February 10, 2017
Good afternoon on this gorgeous Friday. This is so much better than directing morning traffic with a 19 degree windchill earlier in the week.
Our third round of Discovery Education (DE) testing will occur next week, Monday through Thursday. We use DE as our benchmark assessment to track progress at three points during the school year. Because of time constraints, a block schedule somewhat like that used at the high school is necessary. The schedule for the next four school days will be as follows:
- Monday - Periods 1, 3, 5, and 7 (and a White day for grade 6)
- Tuesday - Periods 2, 4, 6, and 8 (and a White day for grade 6)
- Wednesday - Periods 1, 3, 5, and 7 (and a Blue day for grade 6)
- Thursday - Periods 2, 4, 6, and 8 (and a Blue day for grade 6)
Don’t worry. The kids have this figured out by now.
CONGRATULATIONS and THANK YOU’s
I would like to congratulate our two LMS nominees for Teacher Of The Year - Laila Crabtree and Kelly Leary. Faculty voting last week resulted in Kelly Leary being selected as our LMS Teacher Of The Year. Congratulations Mrs. Leary!
Congratulations to LMS members of the En Passant Chess Club. The club fielded two teams in the recent Gateway Chess League Belleville West Team tournament on January 28. The 6th Grade and Under team finished 1st out of all 6th grade teams and only had one loss in four games. Andy Teh received the 2nd place trophy on Board 1, (the strongest position), Martin He received the 1st place trophy on Board 2, Yuvan Chali received the 1st place trophy on Board 3, Max Yang received the 2nd place trophy on Board 4, and Gil Weiss received the 1st place trophy on Board 5. This tournament was a great preparation for the Missouri State Championships that will be held in Columbia Missouri on March 18. Ladue Middle School’s chess team is the current Missouri State Champions in the 6th grade and under division.
Congratulations to LMS teacher Sharrie Cognac. Incorporation of the Vectorworks design program in her classes was highlighted in a recent edition of Planet Vectorworks. The article can be found at:
Thank you to all the 8th grade families who have sent in change (and more) for the Change Challenge. As of Thursday, we have far surpassed our goal of $500 and have raised a total of $1339.32. The final numbers will be tabulated today and the winning team will be announced on Monday. We appreciate your support in fundraising to have an amazing 8th grade party in May.
CALENDAR ITEMS
2/13/17
DE Testing (through Thursday) - block day schedule
2/14/17
LMSPA Executive Board meeting; 1 pm
2/17/17
No school; district-wide professional development
2/20/17
No school; Presidents Day
2/23/17
6th Grade Party (after school)
2/24/17
Ski Trip #5
2/27/17
World Languages Week
3/3/17
Early Release day; 12:40 pm
Ski Trip make up day (if needed)
3/7/17
Statewide Severe Weather drill; 10 am
“Seussical” the Musical; 5:30 pm; LMS Cafeteria
3/11/17
LMS/LHWHS Dads Club Trivia Night; 6:30 pm
3/14/17
LMSPA Executive Board meeting; 1 pm
3/15/17
Spring Portfolio Parent Conferences; 4 - 8 pm
3/16/17
Early Release day; 12:40 pm
Spring Portfolio Parent Conferences; 1 - 7 pm
- Explo/Elective teacher dinner break; 4:20 - 5 pm
- Core Team teacher dinner break; 5 - 5:40 pm
3/17/17
No School; Conference Compensation day
3/20/17 - 3/24/17
SPRING BREAK!
NEW ITEMS
Spring Musical
The Ladue Middle School Theatre Company will present Seussical KIDS in the LMS cafeteria on Tuesday, March 7 at 5:30. There is no advanced seating or ticket sales. This is a free event for all and the show runs approximately 30 minutes. The story follows the lovable Horton the Elephant and his adventures with other characters from the books of Dr. Seuss as he tried to save the Whos. Join us for a fun night of songs and dances for the whole family! For more information, contact Leah Scheidt, the theatre director at lscheidt@ladueschools.net.
Cheerleading Clinic
The first ever Ladue Middle School Spring Cheer Clinic is coming up! Join Nurse Dani and the Ladue High School Varsity cheer team starting February 28. Sign up forms are in the Welcome Center or Nurse's Office. Please turn in completed forms to Nurse Dani by February 24.
UPDATED/CORRECTED ITEMS
Rescheduled Day
I AM LMS Day has been rescheduled for March 3.
REPEATED ITEMS
Schedule Questions for 2017-18?
The link Schedule FAQs may address some questions you may have about our programs and schedule for the coming year.
Spring Portfolio Conferences
Spring Portfolio Conferences are March 15 (4:00-8:00 pm) and March 16 (1:00-7:00 pm) The information sheet will be sent home with students on Friday, January 27 and is attached to the Blackboard Connect parent email. Please follow instructions on the sheet to sign up. The system will open on Monday, January 30 at 8:00 am. Please sign up ASAP as slots fill quickly. We look forward to seeing you.
Early Release on Ski Trip days
Please refrain from picking up your child early on Ski Trip days in order to “beat the buses” to Hidden Valley. This has caused lost instructional time in period 8 classes in the past, while also causing challenges in coordinating transportation back to school. Although there will always be special circumstances, we ask for your cooperation in this.
Dad’s Clubs Trivia Night
The LMS and LHS Dad's Clubs are collaborating to host the 2nd Annual Dads Club Trivia Night at 7 p.m. on Saturday March 11 at the JCCA in Creve Coeur. This is a really fun evening that is a great opportunity to meet new people and build new relationships with parents, teachers and administrators of LMS and LHS, as well as other members of the Ladue School District community. For LMS parents, it’s a great way to begin building social relationships with parents and teachers of LHS students, which can be helpful resources as your young adult begins the transition process to the high school.
There are only 18 tables available and last year’s event sold out, so we encourage you to act quickly if you would like to join us. If you are interested in participating, but do not have enough people to fill a table of ten, contact us and we will see if we can place you at another table. Tables of ten are only $150, which includes complimentary soft drinks and adult beverages. Please visit the Dad’s Club website at www.laduedadsclub.com if you would like additional information about the event or would like to purchase a table. If you want to be involved, but are not interested in playing, you can also participate by serving on the event committee or volunteering to help at the event itself. For additional questions, please contact the LMS Dad’s Club President – Joe Mulligan – at 314-503-4384 or joemulligan910@gmail.com
Fundraiser for St. Louis Children’s Hospital
The “Run and Run S’More” 5k run and 1 mile fun run/walk to raise funds for the Jackson Hill Wellness Center and St. Louis Children’s Hospital will occur on February 26, from 9 - 11 am. The route will begin and end at the Ladue Middle School campus.
More information can be accessed at www.runandrunsmore.com or by contacting Melissa Hill at melissa@runandrunsmore.com
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.
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
DID YOU KNOW...
Optimists tend to share several positive characteristics that increase overall happiness and promote health, while reducing depression and chronic stress:
- They think about, reflect on, and emphasize the good things in life.
- They are grateful and thankful for all their blessings.
- They don’t complain when something bad happens.
- They feel that nothing can hold them back from achieving success and reaching their goals.
- They believe in abundance.
- They are confident that the world offers plenty of opportunities for everyone to succeed.
Is your glass half empty or half full?
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 weekend and take care.
Greg
Gregory Baber B.S.Ed., M.Ed., Ed.S.
Principal, Ladue Middle School
