The LMS Express

Hello all,

I'd like to start with a big thank you to our students for their hard work on the SAS testing we've been doing these past couple of weeks. Standardized testing is not the preferred activity of just about any of our students, but we can see the effort and focus they've been demonstrating. And we appreciate it!

We are squarely in "end-of-year" and "eye on next year" mode at LMS. Transition meetings between grade level teams and teachers are happening, schedules and rosters are being worked on, and the excitement is high! I hope everyone has a restful and meaningful weekend.

Friendly reminder that school is closed on Monday in recognition of Memorial Day.

Be Well,

Tom

Monday, May 25th - No School, Memorial Day

Wednesday, May 27th - School Board Meeting, 6:30 p.m.

Tuesday, June 2nd - "New to LMS" Parent/Guardian Information Night, 5:30 p.m.

Friday, June 5th - 5th Grade "Countries of the World" Celebration

Friday, June 5th - 8th Grade Dinner/Dance, 5:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.

Tuesday, June 9th - Step-Up Day

Wednesday, June 10th - Spring Carnival/7th Grade to Leb Pool/8th Grade to Sunapee

Thursday, June 11th - Last Day of School/LMS Recognition Ceremony/11:30 Dismissal

For next year...

Wednesday, August 26th - First Day of School!

As we head into the long weekend, we want to take a moment to recognize the true meaning of Memorial Day. While it’s a time for rest and family, it is primarily a day to honor the brave men and women who lost their lives in service to our country.

For information about Lebanon's Memorial Day Parade, please click here.

Our annual LMS Recognition Ceremony will be held on the last day of school - Thursday, June 11th, 2026 from 9:45-11:00. Below is some important information.

• Each 8th graders will be given 3 tickets to allow family & friends to attend the Recognition Ceremony.

• All 7th grade students will be present in the gym to watch the ceremony and celebrate the 8th graders

• Anyone who is not able to attend the ceremony will be able to watch virtually through a livestream link. We’ll provide that link a couple of days before the ceremony.

• Current LMS students with an 8th grade sibling are invited to attend the event as well, and that “doesn’t count” as one of the 8th grader’s tickets.

• 5th, 6th, and 7th graders will participate in ceremonies at the school, recognizing students that have been selected as winners of LMS Pride Awards by their teachers. These ceremonies take place prior to the last day of school, they are short and sweet, and families do not attend.

• “Last Day Lunch” - Students will have the opportunity to order a bagged lunch for the last day of school.

• Dismissal will be at 11:30.

Please reach out if you have any questions.

Please remember that PHYSICALS ARE REQUIRED FOR ALL STUDENTS IN 7th, 9th and 11th GRADES

*If you have a 6th grade student who has had a physical in 2026, please send it to the school nurse as that will count for their required 7th grade physical.

*If you have a 7th grade student, please make sure you have sent the school nurse a physical for them either dated in 2025 or 2026.

*If you have a 8th grade student and are not sure if you sent the school nurse a physical for their 7th grade year, please reach out to the nurse to find out.

*If your 8th grade student has had a physical in 2026, please send it to the school nurse as this will count for their required 9th grade physical, and they will be ready for high school in the fall! :)

*If your student is a 5th grader, feel free to send me anything! I always welcome student health information.

Thank you to all of you who have sent me this medical information! Having this information helps me to take care of your student(s) in the safest and most informed way possible.

And just like that we are staring at the end of the school year! While the library continues to be open, books and materials stop circulating a couple of weeks before the last day of school. With hundreds of books in circulation right now, please mark your calendars for our final due date of 2025-26!

***All books checked out by students must be returned by Wednesday, May 27. ***

This allows us time to follow up with overdues, track down missing items, prepare to inventory our collection and order replacement copies when necessary.

Access to SORA ebooks, audiobooks and magazines will continue to be available all year long! Ebooks in Destiny are also always available. We also have audiobooks available on Learning Ally! Summer Reading information will be out soon.

The school district is gathering input regarding the use of federal grant funds. One of the ways that we do this is through a survey. This survey is in addition to the larger data-gathering process that we must undertake this year; this one is the simpler form that we complete annually your input is valuable and appreciated!

Here is a link to the survey.

The Lost & Found bins are full. Please encourage your students to begin collecting their items. The tables will be set up from May 26th - June 5th. Parents are welcome to browse the tables from 2:45pm - 3:45pm. All items left on June 5th will be donated to Listen.

