Lesher News 4-25-14 - Lesher Middle School

April 25, 2014
Dear Lesher Parents, Students, & Staff:
Here’s The Lesher Difference email blast of celebrations, announcements, and upcoming dates from the
Viking/Viqueen ship for this week.
CELEBRATIONS
1) The Viking Jazz Band represented Lesher well Saturday morning, 4/26, at the 44th UNC/Greeley
Jazz Festival! They received the highest rating possible from the clinician/judge. They’re an
outstanding group of students: Nathan Freeman, Owen Lockwood, Haley Hartmann, Josh Schwarz,
Andrew VanOrden, Zoe Boiarsky, Rabi Phelan, Nina Shelanski, Will Shrigley, Kelsey Straw, Josh
Rogers, Tristan Jackson-Garcia, Cooper Larson, Augusta Rudnick, Ethan Ganster, Austin Blumenthal,
Thomas Gira, and Zoe Drigot. Thank you to asst. band director Cody Jackson for working with this
group of students bright and early every Tuesday and Thursday morning before school starts.
2) BELIEVE THE HYPE! On Friday afternoon, 4/25, Lesher held an all-school banner celebration
assembly. During the assembly we recognized our status as 1 of 50 schools in Colorado to
participate in the Anti-defamation League’s (ADL) No Place for Hate anti-bullying program, as 1 of 3
schools in Colorado and 1 of 48 nationally designated by the US Dept. of Ed. and the Obama
administration as a Green Ribbon School, and were presented with our Colorado School to Watch
(CSTW) banner by CSTW State Director/Thompson School District Director of Instruction Diane
Lauer. Our students modeled outstanding attending skills, and it was a nice affirmation of the
collective awesomeness of our students and staff. It’s a great day to be a Viking/Viqueen!
3) At noon on Earth Day, Tuesday, 4/22, Acting Chair of the White House Council on Environmental
Quality Mike Boots and Secretary of Education Arne Duncan made their annual 2014 Green Ribbon
Schools announcement, and Lesher is one of them (http://www2.ed.gov/programs/green-ribbonschools/awards.html)! Click this link to see the video (http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/46544439),
and click this link for the White House blog
(http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2014/04/22/recognizing-green-schools-earth-day). You can find
best practices examples in each of the Green Ribbon Schools 3 Pillars from the 2014 cohort of
honorees, including Lesher, in the attached Highlights from 2014 GRS Report. You can find
additional resources (http://www2.ed.gov/about/inits/ed/green-strides/resources.html) and
webinars (http://www2.ed.gov/about/inits/ed/green-strides/webinar.html) on the Green Strides
website (http://www2.ed.gov/about/inits/ed/green-strides/index.html). The Green Strides Webinar
Series has new offerings weekly! Thanks you to all our students, staff, and parents who continue to
promote the 3 Pillars: I. Reduced Environmental Impact and Cost, II. Health and Wellness, and III.
Environmental and Sustainability Education.
4) Lesher had 36 7th and 8th grade students selected (via an application process) to attend the 14th
annual Latina Youth Leadership Conference at Colorado State University.
7th grade: (17) Yenifer Abarca, Aileen Avalos, Veronica Barajas, Breck Berglund, Litzinia Calva, Anna
Campbell, Sitlaly Carbajal, Leslie Cerna, Yaraitza Chavez, Angelica Diaz, Tiffany Galvan, Nayeli
Grajeda, Rosa Guerrero, Yeidi Guerrero, Brenda Herrera, Monica Quezada, and Estrella Viadran.
8th Grade: (19) Lesly Alvarez, Jasmine Astudillo, Michelle Avalos, Marissa Choury, Bailey Deal, Sayra
Flores, Karina Gergely, Jessica Gonzalez, Monze Guerrero, Belen Hernandez, Paulina Herrera, Reina
Leija, Esperanza (Hope) Marine, Daniela Ojeda, Vanessa Rodriguez, Estrella Rodriguez, Shae
Sarmiento, Marina Valdez, and Paola Vazquez.
These 36 young women represented Lesher at the conference on Wednesday, 4/23 and comprised
the biggest group of students selected from any PSD school. The Latina Youth Leadership
Conference focuses on training young women to become leaders in their schools and larger
communities. While at the conference the girls participated in 5 workshops and listened to the keynote speech by Anika Rivera, Professor of Government at the University of Texas at Austin. This was
a valuable learning experience for all participants! Thanks to teachers Laura Geisthardt and Janice
Martinez for chaperoning.
5) Congrats to Yearbook Teacher Becky Knips and our Yearbook Staff for earning a National
Yearbook Program of Excellence Award! Nationally, there were only 194 schools selected. We will
receive a banner and plaque to display. Attached is a press release. Way to go Yearbook team!
6) Attached is a list of the National Poetry Month contest winners who will be recognized this coming
Wednesday, 4/30, during each lunch. Students will bring their lunches to the Media Center on
Wednesday for cake and punch, prizes for everyone, and an announcement of the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd
place winners. There are many talented writers at Lesher! Thanks to Volunteer Writing Coordinator
Marty Marsh and In-school Suspension Supervisor Joe Sterling for reading through all of the
wonderful poems and making this contest happen every year. Please join us in congratulating all of
these talented writers!
