J.A. Leonard Middle School

If you are DROPPING OFF your child in the morning, you have 2 choices. Choice 1: Drive them into the driveway If you choose this, please DO the following: Come into the UPPER driveway Pull into the LEFT LANE, and stay there until you leave the school grounds The LEFT LANE will be marked by cones. Drop your child off by the cafeteria doors Continue in the LEFT LANE through the lower parking lot, and exit using the left lane. As you move through the lane, please YIELD RIGHT OF WAY to buses. Choice 2: Continue to drop them off on Oak Street. Students must WALK IN THE RIGHT LANE all the way to the cafeteria. They should not, at any point, walk in the car lane. For safety of our school buses and students on them, PLEASE DO NOT PULL INTO THE LOWER PARKING LOT. This is a “Do Not Enter” Zone for all car traffic. Thank you for your help with this, so that we can keep all of our children safe.

Team pictures for field hockey, cross country, and soccer are this Wednesday, October 6, during practice. Football pictures will be arranged through the YMCA. Please remember to bring your uniform!

Dear LMS Community, We’re sorry to interrupt your evening, but ask you each to check your email this evening. We learned this afternoon of a member of our school who tested positive for COVID-19, and needed to do some of the notification by email today. Those emails went to both primary and secondary households for affected students; anyone without an email address has already received a phone call. If you did NOT receive an email from us within the last several hours about close contact with COVID-19, that means your child was NOT a close contact and you don’t need to take any action. Please don’t hesitate to reach out to the school or COVID hotline with questions, and have a great weekend!

Updated Drop Off and Pick Up—TO START THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 30 Now that we know how and when our buses arrive in the morning and afternoon, we will adjust our Drop Off procedures. If you are DROPPING OFF your child in the morning, you have 2 choices. Choice 1: Come into the driveway and drop them off by the cafeteria If you choose this, please DO the following: Come into the UPPER driveway Pull into the LEFT LANE, and stay there until you leave the school grounds The LEFT LANE will be marked by cones. Drop your child off by the cafeteria doors Continue in the LEFT LANE through the lower parking lot, and exit using the LEFT LANE. As you move through the lane, please YIELD RIGHT OF WAY to buses. Choice 2: Continue to drop them off on Oak Street Please tell them to WALK IN THE RIGHT LANE all the way to the cafeteria. If you are dropping your child off in the morning, please DO NOT enter through the lower parking lot. PICK UP procedures in the afternoon We have many buses here at once, so pick-up procedures in the afternoon will remain the same. Students will leave the school up by the office, and you will PICK THEM UP ON OAK STREET. We want to make the procedures as convenient and safe as possible. Your patience and support are very much appreciated. Gert Nesin, Principal

Literacy Consultants Needed! Leonard Middle School, Grades 6 – 8, in Old Town, Maine is looking for literacy consulting for the 2021-22 school year. Our goal is to examine current research to collaboratively develop a shared vision and support effective literacy practices in all classrooms. The work is primarily with our ELA teachers, and will also extend to Educational Technicians, Special Education teachers, and all subject areas to support literacy across the curriculum. Background Our reading achievement in Grades 6-8 largely plateaued before the pandemic and dropped off by the end of the pandemic. We wish to create a solid research-based vision and plan to help all students progress in their literacy skills. Specific data will be shared with the consultants. Format Beginning at the end of September or beginning of October, the consultant(s) will work twice monthly with our ELA and other faculty for a half-day each time for 5 months, and once monthly for 3 months. During this time, they will do some combination of the following: Meet with ELA teachers as a group to create a vision, based on research Meet with teams of teachers to discuss effective literacy practice, and how to support it Visit classrooms and offer supportive feedback Meet with administration about supporting progress Costs Please itemize the costs, as follows: Cost per session for consulting time and preparation Travel expenses, including lodging if needed Materials and resources Submit proposals to Dr. Gert Nesin at gert.nesin@rsu34.org by Friday, October 1, 2021

To stay current with changes made to the LMS athletic schedules please go to our EVENT section of our website or by clicking on MENU then, ATHLETICS and then SCHEDULES. Thank you for your patience and GO COYOTES!!!

