June 18, 2021

The shield Volume 1, issue 37

Lancer Families,

We want to begin our last weekly message by simply saying "Thank you!" We have made it through this challenging year and because of your support, this year was truly a success. The Landstown Middle School learning community should be proud of what we accomplished this school year during the pandemic. Together, we faced every challenge and found success through collaboration with our entire community. Our hats off to everyone for the job each of you did and always know how much we love and appreciate you! We hope everyone has a fantastic summer vacation!

As we wrap up this school year and begin summer vacation, we want to share with you some outstanding information. We awarded 171 students the Presidential Award, which is based on outstanding academic achievement. We had 564 students earn Academic Excellence Awards. During the 1st semester, we had 807 students earn either principals list or honor roll. Throughout the year, we recognized 362 students through our Student of the Month program. On Monday, June 14, we had over 200 families participate in our 8th grade "Drive-By" celebration. Our entire staff is so proud of the work we have done together, and these points of celebration are a reflection of our collaboration, love, and support throughout the pandemic.

Just a few updates as we move into summer vacation. First, as previously mentioned, the school year officially ends today, and all grades are finalized. Parents will have access to final grades in ParentVue. Report cards will be mailed home on Tuesday, June 22. Counselors will continue to monitor all students with failing grades, and any student failing a year course will be notified by mail. School Counselors will also be making phone calls to the families of any student that failed a year course to discuss summer school options. Second, all students remaining in VBCPS will keep their chromebooks for next school year. If you are moving out of VBCPS, you will need to turn your chromebook in during summer hours. Finally, due to the pandemic, there is a back order for our yearbooks. Unfortunately, yearbooks will not arrive until late-July. Once yearbooks arrive, we will notify all families that ordered them.

We also want to share with our families that we have created a website titled "Rising 6th Grade FAQ," to assist all our new Lancers. The link to access this new informational webpage is located in today's edition of "The Shield." We will send a separate Alert Now to our new Lancer Families but we want our learning community to be aware of this new informational webpage and share with anyone who will be new to Landstown Middle next year. In addition, we have scheduled our Lancer Launch for our rising 6th graders on Wednesday, August 25. We will send postcards to all our rising 6th grade families but we wanted to share this information as well.

We hope you enjoy our final 2020-2021 edition of "The Shield." Please continue to monitor all VBCPS family messages for updates, and stay safe and healthy. Take care, and go, Lancers!

8th Grade Drive By Celebration & Pictures

Transportation for 2021-2022 : Parents Please UPdate by July 5th

The Office of Transportation and Fleet Management Services is hard at work on the bus schedule for the 2021-22 school year, and we need your help to make certain that we have the buses and drivers needed to get everyone to and from school safely and on time.

Your child(ren)’s bus information lives inside ParentVue, which houses bus stop location, bus times and bus number. Instructions on how to access this information is attached to this message. If you have not activated your ParentVUE account, instructions are available here. We ask that you let us know of your transportation needs and confirm or update the information in your account no later than July 5.

As of July 6, the information in ParentVue will be locked so bus routes and schedules can be planned. If you think your child's bus stop is incorrect, or if you have requested transportation and it is not in ParentVue, please contact the school where your child is enrolled.

Thank you for your continued support of Virginia Beach City Public Schools.

June 11, 2021

The shield Volume 1, issue 36

Lancer Families,

Henry Ford once said, "Coming together is a beginning, staying together is progress, and working together is success!" As we approach our last week of this challenging school year, it is important that our entire learning community reflect on the work WE did this year, how WE worked together throughout this year, and that WE celebrate our success because WE have so much to celebrate. We are so proud of our students, families, and staff members for their dedication and commitment to the success of our students and families. Landstown Middle School is truly a remarkable school because of the commitment from our students, families, and staff and we THANK YOU for all your support throughout this school year.

We are so excited to celebrate our 8th-grade students on Monday, June 14. We hope our 8th-grade families are able to participate in the "Drive-By & Pictures" celebration. Parents may bring their students anytime between the hours of 1:00-3:00 PM, or 5:00-7:00 PM. Students who participate will receive a celebratory certificate, may take a photo, and will receive a small gift from the PTSA. Although we cannot gather as a large group, we want to provide our 8th-grade students and families an opportunity to celebrate with us, so we hope you are able to visit Monday during the slotted times.

