celebrations - Lesher Middle School

May 2, 2014
Dear Lesher Parents, Students, & Staff:
Here’s this week’s Lesher Difference email blast of celebrations, announcements, and upcoming dates.
CELEBRATIONS
1) On Friday, 5/2 Lesher welcomed approximately 250 5th graders to its 5th grade orientation. Our 8th
grade WEB (Where Everybody Belongs) Leaders led by WEB Captains Maddie Schink and Christian
Juhl did a fantastic job orienting our newest crop of Vikings and Viqueens to the Lesher Difference.
Thank you to 6th grade counselor Wylie Cate and 6th grade asst. principal Deon Davis for coordinating
2 hours’ worth of transition activities.
2) Thank you to the parent chaperones who came on Friday, 5/2 and helped make the last dance of
the year such a great success! As usual, it was a high energy, no drama affair, and a good time was
had by all. Thanks to Cyndi Ball, Rebecca Douglas, Melissa Faye, Jill Lowry, and Martha
Sullins. Please look for opportunities to chaperone events next year; it’s a great way to “plug in” at
our school and get a feel for our strong student culture, and your child’s place in it.
3) On Thursday, 5/1 the Lesher English dept. hosted its first Writer’s Reception to recognize 40
students nominated by their teachers who’ve won writing contests and/or have shown a strong
dedication to the writing process and craft throughout the year. Their work was displayed in the
Media Center during the event and a keynote address was made by PSD Secondary Literacy
Facilitator Melanie Bukartek. The students recognized were: Tyler Hart, Fei Steininger, Khalid
Shahba, Shane Ball, Evan Kim-Thamm, Katherine De Maret, Doha Shaba, Becky Huthinson, Deniss
Atondo Avalos, Joseph Vasseur, Geneva Hein, Roland Tomsic, Paige Lowry, Tessa Barker, Skylar
Beneck, Tucker Leadbetter, Abbot Hoeven, Karina DelToro, Brent Smalley, Damian Forrest, Will
Brown, Holly Spinden, Claire Ward, Ensoo Kim, Claire Panella, Cleo Anderson, Larry Chen, Avery
Richter, Benny Khouri, Grace Wankelman, Sam Piotraschke, Blake Dragan, Andie Berkowitz, Analia
Kaufman, Emily Ray, Gillianne Jordan, Cricket Elder, Eli Kitchens, Nathan Freeman, and Eleanor
Glenn. Thanks to our English dept. for promoting a culture of academic achievement: Beth Wilms,
Tiffany Ramirez, Allison Pearse, Dominic Buttice/Amy Zulauf, Lisa Crossland, Ed Castro, and Andrew
Reyes.
4) Congratulations to the Lesher Science Bowl Team which competed in the National Science Bowl
Championship (http://science.energy.gov/wdts/nsb/) hosted by the US Dept. of Energy in
Washington, DC on 4/24 – 4/28 at the National 4-H Youth Conference Center. Out of 48 teams from
across the country, Lesher placed 4th for their lithium battery car design and brought back a $500
check for our science dept. This portion of the competition required teams to write a detailed report
about their car, interview with judges, and create a persuasive commercial that was presented to
300 people. We are proud of these young scientists who represented Lesher so well! Owen
Lockwood (8th), Jacob Staelin-Lefsky (8th), Eli Kitchens (8th), Larry Chen (7th), and Nathan Sima (7th).
Thank you to coach Dale Lockwood (parent) and teachers Karen Hammann, Bri Chittenden, and
Cathi Jacobs. Click this link to see the NSB photographer’s flickr account pictures of our team:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/nationalsciencebowl/13604800955/in/set-72157643365239365
https://www.flickr.com/photos/nationalsciencebowl/sets/72157643365239365/
5) Each year Lesher is fortunate to nominate one 8th grade student for the Masonic Award based on that’s
student’s traits of citizenship, leadership, scholarship, and overall positive character that distinguish them as
outstanding. Congrats to Maddy Schink who was recognized at the Public Schools Recognition Night on
Wednesday, 4/30 at the Fort Collins Masonic Temple and accompanied by science teacher Bri Chittenden and
asst. principal Waren Morrow.
6) The Viking Jazz Band represented Lesher well Saturday morning, 4/26, at the 44th UNC/Greeley Jazz
Festival! They received the highest rating possible from the clinician/judge. They’re an outstanding
group of students: Nathan Freeman, Owen Lockwood, Haley Hartmann, Josh Schwarz, Andrew
VanOrden, Zoe Boiarsky, Rabi Phelan, Nina Shelanski, Will Shrigley, Kelsey Straw, Josh Rogers,
Tristan Jackson-Garcia, Cooper Larson, Augusta Rudnick, Ethan Ganster, Austin Blumenthal, Thomas
Gira, and Zoe Drigot. Thank you to asst. band director Cody Jackson for working with this group of
students bright and early every Tuesday and Thursday morning before school starts.
