LMS News

Kindness - Effort - Citizenship

PRINCIPAL'S MESSAGE - FEBRUARY 2025

We have recently passed the midpoint of this school year which did bring some schedule shifts for students in grades 5 and 6 with respect to exploratory classes, though Band and Chorus courses run the entire year. A few weeks ago, our Exploratory team of teachers offered a sharing showcase for families of fifth graders. It was a tremendous success with a very strong turnout. Looking across the entire school, each grade level does maintain a different configuration of exploratory class time:

Grades 5 and 6 are Quarter Based with each exploratory course meeting for alternating days for a total of 22 classes. Physical Education is scheduled twice for a total of 44 classes.

Grade 5 has Art, Music, STEM, Media, Health and Personalized Learning.

Grade 6 has Art, Music, STEM, Media, Health and Cultural Studies.

Grades 7 and 8 are Trimester Based with each exploratory course meeting once every three days for a total of 20 classes. Physical Education is scheduled twice and combines with health for a total of 60 classes PE (40) and Health (20).

Grade 7 has Art, STEM, Media. French/Spanish meet for the entire year (60 classes)

Grade 8 has Art, STEM, Media. French/Spanish meet daily for the entire year (180 classes).

While this year has seen a change in the scheduled times these courses meet, we have maintained this variety of course offerings at each grade level to enhance/expand our students’ experience. A large portion of middle school is educating the ‘whole child’. Our exploratory offerings strike that balance of a broad range of subjects/topics with having substantial class time in each subject. When we look to make changes and/or expand our curriculum offerings we consider our resources of personnel and time in the master schedule. However, our curriculum for each course is continually evolving to reflect framework updates and best practices.

Should you ever have any comments or questions, please contact me via phone (781)334-5810 or email ralstons@lynnfield.k12.ma.us.

Thank you.

Stephen R. Ralston, Principal

IMPORTANT FEBRUARY 2025 DATES

February 5 - Early Dismissal @ 11:00 (Professional Development)

February 7, 8, 9 - LMS Musical (The Lightning Thief)

February 14 - Early Dismissal @ 11:00 - Begin February Break

February 24 - School Reopens

LMS Musical: The Lightning Thief

The Lynnfield Middle School Drama and Music Departments are pleased to present the LMS Annual Musical Production of The Lightning Thief. The show involves over ninety cast and crew members under the direction of Drama Director Shay Wainwright and Music Director Stephen Bloom. Performances will be Friday February 7th and Saturday February 8th at 7 pm and Sunday February 9th at 1 pm. Tickets are available online at https://www.ticketstage.com/T/LYNNFT. Tickets are $15 for adults, $10 for seniors/students, and will also be available at the door with cash or check.

LMS SPRING 2025 MCAS DATES

Our specific testing dates for LMS are as follows: (ELA is English/Language Arts; STE is Science, Technology, and Engineering). There will also be a Civics MCAS test for grade 8. Look for more information in March/April.

April 7, 8: ELA 5 and ELA 8

April 9, 10: ELA 6 and ELA 7

May 12, 13: Math 5 and Math 8

May 14, 15: Math 6 and Math 7

May 19, 20: STE 5 and STE 8

May 27, 28: Civics 8

LMS Arrival/Dismissal Reminders:

When dropping students off in the morning or picking up in the afternoon, please pull up to the end of the parent drop-off area to avoid gridlock in the parking lot. Do not drive up the center lane of the parking lot.
Only buses and authorized vehicles are permitted in the front loop.
Don't stop on Main Street to drop kids off
Yield to busses entering & leaving
Do not stop on the crosswalk
Stop when crossing lights are flashing or crossing guard is in the crosswalk

Weather-Induced School Delay

While LPS has not had a school delay for weather in many years, the possibility does exist. At LMS, we would begin at 9:40 and have shortened class periods, though all classes would meet.

Bee Week Update

Thank you to the English and social studies teacher for administering the classroom Spelling Bee and the Geography Bee.

The LMS Super Spellers are: Jadon Singh, Lucas Wilkinson, Adi Chandra, Riley Gardner, Myles Walsh, Michael Crowley, Jayden Lin, Jamie Calla, Landrey McKelvey, Kean Tham, Daniel Saiyed, Brain Goodwin, Natalie Chamberlin, Jack Tortola, Ana Lazich, Aarish Vora, Jackie Ing, Hannah Ndansi, Sahana Pareek, Leah Nguyen, Kylie Geary, Finn Langton, Prisha Paudel, Vrielle Dill-Vourazeis, Solomon Anderson.

