Lancer Legend
October 2021
Dear LTMS Families,
Autumn is officially here! With the fall comes progress reports for the first quarter of the school year. These reports are generated every four and a half weeks. Students with grades below 70% will receive a mailing the first week in October. As the year progresses, our students will continue to face new and different learning challenges.
The past few weeks have been a challenging start to a new school year. Like school districts across the country, we are struggling to find enough bus drivers, cafeteria staff, paraprofessionals and healthy students. We are seeing a state increase of student cases from 700 last September to over 7,000 this September. LTMS alone had over 30 reported cases in the month of September, more than double what was reported at LTMS the entire 2020-2021 school year. We sincerely appreciate the support our community has shown us as we work through these issues and recently transitioned to synchronous quarantined/remote learning. We hope all of you are doing well and your students are adjusting to the school year!
Despite these challenges, we are so grateful to have our students here (all but five remote days) in school five days a week! Although we have only been in school for a few weeks, we already have a lot of great stories to share, as our students and staff have been busy! We hope you will take a few minutes to read through some of the stories linked below.
Thank you all for your continued patience, grace and support this year. We are looking forward to making this another unforgettable school year at LTMS!
Important Dates:
Monday - Friday - Teacher Office Hours - 2:30-3:00 PM
- Including Academic Support and Detention
Wednesday, October 6 - School Board Meeting
Monday, October 11 - No School (Staff Professional Development)
Friday, October 15 - School Picture Retake Day
Monday, October 25 - Friday, October 29 - Red Ribbon Week
Tuesday, October 26 - Spooktacular Band Concert
Please follow any or all of our social media accounts on Facebook: @ltmsprincipal, Twitter: @LTMS_Principal and/or Instagram: ltms_principal.
Remember... be respectful, be responsible, be kind and be courageous... in everything you do and say... be a LANCER!
Best,
Mrs. Ashley Sekel
Proud Principal, Loyalsock Township Middle School
6th Grade
G. Biacci
H. Hower
7th Grade
A. Harer
C. Hartsock
8th Grade
V. Shadle
E. Wetzler
Students of the Month
Teacher of the Month
LTMS congratulates Mrs. Hewlett, our 7th grade math teacher, for being nominated as Teacher of the Month for September. Mrs. Hewlett was described by her students as helpful, understanding and shows kindness everyday! Mrs. Hewlett reminds our students, “Be strong, but not rude; Be kind, but not weak; Be humble, but not timid; Be proud, but not arrogant.”
Parent Portal
Learning Hub's & Team Leaders
We are hopeful our learning hub's will enable success for each student particularly during quarantined learning. If you wish to have a Zoom or phone conference in the future, please reach out to individual teachers or grade level team leaders directly. We will have an opportunity for conferences in November.
6th Grade - Mr. Hessert nhessert@loyalsocklancers.org
7th Grade - Mrs. Hewlett ahewlett@loyalsocklancers.org
8th Grade - Mrs. Bomboy jbomboy@loyalsocklancers.org
Quarantined/Remote Student Expectations
See our District website.
Below are details and expectations for students attending school under quarantined or remote learning. Each of the conditions follows our regular daily bell schedule. Even from a distance, students will be expected to “go to school” as one normally would, ready to begin band or chorus at 7:45 AM and academic or related art class at 8:35 a.m. and continuing throughout the day.
All students are responsible for continuing to practice positive digital citizenship by respecting their peers and teachers. Like at school, students must practice positive and productive behaviors when in an online learning environment. Our online learning environment will be very similar to what we have established in the classroom; school rules will be followed just as expected at LTMS!
for Quarantined or Remote Learning
- Choose a distraction-free workspace and be mindful about keeping distractions to a minimum, remembering that everyone can still see you.
- Camera on - Students must have their video turned on in order to be counted as present.
- Class participation is expected and you may use the on-line class participation feature (e.g., Raise Hand feature in Zoom) to answer or ask questions.
- Make respectful comments, showing respect for all cultures, opinions, and viewpoints.
- iPad charged and all materials ready.
- Engage in the lesson, assignment, assessment, and other educational items as you do in school.
- Contribute and engage through chat feature, hand raising, or unmuting to ask a question.
- Wear appropriate clothing (following your school dress code) while on video streaming.
- LTSD Technology Use Guidelines must be followed.
- Audio or video-recording is prohibited with any technology (i.e., cellphones, cameras, recorders and/or computer features) unless there is prior approval from everyone involved.
- Displaying/sharing inappropriate material or language will not be tolerated.
- Bullying, cyber bullying, or harassing digital communications will not be tolerated.
- Private chat will be disabled between students.
- The teacher may send you to a breakout session. This session is recorded, and students must follow all school expectations in that environment as well.
