LAPS Newsletter

Friday, September 18: Homecoming 2026

Student Early Dismissal

• Elementary Schools: 12:00 pm
• Los Alamos Middle School: 12:45 pm
• Los Alamos High School: 1:00 pm

Parade 2:30 pm

Football Game 7 pm

Monday, September 21 - Friday, September 25: Start with Hello Week

Tuesday, September 22: First Day of Fall

Friendship Month

Suicide Prevention Month

Hispanic Heritage Month (September 15 - October 15)

Thursday, October 8 and Friday, October 9: Parent/Teacher Conferences (elementary schools)

No school for elementary students

Conferences will be scheduled by school sites

Friday, October 9: End of 1st Quarter

Monday, October 12: Holiday - Indigenous Peoples Day (no school)

Wednesday, October 14: 40th Day of School

Get ready for Homecoming 2026 in Los Alamos!

Homecoming Week is September 14-19, 2026 and will feature a number of events and activities for students, staff and community members.

The Homecoming Parade will be held on Friday, September 18th. This year's Grand Marshall is Los Alamos High School Art Teacher Mary Grace. The theme for the parade is “Crush the Cougars”.

The parade route has been changed this year. The parade will start on Central at Ashley Pond Park, and proceed up Central to the Mari Mac parking lot. This ensures adequate shelter is available for all our participants should there be a thunderstorm before the event like last year, and the roundabout does not have to be closed at Central and 502. The parade will begin at 2:30 pm at Ashley Pond Park, and judges will be seated outside the post office. Check out the Parade Instructions.

Staging begins at 1:30 pm at the Immaculate Heart of Mary Catholic Church Parking lot. Floats and vehicles may not be parked at the lot before this time. Enter through the east entrance via Canyon Road. Float riders can be dropped off in the far west parking lot behind the church.

Students will be released earlier on Friday, September 18. Elementary schools will dismiss at 12 pm,. Los Alamos Middle School will dismiss at 12:45 pm, and Los Alamos High School will dismiss at 1 pm.

The Hilltoppers will host the Cibola High School Cougars in the Homecoming football game Friday night. Gates will open at 5 pm. Tickets and season passes can be purchased in advance either through the HomeTown Fan app or online through HomeTown Fan. Tickets can also be purchased at the gate with a credit card. Cash will not be accepted at the gate.

Go to www.laschools.net for more information about Homecoming 2026.

Questions? Contact LAHSactivities@laschools.net

Students at Piñon Elementary donned pjs in recognition of New Mexico Be Here Day.

Members of the Topper Varsity football team visited Aspen Elementary for High Five Friday.

Third graders from Chamisa Elementary took a field trip to PEEC to study ecology.

Preschoolers at Barranca Mesa Elementary celebrated Grandparents Day.

The Los Alamos High School Cross Country team hosted their annual Run-a-Thon at Sullivan Field last week.

Clinicians from around New Mexico visited Los Alamos High School to help 50 orchestra students get ready for All-State auditions.

Thank you to the residential community at The Hill who collected school supplies for LAPS students. Claudia Bedford and Michael Graham from The Hill apartment complex, dropped off donations to Superintendent Jennifer Guy.

Los Alamos Public Schools is pleased to announce that nine Los Alamos High School seniors have been named semifinalists in the 72nd annual National Merit Scholarship Program. This year’s semifinalists are Hudson Bathrick-Price, Gavin Bent, Adis Bock, Lydia Davis, Aislinn Marshall, Liv Niklasson, Nguyen Phan, Tate Plohr and Aditya Viswanathan..

Members of the Los Alamos High School Schola Cantorum performed during the New Mexico School Board Association (NMSBA) Fall Region II Meeting hosted by the LAPS School Board at Piñon Elementary School.

Congratulations to the Los Alamos High School girls varsity soccer team who won the Academy Tournament championship. It is the program’s first victory over Albuquerque Academy in 12 years. Team members include (front row, left to right) Rafa Rocha, Kylee Lovato, Leah Gramer, Angelie Echave, Gracie Haagenstad, Margaret Steinkamp, Mayah Gurley, Emma Cartelli, Harper Reid; (back row, left to right:) Head Coach Jessica Kubicek-Sutherland, Jayden Krupp, Adison Gurley, Chloe Coffey, Sarah Price, Payton Sutherland, Ajla Bock, Addie DeBurgomaster, Zoë Romero, Layla Larsen. Courtesy photo

PreK 4 and Elementary School hours are 8:10 am - 2:40 pm Monday through Thursday, and 8:10 am - 1:40 pm on Friday. 3Y PreK morning session runs from 8:00 am - 11 am, and the afternoon session runs from 11:40 am - 2:40 pm, Monday through Thursday. There is no 3Y Preschool on Friday.

