LRMS Families,

I hope that the first week of school went well for all of your students!  We really enjoyed seeing them back on campus, engaging with our staff and their peers.  Here are your Weekly Updates:

1.  Next week is a four-day week for students.  Monday is the Labor Day holiday.

2.  Events Next Week:

• Tuesday, September 5 - Fall Sports Tryouts begin (3-5pm each day); Athletics Site with Registration Info.
• Thursday, September 7 - Environmental Club Courtyard Clean-up, 3:15-4:30pm (Register here)

3. If any students were unable to attend today's Student Council interest meeting but still want to join StuCo, please email Mrs. Maley at jmaley@wcpss.net, and she will forward you all of the information shared. Please make sure you complete the online application and send her your intro video before next Thursday 9/7. 

Additionally, we've updated our webpage with the list of other clubs and extracurricular activities at Leesville for this upcoming year.  We hope all students will want to get involved!  We'll continue to update these opportunities as more become available.

4.  Notes about arrival, dismissal, and parking:

• We have given grace to late carpool arrivals this past week.  Starting Tuesday, late carpool arrivals will sign-in at the front office and be marked tardy.  If a student arrives late with a note (sick, appointment, etc.), this tardiness will be marked excused.
• After one week with buses, it appears that Routes 1, 2 and 11 will be arriving after the first bell.  We understand this will continue until more drivers can be hired.  These students' tardies are excused.  Our staff has been encouraged to connect with these students during dismissal if help is needed with any missed classwork from First Core.
• We've trimmed our afternoon carpool down to thirty minutes.  Please do not block any of the entrances/exits to our lots while waiting to pick-up your student.  Please adhere to the direction of our staff and encourage your students to be attentive at the curb.  Students should not walk into the bus lot or try to access their rides at Pride Way.
• There are about five bus routes that are not yet able to arrive for pick-up until after 3:30pm.  We are hosting these remaining riders in the cafeteria each afternoon so the majority of our staff can attend to clubs, athletics and other tasks.  The latest buses right now are routes 2, 9 and 11.  Again, once more drivers are hired, we hope many of these late pick-up times will be improved.  Stay tuned.
• Visitors to our campus are now offered a chance to park in our ten marked Visitors Spaces closest to the front of the school.  Please refrain from parking in numbered spaces as these belong to our staff members.

Thanks for your support as we try to uphold campus safety throughout the school year.

5.  We have been distributing WCPSS Chromebooks as quickly as possible.  We have already reached out to WCPSS Tech Services to request more devices for students who are new to our school.  Students should bring Chromebooks to and from school every day.  Students still waiting for Chromebooks from WCPSS will not be penalized for incomplete work that is technologically based. 

More details can be found here on the WCPSS Device Program.

6.  Volunteer Registration:  LRMS welcomes volunteers and field trip chaperones this year!  Parents and community members who wish to volunteer in a school must apply through the District's new volunteer management system, MyVolunteer.  Review new volunteering updates, procedures and resources at wcpss.net/volunteer.  The MyVolunteer User Guide displays step-by-step instructions on registering to volunteer. To register, access the Volunteer Registration link, which is also available by scanning the QR code in the user guide.

Once registered, log in to your account at any time at https://myvolunteer.com/wcpss/volunteer/login.  All WCPSS volunteers must re-register for the 2023-24 school year, regardless of whether you registered last year.

7.  School Meals: Visit this landing page to learn more about WCPSS meals and adding money to your student's meals account.  

For families who completed the 2022-23 meal benefits application, the benefit continues for their student's first 30 school days of the 2023-24 school year. If your student is receiving meals benefits from last year, the 2022-23 benefits will expire October 11, 2023.

To receive free or reduced-price meals for the 2023-24 school year, families must submit a meal benefits application online at MySchoolApps.com. Paper copies will be available at your school’s office. All students who attend a CEP (Community Eligibility Provision) school will receive their meals at no cost. Families do not need to complete a meal benefits application for students attending a CEP school.

8.  PTSA Updates:

• September 5th: Fall Sports Tryouts Begin
• September 7th: Finding Nemo Information Session - 8pm (online)
• September 11th: Finding Nemo Auditions - 3-6pm
  • Callbacks only on September 12th -  3-5pm
• September 21st: LRMS Open House and General Meeting
• September 21st: PTSA Fundraiser begins
• Week of September 25th: First Quarter Interim Reports

Have a great three-day weekend!

Chris Cox, Principal