Future Patriots Newsletter

Dear Future Patriot Families,

I hope you are enjoying June!

Thank you for the great questions and feedback from our first Future Patriots newsletter. I wanted to send one more newsletter to you all this week to answer the questions that came from our first one. Then, in July, your students will roll over to our PowerSchool roster and you will start to receive our school-wide newsletter, The Patriot Pride. The Patriot Pride comes out one or two times a month to share information about the happenings at LBMS.

In this edition of the Future Patriots newsletter, we are going to introduce you to our staff, answer some of the questions you all have asked, and share any updates we have for you!

Please continue to submit questions via the link provided at the end of this newsletter. We want to ensure we have answered as many of your questions as possible. We want you and your students to have the BEST elementary to middle school transition!

As always, please email me or call the school if I can answer questions or concerns for you. My email is walkerk@jcschools.org and LBMS' phone number is 423-232-2192.

I cannot wait to have your students here at the school with us each day, but until then, I hope you enjoy every moment of summer break.

Patriot Proud,

Kelsey Walker, LBMS Principal

Important Dates to Note:

July 31, 4:00-5:30pm Meet and Greet

August 4 - First Full Day of School

We had a few building moves this summer, and our 6th grade team colors have changed from last year. Now, 6th grade teams will be Gray, Navy, Orange, and Purple. This may not mean much to you right now, but in late July, you will recieve a letter in the mail letting you know on which of these teams your student has been placed. At that time, you will know your student's teachers, which building they will be in, and who you will come to meet at our Meet & Greet on Thursday, July 31st. This is a drop in style evening from 4:00-5:30pm. 6th Grade teams also plan to have team meetings at the beginning of the school year, but those team teachers will give you more information at the beginning of the school year.

All students in 6th Grade will take Math, ELA, Social Studies, and Science. Additionally, each 6th grader will have two related arts classes a day. Some of our related arts classes include: band, chorus, orchestra, theatre, STEM, art, digital media, computer science, word masters, intervention courses, RTI, PE, and more! Our music courses are filled by sign-up only; many of you have decided to enroll in a music course. We are so thrilled about this!

Our intervention courses are chosen for students by a needs basis, and you will recieve more information about those courses at the beginning of school if your student is enrolled. All other related arts courses are assigned so that students get a variety of courses over the year. When students get to 8th grade, they will get some opportunities to choose more specialized related arts courses. 6th Graders are assigned to these courses to get a feel for what kind of CTE, academics, and special interests they may want to explore later in middle school.

A huge change from elementary school to middle school is drop-off and pick-up, including our start and end times (7:40am-2:40pm). Here at LBMS, your entry point for the mornings will occur in one of two places: outside of the front office through the red ramp entrance doors, or in the back of the building through the plaza to the blue breezeway doors. For students who ride the bus, they will enter and exit each day from their team to the plaza/bus loading circle.

For car riders, the location of your drop-off and pick-up will depend upon your team placement. Red building car riders enter and exit through the front of the school (Parking lot C) and blue building car riders enter and exit out of the plaza to the Freedom Hall parking lot (Parking lot B). We will work on some photos and videos to help all of you see this process. Additionally, we will have maps and pictures included in the team placement letter you will receive over the summer.

Of course, we work with sibling pairs to make convenient drop-offs/pick-ups and also with our walkers! Many, many students stay after for sports and clubs, too.

If your student rides a bus or may ride a bus anytime throughout the year, you will need to fill out a transit request form. These were given out at your student's elementary school before the end of the year. If you are not sure if you have completed one or not, please email Lauren McGrew (our registrar) at mcgrewl@jcschools.org, or call our front office at 4232322192 and ask to speak to Mrs. McGrew. If a student does not have a bus form on the first day of school, they CANNOT ride the bus. Please let us know if you can help in your transportation planning conversations with your students.

One core belief of our school is that we want kids to learn academically, behaviorally, and socially. Part of that growth comes from being connected to our school! We believe that every student can find an interest here at school. We want to help your student find the athletic team, fine arts program, academic group, or club that interests them. Creating a sense of belonging for your student is very important to us, so please take a look at the information in this newsletter as each update comes out and talk with your student about getting involved! We are here to help and look forward to hearing from you with any questions you may have.