This is a reminder that home chromebooks and chargers are to be returned by Friday, May 29th. Per the signed agreement, failure to return chromebooks will cost $100.00 and unreturned chargers are $25.00. Thank you for your help in getting all of these items returned.

After a full year of diving deep into environmental science, our 6th graders finally took the plunge! Last week, students headed to Mascoma Lake for the grand finale of a curriculum that has spanned across science, social studies, language arts, Lit Lab, and math classrooms all year long.

This wasn't just a day away from desks; it was the realization of months of intensive planning by our dedicated teaching team. Students spent the day testing water quality, measuring slope, and acting as citizen scientists to capture the importance of plant diversity, and observing firsthand how our local ecosystem functions as a connected whole. Seeing the concepts of erosion, filtration, and biodiversity come to life in the wild was a powerful reminder of why we do this work.

This incredible hands-on experience was made possible by generous grants from the Mascoma Watershed Conservation Council and the Byrne Family Foundation. Their investments in our students allowed us to secure professional testing equipment and transportation, turning a classroom dream into a muddy, meaningful reality. Our teaching team looks forward to continuing this cross-curricular, place-based project next year and beyond.

Please click on the link to view photos from the 6th grade activity night:
LMS-GVS 6th Grade Activity Night 5.15.26.

Students in Mrs. Sturtz's science class take the DNA out of a strawberry during their recent Extraction Lab.

On Saturday, May 9th, eleven students (five for band and six for choir) participated in the Northern District Music Festival in Plymouth, NH. This opportunity includes students from all over the northern district of New Hampshire. Students from Lebanon Middle School include (from choir) Jonah Ahern, Rorie McDowell, Carter Moote, Maggie O’Connor, John Stone, and Natalie Thakur. From the band, we had Grace Mlodzik, Kenzie Beglinger, Lexi Wetmore, Henry Volpe, and Daniel Achord.

Students from around the state participated in the Elementary Honors Choir on Friday, April 17th in Concord NH. The students worked on the music before attending, and all came together for a full day rehearsal. The theme for this concert was “Birds” with all the music connected to birds! There were several students from the Lebanon Elementary Schools that participated, as well as Nuala Ahern, Diya Kashyap and Liza Purcell from Lebanon Middle School. Congratulations to all those involved!

On Wednesday May 20th, the Lebanon Middle School presented their Spring Concert! We had many students performing, between the beginner lesson students, fifth grade band, seventh and eighth grade band, jazz band, fifth and sixth grade choir, seventh and eighth grade choir and the treble makers! Everyone did an amazing job! We performed to a packed audience at Lebanon Opera House, and over 500 people were streaming from home!

LMS 8th graders participated in an advisory meeting to discuss end of year events. We talked about the Ice Cream Social at the Upper Valley Senior Center, Step-Up Day, the trip to Lake Sunapee, and the 8th grade Recognition Ceremony. So many fun events to wrap up their time at LMS!

In Mrs. Lemelin’s, Mrs. Marquis’, and Mrs. Proper’s science classes, students have been investigating properties of matter. In one of our labs, students were testing 5 white substances to see if they had a chemical reaction that resulted in bubbles or a color change. They then tested a mystery substance to match with the data that they collected to make a claim about which substance it was.

In another experiment, students tested the substances, baking soda, purple liquid, and baking powder to see how they react with acids. Could they show us how acidic a substance is? Students selected one of the above substances. Then they tested common foods with it to determine whether they were acidic or not. Ask your student about these fun experiments they completed in class.

After reading and analysing Shakespeare for about 6 weeks, students enjoyed presenting portions of Midsummer Night's Dream for their respective classes. Students are seen here practicing before the big day. Loads of fun had by all!

Friday was “M” day in the 5th grade countdown to the end of school. M stands for minute to win it, and Mrs. Lavigne’s advisory students practicing their dexterity by using chopsticks to sort skittles by color. A challenging task for sure. Our winner was Kirsten D with 15 skittles!

As part of Mental Health Awareness Month, the LMS Wellness Committee (aka WELLMS) has sponsored a Bingo game with prizes encouraging students to "Stop the Stigma" around mental health. Charlie made a sign that now hangs in the main office. Thank you, Charlie!

