Week of February 5th

As we move into mile twenty of the 2017-18 school year marathon, many things are happening.  We are getting into the meat of the second semester.  Students are settled into their new schedules and we are continuing to push to make sure that all students have the opportunity to develop the necessary skills to be successful on the next step in their educational journey.  It is crucial that students do not  dig a large academic hole at the beginning of the semester.  Please encourage your student to take advantage of the various levels of Scout Learning Lab to get the necessary time and support to complete their work.

Students have also begun to think about their schedules for the coming school year.  That is one of the things that makes this time off the year unique.  Not only are we focused on doing our absolutely best in the second semester, but we are looking down the road to next school year.  Students have received their registration cards for the upcoming school year.  Please review the curriculum guide on the LMS website with your student.  Students need to return their completed registration cards to their 8th hour teacher on Friday. We will do our absolute best to honor all student schedule requests.  If you have any questions regarding scheduling for the 2018-19 school year, please contact Mrs. Hodny for incoming 6th graders and 8th graders with last names beginning with A-L and Mrs. Hogsett for upcoming 7th graders and 8th graders with last names beginning with M-Z.

This Friday we are hosting Red, White, and Blue Day at LMS. All students and staff are encouraged to wear Red, White, and Blue to celebrate the start of the Winter Olympics and to show support for our Olympic athletes.  Go Team USA!

Please keep an eye on your inboxes for the first edition of the Scout Shout or you can read it here.  The Scout Shout is our new student newspaper and will be replacing the my newsletters.  Mrs. Walker and a team of dedicated students have been working after school to produce the Scout Shout.  They plan to publish monthly.  Enjoy the fruits of their labor and stay up to speed on all of the great things happening at LMS.

Upcoming Events

• February 7                             LMS PTO meeting
• February 9                             Registration cards due
• February 19                           Early release
• March 12                               Spring break begins

Week of January 29

At the first semester celebration last Friday, we recognized our accomplishments and set goals for the second semester.  Here are just a few of the first semester celebrations from Friday: LMS students were on time to class 99.9% of the time; forty students had perfect attendance; two thirds of our students earned a place on the  honor roll; and students earned over 10,500 Scout Outs.   We are shooting for over 12,000 Scout Outs this semester and the Student Leadership Team is coordinating the class cup.  Styled after the house cup in the Harry Potter stories, grade levels will compete in a variety of challenges.  Some will be just for fun, such as the balloon race in Friday's assembly, others will be based on things like grades and attendance.  The grade in the lead will have possession of the house cup.  This community building activity supports our theme "If it doesn't challenge you, it doesn't change you." We recognize our successes, but we are never satisfied.  Rather we seek to continuously improve in support of becoming the best school we can be.  Thank you for supporting your student in the first semester and we appreciate your continued support for the remainder of the year. 

Laramie High School would like to invite the class or 2022 (this year's 8th graders) to attend a high school informational night at 7 pm on Monday, February 5th.  Incoming freshmen and their families will have the opportunity to learn about graduation requirements, Hathaway requirements, and course options (including new courses).  The program begins at 7 pm in the LHS Theatre.  After the presentation there will be an opportunity to speak with high school teachers in the LHS Commons.  If you have any questions, please contact the LHS Counseling Office at 721-4488.

Mr. Reitzel  has formed the Scout Studio, an after school creative workshop for serious artists. The Scout Studio will be open from 3 to 4 every school day.  Participating students will draft proposals for projects that will be generally 2-3 weeks in length.  Students with approved projects can participate in the Scout Studio.  The first meeting is on Monday, February 5th.  Interested parties should contact Mr. Reitzel. 

Upcoming Events

• February 5                             Incoming freshmen informational meeting
• February 7                             LMS PTO meeting
• February 19                           Early release
• March 12                               Spring break begins

Week of January 22

The second semester has begun!  Students are enjoying their new schedules and the opportunities that come with them.  If any students wish to make a schedule change, they must fill out the proper paperwork by Friday.  Students can get schedule change forms in the counseling office.  Report cards will be mailed out on Friday and should be hitting your mailboxes on Saturday or Monday.

We are finalizing updates to the LMS Course Catalog and registration cards will be going out to students in a few weeks.  LMS administration and counselors will be traveling to the elementary schools over the next couple of weeks to begin the transition process with our incoming 6th graders.  It's a bit crazy to be thinking about next year, when we're only halfway through this year, but time passes quickly so we need to make plans now so we're ready to rock right out of the gate next fall.  More information will be shared with families as the registration process unfolds.

We will have a first semester celebration on Friday afternoon for all students.  We will recognize our achievements from the first semester, set goals for the second semester, and have fun.  We will follow a slightly different schedule on Friday.  Classes will be 38 minutes in length with a 50 minutes assembly at the end of the day.  School will dismiss at the regular time and buses and activities will proceed as normally scheduled.  A detailed bell schedule can be found here.

If you would like to stay up to date on what is being served in the LMS cafeteria and review the nutritional information for our breakfast and lunch items, you should download the So Happy app from Sodexo.  This app allows users to see the menu, track their steps, and access nutritional and allergen information for the meals served at school.  The app is free and available for Android and Apple devices.

Upcoming Events

• January 22                             Second semester begins
• January 26                             Report cards mailed out
• February 7                             LMS PTO meeting
• February 9                             Early release

Week of January 15th

This week begins for students on Tuesday, January 15th.  Staff are busy with professional development on Monday.  Our schedule for the week will be odd, even, all, all as we move towards the end of the semester on Friday.