7) Thank you to all our families and friends who attended this year’s musical theatre production of The
Music Man Jr. last Thursday-Saturday, April 10-12. The cast (see the attached list) did a great job
under the direction of Vocal Music Director Claire Chronopoulos and Accompanist Olivia Elder.
Thank you as well to all the volunteers who helped out behind the scenes with set building,
wardrobe, make up, etc.! WE couldn’t have done it without YOU. The arts are alive and well at
Lesher!
8) On Saturday, 5/3 some of Lesher’s Chess Team will be heading to Denver to compete at the State
Chess Tournament: They are: Aidan Marco, William Hu, Julian Brodsky, and Sean Lahti.
Congratulations and good luck to our CHESSMATES! Thank you coaches Lisa Crossland and Zach
Bekkedahl (Colorado Scholastic Chess Director) for making this opportunity possible.
Lesher’s Chess Club took 2nd place in the District Chess Tournament two weeks ago at Kinard. 6
members of the club came together to participate and placed 2nd. The participants were:
• Justin Hartberg- participated for the first time,
• Logan Gately- tied for 3rd and received honorable mention,
• Henry Cafaro- tied for 3rd and took 3rd,
• Julian Brodsky- came in 1st for the 6th grade section,
•
•
William Hu- took 1st place in the 8th grade section, and
Aiden Marco- came in 2nd in the rated section.
9) Lesher had 45 students compete in the state Science Olympiad competition at the School of Mines
in Golden, CO on Saturday, 4/19. Our teams placed 11th, 14th, and 25th overall amongst the 30
middle school teams competing. Here are our top 3 finishers, and the link to the overall results for
all teams.
3rd Can’t Judge a Powder – Emily Ray and Talia Berlin
2nd Dynamic Planet – Maddison Schink and Thayer McCollum
2nd Experimental Design – Natalie Heacock, Laina Heacock, and Kiaya Johnston
2nd Meteorology – Larry Chen and Josh Rogers
3rd Simple Machines – Thayer McCollum and Will Hu
3rd Water Quality – Owen Lockwood and Nathan Sima
2nd Write it/Do it – Natalie and Laina Heacock
There was also a trial event, Green Generation, in which Maddi Schink and Thayer McCollum placed
2nd and Larry Chen placed 3rd. All results: http://www.coloradoscienceolympiad.org/history/COSciO2014-state-results-final-B.pdf. Thank you to Sarah Freemyer, Ben Mayer, Bri Chittenden, and
Michael Cyphers for coaching our science O teams.
10) Our Lesher Team that did Odyssey of the Mind Problem 3, classic, It’s How We Rule, placed 2nd at
the State OM competition Saturday. This is the highest a Lesher team ever placed at the State
Competition. Lesher was 1 of only 2 PSD teams to earn the right to move on to the World
Competition at Iowa State University at the end of May. Congratulations to Chalice Michael,
Campbell Fix, Jessica Gonzales, Eryn Byrn, Hannah Roark. Congratulations to the Lesher Team doing
Problem 2, the not so haunted house, for competing at State and representing Lesher!
Congrats to both of Lesher’s Odyssey of the Mind (OM) teams that brought home 1st place trophies
on 3/29 at the Poudre River Tournament hosted by FCHS! See the attached press release. Team
members were: Eryn Byrn, Campbell Fix, Chalice Michael, Leslie Alvarez, Hanna Roark, Jessica
Gonzales, Meghan McMorrow, Kendyl Anderson, Madison Jaramillo, Salome Heynemann, and Evan
Kim. Thanks coaches Carol Fix, Grace Kim, and Sue Lorimor for facilitating our students’ OM success!
Both teams will compete at the state tournament April 12th in Erie! Click this link for more info.:
http://www.coloradoodyssey.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/Poudre-River-Newsletter-2014.pdf.
11) Lesher golf is in full swing! At this point we are 2-2; beating Boltz 4-1, losing to Wellington 3-1 in a
close match, losing to CLP at Southridge 1-3, beating Webber 3-1 on the back nine at Highland
Meadows. Close matches, cooperative weather, and some fabulous golf shots have been the rule.
The Vikings continue to refine their short game and putting on some very fast greens. For each
match we play a rotating roster of 6 players (Rosie McClure, Jessa Salvador, Blake Dragan, Gunter
Hammock, Sam Hammock, Kyle Maguire, Jesse McCeney, Mason Milligan, Jamie Myracle-Martin,
Jack Shore, and Keegan Seidl), playing a one-to-one match with the opposing school. We are grateful
to the area golf courses which generously provide tee times during their busiest season. The season
culminates with a district tournament on May 7th. The team is coached by Beth Wilms.