7) BELIEVE THE HYPE! On Friday afternoon, 4/25, Lesher held an all-school banner celebration
assembly. During the assembly we recognized our status as 1 of 50 schools in Colorado to
participate in the Anti-defamation League’s (ADL) No Place for Hate anti-bullying program, as 1 of 3
schools in Colorado and 1 of 48 nationally designated by the US Dept. of Ed. and the Obama
administration as a Green Ribbon School, and were presented with our Colorado School to Watch
(CSTW) banner by CSTW State Director/Thompson School District Director of Instruction Diane
Lauer. Our students modeled outstanding attending skills, and it was a nice affirmation of the
collective awesomeness of our students and staff. It’s a great day to be a Viking/Viqueen!
8) At noon on Earth Day, Tuesday, 4/22, Acting Chair of the White House Council on Environmental
Quality Mike Boots and Secretary of Education Arne Duncan made their annual 2014 Green Ribbon
Schools announcement, and Lesher is one of them (http://www2.ed.gov/programs/green-ribbonschools/awards.html)! Click this link to see the video (http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/46544439),
and click this link for the White House blog
(http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2014/04/22/recognizing-green-schools-earth-day). You can find
best practices examples in each of the Green Ribbon Schools 3 Pillars from the 2014 cohort of
honorees, including Lesher, in the attached Highlights from 2014 GRS Report. You can find
additional resources (http://www2.ed.gov/about/inits/ed/green-strides/resources.html) and
webinars (http://www2.ed.gov/about/inits/ed/green-strides/webinar.html) on the Green Strides
website (http://www2.ed.gov/about/inits/ed/green-strides/index.html). The Green Strides Webinar
Series has new offerings weekly! Thanks you to all our students, staff, and parents who continue to
promote the 3 Pillars: I. Reduced Environmental Impact and Cost, II. Health and Wellness, and III.
Environmental and Sustainability Education.
9) Congrats to Yearbook Teacher Becky Knips and our Yearbook Staff for earning a National
Yearbook Program of Excellence Award! Nationally, there were only 194 schools selected. We will
receive a banner and plaque to display. Attached is a press release. Way to go Yearbook team!
10) Lesher had 36 7th and 8th grade students selected (via an application process) to attend the 14th
annual Latina Youth Leadership Conference at Colorado State University.
7th grade: (17) Yenifer Abarca, Aileen Avalos, Veronica Barajas, Breck Berglund, Litzinia Calva, Anna
Campbell, Sitlaly Carbajal, Leslie Cerna, Yaraitza Chavez, Angelica Diaz, Tiffany Galvan, Nayeli
Grajeda, Rosa Guerrero, Yeidi Guerrero, Brenda Herrera, Monica Quezada, and Estrella Viadran.
8th Grade: (19) Lesly Alvarez, Jasmine Astudillo, Michelle Avalos, Marissa Choury, Bailey Deal, Sayra
Flores, Karina Gergely, Jessica Gonzalez, Monze Guerrero, Belen Hernandez, Paulina Herrera, Reina
Leija, Esperanza (Hope) Marine, Daniela Ojeda, Vanessa Rodriguez, Estrella Rodriguez, Shae
Sarmiento, Marina Valdez, and Paola Vazquez.
These 36 young women represented Lesher at the conference on Wednesday, 4/23 and comprised
the biggest group of students selected from any PSD school. The Latina Youth Leadership
Conference focuses on training young women to become leaders in their schools and larger
communities. While at the conference the girls participated in 5 workshops and listened to the keynote speech by Anika Rivera, Professor of Government at the University of Texas at Austin. This was
a valuable learning experience for all participants! Thanks to teachers Laura Geisthardt and Janice
Martinez for chaperoning.
11) On Saturday, 5/3 some of Lesher’s Chess Team competed at the State Chess Tournament in Denver:
They were: Henry Cafaro, Aidan Marco, William Hu, Julian Brodsky, and Sean Lahti. Thank you
coaches Lisa Crossland and Zach Bekkedahl (Colorado Scholastic Chess Director) for making this
opportunity possible.
