Welcome to Langston Life, our middle school's monthly newsletter! Our Newsletter will focus on our THREE building goals: Continually strengthening teaching and learning; building a positive culture for teaching and learning; and increasing family engagement. While there is so much happening at Langston each and every day, our Multi-Tiered System of Support Building Leadership Team (MTSSBLT) hopes that this monthly newsletter will help keep you informed and engaged in learning and life at Langston! As key stakeholders, we encourage your involvement in your child's education!

Inviting families into the building more regularly is one action step towards our goal of increasing family engagement. Please complete this short survey to share your experience and thoughts about Curriculum Night.

On Thursday, November 10th, all 8th-grade students will take a Field Trip to JVS to tour the many opportunities offered through their educational program. Students are able to enter their freshman year of high school in JVS's exploratory program. Please check JVS's website for more information, including info on their Open Houses.

All students at Langston had (or are having) the opportunity to participate in WITS (Writing in the Schools), a program with Lynn Powell and Oberlin College students. During the month of October, nearly 30 seventh-grade students and nearly 30 eighth-grade students signed up to participate in a poetry-writing course through WITS during RISE. Currently, all sixth-grade students are participating in WITS during ELA classes. During the 7-day sessions, students learned about poetry and created their own poems that will be published into a book. Sixth-grade students will have the opportunity to read their poems during Literacy Night on December 1st (beginning promptly at 5pm) and 7th and 8th-grade students will have the opportunity to read their poems at Cat-in-the-Cream on Monday, December 5th (time TBD). We hope to have a strong turn-out at both events!

CONGRATULATIONS to Seth McFarland, Thomas Stapp, and Liam Steggall for being October's Inquiring Students of the Month! Inquirers develop their natural curiosity. They acquire the skills necessary to conduct inquiry and research and show independence in learning. They actively enjoy learning and this love of learning will be sustained throughout all their lives.

Student support during home volleyball and basketball games has been AMAZING this year, with several students in cheerful attendance for each game. To reward their efforts, a portion of the stands will be sectioned off as the designated Student Section! The Student Section will be in close proximity to our cheer team (coming soon) for call and response activities, and will also provide a quicker exit for their many trips to the restroom, concession stand, and lobby. All Oberlin students not under direct supervision by an attending adult will be expected to sit in the Student Section. OBWhat!?!

On Thursday, December 1st, Langston will host its first-ever Literacy Night! We invite students and families into Langston from 5-7pm to enjoy a variety of literacy activities. We will kick off the evening with poetry readings from sixth-grade students who are participating in the WITS program (Writing in the Schools) during ELA classes with Lynn Powell and Oberlin College students. Literacy stations and booths from local organizations will be available throughout the evening to explore. In our library, Ms. Rice will host a Book Fair where families and students can purchase books, gifts, and a variety of items! An i-Ready rep will also be in attendance to demonstrate the program and answer any questions from families. The evening will end with Story Time, delivered by Oberlin's own National Teacher of the Year, Mr. Kurt Russell! Lastly, because we recognize that this event is being held during dinner time, dinner will be provided for families who register using this link: Literacy Night.

The Backspace at The Bridge is back in session! The Backspace is located downtown behind The Bridge (next to Lupita's) and is open from 3-6pm each school day. The Backspace is a place where students can gather (under supervision), receive homework help, play video games, use the computer, etc. The program hopes to offer tutoring services to students soon.

• Nov 10th - 8th-Grade JVS Tour
• Nov 10th - Parent/Teacher Conferences from 3:30-7pm
• Nov 11th - No School - Teacher PD Day
• Nov 15th - Winter Sports Picture Day
• Nov 16th - Picture Retake Day
• Nov 16th - Accuplacer Exam from 1-3 at LMS for students who completed application
• Nov 23rd-25th - Thanksgiving Break - No School
• December 1st - Literacy Night!!! 5-7pm. Click the link to register! Literacy Night
• December 5th - WITS at Cat-in-the-Cream with 7th and 8th-grade students. (Time TBD)

Be sure to check the district website for more dates and additional information!