Options for sports and clubs are outlined below. In this section of the Future Patriots newsletter, we will add information for sports and clubs as they develop and become available. Once school starts next August, there will be announcements and updates in our school's Patriot Pride newsletter about all of these!

To participate in any sport or try-out, students must have a physical uploaded to RankOne: https://www.rankone.com/. This is our website for safely rostering all teams with the school and with TMSAA. It is mostly user-friendly if you are well-versed in the online world, but for some of us, this may be difficult - please know we are here to help! If you need any help with this, please call 4232322192. If your sport doesn't start until next school year, you can get help at our Patriot Preview event. If you are trying out before that evening, please reach out to burgessa@jcschools.org for help and assistance.

49% of our current student population is involved in a fine arts program here at LBMS! We are proud of that number and hope to continue watching it grow! We had a significant number of students sign up for music programs at the end of the school year. If your student missed it and is still interested, please let us know by emailing walkerk@jcschools.org or mcgrewl@jcschools.org.

We are so fortunate to have a great counseling team here at LBMS. Pictured from left to right: Ms. Crawford (Care Counselor), Ms, Justice (Care Counselor), Ms. Green (Frontier Health), Mr. Johns (6th Grade Counselor), Joey (our 4-legged counselor for ALL students and staff), Ms. Scott (7th Grade Counselor), and Mrs. Johnson (8th Grade Counselor).

At the beginning of the school year, the counselors will circulate among the students and communicate with them the ways in which they can reach out to counselors. Parents and guardians are always welcome to communicate with our counselors via email.

Pictured from Left to Right, Dr. Lucretia Stephens (6th Grade Principal), Mr. Damon Mazoff (8th Grade Principal), Dr. Kelsey Walker (School Principal), and Mrs. Jennifer Hillman (7th Grade Principal). Our administration cares deeply for our students and staff. We work diligently to support all of our students through present and caring relationships, clear and direct discipline, creative and individualized scheduling and student team placement. We cannot wait to get to know our newest students and journey along the middle school experience with you!

All teams currently use ParentSquare to stay in touch with families. Teams typically communicate at least once a week. A school "Patriot Pride" newsletter comes out every 1-2 weeks, with many updates throughout the week sent via ParentSquare. Additionally, email is a great way to communicate with our staff here at LBMS. Email addresses can be found here on the JCS website.

One of the things that often make our incoming 6th graders the most nervous is learning how to use their lockers! This practice sheet is a helpful way to begin practicing. Last year, a parent told us that you can get locks for $1 at the Dollar Store to help with practicing over the summer. Even though our locks are built into the lockers and the Dollar Store lock combination won't be their actual combination, the practice makes it MUCH easier once they do get their locker the first week of school. 6th graders are expected to use their lockers and won't be allowed to carry backpacks around the school building until they are in 7th or 8th grade.

Does LBMS offer Educare or After School Care?

We do not. However, a LARGE majority of our students stay after for sports, clubs, tutoring, etc. Additionally, around September, we will open applications for a Homework Club which has traditionally been a program that runs Monday-Thursday from 2:40-5:30. This is pending grant funding, but we have several families who use this for after-school help as well.

What is the homework load for middle schoolers?

The answer to this varies significantly from 6th-8th grade. Our 6th graders will have a moderate amount of homework for math practice and reading. A majority of the homework in 6th grade is to complete any work that has not been finished in class and indepedent reading time.

Do Middle School students still do Accelerated Reader (AR)?

We do not. Instead we do Independent Reading (IR). Each grade level requires students to read independently and be held accountable via Whooosereading quizzes, class projects, etc. We still believe that reading often and always is essential to progressing our learning and abilities. It just looks very different than AR!

Much of the information in this newsletter was generated from questions we have received from 5th graders' parents. Please feel free to continue submitting questions using the button below, and we will answer the most frequently asked questions in the next update!

Back the Bell is the WAY OF LIFE for Liberty Bell. We work to communicate ways to support our athletes, musicians, academic clubs, competition teams - every kid! When school starts, look out for ways to Back the Bell in the Back the Bell section of our newsletter. We will announce home games, performance events, and special family nights for LBMS.