Lesher’s Chess Club took 2nd place in the District Chess Tournament 3 weeks ago at Kinard. 6
members of the club came together to participate and placed 2nd. The participants were:
• Justin Hartberg- participated for the first time,
• Logan Gately- tied for 3rd and received honorable mention,
• Henry Cafaro- tied for 3rd and took 3rd,
• Julian Brodsky- came in 1st for the 6th grade section,
• William Hu- took 1st place in the 8th grade section, and
• Aiden Marco- came in 2nd in the rated section.
12) Attached is our list of the National Poetry Month contest winners who were recognized
Wednesday, 4/30 in the Media Center with cake, punch, prizes for everyone, and an announcement
of the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place winners. There are many talented writers at Lesher! Thanks to
Volunteer Writing Coordinator Marty Marsh and In-school Suspension Supervisor Joe Sterling for
reading through all of the wonderful poems and making this contest happen every year. Please
congratulate these talented writers!
13) Lesher had 45 students compete in the state Science Olympiad competition at the School of Mines
in Golden, CO on Saturday, 4/19. Our teams placed 11th, 14th, and 25th overall amongst the 30
middle school teams competing. Here are our top 3 finishers, and the link to the overall results for
all teams.
3rd Can’t Judge a Powder – Emily Ray and Talia Berlin
2nd Dynamic Planet – Maddison Schink and Thayer McCollum
2nd Experimental Design – Natalie Heacock, Laina Heacock, and Kiaya Johnston
2nd Meteorology – Larry Chen and Josh Rogers
3rd Simple Machines – Thayer McCollum and Will Hu
3rd Water Quality – Owen Lockwood and Nathan Sima
2nd Write it/Do it – Natalie and Laina Heacock
There was also a trial event, Green Generation, in which Maddi Schink and Thayer McCollum placed
2nd and Larry Chen placed 3rd. All results: http://www.coloradoscienceolympiad.org/history/COSciO2014-state-results-final-B.pdf. Thank you to Sarah Freemyer, Ben Mayer, Bri Chittenden, and
Michael Cyphers for coaching our science O teams.
14) Thank you to all our families and friends who attended this year’s musical theatre production of The
Music Man Jr. last Thursday-Saturday, April 10-12. The cast did a great job under the direction of
Vocal Music Director Claire Chronopoulos and Accompanist Olivia Elder. Thank you as well to all the
volunteers who helped out behind the scenes with set building, wardrobe, make up, etc.! WE
couldn’t have done it without YOU. The arts are alive and well at Lesher!
15) Our Lesher Team that did Odyssey of the Mind Problem 3, classic, It’s How We Rule, placed 2nd at
the State OM competition. This is the highest a Lesher team ever placed at the State
Competition. Lesher was 1 of only 2 PSD teams to earn the right to move on to the World
Competition at Iowa State University at the end of May. Congratulations to Chalice Michael,
Campbell Fix, Jessica Gonzales, Eryn Byrn, Hannah Roark. Congratulations to the Lesher Team doing
Problem 2, the not so haunted house, for competing at State and representing Lesher!
Congrats to both of Lesher’s Odyssey of the Mind (OM) teams that brought home 1st place trophies
on 3/29 at the Poudre River Tournament hosted by FCHS! See the attached press release. Team
members were: Eryn Byrn, Campbell Fix, Chalice Michael, Leslie Alvarez, Hanna Roark, Jessica
Gonzales, Meghan McMorrow, Kendyl Anderson, Madison Jaramillo, Salome Heynemann, and Evan
Kim. Thanks coaches Carol Fix, Grace Kim, and Sue Lorimor for facilitating our students’ OM success!
Both teams will compete at the state tournament April 12th in Erie! Click this link for more info.:
http://www.coloradoodyssey.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/Poudre-River-Newsletter-2014.pdf.
16) Lesher golf is in full swing! At this point we are 2-2; beating Boltz 4-1, losing to Wellington 3-1 in a
close match, losing to CLP at Southridge 1-3, beating Webber 3-1 on the back nine at Highland
Meadows. Close matches, cooperative weather, and some fabulous golf shots have been the rule.
The Vikings continue to refine their short game and putting on some very fast greens. For each
match we play a rotating roster of 6 players (Rosie McClure, Jessa Salvador, Blake Dragan, Gunter
Hammock, Sam Hammock, Kyle Maguire, Jesse McCeney, Mason Milligan, Jamie Myracle-Martin,
Jack Shore, and Keegan Seidl), playing a one-to-one match with the opposing school. We are grateful
to the area golf courses which generously provide tee times during their busiest season. The season
culminates with a district tournament on May 7th. The team is coached by Beth Wilms.
