Dr. Dominique Falls, Principal

Dr. Rhonda Jackson, Assistant Principal

Dr. Joe Lauchstaedt, Assistant Principal

Mr. Tim Gardner, Home School Communicator

Email: dfalls@cpsk12.org
Website: https://www.cpsk12.org/lms
Location: 2201 Smiley Lane, Columbia, MO, USA
Phone: (573) 214-3250
Twitter: @lmsleopards

MOTTO: Going For Gold!

VISION: Shape the future, support growth, pursue greatness, and recognize excellence.

MISSION: Lead with character, learn with pride, and together we achieve success!

10/2 -10/4 Teacher Workdays - No School

10/14 Mandatory Winter Athletics Parent Meeting @ 5:30pm

10/18 School Dance 6-8 PM

10/21 Winter Athletic Tryouts

10/22 Interim Progress Report(IPR/Grades)

10/22 Fall Sports Recognition Night @ 6pm

Dear Lange Middle School Families,

We are getting into fall and October is the time of year when we start to prepare for the cooler days ahead and celebrate the end of some very hot temperatures. We continue to work with our students to make sure they get into a good routine of school. For some students it has been a harder adjustment to get back accustomed to the rigor of school and establishing friend groups. It is great to have our teachers and parents working together to help students reach the academic results they are striving to achieve. As we continue moving through this year we need your support as we help students focus on getting their classwork and homework done (academics), attend school at a rate of at least 90% (attendance), and model respectful, responsible and safe behavior while at school (attitude). We believe students are more likely to be successful if they excel in these three areas.

Therefore, we encourage parents and guardians to stay actively involved by checking grades and attendance on home access and talk to your student about their Kickboard account, which is representative of their classroom behavior. The behaviors students display at school will help them gain the skills to be successful as they get to the next level of their educational journey.

As we continue through this month, please notice the Important Dates and mark your calendar. Within the next few weeks:

• PTSA meeting will be held on October 14th at 6:00 PM in the cafeteria. Please consider attending the meeting to help build our parent-school partnership.

• Interim Progress Report (IPR) are 10/22/24 and will be sent home on 10/25/24

Please check our website regularly to stay updated on all the activities taking place here at Lange Middle School. The more you become involved the better connected you and your child will become with our school. Encourage your child to join one of our clubs or try out for an athletic team. During the adolescent years this is a huge factor in students’ level of success. Together we can help all our students achieve success. Thank you for being great supporters of Lange Middle School. Everyone at Lange Middle School is looking forward to a productive and rewarding 2024-2025 school year as we work with your child and family. We appreciate your continued support of our students and staff as we engage in the difficult work of meeting the needs of EVERY STUDENT, EVERY DAY!

With Leopard Pride,

Dr. Falls

In a commitment to fully engage our parents, please be sure to stay informed:

● Regularly check our school website for the most up to date information at https://www.cpsk12.org/Page/35

● Subscribe to our communication system by giving us your current email and phone number.

● Follow us on Twitter: @lmsleopards

● Follow us on Facebook: John B. Lange Middle School

● Joining and participating in our Parents, Teachers, and Students Association (PTSA) events

Please check to make sure that all parent/guardian and emergency contact information iscorrect through your parent portal. Please update all parent/guardian and emergency contactinformation through your parent portal or contact our registrar Echoe Crawford via email at ecrawford@cpsk12.org or stop by the main office. Please remember to provide proof of residencein person.

Parent/Guardian Legal Proof of Residence

Bring a current copy of one of the following:

-Contract of home purchase

-Real estate lease -Current water, electric, or gas bill showing address

-Notarized letter from owner of the residence with whom the family is living, along withowner’s legal proof of residence as listed above.

Membership: Our Lange Parent Teacher Student Association

(PTSA) is asking parents to join the PTSA for this school year.

Membership is on $5 per parent/guardian. Applications are available in the main office.

