Week of November 4

It was so great to have our students back in the building today.  While the fall break was enjoyable, it’s just not the same without them.  Thank you to everyone who attended conferences last week.  We had a great turnout.  A special thank you to the LMS Parent Advisory Committee (PAC) for coordinating snacks for teachers and for all who contributed.  We truly appreciate all of the tasty treats.  

Our Student Leadership Team kicked off our annual food drive trick or treating for canned goods on Halloween.  Our entire school is now invited to participate by bringing in nonperishable food items to the cafeteria each morning from now until November 15th.  Prizes will be awarded to the grade that brings in the most items, the S4S class that brings in the most items, and individuals who bring in the most items.  Please consider helping those in need in our community.  All collected items will be donated to Laramie Interfaith. 

This month we’re challenging students to work together toward a common goal and shared purpose. We are partnering with you to grow and develop teamwork in your student.  We can do this by modeling gratefulness, acknowledging positive moments, and affirming each other.  One way to model teamwork is doing something nice for someone else when someone does something nice for you.  Doing this is a wonderful way to to continue the cycle of gratitude.  “Paying it forward” is a way of showing kindness to others. It could be as simple as holding the door open for someone or even buying coffee for a stranger.  Once a week this month, share as a family one time you “paid it forward” during the week.  You can read more about teamwork in this month’s CKH newsletter. 

We are grateful for another week to work alongside you in support of your student.  November is always a time for reflection and expressing gratitude.  Thank you for sharing your student with us and for your continued feedback and support. Make it a great week!

Upcoming Events

• 11/4-11/8 School Psychology Awareness Week

• 11/13 World Kindness Day

• 11/18 12 Week Progress Reports

• 11/19 PAC Meeting

• 11/27-11/29 Thanksgiving Break

Week of October 28

 Fall conferences are on Wednesday and Thursday.  Please use this link to schedule conferences. The link will be live through 11:30 on Wednesday. If you need to schedule a conference after registration is closed, please email the teacher directly. Teachers will be available from 3:30-7:30 on Wednesday and 8:00-5:00 on Thursday.  Our appointments are 10 minutes long.  Please think about travel time between classrooms when you are scheduling.  You may need to wrap up a conference a few minutes early if you schedule them back to back or allow some time for transitions. Students will be dismissed at 11:30 on Wednesday so teachers can prepare for conferences. We hope to see all families at conferences. 

At the October Parent Advisory Committee (PAC) meeting, the group decided to organize snacks for teachers during conferences.  Please use this Signup Genius if you’d like to contribute.  Donations can be dropped off in the attendance office on Wednesday until 3:00.  Your support is greatly appreciated. 

Members of our student leadership team will be trick or treating for nonperishable food items on Halloween.  All collected items will be donated to Laramie Interfaith Good Samaritan.  In other Halloween related news, since the holiday falls on a day we don’t have school this year, we will not be wearing costumes at school.  When Halloween is on a school day, we rock out best Halloween outfits.  We don’t want to take away from the magic of the day by celebrating early.  

Fall conferences combined with some vacation days and professional development create fall break for students.  After they are dismissed on Wednesday, students will not be back in our building until Wednesday, November 6th. Our school and offices are closed on November 1st and 4th and we have professional development on the 5th.  We hope all of you enjoy a restful and productive fall break. 

It’s going to be a busy, shortened week as we close out October.  We are having a great school year due to your encouragement and feedback.  Thank you for sharing your students with us.  We are honored that you entrust us to support their learning and growth. Make it a great week!

Upcoming Events

• 10/30     Early release for students

• 10/30    Fall conferences 3:30-7:30

• 10/31    Fall conferences 8:00-5:00

• 11/1         No school-LMS offices closed 

• 11/4          No school-LMS offices closed

• 11/5          No school- professional development 

Week of October 21

Fall conferences are on October 30th and 31st.  Please use this link to schedule conferences. Teachers will be available from 3:30-7:30 on the 30th and 8:00-5:00 on the 31st.  Our appointments are 10 minutes long.  Please think about travel time between classrooms when you are scheduling.  You may need to wrap up a conference a few minutes early if you schedule them back to back or put in some time for transitions. Students will be dismissed at 11:30 on the 30th and there is no school on Friday, November 1st.  We hope to see all families at conferences. 

At our recent Parent Advisory Committee (PAC) meeting, the group decided to organize snacks for teachers during conferences.  Please use this Signup Genius if you’d like to contribute.  Snacks can be dropped off in the attendance office on the 30th until 3:00.  Your support is greatly appreciated. 