The summer school store order through Wights arrived Friday afternoon. If you placed an order it is available for pick up at the office beginning Monday morning. The school store will reopen in October, so stay tuned.

LMS Open House! Grade 6: Wednesday, September 1, 4:00 - 6:00 P.M. Grade 7: Thursday, September 2, 4:00 - 6:00 P.M. Grade 8: Thursday, September 9, 4:00 - 6:00 P.M.

OTHS and LMS are looking for ball runners for their home soccer games. Any student interested in helping out should contact the AD at either school to get full details on the position. Soccer schedules can be found on each school’s website. Go Coyotes!!!

At the link below, you will find information about OPTIONAL pooled testing in RSU 34 for the fall. This information will help parents and families members understand the process and benefits of pooled testing, and make the choice that is best for your family. Please take the time to read the attached link, so that you can make your decision. This is another way we can offer to look out for the safety and well-being of our community, and keep our kids coming to school. Pooled Testing Flyer Link: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1KStq_RMN7858SRmTVQQUsQOVjZ4QiymfOtppNmsFaV8/edit?usp=sharing

Letter from Mr. Walker https://www.rsu34.org/article/507120

Leonard Middle School's PTC has opened the school store starting today for the next two weeks. If you or your student want any new LMS or Old Town gear for the start of the year, this is your chance. https://leonardms2021-2.itemorder.com/sale

Old Town - New City. Working in partnership with the city of Old Town, eighth graders at Leonard Middle School researched the history of their community. Guided by scholars from the Penobscot Nation and Old Town Museum, students gathered ideas from community members to create a mural with Maine artist Abigail Gray Swartz. This project received funding from a grant by the Maine Humanities Council and from the city of Old Town. The panels were printed at Graphix Design, a local business operated by Tony Sullivan. The murals are displayed in Peace Pole Park at the corner of Main and Center Streets.

Students entering 9th grade at OTHS have some opportunities this summer to keep their skills sharp and kick-start earning credits for graduation! Please see the flyer in this image or here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Q79B2z75j-qzpw7ygcx4JUJLQdBnkzSYDikfyYDr444/edit?usp=sharing

Summer School Week 1

If you have signed up for summer programing at LMS here are the dates for both our summer recovery program and our extended school year. Summer School Schedules at LMS Summer Recovery: Week 1: Tuesday July 6- Thursday July 8 Week 2: Monday July 12- Thursday July 15 Week 3: Monday July 19- Thursday July 22 Week 4: Monday July 26- Thursday July 29 Extended School Year (ESY) Week 1: Tuesday July 6- Thursday July 8 Week 2: Tuesday July 13- Thursday July 15 Week 3: Tuesday July 20- Thursday July 22 Week 4: Tuesday July 27- Thursday July 29 Week 5: Tuesday August 3- Thursday August 5

We said goodbye to our 8th graders today.

Track and Field News: Results from the Virtual Almquist Invitational based on seeds throughout the season had several LMS students receive medals: Lucas B.- 6th in the 400 Ruby W.- 5th in the 50 Lucy V.- 1st in the 50 Phoebe Y.- 3rd in Discus Addie T.- 2nd in racewalk Taylor L.- 3rd in 800 and 1st in the 1600 Karina D.- 2nd in Long Jump and 1st in the 400 Girls 4x1 of Libby S., Karina, D., Taylor L. and Lucy V.- 3rd Way to go Coyotes!!!

Congratulations to LMS staff member and OTHS baseball coach. PVC Rookie Coach of the Year AND PVC Coach of the Year. Well done, Coach!

Boys entering grades 5-8! Dates: June 22, 24, 29 July 1, 13, 15, 20, 22, 27, 29 (Tuesdays/Thursdays From June 22nd – July 29th minus the week of the 4th) Place: OTHS Gym, Time: 3:30-5 This series consists of 10 sessions at 1.5 hours with instruction from our very own coaching staff. Cost: $85 for the series if you reserve up front Cost is $10 per session if you pay by the session. How to sign up? – Contact Coach Libby via email at garrett.libby@rsu34.org