12) The 7th grade varsity volleyball team finished 3-5 on season and JV finished 0-3-5. Our success goes
much deeper than our record shows. Our girls improved significantly throughout the short 6 week
season. These are an incredible bunch of young ladies, many of whom never played volleyball
before this season. 3 of the 5 varsity losses were within 2 points, 2 of which went to 3 sets. The
potential for next year is over the top. Coach Hammond could not be more proud to coach these
young ladies: Claire Jenkins, Tessa Barker, Marley Horn, Remi Dauster, Catherine Cecil, Paige Lowry,
Maggie Rockwell, Carly Rockwell, Clara Workman, Abbott Hoeven, Kaliah Kodrich, Sarah Way, Emily
Winn, Sophie Pickelner, Avery Benton, Avi McCaffrey, Zoe Drigot, and Billie Jo Johann. The
character, academic achievement, heart, and attitude of these players are impressive. Great season
lady Vikings!
13) 8th grade varsity volleyball wrapped up its season at the district tournament hosted by FRHS on
Saturday, 4/12. The regular season record does not do justice to their competitive effort. The 8th
grade team won 3 matches versus 5 losses, however, they pushed the top 3 teams (Kinard, Webber,
and Preston) to 3 games in each match. The team remained very positive throughout the season and
played great team volleyball. Their positive attitude was on display during the tournament when
they constantly came from behind to eventually reach the semifinals against Kinard, after beating
Lincoln and Blevins, and end up tied for 3rd place. This year’s players and managers are: Kaylee
Bulmer, McKenna Cordsen, Emma Davidson, Lucie Davis, Bailey Deal, Jennifer Dudash, Amanda Ellis,
Peyton Frantz, Rachelle Gray, Kelsie Greybar, Zion Ketchum, Carly Long Soldier, Emily Myers, Rozie
Nobe, Shae Sarmiento, Britton Smotherman, Lilly Tucker, Jessa VanValkenburg, and Emma Walters.
Our team is coached by Dan Downing who is assisted by Olivia Seng (PHS sophomore and Lesher
alum) and Kaitlin Neu (Dunn Elementary student teacher).
14) We’re pleased to announce that of the 23 individuals from Lesher that auditioned for the District
Middle School Honor Orchestra 18 students made it (2nd most in PSD behind Kinard)! These
students worked very diligently on extremely difficult music for the audition. We couldn’t be more
proud of each student’s effort and dedication to such musicianship. Please congratulate these
musicians for being such Principled, Risk-takers! Thank you for supporting the ARTS at Lesher!
Austin Blumenthal, Lucie Davis, Amanda Ellis, Eleanor Glenn, Laina Heacock, Caroline Kane, Sarah
Kaufman, Rebecca Kirby, Abril Maranon, Franco Maranon, Emily Myers, Sophie Pickelner, Keith
Pixler, Nathan Sima, Luna Slater, Bryce Smith, Holly Spinden, and Lia Volpa.
15) Congrats to these awesome Lesher artists who had their work displayed at the Designs and Images
Art Show in the Hatton Gallery in the Visual Arts Building at CSU March 17th to April 6th (open 10-4
Monday-Friday and closed on weekends): Hope Marine, Lucy Christopher, Ava Jones, Latifah HirchiVogl, Alina Garcia, Thayer McCullum, Kenan Hamilton, Hiago Pinheiro, Luis Vazquez, Logan Gately,
Christopher Ray, and Shep Braddy- see his photo below of oil pastel, cityscape, aerial view.
Thank you to our art teacher Deb Frain for submitting these students’ exemplary work.
16) On Friday, 3/28 the Muscles Alive! program from CSU (http://www.today.colostate.edu/story.aspx?id=8616)
visited Lesher and our 7th graders got to see and hear a two-way conversation between their brains and
muscles. Students were hooked up to bio amplifiers and the electrical activity was displayed on iPads. Click
this link to see a short video from the visit: https://www.psdschools.org/node/4121.
17) Congrats to these Lesher nominees for the HP technology Camp for 6th Grade Girls to be held Friday, May 16th
at the HP campus on Harmony Road! It was a difficult decision as we’re only allowed 4 nominations, but of the
approx. 125 girls in our 6th grade our teachers nominated: Sivani Badri-Venkata, Vivian Bennett, Chloe Brewer,
and Sophia Browning. Way to go girls!
18) Each year Lesher is fortunate to nominate one 8th grade student for the Masonic Award based on that’s
student’s traits of citizenship, leadership, scholarship, and overall positive character that distinguish them as
outstanding. Congrats to Maddy Schink who will be recognized at the Public Schools Recognition Night which
will be held on Wednesday, April 30th, 7 pm, at the Fort Collins Masonic Temple on 225 W. Oak.
19) Lesher qualified 6 student athletes for the Colorado Middle School State Wrestling Tournament on 3/28 and
3/29 in Denver. Representing Lesher were 6th graders Joseph Saipaia, Lucas Hefner, and Alec Hargreaves; and
7th graders Eddie Carabajal, Jose Guerra, and James Swan. Both Hargreaves and Hefner won the majority of
their matches and fell just short of placing in the top 6 wresters at their respected weight in the state!
These Lesher wrestlers competed in the Northern Colorado Regional Wrestling Tournament on 3/22.
