Lightning Newsflash
Lakeridge Middle School's weekly newsletter.
February 24, 2021
News from Lakeridge Middle School
Preparing for the return to In-Person/Hybrid Instruction
We are eager to return our middle school students to In-person/Hybrid instruction, and we are considering the feasibility of potentially returning some or all grade level middle school students to In-person/Hybrid school before the previously stated April 12 (start of 4th quarter). This means your change request will be for any portion remaining in the 3rd quarter (possibly mid to late March/early April) and all of the 4th quarter.
To properly prepare, we need to know if middle school families wish to change their child’s enrollment between our In-person/Hybrid or LO Online models. Any consideration of the possibility of starting during the 3rd quarter, before 4th quarter, is contingent on the number of change requests we receive, so now is the time for us to collect any such requests. Once these data are collected, we will be able to determine and communicate the next steps for our return to school.
Below you will find important background information regarding this change request, specific details about the two models, and a form we need you to complete ONLY if you are requesting a change to your middle school student’s educational model to either In-person/Hybrid OR LO Online when middle schools transition to In-person/Hybrid.
If you want to switch your middle school student’s educational model to either In-person/Hybrid or LO Online fully remote, please complete the change request by Monday, March 1 at 3 p.m. If your student wishes to remain in their current model there is no need to submit a change form. Again, this change request will be for any portion remaining in the 3rd quarter (possibly mid to late March/early April) and all of the 4th quarter.
A middle school schedule is complex, and before we can plan on an exact start date potentially before 4th quarter, we need to see the results of the change requests. As you think about this change request, please consider the points detailed in the form regarding any changes to your student’s schedule. If you have questions, please contact one of the administrators or your students counselor before completing the form.
Black History Month
We know that primary source documents can serve as windows, mirrors, and sliding glass doors to our past, present, and even into our future. One cool place to explore primary source documents in our digital world is the National Archives. This week, take time to explore some of the documents, resources, and exhibits available to everyone here: https://www.archives.gov/research/alic/reference/black-history.html
Youth Truth Survey
FINAL OPPORTUNITY! Please participate if you haven't! Don't miss your opportunity to share your voice too if you have not yet.
We're asking for ~15 minutes of your time to complete an online survey that will help us celebrate what's going well here at LMS and suggest ways we can continue to improve our work together. Each year we use the YouthTruth survey taken by parents, students, and staff as part of our strategic planning conversations to keep growing and learning more effectively as a school. The data from the survey are reviewed with our various parent, student, and staff leadership groups and are an important source of information about what's working well so we can celebrate our successes and make progress in areas that can keep getting better.
Students took the survey on February 3rd during class time; staff will participate on February 10th; and families will have a window to complete the survey on their own beginning now! All responses are anonymous and important for us to receive.
We sincerely thank you in advance for taking the time to provide your feedback. Your response is incredibly valuable to us. Use this link to participate now:
Spelling Bee Results
After 31 rounds and one full hour of competition, our runner up is Alani LoBravo and Evan Ko is our LMS Spelling Bee Winner this year. Congratulations!
Congratulations as well to our other participants who spelled with style!
Maya Naik - 3rd place
Ella Fry - 4th place
Silas Lacey - 5th place
Ian Ko - 6th place
Reed Farkas - 7th place
Colin Foster - 8th place
Thanks also go out to Ms. Gustaff and Ms. Reid for facilitating our virtual competition.
Counseling Corner
Last week, teachers delivered Character Strong Lesson #17: Nice & Kind. We hope that you and your student enjoyed it and learned something from it.
Our lesson for this week is titled, “Kindness Categories”. This lesson continues our conversation about kindness and moves it into application. How do we practice kindness in a way that is meaningful to all parties?
To go deeper, consider these resources:
Breines. J. (2015). Three strategies for bringing more kindness into your life. Greater Good Magazine. Retrieved from https://greatergood.berkeley.edu/article/item/three_strategies_for_bringing_more_kindness_into_your_life.
Otake, K., Shimai, S., Tanaka-Matsumi, J., Otsui, K., Fredrickson, B.L. (2006). Happy people become happier through kindness: A counting kindness intervention. Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1820947/
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/
Family Character Dare
Suicide Prevention Training
Suicide Prevention Training
March 2, 2021
Two sessions times (you only attend one session)
Morning 11:30 am to 1:00 pm
Evening 6:00pm to 7:30 pm
We are inviting parents to join Counselor and QPR Trainer, Marcy Watts, for a suicide prevention training called QPR. Suicide prevention training is one prong of Lake Oswego’s comprehensive suicide prevention policy. The Wellness Team is always looking for new ways to reach out to our students and their families to support their mental health and provide resources. If you have other concerns that are unique from this topic, please don’t hesitate to reach out to your school counselor and/or social worker.
What does QPR mean?
As someone who may be in the best possible position to prevent a suicide, you will find that QPR is designed to help you save a life. QPR consists of these three skills:
Question...a person about suicide
Persuade....someone to get help and,
Refer....someone to the appropriate resource.
QPR is not a form of counseling or treatment. Rather it is intended to offer hope through positive action. By learning QPR, you will come to recognize the warning signs, clues, and suicidal communications of people in trouble, and gain skills to act vigorously to prevent a possible tragedy.
Register
Registration for this class is limited to 60 people. If there is more interest we will set a date for a second training. Click here to register.
