Good afternoon, Falcon families,

With fall conferences now complete, I want to extend my gratitude to all our families for their efforts to participate and engage in meaningful discussions with our staff regarding their child’s progress thus far. Whether your child is excelling or still finding their footing, growth and individual development remain our focus for each student. The middle school years are a pivotal time, and we are here to support and encourage them every step of the way.

For those who participated in conferences, we would greatly appreciate your feedback about your experience. Your insights help us grow and improve as we strive to better serve you and your child. Please take a moment to share your thoughts here: SLMS 2024 Fall Conference Survey.

A quick reminder:

Halloween is on Thursday, October 31st. Students should not wear costumes to school. This is not a new policy; historically, costumes and traditional Halloween celebrations or fall parties have been reserved for elementary schools. We hope everyone enjoys a safe holiday that evening at home! :)

SLMS Dance for 7th and 8th Grade Students
Friday, November 22nd
7th grade: 7:00 p.m. – 8:30 p.m.
8th grade: 7:30 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.

Please note: All students attending the dance or mixer must be academically and behaviorally eligible to attend. Additionally, only SLMS students are allowed at the event. Detailed information about the dance and mixer will be shared with families and students in the coming weeks.

Thank you for your continued support!

Respectfully,

David Mitchell, Ed.D.

Principal, SLMS

• Archery: New Archer Clinic - 11/4 & 11/6 (all new archers required to attend both days). First team practice Monday 11/11 - 7:00PM. Registration due by 10/25 https://my.cheddarup.com/me/titanfalconarchery-706
• Book Club: The next book club meeting will be Monday,10/28 at 7:35 am! The book will be Greetings from Witness Protection - stop by and pick it up today!
• Chess Club: Tuesday 11/12- 7:30AM
• D&D Club: Thursday 10/31- 3:30 - 4:30PM - Applications form https://forms.gle/fv4oBJThZykTrHwR9
• Falconbots: Monday 10/28 and Tuesday 10/29 - 3:30pm.
• Falcon Smart: Thursday 11/14 at 7:30AM
• First Priority: Thursday 10/31- 7:35AM - Meet in Ms. Scieszinski's room #624
• GSA: Monday 10/28 & 11/ 4- 7:40AM in Ms. Whyte's room.
• LSTA: Wednesday 10/30 - 7:45AM
• Peer Mentors: Thursday 11/21 - 7:35AM
• STUCO: Wednesday 10/30 - 7:30AM - OFFICER CANDIDATES ONLY
• The Little Mermaid Jr: Little Mermaid cast, please make sure to check your rehearsal calendar each week in Schoology and note any updates that are highlighted in yellow. People are missing rehearsals because you aren't checking your calendar. 3 Strikes and you are removed from the show.
• Yearbook: Yearbook Club applications are now available! Forms must be submitted by October 30th. To apply, complete the application form at tinyurl.com/slms2024yearbook

The SLMS Spelling Bee will be held on Wednesday, November 13 at 3:25pm in the SLMS Media Center. Rides should be here by 4:15 to pick up students, or parents are welcome to come and watch. If you are interested in participating, pick up a permission slip from your ELA teacher or print. Permission slips are due by November 8.

DID YOU KNOW? Children of parents who talk to their teens regularly about drugs are 42% less likely to use drugs than those who don’t; yet, only a quarter of teens report having these conversations. Red Ribbon Week® (October 23-31), the oldest and largest drug prevention campaign in the nation, is your opportunity to get the ongoing conversation started. This year’s theme is Life Is A Movie, Film Drug Free.™ Visit www.redribbon.org to learn more about Red Ribbon Week® and get tips for talking to your kids about drugs. The life you save may be that of your own child or a dear friend.

Dear eighth grade students and parents/guardians:

You can learn another language and earn a Pathway Award in eighth grade! The following is information regarding our middle school Seal of Biliteracy Pathway Awards. These awards were established to encourage language learning from kindergarten through middle school as students work towards biliteracy and earning the Seal of Biliteracy in high school.

The Pathway Awards recognize students in eighth grade who are seeking out second language acquisition and cultural opportunities at home, school, and/or in the community. This includes English Language Learners as well as native English speakers who are learning another language.

For more information, click the links below:

APPLICATION: Students should go HERE to apply for the award. Deadline is November 1.

INFORMATION FOR 8TH GRADE STUDENTS:

The application link and all of the information to share is provided in THESE SLIDES. See Mrs. Stevens with any questions.

6th Grade- Monday, November 11th 3:20pm-5:00pm

7th-8th Grade- Tuesday, November 12 3:20pm-5:00pm

Dear SLMS Families,

As the fall sports season begins I want to remind our families that all LSR7 students in grades K-8 are to be accompanied by an adult while attending district evening activities. This includes middle school athletic competitions, both indoors and out, which begin at 4:00pm. Below are additional details that have been shared with me by the LSW administration:

• All stadium concourses must remain clear for the duration of the pre-game and in-game activities. Patrons should be able to walk to their seats, restrooms, concession stands, and merchandise tables as needed. If you are not walking to one of these areas then we ask that you and anyone you are with find a seat in our bleachers. We will have extra seating available in an overflow bleacher area located on the South end of the track (home side only). Students/patrons will be asked to leave the stadium complex if there is continued standing in our concourse areas.

