Week of December 4th

It seems winter has finally arrived in Laramie.  Please allow extra travel time so that you can get your student to school safely.  Also, please encourage students to dress for the Wyoming weather.  Sometimes fashion and appropriate dress are at odds, but it's always possible for a bus to get stuck or some other delay to occur, and students in shorts or appropriate coats may find themselves getting quite cold.  Also, please arrange for your student to exit the school as soon as possible after school.  If you are not able to pick your student up until 3:30 or 4:00, that means they are at the school, unsupervised for 30 minutes to an hour.  If students are not staying for Scout Learning Lab or for another activity, they need to exit the building by 3:15 at the latest. If you are unable to pick your student up by that time, please make arrangements for alternative transportation, such as the bus, or for a different after school plan.

Please take the time to complete the school quality survey you received via email.  You can also access the survey through this link or on the LMS and District homepages. This data helps us identify areas we are doing well in as well as areas for improvement.  Your feedback is important to us.  Responses are anonymous and your answers will help guide our improvement as a school and a district.

There will not be Scout Learning Lab after school on Tuesday, December 5th.  We have a staff meeting so staff will not be available to assist students.  There will not be a late bus on the 5th, so all students should go home directly after school.  Scout Learning Lab will resume it's normal schedule on Wednesday, December 6th.

The winter dance is Friday, December 8th from 3-5 pm in the LMS gym.  All LMS students in good standing (not serving ISS or OSS on the 8th) are encouraged to attend.  Admission is $4 and concessions are available.  Dances are a great opportunity to celebrate and build community.  Please encourage your student to attend.  If you would like to chaperone, please contact Kevin at 721-4430.

You can nominate an LMS teacher for the Kiwanis Outstanding Teacher Award.  Nomination forms are available in the main office.  We have many outstanding teachers in the LMS community.  Please consider nominating one of them.

The December PTO meeting is Monday, December 4th at 5:30 pm in the LMS cafeteria.  Please bundle up and join us.  The PTO is very active in supporting a variety of programming at LMS.  We are always looking for new faces at our meetings.  I hope to see you at 5:30 on the 4th.

Upcoming Events

• December 4                          PTO meeting
• December 5                          No SLL-staff meeting 
• December 8                          Winter dance
• December 20-January 2        No school-winter break

Week of November 27th

It's great to have the students back in the building.  Our halls are so empty without them.  I hope everyone had a restful Thanksgiving break and is ready to make the push until the end of the year.  Let's finish 2017 strong and roar into 2018.

Along those lines, our attendance goal for the year is 95%.  Last year, our overall attendance was 93%.  We can do better than that, but we need your help.  Whenever possible please schedule appointments, family trips, and other commitments outside of scheduled school days/times.  To put 95% attendance into perspective, we have 175 school days.   A student can miss 9 days and still have 95%attendance.  This does not include any absences for school related reasons such as activities.  There is no replacement for first time instruction, so when a student is absent it impacts their learning.  We understand that at times absences are unavoidable, but please do everything you can to have your student in school, on time, every day.

The next dance will be from 3:00-5:00 on Friday, December 8th.  All LMS students in good standing are encouraged to attend.  Dances are held in the main gym and admission is $4.  Concessions are available during the dance.  Celebrations such as dances are a great time to build community and have fun.  Please encourage your student to attend.  If you have any questions regarding the winter dance, please contact Mr. O'Dea in the main office.

A final reminder regarding slime, play-doh, and other nuisance items, please ask your student to keep these items at home. They are distracting to the learning environment and can be quite messy.  It's all about time, place, and manner.  There's nothing wrong with these things if you are OK with having them in your home, they just don't belong in school.  If students choose to bring them to school, they will be confiscated.

Upcoming Events

• December 4                          PTO meeting 
• December 8                          Winter dance
• December 20-January 2        No school-winter break

Week of November 20th

A short instructional week lies ahead as we prepare for the Thanksgiving Break.  Travel safely as you reunite with family and friends.  I'm very thankful for the opportunity to work with your students as part of a positive, rigorous, student-centered school.  My family and I love Laramie and couldn't be happier to be here. 

