Lightning Newsflash
Lakeridge Middle School's weekly newsletter.
May 12, 2021
News from Lakeridge Middle School
End of Year Activities and Events
As we move toward the end of the year and plan for the next, we're also going to take some time to celebrate. Watch for details in the weeks ahead about opportunities to join in celebrating our 8th graders as they complete middle school, to celebrate all our students as they complete an unforgettable year, and to celebrate our new facility as it draws ever closer to completion.
We're watching the health metrics and safety guidelines closely to determine the best format for celebrating our students' accomplishments and anticipate a mix of digital and in person celebration opportunities. The completion of our parking lot is also on the horizon and will factor in to some of our planning. More details to come!
Info for future 6th Grade Families
Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month Resources
These might be starting points for your learning and family conversations this month.
Another great resource is the collection of poetry that poets.org has curated: https://poets.org/asianpacific-american-poetry
Beginning in 1992, the United States Congress officially designated May as Asian/Pacific American Heritage Month. The celebration observes those whose ancestry extends to the Asian continent as well as the Pacific islands of Melanesia, Micronesia, and Polynesia.
2020-2021 Photo Submissions for our Distance Learning Magazine
Walk your bike on campus
Digital Parenting
Counseling Corner
Although it seems like getting support would be the most important part of social connectedness, the research says otherwise. Actually, it’s by giving support to others that we get the most benefit out of our relationships.
Being social animals, we benefit when we reach out to others because it brings more meaning to our lives. And almost by definition, helping others means we have the strength to support someone beyond ourselves, and seeing ourselves as strong and capable in itself helps us weather the storms of life’s stressors. When we connect with other people, especially in difficult situations, it increases our oxytocin levels, which helps stay calm and feel more courageous. However, research shows that social support can sometimes backfire when it slips into what is called co-rumination. If we connect with friends over our difficulties and all we do is focus on the problems and sorrows it can actually leave us feeling worse. The Rose, Bud, Thorn activity helps students to avoid co-rumination by ensuring they talk about challenges but also positives and opportunities.
We hope you all have a good week,
Your LMS Counseling Team
School Counselors:
Callie Charon (6th) charonc@loswego.k12.or.us
Monica Binder (7th) binderkm@loswego.k12.or.us
Marcy Watts (8th) wattsm@loswego.k12.or.us
Tuesday Office Hour:
Callie Charon (6th): Student and Family Office Hour 1:00 - 2:00
Monica Binder (7th): Student and Family Office Hour 1:00 - 2:00
Marcy Watts (8th): Student and Family Office Hour 1:00 - 2:00
Request to meet with your counselor:
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeA3BW-V4q4MgTfYQlJ61yMNYWV5zozfj6QEtehRNjdxJ6Sew/viewform
If your child ever needs support after school hours, there are many other resources available including the 24-Hour Clackamas County Crisis and Support Line at 503-655-8585 and https://oregonyouthline.org/
Library Book Return
Have books that you ARE NOT using in 4th Quarter? Please, begin now to send them to hybrid classrooms with your student. If you are an LO ONLINE student, your books can be dropped at the curb bin or brought inside to the LMS Foyer.
Get involved!
LMS Theatre Arts Troupe Zoom-a-thon
This is the LMS Theatre Arts Troupe, wanting to inform you of a fun theatre opportunity coming up for your students! We are holding a Zoom-a-Thon!
What is it? Our Zoom-a-Thon is one that is similar to a Jog-a-Thon. Students will collect pledges from different people in the community, who will give them a donation of their choice for every hour that they last on the Zoom meeting and participate in different theatre activities. The Zoom will be open for 12 hours, and during that time, different people will be holding different theatre activities. The activities can range from learning a dance to performing a skit, playing theatre games, or participating in theatre trivia.
Who can come? Anyone who attends LMS is encouraged and welcomed to join us for this event.
Why is it important? It is an opportunity to help keep the theatre arts in our school alive and well. It sets our troupe up to be able to do fun activities, perform shows, and go to state events in the future. (If your student isn't interested in attending but you would still like to donate to our troupe, please contact Franklin Dunwoody at dunwoodf@loswego.k12.or.us)
When is it? It starts Friday, May 14th, at 7:00 pm, and ends Saturday, May 15th, at 7:00 am. (There will be breaks for food, bathroom, and power naps in between activities)
How can you sign up? Use this link to register!
https://forms.gle/uYFCwLcKytNfCwiTA
Thank you for your time and consideration. We hope to see your student there!