- Attendance is mandatory and will be taken at the beginning of each class. Attendance will require students to complete a Bell Ringer assigned by their classroom teacher each day.
- Students MUST complete and submit all assignments, practice activities, and bell ringers to their teachers daily.
- Assessments (quizzes, tests, projects, papers, homework, etc.) may be given while in hybrid, remote, and quarantine just as if you are physically in school.
- Grading – you will be graded exactly as if you are physically coming to school.
IF STUDENT IS QUARANTINED AT HOME
- Upon learning of the need for a student to remain home, guardians should notify the school. Please reach out to the main office to communicate this information by email at ms-excuse@loyalsocklancers.org or call (570) 323-9439.
- If well enough to get online, you will be expected to attend each teacher's virtual classroom on Moodie and/or Zoom session that, at a minimum, will begin the class.
- If you do not connect and get online during class, this will count as an absence.
- If necessary, please communicate with your teachers should you have any questions regarding an assignment or expectation.
- You will be expected to access Moodle and any other necessary app or platform on your iPad to complete assignments.
IF SCHOOL OPERATES IN A REMOTE MODEL
Like in the hybrid model, students and families will be given notice if LTSD moves to a remote learning environment. Remote means that students remain home for instruction.
- Teachers will teach remotely using Zoom for daily instruction.
- Students will access synchronous lessons at the beginning of class as well as complete various asynchronous activities designed by the teacher.
- All expectations above apply to the Remote model.
Technology Support
Please contact our technology team if you have questions or need assistance. A response will be provided within 24 hours (exceptions for weekends and holidays).
🌐 Submit a Technology Helpdesk Ticket
📧 Send an Email to egee@loyalsocklancers.org
☎️ Phone 570-323-9439 x1217 and leave a message
*Please NOTE this is for parents and student support only. Staff should continue to use the staff portal for support.
We are informing you of a recent social media trend on TikTok called the “Devious Lick” challenge, which encourages students to “lick” or steal school supplies and other school-related items and then post videos of their exploits on social media. Unfortunately, our secondary campus has been impacted by this already. Some of the items stolen or vandalized are valuable and important in allowing us to help our students learn and keep them safe, such as soap dispensers, hand sanitizer and toilet paper. Not only are these incidents impacting student learning, but they are also impacting our staff’s time and energy, thereby taking the focus off what’s important: student education.
Current and upcoming social media challenges are very concerning. October's challenge could lead to Title 18 (Section 2702) Aggravated Assault charges. As ALL school district employees are included in a “protected class” in Pennsylvania. Even the “attempt” to cause injury is a felony offense. Due to the severity of these actions, the Pennsylvania State Police would also be notified and conduct the investigation as they encourage our youth to commit vandalism and/or theft. If a student is found to be stealing, assaulting, vandalizing, or in possession of school property, or even seen aiding to commit these acts, including but not limited to filming, our schools will be taking the following actions:
- Take the appropriate disciplinary action
- Provide learning opportunities to restore the campus
- Counseling or other school-based structured activities
- Refer cases (institutional vandalism/theft) to the police department
- Responsibility to pay restitution for the damage to property
- Remove student’s privileges, including participating in athletics and other extracurricular activities and dances
We are reaching out because we NEED your support. Please take the time to talk to your student about the serious consequences of participating in these trends or participating in any activity that involves stealing, vandalism or assault. In addition, please be mindful of your students social media activities as they sometimes do not realize the consequences of their actions and that they might put themselves, their friends, or their school’s safety at risk.
Our goal is to provide a safe learning environment for our students and our team has worked very hard to keep our facilities well-maintained. Sadly, these actions do not reflect our mission or vision, and negatively impact our school community as a whole. Thank you for partnering with us to help keep our students and staff safe!
Friday FlexTime Schedule
www.flextimemanager.com/glogin
Welcome Mr. Wagner
LTMS welcomes Mr. Logan Wagner, a history major at Lycoming College. He is also in the education program for secondary ed, which is 7th-12th grade, and plans to graduate by the end of December 2021. Mr. Wagner is placed with our 8th grade history teacher, Mr. Cook, to complete his student teaching semester. He looks forward to this opportunity and is excited to educate and get to know your student.
During this time, Mr. Wagner will work on developing lessons, units, learning styles that best help our students. He plans to provide the most beneficial experience possible for your student to succeed and grow. His responsibilities within the classroom will grow as each week goes and will culminate with him eventually taking over the full day of lessons and classes. As a history major and being deeply passionate about history he hopes to have engaging and interesting activities and classwork within units of study. A particular focus he and Mr. Cook share is to develop critical thinking and connections from the past to present in U.S. history! We hope you are as thrilled as we are to have the expertise and opportunities he has to offer Loyalsock!