At LMS students store their backpacks in their lockers during the school day.  Students generally carry a binder or folder along with their Chromebook throughout the day.  Personal items, such as crossbody bags, have been growing in size and other items such as lunch boxes and instruments are finding their way into classrooms where they are not needed.  Too many items creates clutter in classrooms and interferes with learning.  Last week during S4S we provided students with some reminders and guidelines for items they can take with them to class.  An organizational tool, such as a binder, and a small personal item, like a crossbody bag, are OK.  Lunch boxes, instruments, tote bags, and other larger items should be stored during the school day.  Personal items must be small enough to fit into a pencil case in order to be carried.  Students can check the size of their items in the attendance office if they are unsure if they are allowed. 

We are almost to the halfway point of the first semester.  Thank you for supporting your student and our school.  We’ve had a lot of success in all aspects of our school already.  We’re excited to build on that and make the second half of the semester even better.  Make it a great week!

Upcoming Events

• 10/23               Choir concert  

• 10/30     Early release for students

• 10/30    Fall conferences 3:30-7:30

• 10/31    Fall conferences 8:00-5:00

• 11/1                 No school-LMS offices closed 

• 11/4                 No school-LMS offices closed

• 11/5                 No school- professional development 

Week of October 14

We are doing picture retakes on Tuesday.  If your student was absent on picture day, they can get their picture taken on Tuesday morning.  If your student had pictures taken, but doesn’t love them, they can take another picture.  If you ordered pictures and are getting a retake, please bring them to return.  Pictures can still be ordered from the first picture day or from retakes by going to mylifetouch.com.  Use code F202410OFF to receive 10% off your order.  

Fall conferences are on October 30th and 31st.  Teachers will be available from 3:30-7:30 on the 30th and 8:00-5:00 on the 31st.  Students will be dismissed at 11:30 on the 30th and there is no school on Friday, November 1st.  Families can sign up for conferences through PTCFast beginning at 8:00 am on the 21st.  We hope to see all families at conferences. 

Six week grade reports were sent out on Friday via email.  They can also be viewed in PowerSchool.  Please review these with your student and identify areas of celebration and areas of growth.  If your student is struggling in a class, be sure to schedule a conference with that teacher. 

This is our last chance to opt into Rhithm.   It is an invaluable tool for our school. In order for your student to use Rhithm, they need your permission. Please watch this presentation to learn more about Rhithm and then use this form to give your student permission to use it.  Please don’t hesitate to contact Kevin O’Dea at kodea@acsd1.org or 307-721-4430 if you have any questions. 

The October meeting of the Parent Advisory Committee (PAC, formerly known as PTO) is on Tuesday at 6:00 pm in the LMS library.  All LMS families are cordially invited.  We will be discussing conferences, our school colors, and school to home communication.  We hope to see you there.  Make it a great week! 

Upcoming Events

• 10/15       Picture retakes

• 10/15     PAC (parent advisory committee) meeting

• 10/30     Early release for student

• 10/30    Fall conferences 3:30-7:30

• 10/31    Fall conferences 8:00-5:00

• 11/1         No school-LMS offices closed 

Week of October 7

This month, we’re challenging students to envision future goals and take intentional steps toward who they want to be. We are partnering with you to grow and develop your child’s ability to self-direct. We can model self-direction by celebrating the positive in each day, seeking the good in others, and emphasizing our responsibility to make positive choices. If your student doesn’t already use a planner, empower them to start using one to manage their time better. Have a weekly meeting with your student to share what they have added to their planners. You can help them add family gatherings, school events, and due dates.  You can also review the week at a glance in Canvas for each of their classes to help your student manage their time and have them use their Outlook calendar in place of a paper planner.  Read more about helping your student self-direct in the September CKH newsletter. 

Fall conferences are on October 30th and 31st.  Teachers will be available from 3:30-7:30 on the 30th and 8:00-5:00 on the 31st.  Students will be dismissed at 11:30 on the 30th and there is no school on Friday, November 1st.  Families can sign up for conferences on PTCFast beginning at 8:00 am on the 21st.  Six week grade reports will be available in PowerSchool on the 11th.  Please review these with your student to inform your plan for conferences.  We encourage all families to meet with all of their students’ teachers during conferences. 

We are still collecting opt-ins for Rhithm.   It is an invaluable tool for our school. In order for your student to use Rhithm, they need your permission. Please watch this presentation to learn more about Rhithm and then use this form to give your student permission to use it.  Please don’t hesitate to contact Kevin O’Dea at kodea@acsd1.org or 307-721-4430 if you have any questions. 

The week is underway and it’s going to be a good one.  Boys wrestling practice began today and volleyball and cross country conclude their seasons this week.  Many of our clubs have started as well. Please encourage your student to get involved in a sport, a club, and/or the fine arts.  Participating in these activities enriches their school experience and helps them develop essential life skills.  Make it a great week!

