PERRY-LECOMPTON MIDDLE SCHOOL NEWSLETTER November-December 2012

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1 PERRY-LECOMPTON MIDDLE SCHOOL NEWSLETTER November-December 2012 Message from the Principal I would like to take this opportunity to thank all staff, students and parents for a successful first quarter. Ensuring that our students have a good school year is definitely dependent on everyone working together. The support of our PTO has (as usual) been phenomenal. If you have questions about the PTO or you would like to become more involved, please don t hesitate to contact PTO President, Jaye Daniels at jayedaniels@aol.com As always, if you have any questions, comments, concerns, and/or praises, please don t hesitate to give me a call at PLMS, or me at jwoodward@usd343.org. KHAN ACADEMY: Has your child been struggling with linear equations, solving inequalities, fractions, integer sums, slope and Y-intercept, ratios, and/or long division? If so, check out this website: Khan Academy is a not for profit educational organization created in 2006 by a MIT graduate. It is a FREE website that provides a free online collection of over 2,600 short tutorial videos stored on YouTube teaching mathematics and utilized across the country. As always, PLMS recommends close parental supervision whenever students are online. Office Hours The middle school office will be open for business 7:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. M-Th and 7:30 a.m.-3:30 p.m. on Friday. Entering the Building for School The building will not open to students until 7:45 a.m. Students should not be dropped off before 7:45 a.m. Early School Dismissal Winter is coming and along with winter comes the inevitable snow and ice. If inclement weather strikes, Dr. Yoder, the Superintendent of Schools, will make the decision after due consideration of all factors to send students home early. Media will be notified: WDAF TV - Kansas City, TV Channel 4, WIBW - Topeka, TV Channel 13, radio 580 AM and 94.5 FM. At PLMS all students are given the opportunity to call parents and make special arrangements. Parents of students at either building may send special instructions to the office for early dismissal. We will keep those instructions on file. On bus routes, drivers determine that a student can get into their house before they leave each drop point. An administrator will remain at the school phone until all buses have delivered students home. Guaranteeing every student s safety is our priority. Perry-Lecompton Middle School 1

2 PLMS currently has 16 seventh and eighth grade boys involved in wrestling. Practice is every day after school from 3:30-5:15. Contact Coach Roberts, if you are interested in joining the team. Wrestling Schedule: Thursday, November 8 Onaga, Holton, Onaga, 4:30 PM Saturday, November 10 Silver Lake Invitational, 8:15 AM Saturday, November 17 Rossville Invitational, 8:30 AM Saturday, December 1 Big 7 League Sabetha, 9:00 AM Constitution Day in Mrs. Doleman s Room Constitution day was Saturday, September 17 th. In Mrs. Doleman s classroom the 7 th and 8 th grade students worked in groups as they learned about the Constitution and its purpose. The 7 th and 8 th graders were given the task of creating a Constitution for a fictional country. They needed to include a preamble, three branches of government, the ratification process, signatures, and an amendment section. The groups were very creative as they decided how to set up their governments. Perry-Lecompton Middle School 2

3 We the people of Mrs. Doleman s room not only learned many new and interesting facts about this great document but also had a lot of fun in the process. PLMS Constitution Day Assembly Constitution Day commemorates the formation and signing of the U.S. Constitution by thirty-nine brave men on September 17, The students and staff of Perry Lecompton Middle School took advantage of our local history on Constitution Day by learning about the Lecompton Constitution that would ve made Kansas a slave state if it was approved. Paul Bahnmier and Tim Rues shared history in the form of a reenactment. History came to life as students became either proslavery or antislavery settlers that were listening and reacting to a speech given by abolitionist James Lane. Kansas eventually became a free state under the Wyandotte Constitution on January 29, Perry-Lecompton Middle School 3

