Tonight's Meeting: January 24th @ 6pm Zoom link: https://lcps.zoom.us/j/84570967359

Next Meeting: February 22nd @ 6pm

• Students have started off this year making us proud! Our lego robotics team took first in innovation at their FLL Challenge Qualifier on Saturday January 13th in Alamogordo and are now headed to the State Competition in Albuquerque on February 9th.
• All students have been preparing for the Amazing Shake happening on January 26th. Please make sure your student is in attendance for this event and dressed for success. (This is a required event and they will have to do make up's to get credit for this event.)

• Students who have chosen to participate in National History Day will be wrapping up those projects to participate in the regional competition on February 23rd here in Las Cruces.
• Our after school programs have begun and are rapidly filling up. There are still spaces in Parkour. Please use this link to get registered: https://forms.gle/z7Zuj9t3ff1ssNXN8

Every year we have our students participate in an incredible competition that pushes them to practice skills they will need every day as an adult. For this event we invite community members to serve as judges as students move through stations such as: Giving a press conference, pitching a product, attending a job interview or even giving a weather report. The event is inspired by Ron Clark Academy and we hope that one day we will be able to send our top performers to RCA to compete in their national competition. If you would like to participate, please email Mrs. Martos at amartos@lcps.net. Need more info? Please click on the video below to learn more.

Respiratory sickness season is upon us! So many students (and staff) have been out sick with this year's ugly strains of viruses. Since students have to miss when they are sick, we really want to emphasize the importance of students coming to and staying at school all day when they are well. I know sometimes they will state that "they aren't doing anything", but this is not the case.

Our school's model includes a lot of discussion and activities that may not "feel" like work, but they are activities meant to help students learn how to collaborate, create bonds, present and overcome their own fears. These activities include preparation for our House Challenges and the challenges themselves which are on Friday afternoons. We ask that parents refrain from picking students up when they ask to go home early on Fridays to avoid these challenges. Their classmates are counting on their team to participate in these competitions. When students leave early, they leave others without that additional support. Thank you for your understanding.

Greetings MVLA Families,

As the end of the first semester arrived this year, we saw an increase in disciplinary issues, class disruptions and bullying type behaviors using cell phones. I would like to ask for parents to partner with us to ensure your child's success and safety at school. As a parent myself, I understand the desire to have constant contact with your child. However, research shows us that our kids are suffering both academically and emotionally the more we continue to allow them to constantly be on their phones. The temptation to text, the interruptions and the opportunity to say the wrong things, is just too great.

Please check out this site that helps us to truly understand the ramifications of constant phone use: awayfortheday.org For specific research go to: https://www.awayfortheday.org/research/

As we move forward, to ensure student safety and well-being, I plan to further restrict the use of phones at school as many of the District middle schools already have. Please review the district policy below and go over it with your child.

If you need to speak to your child or get a message to your child during the day, please call the front office at 575-527-6059 and we will get the message to your student.

If your child does not feel well, please tell them they need to go see the nurse and she will contact you if they need to be picked up. Students should not be calling or texting during the day unless it is from the office with an adult present.

High Schools will be coming to MVLA on January 30th to begin registering 8th graders. Please ensure your student is here on time as they will be here first thing that morning.

We are currently accepting Applications for the next school year. Last day to submit an application is January 29th.

We are proud to announce our partnership with STOPit Solutions, a nationally recognized leader in school safety and wellness.

Through this partnership, everyone in our school community has access to the STOPit anonymous reporting app – a powerful tool designed to deter and promptly address instances of bullying, school violence, self-harm, and inappropriate behaviors.

With the STOPit app, users can anonymously submit tips, attach photo or video evidence, and privately message school leaders with the necessary information to help everyone involved.

In addition, when a student or anyone in our school community needs immediate support, the STOPit app provides direct access to Crisis Text Line. Users can anonymously text with counselors (day or night) until they feel safe and calm.

We encourage everyone in our school community to download the STOPit app.

If you haven’t already done so, we kindly urge parents and guardians to download the STOPit app and become familiar with its features. This will not only enable you to guide your children in using the app but will also demonstrate our collective commitment to the safety and wellbeing of our whole school community. The STOPit app is available on the Apple App Store and Google Play Store.

January's Graduate Profile Competency is Responsible. What does that mean? Here are the key performance indicators for Responsible:

Following school rules and expectations consistently

• Being punctual and reliable in completing assignments and meeting deadlines

• Taking ownership of their own learning and academic progress

• Setting and achieve personal and academic goals

• Managing and prioritize time spent on school, extracurricular, and leisure activities

• Accepting results of actions and decisions (good or bad)

• Being dependable

• Demonstrating appropriate digital citizenship skills

For a complete list of Competencies please see:

https://www.lcps.net/o/lcps/page/las-cruces-public-schools-graduate-profile

• Please pull straight into the parking lot instead of turning directly after the fence. We have already had damage to our traffic cones and poles.
• During a Hazardous Weather Event (especially for lightening) - please stay in your vehicle. We will release your student to you if you have come to pick them up.

Our school hours are 9am to 3pm this year. In the morning, we will open the gates at 8am but will only have a few staff on duty at that time. Please try not to drop off students prior to that if you can avoid it.

In the afternoons, while our end time is 3:00, we ask that not everyone come right at three.

Please use staggered drop off and pick up times below:

Ideally Morning drop off would be from 8:30 to 8:55 and pick up in the afternoon from 3:00 - 3:20.

In the afternoon, if you are able, please follow the times indicated below. If you last name starts with:

A-G - Please come right at 3:00

G-N - Come at 3:10

O-Z - Pick up at 3:20

To avoid causing a backup to Lohman, please pull up to the last cone in the lane next to the building.

Please see the attached map for more guidance.

Do you have something great to share? A talent, a skill or just flat out your amazing presence?

Please let us know. We can always use -

- Extra eyes for Lunch duty (volunteer or paid opportunities)

- Presentations in our Academic Enrichment classes (volunteer or paid opportunities)

- My Time teachers or assistants (volunteer or paid opportunities)

- After School program teachers (paid position)

These opportunities can be for 1/2 an hour, 1 day, a week, a month or longer. Please email me at amartos@lcps.net if you are interested.

We will serve breakfast from 8:30 - 9:15. If your student comes late, they can still pick up breakfast from the cafeteria.

If your child requires a special diet for any reason, please contact the school nurse Mrs. Johnson. You can call 527-6059 and ask for her and she will help set that up.

Also, please DO NOT have food delivered to campus. If you must bring food on occasion because your student has a special diet and forgot their lunch, that is fine, but please do NOT send deliveries, door dash, etc.

Speaking of phones. Are you struggling with your child engaging in harmful conversations? Check out this app.

Students who need extra help still have access to the tutoring program called Paper. If you would like to see how that works, please check out this site: https://pages.paper.co/the-parent-guardian-guide-to-implementing-paper

If you have not done so this year, please review our Student handbook here: https://acrobat.adobe.com/link/track?uri=urn:aaid:scds:US:ec213539-5daa-4419-b824-68cf105362ba

You can also access it on our website mvla.lcps.net. To access it, click Menu, Documents and then Parent Resources.

We are the ONLY school of choice in the LCPS District. Our philosophy is one of high student engagement through hands-on learning and an environment of trust, caring and empathy!

Email: analisa@lcps.net
Website: mvla.lcps.net
Location: 821 East Lohman Avenue, Las Cruces, NM, USA
Phone: 575-527-6059