During the final LMS Spelling Bee, 8th grader, Solomon Anderson came in first place and will participate in the online regional qualifier round.

The LMS Super Geographers are: James Olaes, Philip Scenna, Lucas Desrochers, Aarish Vora, Stephanie Zhu, DJ Lucey, Elias Saiyed, Brady Sweeney, Cam Doherty, Kabir Bhatia, JJ McBride, John Kayola, Ivy Lippy.

Congratulations to all super spellers and geographers!

Gr. 7 Author Experience

On February 13th from 11:00-11:30am, the 7th graders will be zooming live with Gary Schmidt. He wrote one of our core novels called, The Wednesday Wars. Students have submitted questions that he will be answering.

MARCH MADNESS

🏀 March Madness 🏀 LMS 3 v. 3 student/staff basketball tournament

Grades 5 and 6: March 3 (Pool Play); March 7 (Top 8 teams single elimination)

Grades 7 and 8: March 10 (Pool Play); March 14 (Top 8 teams single elimination)

Each team must consist of 3 team members (2 students, 1 staff). At least 1 member of each team has to be female
Games will be played after school starting at 2:15
Pool Play: Set up so that each team will be guaranteed 3 games.
Top 8 teams by record advance to single elimination games on Friday.
Due to space, only participants may be in the gym... no spectators.

Signups:

Sign-up forms will be available in the LMS Main Office on Monday, February 3.

The sign up period will be until 11:00 on Friday, February 14.

No late sign ups will be accepted.

LMS ANNUAL GIFT DRIVE

Thank you to the Lynnfield Middle School community for your efforts and generosity once again in support of our annual gift drive.

Project 351 and Celtics Playbook Initiative

Congratulations to LMS 8th grader, Mason Fusco. He is our Project 351 Ambassador for 2025.

Also, LMS was selected once again to participate in Project 351's Celtics Playbook Initiative. Over the last two years, the Celtics Shamrock Foundation and Project 351 have collaborated to increase the scope and scale of Playbook through a cohort of high school Alumni “Trainers”, each selected for their commitment to social justice and inclusion. Trainers were enriched by workshops, training, and mentorship by Celtics and Project 351 staff. Our LHS trainers this year are Paige Martino and Ereeny Georges. Mrs. Dowsing and Mrs. Courtney serve as the LMS faculty leaders.

Grade 8 Moving On

We get many emails and phone calls asking about LMS Moving On for grade 8. The ceremony is held at 6:00 pm on the day prior to the last day of school. Once we are out of winter and cleared of potential snow days, a firm date can be determined.

Important Tech Information

Tech Info for Parents:

PLEASE ensure that Emergency Contacts (in addition to parent/guardian contacts) are updated in Powerschool

For new families: Set up your Powerschool Parent account > LINK TO HOW-TO DOC

Families should have received an email with an access id for each of their students to connect students to their accounts.
Families must complete 6 very important forms - ALL FORMS MUST BE COMPLETED

R1 Student Demographic and Siblings Update
R2 Student Change of Address and Proof of Residency
R3 Student Contacts Update
R4 Health Information Update and Medical Authorizations
R5 Bus Registration
R6 Permissions and Agreements

Chromebook Insurance

Students in grades 7-12 have the option to purchase insurance from Securranty Insurance for $25.95 for the 2024-25 school year. Insurance must be purchased by 10/1/24, and cannot be purchased after damage has occurred to the device. It is highly recommended that you purchase insurance on your school-issued device.
If the device is not insured and damage occurs ,the technology department will send it off to Securranty for a repair estimate, which could cost between $100-$300 to repair or replace the entire device, and payment will be required within 30 days. The technology department will no longer be repairing devices.
The technology department will file all insurance claims and ship devices out to Securranty. Students will be provided a loaner while their device is being repaired.
Securranty Insurance Flyer
To sign up for insurance, scan the QR code on the flyer or visit https://securranty.com/lynnfield

LMS BEFORE SCHOOL ACTIVITIES

Sunrise Math 🌞

Meets every Wednesday 7-7:30am in the main office conference room.

Attention all 7th and 8th graders, come discuss interesting/complex math problems and solve them together in a low-key, fun environment. No sign up required.