Principal’s Memo – November 9, 2023
Posted on
November 9, 2023
Hi there Loranger Families,
Happy Veterans Day. A large LMS thank you to all of our Veterans for the sacrifice you and your families have made for our freedoms. I hope everyone has an opportunity to appreciate our Veterans over the extended weekend! In collaboration with the OOB VFW we are sending out our extra Halloween Candy to service members stationed abroad. Thank you to those who sent in their extra candy!
Good luck to Coach Plante and our high school football team as they travel to Bangor on Saturday to battle the Orono Red Riots for the Small School 8-Man State Championship! Go GULLS!
State Waiver for 11/26 & 27
Our district submitted a waiver to the Maine Department of Education to not make up the school days that were canceled due to the events that took place in Lewiston. That state has granted that request, keeping our last school day as Friday, June 7.
Middle School Dance
Next Friday, November 17th our PTO is sponsoring a middle school dance. That includes grades 6-8. It is $5.00 to enter, and goes from 6:00 to 8:00 in our cafeteria.
Vision & Hearing Screenings
We will soon be completing our State Requirements for vision and hearing screenings. Vision and hearing screenings are necessary to help identify concerns that can affect a student’s progress at school. You will be notified and asked to follow up with your child’s primary care physician and/or specialist if further action is needed.
Hearing screenings will be conducted on 3rd and 5th graders. Vision screenings will be conducted on our 3rd, 5th, and 7th graders. Please reach out to our school nurse, Katie Gagnon, at kgagnon@rsu23.org if your child has had a comprehensive vision or hearing exam with a specialist in the last 12 months, or if you would not like your child to be screened.
Student Chromebooks
We are seeing a high number of students who are forgetting to bring their chromebook to school. This creates a lot of problems for the school day, number one is their inability to access their education. While we are doing everything we can to supply those students with a device for the day, our supply is limited, and with the amount of students forgetting their devices, some days we are loaning out our entire stock. Please help us by reminding your child to bring their device every day. Thank you for your partnership with this.
RSU23 Holiday Concert
Our RSU23 Holiday Concert is scheduled for Thursday, December 14th, right here in the LMS gymnasium. Doors open at 5:30 and the concert starts at 6:00. We hope to see you there.
Healthy Snacks for Celebrations
With the holidays fast approaching, it is a great time to remind everyone that we do have a district wellness policy that addresses healthy snacks for celebrations and events. We ask that any time you are thinking about sending in food for celebrations you check with your child’s teacher who will work with administration to ensure that our celebrations are in line with our district policy. Thank you.
OOB Chamber of Commerce Celebration by the Sea
On Sunday December 3rd, OOB Chamber of Commerce is hosting a celebration by the sea. The events will take place at Veteran’s Memorial Park and at the Chamber from 3:00 to 5:30. For more information, visit oldorchardbeachmaine.com
Parent Teacher Conferences
We still have one night left for parent teacher conferences, Thursday, November 16th. If you are interested, you can sign up using Virtual Paragon’s on-line Parent/Teacher Conference Reservation System. You can access the sign ups here. This link is also posted on our website under the Parents and Students tab. IMPORTANT – When you go to the website, you will have to type in Loranger’s master password before you can enter the System. You must enter OOB3to8 in the field labeled “School’s Master Password”. If you encounter any problems or have any questions, please send an email to LMSconferences@rsu23.org. As a reminder, our conferences will be held on Thursday, October 26th from 3:00 to 7:00, and on Wednesday, November 1st from 12:30 to 7:00.
Lost & Found
Our school lost and found is gathering more and more items each day. If you think your child has lost something, please encourage them to check it out. It is located between the gymnasium and cafeteria. You can also check this out during our parent teacher conferences if you are in our building.
Yearbooks are on Sale NOW!
LMS Yearbooks are now for sale and include 2 free custom pages that you can design yourself! Scan the Q/R code in the flier to get all the details. Please reach out to Lori Gaudreau (lgaudreau@rsu23.org) with any questions.
Arrival & Dismissal Safety Procedures
I would like to remind everyone that for the safety of our students and staff the back side of our building including our parking lot is not a thruway. We have seen an increase in the number of vehicles using this as a cut through from Jameson Hill Road to Emerson Cummings Blvd and vice versa. We appreciate everyone’s cooperation with this in order to keep our students safe!
Attendance Matters
In an effort to improve student attendance at LMS, we have established a campaign to help promote coming to school. We had students create possible slogans, and then vote on their favorite! This graphic includes the winning slogan: Read the clock, Join the Flock!
Family Vacation Forms
During the school year some families take vacations and ask that we excuse their children from school days. This is not a problem, however, we do have forms to sign off on in order to help students understand the expectations of making up missed work. The forms can be found in the main office. Thanks for your help!
A reminder of a few upcoming dates:
- Friday 11/10 – No School Veterans Day
- Thursday 11/16 – Evening Parent Teacher Conferences & RSU23 Board Meeting
- Wednesday 11/22-Friday 11/24 – No School Thanksgiving Break
- Wednesday 12/6 – Early Release Day
- Thursday 12/14 – RSU 23 Music Department Holiday Concert
Thank you to all our Veterans!
Matt Foster