This is a 5-day week with an early release day on Friday, September 27th.

• On Tuesday and Wednesday, September 24th & 25th all students will start the day by taking the Measures of Academic Progress-Mathematics and Reading (MAPM & MAPR ) assessments. Testing locations are posted in each grade-level hallway. Following testing in the morning, we will follow the two-hour delay schedule to go to each class period for an abbreviated time. Please click here to read a letter from our Math and English Content Specialists to learn more about the MAP assessment, including the purpose of the assessment and score guidelines.
• Tuesday, September 24th we have a Cross Country meet & Girls Softball game at Ridgeview, while our Boys Softball plays Ridgeview at home.
  
• Wednesday, September 25th from 5 - 9 pm order dinner from Isaac's Poultry and a percent of each purchase goes to our LPMS PTSA.
• Friday, September 27th is an early release day with dismissal at 12:30pm. The Falcon Bucks stores will be open before school starts and we need one more parent/caretaker volunteer. Sign-up is below. Also on Friday, we will have our first meeting of our Wingspans and students will complete the required MCPS Student Expectation lessons for which they will earn 3 SSL hours. See more details below.
• Teachers are preparing our marking period 1 interim reports on Friday. Interims will be available on Synergy ParentVue on October 4th. Note that interims mark the deadline to turn in all work assigned from the first half of the marking period. Please check your child(ren)'s grades in Synergy ParentVue (see video below at minute 1:30), encourage them to complete any missing assignments, and see their teachers during Fly Time if they have questions.
• More after-school activities are starting this week. See details below.

Yearbook Sales Open

Please consider purchasing a yearbook for your child. Our yearbook is a student-designed hardcover publication with interviews and photographs from the year. The yearbook is also an important fundraiser for our school. It is currently the lowest price of the year: $35 on www.yearbookforever.com.

Holiday Help for Families

Each year, we connect our families with the Montgomery County Holiday Giving Project which supports families experiencing financial hardship during the holiday season. If your family is facing financial challenges or if you have any questions about the program, please reach out to our Counseling Secretary and Registrar, Denise Perez, at Denise_F_Perez@mcpsmd.org or call 240-740-6460. Rest assured, the identities of participating families will remain confidential. Please contact Denise before the deadlines listed below. Unfortunately, the program does not accept late referrals.

• Friday, October 25 – Last day for Thanksgiving referrals
• Friday, November 22 – Last day for December referrals

Let's have a great week!

Sincerely,

Rose Alvarez

Principal

Para traducir este boletín, seleccione "español" en "Translate Newsletter" encima.

September 27th is an early release day and our first Wingspan Day. Once a quarter on Wingspan Days, students will participate in in-school student led clubs during the school day. Students choose their clubs last week. Any student who did not choose their club will be assigned to a Wingspan club by our staff. Our 7th and 8th grade Wingspan student leaders received a brief training this past Friday and are ready to lead inclusive and engaging clubs with the support of staff sponsors. To find out more about the Wingspan clubs and schedule for the day, please click on the image of the Digital Handbook below and then click Wingspan on the table of contents.

Also on Wingspan Days we will engage students in Social emotional learning and community service opportunities. On this first Wingspan Days, all students will complete the MCPS Student Expectation Lessons. This training is required for all MCPS students in grades 6-12 to ensure students are informed and able to recognize signs of bullying/cyberbullying, harassment (including sexual harassment), hate-bias incidents, hazing, intimidation, student gender norms, and how to use the Speak Up Protocol. Students who fully complete this training will earn 3 SSL hours. Click here to read a letter with more details.

Parent and Caretaker Volunteer Opportunity

We need one more volunteer for this Friday, September 27 to work at our Falcon Bucks store. The Falcon Bucks stores in each grade level area every other Friday morning. This opportunity does not involve the exchange of actual money. Volunteer here: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/4090F4EA5A928AA8-51042751-falcon#/

Donate Items

Thanks to everyone who has donated already! This year we have a new system to encourage our students' to encourage positive behavior and interactions. Thank you to everyone has already donated by buying items on our Amazon Wishlist. Click here or below to see the wishlist: https://www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/NC8EIRQQZGBL?ref_=wl_share

LPMS Families--the book fair is coming! In just a few short weeks (October 10-17), the LPMS library will be filled with Scholastic books, posters, lots of fun knick knacks and, of course, dum dum lollipops! But, in order to put on a great book fair, we need YOUR help! Sign up to volunteer at the book fair HERE: https://signup.com/go/USWtPGb

And, get prepare to shop (e.g., set up your e-wallet) here:

https://bookfairs.scholastic.com/bf/lakelandsparkmiddleschool

See you at the book fair this October!

PTSA believes that together we can make every child’s potential a reality—but we need more believers like YOU. We need YOU. Will you join us?

Click here to Join or Donate to the PTSA

Direct Appeal Donation is our PTSA's primary fundraiser, accounting for about 35% of our PTSA budget. It is, quite simply, a straight-forward request for donations directly to the PTSA in lieu of more traditional fundraisers which involve selling products in exchange for a small portion of the proceeds.

With Direct Appeal, 100% of your contribution goes directly to funding the LPMS PTSA's programs and events. Please make your contribution today.