There are just a few reminders as we approach our last week of school. The school year officially ends on June 18, and all grades are finalized by teachers on that same day. On June 18, parents will have access to final grades in ParentVue. Report cards will be mailed home on Tuesday, June 22. Counselors will continue to monitor all students with failing grades, and any student failing a year course will be notified by mail. School Counselors will also be making phone calls to the families of any student that failed a year course to discuss summer school options. We want to continue to remind you of the summer middle and high school "Summer Boost" program offered by VBCPS. The program is free of charge and designed to help students build confidence in mathematics or science content and skills as they preview courses they plan to take for the 2021-2022 school year. You will find all this information in today's edition of "The Shield."

Finally, we are pleased to launch our new "Rising 6th Grade FAQ" webpage for our rising 6th-grade students and families. This is a new initiative implemented to assist our new Lancer families. The webpage contains a virtual tour of our school, in addition to staff videos explaining important information such as AVID, Classes, Communication, Enrollment, Gifted Program, Parent Portal, Spanish Immersion, Special Education, Student Activities, and other additional pieces of information. We are proud of this new initiative and we hope our new Lancer Families find it beneficial as they transition from elementary school to the Lancer Family.

We hope you enjoy this week's edition. Please continue to monitor all VBCPS family messages for updates, and stay safe and healthy. Take care, and go, Lancers!

Transportation for 2021-2022 : Parents Please UPdate by July 5th

The Office of Transportation and Fleet Management Services is hard at work on the bus schedule for the 2021-22 school year, and we need your help to make certain that we have the buses and drivers needed to get everyone to and from school safely and on time.

Your child(ren)’s bus information lives inside ParentVue, which houses bus stop location, bus times and bus number. Instructions on how to access this information is attached to this message. If you have not activated your ParentVUE account, instructions are available here. We ask that you let us know of your transportation needs and confirm or update the information in your account no later than July 5.

As of July 6, the information in ParentVue will be locked so bus routes and schedules can be planned. If you think your child's bus stop is incorrect, or if you have requested transportation and it is not in ParentVue, please contact the school where your child is enrolled.

Thank you for your continued support of Virginia Beach City Public Schools.

June 4, 2021

The shield volume 1, issue 35

Lancer Families,

We hope everyone had a restful and relaxing Memorial Day Weekend. As we prepare for the last two weeks of school, there are just a few reminders for our families. First, as previously mentioned, this is a critical time that you monitor your student's current grades and missing assignments and that you continue to encourage your student to complete all missing work. Please take time to communicate with your student's teachers, and if you need assistance, please contact your student's school counselor to schedule a parent-teacher conference. The school year officially ends on June 18, and all grades are finalized by teachers on that same day. On June 18, parents will have access to final grades in ParentVue. Report cards will be mailed home on Tuesday, June 22.

In addition, Counselors will continue to monitor all students with failing grades, and any student failing a year course will be notified by mail. School Counselors will also be making phone calls to the families of any student that failed a year course to discuss summer school options. You may find additional information about Summer School Options in today's edition of "The Shield." Second, we want to continue to remind you of the summer middle and high School Boost program offered by VBCPS. The program is free of charge and designed to help students build confidence in mathematics or science content and skills as they preview courses they plan to take for the 2021-2022 school year. More information regarding this outstanding opportunity is located in "The Shield," as well.

Finally, we are excited to honor our 8th-grade students with our "Drive-by & Pictures" celebration on Monday, June 14. We will have two sessions from 1:00-3:00 PM or 5:00-7:00 PM so that 8th-grade families interested in participating may attend one of the sessions based on family availability. Although we cannot have large gatherings due to the pandemic, we want to provide our 8th-grade students and families an opportunity to commemorate this year and celebrate. We hope our 8th-grade families are able to participate on June 14.

We hope you enjoy this week's edition. Please continue to monitor all VBCPS family messages for updates, and stay safe and healthy. Take care, and go, Lancers!

Transportation for 2021-2022 : Parents Please UPdate by July 5th

The Office of Transportation and Fleet Management Services is hard at work on the bus schedule for the 2021-22 school year, and we need your help to make certain that we have the buses and drivers needed to get everyone to and from school safely and on time.

Your child(ren)’s bus information lives inside ParentVue, which houses bus stop location, bus times and bus number. Instructions on how to access this information is attached to this message. If you have not activated your ParentVUE account, instructions are available here. We ask that you let us know of your transportation needs and confirm or update the information in your account no later than July 5.

As of July 6, the information in ParentVue will be locked so bus routes and schedules can be planned. If you think your child's bus stop is incorrect, or if you have requested transportation and it is not in ParentVue, please contact the school where your child is enrolled.