A big thank you to everyone that attended bingo night last week.  We had around 200 people in attendance.  A special thanks to Mr. Miller and the student leadership team for all of their hard work making bingo night happen.  They are planning another family night with an escape room theme for later in the year.  Keep an eye on the school calendar so you don't miss it!

There will be no Scout Learning Lab Tuesday, November 21st.  All students not participating in activities should go home directly after school on the 21st.  There will be no late bus. Scout Learning Lab will resume on its normal schedule on Monday, November 27th.

Slime in all of its forms has become an issue at LMS.  It's distracting, messy, and tends to leave a sticky film on tables and desks.  Slime will no longer be welcome beginning on Monday, November 27th. Any slime in the building on, or after, the 27th will be confiscated and not returned.  Slime can be fun to make and play with.  Unfortunately, the sheer volume of slime we are seeing in school has surpassed what can be tolerated and is impacting student learning and building cleanliness.  Please encourage your students to leave their slime at home.

Enjoy the break.  Stay safe and warm.  Thank you for your continued support as we work together to make Laramie Middle School the best middle school in Wyoming.

Upcoming Events

• November 20              Football banquet
• November 20              Fall sports night
• November 22-24         No school-Thanksgiving
• December 4                 PTO meeting 
• December 8                 Winter dance
• December 20-Jan 2      No school-winter break

Week of November 13

Please join us for a fun night of bingo this Wednesday, November 15th from 7:00-8:15 pm in the LMS cafeteria.  The Student Leadership Team (SLT) is hosting a series of family nights as part of our sources of strength programming to build community and provide opportunities for families and students to connect with the school.  There is no cost to attend and there will be popcorn for everybody and prizes for the winners.

There will be no Scout Learning Lab on Wednesday, November 15th.  Staff have a meeting after school on Wednesday so they are not available to assist students.  There will be no late bus on Wednesday and all students not involved in activities should go home directly after school.  SLL will resume it's normal schedule on Thursday, November 16th.

There will be a potluck banquet for all Youth, LMS and LHS football players on Monday, November 20th at 6:00 pm in high school commons area.  6th graders should bring and dessert or side dish and 7th and 8th graders should bring a main dish to share.  All students who participated in youth, middle school, or high school football and their families are encouraged to attend.  If you have any questions, please contact Coach Reed 721-4420.

Thanksgiving is coming next week and we are all looking forward to the opportunity to relax with loved ones and express gratitude for the good things in our lives.  We will not have school Wednesday, November 22nd through Friday, November 24th.  Classes will resume at on Monday, November 27th.  Please enjoy the holiday with your students, families, and friends.  We ask that if at all possible, you do not leave early for Thanksgiving vacation.  Attendance is crucial to student success and when students leave early or return late from scheduled breaks, it impacts their learning.  If you have any questions regarding your student's attendance, please contact Mr. Stender or Mrs. Anfinson in the attendance office.

Upcoming Events

• November 15              Family bingo night
• November 20              Football banquet
• November 20              Fall sports night
• November 22-24         No School-Thanksgiving
• December 4                 PTO meeting 

Week of November 6

We are into November and moving strongly forward.  We finished up the bulk of WYTOPP interim testing last week. These results will serve as a baseline data point allow us to measure student progress throughout the year.  We have a bit of a goofy schedule again this week due to tomorrow's professional development.  We have an odd schedule today, no school tomorrow, and an even schedule on Wednesday so this week will go odd, no school, even, all, all.

Student government is currently hosting an Thanksgiving Food Drive.  The food drive is set up as a grade level competition where the winning grade will earn a cookie party.  All donations are collected in room 205 before school. The food drive runs through November 10th.  All donations support the Laramie Interfatih-Good Samaritan food bank.  If you have questions about the food drive, or would like to make a donation, please contact Mr. Miller.

The next  PTO meeting is Wednesday, November 8th at 5:30 pm in the LMS cafeteria.  We will be discussing the potential purchase of a new water fountain, fundraising, and other community building efforts.  All LMS families are encouraged to attend and participate.

Upcoming Events

• November 7                No school-professional development 
• November 8                PTO meeting 
• November 15              Family bingo night
• November 22-24         No School-Thanksgiving

Week of October 30th

Thank you to everyone that attended fall conferences last week.  It was great seeing everyone and hearing about what is working well and what we can improve on.  If you were not able to meet with all of your student's teachers last week and would like to do so, please don't hesitate to contact them to schedule a time to get together.  We are always happy to meet with families and we would love to hear from you.

