Week of October 15

Fall conferences are Wednesday, October 24th from 3:30-7:30 and Thursday, October 25th from 8:00-7:00.  Conferences are a great time to check in with your student's teachers and to offer feedback to help us support students more effectively.  Use this link to schedule your conferences.  If you can't remember everyone's name from back to school night, please review your student's schedule on Powerschool, consult the six week grade report that was mailed home last week, or view the staff listing page on our website.  If you are unable to schedule a conference with all of your student's teachers on the 24th or 25th, please contact teachers via email to set up another time to meet.  We hope to see you all on the 24th or 25th.  Spanish translation services are available all day on the 25th.

Halloween is approaching quickly.  In fact, based on the displays in the stores, we've been ready for Halloween since late August. Students are allowed to wear costumes on Halloween, however, there are guidelines for costumes.  Please review the video below from the student leadership team for more information.

There will be no Scout Learning Lab (SLL) this Wednesday due to a staff meeting.  There will also be no late bus.  All students not participating in school activities should leave right after school on Wednesday.  Also, please remember that while the elementary schools have an early release this Friday, the middle school will dismiss at our regular time of 3:00.

As you can see from the picture below, the LMS lost and found is way more lost than found at this point.  Please encourage your student to look for their missing items in the lost and found.  It is located in the cafeteria.  All items remaining after conferences will either be donated or disposed of.

Upcoming Events: 

• October 17                     No SLL-staff meeting 
• October 24-25                Fall conferences
• October 25-26                No school-conferences
• November 6                   No school-professional development 

Week of October 1st

It's homecoming  spirit week at Laramie Middle School.  There are a variety of activities planned including dress up days, a football game, a volleyball games, and family bingo night.  Homecoming spirit week concludes with the LHS football game on Friday night. Please see the LMS Events Calendar for a complete listing of events.  The themes for the dress up days are:

• Movie Monday
• Twinning Tuesday
• White Out Wednesday
• Throwback Thursday
• School Spirit Friday

Family Bingo Night is today, October 2nd, from 6:45-8:00 pm in the LMS cafeteria.  All LMS students and their families are encouraged to attend. There will be prizes, popcorn, and plenty of fun.  There is no cost to attend.  We hope to see you all tonight n the cafeteria.  It's the place to be!

Families whose students have a negative lunch balance began receiving text messages last Friday, September 29th.  These texts will be sent weekly to keep families informed of their student's balance. Lunch payments can be made online under the resources tab on the LMS website. If you have questions regarding your student's account, or feel you have received a text message in error, please contact food service at 721-4482. 

The State Department of Education has released WYTOPP scores from last Spring.  WYTOPP is the state mandated test students take each fall and spring to measure their progress and growth.  We use WYTOPP scores to examine our instructional effectiveness and to identify areas of celebration and areas of growth.  Students in all grades take the math and English Language Arts (ELA) tests.  Eighth grade students take a science test and seventh grade students take a writing test as well.  Our scores, as measured by the percentage of students who scored proficient or advanced, were higher than the state average in all areas.  We are excited for these results and look forward to working together to improve in the future.  Families will receive a copy of their student's scores with the six week grade report that is being mailed out this Friday.

	State Average	LMS Scores
ELA	56.7%	63%
Math	50.6%	65%
Science	46.8%	50%

Upcoming Events: 

•                   
• October 1-5                    Homecoming spirit week                      
• October 2                       Picture retakes 
• October 2                       LMS family night 
• October 24-25                Fall conferences
• October 25-26                No school-conferences

Week of September 24th

Another week is underway at LMS, but we begin without our students.  During Monday's professional development we are building skills to move effectively support students in crisis and to provide for the care, welfare, safety, and security for all students.  We realize that professional development can be a bit of a blessing and a curse.  A blessing at times as these days provide a long weekend for families to be together without missing school, and a curse in the same breath as families  may need to find supervision for their students during the day.  Please know that our work during professional development is crucial to our growth as a school community and we appreciate your support.

All students must have updated vaccination paperwork on file, filed for an exemption, or scheduled an appointment to become properly vaccinated or by state law they are not allowed to attend school 30 calendar days after the start of the school year.  Mrs. Woodhouse has been reaching out to all families whose students need to update their vaccinations. Beginning on 9/25/18, students lacking the proper vaccinations will not be allowed to attend classes.  If you have any questions regarding vaccination requirements, please contact Mrs. Woodhouse at 721-4430.

Picture retakes are Tuesday, October 2nd.  Students who did not have their pictures taken previously will have their pictures taken.  Students who had their pictures taken, but would like retakes should bring their original pictures with them.  Replacement pictures are free no charge if students return all of their original pictures. If you would like to order pictures online, go to mylifetouch.com and enter picture day ID CG218395Y1.

