For our new families, the Rebel Report will be your go-to source for information on what's been happening at Larson Middle School and also prepare you for what is ahead. You'll see it published on a bi-weekly basis and will arrive Friday after school.

Starting Monday, our kitchen staff is hoping to open the Snack Bar. Here are the guidelines for Snack Bar:

•Students can only visit the snack bar ONCE during lunch

•Students will be limited to only 3 items

•Must have funds loaded on your student ID

To add funds to your student's ID, please see the information below regarding My SchoolBucks!

My SchoolBucks

Troy Food Services will use MySchoolBucks for students' lunch accounts. Lunch payments cannot be made through the PowerSchool Parent Portal. Although lunches are free this year, extra entrees, juice, and bottled water may be purchased provided their are funds in your child's account to cover these purchases. In other words, there will no longer be “charging” of ala carte items to student’s accounts without having adequate funds on their account.

Please see the MySchoolBucks flyer below to set-up an account.

Good News! We now have an ID printer here at Larson. If your student loses their ID, they can buy a new one in the office for $5 cash. There are many, many, many (have we said many?) students not bringing their ID to school for breakfast/lunch. If your student has lost their ID, please have them bring $5 to the office to buy a new one.

This is a little reminder that the window for families to purchase the Optional Annual iPad Insurance closes October 31st (Halloween!)

Below is a button to our website that contains instructions on how to purchase insurance, a description of coverage, as well as damage/lost iPad fees for those who choose not to participate. This also contains a note about students who qualify for Free and Reduced Lunch and how they will have the iPad participation fee waived, as long as they opt-in to qualify for this benefit. Feel free to include this information in your parent communications.

We strongly recommend the $25 iPad insurance for your student to protect against accidental screen or iPad damage.

• Insurance $25 per year per student, family max $100 (5+ student families should contact pssupport@troy.k12.mi.us to have the additional fees waived)

• Qualified Free and Reduced Price Lunch students have the fee waived if they Opt-In to share programs (contact Food Service and pssupport)

• Insurance can be purchased on School Pay

• New students can get an iPad from their building Tech during the first two weeks of school

The window to purchase iPad Insurance is now through October 31. After October 31, only newly enrolled students from that day on may purchase insurance.

Tuesday, October 8: No Advisory

Tuesday, October 15:

6th Grade

Students learned about what kindness looks like in middle school. They reflected on how kindness makes them feel as well as how they feel when they show kindness to others. Students learned that kindness can be shown using words or actions and can be something very simple. They learned that kindness starts with them and how one simple act of kindness can spread farther than they would think.

7th Grade

Students discussed the importance of showing kindness when working with a group even if you don't agree or don't get along well with everyone in the group and describe how kindness not only benefits others, but also benefits them.

8th Grade

Students continued to focus on engaging in appropriate social interactions through interactive games and activities.

Tuesday, October 22:

6th Grade

Students will discuss the importance of making people feel good instead of putting them down.

7th Grade

In honor of National Bullying Prevention Month, students will explain what it means to stand up for others. They will compare what it means being an upstander and being a bystander.

8th Grade

Students will be revisiting their group norms and looking to see as a group what they may have in common and how those strengths can help them as part of a group or a team.

Tuesday, October 29: No Advisory due to a 3-day student week.

• Tuesday, October 22 Picture Retake Day
• Tuesday, October 22 All Band Spooky Beats and Treats Concert
• Wednesday, October 23 Fall Sports Assembly During School
• October 24 - 27 8th Grade students going to Washington DC
• Tuesday, October 29 After School Activity
• Wednesday, October 30 PTO Trunk or Treat
• Thursday and Friday October 31 and 11/1 No School - Teacher PD

We wanted to bring to your attention an issue that has recently come to our notice regarding behavior in the bathrooms and locker rooms. In the girls' restrooms, there has been an unusually high use of paper towels, with custodians needing to restock supplies much more frequently than usual. In the boys' restrooms and locker rooms, some sinks have been clogged with paper towel.

We understand that bathroom behavior can impact not only other students but also those responsible for maintaining these spaces. It's important that restroom supplies are used responsibly to ensure they are available for everyone.

We kindly ask that you take a moment to remind your student about the importance of being respectful and responsible in shared spaces. By working together, we can maintain a clean and comfortable environment for all.

Thank you for your understanding and support in reinforcing these values at home!

Reserve a Yearbook Now! Yearbooks can be purchased through PaySchools. To guarantee your student will get one, you can purchase your hardcover book for $25 as production costs have gone up. While we may have a few yearbooks available for purchase in June, we cannot guarantee your child will be able to purchase one at that time. Should you have any questions please contact Ms. McHugh at smchugh@troy.k12.mi.us

To ensure safety and security, we are encouraging all student items to be dropped off on the blue cart in the vestibule and labeled with a sticky note. In addition to the sticky note, please use the Daily Drop off Log to put your students name and item. We will be going through the cart every hour to make sure items get to your student in a timely manner.