• All middle school-aged or younger students must have an adult who is in charge of them at the game at all times. Middle school students and younger who do not have an adult in charge of them will be turned away at the gate or asked to call a ride and leave the game. The best practice would be for these students to sit with the adult they came with during the game.

• No backpacks are allowed in the stadium, and backpack storage will not be available. Therefore, any backpacks should be stored in cars or left at home prior to coming to the game. Those wearing backpacks will be turned away at the gate.

• All Lee’s Summit West fans and patrons must remain on the stadium's home side throughout the event.

• All students wanting to attend the game must arrive and purchase their tickets prior to the end of halftime. Any student/patron wanting to gain entrance after halftime ends will be turned away. To clarify further, no tickets will be sold in the 3rd and 4th quarters.

• Our home football games generally conclude around 9:30 pm. All students should have rides and be picked up no more than 30 minutes after the game's conclusion. Our staff work a very long day on Fridays and want to get home to their families, so students/patrons exiting promptly is very much appreciated. Violating this policy could result in losing the privilege of attending our home games.

SLMS will provide Falcon Fan Days during our fall, winter, and spring sports seasons. Falcon Fan Days are an exception and allow students with signed permission slips to stay after school and attend our home contests without their parent/guardian in attendance. Students participating in Falcon Fan Days will have some supervised time after school followed by attending the contest and sit in our designated student section. We limit the FFD section to the first 150 responses. Students who are signed up will receive a ticket for a hotdog + water/pop or water/pop + candy at our PTA concession stand. Students are always encouraged to attend our athletic events to support their fellow falcons with a parent or guardian.

24-25 Falcon Fan Day Dates:

• Volleyball - 9/16

• Cross Country - 9/30

• Football - 10/8

• Wrestling - 11/20

• Girls Basketball - 12/5

• Boys Basketball - 1/14

• Track - 4/22

We are proud of the many outstanding and successful extracurricular activities that our students participate in and we want families and students to be able to support and enjoy these events safely.

Thank you for your support with this expectation. We appreciate your partnership.

Respectfully,

SLMS Administration

At SLMS students are expected to complete all assignments on time and submit on the date they are due. Homework is given as practice to assure that students are building the necessary skills to master course objectives. We believe that meaningful work should be completed prior to taking any assessment. Our goal is to ensure that all students are reaching the desired grade-level standards that have been established for each course.

Students will have a set amount of passes for missing/incomplete homework per subject. When all passes have been used for that subject area, students will be assigned a before or after-school Homework Center. This is an opportunity to complete missing homework and get help from teachers. Students should report to the LMC with missing assignments to work on when assigned to the Homework Center.

Homework Center Hours: - Located in RM 510

• AM: Monday - Thursday (7:30-8:10)

• AM: Friday (8:30-9:10)

• PM: Monday (3:20-4:20)

In the case that your student is absent during a test in a class, they will be given the opportunity to take the test in the Testing Center. This is a proctored environment to provide the student with an ideal testing environment.

Testing Center Hours:

• AM: Monday - Thursday (7:30-8:10)

• Monday

• Wednesday - Rm 520

• Tuesday/Thursday - Rm 613

• AM: Friday (8:30-9:10) - Rm 511

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With an increase of fall allergies and illnesses starting the health room would like you to send your students prepared. Your student is always welcome to carry a water bottle and lozenges with them in the building. We are unfortunately unable to provide every student with water bottles and lozenges, so it is best to send these items with your student daily. We have multiple water filling stations throughout the building, so a reusable water bottle is a great investment!

In order to ensure that transportation needs are met, we ask that you follow the below processes for end of day transportation changes:

• If you need to communicate a transportation change with a student, we ask that you notify the main office prior to 3:00pm. This allows us time to reach your student with the message, as students begin dismissing at 3:13pm.
• It is difficult to check students out between 3:00pm-3:15pm, as many activities occur during Advisory at the end of the day, and students are often moving between locations in the building. In order to ensure that you are not waiting, or late to appointments - please pick up your student prior to 3:00pm if you need to leave before 3:15pm.
• If you need a one-day bus pass for your student to ride home with a friend on a different bus - we need written permission from both families prior to 1:30pm the day of in order to arrange this with transportation. Written permission can be emailed to courtney.mitchell@lsr7.net.

We appreciate all your help and understanding in helping to ensure that all of our Falcons have a safe and timely dismissal.

LSR7 is now hiring school bus drivers. No experience needed, and the opportunity includes paid training, full benefits and pay starting at $20.03 - $28.05 per hour based on experience. Have a vested interest in supporting students?

Apply to be one of our district's greatest assets.

Call 816-986-4287 for more information.

Email: firstname.lastname@lsr7.net
Website: slms.lsr7.org
Location: 3500 Southwest Windemere Drive, Lee's Summit, MO, USA
Phone: 816-986-1375
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/summitlakes
Twitter: @SLMSFalcons