Week of February 28

This Friday is the 6 week point of the second semester.  Students have been working hard and are making great progress.  We will be mailing out progress reports next week.  Please review these with your student and identify areas of celebration and places where additional work is required.  Teachers are ready and willing to assist students in Scout Learning Lab after school and a late bus is available.  Please emphasis the importance of completing all assignments to your student.  Providing a dedicated space free of distractions (especially phones!) for students to do school work is a great way to support your student.  We also recommend that students have a set time each day to work on school work.  By working together we can make sure that every student is prepared for the next step on their educational journey.

Another way you can support your student is by making sure they are in school each day prepared to learn.  Certainly there will be times they are sick or can't attend school for other reasons.  Our goal is for all students to be in school 95% of the time.  To accomplish this, they need to miss 8 or less days per year. Not considering quarantines, that is doable!  Please do help us reach this goal by scheduling appointments and other commitments outside of school whenever possible. With spring break coming up, please don't add a day or two onto the vacation.  Each day counts and it's way more difficult for students to get caught up after being gone than it is to stay current.

Kindergarten registration for Albany County School District #1 elementary schools, including rural schools, will be Monday, April 11 - Friday, April 15, 2022. Per Wyoming Statute 21-4-302, children must be five (5) years old on or before August 1, 2022 to enter kindergarten in 2022-2023. Parents who wish to request a waiver to this requirement must do so at their neighborhood school during the week of registration (per School Board Policy 4001). Please click here to learn more about kindergarten registration. 

Upcoming Events

• March 3               Freshman football meeting in LMS cafeteria
• March 4               Six week progress reports
• March 14-18        No school-spring break
• April 7                 Spring conferences
• April 11               No school-professional development 

  

Week of February 21

One of our greatest hopes is that our kids will be kind to others. But let's face it. It's not always easy. The good news is that kindness is a behavior that can be learned. Most children learn new behaviors by copying those around them; we have a powerful opportunity and responsibility to teach kindness by example. We have a variety of activities in S4S and across our school that teach and encourage kindness.  Please read about how you can encourage kindness at home and more in this month's CKH newsletter. 

There is an informational meeting for all rising freshmen and their families in the LHS theater at 6:00 pm on Tuesday. All current 8th graders and their families are encouraged to attend.  Students will be making their course selections on Wednesday during S4S with help from LHS counselor Mrs. Dale, our counseling staff, and their S4S teachers.  If you have any questions regarding scheduling, you can contact the LHS counseling department at 307-721-4488 or lhscounselors@acsd1.org. 

Students planning to play football at LHS next year as Freshman should also plan on attending an informational meeting after school on Thursday in the cafeteria.  The LHS coaching staff will be there to discuss what to expect as a Freshman, offseason workouts, summer camps, sportsyou, and the upcoming fall season.  All 8th graders interested in football next year should attend. 

Drs. Cynthia Hartung (Psychology) and Derek Smith (Kinesiology & Health) at UW are conducting a research study looking at the benefits of exercise on performance and mood in middle school students. Students will attend three 1-hour sessions at LMS or UW. During one of the sessions, they will use an exercise bike for 16 minutes. They will also complete some verbal and computer tasks. Parents will complete some online questionnaires at various points throughout the study (total time is less than 1 hour). Drs. Hartung and Smith would like to invite you and your child to participate in their study. If you participate, your child will receive a $30 gift card and you will receive a $25 gift card. If interested, please contact Tamara Abu-Ramadan at uwyoall@gmail.com or call 307-316-4783.

Even though it's a short week, it's action packed.  Our students and staff are working so hard to gain all of the essential skills necessary to be successful this year and beyond.  Please take the time to fill out the school climate and culture survey that was sent out last week.  We appreciate your continued feedback and support. 

Upcoming Events

• February 21              No school 
• February 22              Rising freshmen informational night at LHS 
• February 24              Freshman football meeting

Week of February 7

Randomly selected 8th grade students will be taking the NAEP test on Friday.  NAEP  stands for National Assessment of Educational Progress and is often referred to as the nation's report card.  NAEP is mandated by Congress and students in all 50 states participate.   The results are anonymous and students' grades are not affected. Selected students will either take a test in the morning or afternoon on Friday.  To learn more about NAEP, please visit this website. 

