The LMS Express

Hello all,

It's been quite awhile since the last LMS Express, and a lot has been going on at school! Winter sports have started, the first trimester has ended, conferences are next week, and Thanksgiving provided our LMS community with a well-deserved rest!

We only have a couple of weeks before the next break, but we are making the most of our time with enriching instruction, fun co-curriculars, and other activities that continue to strengthen our school community. Please enjoy this jam-packed LMS Express.

Be well,

Tom

Wednesday, December 11th - School Board Meeting, 6:30 p.m.

Thursday, December 12th - 11:30 Dismissal, Parent/Guardian-Teacher Conferences (info below)

Thursday, December 12th - PTO Meeting, 6:30 p.m.

Friday, December 13th - No School, Parent/Guardian-Teacher Conferences

Thursday, December 19th - LMS Winter Concert, 6:30 p.m. at LMS

Monday, December 23rd - Friday, January 3rd - No School, Winter Break

It's cold out there, specially in the mornings! A quick reminder - students will be expected to be outdoors prior to the start of school and during recess if the temperature "feels like" 15 degrees or higher. At LMS, we believe that fresh air and sunshine (even when it's chilly) is a valuable part of a positive school day, and we strive to get students at least a small amount of time outside. Please remind students to dress accordingly, and thanks for your help with this.

We are trying a new plan for our early dismissal schedule on Thursday, December 12th. All students will eat lunch in their advisory classrooms at the same time. This will allow for longer and more consistent class times throughout the school day. We are hopeful that this will be the "new normal" for early dismissal days at LMS. Students will be asked to indicate to their advisory teacher if they would like a bagged lunch by Tuesday, to allow time for our cafeteria staff to prepare for Thursday.

8th grade Language Arts Class

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Survivor!

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We have many items that have been lost and not yet found. These items have been on display this week, and will continue to be next week as well. Students are encouraged to look through the lost & found and claim their belongings. Parents & Guardians are encouraged to do the same while in the building for conferences next week. All unclaimed items will be donated to the Listen Center on Monday, December 16th.

Students in Senora Ring's Spanish class acted out dialogs that took place in a restaurant scene. They ate chips and salsa afterwards. :)

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Senora D'Entremont's 7th graders played a game to guess the identities of Colombian musicians.

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After a too-long delay, below are the pictures of the door decorations that livened up the LMS hallways way back when in October. Great work by all of our staff & students!

We conducted 5th grade Student Council elections a couple weeks back, and our 5th grade Student Council officers are:

Evie Audino - President

Jayce Young - Vice President

Additionally, in the last LMS Express, I listed all of our Student Council members, but neglected to include our LMS Student Council Executive Director, Hannah Follensbee! Hannah does a ton of work with Student Council meetings and activities. Thank you, Hannah! (and sorry you were left off the list :)

LMS Art Teacher, Mr. Dan Masi, welcomed his son Louis Gregory Masi into the world on Wednesday, December 4th. Mom, baby, and dad are all very happy and well. Congratulations! And welcome, Louis!

We are also excited to announce our new Director of Athletics & Co-Curriculars, Ms. Autumn Lanseigne! (pronounced like "Lansing"). Autumn enjoys spending time with family, friends, and her dog, and she is a fan of all the major Boston sports teams. She is excited to become a part of the LMS staff and to meet everyone! Many of our families and students have already met Autumn over the past couple of weeks - please make her feel welcome when you see her!

Experimenting with Dry Ice

Electrostatics

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WOOD SHOP RACE DAY!!!

5th and 6th graders have worked hard for several weeks to convert a simple block of wood into a superfast dragster. They learned some basic physics lessons about aerodynamics, friction, and drag before designing, shaping and painting their cars in preparation for the big race. Students used some basic hand tools and a few power tools to create their masterpieces. Race Day was November 20th.

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A bracket was created and students raced to the last one standing! The winners were:

5th Grade

1st Place - Owen Schutz

2nd Place - Ella Jovanovich

3rd Place - Jackson Greene

6th Grade

1st Place - Rori Kerin-Herrick

2nd Place - Milo Hallihan

3rd Place - Zoe Kattamis

Congratulations to Rori for beating Mr. Schachtner's car to win an ice cream of her choice!

