Lesher Middle School
Community Communication: March 29, 2024
Principal's Message
Upcoming Events
Monday 4/1
2:30 Girls Golf vs. Timnath
Tuesday 4/2
2:30 Boys Golf vs. Timnath
3:30 Varsity Softball @ Boltz
Wednesday 4/3
2:00 Girls Golf vs. Webber
3:30 JV Softball vs. Timnath
Thursday 4/4
2:00 Boys Golf vs. Webber
3:30 Varsity Softball vs. Wellington
4:30 SAC Meeting (Lesher Media Center)
Mental Health Matters Event
Dear PSD families:
Here at Poudre School District, we understand the importance of supporting our students’ mental and emotional health, as well as their physical health. That's why we are excited to announce our 9th annual Mental Health Matters event. This event provides our community with invaluable information on a variety of mental health topics. Come check out lectures from knowledgeable community members and take home valuable tips and tricks to benefit your whole family!
Please join us on April 16 at Fossil Ridge High School, 5400 Ziegler Road in Fort Collins
- Doors open at 5:15 p.m. for a Resource Fair showing off all of the amazing community support we have in the Fort Collins area.
- We are thrilled to announce that Michael Kutcher is this year's keynote speaker from 6-7:30 p.m., talking about overcoming the odds and “Diffability.”
- From 7:45-8:30 p.m. there will be five breakouts sessions running concurrently on a variety of Mental Health topics, such as cyber safety education, resiliency, substance use trends and harm reduction, the circadian clock and how sleep affects our life, and more!
About Michael Kutcher: www.michaelkutcher.com/
Mental Health Matters Website: https://tinyurl.com/PSD-MentalHealthMatters
We look forward to seeing some of you there!
Be well,
Poudre School District
Jordyn Belcher is a State Champion Gymnast!
Sixth grader Jordyn Belcher is a level 6 Junior Olympic athlete at Timberline gymnastics. Jordyn came home this past weekend as the State Champion! She was also awarded the opportunity as a top 10 gymnastics finalist to compete at regionals for the Colorado team in April! Jordyn, we are so proud of you!
Wrestlers Successful at States!
Lesher's wresting team took 14 wrestlers to state, placing 4th as a boys team and 2nd as a girls team. Emory Little was a state champion and named outstanding female wrestler of the entire tournament. Josh Richen placed 3rd and Holden Irby placed 4th. We are proud of you! What a great way to end an incredible season!
Odyssey of the Mind takes 2nd at Regionals!
Amanda Sutton is a Finalist!
This past weekend Amanda Sutton was named a finalist for the Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics and Science teaching, a very high honor and well deserved!
Noche De Ciencias!
March Students of the Month!
Weekly Prize Winners!
2024 CMAS Assessment Window, Mark Your Calendars!
Lesher students will be taking the Colorado Measures of Academic Success (CMAS) assessments in April - see the calendar below . All students will take 3 English Language Arts assessments and 3 Mathematics assessments. Additionally, 8th graders will take 3 Science assessments.
As you plan ahead, we would greatly appreciate your help avoiding student appointments or other student absences on these days. A more detailed and specific calendar of testing days and times will be released after Spring Break. If you have questions about the CMAS assessments, please contact Deana Kochis, School Assessment Coordinator, at dkochis@psdschools.org or (970) 472-3854.
What is CMAS?
The state assessment system, Colorado Measures of Academic Success (CMAS), is designed to measure student mastery of Colorado’s academic content standards. Colorado’s academic content standards indicate skills and knowledge necessary to prepare students for success from early school readiness to postsecondary competencies, reflective of both workforce readiness and 21st century skills. Student progress toward these outcomes is measured through CMAS, which provides information to teachers as they incorporate the content standards in their daily instruction. CMAS results are also used for school and district accountability.
CMAS Bell Schedule
Click here or see below for the CMAS Bell schedule.
CMAS Opt-Out Information
Communication on CMAS and Opt-Outs
Student assessment is a meaningful part of student learning and instructional planning. Assessments allow educators to monitor student progress and the effectiveness of instructional strategies. At certain times throughout the year, students are given required assessments that fulfill legislative requirements or district guidelines. The spring state testing window for grades 3-11 is April 1-26 with exact dates dependent on grade level and school site. For more details about district and state assessments to be administered this school year, visit the PSD website.
Lesher will be participating in CMAS starting April 10th and through the end of April. Please see the schedules linked below for details.
At Lesher, we believe this is a low-stake opportunity for our students to show off what they know! And while some students may feel anxious about testing, to dispel this myth, this test is an achievement test and helps us measure and celebrate our students’ academic growth in Language Arts, Math, and Science. This is a small data point on our students and does not measure the other important skills they may possess and be proud of; such as work ethic, curiosity, people skills, creativity, collaboration skills, and other talents. Still, this is one of the final data points we use to place students in the correct courses the following year.
Lesher has historically done very well on their CMAS tests*, and we have no doubt that our students will carry out this tradition of strong academics and participation. However, if you wish to opt your student out, please follow this link for directions of how to opt out through ParentVue. Doing the opt-out process as soon as possible will help us with grouping and proctoring assignments. For more information about excusing students, head to the district website located here.