Thank you for your continued support of Virginia Beach City Public Schools.

May 28, 2021

The shield volume 1, issue 35

Lancer Families,

We want to wish all our families and staff a Happy Memorial Day Weekend. As a reminder, school is closed Monday, May 31, and will resume on Tuesday, June 1. To all the men and women who served and continue to serve our country, please know how much we love and appreciate your sacrifices in protecting our freedoms, and we thank you for being a part of the Lancer Family.

As we get closer to the end of this school year, we want to remind our families that it is critical over the next three weeks that you monitor your student's current grades and missing assignments, and that you continue to encourage your student to complete all missing work. Please take time to communicate with your student's teachers, and if you need assistance, please contact your student's school counselor to schedule a parent-teacher conference.

There are just a few important items for next week that are located in todays edition of "The Shield." First, SOL testing will resume on Tuesday, June 1, and will continue until June 17. Please continue to monitor our SOL testing calendar in "The Shield," so you are aware of your student's SOL test administration date. Second, as we prepare to conclude this school year, we want to remind our 8th grade families of the "8th Grade Celebration Swag," opportunity. All 8th grade families have until tonight to purchase a yard sign or t-shirt. Additionally, we will have a "Drive-by & Pictures" celebration on Monday, June 14. Please refer to "The Shield," for additional information about the "8th Grade Celebration Swag," and the "Drive-by" 8th grade celebration on Monday, June 14.

Finally, we want to inform our families of the summer middle and high School Boost program offered by VBCPS. The program is free of charge, and designed to help students build confidence in mathematics or science content and skills as they preview courses they plan to take for the 2021-2022 school year. More information regarding this outstanding opportunity is located in "The Shield."

We hope you enjoy this week's edition. Please continue to monitor all VBCPS family messages for updates, and stay safe and healthy. Take care, and go, Lancers!

SPRING SOL TESTING INFORMATION & Tutoring Information

(Option 1 and Option 2 Students)

May 21, 2021

The shield volume 1, issue 34

Lancer Families,

We are four weeks away from concluding one of the most challenging schools years we have ever had to date. Our learning community has done a tremendous job working together to ensure ALL our students and families have the support and guidance needed for success. Thank you for your continuous support as we approach the conclusion of this academic year! As previously mentioned, this is a critical time to monitor all your student's current grades and missing assignments. Please take time to communicate with your student's teachers and if you need assistance, please contact your student's guidance counselor to schedule a parent-teacher conference.

As we prepare for the end of the year, there are a few important items we need to bring to our families' attention. First, we begin SOL test administration on Monday, May 24. Please refer to the "Spring SOL Testing Information & Tutoring Information," section below for more information. Second, although we are unable to have the Spirit of Norfolk Cruise to celebrate our 8th-grade students, our PTSA is selling yard signs and t-shirts to commemorate this year. If you are interested in purchasing a yard-sign or t-shirt for your 8th grade student, please refer to the "8th Grade Celebration Swag," section below for more information. We are also planning a drive-by celebration for our 8th graders on Monday, June 14. Additional information is also included in today's edition of "The Shield."

Finally, last night, VBCPS Family updates shared important information regarding the pre-enrollment survey and participation in the SEL Survey. Families are reminded that the pre-enrollment survey is now closed and students whose families did not respond will receive face-to-face instruction for school year 2021-22. Families may call their student's counselor on or before Friday, June 4, if you need to make a change or have a question about instructions for the next school year. VBCPS also provided information regarding an important survey focused on Social Emotional Learning (SEL). Staff, students, and parents are requested to complete the survey, which is available through Friday, May 28. You may gain access to the SEL survey and the VBCPS family message by clicking on "VBCPS email update May 20," section below.

We hope you enjoy this week's edition. Please continue to monitor all VBCPS family messages for updates, and stay safe and healthy. Take care, and go, Lancers!

SPRING SOL TESTING INFORMATION & Tutoring Information

(Option 1 and Option 2 Students)

May 14, 2021

The shield volume 1, issue 33

Lancer Families,

It is hard to believe that we have five weeks remaining for the 2020-2021 school year. Although we are almost finished with this year, there is still much work to do over the next few weeks. As mentioned last week, the current marking period ended this week, and the final marking period of this school year began on Thursday, May 13. Report cards are now available in ParentVue. This is a critical time to review grades with your student, so we ask our parents to continuously monitor your student's current grades and all missing assignments as we get closer to the end of this school year. If you would like to schedule a parent-teacher conference, please contact your student's school counselor, and he or she can schedule an appointment.

