LRMS Families,

Report cards for the first quarter went home today.  Here are your weekly updates:

1.  Next week is a four-day week of school.  Monday, 11/11 is the Veteran's Day Holiday.  We salute all our veterans in the Leesville Community and around the world.  Thank you for your service!

2.  Events next week:

• Wednesday, 11/13, 3:15pm - Art Portfolio Club
• Friday, 11/15 - Quarter 1 Honors Breakfast (by invitation only)
• Monday, 11/18, 3pm - Basketball Tryouts

3.  I want to take a moment to acknowledge a couple of events from this past week that interrupted "normal" school operations. First, no principal ever wants to send the "all students are safe" email that I had to send you on Monday.  There was a time years ago when District protocols for sending these types of mass messages generally outpaced all the other modes of communication prevalent in today's society (social media, texting, students passing rumors, etc.).  Here are a few quick points I want to emphasize:

• When any potential threat to student safety is reported, we investigate the potential threat EVERY TIME.  We do not delay.  We do not pause to send an email.  We involve law enforcement and WCPSS Security, and we start to gather details immediately.
• If the threat is immediate, a school may go into Lockdown.  All staff are trained every year on these protocols, and drills are required at regular intervals in our School District.  For Monday, there was determined to be no immediate threat, so no lockdown protocols were instituted.
• Once enough facts have been gathered, we determine whether mass communication with the school community is needed.  In Monday's case, the answer was clearly "yes."  The reason for that communication was not the false threat itself, but the fact that the perception of a threat was impacting the school community on a large scale (rumors, increased calls and check-outs, etc.).
• Anytime a student contributes to the disruption of the orderly operations of school, consequences are given.  These consequences align with the WCPSS Code of Conduct and Student Due Process policies.  Due to privacy laws, these individualized outcomes for students will never be communicated to the community at-large.  
• Please encourage your students to access a trusted adult on campus if they are ever feeling fearful or uncomfortable.  Part of our issues from Monday were that many seventh grade students continued to share a rumor among themselves instead of immediately involving a staff member.

This week, I have responded personally to every individual inquiry about perceived threats and school disruptions.  If you have further questions, I will continue to respond in a timely manner.  Thanks to everyone for supporting the efforts of our school in maintaining a safe and orderly environment that allows all students and staff to focus on learning.

4.  Next week, seventh grade students will be participating in the annual "Signs of Suicide" presentation by our counseling team. This occurs during regularly-scheduled Healthful Living classes on November 12, 13, and 14.  The program's main message in 7th grade is to ACT: Acknowledge, Care, and Tell.

• Acknowledge that you are seeing signs of suicide in friends and that it is serious.
• Care: Let your friend know that you are worried about him or her and that you are concerned that he or she needs help you cannot provide.
• Tell a responsible adult, whether with your friend or on his or her behalf.

Here is the memo with more details about the course and how to opt out if your family chooses to do so.

5.  For 8th grade families:

• Here is some information for those interested in attending Athens Drive High School: Athens Drive HS Showcase Flyer
• Here are the DC Trip Updates:
  • Eighth grade t-shirts are now on sale.  The item is listed on School Cash Online on the LRMS Homepage under the family tab.  Shirts are $12.00.  We'd like all students to have one and if you need help purchasing one, please contact Mrs. Ricciuti or Mr. Russell.
  • Second payment for the 8^th grade Washington DC trip is due 11/15.  Please let Mrs. Ricciuti or Mr. Russell know if you have any questions.
  • There will be a parent meeting for the field trip in December.  We will share the date and time when it is finalized.
     

6.  To celebrate American Indian Heritage Month, here is an opportunity later this month for a Cultural Education Day at the NC Museum of History.

7. This is the final week for the Thanksgiving Food Drive...

8.  Do you need something to do Thanksgiving morning that involves exercise and giving back to the Leesville Community??  Here you go:

Leesville Turkey Trot, 2024

9.  And, one more opportunity to give back:

One of our seventh graders is organizing a service project and collecting used sports equipment and attire.  He will be delivering all the items collected to donatesports.org.   This is a local organization in Wake County that collects items to share with underserved children in the US and abroad to provide them with an opportunity to play sports.  There is a collection bin in the front office, and it will be there through thanksgiving break.  Thank you for supporting this organization.

10.  PTSA Updates:

Have a great three-day weekend,

Chris Cox, Principal