Take care,
LMS Theatre Arts Troupe 89673
If you have a question email Mr. Dunwoody at: dunwoodf@loswego.k12.or.us
Student Clubs & Activities
Student Clubs General Information
Monday Morning Mindfulness Club
Stand Together for Equal Rights
What
The S. T. F. E. R club will fundraise for black lives matter, The Trevor Project, and Womankind Worldwide. Each week we will be discussing a different victim of police shootings and/or hate crimes. We will also be talking about famous historical figures who were brown, indiginous, or LGBTQ+.
When:
Tuesdays from 11:35-12:10.
If you can’t make it every week, don’t stress it!
We understand and all we want is for you to join when you feel like it!
What are S.T.F.E.R’s values?
We value having a safe space where everyone feels welcome and valued!
We want everyone in this club to feel safe.
We want people to learn how to help minority groups even if they are not in them.
Our ultimate goal is to help and educate as many people as possible.
We will be happy to welcome anyone as long as you came willing to learn, help, and share.
How do you join the club? All you have to do is come to a meeting and see if you like it!
If you wanna join the club you can email the club leader: heun805578@loswego.K12.or.us
LMS Writing Club
Feel free to stop on by at our writing club every Friday at lunch! During our club meetings, we will respond to prompts, write stories, create poems, and do other fun activities. This is a safe space to just enjoy writing!
Please contact Alani LoBravo to get the zoom link: lobra07518@loswego.k12.or.us
BIPOC Affinity Group
Cocoa and Coffee Club
Contact Melissa Evers to get the zoom link
Wednesday AM 8:30 - 9 am
Junior Thespians
Hey middle schoolers! You may have heard of Lakeridge’s wonderful drama program, but have you heard of our lovely Jr. Thespian troupe? Jr. Thespians are a non-profit organization. It’s a chapter of the Educational Theatre Association which sponsors the International Thespian Society. It’s our mission to not only do theatre, but promote, strengthen, and advocate for theatre arts in our community. Short answer, we encourage theatre in our community and have fun doing it! If you’d like to join our troupe, come to our meetings which are every Wednesday at 1:30PM. You can find the meeting link in our google classroom: st2cgps.
Hope to see you soon!!
-Your Jr. Thespian Officers
Girl Up Club
Girl Up is a campaign by the United Nations Foundation, that gives young and adolescent girls a voice, opportunity and structure to make a change in their communities. We are the Lakeridge Girl Up Club, a group of enthusiastic and empowered youth ready to make a difference. We are currently holding a fundraiser to help provide an education for refugee girls in places such as India, Liberia, Uganda, Guatemala, Malawi, and Ethiopia. Every 25 dollars that is donated will change a girls life by providing her with education for a year. Our first fundraiser goal is to raise 500 dollars to ensure that 20 refugee girls can experience education. The success of this fundraiser will not only create impacts on the entire future of a girl, but it will also help her stay safe from violence and be allowed to see a doctor. This fundraiser is very important to our club and all of our members because we all deeply value the opportunities we have to be able to learn and go to a great school. We are so fortunate to have what we have, especially during this pandemic we are so fortunate to have technology and the resources needed to learn online. We want to create life changing experiences and impacts because it isn’t fair that these girls aren’t given the opportunity and the access to education. Education is truly the building blocks to everything. We are fighting for gender equality, and all actions make an everlasting difference. It is often that in this fight for gender equality that those who don’t have privilege are left out of the actions for change. All humans deserve human rights and equality and we are helping with that. You can donate by either going here: https://fundraise.unfoundation.org/team/345343 OR by texting ‘DONATE’ to 971 - 808 - 9318 OR by emailing us at lakeridge.girlupclub@gmail.com . We appreciate every cent and every action you do to help us make a difference in the world. Thank you for helping us change the world.
WHEN: Meetings weekly on Wednesdays @ 11: 45
WEBSITE: https://lakeridgegirlupclub.wixsite.com/lguc
Join the movement!