4 November 15, :00-3:00 PLMS Gym During the first week of October, our 8 th graders took the Kansas Career Pipeline Interest Inventory with Mrs. Hupe during their Social Studies class. They discovered what careers fit their current 8th grade interests. They were preparing for the 8th Grade Career Fair which will be on Thursday November 15 th from 2:00-3:00 in the middle school gym. 8 th Grade EXPLORE November 1 st 8 th -12 th graders will be involved in College and Career Readiness Testing on the November 1 st. To help prepare and give our students an advantage for success, our 8 th graders will take the EXPLORE which is a College and Career Readiness program developed by ACT, giving students a head start for the PLAN (given in 10 th grade) and for the ACT. ACT is an important test that colleges use to help them make admissions and scholarship decisions. EXPLORE test students in English, Math, Reading, and Science. Students will receive their EXPLORE scores and explanation from Mrs. Hupe at the beginning of the second semester. What an exciting opportunity for our 8 th graders! Their scores provide early indicators of whether students are on track of college, if that is the career path that a student chooses. Results will also be mailed home to parents with their report card. If you have further Questions or Concerns upon receiving the EXPLORE results please call (785) or contact me bhupe@usd343.org For more information on the EXPLORE, please go to Beth Hupe, PLMS Counselor Perry-Lecompton Middle School 4

5 Dia de los Muertos Ms. Drummond s 8 th grade art students every year learn about the Mexican holiday, Dia de los Muertos, or The Day of the Dead. They study the traditions of the holiday, which is celebrated on November 2. It is a holiday to remember family members who have died, similar to Memorial Day in the U. S. Although it is about those who have died, it is not considered to be morbid or depressing, but rather a time of happiness, good food, family, and fun. Family members set up altars in honor of those who have died and decorate them with favorite items of the departed, such as clothing, food, drinks, hobbies and more. Ms. Drummond and the art students, as part of this lesson, travelled to the Mattie Rhodes Art Museum for their annual Day of the Dead field trip. The students learned from the museum staff about the altars that are set up there in honor of people in the local area who have died. Their families and friends set up the altars and decorate them with many things that had personal and emotional meaning to them. They learned what the symbolism of many of the decorations used in decorating for the holiday. Candles represent hope and faith. Sugar skulls are made to remind the eater of the sweetness of the life shared with their loved ones. Monarch butterflies are believed to carry the spirit of the dead, to the land of the living, on their wings. While at the museum, the students also are able to make a craft project to take home with them. On this trip, they made tin cut out skulls and decorated them. On the way back to school, they stopped to eat at El Potro, in Lawrence for delicious traditional Mexican food. This field trip is the kick off for several Day of the Dead art projects that will take place at the middle school art room. Display on its way!! Perry-Lecompton Middle School 5

6 November Events November date Event Destination Dismissed Depart Return Sponsor 1 7/8 Girls Basketball PLMS vs Santa Fe HOME 4 Daylight Savings Time Ends 5 7/8 Girls Basketball Jeff West 2:30 PM 2:45 PM 9:00 PM Hupfauf 8 PLMS Wrestling Onaga 1:15 PM 1:30 PM 9:00 PM Roberts 10 PLMS Wrestling Silver Lake - 7:15 AM TBA Roberts 12 7/8 Girls Basketball Sabetha 1:40 PM 1:55 PM 10:30 PM Hupfauf 12 School Board Meeting 6:30 PM 15 PLMS Career Fair in Gym 2:00 PM 15 7/8 Girls Basketball PLMS vs HOME 17 PLMS Wrestling Rossville - 7:15 AM TBA Roberts 17 7/8 Girls Basketball HOME 19 7/8 Girls Basketball PLMS vs HOME 20 7/8 Girls Basketball PLMS vs HOME 21,22,23 Thanksgiving Break 26 7/8 Girls Basketball Royal Valley - 3:45 PM 10:00 PM Hupfauf 28 PLMS PTO 5:00 PM 29 7/8 Girls Basketball Santa Fe Trail 2:25 PM 2:40 PM 10:00 PM Hupfauf December Events Date Event Destination Dismissed Depart Return Sponsor 1 PLMS Wrestling Sabetha 9:00AM TBA TBA TBA Roberts 3 7/8 A Girls Basketball PLMS vs Jeff HOME 5 5/6 Vocal Music and Band Concert 7:00 PM 10 PLMS Site Council 5:00 PM 10 School Board Meeting 6:30 PM 10 PLMS Site Council Meeting 4:00 PM 19 7/8 Vocal Music and Band Concert 7:00 PM 24- Jan. 2 Winter Break Perry-Lecompton Middle School 6