Dear LCMS Bobcat Family and Friends:
Today, while entering LCMS, I saw an Actias luna moth. I quickly learned that these beautiful creatures are indigenous to Louisa from my staff and students. How amazing, and what a great way to start a Friday!
Presently, we are in the midst of auditioning students for the LCMS Morning Announcers, who will be assisting me with delivering important messages every day over the PA system. I am happy to report that Ms. Purcell (Guidance Counselor for Grade 8) and I have auditioned over 75 interested students. We look forward to hearing the first group of our Morning Announcements beginning Monday, August 22. What a great way to begin our school day by listening to our students delivering the Pledge of Allegiance, a Moment of Silence, and other vital messages to our school community.
Much learning has occurred during this week. We further practiced a bus evacuation drill, an earthquake and fire drill, and a lock down drill this week to ensure the safety of all of our students.
As always, please feel free to contact me atchenlc@lcps.k12.va.us if you have questions, concerns, or any feedback that you would like to share.
The following are some important updates and announcements.
Announcements
LCMS and LCHS Administrative Teams Meet with LCPS Bus Drivers – Thursday, August 21
After our bus evacuation drill on Thursday, August 21, Kenny Forrest (Director of Transportation) as well as the principals and assistant principals of the middle and high schools met with our hard working bus drivers to problem solve and discuss any potential issues on the bus. We discussed the importance of safety and ensuring that school rules are consistent and followed by our students on the bus. If you could please remind your child that school rules extend on the bus as well, we would greatly appreciate your support. Thank you!
Girls’ Soccer Meeting – Wednesday, August 27
For those students in Grades 8 through 12 who are interested in Girls’ Soccer, please come to the LCMS Cafeteria to obtain more information after school. If your child wishes to attend this meeting, your child must have a ride home by 4:30 p.m. If your child is unable to attend this meeting because of transportation issues, please have her inform one of her friends to pick up the information. For questions, please contact Terry Marks @ markstl@lcps.k12.va.us or Nikki Hankinson (Grade 6 Social Studies Teacher and LCHS Assistant Girls’ Soccer Coach at hankinna@lcps.k12.va.us
LCMS Fall Sports Meeting – Wednesday, August 27
Student athletes participating in a LCMS Fall sport should plan on attending the parent meeting on Wednesday, August 27 at 6:00 p.m. in the LCMS Forum. Information and expectations will be shared by the coaches during that time. We look forward to seeing you there!
Dangers of Social Media Presentation –Thursday, August 28
Rusty McGuire, Louisa County Commonwealth's Attorney, will present "Dangers of Social Media: Tips for Parents to Help Keep Kids Safe" in the Louisa County Middle School Forum from 6:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, August 28.This important presentation was cancelled last year due to inclement weather and ensuing scheduling conflicts. Topics to be covered will include cyberbullying, sexting, and social and legal impacts of online behaviors.
LCMS Wrestling Program Update
The Middle School Wrestling program has grown tremendously over the past few years! In order to build a robust program and to introduce more students to the exciting world of wrestling, this program has added more wrestlers each year. This season will consist of more matches and tournaments with the addition of some great competition. A rotational match schedule has been added that the Richmond Collegiate School has even organized. In this round, LCMS wrestlers will face very competitive teams throughout the Richmond area along with the original scheduled teams in the Louisa district area. This rotation will consist of Richmond Collegiate, New Kent (an elite middle school wrestling program), Dinwiddie, Powhatan, and Benedictine. This is a great opportunity for our student athletes as they will wrestle with the best competitors in the State! Coaches Ty Boyer (Special Education teacher for Grades 6, 7, and 8), Trevor Gallo (Business teacher for Grades 6, 7, and 8), and Dan Leale (Grade 6 Math teacher) are excited about this program, and the potential growth for our future wrestlers at LCMS!
Emergency Drill Practices
Please remind your child that during an earthquake drill, the procedure is to drop and cover regardless of where they are. If a student happens to be in the hallway when the drill occurs, the student should get up against the wall on either side of the hallway, drop, and cover up. If the student is in the bathroom, he or she should do the same thing; that is, to get up against the wall, drop, and cover up.
