La Grande Middle School has been busy wrapping up winter academics and activities and gearing up for spring. Check out this update from Principal Chris Wagner.
iReady Mid-Year District Testing
LMS students recently completed mid-year testing to determine their progress so far this school year. Highlights are:
Reading = 48% of LMS students met their annual growth target mid-year, which indicates a year’s worth of growth in half a year.
Math – 46% of 8th Graders met their annual growth target mid-year.
State Testing
This will occur after Spring Break. Sixth and seventh graders are tested in Language Arts and Math; eighth graders are tested in those subjects and in science.
“This year we have had a strong focus on math, so we are excited to see our results this year,” Wagner said.
New Front Office Remodel
LMS had some exciting remodeling of its front office recently. The bulk of the work happened over Winter Break, with details completed since then. The new, bright space is functioning very well, and staff have received many positive comments about the improvements.
March Madness Attendance Challenge
This competition to keep encouraging regular attendance started this month and is between Advisory classes. The classes with the least number of absences move onto the next round until three classes win. They will have class parties.
Principal Wagner said LMS students continue to do well on attendance, with significant growth from previous years. The current Regular Attender Rate is over 75% (exceeding the goal of 70% by end of the 26-27 school year) and the middle school’s Average Daily Attendance is over 92%.
Sports
Congratulations to all our student-athletes who competed in wrestling and basketball this winter. Spring sports start right after Spring Break and will include soccer and track.
In the last few years, there has been a large turnout for LMS Track, which is great as it offers more opportunities for students to get involved. LMS has reorganized the program somewhat this year. All students who want to can participate in track, and everyone can compete in the home meets. Sixth graders will also compete at a couple of local travel meets. For away meets, LMS will take 35 students each from seventh and eighth grades.
GO ASAP
The middle school’s “get outside” program has started up. This group meets two days a week after school, with instruction about outdoor activities like rock climbing, biking, hiking, tree identification, and more. About 20 students are currently participating. This program is a partnership between La Grande School District and EOU.
For more information about the above activities, please contact the La Grande Middle School office at 541-663-3421.