* Lesher’s Performance Framework for scores and participation: https://www.cde.state.co.us/schoolview/frameworks/official/1550/5068
Calendars and Schedules:
Science Schedule, April 10th (coming soon)
March PBIS Student Challenge!
Student Challenge: March BINGO—students have academic, organizational, kindness, and self-care challenges to complete in the month of March. Once students get a BINGO, they can turn the form into the front office for the chance to be entered into a drawing to win prizes.
Message about Genius Week!
Families, Genius Week registration is open. Visit the Genius Week website HERE to register soon for the early bird discount; we want your students there!
Thank you & Go Vikings!
Lesher Tardy Flowchart
PSD Facilities Planning Steering Committee
Please visit the Long Range Planning Committee website for the most up-to-date information: HERE
Updated Listening Session Information:
Share your thoughts at a listening session this spring.
A series of listening sessions will be held this spring. These are opportunities for members of the public, including staff, families, students, and community members, to provide feedback on the scenarios that the PSD Facilities Planning Steering Committee is developing. All sessions will follow the same format, which includes an overview presentation, followed by small-table conversations and a questionnaire.
The Facilities Planning Steering Committee presented possible options publicly for the first time at the March 19 PSD Board of Education meeting. After gathering feedback from listening sessions, the committee will make two to three recommendations to the school board. The board will be asked to make a decision about how to proceed at its June 11 meeting.
Remaining Listening Session:
- 6-8 p.m. Thursday, April 4, at PSD Future Ready Center, Suite 510 in the Foothills Mall, 215 E Foothills Parkway (for those who speak Spanish)
Board of Education Listening Sessions
- 5:30- 10 p.m., Tuesday, April 16, in the auditorium at Poudre High School, 201 S. Impala Drive in Fort Collins
- 5:30- 10 p.m., Tuesday, June 4, in the auditorium at Fort Collins High School, 3400 Lambkin Way in Fort Collins
Microphones will be available at each session so attendees may share thoughts with the board. Board listening sessions will be recorded and posted on the PSD website; they will not be livestreamed.
New Bell Schedule Times for the 2024-25 School Year
March 6, 2024
Dear Poudre School District community:
Board of Education directors voted (5-2) Tuesday night to modify bell schedules at 31 schools. The new times will go into effect at the start of the 2024-25 school year.
This decision preserves busing for students at a time when neighboring districts are cutting services and saves about $1 million in the face of districtwide financial challenges. It is also the first step in a multi-year plan to align bell schedules by grade level, with the goals of saving additional money and expanding busing services in future years.
The board voted to adopt the Scenario A schedule, which was favored by those who took a communitywide survey asking for feedback on two scenarios. Watch the staff presentation and board discussion here: https://youtu.be/5c34J6f4Yfc
As a result, school start and dismissal times will shift by:
· 5-10 minutes at 10 schools
· 11-20 minutes at 14 schools
· 21-30 minutes at seven schools
· Eighteen school schedules will NOT change.
· See bell times for each school: www.psdschools.org/schools/school-start-dismissal-times
We empathize with students, parents/guardians, staff and others who will navigate these changes and recognize that current bell schedules may have been a factor in families’ decisions to attend a certain school. We plan to communicate directly with families who submitted applications as part of the School Choice process as soon as possible. It is our intent to answer questions that this news will likely prompt regarding choice school enrollment.
Why this change, why now?
As part of an ongoing commitment to improvement and annual budget development, schools and departments look for ways to prioritize students and operate as efficiently as possible. Working with an outside firm specializing in routing, the Transportation Department determined that it could save money and minimize disruptions to busing services due to staffing shortages through a routing optimization process.
If PSD didn’t optimize and reduce the number of routes, there was a real risk of not being able to run all routes every day. The ongoing, nationwide and local shortage of bus drivers could lead to interruptions in service. Making this change now also results in savings of about $1 million to $1.5 million.
PSD is facing fiscal challenges because of the decline in student enrollment, inflation, and increasing benefits costs. Fewer students mean fewer dollars. In a district where about 85% of a roughly $400 million budget goes to pay for people, any cut is felt acutely, and any savings are even more critical.
What’s next?
The bell schedule changes approved by the board go into effect for the 2024-25 school year. Along with its vote Tuesday, the board also charged staff with looking for even more optimization within the Transportation Department and making districtwide changes to create long-term consistency for our families.
By making steps toward a system where bell times are standardized to the maximum extent possible – as in elementary schools start at the same time, middle schools start at the same time, and high schools start at the same time, PSD could reduce the overall number of bus routes and drivers currently needed from 122 to about 85.
The hope is that PSD could then offer busing to 100% choice schools for the first time ever; this has not been possible under the current model. Currently, about one in four families choose to send their students to a school other than their neighborhood school, known as School Choice. PSD has historically only been able to provide busing services to neighborhood schools for students who meet certain requirements and for whom transportation is legally required.