Students will start their second semester schedules on Monday, January 22nd.  Students received their schedules last week during lunch.  If students have any questions or concerns regarding their second semester schedules, they should talk to their counselor this week.  Students who misplaced their schedules should be able to find them in Powerschool. All first semester work needs to be handed in by the end of the day on Friday.  Teachers will finalize grades next week and report cards will be mailed out on the 26th.  First semester honor roll will be released the week of the 29th.

As the fall semester ends, it's important to maintain the great momentum and motivation we've been building since the first day of school.  It can be tempting to lose perspective as we grind our way through those cold winter mornings and dark, windy nights.  We are our great school with awesome students, staff, and families.  Acknowledging that is important.  But just as important is working to get a little bit better every day, week, and month.  We hope to be better teachers, students, friends, athletes, and colleagues on the last day of school than the first.  The only way to accomplish that goal is to examine what we do well and identify what we can improve on.  Seeking improvement doesn't mean we are failing, it just means we want to be better.  We thank you for sharing your students with us during the first semester and for your support.  We ask for your continued involvement and support as we work together to make the second semester even better than the first.

Upcoming Events

• January 19                             End of the first semester
• January 22                             Second semester begins
• February 9                             Early release

Week of January 8

The elementary schools will be dismissing early this Friday, January 12th.  The middle school will not be dismissing early on Friday.  We will follow our normal 'all' schedule on the 12th.  We understand that it can be confusing and inconvenient when schools have different schedules as many families have students at multiple schools.  Early releases give elementary teachers the time they need to develop and implement effective instruction.  Please plan on your middle school student being in school all day on Friday.  Their attendance is important to their learning.

The LMS PTO will meet on Wednesday, January 10th at 5:30 pm in the LMS cafeteria. All LMS families are cordially invited.  The PTO is very active in supporting programming at the middle school and we would love it if you could join us on Wednesday night.  We will be discussing events coming up in the Spring semester such as the Happiness 5K and Teacher Appreciation Week and fundraising efforts including Safeway cards and LMS apparel.

There will be no school for students on Monday, January 15th.  Staff have professional development that day.  School will resume on Tuesday, January 16th.  We will follow our 'odd' schedule on the 16th.

The first semester ends on Friday, January 19th.  Final grades will be calculated by 8:00 am on the 24th.  Report cards will be mailed on out on Friday, January 26th.  Students who earn failing grades may be required to attend summer school in June. There is still time for students to demonstrate their learning.  We have Scout Learning Lab (SLL) every day after school from 3:00-3:30.  We will also have Saturday SLL on the 13th from 8:00-11:00. If your student needs some extra time and support, please contact their teachers to schedule a time for them to attend SLL.

Upcoming Events

• January 10                             PTO meeting 
• January 13                             Last Saturday SLL of the first semester
• January 15                             No school-professional development
• January 19                             End of the first semester

Week of January 1

A new year is upon us filled with possibilities and potential.  As we mark this transition on our calendars, it is a traditional time to take stock and set goals.  We are working hard as a school community to provide the best possible experience for all LMS students.  Teachers are constantly designing and delivering engaging and informative lessons.  Coaches and athletes are working to hone skills. Musicians and artists continue to improve their crafts.  Support staff do whatever it takes to make the business of school happen. It is a team effort to make a school work and we appreciate your support in making LMS a great place to be. We couldn't be the excellent school we are without families and students giving their all.  Our goals for 2018 are to seek out continuous improvement in all aspects of the LMS community and examine ways we can be more effective for students in the coming years.

We have a different schedule for this short week.  We will follow the all schedule every day (W,Th,F).  LHS is going even (W), odd (Th), all (F). Students that attend a class at LHS will need to adjust.  All LMS students should report to LMS for first period on the 3rd.  Students who normally attend first hour at LHS will report to study hall on the 3rd and will miss a portion of their 2nd hour class on the 4th.

A big thank you to student government and the PTO for our two new water fountains that were installed during the winter break.  Students and staff can now fill up water bottles quickly and easily.  These fountains will be a positive addition to our school for many years to come and will help to reduce the amount of plastic headed to the landfill.

Upcoming Events

• January 3                               School resumes
• January 3                               Boys basketball practice begins
• January 15                             No school-professional development
• January 19                             End of the first semester

Week of December 18

Winter break is just around the corner.  School is in session Monday and Tuesday of this week and then we are out for two weeks.  We wish you a happy holiday season with your families and friends.  are we are looking forward to our students returning on Wednesday, January 3rd rested and ready to be their best in 2018. The winter break marks the approximate halfway point of the school year.  As we move into the dark days of winter, we have to be purposeful in our efforts to maintain focus and continue to challenge ourselves to be better every day.  Thank you for all of your efforts to have your students in school and prepared to learn every day.  We know it's not easy, and we appreciate it.

If you have not had the opportunity to complete the school quality survey, please take the time to do so.  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 19th due to winter break.  There will not be a late bus on the 19th, so all students should go home directly after school.  Scout Learning Lab will resume it's normal schedule on Wednesday, January 3rd. We ask that all students either get on the bus or are picked up promptly after school on the 19th as many staff are traveling out of town and will not be available after school to supervise students.

Happy Holidays!

Upcoming Events

• December 20-January 2        No school-winter break
• January 15                             No school-professional development
• January 19                             End of the first semester