Though our time was cut short today, it has been an absolute joy having your child(ren) back in our school! Our hallways are filled with their vibrancy and it brings life to our building! We also welcome Track 1 back to campus!
There are several updates in the various sections below. Make sure you check out the section about our return to our front office. With our new vestibule, there are now new processes for checking your child out of school in order to increase safety on our campus. We appreciate your patience as our office staff gets used to these changes, too! Another thing to note is the PTA’s section. They are seeking volunteers for some upcoming events on campus! In order to volunteer, remember you must be cleared by WCPSS as a volunteer which requires a background check! If you haven’t done so, visit www.wcpss.net to register to be a volunteer so you can participate in our events!
Lastly, as we conclude our school tours for families considering Lufkin Road Middle School for the upcoming year, I want to take a moment to express my deepest gratitude for the incredible role you play in sharing the spirit of our school. Time and time again, I’ve had the pleasure of hearing from touring families who mention the wonderful things you have shared about our community.
Your stories, enthusiasm, and genuine pride in Lufkin resonate far beyond our walls and make a lasting impression on prospective families. It’s your kind words and positive experiences that create excitement and eagerness in those who are exploring the possibility of joining us. Simply put, YOU are one of our most valuable ambassadors. Your pride in Lufkin and willingness to share it with your friends and neighbors is a true testament to what makes this school so special. Thank you for being such an integral part of spreading the good news about our Lufkin family. We are lucky to have such amazing advocates in our corner!
FRONT OFFICE RETURNED!
We are excited to announce that our front office renovations have been completed and our staff has returned to the space! Now that we have a vestibule, you will be buzzed into our first set of doors by ringing the bell and waiting for the door to be unlocked by our office staff. Then, you will use the Verkada system (the iPad that allows you to check in/out) inside the vestibule. If you are just checking your student out, you wait in the vestibule. If you have a meeting, after checking in our front office staff will buzz you into the second set of doors or will the Main Office. As we all get used to this new process, let’s give each other grace!
ART TEACHER, MS. BOROS
Please join us in welcoming Ms. Boros, our new art teacher! She is officially starting on Monday and we are excited about her joining our community! She’s a talented and passionate artist who is new to teaching! Ms. Boros is excited to continue to foster a culture of exceptional art opportunities for our students!
INTERIM ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL, MS. WIGGINS-PRICE
Please join me in welcoming Ms. Wiggins-Price. WCPSS is setting up her email account and we will share that with you when that process is complete. She is joining us as an interim Assistant Principal for the next couple of months. She brings a plethora of knowledge and experience in working in a middle school! She will work with all 3 grade levels and we are thrilled to have her join our team!
MC MATH 8 COMPETITION
It's Not Too Late to Sign Your Student Up for the AMC 8 Math Competition! Lufkin Road MS competes in 2 premier math competitions each year: the AMC 8 (20 questions in 40 minutes to be given in school on Thursday, Jan 23rd) and the Raleigh Chapter Mathcounts competition to be held the morning and early afternoon of Saturday, February 15th at Athens Road High School.
If you would like for your child to compete in the AMC 8, please email Linda Gardner at lgardner@wcpss.net. Student scores on the AMC 8 will help the coaches determine the selection of students to be invited to compete for Lufkin Road MS in the Mathcounts competition in February.
NEW SRO
We are excited to welcome our new SRO, Officer Pete to our campus starting on January 6th. SRO Pete comes with experience from Florida and will be accompanying SRO Joe for a few days before SRO Joe will return to his post at the Apex elementary schools. We’ve loved having SRO Joe on campus and appreciate all that he did to connect with our community and keep our school safe! Please join me in welcoming SRO Pete!
MIDDLE CREEK HIGH SCHOOL ACADEMY
We have about 25 students slated to attend Middle Creek High School next year. We’ve invited them to our school later this month to talk to our 8th graders about their academies. Below are the 2 flyers associated with their academies. Academies are a great way for your students to attend a large comprehensive high school, but with a cohort of students that have a common interest. Many academies require applications to be completed in the next month or so. That said, if Middle Creek High School is not your 8th grader’s next steps, check out the academy offerings at your child’s school. Almost all high schools have at least 1.
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7th GRADE DANCE - RESCHEDULED JANUARY 24!
We have postponed the 7th grade dance that was supposed to occur tonight to January 24th from 3:30-5:30. If you are in need of a refund, because that date does not work for your family, please contact our Bookkeeper, Ms. Nichols. She can assist you with that process. Remember, permission slips are required to attend and all students have received a paper copy. There’s a link in the calendar section below if you need a copy, or extra copies can be obtained through our Main Office. With the revised date, students are expected to return the revised permission slip (below) if they are attending on this new date, even if they previously submitted the permission slip.
We are hoping to have more families use SchoolCash Online for our school events, as the processing on our end is much easier! That said, you can already purchase your tickets for the 7th grade dance in January. In case this is new to you:
• Go to https://wcpss.schoolcashonline.com and click Register
• Enter first name, last name, and email address, and create a password
• Select a security question
• Select Yes to receive email notifications (note that you will not receive any promotional emails)
• You will receive confirmation by email. Check your spam/junk folder if you don’t receive it.
