LVMS 08-15-2024

Principal: Paulina Burns | Assistant Principal: Maria Baumann

536 Bell Street, Ligonier, PA 15658 | 724-238-6412 | Fax: 724-238-2358

Dear LVMS Community,

I hope you had a wonderful and restful summer. As we gear up for the new school year, I’m excited to welcome you back to LVMS and share our exciting plans. Please take the time to read this newsletter thoroughly so you’re well-informed about important details for the upcoming school year. This year promises to be one of growth and community. Here are a few key plans for our 2024-2025 school year:

Open House - August 21

I invite you to join us for our Open House on Wednesday, August 21, from 4:30 to 6:00 PM. This event is a wonderful opportunity to meet your child’s teachers, explore their classrooms, and get a preview of what the year holds. Additionally, you’ll have the chance to meet with Ms. Burns and Mrs. Baumann to discuss the details of middle school and receive a brief overview of the Pathways to Success course from 5:00- 5:30 in the LVMS media center. We look forward to seeing you there!

New Schedule Structure

This year, we’ve restructured our schedule to better support student learning and development.

Students will now follow:

• Four 58-minute periods dedicated to core subjects: English Language Arts (ELA), Math, Science, and History.
• One 58-minute rotational course, cycling through WIN (What I Need)/Band/Chorus, Physical Education, and ELA Workshop (A, B, or C days)
• Three 35-minute periods in the middle of the day, which include: Pathways to Success on A days, focusing on goal setting and personal growth, and Study Hall on B and C days, providing time for students to complete assignments and seek additional support, Lunch, and Exploratory (Specials) classes, with each student rotating through four different classes over the year, one per quarter.

Focus on Writing Across Content Areas

Writing is a critical skill, and we are committed to integrating it across all content areas. The ELA Workshop, scheduled once every three days, is designed to deepen students' understanding of grammar, vocabulary, and technical writing skills, building on what they learn in other subjects.

WIN Time for Individualized Learning

WIN (What I Need) is designed to address the unique needs of each student. Whether they require remediation or enrichment, students will set personal academic goals and work towards achieving them. Teachers will use data-driven instruction to ensure every student receives the targeted support they need to succeed. During this time, students who participate in band and/or chorus will attend lessons.

Principals’ Meet & Mingle

We’re excited to introduce “Principals’ Meet & Mingle” events, which are five informal gatherings throughout the year at various locations. These sessions will offer parents and guardians a chance to share their child’s experiences and ideas, learn about the exciting developments at our school, and provide constructive feedback on our family-school engagement efforts. At our Meet & Mingle sessions, we welcome your insights and ideas on how we can continue to improve our school community. While we value all feedback, we especially appreciate when parents/guardians come with a solutions-oriented mindset. Together, we can brainstorm and develop strategies that make a real difference for our students. The following dates are tentatively scheduled:

• September 12 at Weller Field entrance 3:30 P.M. – 4:00 P.M.
• October 30 at LVMS cafeteria 3:30 P.M. – 4:00 P.M.
• December 12 at The Ligonier Diamond gazebo 6:30 P.M. – 7:00 P.M.
• February 6 at Fairfield Firehall 9:15 A.M. – 10:00 A.M.
• March 13 at LVMS cafeteria 6:30 A.M. – 7:00 A.M.

If you have any questions or need any additional information that cannot be found in this newsletter, please call us. For more detailed information about our course offerings, please visit our website for Course Descriptions. We look forward to seeing you at the Open House and throughout the year at our various events. We will see you soon!

Sincerely,

Paulina Burns

Principal

8/16- Meet the Rams Night at Weller Field (6:00 p.m.)

8/21- Open House (4:30-6:00 p.m.)

8/26- First Day of School

8/30- School Picture Day (Click here to order online using the code 89935PF)

9/2- Labor Day- No School

9/12- Principals Meet & Mingle at Weller Field Entrance (3:30 p.m.)