17) The 7th grade varsity volleyball team finished 3-5 on season and JV finished 0-3-5. Our success goes
much deeper than our record shows. Our girls improved significantly throughout the short 6 week
season. These are an incredible bunch of young ladies, many of whom never played volleyball
before this season. 3 of the 5 varsity losses were within 2 points, 2 of which went to 3 sets. The
potential for next year is over the top. Coach Hammond could not be more proud to coach these
young ladies: Claire Jenkins, Tessa Barker, Marley Horn, Remi Dauster, Catherine Cecil, Paige Lowry,
Maggie Rockwell, Carly Rockwell, Clara Workman, Abbott Hoeven, Kaliah Kodrich, Sarah Way, Emily
Winn, Sophie Pickelner, Avery Benton, Avi McCaffrey, Zoe Drigot, and Billie Jo Johann. The
character, academic achievement, heart, and attitude of these players are impressive. Great season
lady Vikings!
18) 8th grade varsity volleyball wrapped up its season at the district tournament hosted by FRHS on
Saturday, 4/12. The regular season record does not do justice to their competitive effort. The 8th
grade team won 3 matches versus 5 losses, however, they pushed the top 3 teams (Kinard, Webber,
and Preston) to 3 games in each match. The team remained very positive throughout the season and
played great team volleyball. Their positive attitude was on display during the tournament when
they constantly came from behind to eventually reach the semifinals against Kinard, after beating
Lincoln and Blevins, and end up tied for 3rd place. This year’s players and managers are: Kaylee
Bulmer, McKenna Cordsen, Emma Davidson, Lucie Davis, Bailey Deal, Jennifer Dudash, Amanda Ellis,
Peyton Frantz, Rachelle Gray, Kelsie Greybar, Zion Ketchum, Carly Long Soldier, Emily Myers, Rozie
Nobe, Shae Sarmiento, Britton Smotherman, Lilly Tucker, Jessa VanValkenburg, and Emma Walters.
Our team is coached by Dan Downing who is assisted by Olivia Seng (PHS sophomore and Lesher
alum) and Kaitlin Neu (Dunn Elementary student teacher).
19) Of the 23 individuals from Lesher that auditioned for the District Middle School Honor Orchestra 18
students made it (2nd most in PSD behind Kinard)! These students worked very diligently on
extremely difficult music for the audition. We couldn’t be more proud of each student’s effort and
dedication to such musicianship. Please congratulate these musicians for being such Principled, Risktakers! Thank you for supporting the ARTS at Lesher!
Austin Blumenthal, Lucie Davis, Amanda Ellis, Eleanor Glenn, Laina Heacock, Caroline Kane, Sarah
Kaufman, Rebecca Kirby, Abril Maranon, Franco Maranon, Emily Myers, Sophie Pickelner, Keith
Pixler, Nathan Sima, Luna Slater, Bryce Smith, Holly Spinden, and Lia Volpa.
20) Congrats to these awesome Lesher artists who had their work displayed at the Designs and Images
Art Show in the Hatton Gallery in the Visual Arts Building at CSU March 17th to April 6th (open 10-4
Monday-Friday and closed on weekends): Hope Marine, Lucy Christopher, Ava Jones, Latifah HirchiVogl, Alina Garcia, Thayer McCullum, Kenan Hamilton, Hiago Pinheiro, Luis Vazquez, Logan Gately,
Christopher Ray, and Shep Braddy- see his photo below of oil pastel, cityscape, aerial view.
Thank you to our art teacher Deb Frain for submitting these students’ exemplary work.
21) On Friday, 3/28 the Muscles Alive! program from CSU (http://www.today.colostate.edu/story.aspx?id=8616)
visited Lesher and our 7th graders got to see and hear a two-way conversation between their brains and
muscles. Students were hooked up to bio amplifiers and the electrical activity was displayed on iPads. Click
this link to see a short video from the visit: https://www.psdschools.org/node/4121.
22) Congrats to these Lesher nominees for the HP technology Camp for 6th Grade Girls to be held Friday, 5/16 at
the HP campus on Harmony Road! It was a difficult decision as we’re only allowed 4 nominations, but of the
approx. 125 girls in our 6th grade our teachers nominated: Sivani Badri-Venkata, Vivian Bennett, Chloe Brewer,
and Sophia Browning. Way to go girls!