Math Club
Queer Straight Alliance (QSA)
All Lakeridge Middle School students are invited to our weekly Queer Straight Alliance (QSA) lunch group. Every Friday we will get together after 2nd period to eat lunch over Zoom and enjoy a safe space to play games, do activities, learn about Queer culture, create Queer culture, problem solve, ask questions, share stories, explore identity, and get to know one another. All students are welcome, regardless of how you identify- LGBTQIA+. Come if you're Queer! Come if you're curious! Come if you're an Ally!
Reach out to Ms. Haffenreffer [pronouns: she/her] with questions.
Gaming Club
Meeting Times: 12-1
Days: Tues and Friday
Specific Criteria: Need to have access to a computer/laptop/other gaming device, have access to group games (examples Among Us, Fortnite, Minecraft, Roblox) and Zoom
What Season: All year
What do you want your members to get out of it:
To make new friends during the pandemic since we all can’t be together socializing at school
To join email: heathermarie0519@yahoo.com your name to get the zoom link.
Key Goals:
Help new students like me meet new people and feel more comfortable, confident and part of a group
To help students learn in a fun way team building skills
To give students a chance to practice being kind, taking turns and being respectful to others in a group environment
To teach patience and listening to each other
To give students a chance of building creativity skills
Science research shows that video games help the brain with memory and growth
Parent Teacher Organization
Join us for the final PTO meeting of the year on May 19th. Visit the PTO Website for more details here: https://www.losdschools.org/domain/385
I Love LO Clothes Closet
We are trying to spread the word about our closet and its services since we have so much inventory:
- We are a donation-based clothing closet that provides clothing items and hygiene products for residents, students, and employees that work or live within Lake Oswego
- Our new hours are from 9am-12pm on Saturdays
- Our website is https://www.ilovelakeoswego.com for more information
District Information
Equity Summit
Join us in our first virtual Equity Summit: A Spirit of Unity. All are welcome to participate and registration will be available in May.
Saturday, May 15
9 a.m. - 1 p.m.
This Equity Summit is being planned by the Lake Oswego School District, the City of Lake Oswego, the Chamber of Commerce, Respond to Racism and LO for Love. Together we will take another step forward in ensuring equitable access, inclusion and opportunity for all our community members.
Equity Summit Registration Form
For questions, please contact Teresa Sanchez at sanchezt@loswego.k12.or.us or Megan Phelan at mphelan@ci.oswego.or.us.
Lakeridge Cheer Team
Oregon Middle School Speech and Debate
Pacer Dance Team
Pacer Dance Team will be hosting an open summer conditioning program for all students interested in joining PDT. This will give them the opportunity to learn and develop skills. It also opens up the opportunity for someone without a studio dance background to see what skills they can learn before heading into tryouts for the Game Day Team the week of August 16.
The link to the teams page is below if you want to see the structure of skills between the Game Day Team and the Competition Team. Auditions for the competition team will be the week of Sept. 13. The flyer is also linked here.
Questions? Contact Coach Moore at moorek@loswego.k12.or.us
Please Verify Your Student's Information
Parents, Please Verify Your Student's Information: Beginning April 30, LOSD needs parents/guardians of all students enrolled for the 2021-22 school year to log into ParentVUE and review/update your students' information through the Register/Verify tab. This benefits both families and schools by:
Ensuring that schools have accurate information to reach parents and other contacts in both emergency and non-emergency situations. Verification is important even if your address or contact information has not changed over the past year because the school may have incorrect information from a previous year.
Confirming parent email addresses for Google Classroom and other applications to participate in your student's learning.
Enabling distribution of key information in the district's K-12 Family Handbook and Technology Agreement.
If you have forgotten your ParentVUE password, go to the login page, click "I am a Parent," then click "Forgot Password." If you are unsure whether you have a ParentVUE account, contact your student's school. For assistance with the verification process, refer to the user guide on the LOSD website or contact your student's school.
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.
Grab and Go Meal Distribution
MIDDLE SCHOOL HYBRID & LO ONLINE INFORMATION
Middle school hybrid students Grab & Go classroom distribution begins Monday, March 29. Please read the letter for details. For LO Online students Grab & Go distribution continues M & Thu 11:45am-12:15pm.
For the most up-to-date information, please visit https://www.losdschools.org/Page/141
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