Lightning Newsflash
Lakeridge Middle School's weekly newsletter.
October 13th, 2021
News from Lakeridge Middle School
What are the signs of dyslexia?
Dyslexia is a common condition that affects the way the brain processes written and spoken language. It can be associated with trouble reading, but it also can affect writing, spelling and even speaking. Many children have one or two of these issues on occasion. But kids with dyslexia have several of these issues, and they don’t go away.
Here are some signs to look for:
Preschool, Kindergarten, & First Grade:
Difficulties:
Difficulty learning (and remembering) the names of letters in the alphabet
Seems unable to recognize letters in his/her own name
Mispronounces familiar words; persistent “baby talk”
Trouble learning common nursery rhymes
Doesn’t recognize rhyming patterns like cat, bat, rat
A family history of reading and/or spelling difficulties (dyslexia often runs in families)
Reading errors that show no connection to the sounds of the letters on the page—will say “puppy” instead of the written word “dog” on a page with a picture of a dog
Does not understand that words come apart
Cannot sound out even simple words like cat, map, nap
Does not associate letters with sounds, such as the letter b with the “b” sound
Complains about how hard reading is; “disappears” when it is time to read
A history of reading problems in parents or siblings
Strengths
Curiosity
Great imagination
Ability to figure things out; gets the gist of things
Eager embrace of new ideas
A good understanding of new concepts
Surprising maturity
A larger vocabulary than typical for age group
Enjoys solving puzzles
Talent for building models
Excellent comprehension of stories read or told to him
Second Grade through High School:
Reading
Very slow in acquiring reading skills. Reading is slow and awkward
Trouble reading unfamiliar words, often making wild guesses because cannot sound out the word
Has a tough time sounding out unfamiliar words
Avoids reading out loud
Gets tripped up by word problems in math
School and Life
Trouble remembering dates, names, telephone numbers, random lists
Struggles to finish tests on time
Extreme difficulty learning a foreign language
Poor spelling
Messy handwriting
Low self-esteem that may not be immediately visible
Speaking
Searches for a specific word and ends up using vague language, such as “stuff” or “thing,” without naming the object
Pauses, hesitates, and/or uses lots of “um’s” when speaking
Confuses words that sound alike, such as saying “tornado” for “volcano,” substituting “lotion” for “ocean”
Mispronunciation of long, unfamiliar or complicated words
Seems to need extra time to respond to questions
Strengths
Excellent thinking skills: conceptualization, reasoning, imagination, abstraction
Learning that is accomplished best through meaning rather than rote memorization
Ability to get the “big picture”
A high level of understanding of what is read to him/her/they
The ability to read and to understand at a high level overlearned (or highly practiced) words in a special area of interest
Improvement as an area of interest becomes more specialized and focused—and a miniature vocabulary is developed that allows for reading in that subject area
A surprisingly sophisticated listening vocabulary
Excels in areas not dependent on reading, such as math, computers and visual arts, or in more conceptual (versus fact-driven) subjects, including philosophy, biology, social studies, neuroscience and creative writing
If you have questions or concerns regarding your child’s learning, please contact the school principal and/or literacy specialist. Another great parent resource would be to contact your school’s Student Services Parent Advisory Committee (SSPAC) representative. Please see here to learn how to contact your school representative.
Back to School Night Update- Video Presentations on October 19th
This video format allows teachers to introduce themselves to you, share important information about their courses, and equip parents to support their students' success this year. While we'd love to see each of you in person, this format ensures that we can keep each other safe and allows families to view videos on a schedule that works for your family. We hope that you'll join us virtually by watching the video links when we send them out on the 19th.
Student Produced News- LMS Flash
Some challenges are not worth it: helping students ignore TikTok challenges
We encourage all families to have open conversations about the digital media your students' are engaging with. Middle school students need help thinking through the potential consequences of decisions to engage in social media trends. Ask them to share what media is catching their interest. Ask them about why it's appealing. Help them think through the real world implications of the media they watch and create. Need help having these conversations? Check out this resource from Common Sense Media.
Fall Conferences- October 28 & 29
Elf Jr. Poster Contest
Design a poster for Lakeridge Middle School's "Elf Jr.” upcoming musical theater production!
Lakeridge Middle School Drama Dept wants to showcase your talents to design an original poster for our musical, Elf Jr.! Performances will be held in November and this poster will be used to promote it.
Please make sure your poster meets the following criteria:
-Create digitally on your computer using any drawing program, or hand draw and scan onto computer.
-Should be able to fit on an 11x17” poster
-Theme and design should be related to the movie Elf Jr.