Vice President: Our PTSA is looking to fill the position of vice president. If you have a willingness to serve and have some time to donate throughout the school year, our PTSA needs you! There is lots of support to train the new volunteer. You may contact Shonda White shondaw@cmca.us to get more information or you contact our main office.

Meeting: The next PTSA meeting will be held on October14th, at 6PM in the Lange cafeteria. Please mark your calendar to attend this meeting. We hope to see you there!

Dear Lange Family,

This year school staff are working to teach students about mental health and how to seek help if they are worried about themselves or a friend. We are using a program called SOS Signs of Suicide. The program teaches students about this difficult topic and encourages them to seek help.

SOS has been used by thousands of schools for over 20 years. Studies have shown that it effectively teaches students about depression and suicide while reducing the number of students’ self-reported suicide attempts.

Through the program, students learn:

• that depression is treatable, so they are encouraged to seek help

• how to identify depression and potential suicide risk in themselves or a friend

• to ACT (Acknowledge, Care and Tell a trusted adult) if concerned about themselves or a friend

• who they can turn to at school for help

Students will watch age-appropriate video clips and participate in a guided discussion about depression, suicide, and what to do if they are concerned about a friend. At the end of class, students will complete an exit slip which asks whether they would like to talk to an adult about any concerns. School staff will conduct brief meetings with any student asking to talk.

We encourage you to visit www.mindwise.org/parents for information on warning signs for youth suicide, useful resources, and some of the key messages students will learn.

If you have any questions or concerns about your child’s participation in this program please contact us, LMS Counselors at 573-214-3250, Monday-Friday, 7:30-2:35 pm.

Ms. Amy Lamm, A-G, alamm@cpsk12.org

Mrs. Erynn Carey, H-N, ecarey@cpsk12.org

Mrs. Belinda Woods-Galbreath, O-Z, bwoods@cpsk12.org

Mr. Carlos Robles, At Risk Counselor, crobles@cpsk12.org

Sincerely,
Dr. Dominique Falls, Principal, dfalls@cpsk12.org

At Lange Middle School we want to make sure that every student has a chance to participate in something. Research has shown that those students that get involved in school activities or school sports do better in school and end up being more successful in life.

For all Grade Levels we have a wide range of things from Music Activities like Band, Orchestra, and Choir to Theatrical Arts and Quiz Bowl. There are also many clubs that you will find out about in September.

For 6th Grade we will have intramural sports starting in September with Flag Football and Kickball.

Competitive Sports in the Fall are only for 7th and 8th graders. Sports are Cheer, Cross Country, Football, and Volleyball. (Cheer and Volleyball teams have a limited number of spots available so depending on the numbers they could have true Try Outs with possible cuts)

Before any student athlete can come to a practice, they will need to have all of these forms filled out and signed by the Guardian and student: Athletic Physical filled out and signed by a doctor (unless you had one completed last year), the MSHSAA Pre Participation Annual Requirement form (All Sports & Activities will need to fill this out including Music Activities), and the District Athletic Commitment form.

There are many medical clinics that offer cheap Athletic Physicals, just make sure the doctor signs and dates them. There is also the Scholar Clinic that Student Athletes can go to get Physicals:

These can all be found on the District Athletic web page:

Athletics / About Athletics in CPS (cpsk12.org)

In addition all Lange Middle School Student Athletes and Guardians must sign our: 2024-2025 Lange Middle School Minimum Behavior/Conduct Agreement Form for Leopard Athletics

We want our Student Athletes to have a culture of Winning in the Classroom, Hallways, and of course the Field/Court. Every Student Athlete will need to be a Role Model and Example for the other Students in the school.

Information for attending games and events:

- For the 2024-2025 school year, as of right now the athletic/activity admission for regular events will be:

o $3.00 for students

o $4.00 for adults

o Family Pass $75 (Lets you into all regular events, not tournaments or invitationals)

Columbia Public School sporting events student expectations

- Football games and Track and Field Events, all Spectators have to sit on the Grandstand/Press box side of the Field. No Spectators can be on the field or sidelines or visitor side of field. No backpacks are allowed in with students.

