Wildcat Update
October 21, 2024
Gratitude and Shout Outs!
I want to take this opportunity to express gratitude and shout out staff, families, and community members who made last week a success at LEMS:
- Katie Corrigan who spearheaded securing translations services and scheduling families who required an interpreter for parent-teacher conferences.
- Chastity Stringer and Megan Frohling who worked with our vendor to ensure that parents and families who could not attend in-person conferences had a virtual option to meet with their students teachers.
- PTO and Amelia Barnes who worked in tandem to provide dinner and breakfast for the teaching staff during conferences on Wednesday evening and Thursday.
- LEMS Teaching Staff who finalized and scheduled virtual and in-person conferences.
- Chastity Stringer, Ryan Barron, and Brian Lindsey who held down the fort while I recovered from illness last week.
- ILC Team. I received feedback from parents in which they expressed confidence in the support their students are receiving academically and socially from this team.
- Larry Bridges and Officer Allen for the safety our students and families feel, which I also received parent feedback regarding their presence in our school.
- Jill Prindiville who supports our entire staff as our IB Coordinator, Instructional Coach, and New Teachers Ambassador.
- Coaches and Club Sponsors. Each week our coaches and club sponsors provide our students with opportunities to pursue their passions. Our students and families continue to express their love, admiration, appreciation, and respect for creating spaces and opportunities for our LEMS students.
- Parents and Families who trust the entire LEMS staff with your students. We appreciate your diligence, your presence, and partnership.
On a more personal note. I am deeply appreciative of the grace, mercy, patience, forgiveness, feedback (both positive and constructive), accountability, support, and understanding each member of our LEMS community has demonstrated. We are the village! Nothing will or can be achievable without each of you.
LEMS Welcomes Berenice Longoria and The Taco Stop
Lucile Erwin’s LUC (Latinos Unified in Community) had the amazing opportunity to host the incredible Berenice Longoria, founder and owner of the local restaurant The Taco Stop. Ms. Longoria shared what she wished she had known when she was in middle school as well as the benefits of bilingualism, hard work, and perseverance. She asked the students about their goals and aspirations and even treated them to some Mexican candies and official “The Taco Stop” stickers!
Thank you Berenice Longoria and The Taco Stop for your time and generosity!
A Night Under the Stars
The LEMS Astronomy club had a great night comet viewing. It was cloudy in just about every part of the sky except where the comet appeared. A good number of students showed up with parents, siblings, and more. A few staff members showed up as well, and we got our first faint glimpse of the comet at 7:10. However, everyone enjoy the night under the stars.
Message from Dr. Maria Gabriel, Director of Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (October 18th)
October is National Bullying Prevention Month
National Bullying Prevention Month focuses on bringing attention to issues and the consequences of bullying and cyberbullying. During this month, many groups, including the federal government and our schools, release new resources, sponsor various campaigns, and share educational activities that seek to promote a culture of kindness, respect, and inclusion in communities. Please feel welcome to reach out to your school’s counseling resources if you or others need any support. Safe to Tell is a way to make an anonymous report about anything that concerns or threatens you, your friends, your family, or your community.
Resources
StopBullying.gov (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services)
The NCTSN is funded by the Center for Mental Health Services (CMHS), Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and jointly coordinated by UCLA and Duke University.
TSD SORA Reading List - National Bullying Prevention Month/World Mental Health Day
Safe to Tell - Anonymously report anything that concerns or threatens you, your friends, your family, or your community.
Fall Dance
Hey Wildcats!
Have you been working on your dance moves with nowhere to show them off? Well, you will finally get your chance to shake it on Friday, October 25 from 5:30-7:30 pm. Admission is $5 and concessions will be sold.
You must be an Erwin student and have a current school ID to get in. No outside friends, food, drinks, bags or backpacks will be allowed at the dance. You may choose to wear your Halloween costume if you wish. It must be school appropriate! Please no masks, fake weapons, or blood. If you are not sure about your costume's appropriateness, please check with the office.
Please remember, if you have had a behavior referral resulting in in-school or out-of-school suspension, or you have 10 or more tardies for periods 1-6, you not may attend. Check Infinite Campus to see your tardies.
Thank you,
Lucile Erwin Middle School Administration Team
Fall Spirit Week
We have school spirit, yes we do! We have school spirit, how about you?