• Use your email address and password to log in to your account
• Select the item that you would like to purchase and click ADD TO CART
• After you have finished adding items to your cart, click Continue to make your payment
STUDENT NEWSPAPER
Our students in Ms. Rutland’s class from quarter 2 produced this exciting newspaper. Take a moment to read their articles!
STUDENT COUNCIL’S MOVIE NIGHT
We are excited to host our second (and final) Movie Night for the year on Friday, January 17th from 3:30-5:30. Students will watch The Greatest Showman in the gymnasium. Students tracked in and out are eligible to attend, but must pay $5.00 and have a copy of the permission slip. Students were given paper copies of the permission slips last week. Please note, students not picked up by 5:40 are not eligible to attend future after school events/activities.
SAVE THE DATES
We will hold our end of year Award Ceremonies on:
- Track 1 - May 28
- Tracks 2-4 - June 25
Specific times will be announced closer to the date of the events.
ANNUAL ASBESTOS NOTIFICATION
State law requires the County to share this information with families.
Remember you can may for many school related events via SchoolCash Online. Create an account by following the directions that can be found here.
When your child is absent for any reason, please use the attendance email (attendance484@wcpss.net). Please include the student's first and last name, grade/track, reason for absence, and the dates they are absent. This will help code your student accurately. As a reminder, WCPSS Board Policy requires that absence notes are received within 2 days of the absence. If you have any questions about an absence, please contact Mr. Thunes, our Data Manager, at athunes@wcpss.net. If your student is marked absent from a specific class period, please reach out to the teacher first.
- Assignments, grading practices, content questions, class environment, peer issues - Classroom Teachers
- Schedule questions, mental health, family emergencies - Counselors
- Staff concerns, student issues teachers couldn’t resolve, grade level questions - Assistant Principals
- Absences, attendance - attendance484@wcpss.net (this is new)
- Concerns that Assistant Principals were unable to resolve - Principal
|
Social Worker |
Abbi Williams |
awilliams64@wcpss.net |
|
6th Grade Counselor |
Cynthia Alcorn |
calcorn@wcpss.net |
|
6th Grade Assistant Principal |
Keith McLendon |
kmclendon@wcpss.net |
|
7th Grade Counselor |
Thomas Evanoff |
tevanoff@wcpss.net |
|
7th Grade Assistant Principal |
Tameka Manning |
tgregg-manning@wcpss.net |
|
8th Grade Counselor |
Marta Barbian |
mbarbian@wcpss.net |
|
8th Grade Assistant Principal |
Lisa Adcock |
ladcock2@wcpss.net |
|
Principal |
Elizabeth Hanna |
ehanna@wcpss.net |
- January 13 - Basketball Game vs Herbert Akins Road MS
- January 17 - Movie Night 3:30-5:30 (permission slip required)
- January 20 - No School
- January 24 - 7th Grade Dance (permission slip required)
- February 3 - Basketball vs. Apex MS
- February 5 - PTA Meeting at 5:30 in Media Center
- February 13 - Basketball vs. Holly Grove MS
- February 13-19 - Book Fair
- You can access our Year Round Calendars for this year here:
🖐🏼Volunteer Opportunities Jan. 17
Cafeteria Crew: Our next Cafeteria Crew is January 17. Lend a hand for an hour or two helping with lunch supervision to give teachers a much-needed midday break. You won’t be on your own; the admin team will be on hand to help. Sign up here: bit.ly/cafcrew
Movie Night: The Student Council is hosting Movie Night, also on Jan. 17. Students will receive a bottle of water and popcorn with their ticket. They can also buy candy, soda, and chips for $2 each. Parent Volunteers are needed to sell those concessions! Sign up here: https://bit.ly/StudentCouncilMovieJan17
🎉 8th Grade Celebrations: Join the Team
Be part of the team that helps plan the final 8th grade dance, end of year picnic, and more. Click here if you’re interested. This doesn’t commit you to anything; we’ll invite you to our first planning meeting where you can learn what’s in store. We look forward to hearing from you! https://forms.gle/eH2pWR3QERfa43Yc7
🎗️8th Grade Parents: Coupon Book Returns!
IMPORTANT REMINDER: 8th graders must return the GoPlaySave coupon book that was sent home back in August. This was a fundraiser for our trip to Washington DC. Students may return books to any 8th grade teacher on their team.
🐔 January Spirit Night - Zaxby’s Apex
Save the Date! Tuesday, January 28, 2025 is Spirit Night at Zaxby’s Apex — 1171 Pine Plaza Drive — from 4-8 pm. Lufkin PTA earns 15% of sales that evening, which will support programming and resources that directly benefit our students and teachers. Spread the word! You MUST mention Lufkin Road Middle School Spirit Night for orders to count. See you there!
🆘 Support Our Students! PTA Meeting February 5
Our next PTA meeting is February 5 at 5:30 pm. Find out how you can help us build community and support Lufkin students.
Vice President - Tina Korzeniowski - lufkinPTAvicepresident@gmail.com
Treasurer - Brooke Kelley - lufkinPTAtreasurer@gmail.com
Secretary - Julie Chase - lufkinPTASecretary@gmail.com