Student backpacks must remain in lockers all day. Students may place a lock on their locker, but they must provide a spare key or combination to the office.

• All students should bring headphones to school

ATTENTION 6TH GRADE STUDENTS

LVMS 6th grade teachers request that you bring the following school materials to assist with organization.

• Science- 1" binder with pockets
• Math- 1" binder with pockets
• ELA & ELA Workshop- nothing needed

Be sure to schedule your child's yearly physical exams and/or renew prescriptions you may want to keep at school such as inhalers, or epi-pens. All prescriptive as well as over-the-counter medications must be accompanied by a Physician's Recommendation Form (available in the nurse's office or by clicking here) and kept on file in the nurse's office. Please note that if you have submitted a form in the past, you will need to update it by the start of the school year. Additionally, 6th grade students will need a physical and 7th grade students will need dental exams and scoliosis checks.

Daily bell schedules are available on the LVMS website, or by clicking here. Please note that snow make-up days have been built into the district calendar and will be utilized if necessary. Should additional days be necessary, a Flexible Instruction Day may be called. If this occurs, the Middle School will follow the 2 Hour Delay/ Flexible Instruction Day Schedule.

Students may bring drink containers to school; however, drink containers brought onto school premises must only contain water that is clear in appearance. The principal or designated school authorities have the right to confiscate any drink container suspected of containing unauthorized substances or liquids other than water.

Arrival

The students arrive at 7:10 A.M. and homeroom begins at 7:30 A.M. If a student arrives after 7:30 A.M., he/she is marked tardy. Please be aware that there is no supervision of students prior to 7:10 A.M. and students should not arrive before this time. All students who RIDE to school by bus or car enter in the upper lobby (gymnasium entrance), door number 2. All students who WALK to school will also enter door number 2 and must walk use all crosswalks and sidewalks to go around the perimeter, adjacent to the football field, to get to door number 2.

Dismissal

On Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays, dismissal begins at 2:26 P.M. On Wednesdays, dismissal begins at 2:48 P.M. Buses exit the bus lot as soon as they have loaded. Students who walk are dismissed from door number 15 near the practice field. Students who are car pickup are dismissed from door number 13 and are released to the parking lot adjacent to Bell Street. Students are not permitted to be in the school building after school hours without supervision.

Any student who needs to be dismissed early for an appointment should present a note from his/her parents to the office in the morning and receive an early dismissal slip. Early dismissals are recorded when a student leaves school after 11:05 A.M. The student will be called to the office at the time listed on the dismissal slip. Parents/Guardians are required to come to the office to sign out their children at door number 21. No student is permitted to leave the building before dismissal time unless accompanied by a parent, guardian or person designated in a note signed by a parent or guardian. Any change to a student’s regular dismissal routine (bus passes, walker notes, athletic needs, or changes in transportation) must be put in writing and submitted to office personnel by 11:00 A.M. Office personnel must have ample time to record and verify changes, and notify the staff members who supervise student dismissal. If you forget to send a signed note in with your child, you can email signed correspondence to the office email address: LVMSRAMS@lvsd.k12.pa.us

Student cell phones must be turned off. All teachers will have a storage area with an assigned number for each student, where the phone must be put when entering the classroom and collected when exiting the classroom.

Please be sure to send tennis shoes and a change for clothes for physical education class.

This school year "Pathways to Success" is held every A day with your child's study hall teacher for 35 minutes. For an overview of the course, please attend the parent meeting for all grade levels at LVMS media center on August 21, 2024 during open house from 5:00-5:30PM.

The Ligonier Valley Middle School will host our annual 5K on Friday, September 27, 2024. We are looking for a head parent volunteer to help with the planning and set up for the 5k event. If you are interested, please call the school at 724-238-6412 or email LVMSRAMS@lvsd.k12.pa.us

On the first day of school, your child will bring home forms that you will have to complete and return to school as soon as possible. We are requesting that parents/guardians submit their email addresses to receive school communications electronically. Please note that we will not provide your email address to any outside organization or business. Please click here

for the student handbook. The administration will meet with the student body to review the rights & responsibilities on the first day of school.