Important Note: QPR requires that all participants have their cameras on at all times during this training. Due to the sensitive nature of the topic, we need to ensure the safety and well being of all attendees. Feel free to reach out to Marcy Watts if you have any questions or concerns about this at wattsm@loswego.k12.or.us
Canned Food Drive
Lakeridge Cares Canned Food & Toiletry Drive is rescheduled for This Thursday (Feb. 25)
The Lakeridge Cares PTO team will be at LMS for most of the day this Thursday accepting your donations for HUNGER FIGHTERS. Drop off your goods in the bins near the book return area, and PTO will take it from there. To learn more about Lake Oswego-based Hunger Fighters, visit their website at https://www.hungerfightersoregon.org.
Get involved!
Loch Ness Codeathon
Know a middle schooler who wants to learn coding? Tell them about the Loch Ness Codeathon! The codeathon is a program open to middle schoolers (grades 6-8) with no prior programming experience, hosted by the Lake Monsters 2635 robotics team. This is a great starting point for participants to learn coding with block-based programs and win prizes by creating a project of their own choosing in one of three categories: games, animation, and hardware.
The month-long challenge starts with the kickoff on Sunday, February 28, from 2-4 PM. There will be weekly meetings for participants to get help with their projects on Sundays from 2-3:30 PM.
To sign up and get more details about the codeathon, go to bit.ly/loch-ness-codeathon.
SASEE Awards
Nominations Now Open for the Lake Oswego
Rotary Club’s "SASEE" Awards
Do you know an educator/staff member, student, or citizen who demonstrates a commitment to education through work, projects and activities that emphasize "Service Above Self?" The Lake Oswego Rotary Club would like to recognize and support the people who make education in Lake Oswego exceptional.
As part of its continuing commitment to education, the Lake Oswego Rotary Club will again be awarding thousands of dollars in cash and scholarships in several SASEE categories. In each case, SASEE award recipients will have the opportunity to “pay it forward” by passing their monetary award on to their school or Service Above Self project.
· Educators, administrators and support staff: $1,000 for their school or project.
· Students: $1,000 for their school or project.
· Citizens: $3,000 scholarships awarded in their names to students who also demonstrate "Service Above Self."
For more information about the program, go to
Nominations close on March 1, 2021
Student Clubs & Activities
Student Clubs General Information
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
Tues. and Thurs. 8:30 - 9 am
Military History Club
In the military history club we would talk about all the warfare events that have happened from the Romans and Greeks to Iraq. We will go into depth with each major battle like the Battle of the Bulge. We will spend time learning about the wars you have never heard about like the Spanish Revolution. Tactics, weapons, tanks, aircraft, strategy, positions and comparing modern and old technology.
Join us from 1-2pm on Wednesdays
If Interested email Dario to join and get the zoom link!
Our advisor is Adam Yip, an infantry veteran of the US Army.
We welcome everyone!
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 Tuesday at 8:10 am. 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. Girl Up inspires change and action to girls worldwide to become a force, and a voice in the gender equality movement, and to help bring social change. Our club learns, supports, and advocates for everything Girl Up stands for; such as equality in sports and education, STEM for social good, advocacy, awareness, fundraising, spreading your message, speaking up, and so much more. Our group welcomes everyone to become an ally or an advocate to our community. The Lakeridge Girl Up Club would love to see you join our part in the Gender Equality Movement.
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.
Culinary Adventures Club
Anime Club
Explanation = Why should you join this club? Well, if you are interested in anime, making friends, and having fun then, this is the group for you! I decided to make this group because I have recently learned that there are actually A LOT of people who like/ watch anime. I was shocked at this news but I decided to make this group so us anime lovers can all come together and hang out, possibly play games, talk about animes and overall have a good time.
What we would do = If you decided to join this group then we would; talk about anime, meet new people, possibly play some games/ watch anime, etc.
Requirements = The requirements for this group is you MUST be respectful and kind to others opinions, likes/ dislikes and beliefs. If somebody thinks a certain show isn’t good but you like it, don’t be rude about it. We all have our own beliefs so all i’m asking is for everyone to be respectful and kind to each other. Also one more thing, if someone is making fun of you for watching anime or liking a certain show in anime please feel free to share that with an adult or the group and we can try to figure things out. On that note, that's all.
Time: 12:00-1:00 pm Date: Thursday, Quarters 2 & 3
Who you would contact if you want to join: Zoe Stone (stone05344@loswego.k12.or.us)
OR our Adult Supervisor Mrs. Knight (chamblec@loswego.k12.or.us)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
Interested in volunteering for LMS PTO? We need you!
The position of PTO Treasurer is currently open. This important volunteer position begins this spring and extends through the end of next school year (2021-22).
To learn more about what a PTO treasurer position entails or to sign up, visit https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10c0d44a5aa2da2fd0-treasurer or email lakeridgemiddlepto@gmail.
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 Services Update
UPDATED* ELEMENTARY GRAB-AND-GO DISTRIBUTION SCHEDULE
Thurs, Feb 25 & Mon, March 1 new grab-and-go curbside distribution time at the elementary schools (LG,RG)
to accommodate hybrid students classroom schedule.
Thurs, March 4 elementary grab-and-go curbside distribution discontinued and elementary classroom
distribution to students begins. Grab-and-go meals will be distributed to students everyday students
are in the classrooms. More detailed information coming next week.
Now - end of school year High Schools grab-and-go curbside distribution continues for LOonline
students, secondary students, homeschooled students, and community students.
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