Wednesday, September 15: Chamisa PTO Dinner

Thursday, September 17: Constitution Day

Friday, September 18: Bobcat Bolt

Friday, September 18: Tiger Trot

Friday, September 18: Piñon Field Day

Friday, September 18: Chamisa Summer Reading Award Assembly

Friday, September 18: Homecoming Parade 2:30 pm; students dismissed at 12 pm (Note: No lunch will be served at school, so please plan accordingly.)

Monday, September 21: Chamisa PTO Meeting

Friday, September 25: Mountain Splash & Dash

Wednesday, September 30: Barranca Mesa Elementary Picture Day

September 25 - October 2: Chamisa Elementary

September 28 - October 2: Barranca Mesa Elementary

October 19 - October 23: Piñon Elementary

Middle School hours are 8:40 am - 3:30 pm Monday through Thursday, and 8:40 am - 2:30 pm on Friday.

Thursday, September 17: LAMS Band at Hummingbird Camp

Thursday, September 17: Staff vs. Students Flag Football

Thursday, September 17: Hawk Hangout

Friday, September 18: Pep Rally

Friday, September 18: Homecoming Parade 2:30 pm; students dismissed at 12:45 pm

Friday, September 25: LAMS Honor Orchestra at Los Alamos High School

This month's Hawk Hangout will feature Field Day events at LAMS on Thursday, September 17 from 3:30 pm - 5:30 pm.

High School hours are 8:30 am - 3:30 pm Monday through Thursday, and 8:30 am - 2:30 pm on Friday.

Friday, September 18: Homecoming Parade 2:30 pm; students dismissed at 1 pm

Saturday, September 19: NJROTC @ Early Bird Competition in Albuquerque

Sunday, September 20: RMCAC New Mexico College Fair, Albuquerque Convention Center. Click here for more information and to register.

Friday, September 25: Honor Orchestra

Wednesday, September 30: UNM String Faculty - Orchestra All-State Clinic

Saturday, October 3: Topper Marching Band @ Los Lunas Invite

Wednesday, October 21: PSAT/NMSQT

The PSAT/NMSQT will be given at Los Alamos High School on Wednesday, October 21. All 9th and 10th graders will take this test.

Juniors who wish to take the test to qualify for the National Merit Scholarship program may use this link to register. The cost is $25. The link is also available in the Class of 2028 Google Classroom.

Only juniors wishing to take the PSAT/NMSQT must complete the registration form and pay the test fee.

Contact Jacqueline Nolen at j.nolen@laschools.net if you have any questions.

Registration deadline is Wednesday, October 14.

New Mexico high schools are encouraged to have current 11th and 12th grade students who are serving in elected leadership positions in the current school year apply for the USSYP scholarship competition this year. Elected student leadership positions within your high school’s Student Council, NHS, and other student service organizations may qualify. See program guidelines for rules. Application materials, guidelines and program information can be accessed under the ‘USSY Program’ tab at http://nmassp.org/.

Two scholarship recipients in NM will be selected for a trip to Washington DC this spring and a $12,500 scholarship funded by the William Randolph Hearst Foundation.

Application deadline is Oct. 9, 2026.

The Lensic's Technical Theater Internship program is a free afterschool program that allows high school students to learn the mechanics of live entertainment and theatre through a backstage lens. The program typically hosts 12 students for 15 workshops (most often on Mondays- a tentative schedule is attached) from 5:30-7:30pm at the Lensic.

More information can be found HERE. Additionally, each year we award up to $5000 in scholarship funds for outstanding graduating seniors who have completed the program.

Students and educators are invited to the NASA TechRise Virtual Field Trip on Sept. 22. Hear from Dr. Kevin Crosby, a visiting research scientist at NASA’s Johnson Space Center; participate in a live Q&A; and learn about high-altitude balloons and the NASA TechRise Student Challenge. Schools can receive $1,500 to develop and launch a student-designed experiment.