23) Lesher qualified 6 student athletes for the Colorado Middle School State Wrestling Tournament on 3/28 and
3/29 in Denver. Representing Lesher were 6th graders Joseph Saipaia, Lucas Hefner, and Alec Hargreaves; and
7th graders Eddie Carabajal, Jose Guerra, and James Swan. Both Hargreaves and Hefner won the majority of
their matches and fell just short of placing in the top 6 wresters at their respected weight in the state!
These Lesher wrestlers competed in the Northern Colorado Regional Wrestling Tournament on 3/22.
Wrestlers who placed in the top 8 in their weight class qualified for the State Tournament in Denver on 3/28
and 3/29! Both tournaments combine all 6th, 7th, and 8th graders.
6th graders: Lucas Hefner 3rd place – state qualifier, Joseph Saipaia 5th place – state qualifier, Alec
Hargreaves 5th place – state qualifier
7th graders: Sam Hammock, Michael Fisher, Eddie Carabajal 3rd place – state qualifier, Joe Tavarez,
Jose Guerra 4th place – state qualifier, James Swan 5th place – state qualifier, Aldo Marquez
8th graders: Gunter Hammock, Bradey Monroe
Coach Was is proud of all these students for their dedication to our off-season wrestling program
and putting in time during spring break to compete at one of the state’s most elite middle school
wrestling tournaments! We have some stud 6th graders on our hands for the next two years as all
three qualified for state competing against 7th and 8th graders!
24) Congrats to the 42 students who competed in the Colorado State Technology Student Association (TSA)
Conference in Denver on 2/28 and 3/1. The conference grew 18% this year for a total of over 1,100 middle
and high school students. Our group was the 4th largest middle school in attendance! The TSA students had a
great outing - coming home with 28 medals! Please see the attached results for all of our winners. Great job
TSA, and thank you to teachers Becky Knips, Michael Cyphers, and Beth Wilms for making it possible (see the
attached press release)!
25) The Colorado State Spelling Bee was held on 3/8 at the Colorado Convention Center. 285 students took a
written test consisting of 30 spelling words and 15 vocabulary words. The top 34 scorers proceeded to the
oral round on stage. Of the 10 PSD students participating, only two qualified for the oral round: Roshini
Narayanan (5-time PSD champion and Ridgeview 8th grader) and Henry Cafaro (3rd place PSD and Lesher 6th
grader). Henry stayed in until the 3rd round, going out on the Sanskrit word "kavya". Next year it’s all you
Henry!
26) After a team of 4 from the Colo. Association of Middle Level Education (CAMLE) conducted a site
visit at Lesher on 2/21 the CAMLE Board of Directors voted unanimously to designate Lesher as 1 of
4 2014 Colorado Schools to Watch (CSTW) in the state (the other 3 being Russell MS- Colo. Spgs.,
Jenkins MS- Colo. Spgs., and Powell MS- Littleton) through the National Forum to Accelerate
Middle Grades Reform (Ctrl + Click to follow this link) based on the 4 Domains of Academic
Excellence, Developmental Responsiveness, Social Equity, and Organizational Supports and
Processes! We are the 19th CO middle school recognized in the 10 years of the program. The next
steps are:
The CAMLE Site Visit Team will send us a narrative of their February 21st visit,
CAMLE presented us with a CSTW banner at our April 25th all-school assembly,
We’ve been invited to accept the award and present a session at the National Schools to Watch
Conference June 26-28 in Washington, DC,
Mr. Dodd will participate in a group CSTW discussion at the CASE Conference July 23-25 in
Breckenridge, and
We’ve been invited to present at the CAMLE Conference November 8.
27) On Thursday, 1/16 a team of 3 from the Colo. Dept. of Ed. conducted a site visit at Lesher and our
Green Ribbon Schools Award application has been forwarded to the US Dept. of Ed. as 1 of 3
Green Ribbon Schools from Colorado! Thanks to students Avery Bend (7th), Rabi Phelan (7th), Sophie
Pickelner (7th), Caroline Kane (7th), and Zoe Boiarsky (8th) who spoke with our visitors, and Ben
Mayer, Rob Breshears, Jo Dixon, Angela Bergmann, Allison Pearse, our counselors, and many others
who contributed to the application! We won the national award Tuesday, 4/22, Earth Day, when
Secretary of Ed. Duncan made a live streamed message to the nation recognizing the National Green
Ribbon Schools!
28) Lesher was notified on 2/20 that 2 more of our outstanding student-athletes will be recognized with
the Character Athlete of the Month (CAM) award through the CHaracter in Athletics Make it a
Priority program (www.champfc.com)! Two secondary student-athletes are chosen every month
from across PSD. Congratulations to Shae Sarmiento and her nominator girls basketball head coach
Jo Dixon, and Derek Schlagel and his nominator boys basketball head coach Cory Erlandson! Shae
and Derek both demonstrate great character and apply themselves first as students, then as
athletes. CHAMP presented the awards to Shae and Derek at our March 10th pep assembly.