The upcoming shift in activities is evidence that the school year is flying by.  Cross country, football, and volleyball will be wrapping up soon and girls basketball and wrestling will begin the week of October 8th. Wrestling is open to students in 6th, 7th, and 8th grades and girls basketball is open to female students in 7th and 8th grades.  Students must have a signed code of conduct and athletic physical on file to participate in activities.  If your student already participated in an activity this year, all of their paperwork will is on file. Please contact Mrs. Anfinson or Mrs. Burkhart.

Upcoming Events: 

•                   
• September 24                 No school-professional development
• October 1-5                    Homecoming week                      
• October 2                       Picture retakes 
• October 2                       LMS family night 
• October 24-25                Fall conferences

Week of September 17

It's another week of unique schedules as students complete the math portion of the fall WYTOPP test.  Our schedule will be Even, Odd, Even, Odd, All, this week.  This allows students to complete their math tests during their math class causing less disruption to their overall schedules. Students attend Scouts for Scouts (advisory) on all block days so they will attend four days this week. We will return to a more standard schedule next week with only two block days.

I say or more standard schedule next week as students will not have school on Monday, September 24th due to professional development.  All LMS staff will be participating in nonviolent crisis intervention training on the 24th.  This training sounds more intense than it actually is.  We will be developing deescalation skills to help students who are becoming agitated, acting out, or struggling emotionally deescalate and return to learning in a way that minimizes disruptions, increases safety for students and staff, and maintains the respect and dignity of all involved.  This training is part of a District-wide effort so staff at other schools will be engaging in similar training on the 24th as well.

The week of October 1st is homecoming week.  We will engage in a series of dress up days an other activities to build school spirit.  Our activities will culminate with the LHS football game on Friday, October 5th.  Homecoming is another opportunity to build community and celebrate a positive school culture.  We will share more information about homecoming and spirit week as the date gets closer.

Upcoming Events: 

•                   
• September 24                 No school-professional development
• October 1                       Homecoming week
• October 2                       Picture retakes 
• October 2                       LMS family night 
• October 24-25                Fall conferences

Week of September 10

This week brings fall WYTOPP testing to LMS. The WYTOPP (Wyoming Test of Proficiency and Progress) is the state-mandated test that replaced PAWS.  We also take the interim test in the fall in place of MAP.  To accommodate testing and have the least disruption to student's overall schedules, we will have four block days this week.  Our schedule will go Even, Odd, Even, Odd, All.  The longer blocks allow all students to take their ELA and math tests during class so they do not have to miss other classes to test.  WYTOPP data helps us not only measure student progress, but helps us identify areas of celebration and areas of growth as it relates to our curriculum and instruction.

WYTOPP data from last Spring has just been released.  You will be receiving your student's report with their six week grade report in a couple of weeks.  This school year, you should receive your student's results at the end May or beginning of June.  Results were late this year due to the implementation of the new test.  Overall LMS students performed well.  We saw growth in most areas and are pleased with the efforts of our students, staff, and families.  The WYTOPP is an important data point, but it is just one piece of data.  Teacher created assessments, family input, and student perspectives are also very valuable pieces of information we seek out and and use to guide instruction.

Wyoming state statute requires all students who attend public schools to be immunized or have the appropriate waiver on fall. If your student's immunization records are not up to date, you should have been contacted by Mrs. Woodhouse, the school nurse, if your student's records are out of date.  Students will not be able to attend class after September 21st if their vaccines are not up to date.  Please visit immunizewyoming.com for additional information or contact Mrs. Woodhouse. 

Due to unforeseen circumstances the 8th grade football game scheduled for Thursday, September 13th has been moved to Tuesday, September 11th.  The 7th grade games scheduled for Thursday remain unchanged. We apologize for any inconvenience.

Upcoming Events: 

•                   
• September 24                 No school-professional development
• October 1                       Homecoming week
• October 2                       Picture retakes 
• October 2                       LMS family night 
• October 24-25                Fall conferences

Week of September 4

We are off to a great start at LMS and another fun filled week is on tap. Our first dance is this Friday, from 3-5:00.  All LMS students in good standing are encouraged to attend.  Students are in good standing if they are not serving ISS or OSS on Friday.  Only LMS students are allowed to attend dances. Our dances are held in the main gym. Admission is $4.00.  If you would like to chaperone, please call Kevin at 721-4430.

Families need to complete the online registration (formerly known as infosnap) each year.  If you have more than one student who attends school in the District, you need to complete it for each student. One reason for this is to make sure we have all of your student's contact and emergency information correct.  Families also give permission for students to access District technology and appear in publications, such as the yearbook, in the online registration process.  If you do not complete the online registration for your student, they may be prevented from accessing technology, appearing in the yearbook, or traveling on school sponsored trips, including activities.  Please use this link to complete the online registration and contact Mary Jo in the main office if you have questions or require assistance.