The PTO counts on financial assistance from Larson families so they are able to support students and teachers in a variety of ways. Rather than regular fundraisers, we ask parents/guardians to simply make a one-time donation of $30 per student. This covers the costs of all programming, the most significant being teacher classroom mini-grants.

While our request is $30 per student, we will accept any amount you wish to contribute. The Larson PTO is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization so your donation is tax deductible if you itemize deductions.

Where can you get more information throughout this year about the PTO?

● PTO website: We post lots of information there, including the calendar, minutes, budget, etc. Find us at http://larsonmiddleschoolpto.weebly.com.

● Facebook: Join our group on Facebook @ Larson Middle School PTO.

● Bi-Weekly Rebel Reports: Principal Zawislak’s newsletters will contain important PTO information.

● PTO Meetings: We’re working on a schedule for meetings in September, October, November, January, March, and May. Find details in the Rebel Reports and on Facebook.

What do we do with PTO funds?

Just a few of the items that the PTO helps pay for include:

● Classroom mini grants for a variety of requests for items or programs to support instruction (this is one of our most important and fulfilling roles as a PTO)

● Social and physical wellbeing programs

● Student educational and development programs

● Teacher appreciation

● Technology needs

● Troy berry books for the library

How can I support the PTO at Larson?

You are invited to make a donation in the following ways:

Zelle: Chris_Malone113@sbcglobal.net PayPal: paypal.me/LarsonPTO

Check: Check made payable to Larson PTO. These can be dropped off in the Larson main office or mailed to our school.

● Use the FREE Benefit Mobile App to purchase things you were going to purchase anyway. Set Larson Middle School PTO as your beneficiary (find us under the non-profit list, not the school list). Benefit Mobile sends us a monthly check. This is basically an electronic gift card you buy at the point of purchase. There are hundreds of retailers/restaurants that offer 2-20% cash back to Larson. It is faster and easier than paying by check or a credit/debit card. It works for online purchases, too. There is NO out-of-pocket expense to use this app. You will be simply shocked how fast you can raise funds for the PTO using this app.

● Support us with the Kroger Community Rewards program (select LARSON MIDDLE SCHOOL PTO or organization #FH896) *You can really make a huge impact if you double up fundraising efforts by paying for your Amazon order with Benefit Mobile through Amazon Smile--then we get 2.5% back!

● We have regular restaurant night fundraisers. (*Bonus-you will find many of these restaurants on the Benefit MobileApp so there is extra opportunity to support the PTO!)

You can order Larson spirit wear at https://larsonrebels.itemorder.com/sale.

Your PTO Executive Board for this year:

President- Cijay Avery

Vice President- Kate Fellin

Treasurer- Christine Tallman

Secretary- Joanna Cruz

If you have any questions about the PTO please reach out to us at cijayavery123@gmail.com

Welcome to the Larson family! Enjoy the last days of summer and be safe!

Sincerely,

Cijay, Kate, Christine, and Joanna

Please plan to join us for a PTO meeting on Wednesday, November 13 at 7:00 pm in person at the Media Center, or virtually through a Microsoft Teams Meeting. All LMS parents are welcome! Link will be shared at a later time.

All grades can participate in intramural sports which usually only require parents to sign a permission slip for participation. Please note that IM Wrestling and Cross Country require a current physical. To participate in a club(s) and/or intramural sport(s) a one-time fee of $50 is required prior to participating (annual household max for MS & HS clubs/intramurals is $100). Payments for intramurals and club participation are made on SchoolPay.

We are in need of adult support at Larson! Come join our team by applying to be a student-support aide, guest teacher, or building tech support.

As we know, literacy is crucial because it not only enhances understanding and communication across all academic content areas but also equips individuals with the essential skills needed to navigate and succeed in life beyond school. This fall, Larson Middle School is excited to partner with the Troy Public Library to foster a love of reading by offering space and time for the TPL Bookmobile, bringing books and resources directly to our students. The next TPL Bookmobile date will bethe TPL Bookmobile will be available from 3 - 4 pm on Monday, October 14 in the Larson bus loop. Hope students are able to take advantage of the opportunity!

Although school lunches are free this year, we encourage those who qualify for assistance to complete the 2024-2025 Free & Reduced Application. Other services may be received with approved applications. Applications are available in the office. For details, please see the Food and Nutrition section of the Troy School District (https://www.troy.k12.mi.us/departments/food-nutrition).

SchoolPay is found on the TSD website and through the PowerSchool Parent Portal. SchoolPay is used for things like field trips, media fines and iPad insurance. Payments for Food Services is through MySchoolBucks.