29) Our Principal’s 3rd Quarter Honor Roll (Gold 4.0; Silver 3.75 - 3.99; Bronze 3.2 - 3.74) is posted on
the bulletin board next to our north auditorium entrance, on our website, and attached. Students
who earned a place on the Honor Roll received two Honor Roll stickers; so put them on your car
windows or bumpers with pride! The gold on white sticker is designed for dark surfaces (tinted
windows, etc.) and the blue on white is best on lighter surfaces. If your student has already affixed
both of these stickers and you would like one for your car, please let Mr. Davis know and he’ll gladly
get you another one!
30) Congrats to 8th grader Nina Shelanski who recently scored a 27 on the ACT, which ranked her at the
88th percentile in Colorado and 87th nationwide amongst high school juniors. She’ll be receiving
national recognition from the Johns Hopkins Center for Talented Youth in Baltimore in the fall and
regional recognition at a ceremony in California in May. Way to go Nina!
31) Congrats to former Lesher Viqueens Anne Lonowski and Lindsey Deringer, seniors at Poudre High
School, who recently were awarded Boettcher Scholarships, the most prestigious scholarship in the
state to attend any college in the state! Ann was also a member of PHS’ 5A final four girls’ basketball
team. Lindsey also recently won a $1,000 IBARMS scholarship and was named as a Coloradoan
Academic and Leadership All Star from PHS.
32) Congrats to 2 former Viqueens and current seniors Siyu Wu (Poudre) and Sanjukta Santra (Fossil
Ridge) who earned perfect composite scores of 36 on the American College Testing (ACT) exam. All
high school juniors in Colorado take the ACT test in the spring; a college admissions exam that
includes more than 200 questions about science, math, reading and English. In PSD, 1,901 students
took the standardized exam last spring and earned an average composite score of 22.3. The average
score statewide was 20.1.
33) Former Viqueen Meredith Wheeler, a senior at Stanford University, recently received a Rhodes
Scholarship, which pays for 2 or 3 years of study at Oxford University in England. Once a Viqueen,
always a Viqueen! Click here for the Coloradoan story:
http://www.coloradoan.com/viewart/G2/20131124/NEWS11/311240058/Fort-Collins-womannamed-Rhodes-Scholar.
ANNOUNCEMENTS
th
1) The 6 Annual Lesher Bike Week is May 5th through 9th and could be the best week of all time. This week
long celebration of bicycles, sustainability, and wellness is a uniquely Lesher event. The attached flyer fills
you in on the events during the week. Our culminating activity is Tour de Fit on Friday, May 9th from 47pm. I encourage you to come by and be a part of the fun. You can even volunteer for a slot to help make
this event a great success. Thanks for supporting biking Vikings! Sign up to volunteer at Tour de Fit here:
http://www.signupgenius.com/go/70A044DAFA722A75-bike1
2) CHAMP (CHaracter in Athletics Make it a Priority) is proud to host a Parent Summit (flyer
attached)! They’ve partnered with PCA (Positive Coaching Alliance) who does amazing presentations
on being a student-athlete parent. This is a free event, and will boast numerous door prizes as well!
As this is a limited seating room, please no kids.
Monday, May 12th, 6:30-8pm, CSU Moby Gym... in the Bob Davis room
RSVP: champ.parents@gmail.com
3) Our yearbook, which recently was 1 of only 194 schools selected for a National Yearbook Program
of Excellence Award, is a permanent record of our school year. Don’t miss out on the great
opportunity to remember the year forever. There are about 740 students at Lesher. We have
approximately 100 books left and expect to sell out soon. Order now at
www.jostensyearbooks.com or from the main office. If you have already purchased a book, thank
you!
4) Spring Football- 7 on 7 morning practices. We will be holding morning workouts every Tuesday and
Thursday morning at 6:15am beginning on May 6. Spring football is open to all 6th and 7th graders
planning on playing next fall as members of the 7th and 8th grade Lesher football teams. This is
completely optional for students to attend with no ties to the 2014 football season. Contact Coach
Wasinger (472-3845 or twasinge@psdschools.org) for more info.
5) CSU Math Oval meetings: www.math.colostate.edu/~bates/oval.html.
Meet at Weber Building, Room 15 (just off the oval). Parking is available north of Weber or around
the Oval. No pass is required on weekends. To park behind Weber, take your first right after
entering the Oval from Laurel. Follow the signs to Room 15.
