LVMS Weekly Newsletter
Week of February 27, 2017
CAPTURE THE MOMENT: WONDER, DISCOVERY, & EXPLORATION
Upcoming Events
Friday, March 3rd
Track and Field Meet at Burnet HS
Friday, March 10th
Track and Field Meet at Lago Vista HS
March 13th - 17th
Spring Break!!!!!
Valentine's Dance Pictures
Valentine's Dance Pictures
If your student ordered Valentine's Day Dance pictures, they will be delivered to students on Tuesday of next week. Thanks so much!
Attendance this week...
Remember: Students must be in attendance at least 90% of the days the class is taught in order to receive credit or a final grade in a class. We appreciate our parents' efforts in helping us minimize student absences and prepare our students for their futures!
Interim Principal Update: A Note From Mr. Tucker
Digital Citzenship
Dear Parents and Families,
Educating and raising students in the digital age comes with a new set of issues and concerns that didn’t exist when you are I were growing up. Almost daily, we are now faced with decisions about the appropriate use of technology. How long can they use a device? How often during a day? What are they allowed, and not allowed, to take pictures of? How do parents ensure that their kids are being safe online, while allowing them to access the many positive aspects of the online world and social media? It takes deliberate and tough conversations within families and communities to help kids understand how to use technology and social media appropriately.
At Lago Vista Middle School, we value the importance of social emotional learning—or giving our students the skills they need to navigate their lives in a healthy, positive way. The advent of the Internet and social media provides us with new challenges in helping students develop healthy habits and interpersonal skills. And that is why I am writing to you today.
Over the past few weeks, we have dealt with a growing number of concerns stemming from students posting unkind or inappropriate material on social media. It is well within our jurisdiction to address activity that happens on campus, on a school bus, or at a school-related event. Activity outside of those parameters generally does not fall under our realm of authority, unless it substantially disrupts the operation of the school. Although the majority of these incidents occur outside of our jurisdiction, we want to do everything we can to address the behaviors and motivations that prompt the decision to engage in uncivil Internet behavior. I’m sure that most of the students who post inappropriate comments online do so without thinking. In fact, we know that the adolescent brain isn’t fully equipped to think long term and doesn’t calculate risk/reward ratios in the same way that adults do. I’d like to think that they wouldn’t post such things if they understood the consequences of their actions or if they knew the types of emotional damage they can inflict on their peers and friends. I’d also like to think they wouldn’t post such things, especially if they understood that these posts are permanent and can follow them and impact college acceptances, job opportunities, and other future opportunities.
I’m writing this letter to start a conversation about how we can support our children in using technology in a way that is healthy, productive, and positive. We not only have to teach our kids how to handle new technologies appropriately, but we also have to model that behavior in our own communications on social media and email. We must be the models of “digital citizenship” and work together to help our children grow into responsible and caring adults who interact with one another in a civil, respectful way. We are working on ways to navigate these conversations as a campus, including classroom activities and counseling lessons. We also continue to brainstorm calculated strategies that we can include in our campus improvement planning.
In the meantime, I urge you to talk to your children on an ongoing basis about what is and is not appropriate to do online. If your child is under 13, do not allow them to use social media—they aren’t ready for it and it is a violation of the user agreements or guidelines for nearly all major social media sites. If your child is 13 or older, please consider whether or not they are developmentally ready to make good choices using social media. Set limits and talk to them about the appropriate use of social media and mobile technology. And please make sure you are monitoring what they post online.
Common Sense Media has some resources that you can use to talk to your children now. You may access their parent resources at www.commonsensemedia.org. If you have any thoughts or ideas to help further our digital citizenship dialogue, please do not hesitate to email me.
Track practice - Reminder
8th Grade - Tuesday and Thursday until 5:30 AT THE High School
Some athletes, like distance runners and those in relays, may be asked to attend more than 2 days of practice.
TMSCA Students State Bound
This past Saturday, February 18th, ten students from LVMS traveled to San Antonio to compete in a TMSCA Qualifying Meet in Number Sense, Mathematics, Calculator, and/or Science.
Students have the opportunity to advance to the TMSCA State Meet in April by meeting a set standard in each event. Of the 10 students that went this past Saturday, 4 already qualified for state in one or more events.
Number Sense
Grace Coldicott--8th grade
Leah Coldicott--8th grade
Adeline Womack--8th Grade
Ryder Phillips--7th grade
Mathematics
Ryder Phillips--7th grade
Science
Ryder Phillips--7th grade
Students will have two more opportunities to qualify in an event or multiple events at the next two Saturday meets.
GO VIKINGS!
6th Grade Language Arts
Language Arts:
Mrs. Reighley’s 6th Grade Language Arts classes ended their drama unit this week with each group performing their drama in the outdoor amphitheater on Tuesday. The students started their poetry unit the following day by using an exciting app called, Goose Chase where the students broke off into five teams and competed against each other for points by engaging in a figurative language scavenger hunt. Students had to look through a plethora of poetry books placed around the classroom to search for examples of similes, metaphors, personification, hyperbole, alliteration, and onomatopoeia and capture their examples in the Goose Chase app, which also tracked their points to determine the winning team was for each class.
