Week of February 26

The LMS staff did some in house professional development last Thursday and Friday.  It was a continuation of the work to support our growth as a professional learning community.  Dr. Dewey, a nationally renowned educator, was at LMS to work with teaching teams on effective planning and instruction in support of student learning.  We also discussed scheduling and designing interventions for students who are struggling and extensions and enrichment for students who are excelling.  The already great staff at LMS continues to work to improve their teaching.  This supports our theme for the the year, if it doesn't challenge you it doesn't change you.  LMS staff are not satisfied with good enough.  We are going to do whatever it takes to help students be successful and to create and sustain a community of respect and excellence at LMS.

The Student Leadership Team is hosting the Laradise Dance, this Friday, March 2nd from 3:00-5:00 pm in the LMS main gym.  All LMS students in good standing (passing all classes and not suspended) are encouraged to attend.  Admission is $4.  If you are interested in chaperoning, please contact the school.

There are many exciting events coming up at LMS next week.  Traditionally the week prior to spring break is Spirit Week.  Each day next week has a theme.  Grade levels can also earn points towards the Scout Cup for participating. The themes for each day are as follows:

• Mix It Up Monday: Students dress like teachers and vice versa 
• Tourist Tuesday: Wear your favorite vacation clothes
• Wacky Wednesday: Crazy hair do's, backwards shirts, everything wacky
• Throwback Thursday: Dress like your parents in those old photos
• Fan Friday: Sports teams, Nike, Under Armour, etc 

Spirit week will also be the time for penny wars to support service men and women oversees.  Each grade will have a bucket in the cafeteria.  Pennies count towards a grade's total. All other denominations count against a grade's total.  The grade with the highest total will earn points towards the Scout Cup.  

As if there wasn't enough going on during Spirit Week, the Student Leadership Team is hosting our second family night of the year.  All LMS families are cordially invited to our Bermuda Triangle Escape Room Adventure on Wednesday, March 7th from 7:00-8:15 pm.  Meet in the LMS cafeteria for a night of fun, community, popcorn, and prizes.  There is no cost to attend. 

As we move into the 5th week of the second semester, many things are happening.  Activities such as Spirit Week, dances, and family nights are an important part of our school community.  They build connections, increase school spirit, and improve moral.  We appreciate all of your support and hope you will encourage your student to come to the dance and participate in Spirit Week.  We'd also love to see you at our escape room night on the 6th.

Upcoming Events

• March 2                                 Laradise dance 
• March 5                                 Six week grade reports 
• March 5-9                              Spirit Week
• March 7                                 PTO meeting
• March 7                                 Family night-Bermuda Triangle escape room 
• March 12                               Spring break begins
• March 23                               Elementary early release-full day at LMS

Week of February 19

Students can now pre-order the award winning Laramie Middle School yearbook.  A limited number of yearbooks are available, so students and families should order now to guarantee that they receive a copy of this year's edition.  Yearbooks are $40.00.  Students can bring cash or a check to order their yearbook during lunch.  Yearbooks can also be ordered online as well.  If you need more information about obtaining a yearbook, please contact Mr. Reitzel. 

It has been a challenging flu season up to this point, with many students falling victim to this year's strain.  If your student has missed school due to illness or has fallen behind this semester, don't wait until six week progress reports arrive in the mail the week of March 5th.  Talk to your student, check their grades in Powerschool, contact their teachers.  This can be the time of year where the school year starts to drag and student engagement slips.  Please don't let your student dig an academic hole they can't get out of.  We are here to help.  Teachers are available for Scout Learning Lab after school.  We offer an extended session of Scout Learning Lab on most Saturday mornings as well. Let's work together to maintain the momentum we've built so far this year and help all students finish the school year on a high note.

We are at a transition point for activities at LMS.  Boys basketball and nordic skiing are wrapping up.  Swimming starts this Thursday, the 22nd.  Swimming is open to 6th, 7th, and 8th grade students.  You must have a completed sports physical and code of conduct on file to participate.  Contact Mrs.  Anfinson if you need additional information about swimming. Track is our final activity of the school year. Track begins on April 5th and is open to 7th and 8th grade students.  I encourage students to participate in at least one activity during the school year.  Middle school is a great time to explore new interests and activities.  If your student has not participated in an athletic activity, an academic club, or the fine arts, this year please encourage them to explore swimming, track, or something else that they are interested in.

The lost and found is bursting at the seems.  Please encourage your students to seek out their missing clothing items in the cafeteria.  What is not claimed by the end of the week will be removed.


Upcoming Events

• March 2                                 Laradise dance 
• March 5                                 Six week grade reports 
• March 12                               Spring break begins
• March 23                               Elementary early release-full day at LMS

Week of February 12

We are celebrating Random Acts of Kindness Week at LMS.  Each day this week has a different theme intended to promote kindness and community.  Students can earn a special Scout Out for displaying random acts of kindness.  The grade with the most Scout Outs will earn points towards the Scout Cup.  Tuesday is teacher appreciation day, Wednesday is walk with someone new, Thursday is take someone's trash/tray, and Friday is friendly Friday.  We enjoy a positive culture at LMS and we are looking forward to building on that throughout the week with random acts of kindness.

Wednesday is Valentine's Day.  Please plan to celebrate by attending the informational meeting for swimming at 5:30 in the LMS cafeteria.  In addition, we ask that you do not have anything delivered to your student at school.  When a larger number of deliveries are dropped off, we have no way to store them or get them to students.  Flowers, balloons, and other Valentines are a distraction to the learning environment as they do not generally fit into lockers and are problematic on the bus.  If anything is delivered to the school we will not call students out of class to retrieve it.  We will do our best to get all items to students at the end of the school day.  Thank you for your consideration.

Upcoming Events

• February 14                           Swimming informational meeting
• February 19                           Early release
• March 2                                 It's still winter dance 
• March 5                                 Six week grade reports 
• March 12                               Spring break begins

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