Upcoming Events

• 10/15       Picture retakes

• 10/15     PAC (parent advisory committee) meeting

• 10/30     Early release for student

• 10/30    Fall conferences 3:30-7:30

• 10/31    Fall conferences 8:00-5:00

• 11/1         No school-LMS offices closed

Week of September 30

Fall is here even if the temperatures don’t show it.  I think our unseasonably warm weather has helped our lost and found reach capacity earlier this year than ever before.  When it’s cool in the morning and hot in the afternoon, it’s easier to leave that hoodie behind.  I’m not sure what’s causing our students to leave so many shoes lying around however.  Whatever the cause, we need to clean out our lost and found.  Please encourage your student to check for their missing items by the end of the week.  Everything in the lost and found at the end of the day on Friday will be disposed of or donated. 

We are encouraging all students to participate in Rhithm which is a well being questionnaire that we started using last year to check in with students on a daily basis.  This allowed us to measure how students as a whole were doing and let us know which individual students might have been struggling so we could support them.  It is an invaluable tool for our school.  Rhithm is made by Securly which is the company that provides our web filter.  In order for your student to use Rhithm, they need your permission. Please watch this presentation to learn more about Rhithm and then use this form to give your student permission to use it.  Please don’t hesitate to contact Kevin O’Dea at kodea@acsd1.org or 307-721-4430 if you have any questions. 

It’s hard to believe that our fall sports are nearing completion.  Cross country will be defending their state championship on Saturday and football and volleyball wrap up next week.  Our next two sports are boys wrestling and girls basketball.  Boys wrestling practice starts on Monday, October 7th. Wrestling is open to 6th, 7th, and 8th graders.  Starting this year, there is a separate girls wrestling season that begins in January.  Girls basketball practice starts on Tuesday, October 15th.  Basketball is open to 7th and 8th graders.  Students must have a current physical and signed code of conduct on file to participate in activities.  Please encourage your student to join basketball or wrestling.

We are excited for the coming week.  Our students and teachers are doing great things in class each and every day.  Thank you for continuing to share your student with us.  We are honored to work alongside you throughout the school year.  I’d like to give a special shout out to our amazing custodians this week in recognition of School Custodian Appreciation Day on Wednesday.  Our crew does great work and we couldn’t do it without them.  Let’s make it a fabulous week!

Upcoming Events

• 10/2 School custodian appreciation day 

• 10/15       Picture retakes

• 10/15     PAC (parent advisory committee) meeting

• 10/30     Early release for students

• 10/30    Fall conferences 3:30-7:30

• 10/31    Fall conferences 8:00-5:00

Week of September 23

It’s going to be a short week for students, but a great week.  Students do not have school Friday this week due to professional development.  Our schedule this week is All, Odd, Even, All, No school.  We do not have an early release on Thursday.  Middle school students will be dismissed at our normal time of 3:05 on that day.  The early release is for elementary students only. 

Last Tuesday, the LMS Parent Advisory Committee, the group formerly known as the LMS PTO met to reform and re-engage this avenue for family-school collaboration.  The purpose of this group is to provide an avenue for two-way communication between families and the school, provide links to learning, provide support to teachers and students, and to make the middle school journey a successful experience for all students. You can read the minutes from our meeting by clicking here.  The LMS PAC will meet on the 3rd Tuesday of every month at 6:00 pm in the LMS library.  Please join us for our next meeting on October 15th. 

Rhithm is a well being questionnaire that we used last year to check in with students on a daily basis.  This allowed us to measure how students as a whole were doing and let us know which individual students might have been struggling so we could support them.  It is an invaluable tool for our school.  Rhithm is made by Securly which is the company that provides our web filter. We'd like to use Rhithm again this year.  In order to do so, we need your help.  We need you to give permission for your student to use Rhithm.  If the vast majority of students don’t use Rhithm, it is not an effective tool for us.  Please watch this presentation to learn more about Rhithm.  We ask that you then use this form to give your student permission to use Rhithm.  Please don’t hesitate to contact Kevin O’Dea at kodea@acsd1.org or 307-721-4430 if you have any questions. 

As we move deeper into the fall, please continue to talk with your students about how they are doing in school and monitor their progress in school.  Teachers are available after school Monday-Thursday in Scout Learning Lab to provide extra time and support for students to demonstrate their learning.  Thank you for sending your student to school ready to learn every day.  They’re doing a great job taking advantage of the learning opportunities our teachers prepare for them.  Make it a great week!

Upcoming Events

• 9/27       Professional development (no school for students)

• 10/2 School custodian appreciation day 

• 10/15     PAC (parent advisory committee) meeting

• 10/30     Early release for students

• 10/30    Fall conferences 3:30-7:30

• 10/31    Fall conferences 8:00-5:00