Now that we've been in school for a few weeks, students have learned their schedules and developed a routine for traveling through the building.  Starting today, we will be tracking tardies for disciplinary purposes.  If a student arrives to class after the bell has rung, they will be counted tardy.  If a student is tardy 5 times, they earn a lunch detention.  If a student is tardy 7 times, they earn 2 lunch detentions.  If a student is tardy 10 times, they earn some time in Saturday school.  Tardies reset every nine weeks.  Please encourage your student to be on time to class and contact a counselor if your student is unable to get to class on time.

All LMS students had their pictures taken last Tuesday.  If you would like to order pictures for your student, you still can.  Go to www.lifetouch.com and enter our picture day ID: CG218395Y0. If your student would like a retake, or missed pictures, retakes are on Tuesday, October 2nd.

The first LMS PTO meeting is this Wednesday at 5:30 in the LMS cafeteria.  All LMS families are encouraged to attend.  The PTO provides feedback and ideas on our programming.  They also support the school in various ways such as meals for conferences and by making LMS merchandise available for purchase.  All are welcome and we hope to see you there.

Upcoming Events: 

•                   
• September 5                   PTO meeting
• September 6                   Band and orchestra instrumental rental night
• September 7                   Back to school dance
• September 24                 No school-professional development
• October 2                       Picture retakes 

Week of August 27th

It's great to be starting our first full week at Laramie Middle School for the 2018-19 school year.  We will follow our regular bell schedule this week.  Monday, Thursday, and Friday are 'all' days.  On 'all' days students attend periods 1-8.  Tuesdays are 'odd' days.  On 'odd' days students attend their advisory class Scouts for Scouts (S4S) and periods 1,3,5, and 7.  Wednesday are 'even' days.  Students attend S4S and periods 2,4,6, and 8.  Classes begin at 8:00 and students are dismissed at 3:00 every day.

Tuesday the 28th is picture day.  All students will have their pictures taken even if they are not ordering pictures.  This is the picture we use for student IDs and the yearbook.  Picture packets will be handed out at lunch and pictures can be ordered online at www.lifetouch.com Our picture day ID is GC218385Y0.  Tuesday night is also back to school night.  All families are encouraged to attend from 5:30-7:30.  You will be following your students schedule so you get a chance to meet all of her/his teachers.  Your student will be given a copy of this form to fill out for you so you know where to go.  Please be in your students S4S class at 5:30 on Tuesday so you don't miss out.  Drop in childcare is available.  Please check your child in front of the main office if you need child care during back to school night.

As a school we have set an attendance goal of 95% this year.  To help students and families work towards this goal, we are asking folks to Strive for Five.  This means we're encouraging all students and families to strive for 5 or less absences this year.  This number does not include absences for school related activities such as volleyball games or a band contest.  This does include any absences related to appointments, vacations, illness, or other non-school reasons.  We understand that students may get sick and we encourage students to stay home when they are ill.  We also understand that there may be times when a student does need to miss school for family reasons.  What we are asking is that to the maximum extent possible, have your student in school, ready to learn every day.  If it's possible to make an appointment at 3:30 or 4:00 instead of during the school day, please do so.  If a student can come and before and after a 10:00 appointment, we'd love to have them.  If you can adjust your vacation plans so they do not extend school holidays, that would be great.  Despite your and our best efforts, there is no replacement for first time instruction and the support our teachers give students every day and when students are absent it impacts their learning. We're excited to work with you as we Strive for Five!

Scout Learning Lab (SLL) will begin next Tuesday, September 4th.  Scout Learning Lab is an opportunity for students to receive additional time and support to demonstrate their learning. All teachers are available to work with students from 3:00-3:30.  Students who walk or are picked up, are free to go at 3:30.  If a students needs to ride the late bus, a teacher is available to work with them from 3:30 until 4:00 when the late bus arrives.  Scout Learning Lab is also offered on select Saturday mornings from 8:00-11:00.  If your student is recommended for SLL either after school or on a Saturday, you will be contacted by a teacher or administrator. Please click here to learn more about SLL.

Wyoming state law requires all students attending public school to have their vaccinations up to date or to obtain the appropriate waiver.  Students who do not meet this requirement are not permitted to attend school more than 30 calendar days after the beginning of the school year.  For this school year, students will not be allowed to attend beginning on September 25th if their vaccination paperwork is not up to date.  More information on vaccination requirements can be found at www.immunizewyoming.com.  If you have questions regarding vaccination requirements you can contact school nurse Mrs. Woodhouse.

Upcoming Events: 

•                     
• August 28                      Picture day
• August 28                      Back to school night
• September 3                   No school-Labor Day
• September 5                   PTO meeting
• September 6                   Band and orchestra instrumental rental night
• September 7                   Back to school dance
• September 24                 No school-professional development