The top 3 from each class will get to race their cars again at the end of the school year to find out who has the fastest car in the school!

Spruce students enjoyed the day before Thanksgiving break by eating sweet treats with their classmates. Students had the opportunity to share what they're grateful for as well as write thank you cards to special people in their lives. It was a wonderful way to build community and practice gratitude!

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Students in Flex this past trimester are given choices in assignments to address reading, writing and math skill work. The "Playlist" is one such assignment with students choosing an activity in four different curricular areas including math, writing, reading and spelling/vocabulary. Here is a wonderful reflection on Fall written by Grace Mlodzik, Grade 6 ( see below). Next trimester, additional Playlists will continue to work on sixth-grade skills!

Ms. Rzemien's father, Russ Rzemien, was a guest speaker. He shared his experience as a physicist, especially focusing on light and spectrophotometry.

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Trimester 1 Report Cards are now available for viewing on Alma. If you need any assistance accessing and/or navigating Alma, please give us a call and we'll be happy to help you out.

On Saturday, November 16th, the LMS Speech and Debate Team traveled to Portsmouth High School to compete in the second New Hampshire Debate League (NHDL) tournament of the year. The topic was, "Resolved: The United States should substantially reduce its military support of Taiwan."

Students debated both sides of the resolution over the course of four rounds in a 2v2 format. LMS had three teams competing: Kolja Oullette & Cassidy Saxon, Christian Lefferts & Lincoln Scanlon, and Cooper Rhoads & Pluto Beirne-Freiman. LMS students had a combined 4 wins on the day--against high schoolers! Many thanks to Coaches Danielle Colburn and Jared Rhoads, and to the parent drivers and parent judges who helped make the day a success.

Next up on our calendar is a tournament with the Vermont Debate and Forensics League (VDFL) on Saturday, December 7th in Thetford, VT, in which our students will be competing against other middle schoolers in speech events (no debate). There are three individual speech events to choose from: Original Oratory, Poetry, and Impromptu Speaking.

ANNOUNCEMENT: The LMS Speech and Debate Team is now open for 5th and 6th graders to join (speech events only)!

(Until now, the LMS Speech & Debate Team has been open to only 7th and 8th graders. While that will continue to be the case for debate, we can now welcome 5th and 6th graders who are interested in competing in speech events at the Vermont tournaments that we attend. The easiest way for any student to get started is simply to show up to one of our team practices, which are held every Tuesday from 2:30-4pm in Room #237.)

The first dance/activity night of the year took place on Friday, November 15th. Students had a fantastic time, dancing, singing, snacking, playing games, and generally just spending time with each other. For pictures taken by our tech-savvy Art teacher, (and new dad!) Mr. Masi, please click here.

• Come share your ideas at our next meeting on Thursday, December 12th at 6:30 in the cafeteria or on Google Meet.
• Looking for gift ideas for your middle schooler? Check out the LMS gear store!

The LISTEN Center is now accepting applications for the 2024 Holiday Baskets.

This year, holiday baskets will consist of three (3) winter clothing items and a 50-dollar grocery gift card. The online registration link will be available beginning September 30th.

All applicants will first be added to an interest list in the order that their registrations are received. From this list, households will be matched with sponsors. Completing this application does not guarantee you will receive a Holiday Basket.

LISTEN can only guarantee you will receive a Holiday Basket once you are matched with a sponsor. A LISTEN staff member will notify you once your household is matched with a sponsor.

At that time, you will receive details on how and when to pick up your Holiday Basket. This year, the Holiday Baskets will be distributed early to mid-December.

Click here to apply for a LISTEN Holiday Basket.

If you or someone you know would be interested in sponsoring a Holiday Basket, please click here, or share that link with them. And thank you!

The "P" in LMS PRIDE is for Perseverance.

"We continue to try even when something is difficult."

You can see the full LMS Mission Statement by clicking here.

You can click here for past issues of the LMS Express.