Final PTO Meeting of the Year!

Our last PTO meeting for this school year is Wednesday, June 3 at 6:30 PM in the LMS library or on Google Meet. We'll be holding elections for the next LMS PTO board and sketching out next year's events. New members, including parents of rising 5th graders, are welcome!

Music Committee

First, an enormous thank you to folks who donated baked goods and their time during the concert this week. Our fundraiser was a big success! We'll also have a quick meeting before the regular PTO meeting on Wednesday, June 3 at 6:00 PM in the LMS library.

Visit our website for meeting and event information!

The LMS Podcast channel can be found here.

Entering our 33rd successful year, we are excited to bring the camp once again to the Upper Valley at the Lebanon High School Campus.

We provide a program that specializes in the soccer skills development of all positions and is open top Boys and Girls ages 7-14.

Many of our coaches are educators as well as players and understand the physical and psychological development of the participants we work with.

The camp will take place at LHS from July 13 to July 17, 2026.

We also offer a Half Day or Full Day Program.

Financial assistance available to any SAU88 Employee with multiple children attending the camp.

For more details, visit our website: www.soccerskillcamp.org

Small Group Training (SGT)

SGT training combines the benefits of working with a personal trainer and the energy of a team. Get individual attention and accountability.

SESSIONS: May 12 - June 4

Ages 11-15

Tuesdays and Thursdays 4-5 pm

The Camp K Leadership in Training (LIT) Program is a fun and hands-on opportunity for middle school students ages 12-13 (as of June 30th) who want to build leadership skills while being part of an exciting summer camp environment. LITs start with a one-week training experience where they learn teamwork, problem solving, activity leadership, and how to support campers and staff. After training, they spend at least two weeks working alongside counselors with campers, gaining real experience mentoring younger students, leading games and activities, and building confidence as leaders. The program is designed to help students grow their communication skills, responsibility, and teamwork while being part of the Camp K community.

For 2026, the LIT program is $130 for Lebanon residents and $160 for nonresidents. There is financial aid available through our Leb Rec website here, and Listen is offering summer camp financial aid as well that participants are able to apply to our camp programs.

Application information can be found here Handbook and Application

We're excited to share that we have a limited number of spots still available for boys in Session 1 (June 21st-26th) this summer! While other sessions are currently full and have started waitlisting, we encourage families to add their children to the waitlist in case spots become available.

We would love to partner with you in sharing this opportunity with your students and their families. Attached is a flyer that can be posted on your school's bulletin boards or shared through your school website or email communications. We would love to provide a memorable summer experience for some of your students!

A little more about Camp Downer - Our mission is to provide a positive and affordable camping experience for youth in a safe, constructive, and welcoming environment. We offer a wide range of activities, including athletic sports, shooting sports, swimming, canoeing and kayaking, fishing, tent camping, theatre, arts & crafts, and more. Camp Downer fosters a strong sense of community and provides a safe and supportive environment where campers can learn, grow, and make lifelong friends!

If distributing this information isn't within your scope, I would appreciate being connected with the right person to share this opportunity with students' families. I’m happy to answer any questions you have. You can reach me by calling Amy Koch at (802) 276-4420.

On Saturday, June 6th from 10am–2pm, New Hampshire 4-H will host a statewide Day of Service: 6.8 Miles for End 68 Hours of Hunger. Youth and families from across NH will gather at one of two community hubs to walk relay-style, participate in hands-on activities, and raise funds to help ensure children have enough food between Friday school lunch and Monday breakfast. This event is open to all ages, and families do not need to be 4-H members to participate. The two community hubs are:

• UNH Outdoor Track: ADA accessible
• Gunstock Mountain Resort: Trail walk with different activity stops throughout

If you have any questions or would like additional materials, please feel free to reach out to me directly at Kristen.Lyons@unh.edu. We hope your school community will join us for this joyful and purposeful day.

The Swim With A Mission (SWAM) essay contest is open to students in NH and MA, grades 3-8 and give students an opportunity to reflect on America’s 250th. Students are encouraged to share their voices via an essay consisting of 3-5 paragraphs on their choice of the prompts below. There will be a winner chosen from two age groups: grades 3-5 and grades 6-8. Submission deadline is June 12th.

