La Plata Middle School
Message from the Principal
Hello La Plata Families!
We did it! You did it! Our students did it! One quarter of middle school is officially in the books, and Fall Break is almost here!
Middle school is all about productive struggle. Learning how to manage new responsibilities, new expectations, multiple teachers, lockers, assignments, friendships, activities, and everything else that comes with being an adolescent is A LOT! For the most part, our students are getting the hang of it, and we are proud of the growth we have seen during Quarter 1.
As we reached the end of the quarter, I asked our staff to reflect on their wins so far this year. Sometimes when we think about a "win," we look for a huge accomplishment, but so often it is the small things that eventually add up to big gains. I encourage you to do the same with your child. Celebrate the small wins!
Maybe they finally have their locker combination down. Maybe they struggled with a difficult concept in class but kept working until they understood it. Maybe they figured out their way around the school, joined a new club, made a new friend, stood up for themselves in a tough situation, showed kindness to someone else, asked for help when they didn't really want to, told the truth when it was difficult, or brought up a grade they had been struggling with. Those are wins, too.
Middle school is about learning, growing, making mistakes, trying again, and figuring out how to make good choices. That productive struggle is part of becoming more independent and preparing for high school and beyond. As always, if your child seems to be struggling or you need more information about how they are doing in a class, please reach out to their teacher. Our teachers see your students each day and can give you the best possible picture of what they are seeing academically and in the classroom.
Finally, I want to thank YOU for being part of our La Plata Middle School community. I appreciate the phone calls, emails, conversations, questions, and communication we share when something comes up. Sometimes those conversations are easy, and sometimes they are tough. Sometimes you bring something to our attention that gives us information we didn't have before and helps us better support your child. That partnership matters.
Thank you for trusting us with your Broncos and for working alongside us as we help them navigate these middle school years.
Let's finish Quarter 1 strong, enjoy a fun Spirit Week, and then get some much-needed rest! Wishing all of our La Plata families a safe, restful, and blessed Fall Break!
Ms. Cruz
Upcoming Events
SPIRIT WEEK!
In conjunction with SHS Homecoming, we will have our own LPMS Spirit Week! Please see the flyer below for each day's theme. We can't wait to see our Broncos showing their school spirit!
Tuesday, October 6 – Remote Learning & Staff Professional Development Day
We are keeping remote learning simple! Teachers will either send home a paper assignment or post a simple assignment in Google Classroom. There will be NO Google Meets because our teachers will be participating in professional development throughout the day.
Thursday, October 8 – Last Home Volleyball Game & PINK OUT!
Come support our Broncos for our final home volleyball game of the season! We are making it a PINK OUT, so wear your pink and help us fill the stands!
Friday, October 9 – Student vs. Staff Volleyball Game!
We are wrapping up Quarter 1 with a little fun! Students and staff will face off in our Student vs. Staff Volleyball Game at the end of the day. Who will take home the win?!
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.