- Basketball/Volleyball games/matches, Students should sit in the student section of the bleachers, commonly above the first two rows of bleachers

- THERE ARE NO BACKPACKS ALLOWED IN THE GYM

- All students should exhibit appropriate behavior meaning; no booing, name calling, yelling, or talking back to players, coaches, or officials

- All middle school students MUST BE ACCOMPANIED BY AN ADULT

· All sporting events are subject to change. An updated sporting schedule can be found on the Lange Athletics Website

Please contact Pamela Coomer, ECA secretary (pcoomer@cpsk12.org), or Jeff Linhardt, Athletic Director (jlinhardt@cpsk12.org) with any questions.

“Are you a 6th-8th grade girl? Do you love science and technology? Join us twice a month to learn about STEM! Our focus this year is Sustainability in the Home: Understanding the Science of Home, Bath, and Body Products!”

• Parents, please know that we are trying to keep our Lange Family safe.

• Please follow the directions of the signs, arrows and adults when dropping off and picking up.

• Please do not go around the parking lot or drive through the lot.

• Remind your student to look for your car and walk to get in on the passenger side of the vehicle.

• Look over map for visual description

Parents, please note that it is an Exit Only for the northeast drive. We want to make sure to be safe when driving through our parking lot. Notice the Exit Only drive and please never pass on the right of cars in the drop off and pick up area.

• Students should arrive ready to learn each day in time to be in their classroom by 7:25AM.
• Once students arrive they should grab breakfast (optional) and go directly to their Period 1 class.
• Students will be supervised by teachers and other adults as they are leaving the building. They are expected to leave the building and go directly to their bus or car transportation for that day.
• Any students who want to go home with someone other than their assigned bus or guardian, they will need a pass from the main office before the end of the school day. We are asking parents/guardians to make arrangements for a different mode of transportation (if needed) before 2:00PM. This will give us time to get the pass to the student before the bell rings at 2:35PM.

• Students will not be issued a locker. This will help minimize the chance of students congregating in the hallways.
• Passing periods are 3 minutes so students need to go directly from one class to their next class.
• Students should maintain as much physical distancing as possible when walking in the halls.

School lunches will not be free this year so if your child would like to eat school lunch, please use the system to load money on their account or have them bring money. If you are interested in a free and reduced lunch form, please use the link below. Students will have the option to bring lunch from home or choose an item from the school choices. The school lunch offers:

• A daily hot lunch
• Individual Pan Pizza
• Cheeseburger

http://www.cpsk12.org/nutrition.

https://myschoolbucks.com/

• Visitors are asked to schedule visits in advance with the person you need to see.
• Visitors will not be allowed to come for lunch with students in the cafeteria. An alternate eating location may be arranged if you contact the LMS main office in advance at (573)214-3250. We will let you know if it is possible at the time of your call. Please keep in mind that health protocols change constantly and we can't guarantee that we will be able to accommodate your request to be in the building.
• To schedule an appointment, please e-mail the person you would like to meet with OR call the LMS main office.
• If picking up your student, remain in your car and call the LMS main office and your student will be sent to your car.

• Drinking fountains will be available for student use. Students should get permission from their teacher to fill their water bottle.
• Students are encouraged to bring a personal water bottle from home. We can provide a personal water bottle to any student who needs one.

Families/Guardians,

We hope your family is having a wonderful summer. We wanted to take this opportunity to send a remainder regarding our updated cell phone expectations for the 2024-2025 school year.

On Monday, May 13th, our secondary administrative team presented the 2024-2025 cell phone guidelines to the Columbia Public Schools Board of Education. You can watch the presentation by visiting our Columbia Public Schools CPSTV website HERE (the presentation starts around 1 hour and 5 minutes). Attached, you will find our 2024-2025 cell phone, and smart device, scholar expectations.