Wrestlers who placed in the top 8 in their weight class qualified for the State Tournament in Denver on 3/28
and 3/29! Both tournaments combine all 6th, 7th, and 8th graders.
6th graders: Lucas Hefner 3rd place – state qualifier, Joseph Saipaia 5th place – state qualifier, Alec
Hargreaves 5th place – state qualifier
7th graders: Sam Hammock, Michael Fisher, Eddie Carabajal 3rd place – state qualifier, Joe Tavarez,
Jose Guerra 4th place – state qualifier, James Swan 5th place – state qualifier, Aldo Marquez
8th graders: Gunter Hammock, Bradey Monroe
Coach Was is proud of all these students for their dedication to our off-season wrestling program
and putting in time during spring break to compete at one of the state’s most elite middle school
wrestling tournaments! We have some stud 6th graders on our hands for the next two years as all
three qualified for state competing against 7th and 8th graders!
20) Congrats to the 42 students who competed in the Colorado State Technology Student Association (TSA)
Conference in Denver on 2/28 and 3/1. The conference grew 18% this year for a total of over 1,100 middle
and high school students. Our group was the 4th largest middle school in attendance! The TSA students had a
great outing - coming home with 28 medals! Please see the attached results for all of our winners. Great job
TSA, and thank you to teachers Becky Knips, Michael Cyphers, and Beth Wilms for making it possible (see the
attached press release)!
21) The Colorado State Spelling Bee was held on 3/8 at the Colorado Convention Center. 285 students took a
written test consisting of 30 spelling words and 15 vocabulary words. The top 34 scorers proceeded to the
oral round on stage. Of the 10 PSD students participating, only two qualified for the oral round: Roshini
Narayanan (5-time PSD champion and Ridgeview 8th grader) and Henry Cafaro (3rd place PSD and Lesher 6th
grader). Henry stayed in until the 3rd round, going out on the Sanskrit word "kavya". Next year it’s all you
Henry!
22) After a team of 4 from the Colo. Association of Middle Level Education (CAMLE) conducted a site
visit at Lesher on 2/21 the CAMLE Board of Directors voted unanimously to designate Lesher as 1 of
4 2014 Colorado Schools to Watch (CSTW) in the state (the other 3 being Russell MS- Colo. Spgs.,
Jenkins MS- Colo. Spgs., and Powell MS- Littleton) through the National Forum to Accelerate
Middle Grades Reform (Ctrl + Click to follow this link) based on the 4 Domains of Academic
Excellence, Developmental Responsiveness, Social Equity, and Organizational Supports and
Processes! We are the 19th CO middle school recognized in the 10 years of the program. The next
steps are:
The CAMLE Site Visit Team will send us a narrative of their February 21st visit,
CAMLE presented us with a CSTW banner at our April 25th all-school assembly,
We’ve been invited to accept the award and present a session at the National Schools to Watch
Conference June 26-28 in Washington, DC,
Mr. Dodd will participate in a group CSTW discussion at the CASE Conference July 23-25 in
Breckenridge, and
We’ve been invited to present at the CAMLE Conference November 8.
23) On Thursday, 1/16 a team of 3 from the Colo. Dept. of Ed. conducted a site visit at Lesher and our
Green Ribbon Schools Award application has been forwarded to the US Dept. of Ed. as 1 of 3
Green Ribbon Schools from Colorado! Thanks to students Avery Bend (7th), Rabi Phelan (7th), Sophie
Pickelner (7th), Caroline Kane (7th), and Zoe Boiarsky (8th) who spoke with our visitors, and Ben
Mayer, Rob Breshears, Jo Dixon, Angela Bergmann, Allison Pearse, our counselors, and many others
who contributed to the application! We won the national award Tuesday, 4/22, Earth Day, when
Secretary of Ed. Duncan made a live streamed message to the nation recognizing the National Green
Ribbon Schools!
24) Lesher was notified on 2/20 that 2 more of our outstanding student-athletes will be recognized with
the Character Athlete of the Month (CAM) award through the CHaracter in Athletics Make it a
Priority program (www.champfc.com)! Two secondary student-athletes are chosen every month
from across PSD. Congratulations to Shae Sarmiento and her nominator girls basketball head coach
Jo Dixon, and Derek Schlagel and his nominator boys basketball head coach Cory Erlandson! Shae
and Derek both demonstrate great character and apply themselves first as students, then as
athletes. CHAMP presented the awards to Shae and Derek at our March 10th pep assembly.
25) Our Principal’s 3rd Quarter Honor Roll (Gold 4.0; Silver 3.75 - 3.99; Bronze 3.2 - 3.74) is posted on
the bulletin board next to our north auditorium entrance, on our website, and attached. Students
who earned a place on the Honor Roll received two Honor Roll stickers; so put them on your car
windows or bumpers with pride! The gold on white sticker is designed for dark surfaces (tinted
windows, etc.) and the blue on white is best on lighter surfaces. If your student has already affixed
both of these stickers and you would like one for your car, please let Mr. Davis know and he’ll gladly
get you another one!