Wildcats, show your school spirit the week of October 28th. Below you will find the themes for each day of the week:
Monday, October 28th:
Sports Jersey Day
Tuesday, October 29th:
Wear PINK
(Cancer Awareness Day)
Wednesday, October 30th:
Candy Corn / Class Color Day
6th: yellow shirts … 7th: orange shirts … 8th: white shirts
Thursday, October 31st:
Costume Day
Wear your Halloween attire!
No masks, blood, or weapons, please!
Friday, November 1st:
Sweats / Lounge Pants Day
State of LEMS/SAC Meeting
Dear Parents and Families:
Mark your calendars for the next State of LEMS/SAC meeting on Thursday, November 7th from 5:30-7pm in our Media Center. Our agenda items with include the topics such as the final submission of our school UIP and feedback received, our discipline matrix and structure, and our progress on school and district initiatives. Light refreshments will be served.
Nutrition Services Production and Site Lead Classified Staff Appreciation
Zac Dwight's Journey from Fine Dining to Making a Difference in School Kitchens
Growing up in California in what he calls a “foodie family,” Zac Dwight learned early about the bond created between people sharing a meal.
“All of our family time revolved around family cooking,” Zac says. “It was always part of our gatherings.”
Zac moved to Colorado in 2001, living with his cousin and working in restaurants while enjoying skateboarding and creating art. He got a job working in the kitchen at The Vault in Fort Collins, where the owner was supportive of Zac attending culinary school in Boulder during his employment.
“I ended up running that restaurant,” Zac said of his job at The Vault, recalling how the generous gesture by the boss in his first kitchen allowed him to have a career as a chef. “People should be more kind. If you can go out of your way for somebody, it might make a huge difference in someone’s life.”
Zac Dwight’s first cooking job and his culinary school education were the start of more than 15 years spent cooking in restaurants, working as an executive sous chef in a fancier fine-dining establishment, being the executive chef in a family-style restaurant, and helping to open brand new restaurants in northern Colorado, among other chef positions. When cooking at a local dinner theater, he learned about cooking banquet-style food, and how to serve large numbers of diners in a short period of time.
During this time, Zac also experienced some other major milestones in his life: getting married and having a son. As the years went by, Zac began to recognize something very significant about what it took to be a successful chef.
“I realized I picked the worst career ever for wanting to be with my family,” he said. “I was trying to learn different things and also cater to a better work-life balance. That’s not a thing when you’re working in restaurants.”
Zac was working exhaustingly long days and feeling like he was missing out on some of the things that were most important to him. Having grown up with a mom who had a decades-long career as a teacher, Zac realized that the more relaxed schedule of working for a school district might be exactly what he needed.
“I love being around kids and being a positive role model,” Zac says. “There’s a lot of kids who need that and don’t have that at home.”
So Zac Dwight accepted a position with Thompson School District, where he learned the ropes working in the kitchen at Lucile Erwin Middle School. Now, he serves as the Site Lead and a Production Lead in the LEMS kitchen, which not only serves meals to the students at LEMS but also prepares food for five schools in total. While the schedule is much more forgiving, working in a school kitchen comes with its own set of challenges.
“It takes a certain person to work with the kids and build rapport with them,” Zac says. “The kids, you can make little breakthroughs with them. Maybe a kid has never talked to you, and all of a sudden, they’re like, hey, you’re cool.”
Lisa Kendall, Director of TSD’s Nutrition Services, says Zac’s unique background is a great asset for the Nutrition Services team.
“Zac joined the team shortly before the pandemic, so he, along with the entire team, has seen lots of changes to our program. He comes from the restaurant world and brings a strong culinary background,” Lisa says. “I love the diverse makeup of our team and all of the expertise and perspective that brings to the table.”
For Zac, working for the district has given him more time to spend with his family and do other things he loves, such as volunteering for the Food Bank for Larimer County and being a part of the Thompson Valley Art League.
In the meantime, he is doing something he loves while making a difference in students’ lives.
“That’s the big thing a lot of people don’t realize about working in Nutrition Services; we are teaching these kids a lot of skills,” Zac Dwight says. “People tend to downgrade the importance of what we do, but there’s a lot of kids that need food and a lot of kids that need people in their lives.”
Nominate Meredith Russell
Nominations are open for the School Librarian of the Year Award! Honor your teacher librarian for their outstanding achievement and the exemplary use of 21st-century tools and services to engage children and teens toward fostering multiple literacies. Read more and nominate our librarian by December 18th.