The intent of this communication is to provide these expectations often as we move forward with limiting distractions in all learning environments. We hope this information provides our families with the opportunity to discuss, and prepare for, our 2024-2025 cell phone (and smart device) protocols.

We will continue to keep you informed with updates throughout the summer and into the next school year. We want all students and families to be well-prepared to meet these new expectations and succeed in our academic community.

Thank you for your partnership as we work together to prioritize education for our students.

We have seen a rise in cell phone use in classrooms the last few years. The alarming rate of safety issues and distractions from student learning are concerning. Students will be required to leave their cell phones at home or have them turned-off and put away in their backpack all day. Should students choose to not adhere to this expectation, they will first receive a warning and asked put their phone away. The subsequent offenses will range from parent notification, a parent meeting, a referral, after school detention and/or up to in-school suspension. We appreciate you partnering with us to help us remove a very addicting distraction from the classroom that is compromising the integrity of the learning environment.

• Cell phones are to remain off and out-of-sight from the time students arrive at school to the time they leave school. 7 AM - 2:40 PM

• Cell phones are not to be used for any reason during the school day

• NO phone calls - Must use office or classroom phone

• NO Schoology on phones

• NO E-Hallpass on phones

• NO earbuds

• SMART watches, when used in place of a phone, are considered the phone.

• This applies to all classrooms and common spaces at LMS…. NO EXCEPTIONS

This year our scholars will have access to an online app called TutorMe. The app, which provides 24/7 access to tutors in over 300 subjects, will allow students to get additional academic assistance while at school and home. If your scholar needs academic assistance in any of the courses at Lange Middle School please work with their teachers and counselors to get access to TutorMe!

Dear LANGE FAMILY,

We’re excited to share that our school is participating in Cash for Classrooms, part of Casey’s Rewards. This opens up LANGE MIDDLE SCHOOL to new funding opportunities to help improve learning environments for students.

The best part? Donations don’t come out of your own pocket. When you buy from Casey’s and use their rewards program you can simply turn your points into a donation to our school.

Help LANGE MIDDLE SCHOOL make the most of this program and learn more at caseys.com/schools.

Sincerely,

Dominique Falls

Earn Money for Lange Middle School PTSA when you use your Gerbes loyalty card!!!!

The Kroger Family of Companies is committed to community engagement, positive social impact and charitable giving at the national and local levels. Every community is unique, but our common goal is to partner with the neighborhoods we serve and help the people there live healthier lives.

One of the ways in which we do this is through our Gerbes Community Rewards program. This program makes fundraising easy by donating to local organizations based on the shopping you do every day. Once you link your Card to an organization, all you have to do is shop at Gerbes and swipe your Shopper’s Card. Here’s how it works:

1. Create a digital account.

A digital account is needed to participate in Gerbes Community Rewards. If you already have a digital account, simply link your Shopper’s Card to your account so that all transactions apply toward the organization you choose.

2. Link your Card to an organization.

Selecting the organization that you wish to support is as simple as updating the Gerbes Community Rewards selection on your digital account.

3. Sign in to your digital account.

4. Search for your organization here.

5. Enter the name (LANGE MIDDLE SCHOOL PTSA) or NPO number (UI506) of the organization you wish to support.

6. Select the appropriate organization from the list and click “Save”.

Your selected organization will also display in the Gerbes Community Rewards section of your account. If you need to review or revisit your organization, you can always do so under your Account details.

7. Your organization earns.

Any transactions moving forward using the Shopper’s Card number associated with your digital account will be applied to the program, at no added cost to you. Gerbes donates annually to participating organizations based on your percentage of spending as it relates to the total spending associated with all participating Gerbes Community Rewards organizations.

If you have any questions, please contact our Customer Service Center.

Whether you’re a customer or an organization, get started today!

Note: If you are a customer, make sure you have a preferred store selected (GERBES ON PARIS RD) to view participating organizations. If you are applying on behalf of an organization, please select a store in the same area as your organization.