Mrs Reighley's Viking Valor
Viking Valor:
Mrs. Reighley’s 6th Grade Viking Valor class has been working for the past two weeks on creating an invention that solves a problem in our school or community. The students worked in groups and presented their inventions to the class on Tuesday and Wednesday of this week. Several of the groups are submitting their videotaped presentations in the 2017 Imagination Foundation's Inventor's Challenge with AT&T Aspire.
http://imagination.org/2017/01/25124/#.WK8KGxIrKRv
We have some very creative problem solvers in the 6th grade! The Viking Valor students also began their unit on resiliency this week and read about last Sunday’s tornadoes in the Austin area. Mrs. Reighley’s husband, who is a volunteer for Austin Disaster Relief Network, had been on a deployment in the Austin area this week where he was working with an ADRN team to help the victims of the tornado. He came in on Friday to talk with the class, show them pictures and videos and answer questions. The students are learning about the importance of being resilient when faced with difficult times and about the power of believing in yourself and having empathy for others.
Order Your LVMS Yearbook Online Today!
The LVMS Yearbook is now on sale for $45.00. The staff has been working to bring Lago Vista Middle School a wonderful yearbook and you don't want to miss out. Click below to buy your yearbook online:
https://www.yearbookordercenter.com/
Enter Code: 18995
The deadline to order your 2016-2017 LVMS Yearbook is April 15th, so order yours today!
MANDATORY Cheerleading Tryout Timeline
Planning on trying out for LVHS or LVMS Cheerleading? Don’t miss the upcoming tryout meetings and deadlines!
Return packet signed (in order) to front MS office
Friday, March 3rd
(before) 8:30 am
LVMS Mandatory Cheer Tryout Clinic
Sunday, March 5th
3:00 - 6:00 pm
MS Upper Gym
LVMS Cheer (optional) Open Gym
Monday, March 6th
6:00 - 7:30 pm
MS Upper Gym
LVMS Cheer Tryouts
Wednesday, March 8th
6:30 - 8:00 pm
MS Upper Gym
Future LVMS Benchmark Testing Dates
District benchmarks are given in the second semester to analyze students' mastery of the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills. This information helps us identify strengths and needs for each of our students to help them finish strong and be prepared for the next academic year.
Here are the upcoming LVMS benchmark testing dates:
April 3 – 6th grade Reading, 7th grade Reading, & 8th grade Science
April 4 – 6th grade Math & 8th grade Social Studies
April 5 – Algebra 1 (Full benchmark) & Make-ups
EVERY WEDNESDAY IN LVISD IS COLLEGE DAY! BE SURE TO SPORT YOUR FAVORITE COLLEGE'S GEAR!
Harvard Psychologists Reveal: Parents who raise “Good” Kids Do These 5 Things
This article was posted in the Curious Mind Magazine on Feb. 11, 2017. Click on the above link to see the entire article. There are many more important details included throughout the article in addition to the highlighted points listed below.
Spend quality time with your children.
Let your kids see a strong moral role model and mentor in you.
Teach your child to care for others and set high ethical expectations.
Encourage kids to practice appreciation and gratitude.
- Teach them to see the big picture.
Get Your Viking Gear Here!
Stay Connected With These Parent Resources
Parent Connection
Parents are valued partners and we believe that successful learning is best achieved through collaborative partnerships with parents and families. Our Parent Connection page is a one stop shop of resources for parents in LVISD. Click here to check it out!
Stay Connected with ParentLink by Blackboard
Lago Vista ISD uses the ParentLink communication system from Blackboard to assist in alerting parents, families, and employees of important information, such as school closures. ParentLink communicates via telephone, SMS text message, email and push notifications from the ParentLink app. Be sure to add a filter to your inbox so that emails containing the word “Blackboard” are not delivered to Spam. Download the FREE ParentLink app from the iTunes app store or on Google Play.
LVISD Publications and Forms
The District has a one-stop shop for all District publications and forms, including course catalogs, student handbooks, grading guidelines, and special programs information...and we are continuing to build this resource as documents and handbooks become available. Our "Publications and Forms" page is located under the "Parents and Students" tab, as well as on the "Quicklinks" menu on the right side of our homepage. Here is a link to the Publications and Forms page.
Make Sure You Know About StayALERT (...and Talk About it With Your Kiddos!)
Lago Vista ISD uses StayALERT to help keep our schools safe. StayALERT is a bilingual, confidential website, e-mail, phone and texting avenue for students, teachers, staff, parents and community members to be able to confidentially report unsafe behaviors, suspicious activities, bullying, acts of violence, harassment, and a host of other potential disruptors to school safety.
Users may anonymously report concerns 24-7-365 via the StayALERT website, an e-mail, a phone call to a recorded and monitored line, or via a text message from a cell phone. Photos and video clips pertaining to the StayALERT report may be included. No special app required! Reportable information will be forwarded in a timely manner to a pre-designated school official for review.
To make a report, use one of the methods below:
Website: stayalert.info
Call or Text: (206) 406-6485
Email: report@stayalert.info
Lago Vista Middle School
Website: http://classroom.lagovistaisd.net/default.aspx?LagoVistaMiddleSchool
Phone: (512) 267-8300
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Lago-Vista-Middle-School-1266891766714816/
Twitter: @LagoVistaMS