26) Congrats to 8th grader Nina Shelanski who recently scored a 27 on the ACT, which ranked her at the
88th percentile in Colorado and 87th nationwide amongst high school juniors. She’ll be receiving
national recognition from the Johns Hopkins Center for Talented Youth in Baltimore in the fall and
regional recognition at a ceremony in California in May. Way to go Nina!
27) On Tuesday, 2/18 and Wednesday, 2/19 we held our 30th+ annual 8th and 7th Grade Inquiry Nights
respectively. Over 30 students thanked their community mentors and presented their inquiry
projects to parents and staff. Projects included music composition, weaving, digital photography,
custom bike construction, computer programming, pinhole cameras, saltwater fish keeping,
gymnastics, film making, etc. Thank you to teachers Allison Pearse and Laura Geisthardt, and GT
Coordinator Karen Hammann for making this great celebration of student learning happen, and all
of our mentor-volunteers!
28) On Sunday, 2/16, Lesher had a huge presence at the Fort Collins Symphony Guild’s Musical Zoo
(http://www.fcsymphonyguild.org/education/musical-zoo/) held at Timberline Church, as Mrs.
Frain's 6th grade art students made a wonderful art display combining animals and musical
instruments, Lesher's NJHS students were Town Criers announcing events, and Mr. Jackson's jazz
band was impressive. The Musical Zoo is an annual adventure for the young and young at heart,
especially between the ages of 3 and 12, and includes a variety of strolling entertainers and small
ensembles, as well as instruments played solo and in a "petting zoo." The grand finale of the event,
Peter and the Wolf, was performed by the Fort Collins Symphony.
29) 7th grade boys basketball became the 2014 PSD 7th Grade Champions after defeating Kinard 43-40
in an intense overtime victory on Weds., 2/12. They ended the regular season with 7 wins and only 1
loss and the best record in the district. Great Job Vikings!
30) On Saturday, 2/8 teachers Jenna Ellingson, Andrew Reyes, and Daniel Gallegos and principal Tom
Dodd lead a session at the National Association of Secondary Schools Principals (NASSP) National
Conference in Dallas on Lesher’s dual language program. The presentation was very well-received!
31) On Saturday, 2/1 Lesher had two teams participate in the Colorado Middle School Science Bowl at
Front Range Community College taking 1st and 10th place in the state out of the 24 teams
competing, with the winning team invited by the US Dept. of Energy to the National Science Bowl
Championship in Washington, DC in April. Please congratulate these Science Bowl all stars: Larry
Chen, Keelin Hogan, Analia Kaufman, Eli Kitchens , Owen Lockwood, Emily Ray, Nina Shelanski,
Nathan Sima, and Jacob Staelin-Lefsky. Special thanks to Parent Dr. Dale Lockwood, 6th Grade
Science Teacher Cathi Jacobs, GT Coordinator Karen Hammann, and 8th Grade Science Teacher Bri
Chittenden for working with these students during their lunch periods and after school.
32) On Saturday, 2/8 Lesher’s MathCounts team placed 3rd in a field of 19 schools from across
Northern Colorado, earning an invitation to the state tournament! In addition, Nathan Sima placed
5th overall out of 134 students. Please congratulate our great MATHLETES: Talia Berlin, Larry Chen,
Lydia Duffy, William Hu, Eddy Lim, Owen Lockwood, Sophie Pickelner, Josh Rogers, Alison Shields,
and Nathan Sima.
33) For over 90 years, the Scholastic Art Awards has brought outstanding visual arts to a national
audience by highlighting exceptional student work and encouraging creative development. This
year, 311 educators submitted more than 4,000 pieces of art to the Scholastic Art Awards of
Colorado. To view Gold Key, Silver Key, and Honorable Mention winners and their artwork, please
visit: saa.rmcad.edu.
Congrats to 8th grader Alicia Jones who received an Honorable Mention for her oil pastel figure
Drawing. Here’s her winning piece:
34) Congratulations to the following students for auditioning into the 2014 PSD Middle School Honor
Choir! We had the 2nd highest number of students in PSD make it (2nd to Kinard)!
Carlynn Rockwell, Dara Hughes, Lydia Duffy, Avery Benton, Catherine Cecil, Kalia Kodrich, Laura Hirn,
Lilly Tucker, Tiffany Galvan, Alyssa Gallegos, Morgan McCarthy, Tessa Barker, Benny Khouri,
Christian Juhl, Eli Kitchens, Jack Shore, Zia Goren, Emma Walters, and Carlie Grabenstein.
35) As expected,8th grader Haley Hartmann represented Lesher well at the Wasson Inventors Fair on
Saturday 2/1, and won $100. There are no places awarded just cash money. Here are some photos
from her day:
36) 18 students competed in the finals of our 6th & 7th grade Geography Bee Friday, 1/10. Congrats to
the following winners: CHAMPION- Luka Robenalt 7th(receiving his medal and chocolate bar below),
RUNNER UP- James Swan 7th, 3RD PLACE- Shane Ball 6th, and 4TH PLACE- Jadon Kankel 7th! Thank you
to our social studies dept. (Dan Downing, Cory Erlandson, Laura Geisthardt, Angela Bergmann, and
Andrew Reyes) for organizing this annual tradition the past 26 years!