6) CSU Math Circles, a summer enrichment opportunity at CSU for advanced math students entering 8th and
9th grades, will be running again this summer (it’s a bargain - $50 for a week - lunch included). Please see the
attached flyer. Direct questions to Melissa Adkins (Swager) CSU Mathematics Department
(swager.mel@gmail.com).
7) Our current Odyssey of the Mind (OM) Coordinator Susan Lorimor is looking for a replacement
coordinator, as her last year as a Lesher parent for a while is 2014-15. She will be available to train the new
coordinator for taking over in future years, and would be willing to co-coordinate next year if anyone
wanted help. If you are interested in getting involved with OM and want to know more details, please
contact Susan at dexterco@gmail.com. Thanks!
8) 8th Grade Parents: Please attend one of the following laptop trainings. Each site will host 1 evening
with 2 trainings. Parents can attend a training at any school, not just where their kids attend. Two
trainings will be at ITC for parents who aren't able to make any nights at the schools. Questionsplease call Stephanie Francis, PSD IT Secretary, 490-3096.
Monday
May 5 Polaris
5:00 & 6:00
Gym
Tuesday
Wednesday
May 6 Wellington May 7 Kinard
5:30 & 6:30
5:30 & 6:30
Cafeteria
Media Center
May 12 Webber May 13 ITC
5:00 & 6:00
6:00 & 7:00
Media Center
Aspen 1, 2
Thursday
May 8 ITC
5:30 & 6:30
Aspen 1, 2
May 14 Lincoln May 15 Preston
5:30 & 6:30
5:00 & 6:00
Auditorium
Auditeria
9) We know a lot of our students participate in Community Service outside of school, and we would love to
hear about it! Please use your PSD email account to access our Community Service Survey via the following
link on Lesher’s website: https://les.psdschools.org/ibmyp/community-service. Our students do a lot of
amazing things to help our community and we want to recognize those students. Students, please complete
the survey any time you do Community Service outside of Lesher.
10) REMINDER- per PSD protocol, all visitors entering our building must press the intercom button on the call
box to the right of the main entrance door on the right to be “buzzed into” our building during the school
day, and then sign in at the main office. Thank you for adhering to this additional safety procedure.
11) 6th GRADE PARENTS: Please check the 6th grade team page of our website every Monday for
important 6th grade updates (https://les.psdschools.org/6th-grade-team )! We’re trying to make our
website the clearinghouse of Lesher information so please take a look. Thanks from Team Sixers!
12) Parents & friends - you can join our Email Alert Sign-up list via the PSD website (subscribe at
http://eweb.psdschools.org/emailsubscription/). Then you’ll receive our weekly email blasts. News
is also posted regularly on our new website.
13) Our Parent Teacher organization (PTO) meets monthly to support students, staff, and parents with
activities during the year. It sponsors our direct donation program, manages the subsequent minigrant process, puts on Nordic Fest every fall, and provides a sweets exchange in December and a
Bike to School Week Breakfast each May. The PTO meets at 1pm generally on the first Monday of
the month in the cafeteria or cafeteria conf. room depending on the size of the group. Remaining
2013-14 meeting dates are: Mon. 5/5 at 1pm in the cafeteria conference room.
Our PTO officers are President- Michelle Lahti, VP/Secretary- Jean Foley, and Teacher Appreciation
Coord. Jill Lowry. Questions about PTO, please contact Michelle Lahti at michellelahti@comcast.net.
14) To provide more immediate support to students and staff, and in the interest of service leadership,
Lesher hired two more integrated services (special education) paraprofessionals, and now has two
assistant principals. We’d hire more teachers to make class sizes smaller, but we have no classrooms
to put them in! In addition, we shifted our counseling office caseloads in the following way to
create more team-based support with the asst. principals:
Counselor Wylie Cate & Asst. Principal Deon Davis:
All 6th graders, 7th graders with last names A – J.
Counselor Stacy Arellano & Asst. Principal Waren Morrow:
7th graders with last names K – Z, all 8th graders.
15) Fort Collins police are hosting free Internet safety presentations for families to increase awareness
and provide tools to keep everyone safe from the dangers of the Internet. Topics covered will
include: Sexual predators, online enticement & grooming, social networking websites, cyber
bullying, email, Instant Messaging (IM), Smartphones, and sexting.