There is a registration night for swimming and track on Wednesday at 6:00 pm in the LMS cafeteria. Students interested in track or swimming and their families should attend.  Students in 7th and 8th grades can participate in track and students in 6th, 7th, and 8th grades can participate in swimming.  Students must have a current athletic physical and signed code of conduct on file to practice or compete. Students planning to participate in swimming or track and their families should attend registration night. 

Staff from Laramie High School will meet with LMS 8th grade students during S4S on February 15th and 16th to discuss registration for next year.  LHS is hosting an informational meeting for all rising freshman and their families in the LHS theater on Tuesday, February 22nd at 6:00 pm.  There will be a presentation about the transition to high school and the opportunities to engage with faculty and explore the building.  Rising freshmen and their families should review the freshman registration card.  If you have questions, please contact Kimberly Dale at 721-4420 or kdale@acsd1.org. 

The LMS Student Leadership Team is planning an incentive day for Friday, February 18th.  All schools have an early release that day.  For the incentive day, students will report to S4S.  Students earning C's or higher in all of their classes will participate in enrichment in the morning and students that need help will work on missing assignments.  All students will end the day at a pep rally before being released at 11:23 for the long weekend.

Upcoming Events 

• February 9                Swimming and track registration night 
• February 13              NAEP testing
• February 18              Incentive day 
• February 18              Early release for students and staff
• February 21              No school 
• February 22              Rising freshmen informational night at LHS 

Week of January 31

It's already February and the love of learning is in the air as our students are working diligently to start the semester on the right foot.  As we dig into the semester, please monitor your student's progress.  It's better for learning and easier to stay current on grades and assignments as opposed to trying to dig out of a hole later in the semester.  Teachers are available after school in Scout Learning Lab to help students who are behind and we have a late bus every day of the week.  

We are excited to recognize students who earned a place on the honor roll this Thursday from 7:00-7:45 in our gym.  Our student leadership team has planned a fun evening with prizes and celebration.  Students who earned a GPA of 3.5 or higher will be recognized.  Students' GPAs are on their report cards which were mailed out last week.  Please watch the video below for more information on honor roll recognition night this Thursday. 

Scout Studio is an after school opportunity for students to practice their art skills and express their creatively.  It is held Monday-Thursday from 3:05-4:00 in Mr. Reitzel's room.  Interested students should stop by and see Mr. Reitzel for more information and to sign up. 

Upcoming Events 

• February 3                Prevention needs assessment 
• February 3                Honor roll family night
• February 9                Swimming and track registration night 
• February 13              NAEP testing
• February 18              Early release for students and staff
• February 21              No school 

Week of January 24

As many of you may have noticed, some nefarious characters appear to have hacked our email system and are trying to get you to buy them Apple gift cards.  While our wonderful attendance administrative assistant, Mrs. Woelk, probably has a niece and her niece would most certainly enjoy Apple gift cards (I mean who wouldn't?), I promise you that we will never ask you to buy anything for us.  I apologize for the inconvenience and spam in your inboxes.  Our technology department is aware of the situation and is taking steps to make sure our system is safe and secure. 

Our sixth and 8th grade students have the opportunity to complete the Wyoming Prevention Needs Assessment (PNA) on February 3rd. Since the 2001-2002 school year, the PNA has tracked critical indicators of health and well-being of students in Wyoming. Conducted every other year in nearly all the middle and high schools in the state, the PNA gathers information about substance use and abuse, attitudes on risky behaviors, and other beliefs of Wyoming's young people.  Students were provided with information to take home to their families.  If you would like to learn more about the PNA, please visit https://www.pnasurvey.org. You can also view a copy of the survey in the LMS main office. If you do not want your student to complete the PNA, please have them return the form they were provided with to their English teacher or to the LMS main office. 