37) Congrats to former Lesher Viqueen Anne Lonowski, a senior at Poudre High School (and member of
their final 4 girls basketball team), who was recently awarded a Boettcher Scholarship, the most
prestigious scholarship in the state!
38) Former Lesher Viqueen Meredith Wheeler, a senior at Stanford University, recently received a
Rhodes Scholarship, which pays for 2 or 3 years of study at Oxford University in England. Once a
Viqueen, always a Viqueen! Click here for the Coloradoan story:
http://www.coloradoan.com/viewart/G2/20131124/NEWS11/311240058/Fort-Collins-womannamed-Rhodes-Scholar.
39) Congrats to 2 former Lesher Viqueens and current seniors Siyu Wu (Poudre) and Sanjukta Santra
(Fossil Ridge) who earned perfect composite scores of 36 on the American College Testing (ACT)
exam. All high school juniors in Colorado take the ACT test in the spring; a college admissions exam
that includes more than 200 questions about science, math, reading and English. In PSD, 1,901
students took the standardized exam last spring and earned an average composite score of 22.3.
The average score statewide was 20.1.
ANNOUNCEMENTS
1) Join us at the Island Grill on Sunday, April 27th, between 4 and 8pm, for our All You Can Eat Taco Bar
Fundraiser. Proceeds help finance the Lesher Global Explorers Team on their exciting service learning trip
this summer to the Four Corners region and the Navajo Nation. Dinner will cost $10 for adults and $7 for
anyone 14 and under. No tickets necessary simply pay at the event!
There will be food, fun, and raffle prizes! Raffle tickets are available NOW from Global Explorer students for
$2 each or 10 for $15. Raffle tickets will be on sale all week during lunch. Lots of local businesses have
donated items to be raffled, and you don't have to attend the event to win! If you have any questions check
out our Facebook page, https://www.facebook.com/events/1473236282905432/?source=1, or contact Ms.
Pearse at 472-3827, or [email protected]. Thanks for supporting our Lesher Global Explorers on this
educational adventure of a lifetime!
2013 Global Explorers Documentary: http://epresence.psdschools.org/1/watch/1622.aspx
Global Explorers Company Website: http://www.globalexplorers.org/
2) PARENTS- the last dance of the year will be held on Friday, May 2nd from 6 – 8pm. We enjoy having
parents chaperone these fun events. Yes, fun! Lesher dances have a long history of being fun, high
energy, low to no drama events where kids get to come and socialize and jump around a lot (kids
don’t really “dance” much anymore, they tend to just jump around in the middle of the dance floor).
It’s a good opportunity for parents who are looking for new ways to volunteer now that their child is
in middle school. It’s also a nice chance to see our student culture and your child’s place in it. All
grades are invited to the dance. Please click on the following link to volunteer
(http://tinyurl.com/LesherDance). Please arrive ~20 minutes before the dance so I can give an
overview about rules and procedures. Our student leaders are putting the finishing touches on the
dance planning, so we will be communicating more specifics about the dance next week. Thank you!
3) CHAMP (CHaracter in Athletics Make it a Priority) is proud to host a Parent Summit (flyer
attached)! They’ve partnered with PCA (Positive Coaching Alliance) who does amazing presentations
on being a student-athlete parent. This is a free event, and will boast numerous door prizes as well!
As this is a limited seating room, please no kids.
Monday, May 12th, 6:30-8pm, CSU Moby Gym... in the Bob Davis room
RSVP: [email protected]
4) The yearbook is a permanent record of our school year. Don’t miss out on this great opportunity to
remember the year forever. There are roughly 730 students at Lesher. We have approximately 167
books left and expect to sell out by May 1st. Order now at www.jostensyearbooks.com or from the
front office. If you have already purchased a book, thank you! This year’s book is one you won’t
want to miss.
5) Spring Football- 7 on 7 morning practices. We will be holding morning workouts every Tuesday and
Thursday morning at 6:15am beginning on May 6. Spring football is open to all 6th and 7th graders
planning on playing next fall as members of the 7th and 8th grade Lesher football teams. This is
completely optional for students to attend with no ties to the 2014 football season. Contact Coach
Wasinger (472-3845 or [email protected]) for more info.
6) CSU Math Oval meetings: www.math.colostate.edu/~bates/oval.html.
Meet at Weber Building, Room 15 (just off the oval). Parking is available north of Weber or around
the Oval. No pass is required on weekends. To park behind Weber, take your first right after
entering the Oval from Laurel. Follow the signs to Room 15.
7) CSU Math Circles, a summer enrichment opportunity at CSU for advanced math students entering 8th and
9th grades, will be running again this summer (it’s a bargain - $50 for a week - lunch included). Please see the
attached flyer. Direct questions to Melissa Adkins (Swager) CSU Mathematics Department
([email protected]).