Family sessions will be held in the Fort Collins Police Services Community Room, 2221 S. Timberline
Road, 6:30 - 8:30 p.m. on Tuesday evenings in 2014 (May 6). Families will be divided into three
groups: adults; pre-teens 8 to 12 year-olds; and teenagers 13 to 18-year-olds for age appropriate
presentations. Contact Detective Keith Maynard at (970) 416-2051 or by e-mail at
kmaynard@fcgov.com to reserve your space. Research shows:
• 1 in 5 kids are subjected to unwanted sexual solicitation on the Internet;
• 1 in 5 teens ages 13-19 take photographs of their intimate parts and send them to friends;
• 25% of kids sexually solicited on the Internet told a trusted adult; and
• 64% of teens post personal photos on the Internet and 58% post personal info. (their address).
Much like a large metropolitan city the Internet is a wonderful place with many resources, but you
would never drop your child off in a big city and expect them to explore it and remain safe. This
presentation teaches increased awareness and provides tools to be safe from Internet dangers.
16) Check out the LESHER ACTIVITIES/ATHLETIC TABLE just inside our main entrance, contact
Activities/Athletic Director Waren Morrow (wmorrow@psdschools.org), or visit our Activities and
Athletics website for all pertinent information (http://les.psdschools.org/athletics-activities). Think
about participating on club teams or attending an athletic camp around Northern Colorado to
increase your skills and competitiveness. These clubs include Basketball through Rocky Mountain
Youth Sports (http://www.rmyouthsports.com/) registration is currently open for K-11th grade
students, football through The Edge Sports Center (http://www.edgesportscenter.com/indoorfootball/calendar.shtml), volleyball (http://www.norcovolleyball.com/), or Skills Camps (flyer
attached), softball (http://fcstars.org/), wrestling (http://www.gritathletics.com/), and more.
17) LOST & FOUND: During the year numerous objects, predominantly articles of clothing and reusable
water bottles, find their way to our lost and found bin in our cafeteria. At the end of each quarter
the bin is emptied with the items donated to our local Goodwill organization. Please encourage your
child to check the lost and found if they are missing something!
UPCOMING DATES
1)
2)
3)
4)
5)
6)
7)
8)
PTO Meeting- Monday, 5/5, 1 – 2pm, Cafeteria Conf. Room
Bike-to-School Week- Monday – Friday, 5/5 – 5/9
6th/7th/8th Grade Coed Track & Field v. Boltz & Webber- Wednesday, 5/7, 3:30pm, FCHS
7th/8th Grade Coed Golf District Tournament- Wednesday, 5/7, Collindale
TCAP & CMAS Reward/Bike Week Dance- Fri., 5/9 6 – 8pm TENTATIVE
6th/7th/8th Grade Coed Track & Field v. Kinard & Lincoln- Monday, 5/12, 3:30pm, FRHS
6th/7th/8th Grade Coed Track & Field District Meet- Thursday, 5/15, 2:00pm, French Field
6th Grade Girls HP Technology Camp- Friday, 5/16 (Vivian Bennett, Sophia Browning, Sivani
Badri-Venkata, Chloe Brewer)
9) Yearbook Distribution- 8th grade handout during ELO on Tuesday, 5/27 & 6th/7th grade
handout during ELO on Wednesday, 5/28
10) 8th Grade Afternoon- Thursday, 5/29, 12:23 – 2:25pm
11) Lesher Fest (Field Day/3k Fun Run)- Friday, 5/30, 7:35 – 10:55am, Viking Stadium
12) Speak Up- Mondays & Thursdays, 1:30 – 2:30pm, Cafeteria Conf. Room (Cate & Arellano)
13) MathCounts- Mondays, 2:30 – 3:30pm, Rm. 6 (Johnson)
14) Peace Jam- Mondays, 2:30 – 3:45pm, Rm. 22 (Mimier, formerly Ms. Gregory)
15) Tech. Student Assoc. (TSA)- Tuesdays, 2:30 – 3:30pm, Lab. #19 (Knips)
16) Chess Club- Tuesdays, 2:30 – 3:30pm, Rm. 1 (Crossland)
17) Odyssey of the Mind (OM)- Tuesdays & Thursdays, 2:30 – 3:30pm, Cafeteria (Lorimor)
18) Climbing Club- Thursdays, 2:30 – 3:30pm, Rm. 12 (Mayer)
19) Filmmaking Club- Thursdays, 2:30 – 3:30pm, Rm. 6 (Johnson)
20) Running Club- Fridays, 2:30 – 3:30pm, Rm. 12 (Mayer)
It’s a great day to be a Viking/Viqueen!
Living the dream,
TOM DODD
Principal
WE ARE…
LESHER!