo booth, games, decorations and food. The slide show will be presented as well so please submit your photos of your kids from Kindergarten to current to lms2017slideshow@gmail.com. We prefer school related activities, please.
Yearbook Orders
Don't forget to order a yearbook for your son or daughter. Currently the cost for the book is $28 but prices will go up on January 20 to $35 so get your orders in this week. Deadline for ordering personalized name tags for the books is also the 20th. You can find a link to the order website on the LMS home page. If you have any questions, please contact Ms. Cognac at
or 314-983-5602.
Eagle Scout Project
James Beiser, a former LMS student and currently a senior at LHWHS, is coordinating a Bicycle Drive for his Eagle School Project. James and volunteers will be collecting used bicycles for Bworks’ Earn-A-Bike program, that provides children opportunities to earn a bike that can’t afford one. They will be accepting bicycles and bicycle parts, new or used. The collection will occur in from of LMS on Saturday, January 21 and Saturday, January 28, 11 am to 3 pm on both days.
Girls In The Know at FGC
Another session of Girls In The Know will begin at the Fifth Grade Center on Thursday evenings (6:30 to 7:30 pm) from January 19 through February 9, in the cafeteria. Space is limited to 20 girl/caregiver pairs. For more information, please contact volunteer coordinator Heather Huewe at hhuewe@hotmail.com
Community Basketball Chili Supper
It's 'Due time for the District's annual community chili supper and basketball. All schools are invited to attend this community-building event on Friday, January 27 from 5-7 p.m. at the high school cafeteria. A $6 per person pre-paid fee (or $8 at the door) includes chili and BBQ dinner, entrance to all the basketball games occurring that night, and activities and fun. Wear your blue and white!
UPDATED/CORRECTED ITEMS
REPEATED ITEMS
Morning Student Building Access
With colder weather in the forecast, beginning tomorrow, I just wanted to remind everyone that our building is not scheduled for student arrivals until 7:15 am. That is when I have staff available to let students in and supervise them in the lobby. Although I typically arrive between 6:30 and 7, I cannot always guarantee that I will be available as doorman before 7:15 am.
LMS Library additions to inventory
Our Library has been working to establish a foreign language section for students who are able to read in languages other than English. They are specifically looking for books appropriate for children ages 10-14 in the following languages, but other languages are also welcome.
Languages Requested:
- Amharic
- Chinese (simplified)
- Spanish
- Turkish
- French
- German
Please contact Melody Frese at
if you have any questions.
Winter Reading
St. Louis County Library is pleased to offer its popular Winter Reading Club again this year. The Winter Reading Club runs from December 1-February 28th. Anyone of any age (including parents and grandparents) can participate!
Log sheets are available from your child's ELA teacher or at any St. Louis County Library branch. Bring the completed log sheet back to your library branch to pick up your coupon and be entered into a drawing for fabulous prizes. Raffle prizes include Kindle Fires, $20 movie theater gift cards, and $50 Amazon gift cards. More information is available here: http://www.slcl.org/winter-reading-club
In addition to the County Library's Program, this year sixth grade students may also participate in the Six Flags Read to Succeed program. If your child is interested in earning a free ticket to Six Flags, all they have to do is read six hours and log their reading on the Six Flags Read to Succeed form, which was distributed this week. The deadline to return the completed and signed forms is February 24th. If you need another copy of the form, please email Melody Frese, our library media specialist at mfrese@ladueschools.net, or contact your child's ELA teacher.
As an extra incentive, any child who participates in either reading program will also receive a gift from the LMS library! Simply show the completed reading log to an LMS librarian before turning in your form, or make a copy of the form to show us!
8th Grade Slideshow
As a part of celebrating the accomplishments of 8th graders next spring, a slideshow) is shown at the 8th Grade party and at the Farewell celebration. We would like to ask for your help in contributing photos for the slideshow. We’re looking for good-quality photos (preferably taken with a digital camera instead of a cellphone) of school-related activities…sports events, field trips, musical performances, classroom experiments, etc. Our goal is for every LMS eighth grader to be included in the slide show!
If you have any photos to share, please email them to lms2017slideshow@gmail.com. If you’d prefer to put your photos on a flash drive, there will be a couple in the LMS office, designated for parent use, after winter break. Simply pick one up, load your photos, and return it to LMS.
If you have any questions, please contact Julie Schuster at lms2017slideshow@gmail.com
NURSE DANI NOTES
Immunization Requirement Changes
In the past year 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 verify if these have been completed. If not, please begin making appointments at your earliest convenience. Take advantage of the upcoming breaks to get this requirement out of the way. Do not wait until August when physician offices are booked.
You can send the updated immunization records that reflect that your child has these immunizations. The nurse's office will accept these records immediately - no need to wait until summer.
You may email, fax, or send in a copy of the record to the nurse's office.
Email: dbernholt@ladueschools.net
Fax: 314-997-8736
HEALTHY THOUGHTS
One benefit of winter . . .
Research has shown that when you shiver, your body produces a hormone called irisin. Irisin turns white fat (the kind that produces stomach rolls) into brown fat (which burns calories to create heat).
This isn't to say that spending time in the cold is a replacement for eating healthy and working out. Plus, you should limit how much time you spend outside when the temps dip below freezing, so you don't put yourself at risk of hypothermia. But when you find yourself dreaming of white, sandy beaches as your teeth chatter and your ears redden, know there's at least one upside to the cold weather.
LMSPA
You can access the Ladue Middle School Parent Association website at http://mylmspa.com and subscribe to email blasts from the LMSPA at http://www.mylmspa.com/eblast-newsletter/
BOARD BRIEFS
Information regarding Ladue Board of Education meetings and work sessions can be found at http://boardbriefs.blogspot.com
Have a great rest of your day. See you on the parking lot tomorrow morning.
Greg
Gregory Baber B.S.Ed., M.Ed., Ed.S.
Principal, Ladue Middle School