8) Our current Odyssey of the Mind (OM) Coordinator Susan Lorimor is looking for a replacement
coordinator, as her last year as a Lesher parent for a while is 2014-15. She will be available to train the new
coordinator for taking over in future years, and would be willing to co-coordinate next year if anyone
wanted help. If you are interested in getting involved with OM and want to know more details, please
contact Susan at [email protected]. Thanks!
9) 8th Grade Parents: Please attend one of the following laptop trainings. Each site will host 1 evening
with 2 trainings. Parents can attend a training at any school, not just where their kids attend. Two
trainings will be at ITC for parents who aren't able to make any nights at the schools. Questionsplease call Stephanie Francis, PSD IT Secretary, 490-3096.
Monday
Tuesday
April 28 Blevins
5:00 & 6:00
Auditieria
April 29 Lesher
5:00 & 6:00
Cafeteria
May 5 Polaris
5:00 & 6:00
Gym
May 6 Wellington May 7 Kinard
5:30 & 6:30
5:30 & 6:30
Media Center
Cafeteria
May 12 Webber May 13 ITC
5:00 & 6:00
6:00 & 7:00
Media Center
Aspen 1, 2
Wednesday
Thursday
April 30 CLPMS May 1 Boltz
5:00 & 6:00
5:30 & 6:30
Media Center
Auditeria
May 14 Lincoln
5:30 & 6:30
Auditorium
May 8 ITC
5:30 & 6:30
Aspen 1, 2
May 15 Preston
5:00 & 6:00
Auditeria
10) We know a lot of our students participate in Community Service outside of school, and we would love to
hear about it! Please use your PSD email account to access our Community Service Survey via the following
link on Lesher’s website: https://les.psdschools.org/ibmyp/community-service. Our students do a lot of
amazing things to help our community and we want to recognize those students. Students, please complete
the survey any time you do Community Service outside of Lesher.
11) REMINDER- per PSD protocol, all visitors entering our building must press the intercom button on the call
box to the right of the main entrance door on the right to be “buzzed into” our building during the school
day, and then sign in at the main office. Thank you for adhering to this additional safety procedure.
12) 6th GRADE PARENTS: Please check the 6th grade team page of our website every Monday for
important 6th grade updates (https://les.psdschools.org/6th-grade-team )! We’re trying to make our
website the clearinghouse of Lesher information so please take a look. Thanks from Team Sixers!
13) Parents & friends - you can join our Email Alert Sign-up list via the PSD website (subscribe at
http://eweb.psdschools.org/emailsubscription/). Then you’ll receive our weekly email blasts. News
is also posted regularly on our new website.
14) Our Parent Teacher organization (PTO) meets monthly to support students, staff, and parents with
activities during the year. It sponsors our direct donation program, manages the subsequent minigrant process, puts on Nordic Fest every fall, and provides a sweets exchange in December and a
Bike to School Week Breakfast each May. The PTO meets at 1pm generally on the first Monday of
the month in the cafeteria or cafeteria conf. room depending on the size of the group. Remaining
2013-14 meeting dates are: Mon. 5/5 at 1pm in the cafeteria conference room.
Our PTO officers are President- Michelle Lahti, VP/Secretary- Jean Foley, and Teacher Appreciation
Coord. Jill Lowry. Questions about PTO, please contact Michelle Lahti at [email protected].
15) To provide more immediate support to students and staff, and in the interest of service leadership,
Lesher hired two more integrated services (special education) paraprofessionals, and now has two
assistant principals. We’d hire more teachers to make class sizes smaller, but we have no classrooms
to put them in! In addition, we shifted our counseling office caseloads in the following way to
create more team-based support with the asst. principals:
Counselor Wylie Cate & Asst. Principal Deon Davis:
All 6th graders, 7th graders with last names A – J.
Counselor Stacy Arellano & Asst. Principal Waren Morrow:
7th graders with last names K – Z, all 8th graders.
16) PARENTS interested in learning how to help people at-risk of suicide, please sign up to attend a PSD QPR for
Parents Training, a 1 hour 30 minute suicide prevention training that will teach you the three-step QPR
(Question, Persuade and Refer) method. The training will cover warning signs, intervention skills, listening
skills, how to talk to and assist people at-risk of suicide, referral resources, suicide as a public health concern
and myths and facts related suicide. There is no charge; however, registration is required. Please contact
Betty Englert Backlund at 490-3264 to register and for more information. The final QPR for Parents training
is scheduled for Tuesday, April 29, 6:30 – 8 p.m., FCHS Media Center, register by April 25.
17) Fort Collins police are hosting free Internet safety presentations for families to increase awareness
and provide tools to keep everyone safe from the dangers of the Internet. Topics covered will
include: Sexual predators, online enticement & grooming, social networking websites, cyber
bullying, email, Instant Messaging (IM), Smartphones, and sexting.