Expanding busing services is beneficial for families who might not have the ability to transport their students to a 100% choice school.
We recognize that students, families, staff and community members may face challenges while adjusting to the newly approved bell schedules and appreciate everyone’s patience and understanding in advance.
Sincerely,
Poudre School District
Health Office End of the Year Med Pick Up
FCHS Girls Basketball Camp!
Here is the link to register
Sewing Supplies Needed!
From Mrs. Champagne...
Sewing Supplies Needed for Art Room/Sewing Class:
- thread (all colors)
- buttons
- fabric (quilting cotton, jersey, fleece, canvas)
- any sewing supplies you don't need or use anymore
- any good working sewing machines you don't use anymore
These items can be dropped off to our main office!
Spring Football Workouts
8th Grade Video Collage!
Hello Families of Lesher 8th Graders!
This is the first call for short videos of your child in their element!
At the end of the school year, a video collage presentation is compiled to celebrate all of the out-of-school / extracurricular activities that our 8th graders participate in. This video montage will be shown during the end of the year celebration just for our departing 8th graders in May.
Do you have a short action video snip (10 seconds or less) of your 8th grader? Maybe you have a moment from a sporting event, engaged in favorite hobby at home, playing with a pet, doing something adventurous -- or a fun moment from a vacation? Anything goes, as long as we can see your child in the video! Horseback riding, theater, magic tricks, biking, hiking, skiing, volleyball, dance, football, surfing, cross country, wrestling, water sports, ziplining, basketball, softball, baseball, track, soccer, trampoline jumping, baking, gymnastics, rubik’s cube speed, unicycling, musical instruments, chess, gaming, disc golf, and weightlifting are several of the moments that have been received and used in years past!
If your child has an event- be sure to grab a few seconds of video and send it along! Sound will not be included in the video, so keep that in mind. Ideally this video montage will have a 2-10 second ACTION video of EVERY 8th grade student! You can submit 2 snips if you can’t pick your favorite- I will try to get all of them in. This is a chance for students to shine in ways that aren’t seen during the school day.
Please email your short video snips to the 8th Grade Day Viking Variety Show Coordinator, Ms. Julie Thompson - juliat@psdschools.org – she will be collecting them throughout the year, up until May 1st.
High School Planning Materials
High School Course and Planning Worksheet – Digital Copy
High School Recommendation Guide
-This are pulled from Fort Collins High School Presentation Recommendations
Summer Math Opportunity for 8th Grade!
Registration is now open for GirlsGetMath@CSU, a free weeklong, non-residential summer math camp in the Department of Mathematics at CSU! The camp will run June 10-14, 2024, Monday-Thursday 9am-3:30pm and Friday 9am-5pm. Students will explore a variety of topics in mathematics (such as cryptography, data science, image processing, fractals, and graph theory) in a collaborative and inclusive learning environment where they engage with hands-on activities and computer labs. During the camp, students will also take a campus tour, eat lunch in dining halls, and hear from successful women in STEM careers. There is no cost to attend the summer camp, and we will provide all materials, daily snacks, lunch, and a camp t-shirt.
Please direct any interested students to https://mathematics.colostate.edu/girls-get-math/ where they can fill out a short application to attend the camp. The deadline is Friday, April 26.
Thank you in advance for helping to spread the word. Feel free to reach out to jamie.juul@colostate.edu or liz.arnold@colostate.edu with any questions.
Sincerely,
Jamie Juul
Liz Arnold
Lambkin Film Festival!
Poetry Contest!
2 Hour Delayed Start Schedule
Broken Laptop Screens
We've had an increase in broken laptop screens. Families, please make sure that you speak with your child about being safe and responsible with their laptops. Below are our school wide technology expectations that you can review with your family. Thank you!
Laptop Restart
This week, updates have been rolled out to all student laptops. To apply these updates, you'll be required to restart your laptop multiple times. To determine if a restart is necessary, click on the Windows button; if prompted, choose "Update and Restart" or "Update and Shut Down." Ensure your laptop is plugged in and charging before initiating the restart. The process will take approximately 20-30 minutes, with some restarts potentially lasting several hours. Keep the screen open throughout the update. Note that these updates will occur on the second Tuesday of each month. If you encounter any problems or have issues, feel free to reach out to Ed Tech Coordinator Becky Knips at rknips@psdschools.org. Thank you!
From Our Previous Newsletters...But Still Relevant!
Lesher's Academic Honesty Policy
Information for 5th Grade Families!
Club Rush Information for 2023-24!
This link will be updated when student initiated clubs get approved throughout the year.
2023-24 Application for Free and Reduced Status
PSD Mental Health Services
PTO Calendar and Information
Lesher Lunch Menu
2023-2024 School Calendar
2023-24 Bell Schedule
Lesher 2023-24 Blue / Gold Schedule
Lesher Community Business Directory
Please Visit us on Social Media
Lesher Middle School
Website: https://les.psdschools.org/
Location: Lesher Middle School, Stover Street, Fort Collins, CO, USA
Phone: 970-472-3800
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LesherMiddleSchool
Twitter: @Lesher_MS