LMS Weekly Newsletter

Congratulations on successfully completing the first week of the 2024-25 school year! It was wonderful to see so many smiling faces, and watch our WEB Leaders support our new 6th graders on their first day. We enjoyed seeing our returning students as well as welcome new members of our LMS team. We had an assembly, did some community building, a few tours, and then rounded out the day with Kona Ice for all!

When everyone was back together on Wednesday the building was humming with excitement and there were big smiles all around. 7th and 8th grade students got their lockers and signed their locker agreements - 6th graders will choose locker partners and get their locker assignments this week.

There were a few schedules that needed adjusting, but for the most part students managed to get to the right place at the right time. We are working now to make adjustments to class sizes so they are balanced, as well as double check that all students are scheduled into things like PE and health, and all their core classes (language arts, math, science, and social studies). Your students' schedule may still change this week for these purposes.

If you are unable to see your student's schedule in ParentVue or Canva, I have reached out to IT to see why that is. Stay tuned!

Our library was open during lunches and students were super excited to see what new books Ms. Raspone collected for them over the summer. We are so happy to hear all the fuss about reading! This year our expectation is that each student will carry a book with them to each class so that they don't ever need to worry about being bored. Lucky for us, Ms. Raspone knows what our students love to read and she makes sure our library is fully stocked with those books. See below for details about the Summer Reading celebration coming up in just a few weeks!

Our spirit shirts are in and this week we are collecting t-shirt sizes from students so that we can distribute those shirts to our community. We would LOVE it if students would join our staff in wearing them each Friday! We are also collecting information from students about what school supplies they might need - those supplies will be distributed this week by our amazing leadership students.

We still have several hot days ahead of us, so please encourage your student to bring a water bottle to school to keep hydrated. Young people love to hide under sweatshirts and hats, but their bodies overheat and sometimes it makes them feel nauseous or lightheaded. We encourage them to wear layers so they can stay cool as temperatures rise, but they can be stubborn, as I'm sure you are aware!

Remember that there is NO SCHOOL tomorrow, Monday, September 2nd in observance of the Labor Day Holiday. We will see you all on Tuesday morning to kick off another 4 day week of school!

Warmly,

Rosemarie El Youssef

LMS Principal

office: 503-916-6355, ext. 72700

cell: 971-706-3438

relyoussef@pps.net

A note from Transportation (you may have already received it on Friday):

A change has been made to one or more bus route(s) servicing your students' school.

Changes will go into effect on 09/04/2024.

Please note changes below:

Please visit www.pps.net/bus to look at updated stop times if your student uses an impacted route.

Please contact the Transportation department with any questions at (503) 916-6901 or transportation@pps.net.

Thank you,

PPS Transportation

Route 239 MORNING

Route 239 AFTERNOON

Route 242 MORNING

Route 242 AFTERNOON

Route 249 MORNING

Route 249 AFTERNOON

Route 256 MORNING

Route 256 AFTERNOON

We have 4 buses that help students get to and from school, and a cross walk that we support in order to make sure all of our students are safe. Please pay attention to cones and don't park where they are placed, and pay close attention to the crossing guard at the cross walk. No passing, no u-turns, and no parking in areas where buses are pulling in and students are walking. We will help direct traffic but we depend on you to do your part - thank you!

When you get an email and text message from our school leaders and educators that communication likely came from one of two platforms: Remind or SchoolMessenger. Both platforms take the email addresses and phone numbers you provide, store those securely and sync with our student information system to capture any changes.

Most often, we use SchoolMessenger to contact you. In these instances, the sender decides how it will come to you – as a call, text, or email. With Remind, though, the decision sits with the recipient: do you want to read a message as a text or email, or do you want the message in the Remind app on your phone? (This last option would require you to download the app).

As a district, we have been well-served by both platforms, and school communities have adapted each to their needs. However, in a year of budget cuts, continuing both platforms is not sustainable.

We therefore want to share that, starting this school year (24-25), Remind will become our only broadcast messaging tool as a district.

You will want to opt into our school messages with the code @lanemidd. We would strongly encourage you to set your personal preferences in Remind. Teachers will have class codes for you to opt into soon. Look for these codes when teachers send home beginning of the year communications.

While this is a technical shift, we know it is a shift that touches on your daily experience with your student’s school. We thank you in advance for your patience and cooperation as we navigate this change.

Sincerely,

Rosemarie El Youssef, Principal

Jesus Ramos, Assistant Principal

Emily Barron, Assistant Principal

1. Remind allows us to send messages directly to students in grade 6-12, which will encourage them to play a more-active role in their education.

2. Remind gives families more agency to pick whatever form of communication is best for them: email, text, app, or any combination.

3. Families have increasingly asked the school district for communications via a smartphone app – Remind affords this opportunity, and SchoolMessenger does not.

4. Once we complete the shift, families will be able to receive all communications from our district in one place.

This shift will also save us tens of thousands of dollars each year – savings that are needed in this tight budget year.

Please have your student put their binder together so they are ready to learn on the first day of school:

In the binder —> dividers, pencil pouch, some loose notebook paper

In the pencil pouch —--> pens, pencils, highlighters, scissors, glue stick

In the backpack —--> binder, markers, colored pencils, headphones

If you need support with school supplies we will have forms available at the BBQ and in the front office the week before school begins so we can prepare binders for your student to use the first week of school.

As you may know, our staff meetings will now take place in the morning before school begins and we have 6 early release days for professional development.

Regular days will start at 9:15 and end at 4 p.m.

Staff Meeting days will start at 9:30 a.m. and end at 4 p.m.

Early Release days will start at 9:15 a.m. and end at 1:45 p.m.