Learn about the challenge or RSVP for the virtual field trip.

Ways to Get Involved

• Share the challenge: Use the 2026–27 promotional resources, including graphics, a video and sample social media and newsletter content.

• Sign up: Educators can register through the challenge website.

• Request an information session: Complete this form to invite a NASA TechRise team member to speak with your organization.

• Recruit judges: Share this sample outreach email with STEM professionals interested in judging challenge entries.

• Get assistance: Email techrise@futureengineers.org for additional information or resources.

Now that the 2026–2027 school year is well underway, keeping our students and staff safe remains at the heart of everything we do. To maintain a safe and supportive campus environment, Los Alamos Public Schools uses the Standard Response Protocol (SRP), providing a consistent, trusted emergency response plan for our staff, students, and first responders.

Our district utilizes five core protocols depending on the situation:

• Hold: Activated when a hallway or common area needs to be kept clear due to an incident such as a medical emergency, localized hazard, or altercation. Classroom learning continues as normal with doors closed.

• Secure : Used when there is a potential threat or hazard outside the building, such as nearby police activity or dangerous wildlife. All exterior doors are locked, and staff and students remain safely inside while normal business continues.

• Shelter: Implemented during environmental or weather hazards (such as tornadoes or hazardous materials). Everyone moves to designated safe shelter areas within the facility.

• Evacuate: Used to move students and staff out of the building to a safe assembly location outside following established routes.

• Lockdown: Activated in the event of an immediate threat inside the building. Classroom doors are locked, lights are turned off, and everyone moves out of sight and remains completely silent.

To ensure our campuses are fully prepared, all schools conduct required safety drills during the first four weeks of the school year, including Secure, Lockdown, and evacuation drills followed by ongoing drills throughout the year.

We encourage you to discuss these emergency protocols with your children to reinforce the importance of safety readiness. Thank you for your continued partnership in keeping our school community safe.

Middle school and high school sports schedules are published on RankOne.

The Atomic City Transit is also available. Click here to view bus schedules.

Nine Los Alamos High School Seniors Named Semifinalists In 2027 National Merit® Scholarship Program

Get Ready For Homecoming 2026 In Los Alamos

Los Alamos Hilltoppers Girls Soccer Wins 2026 Academy Tournament Championship

The Los Alamos Middle School PTO offers a huge thanks to Papa Murphy’s for hosting a delicious fundraiser in support of our PTO! We’re also so grateful to everyone who stopped by and bought pizza—your support helps make great things happen at our school.

Read more about afterschool programs, events and activities in the Community Programs newsletter.

There are many opportunities for students and families outside of school. Check out the Community Events page on the LAPS website to see what is happening around town.

Please note that the Los Alamos Public Schools neither endorses nor sponsors the organization or activity promoted in this document. The distribution of this material is provided on an equal basis as a community service. Some fliers/brochures may contain links to external websites.

Upcoming Events

Check out the Los Alamos County Fall Activity Guide for more events and activities happening around town. Go to https://issuu.com/laccsd/docs/2026_los_alamos_county_fall_activity_guide.

Board Members

Current members of the LAPS School Board include President Sondra Wyman (District 5); Vice President Lauren Coupland (District 3); Secretary Melanie Colgan (District 4); Elisa Baker (District 1) and Antonio Jaurigue (District 2)

Secret City eSports is looking for a new Head Coach, as well as Assistant Coaches for a number of video game titles. Please consider being a coach if you are a gamer and would like to work with students.

Coaches are needed for these game titles: Overwatch 2, Splatoon 3, Marvel Rivals, MarioKart 8, Rocket League, Fortnite: Elimination Wars, Brawlhalla, and Tetris Effect Connected.

If you don't know how to play, but would like to help out, we are still needing Volunteer Coaches on Wednesdays from 4 pm - 7 pm. Please reach out to Libbi Lovejoy at l.lovejoy@laschools.net if you are interested, or have any questions.

Los Alamos High School is looking for a Head Coach for Girls Wrestling. Go to https://laschools.schoolspring.com/ for more information (posting 578).

Join the LAPS team as an Educational Assistant. Positions available at all school sites. Go to https://laschools.schoolspring.com/ for more information and to apply.