100% benefits LPMS PTSA

Zero overhead

No selling

Tax deductible

Our goal is to prioritize educational time in the classroom and create a safe and nurturing environment for ALL of our scholars at LPMS. We conduct safety sweeps to:

• Establish that students are in their classes ready for instruction, and accounted for.

• Reduce the number of absences and tardies to class

• Minimize the number of classroom disruptions

• Ensure the appropriate use of hallway/bathroom passes

Safety Sweep Procedures:

• Safety sweeps occur randomly, approximately twice a week.

• Safety sweeps are not announced.

• When the bell rings for a class to start and a safety sweep is being conducted, any student in the hallways or bathrooms without a pass is counseled by our staff members. They then receive a safety sweep pass to go directly to class.

• The first time a student is found in hallways/bathrooms without a pass during a safety sweep they receive a reminder.

• The second and third time a student will participate in a lunch reflection the next day with respective grade-level team leaders and families are notified by email.

• The fourth time and thereafter, the student will participate in an after school reflection (Tue/Wed/Thurs) with administration and families are notified by email or phone.

Students who choose to eat the school breakfast and/or lunch must purchase these items this year or receive them free by applying for FARMs. Students will use their student ID number to access their lunch account at mealtime. Breakfast is $1.30 and lunch is $2.80. There are also a la carte options for purchase. Menus are updated regularly at the MCPS Food and Nutrition Services website.

Online PrePayments with MySchoolBucks

English | español | 中文 | français | tiếng Việt | 한국어 | አማርኛ

MySchoolBucks is an optional service for parents to view recent purchases and make prepayments to your child's cafeteria account for breakfast, lunch and a la carte meals via the Internet with a credit/debit card. This service is offered as a convenience for interested families. By creating a secure online account, parents can manage their child's account. Click here to sign up or access your child's account: www.MySchoolBucks.com.

Students may qualify for free or reduced-price meals based on household size and income. They may also qualify if they are receiving Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), Temporary Cash Assistance (TCA), or Medicaid benefits. Families may apply for meal benefits by completing an Application for Free and Reduced-Price Meals for the current school year. Students who qualify for reduced-price meals will not be charged that cost - meaning that reduced-price students will eat for free. Families that qualify for Free and Reduced Meals (FARMs) are encouraged to apply now to avoid longer processing times in the Fall. Click here to apply: https://www.myschoolapps.com/. Several family food programs are tied to FARMS status.

How-to videos for the online FARMS application:

Spanish Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dsdCrtCIFJc&t=4s
English Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TJUapGLarBo

Lakelands Park Middle School offers an exciting variety of after-school opportunities from 3:15 to 4:30 pm on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays (excluding half days and unscheduled early release days). Some of our activities are starting this week! Our clubs are open to all students in all grades and no pre-registration is necessary. We encourage our students to show up on the first day and learn more.

On the days we have after-school activities, students will report to the Cafeteria at 3:00 pm. We will serve a hot meal from 3:00 to 3:15 pm, and students will be dismissed at 3:15 pm to their activities.

While participating in after-school activities, students can practice leadership skills, improve their academic, musical, and athletic abilities, and participate in other endeavors that suit their creativity and personal interests. Under the supervision of a supportive, caring, and competent professional staff member or volunteer, a student will often develop an avocation that will remain a lifelong interest and source of enjoyment.

Clubs starting this week:

Student Government Association (SGA) with Ms. Reed: Tuesdays

Safe Space with Mr. Rojas Godoy: Tuesdays

Publications Club with Ms. Tippets: Wednesdays

Minority Scholars Program (MSP) with Ms. Reed: Thursdays

Click here to visit our Activities webpage to learn more about this activities and others! You can also see our activity bus calendar and routes. Activity busses typically run Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays.

Click here to visit our websites athletics page for the athletics schedule and other important information regarding our athletics program.

Girls and Boys Softball and Girls and Boys Cross Country registration for 7th and 8th grade students is now closed and our Fall season is underway. Please click here to read a letter with important dates, deadlines, and resources.

Wednesday, October 2nd: Boys Softball at Kingsview, Cross Country & Girls Softball at home.

Thursday, October 3rd: No School, Non-instructional Day

Tuesday, October 8th: First PTSA Meeting and Info Night Event

Wednesday, October 9th: Boys Softball at Baker, Cross Country & Girls Softball at home.

Thursday, October 10th - Thursday, October 17th: Scholastic Book Fair

Thursday, October 17th: Boys Softball at King, Cross Country & Girls Softball at home.

Thursday, October 17th: Bingo Night, 6:00 - 7:30 pm

Friday, October 18th: No School, Professional Day

Thursday, October 24th: Cross Country & Girls Softball at Poole, Boys Softball at home.

Friday, October 25th: PTSA Sponsored Dance, 6:30 - 8:00 pm

Friday, November 1st: Last Day of Marking Period 1

Monday, November 4th: No School, Professional Day

Check out the Who's Who to know who to contact. During the school year, if your question is about your child's class, the first person to contact is always your child's teacher. Use Synergy to quickly email your child's teachers or see our Staff Directory.

Email: Rose_S_Alvarez@mcpsmd.org
Website: https://www2.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/schools/lakelandsparkms/
Location: Lakelands Park Middle School, 1200 Main Street, Gaithersburg, MD, USA
Phone: (240)740-6450
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LPMSPTSA/