This procedure is different than the protocol for a fire drill. During a fire drill, a student in the hall should exit the building from the closest exist and inform an adult who he or she is and who his or her teacher is. If the student is in the bathroom, he or she should exit the bathroom and then leave the building and inform an adult who he or she is and who his or her teacher is. We greatly appreciate your support and assistance in reviewing these procedures with your child as practicing these drills ensures the safety of your child and others.
Per State requirements and to ensure students’ well-being, hearing and vision checks will be conducted on students by the nurse on Wednesday, August 27 andThursday, August 28.
LCMS Food Protocol
To ensure the safety of all students, LCMS has established food protocols when food is being used in the classroom as some of our students are allergic to certain foods. The LCMS Food Protocol entails that lesson plans are sent in to the principal two weeks prior to the lesson and checked off by the nurse and the principal. A letter is further sent home to parents including the foods being used. An alternative assignment is provided to those students who are allergic to such foods.
Regarding students wishing to bring in cupcakes to share during lunch only, parents should include a list of ingredients and to whom the cupcakes will be distributed two days before the student wishes to bring in their cupcakes. This will allow the nurse the appropriate amount of time to check through the ingredients and to ensure that the students receiving those cupcakes are not allergic to those ingredients. Once approved, the nurse will contact the parent, and the student should drop off their cupcakes in the Main Office that morning. That student can then pick up his or her cupcakes on his or her way to lunch to distribute them during lunch.
It is critically important to abide by these protocols so that the nurse will have the appropriate time to check the ingredients and the list of students as some students may be allergic to the ingredients. Failure to abide to this timeline will result in your child not being able to distribute his or her cupcakes. We need your assistance please in this area because we want our students to have the opportunity to share their cupcakes, while at the same time we need to ensure that all students are safe when consuming them.
ACE Block, ELL Programming, TAG Programming, and Clubs
This week, students have been involved with taking a series of pre-tests to ensure appropriate placement and to assist teachers in planning for instruction for classroom instruction and ACE Block, which occurs at the last period of the day. This year, students will have the opportunity to receive additional help and acquire essential writing and reading skills during ACE Block.
Programs for students whose first language is not English (ELL Program) and for those students who are involved in the gifted and talented program (TAG Program) will occur in mid to late September. More information about these programs will be forthcoming.
Students will also have the opportunities to sign up for clubs in September. As the time approaches, students will be informed about these clubs.
Student Schedule for Monday, August 25 to Friday, August 29
On August 25 (A): 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 1 (This is a “A” day for electives. Students go to Period 1, Period 2, Period 3, Period 4, Period 5, and then for the last period of the day, students return back to their Period 1 class.)
On August 25 (A): 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 1
On August 26 (B): 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 2
On August 27 (A): 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 3
On August 28 (B): 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 4
On August 29 (A): 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 5
On September 2, Ace block rotation begins.
The aforementioned schedule was designed to provide teachers with more classroom instruction as this week will be interrupted by drills.
Important Upcoming Dates –Added information and dates are marked in purple.
Wednesday, August 27: Grade 7 Hearing and Vision Test with Nurse
Wednesday, August 27: Girls’ Soccer Information @ LCMS Cafeteria after school
Wednesday, August 27: LCMS Parent Advisory Council with Dr. Chen @ Roma Italian Restaurant from 6:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.
Wednesday, August 27: PTA Meeting @ Roma Italian Restaurant from 7:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.
Friday, August 29: Dance and football game @ LCMS Cafeteria from 3:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.
Monday, September 1: Labor Day Holiday. School is closed.
Friday, September 12: Interim report cards for First Nine Weeks go home with student.
Friday, September 19: Dance and football game @ LCMS Cafeteria from 3:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.
Wednesday, September 24: Student picture day
Friday, October 10: First nine weeks end.
Thursday, October 16: Blue Ridge Governor’s School for Grade 8 students and parents with Ms. Jennifer Purcell @ LCMS Forum at 6:30 p.m.
Friday, October 17: Report cards for First Nine Weeks go home with student.
Tuesday, October 21: Parent/Teacher Conference @ LCMS from 3:30 p.m. to 5:00p.m. by appointment/ 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. walk-in’s.
Friday, October 31: Dance and football game @ LCMS Cafeteria from 3:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.
Thank you for taking the time to read these updates. As I will say to my students each day, “This is important. You belong here. Effort makes a difference.”
With warm regards,
Lisa C. Chen