Please look for:

• Health Requirement Information

• Free Lunch Form

• Cafeteria Menus

• Student Schedules

• Locker Form

• Emergency Cards

• Student Handbook Verification Form

• School Picture Notice

• Media Release Form

• Parent Volunteer Form

• Hot Spot Request Form

• Swift Alert Information

• My School Bucks

• Letter of Permission for Student Electronic E-mail address (age 13 and below)

• PSSA information

• Physical wellness topics in eighth grade and sixth grade

• Activity Fee Form

• Health mandate notice

• CHIP information

• 6th Grade Only: Student iPad Guidelines and Responsibilities

Additional information:

Mutual Aid Courses

Monthly menus can be found here on the district website. Breakfast and lunch will be free for all students PK-12 this year.

Although each child receives a free breakfast and lunch, if a second breakfast or lunch is purchased, the cost is as follows: breakfast - $1.50, lunch - $2.70.

Report cards will be sent to Parent PowerSchool accounts at the end of each nine weeks. Families will be notified through an email and/or text. If you are unable to view the report card because you do not have a parent account please see the directions on how to set one up.

Please note, in order for you to view the digital report card, you will need to log into your account from a browser, not the PowerSchool Mobile App. Once you are in your account follow these directions to navigate to the report card.

PowerSchool is Ligonier Valley School District's student information system. PowerSchool holds valuable student information like grades, attendance and contact data. As a partner in your child's education, it is vital for you to create a PowerSchool Parent account. Through this account you will have real-time access to student attendance and academic progress information. In addition, quarterly report cards and transportation information will only be distributed through the parent portal.

PowerSchool allows a single parent log-in to be created by the parent which allows access to all of your children with one log-in. In order to create your account you will need an access ID and password. You can obtain this information from your child's building. It is usually distributed in the first day of school packet, however, if you need it sooner, please reach out to the building.

See the attached directions for creating a parent account below.

This year we will be adding bus stop information to your Parent PowerSchool Portal. You must login through a web browser. The PowerSchool Mobile app will not show the information. Once logged in, on the left hand side click Transportation. You will see bus numbers, times and stop information. Please be aware that this information may change due to enrollment variations.

It is very important that you create your Parent PowerSchool Account in order to view transportation as well as other vital student information. Please see the instructions to do this below under Parent PowerSchool Information.

Our district sends out general communication through text messages and emails. We try to limit phone calls to emergencies, like school delays and cancellations. Please make sure your contact information that the school has on file is up to date and accurate.

Also, we will be migrating to a new mass communication system. We will continue to utilize SwiftK12 until we have PowerSchool's Communication tool: School Messenger fully functional. You will need to opt in to receive messages from the school. You should do this prior to the start of school so that you don't miss any important information. Please view the flyer below for information on how to opt in.

Just a reminder that the Ligonier Valley Athletics Website has been updated. The old website is currently shut down. Please utilized the following link for all updated Scores, Alerts, Stories:

lvramsathletics.org

Meet the Rams Night, sponsored by the Community Carnival, will begin at 6:00pm on August 16th. The Ligonier Valley Athletic Department will welcome Ligonier Valley families and introduce our fall teams for the upcoming season. Carnival booths will be set up to preview the Community Carnival, which will take place on August 17th and 18th.

Open Gyms for MS Girls Basketball will start in September from 2:45pm to 4:15pm. Below are the dates:

Sept. 9th

Sept. 10th

Sept. 16th

Sept. 17th

Sept. 23rd

Sept. 24th

Sept. 25th

Sign ups are still available at this link: https://forms.gle/CctRoQ1PCYXsxHi58

First official practice will be on September 30th.

MS Football - Home Games

9/12 - vs. East Allegheny - 4pm

9/26 - vs. South Allegheny - 4pm