- Deadline to enter is Monday October 18 at 5pm.
No other text is need on the design other than your original design image. Production date and times will be added digitally later. A winner will be selected by the Drama department.
**To enter, please email your design in jpeg format to amykaplan128@yahoo.com no later than 5pm on Monday, October 18.**
Opportunities to join our team!
Our Nutrition Services department has flexible work shifts available district wide. This is a great opportunity if you want to be involved in your student’s school a few days a week. Please apply here and a nutrition services staff member will be in touch.
https://www.applitrack.com/loswego/onlineapp/default.aspx?Category=Substitute "
Oregon Battle of the Books
Register a Team for Oregon Battle of the Books!
What is OBOB? It’s part reading marathon, part group quiz show.
What do I need to do? Form a team of 2-5 friends. As a team, figure out a way to read the 16 books on this year’s list. Sometimes all team members read all books, and sometimes teams divide up the books so that 1-2 people read each book.
What books do I read? Here is a slideshow of the books. Here is an annotated list of the books.
When is the competition: During the month of Feb. we will an run on-line tournament following rules that OBOB creates. Exact times and dates of the tournament are to be determined. Our school’s championship team will go to on-line regionals in March.
Here is a link to the team registration form.
Sign up deadline: Wed. Dec. 15, 2021
Parent Teacher Organization (PTO)
OCTOBER PTO MEETING!
Join us on ZOOM for our 1st PTO Meeting of the year on Wednesday October 20th at 6:00pm!
We are excited to welcome guest speaker Dr. Donna Hansel,M.D.,Ph.D.
Dr. Hansel is the chair of pathology at the OHSU School of Medicine and under her leadership her department has recently partnered with the Lake Oswego School District, the Oregon Health Authority, and the Oregon Department of Education to provide free COVID-19 weekly screening for students in grades K-12th grade. Come get up to date info regarding Covid-19 as it pertains to LMS, LOSD, and our greater community.
What's else is on the agenda for the PTO meeting?
*Principal’s update.
*LOSD Phase 2 Bond Initiative update.
*We will ratify our budget for the 2021-2022 School year.
*PTO committee updates.
Mark your calendar, We hope to see you there!
HOW TO JOIN THE MEETING?
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81257357583?pwd=ei8zaGdPc04zZG0rRzdUTWd2SGE2dz09
Meeting ID: 812 5735 7583
Passcode: 192096
One tap mobile
+12532158782,,81257357583#,,,,*192096# US (Tacoma)
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Dial by your location
+1 253 215 8782 US (Tacoma)
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+1 312 626 6799 US (Chicago)
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Meeting ID: 812 5735 7583
Passcode: 192096
Academic Enrichment Fund
For the 2021-22 school year, we are asking for $150 per family to fund the Lakeridge Middle School Academic Enrichment Fund, which is managed by the LMS PTO. Donations to the PTO are 100% tax deductible and often eligible for corporate match. Check with your employer! Invest in our students today!
Student Store
A CHANCE TO VOLUNTEER!
Are you interested in volunteering at our beautiful new Middle School?
Are you vaccinated? If so, The new Spirit Store WANTS YOU!
There are not many chances to volunteer at our Middle School so these slots are filling up fast.
Sign up now & check availability!
District Information
Fee Waivers
Requests for resident fee waivers or fee reductions, except for the National School Lunch Program (NSLP), will be processed using the attached form. Please complete the form and submit it to the department or school which collects the applicable fee or fees.
Food Service Information
FREE MEALS FOR ALL STUDENTS
This school year (21-22) the Lake Oswego School District will be offering breakfast and lunch meals* at no charge to all students. Breakfast meals will be served in Grab-n-go style as students arrive to school. Our lunch meals will offer healthy tasty entrees, fresh fruits and vegetables with a seasonal rotation of local farm produce and organic products when available.
*one breakfast and one lunch per student per day
For information about Food Services, please visit our web page.
https://www.losdschools.org/domain/57
For information about part-time job opportunities in Food Services, please visit the employment web page:
https://www.applitrack.com/loswego/onlineapp/default.aspx?Category=Food+Services
Routine and Repeated Reminders
Daily Announcements
Want to see what's scrolling on our electronic signage right now? You can see it live here.
Last Week's Newsflash Information
Connections and Supports
Administration
Parent Organization
Need to make contact?
Email: schultzk@loswego.k12.or.us
Website: losdschools.org/lms
Location: 4700 Jean Road, Lake Oswego, OR, USA
Phone: 503-534-2343
Twitter: @LakeridgeMiddle