School Picture Retake Day
Students will also receive new ID cards with their school picture in October. Students will need to have their ID card on them daily for FREE breakfast and lunch purchases!
Yearbooks On Sale
Daily Reminders
1. Cell phones put away out of sight (inside locker or leave at home) from 7:45am - 2:30pm.
2. Earbuds, headphones, etc. are not permitted in hallways and are only to be used with teacher permission.
2. Follow dress code and masks must cover nose and mouth.
3. Social distance and follow directional signage in hallways and communal areas.
4. Transfer big backpack to locker, use drawstring bag or trapper keeper throughout the day to minimize locker usage.
5. Bring a water bottle to use throughout the day. Bottle filling station located near the main office.
6. Bring student ID card daily for FREE breakfast and lunch and display your PBIS code!
Health and Safety
Effective at 12:01 am Tuesday, Sept. 7, 2021, masks are required to be worn inside K-12 school buildings, early learning programs and child care providers to keep students safely in school and Delta variant out. Effective Thursday, September 30, 2021, acting Secretary of Health Allison Beam announced that DOH is continuing to track CDC recommendations. “We know that wearing masks in school buildings and continuing to increase the number of people vaccinated have truly helped keep students learning in-person this year,” Beam said. “I commend the majority of school districts, students, teachers, staff, and parents who have accepted the scientific fact that masks will help keep students in classrooms while the COVID-19 virus continues to infect Pennsylvanians of all ages.” DOH will provide another update on masking in early November.
Read more: https://bit.ly/3mQ6eo3
Read more about our contact tracing flow chart: https://www.ltsd.k12.pa.us/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/COVID-close-contact-flow-chart-revised-august-30-2021.pdf
7th Grade Vaccinations
This is a reminder that incoming 7th grade students will need two immunizations for this school year (Tdap and Meningococcal) prior to the start of school. Please make sure to make an appointment for your child over the summer for his/her 7th grade immunizations.
Our school nurse will also keep record of Covid vaccination documents if families choose to prevent students from being quarantined due to close contact during tracing of a positive case.
Fall Athletics
Congrats to A. French and L. Kresock for picking up MVP honors at the JH softball tournament at Shikellamy! #LancerPRIDE
Contact information for all LTMS fall coaches is listed below.
MS Football – Coach Matt Little – mlittle@loyalsocklancers.org
MS Softball – Coach Mark Godfrey – mgodfrey@loyalsocklancers.org
MS Cheer – Coach Erin Brouse – efbrouse@gmail.com
MS Cross Country – Coach Nick Hessert nhessert@loyalsocklancers.org
New Athletics Website
Please be sure to visit our NEW WEBSITE to view team schedules, photos, announcements, events, etc. Don't forget, while visiting the website, to sign up for your own "Fan Account" so you can stay up to date with all your team’s schedules and scores. You can also download your favorite teams schedule right to your own personal calendar. Just find your teams calendar, click on subscribe and follow the instructions. Changes to events, including day, time, location, etc., will automatically be updated on your personal devices.
General athletic questions can be sent to:
Athletic Director - Ron (CI) Insinger, rinsinger@loyalsocklancers.org
Athletic Secretary - Shannon Butters, sbutters@loyalsocklancers.org
Spooktacular Band Concert
Spirit & Red Ribbon Week
DRUG FREE LOOKS LIKE ME
October 25 - 29
“WAKE UP DRUG FREE!”
Red Ribbon Week Kick-off! Wear your PJ’s to school day!
“RED-Y TO LIVE A DRUG-FREE LIFE!”
Wear RED day! Red drawstring bags will be distributed!
“SOCK IT TO DRUGS DAY!”
Wear crazy or mismatched socks!
“TEAM UP AGAINST DRUGS DAY!”
Wear your Loyalsock school colors or favorite team spirit wear!
“SAY BOO TO DRUGS DAY!”
Enjoy a safe Halloween!
Transportation
SEEKING SUBSTITUTES
Are you a future teacher? If so, Loyalsock Township School District can use you NOW! Through Act 86, you are eligible to substitute teach if you have at least 60 credits. Find out more by calling 570-323-8561 *1088
Seeking Paraprofessionals
View current paraprofessional opportunities on our district website. Spread the word, make a difference.
2021-2022 LTMS Bell Schedules
Two Hour Delay: Day begins at 7:45 AM (no breakfast)
Early Dismissal: Day ends at 12:25 PM
Daily Bell Schedule
Early Dismissal Schedule
2 Hour Delay Schedule
Weis 4 School
Previous Newsletters
Loyalsock Township Middle School
Email: asekel@ltsd.k12.pa.us
Website: https://www.ltsd.k12.pa.us/schools/middle-school/
Location: 2101 Loyalsock Drive, Williamsport, PA, USA
Phone: 570-323-9439
Twitter: @LTMS_Principal