We are completing the fall WYTOPP interim assessment in ELA and math this week.  This is an online assessment offered by the State of Wyoming.  The fall assessment serves as a baseline for students so we can measure their growth between now and the spring assessment.   The fall assessment replaces MAP and the spring assessment replaces PAWS, so we are not taking more tests, we are just taking different tests.  In order to accommodate testing we had to modify our schedule this week.  We are following and even, odd, even, odd, all schedule this week.  This creates 90 minute blocks for testing during which most students will be able to finish their tests.  You can learn more about WYTOPP on the DOE's assessment webpage.

Halloween is tomorrow and we are excited to celebrate at LMS. Students will be allowed to wear costumes to school as long as the costumes meet certain criteria.  We must be able to identify students, so masks and excessive face paint are not permitted.  Costumes need to be free of excessive gore and simulated weapons, such as swords, are not allowed.  Costumes need to be school appropriate and not inhibit the learning of the student wearing it or those around them.  If you have any specific questions regarding costumes, please have your students contact me during their lunch or send me an email.

The PTO meeting scheduled for Wednesday, November 1st has been moved to Wednesday, November 8th.  The PTO meets at 5:30 in the LMS cafeteria. All LMS families are cordially invited to participate.  Please contact PTO President Nancy Bartholemew if you have any questions or just join us on the 8th.

Final gentle reminder, all families need to complete infosnap every school year.  If you have not done so, please take care of that immediately.  It's challenging for us to connect with families if we don't have the appropriate contact information.  Also, if your student's immunizations are not current, they will not be allowed to attend school beginning on Monday, November 6th.  Please contact Mrs. Woodhouse if you need assistance with your student's immunizations.

Upcoming Events

• October 30                  WYTOPP  interim testing begins
• November 7                No school-professional development 
• November 8                PTO meeting 
• November 15              Family bingo night
• November 22-24         No School-Thanksgiving

Week of October 23rd

The highlight of this week is certainly going to be fall conferences. All families are encouraged to attend conferences on Wednesday from 3:30-7:30 and Thursday from 8:00-7:00.  All LMS teachers will be available in their classrooms to meeting with students and their families.  You can make an appointment to visit with your student's teachers by using this link.  If you are unable to meet with your student's teachers during conferences, please contact them to schedule another time to get together.  Two-way communication is an important part of a successful school community.  Conferences are not only a time for you to discuss your student's progress with their teachers, but also a great opportunity to give us feedback on what is working well and what we can do better.

Halloween is approaching fast.  Students will be allowed to wear costumes to school on the 31st as long as the costumes meet certain criteria.  We must be able to identify students, so masks and excessive face paint are not permitted.  Costumes need to be free of excessive gore and simulated weapons, such as swords, are not allowed.  Costumes need to be school appropriate and not inhibit the learning of the student wearing it or those around them.  If you have any specific questions regarding costumes, please have your students contact me during their lunch or send me an email.

We will have different schedules the weeks of October 30th and November 6th.  Students will be taking the WYTOPP interim assessment the week of the 30th and we need 4 block days to complete this.  The schedule that week will be even, odd, even, odd, all.  We have communicated with the high school regarding this and developed accommodations for students and staff that go to the high school during the day. There is  professional development on Tuesday, November 7th.  Our schedule will be odd, no school, even, all, all the week beginning on November 6th.  I apologize in advance for any confusion these schedule changes may cause.  When necessary things such as professional development and testing occur, we have to modify our standard operating procedure in order to accommodate.

Along the lines of schedules, there are four Fridays that the elementary schools have early release and the middle school has a full day.  The first one was last Friday.  The remaining dates are January 12th, March 23rd, and May 25th.  Please mark these dates on your calendar.  I know there are many families that have students in both elementary and middle school, so this can be confusing.  We will also send out a reminder the week of January 12th.

Upcoming Events

• October 25-26             Fall conferences
• October 27                  No school-fall conferences
• October 30                  WYTOPP  interim testing begins
• November 1                PTO meeting 
• November 7                No school-professional development