Choose from one of the following prompts

• What does America mean to you?
• What does Freedom mean to you?
• A 250th Birthday Wish To America
• Tell us about a Veteran in your life and what their service means to you

One winner will be selected from each age group, and the winners will be invited to read their essays at Mission 250: Honoring Our Heroes Event at Tuscan Village in Salem on July 12th.

Email your essay to info@swam.org with the subject line, “250th Essay Competition – Name, Grade, and School)”.

The Hartford Area Career and Technology Center is offering two FREE summer camps during the week of June 22-26, 2026. The Summer Tech Camp is being offered in the morning and is open to all students entering 7th, 8th, or 9th grades in the fall. Students will have the opportunity to explore 10 hands-on activities; some past examples include basic welding, making strawberry jam, exploring circuits, and building a mini cornhole board. The Computer Camp is being offered in the afternoon and is open to girls and gender-expansive youth entering 7th, 8th, or 9th grades in the fall. Students will have the opportunity to practice basic coding and programming and learn more about cybersecurity. There will also be guest speakers from the industry.

To register for Summer Tech Camp in the mornings, please complete and submit THIS online application.

To register for Girls Computer Camp in the afternoons, please complete and submit THIS online application.

At ERDC’s Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory (CRREL), we develop innovative solutions for science and engineering challenges in extreme environments.

Our mission is to solve interdisciplinary, strategically important problems impacting Warfighters and the nation in cold and complex regions. We accomplish this mission by utilizing a broad spectrum of sciences that include biogeochemical, terrestrial, cryospheric, and geographical informational, as well as mechanical and electrical engineering.

Every summer we are proud to sponsor a Gains in the Education of Mathematics and Science (GEMS) camp for local students that are currently in grades 6th through 8th.

GEMS is a week-long day camp that runs June 22 – 26, 2026 from 08:30am to 4:30pm and is held at the Richmond Middle School in Hanover NH.

This is a wonderful opportunity for students that are interested in STEM learning with the Scientists and Researchers who work in the field. Below is an informational flyer and instructions on how to apply for GEMS Camp.

Office: ML263 - Phone: 603-646-4298

Michele.B.Burns@usace.army.mil

NESA Summer Camps & June Ballet Series

New England School of the Arts still has room in its summer camp programming for students interested in the arts, legos, creativity, movement, and performance. Camps offer a fun and supportive arts-centered experience, and this year’s programming also includes swim lessons.

NESA is also launching a full NESA Ballet program for the 2026-2027 school year. Families interested in ballet are invited to participate in the June Ballet Series, which will introduce students to the program and help guide future class placement.

Learn more or register for summer camp at: https://www.nesarts.org/about-summercamp

Learn more or register for our June Ballet series: https://www.nesarts.org/june-ballet-series

Comfort Zone Camp, 501(c)3 nonprofit dedicated to transforming the lives of children and families who have experienced the death of a parent, sibling, or guardian.

All of our programing is free-of-charge and we are excited to announce our new camp location in Brookline, NH:

• August 14-16 - Camp Tevya, Brookline, NH

• for ages 7-17

• Register here: https://comfortzonecamp.org/event/new-hampshire-weekend-camp-programs-for-ages-7-17/

• Flyer: https://comfortzonecamp.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/2026-Southern-New-Hampshire-Camp-Flyer.pdf

CZC provides a safe, nurturing environment where kids can have traditional camp fun, while at the same time acquiring tools to help them cope with their loss. Since 1998, Comfort Zone Camp has helped over 27,000 children – all at no cost to families.

HELPFUL LINKS:

• Watch a short video about camp: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NRiq8loFDec
• Learn more about sending a child to Comfort Zone Camp: https://comfortzonecamp.org/camper-parents/
• Volunteer opportunities: https://comfortzonecamp.org/volunteers/

Together we can help grieving children feel less alone,

Krista Collopy

Senior Regional Director

Comfort Zone Camp

PO Box 301 | Basking Ridge, NJ 07920

kcollopy@comfortzonecamp.org | (201) 632-3520 | www.comfortzonecamp.org

SAU88 District Calendar (2025-2026)

2026-2027 School Year Calendar

LMS Lunch Menu

LMS PTO Page

LMS Athletics & Co-Curricular Offerings

Elm Team (8th Grade) Homework Page

Willow Team (7th Grade) Homework Page

Spruce Team (6th Grade) Homework Page

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