Principal's Update for January 25, 2016

Dear LCMS Bobcat Family and Friends:

I hope all of you are staying warm and dry. I would like to personally thank David
Szalankiewicz, the Director of Facilities, and his entire crew for working so diligently, even today, to ensure the safety of our facilities. As you know, there is no school tomorrow on Monday, January 25.

Until then, I would like to share with your some exciting news of what had occurred last week at LCMS.

As always, please feel free to contact me at chenlc@lcps.k12.va.us if you have questions, concerns, or anything that you would like to share.

The following are some important updates and announcements.

Announcements
Morning Announcers – Robert Sheedy and KeiAhja Shelton
Robert Sheedy and KeiAhja Shelton did an outstanding job with morning announcements! They were clear in their delivery of messages and enunciated each word with great accuracy. Without their help, Morning Announcements would not be as fun, enjoyable, or even as informative. Our two guest speakers will be: Brynn Straley and Courtney Toews.

Battle of the Books Competition – Saturday, January 9
The Battle of the Book competition was hosted by Warrenton Middle School. Over forty teams participated in this event. LCMS had two teams in the competition. The Grimm Readers came in 2nd place, and The Pretty Little Readers came in 6th place. Both teams did an outstanding job! Congratulations to Trinity MacDonald, Morgan McKnight, and Amber Thompson of the Grimm Readers as well as to Abbie Alpern, Anne Cassett, Alexis Lagon, Victoria Moore, and Danielle Perry of The Pretty Little Readers. Thank you to Greta Cameron (English 8 teacher), Jennifer Filer (Librarian staff), Conner Waldron (Grade 6 Social Studies teacher), and Laura Watkins (Grade 7 English teacher) for volunteering on Saturday, January 9. A big shout out to Rebecca Baughman (Librarian staff) for your leadership in this club!

Dr. Ken Fan’s Visit to Louisa County Middle School – Tuesday, January 19
On Tuesday, January 19, Dr. Fan visited LCMS to give all three grade levels different math lectures. Dr. Fan shared with Grade 6 students the power of exponents and how exponents can be depicted. 
Grade 6 students saw a video on making Chinese noodles and how Chinese noodles grow exponentially. With Grade 7 students, he talked about the equation of a line and how a mathematical formula was derived to help determine the gender of red tailed hawks with 98% accuracy based on their flight patterns. With Grade 8 students, he explored how concrete and abstract math are interrelated and that Grade 8 math is the cornerstone for calculus. He talked about the formulations of the square and of the cube using simple numbers. 

Dr. Fan then met with various groups of math teachers and their students in Grades 6, 7, and 8 to listen and to observe math instruction at LCMS. Dr. Fan then provided our math teachers with feedback. Later, in the afternoon, Dr. Fan hosted a treasure hunt for 75 of our students. Students in Grades 6, 7, and 8 were asked to solve complex math problems in order to find the combination to a lock, which would unlock their prizes. With only five minutes left, Grade 6 students without the assistance of any adult solved their math riddles with accuracy and unlocked the chest. Students in Grades 7 and 8 are continuing to work on solving the various problems. It is anticipated that they will solve their problems in the very near future.

Dr. Fan’s message was clear: Anyone can do math. It is about hard work, tenacity, and perseverance. Mistakes are inevitable in this journey of learning. It is about the process of learning how to do the problem, and not just the answer itself.

We are thankful for Dr. Fan’s visit, and we look forward to a continual relationship with Dr. Fan and Girl’s Angle.

573 Students Earned A’s and B’s
Congratulations to 573 students who earned all A’s and B’s on their second marking period report cards. One hundred and seventy students earned all A’s. The second marking period Honor Roll signs are in the cafeteria to recognize these students’ hard work and efforts! Congratulations! We are proud of you and your accomplishments.

Spelling Bee Results
Congratulations to the following students who have qualified to compete in the grade-level spelling bees! These are the top ten spellers from each grade level and any other student who earned the same score as the tenth speller. In Grade 6, the following students will be moving onward to the next round: Jakayla Anderson, Makayla Blair, Giovanni Brown, Grace Hannah Buck, Ella Burch, Caiden Davenport, Viktoriya Fomin, Devyn Fox, Asia Leslie, Faith Leslie, and Teena Siribandu. In Grade 7, Haley Alvis, Felicity Barboza, Anne Cassett, Aleigha Chandler, Emily Eppard, Brandan Fowler, Malachi Lawson, Joshua Main, Kaela Morgan, Halee Prueher, Colton Rigsby, Rachel Upshur, and Branden Wood will be moving onward. In Grade 8, these students will move forward to the next round: Ethan Cooley, Madison Fish, Laura Garrett, Ginny Helmandollar, Jakob Johnson, Troy Knighton, Aimea Kuhstoss, Jamieson Powell, Jacob Robey, Ethan Snyder, and Ryan Wheeler.

National Drug and Alcohol Facts Week (NDAFW) – Monday, Jan. 25 – Sunday, Jan. 31
NDAFW begins on Monday, January 25 and runs through Sunday, January 31. Deputy Nathan Harris and Department Chair of Health and Wellness Terry Marks will be hosting this event. Each morning, a question will be read to students, who have the opportunity to answer the question during lunch. Winners will receive a special prize. For more information about NDAFW and the latest fact-based information on drug abuse, please see the website: https://teens.drugabuse.gov/national-drug-alcohol-facts-week. Thank you for your support on this important initiative!

Student Attendance and Student Tardies
Beginning in January 2016, LCMS will be sending home letters to those students who have unverified absences of 5, 10 and 15 more days. The purpose of sending home such letters is to bring awareness of the number of missed days that a student may have and the importance of being in school and in class consistently in order to receive vital information and instruction. Within the month of December, LCMS had an average of 40 students coming to school late each morning. When students arrive to school late on a regular basis and/or miss classes on a regular basis, they are missing important information. Thus, as a goal for LCMS, we want all of our students to be present, and participating in the fun and learning at school. My staff and I appreciate your help and support in advance!

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
Lisa C. Chen, Ph.D.
Principal
Louisa County Middle School