Week of September 25

 We are entering the 6th week of the semester already.  Students have multiple grades in each of their classes to help communicate their learning. If a student does not complete an assignment, a 0 is entered into PowerSchool which can drastically impact their grade.  Missing assignments need to be completed as soon as possible.  Assignments more than 3 weeks late are not accepted for credit. Students check their grades on Tuesdays in S4S.  Families can also monitor their student’s progress in PowerSchool.  Please do not rely on Canvas to monitor grades.  Not all assignments are entered into Canvas, but they are all entered in PowerSchool.  Teachers are available after school in Scout Learning Lab and a late bus is available for students who need it.  We’ll be sending out 6 week progress reports and WYTOPP scores from last year next week.  Please review your student’s progress and let us know how we can help any students who are struggling. 

Our cross country, volleyball, and football teams will be concluding their seasons over the next few weeks and our first winter season will be starting soon. Wrestling and girls basketball are up next.  There is a meeting for students participating in wrestling and their families on Tuesday at 6:00 pm in the LMS library.  The girls basketball meeting is on Wednesday at 5:30 in the LMS cafeteria.  All students planning to participate in these activities and their families should attend.  Wrestling practice begins on October 2nd and the first day of girls basketball practice is on October 9th.  Students must have a current physical and signed code of conduct on file to practice or compete.  

A student's mental health directly impacts their ability to learn and quality of life.  Nationally and locally, we’ve seen a rise in the number of students living with anxiety.  As a support for families, our district is hosting a webinar about Your Child’s Anxiety on September 26th at 6:00 PM. Does your child suffer from anxiety and you don’t know how to help them? Join us to learn strategies to help you respond to your child’s anxiety. When applied these skills will help the child and parent bond, allowing the child to identify and work through their anxiety more effectively.  You can register right up to the last minute, even if you can't attend the live event. By registering, you will be added to the follow-up email list and receive a recording of the session the following day.  Use this link to register: rmd.me/zZapcqffnnj

We are looking forward to everything that’s going on at school this week and to the UW homecoming festivities this weekend.  We have home volleyball, football, and cross country this week.  Our band will be playing in the parade on Saturday morning.  We are truly fortunate to live in Laramie with all it has to offer.  Thank you for sharing your student with us.  Make it a great week.

Upcoming Events

• September 26     Wrestling meeting

• September 27     Girls basketball meeting

• September 29     Professional development- no school for students 

• October 2            Wrestling begins

• October 9            Girls basketball begins 

• October 17          Picture retakes

Week of September 11

Our first dance of the school year is this week on Tuesday in our gym from 3:05-5:00.  Admission is $5 and concessions will be available.  All students must be picked up from the dance by 5:15.  There is no school transportation available after the dance.  Only LMS students in good standing (not serving ISS or OSS) can attend our dances.  We hope to see all of our students at the dance.  It’s going to be a rocking good time.

Our student body will select officers this week.  Our halls are lined with amazing campaign posters and the candidates are working hard on their stump speeches.  Students will cast their votes on Friday and members of the Student Leadership Team will be selected by their peers to serve as President, Vice-President, Treasurer, Secretary, Digital Media Representative, and as Class Representatives.  We wish all the candidates good luck on election day. 

Students received their pictures during S4S on Tuesday. All students had their picture taken.  If you didn’t order pictures and would like to, you still can do so by going to mylifetouch.com.  Students who missed picture day, or are not happy with their picture, can get a retake on October 17th. 

We face a challenging board meeting this week as our district looks for solutions to our budget situation.  We are all very passionate about supporting our students and helping them be successful.  There will be some hard decisions and conversations over the coming months.  We appreciate your feedback and support as we navigate these choppy waters.   In the end, we are all working towards the same goal of helping our students grow and develop as learners, artists, athletes, friends, and people.  Make it a great week. 

Upcoming Events

• September 12     Back to school dance

• September 13     Positive thinking day 

• September 17     Constitution Day

• September 19     Strategic plan open house 

• September 20     Pepperoni Pizza Day 

• September 23     WY Public Lands Day

• September 29     Professional development- no school for students 

• October 17          Picture retakes

Week of September 4

This month, we’re focusing on empathy and challenging students to make sure that everyone they interact with feels valued. We are partnering with families to grow and develop empathy in your student at home.  One way to do this is to generate a list of each family member’s favorite things, such as their favorite ice cream flavor or favorite thing to do. Identify any similar answers and celebrate those things you have in common. Discuss how those similarities might impact your family and your relationships. Then identify and celebrate each other’s differences. You could also brainstorm a list of 3-5 individuals you typically encounter during the day who may not receive many notes or words of affirmation or appreciation. Consider people who make your day brighter or provide a needed service, like your mail carrier, the cashier at your local store, or a neighbor. Ask each person in your family to write a note thanking that person.  You can find more resources related to empathy in this month’s CKH newsletter. 

One of the tools we are using this year to build and sustain a culture of respect and belonging at LMS is called Rhithm.  Rhithm is part of the Securly which is software we use to filter the school internet.  Students will use Rhithm in the first minute or two of each day to check in on how they are doing using emojis.  This information will show us how our students are feeling in our school as a whole. It will also help us find students who are struggling so we can offer specific support to those who may need it.  Students access Rhithm on their Chromebooks through Classlink and this minute or two will provide us with valuable information on how to best support our students. 

Hanging out with friends is one of the great parts of school.  Often students like to spend time with each other outside of school as well.  At times this requires riding a different bus home.  However, we can no longer allow students to ride home with friends without pre-arrangement from both families.   In order to facilitate this process, we request families email acsdtransportation@acsd1.org with the pertinent information by no later than 1:00 PM of the day they wish this to occur.   This will allow us the necessary time to make scheduling adjustments and notify our drivers of the changes.   Thank you for your support in making sure all of our students get home efficiently and safely.  

We will be checking eligibility for the first time this year on Thursday.  At LMS students must be passing all classes in order to travel or compete in activities.  If a student is earning a failing grade in one or more of their classes, they will be ineligible for the following Monday through Saturday. This will provide them with the time they need to get caught up. We have started Scout Learning Lab (SLL) after school for the year. Teachers and staff are available from 3:05-4:00 each school day to help students demonstrate their learning.  A late bus is available for students who attend Scout Learning Lab.  If your student needs time and support, please contact their teachers so they can participate in SLL. 

Make it a great week!

Upcoming Events

• September 12     Back to school dance

• September 13     Positive thinking day 

• September 17     Constitution Day

• September 20     Pepperoni Pizza Day 

• September 23     WY Public Lands Day

• September 29     Professional development- no school for students