Dear Pauling Pride Community,
Welcome back to an exciting 2013-14 school year at Linus
Pauling Middle School!
Thank you for taking the time to read through the important
information in this newsletter and partnering with us in preparing for the
school year ahead. I thoroughly
enjoy how each fall brings a fresh start and new opportunity to collaboratively
build our culture at LPMS. If you
are a new family to LPMS, welcome!
On a personal note, I enjoyed my favorite northwest summer
activity of backpacking in July!
Observing my passion for the outdoors in recent years, my three
daughters have been asking when they could come along on a trip. With optimism and a little trepidation,
we headed to beautiful Pamelia Lake near Mount Jefferson. The journey up the trail for my girls
(ages 7, 5, and 3) was challenging, but with unwavering belief, training with
hikes around town, regular breaks, and anticipation of a cool lake and yummy s’mores,
we made it.
In many ways, a school
year is similar to a backpacking trip.
We have to plan carefully, train, make sure we have the right equipment,
learn from our mistakes, work together to share the load, and celebrate our
successes. I’m already looking
forward to our next trip!
During the month of August, we have been making plans
centered on our greatest priority at LPMS, which is safety. While this includes various drills such
as how to exit the building in an emergency, at LPMS we are passionately
pursuing a broader definition where each of our students and staff are valued
in a caring climate. Last year we
launched a weekly advisory program called Pride Period with student safety as
the key focus. This year our Pride
Period will meet on Fridays to connect, learn, and grow. Also as part of our Pride Period,
school-wide we will be reading an award-winning book called Seedfolks by
Paul Fleischman. The book
emphasizes how our uniqueness enhances the important role each of us plays in
building a positive and caring community.
Our school is proud to host programs that support the
development of our students. We
have added fall cross-country as a school sponsored sport. Our music and art programs continue to
provide enriching opportunities.
In June, we learned that our Spanish Dual Immersion program has been
formally recognized by Spain’s Ministry of Culture and Education as an
International Spanish Academy (ISA).
Great job DI team! Both new
beginnings and rich traditions would not be possible without our talented and hardworking
staff coupled with the tremendous support of our Corvallis community.
At LPMS, we continue to focus on engaging our students in a
rigorous and relevant curriculum.
With support from the district and the generosity of LPMS families
through the Make Your Mark campaign, we have made great strides in recent years
to add teaching and learning tools to increase student achievement. This year, the school district will be
providing an ipad for each student at LPMS. We are excited to improve access to technology for all our
students, leverage 21st century digital resources, and increase
individualization and differentiation.
We will be having a Linus Pauling campus beautification work
day on Saturday, August 17th from 9:00 to 11:30 am. We will meet in front of the school at
the main entrance. I hope you can
join us with your work gloves!
Also, mark your calendar for Friday, August 23rd when I will
be hosting a coffee chat from 9:15 to 10:30 am in the LPMS library. This will be a great opportunity to
meet our new assistant principal, Ms. Leslie Sheldon. I look forward to hearing about your adventures of summer
break when you return in August to pick up your schedule!
Go Pride and Go Beavs!
-Eric