Family sessions will be held in the Fort Collins Police Services Community Room, 2221 S. Timberline
Road, 6:30 - 8:30 p.m. on Tuesday evenings in 2014 (May 6). Families will be divided into three
groups: adults; pre-teens 8 to 12 year-olds; and teenagers 13 to 18-year-olds for age appropriate
presentations. Contact Detective Keith Maynard at (970) 416-2051 or by e-mail at
[email protected] to reserve your space. Research shows:
• 1 in 5 kids are subjected to unwanted sexual solicitation on the Internet;
• 1 in 5 teens ages 13-19 take photographs of their intimate parts and send them to friends;
• 25% of kids sexually solicited on the Internet told a trusted adult; and
• 64% of teens post personal photos on the Internet and 58% post personal info. (their address).
Much like a large metropolitan city the Internet is a wonderful place with many resources, but you
would never drop your child off in a big city and expect them to explore it and remain safe. This
presentation teaches increased awareness and provides tools to be safe from Internet dangers.
18) Check out the LESHER ACTIVITIES/ATHLETIC TABLE just inside our main entrance, contact
Activities/Athletic Director Waren Morrow ([email protected]), or visit our Activities and
Athletics website for all pertinent information (http://les.psdschools.org/athletics-activities). Think
about participating on club teams or attending an athletic camp around Northern Colorado to
increase your skills and competitiveness. These clubs include Basketball through Rocky Mountain
Youth Sports (http://www.rmyouthsports.com/) registration is currently open for K-11th grade
students, football through The Edge Sports Center (http://www.edgesportscenter.com/indoorfootball/calendar.shtml), volleyball (http://www.norcovolleyball.com/), or Skills Camps (flyer
attached), softball (http://fcstars.org/), wrestling (http://www.gritathletics.com/), and more.
19) LOST & FOUND: During the year numerous objects, predominantly articles of clothing and reusable
water bottles, find their way to our lost and found bin in our cafeteria. At the end of each quarter
the bin is emptied with the items donated to our local Goodwill organization. Please encourage your
child to check the lost and found if they are missing something!
UPCOMING DATES
1)
2)
3)
4)
th
th
th
6 /7 /8 Grade Coed Track & Field v. Blevins & Wellington- Monday, 4/28, 3:30pm, PHS
7th/8th Grade Coed Golf v. Blevins- Tuesday, 4/29, 2:40pm, Southridge
7th/8th Grade Coed Golf v. Lincoln- Wednesday, 4/30, 2:40pm, Collindale
Masonic Lodge Public Schools Recognition Night- Wednesday, 4/30, 7pm, Masonic Temple,
225 W. Oak
5) 5th Grade Orientation- Friday, 5/2, 9:45 – 11:45am
6) PTO Meeting- Monday, 5/5, 1 – 2pm, Cafeteria Conf. Room
7) Bike-to-School Week- Monday – Friday, 5/5 – 5/9
8) 6th/7th/8th Grade Coed Track & Field v. Boltz & Webber- Wednesday, 5/7, 3:30pm, FCHS
9) 7th/8th Grade Coed Golf District Tournament- Wednesday, 5/7, Collindale
10) TCAP & CMAS Reward/Bike Week Dance- Fri., 5/9 6 – 8pm TENTATIVE
11) 6th/7th/8th Grade Coed Track & Field v. Kinard & Lincoln- Monday, 5/12, 3:30pm, FRHS
12) 6th/7th/8th Grade Coed Track & Field District Meet- Thursday, 5/15, 2:00pm, French Field
13) 6th Grade Girls HP Technology Camp- Friday, 5/16 (Vivian Bennett, Sophia Browning, Sivani
Badri-Venkata, Chloe Brewer)
14) Yearbook Distribution- 8th grade handout during ELO on Tuesday, 5/27 & 6th/7th grade
handout during ELO on Wednesday, 5/28
15) 8th Grade Afternoon- Thursday, 5/29, 12:23 – 2:25pm
16) Lesher Fest (Field Day/3k Fun Run)- Friday, 5/30, 7:35 – 10:55am, Viking Stadium
17) Speak Up- Mondays & Thursdays, 1:30 – 2:30pm, Cafeteria Conf. Room (Cate & Arellano)
18) MathCounts- Mondays, 2:30 – 3:30pm, Rm. 6 (Johnson)
19) Peace Jam- Mondays, 2:30 – 3:45pm, Rm. 22 (Mimier, formerly Ms. Gregory)
20) Tech. Student Assoc. (TSA)- Tuesdays, 2:30 – 3:30pm, Lab. #19 (Knips)
21) Chess Club- Tuesdays, 2:30 – 3:30pm, Rm. 1 (Crossland)
22) Odyssey of the Mind (OM)- Tuesdays & Thursdays, 2:30 – 3:30pm, Cafeteria (Lorimor)
23) Climbing Club- Thursdays, 2:30 – 3:30pm, Rm. 12 (Mayer)
24) Filmmaking Club- Thursdays, 2:30 – 3:30pm, Rm. 6 (Johnson)
25) Running Club- Fridays, 2:30 – 3:30pm, Rm. 12 (Mayer)
It’s a great day to be a Viking/Viqueen!
Living the dream,
TOM DODD
Principal
WE ARE…
LESHER!