Selected 8th graders will be taking the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) on February 11th. NAEP is the largest nationally representative assessment of what students know and can do. It is administered by the National Center for Education Statistics, within the U.S. Department of Education.  NAEP is different from WYTOPP because it is a common measure of achievement across the country.  The results are released as the Nation's Report Card, which provides information about student achievement to educators, parents, policymakers, and the public.  Our school was randomly selected to participate and the participating students were also randomly selected.  Participating students will either take a test in the morning or afternoon on the 11th.  No student or school level results are provided.  The scores of all of the tested students in Wyoming are lumped together for comparison with other states and the national average.  Please read this letter for more information regarding NAEP. 

The first semester ended last Friday.  Teachers will finalize their grades Monday and report cards will be mailed out towards the end of the week. Our student leadership team is planning a family night to recognize students who made the honor roll on February 3rd. More information will be coming soon regarding this event.  Thank you for supporting your student and our school during the first half of this school year.  Everyone else in our school is working very hard to be their best and their efforts are paying off.  It's been a great start to the school year and we are excited to make the second half even better. Make it a great week.

Upcoming Events 

• February 3                Prevention needs assessment 
• February 3                Honor roll family night
• February 13              NAEP testing
• February 18              Early release for students and staff
• February 21              No school 

Week of January 17

I can hardly believe it, but the first semester ends this Friday, January 21st.  Friday is a full day of school at LMS and we will dismiss at our normal time, 3:05. Students have until the end of the school day on Friday to turn in missing work.  Teachers are available to provide assistance in Scout Learning Lab after school each day this week. Please talk to your student about their grades and work with them to make up any missing assignments. Report cards will be mailed out next week.

Students will receive their second semester schedules in Scouts for Scouts (S4S) on Tuesday.  If necessary, students can request a schedule change using the schedule change form located on our website and on posters around the school. Please know that we will do our best to grant schedule changes, but we may not be able to accommodate all requests. 

Last week our students participated in a kindness challenge. Each S4S class decided what they would like to do to spread kindness in our school community.  Some classes wrote encouraging notes, some hung up posters, while others did something else.  It was a really fun way to show support for each other. Please use this link to see some of the ways our students have been spreading kindness in our school. 

Thank you for helping to make the first semester a successful one.  There have been many challenges and we will face more obstacles before the end of the year, but our students are doing a great job because of your support, their hard work, and the efforts of our teachers and staff. It takes teamwork for our students to be successful and we are succeeding. Thank you for your continued support and feedback. 

Upcoming Events 

• January 17                No school-professional development
• January 21                End of the 1st semester  
• February 3                Prevention needs assessment
• February 13              NAEP testing
• February 18              Early release
• February 21              No School 

Week of January 3

Welcome back and welcome to 2022!  It's going to be another great year at LMS. We are so excited to have our students back and looking forward to a successful "second" half of the year.  Our semester actually ends on January 21st so students will follow their first semester schedules for another 3 weeks.  Students who are struggling have time to get caught up and teachers are available after school every day for Scout Learning Lab.  

Masks and face coverings are no longer required in our building.  Students are strongly recommended to wear masks while indoors.  The CDC recently released some updated guidelines for quarantines after exposure.  School nurses are meeting this week to determine what that means for our district and information will be shared soon.  Our district previously shared information related to masks and vaccines.  This and more COVID information can be found on our district webpage. 

Our CKH focus word of the month is respect.  Respect is not only an important character trait, but it can also be a source of real joy.  Respect implies a certain appreciation, which makes us more aware of other people’s needs and feelings. Respect comes in many forms: respect for life, for property, for parents, for elders, for nature, and for the beliefs and rights of others. Respect includes being courteous and polite, as well as avoiding self-criticism. Please read more about respect, including activities you can do as a family, in this month's CKH newsletter. 

We are thankful for the opportunity to work with you and your student in the new year.  We appreciate your continued support and feedback. Make it a great week. Stay warm and make the most out of the 2022!

Upcoming Events 

• January 3                  School resumes
• January 3                  Boys basketball begins
• January 17                No school-professional development
• January 21                End of the 1st semester