At LMS we are proud of our schoolwide expectations - they provide our students with structure and helps them focus on learning in the classrooms. Please take the time to review some of our most important expectations, especially since some of them might be new to our incoming families. Safety is our priority and we appreciate your support keeping our campus a safe place to learn!

Cell Phones must be off and out of sight as soon as students enter the building - in their backpack, in their locker, in their pocket, but always out of sight. If the cell phone is spotted, the student will get two warnings; if it happens again, we will take it and lock it in the office until the end of the day. Our staff will track these interventions and notify you if cell phone use becomes a problem and we need to increase our support.

Backpacks must be stored in lockers during the school day. They clutter our classroom spaces and items are frequently lost or stolen unless they are stored safely in a locker.

Tardies will be monitored because students must be present and ready in order to learn. Accumulating 3 or more tardies may result in phone calls home, and we will work with you and your student to implement interventions to support their efforts to be on time.

Perfumes and aerosol sprays (body spray, hair spray, etc) are not allowed at school because many of our students and staff suffer from allergies and asthma. Please keep these items at home; if we see them, we will confiscate them and store them in the office until the end of the day when your student can take them home.

LMS is a closed campus, which means that we will not accept DoorDash, Uber Eats, or other deliveries to students. Parents/guardians are welcome to drop lunch items off for their students at any time. PPS students from other schools are not allowed to visit LMS as long as school day or extended day programming is active and LMS students are on campus and engaged in learning.

Once a student gets on the bus they become our responsibility - door to door. They MUST stay on campus once they arrive on campus. If you drop them off at school, they may not leave school to walk to the store or anywhere else as it is extremely unsafe. Also, some of our students are arriving to school campus on time and are tardy to first period because they are leaving campus.

Snacks and drinks have become a growing issue in classrooms, interfering with learning and also attracting pests like ants and mice. Food consumption will be limited to the cafeteria during breakfast and lunch, and snacks are allowed as long as they are healthy - fruit, granola bars, yogurt, etc. are acceptable in spaces where the teacher has given permission. Candy, gum, chips, and other items with low nutritional value are not allowed in the classroom but can be consumed at lunch. Energy drinks and beverages in glass bottles are not allowed on campus at any time.

We have more information to share with you, but we hope you will discuss these expectations with your students now as you gear up for the school year!

Hello Families!

Please take the time to complete this survey about SUN and after school programming, which will help LMS SUN best tailor our offerings to students' interests, and help us improve access to after school programs for all of our students.

https://forms.gle/GwBTRRjDYSyFimZu8

Thank you, and I hope that you are thriving amidst all the crazy this week!

-WG

The Multnomah County Library summer reading program begins today, June 16th!

We are hoping that as many students as possible (including rising 6th graders) participate and we are looking forward to celebrating their achievement with pizza and cake when we return to the building in August. To progress through the game board, students read (listening to an audiobook counts!) or do another type of educational activity (Duolingo, practice an instrument, art, etc.) for 20 minutes a day for roughly 45 days of summer break.

Once students complete the game board, they turn it into their local Multcolib branch to be entered into a drawing for an Ipad package and receive a summer reading t-shirt. Wearing the 2024 t-shirt on 9/13/24 will be their ticket to pizza and cake in the library!

More information on the program is available here, you can find your closest Multnomah County Library location here, and send any questions you may have to our librarian, Ms. Raspone (sraspone@pps.net).

Stock the Staffroom was a success to kick off the year! Thank you to Cora & Sarah for all your work with this!

Our first General PTA meeting will take place Monday September 9th from 6-7 PM. All are welcome including kids. It will be in the LMS library where there are board games available for kids who attend. We will have pizza and we will spend the first 30 minutes doing a meet and greet and sharing all the great things happening at LMS! We hope to see you there! Keep an eye out for the agenda and more details.

Save the date for our second annual Lane PTA student run carnival at the Woodstock Gives Back neighborhood celebration on Sunday September 15th from 10am-2pm! We will be looking to fill volunteer shifts that day for set-up, clean-up, and to help with activities during the carnival. A sign up will be emailed this week, and your time and help will be sooo appreciated!

Our No Fuss Fall Fundraiser will be starting up next month. We have one person on the fall fundraiser committee, but she could really use some help with organizing and communications for it. Email us at lanemspta@gmail.com if you would like to help or to hear more!

Please note we have changed website platforms.Subscribe to the Lane PTA Google calendar and sign up for our email list. Check out our new website at https://lanemspta.givebacks.com/

We’ve got lots of activities and ideas for the upcoming year! Sign up for our emails and help us by filling out this interest form. Link has been updated and is now working: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1k5GYYCEG8tLo0N3gF8hRSG5iMcEiQsmLG00ylPZXO54/edit

Renew your PTA membership for the 2024-2025 school year here: https://www.oregonpta.org/membership

Be sure to choose Lane PTA from the dropdown list. Dues are $10 of which $9.50 go to pay state and national PTA dues. We have scholarships available to pay for memberships. Email us at lanemspta@gmail.com to let us know you need a scholarship and we will take care of the rest!

We are working to increase parent volunteers at LMS this year! Email us at lmspta@gmail.com if you would like to hear more about volunteer opportunities this fall!

Elections for new board members will take place during our October general meeting on Monday, October 7th at 6PM. No experience necessary!

September

9/2 - NO SCHOOL, Labor Day Holiday

9/10 - Staff Meeting, School Starts at 9:30 (Doors open at 9:15 a.m.)

9/15 - Hispanic Heritage Month begins!

9/19 - Back to School Night, 5:30-7:30 - more info to come!

9/25 - Early Dismissal, students released at 1:45 p.m.

9/26 - Progress Reports

PPS 2024-25 Calendar