La Plata Middle School
2026-27 Yearbook QR code
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Message from the Principal
Greetings, Bronco Families!
Welcome to the last week of October! Can you believe it?! We often find that Quarter 2 is the fastest quarter of the school year. Before we know it, Thanksgiving Break will be here, followed shortly by Winter Break! With that in mind, attendance is especially important during this time of year! Every day of instruction matters, and when students miss school, they miss more than just assignments. They miss classroom discussions, opportunities to practice new skills, and valuable instruction that can be difficult to make up. The more days missed, the harder it becomes to catch up. We want our Broncos here, learning, growing, and making the most of every school day!
We also recognize that life happens! Families experience challenges, schedules get busy, and sometimes things come up that are beyond anyone's control. Please remember that we are here to help! If your family is navigating something that may be affecting your child's attendance, academics, or overall school experience, please reach out. We cannot always fix everything, but we certainly want to work alongside you to support your child.
This Week at La Plata!
Monday, October 26 – Signed Report Cards Due
Quarter 1 report cards were sent home with students on Friday. Please take a few minutes to review your child's grades, celebrate their successes, and talk about areas where they can continue to grow. Signed report cards should be returned today!
Thursday, October 29 – October Attendance House Celebration!
Throughout October, our four Houses have been competing for the best attendance! On Thursday, we will celebrate the House that comes out on top! We love finding ways to recognize our students for showing up and making attendance a priority!
Friday, October 30 – Halloween Fun at La Plata!
We are excited to wrap up October with a little Halloween fun! Students are encouraged to dress up in their Halloween costumes on Friday. Middle school should be a place where students can have fun, make memories, and enjoy being kids!
A few costume reminders to help us keep the day fun and safe for everyone:
- Costumes must follow our school dress code.
- No fake weapons or weapon accessories.
- No excessive blood, gore, or overly graphic costumes. Minimal costume makeup is fine!
- Costumes should not create safety concerns or tripping hazards.
We look forward to seeing everyone's creativity and Halloween spirit!
Pumpkin Decorating Contest
Don't forget! Students participating in our Pumpkin Decorating Contest need to bring their pumpkins to school by Friday, October 30!
Looking Ahead: First Week of November
Basketball tryouts for our 7th and 8th grade students are coming up next week!
If your child plans to try out, please make sure they have a current sports physical on file. Students must also meet academic eligibility requirements based on their Quarter 1 grades:
- Minimum 2.0 GPA
- No failing grades (F's)
Please take time to review your child's eligibility before tryouts!
A Look Back at Quarter 1 at La Plata!
As we continue moving through the school year, I also want to share a few numbers from our first quarter. These numbers help us celebrate the great things happening on our campus while also recognizing where we have opportunities to grow.
94% Schoolwide Attendance!
We finished Quarter 1 with a 94% attendance rate! This is something to celebrate, but we also know we can continue to improve. Our goal is to have every Bronco at school, ready to learn, as often as possible!
76 Positive Student Referrals!
This is one of my favorite numbers to share! Our staff have recognized students for kindness, leadership, improvement in their academics, good citizenship, helping others, and simply making positive choices. We believe it is just as important to recognize students for doing the right thing as it is to address behaviors that need improvement. We want our Broncos to know that their positive actions matter and are noticed!
54 Discipline Incidents
During Quarter 1, we documented 54 discipline incidents. These include behaviors such as classroom disruptions, cell phone violations, rough play or horseplay, and other inappropriate behaviors.
Middle school is a time of tremendous growth, and part of that growth involves learning how to make good decisions, manage emotions, navigate friendships, and take responsibility when mistakes happen. Our goal is not simply to address behavior but to help students learn from their choices and make better ones moving forward.
We believe that accountability and grace can exist together, and we will continue working to maintain a safe, positive, and supportive learning environment for all of our Broncos.
As we continue through the school year, I want to thank you for being our partners. Raising and educating middle schoolers is a team effort! We want them to feel safe, connected, challenged, supported, and proud to be part of La Plata Middle School.
Let's finish October strong! Have a wonderful week!
Ms. Cruz
More Information
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La Plata Parent Panel Meeting Recap
Thank you to the parents who joined us for our September Solution-Based Parent Panel Meeting! We continue to appreciate the ideas, conversation, and willingness of our families to work alongside us. One of our goals for this group is not just to talk about ways we can support our school, but to turn those conversations into action!
Stand for the Silent – What’s Next?
We spent some time reflecting on the impact of our recent Stand for the Silent assembly and the message it brought to our students about kindness, bullying prevention, and standing up for others.
Update: La Plata will be starting its own Stand for the Silent Chapter! Working alongside our SEL Team, we will invite students to take leadership roles and help shape what this chapter looks like at LPMS. We would also love to have parents involved!
If you are interested in supporting our Stand for the Silent Chapter, please contact Leslie Cook, LPMS School Counselor, for information about ways to get involved.
September Parent Involvement – Staff Breakfast
Our parents are already putting ideas into action! A group of parents is organizing a Staff Appreciation Breakfast for the morning of September 23rd. Mishka Venegas, one of our 7th-grade parents, is leading this effort. If you would like to contribute, help, or donate, please reach out to her:
Phone: 575-538-1647
Email: mishkavenegas@gmail.com
As we reach the middle of September, that first-nine-weeks fatigue can begin to set in for school staff. This thoughtful gesture will mean so much to our teachers and staff! We appreciate the collaboration and generosity of our families, and we thank everyone who is willing and able to help Mrs. Venegas make this happen!
Dads on Duty!
We also want to give a huge thank you to Mr. Randy Venegas, who has been coming to La Plata each day to help us with lunch duty! Having positive adults present on our campus makes a difference. The extra set of eyes is helpful, but even more importantly, our students benefit from having caring adults interacting with them and being part of their school community.
Interested in volunteering your time at La Plata? Please reach out to Ms. Cruz! We would love to have more parents and family members involved.
Our House System & Parent Involvement
We also spent time talking about our House System and ways families can become more involved.
House caseloads will be added to PowerSchool, which will allow our teacher House Leaders to better connect with families when we have House events, activities, service projects, and opportunities for parent involvement. We also discussed how students earn House Points throughout the school day and the House Leaderboard students see displayed on our TVs throughout campus. Those points recognize students for demonstrating the positive behaviors and character we want to see throughout La Plata.
The Amazing Shake – Preparing Students for the Real World
Parents also learned more about our Amazing Shake Competition and why this is such an important part of our House System.
The Amazing Shake gives students opportunities to practice the soft skills that will serve them well beyond middle school: handshakes, eye contact, communication, confidence, poise, professionalism, and thinking on their feet.
We have an exciting goal this year: the winner of our LPMS Amazing Shake Competition will have the opportunity to represent La Plata at the Global Amazing Shake Competition in Georgia this March!
We are excited to continue preparing our Broncos not only for their next grade level, but for the real world beyond our doors.Thank You, Parent Panel!
- We are incredibly thankful for the parents who take the time to attend these meetings, share ideas, ask questions, and most importantly, help us find solutions. Our Parent Panel is about building stronger partnerships between school, families, and our community, and we appreciate everyone who continues to help us move that work forward.
Our next Solution-Based Parent Panel Meeting will be October 7th. We hope to see you there!
- We are incredibly thankful for the parents who take the time to attend these meetings, share ideas, ask questions, and most importantly, help us find solutions. Our Parent Panel is about building stronger partnerships between school, families, and our community, and we appreciate everyone who continues to help us move that work forward.