Just a few reminders for this week. The VBCPS Pre-enrollment survey closes on May 16. If you have not completed the survey, please follow the instructions in "The Shield," and complete the survey, which provides families an opportunity to choose in-person or virtual instruction for the 2021-22 school year. Families who do not respond to the survey will receive face-to-face instruction for the 2021-22 school year. Also, it is important for all students and families to be aware that SOL test administration begins on Monday, May 24. Please refer to the "Spring SOL Test Information and Tutoring" section in "The Shield" for more information.

Finally, to celebrate our 8th-grade students, the PTSA has provided opportunities for families to purchase yard signs and t-shirts to commemorate this school year. If you are interested in purchasing a yard sign, t-shirt, or both for your 8th-grade student, please follow the links located in the "8th Grade Graduation Swag," section of today's parent newsletter. You may complete an online order form, or fill out an order form and drop it off in the main office. All orders are due by May 24.

We hope you enjoy this week's edition. Please continue to monitor all VBCPS family messages for updates, and stay safe and healthy. Take care, and Go, Lancers!

SPRING SOL TESTING INFORMATION & Tutoring Information

(Option 1 and Option 2 Students)

May 7, 2021

The shield Volume 1, issue 32

Lancer Families,

We hope everyone had a fantastic week. This week, was simply awesome as we celebrated Teacher Appreciation Week. We want to thank our PTSA, NJHS, SCA, our Student Activities Coordinator, Mrs. Clukey, and everyone involved with this week's celebration. We have included some pictures to view, to share with you how much our teachers appreciate everyone working together to celebrate our staff. Henry Brooks Adams stated, "Teachers affect eternity; no one can tell where their influence stops." We truly believe that our teachers have a profound impact on our students and learning community everyday, and beyond. That specific quote reflects the impact our teachers have on the Lancer community and we are so proud of them. We are fortunate to have a staff that serves our learning community with love, dedication, and commitment to the success of ALL our students. During this pandemic, it was clear they did an outstanding job working with our students and families while navigating unchartered waters. We love our teachers and we thank all those involved for making this week truly special.

We also want to wish all our Lancer moms a "Happy Mother's Day!" We hope all our Lancer moms have a restful and relaxing weekend. We appreciate you!

There is some very important information we need to point out in this weeks edition of "The Shield." First, the current marking period ends and the final marking period of this school year begins on Thursday, May 13. Report cards will be released on Tuesday, May 18, and you may access your student's report cards in ParentVue. This is a critical time to review grades with your student, so we ask our parents to continuously monitor your student's current grades and all missing assignments as we get closer to the end of this school year. Second, all families received a VBCPS Pre-enrollment survey regarding options for next school year. Families are asked to indicate if you intend to choose in person or virtual instruction for your student for the 2021-22 school year. The survey is open until May 16 and families who do not respond to the survey will receive face-to-face instruction for the 2021-22 school year. Instructions on how to complete the survey are listed in "The Shield." Finally, SOL test administration begins the week of May 24. We have included important information related to SOL testing so please take time to review this information in "The Shield."

We hope you enjoy this week's edition. Please continue to monitor all VBCPS family messages for updates, and

stay safe and healthy. Take care, and Go, Lancers!

SPRING SOL TESTING INFORMATION & Tutoring Information

(Option 1 and Option 2 Students)

April 30, 2021

The shield Volume 1, issue 31

Lancer Families,

We want to thank everyone for a successful week as all our Option One students returned to four consecutive days of face-to-face instruction. This was the first time since Friday, March 13, 2020, that we had students from every grade level in our building at once. Our staff loved watching all Option One students enter the building ready for instruction and engagement. This is another example of how working together impacts our learning environment. As we have emphasized before, we love our learning community, and this week is another example of how we truly are OneTeamOneHeartbeat. Thank you for all your support this week.

This year has been extremely challenging for everyone due to navigating uncharted waters during the pandemic. As we approach Teacher Appreciation Week (May 3-7) next week, we ask our learning community to join us in celebrating our teachers for the job they do each and everyday! Please e-mail and thank your students' teachers and encourage your student to thank them as well. As both a parent and an administrator, I assure you our teachers have and continue to do remarkable work to ensure ALL our students are successful and have the necessary resources. We have received so many complimentary messages from families about our teachers' dedication and commitment to their students, and we ask that you continue to recognize our teachers during Teacher Appreciation Week for the job they do for our students. We truly love our teachers and appreciate them for what they do, so lets show our teachers this week how much we appreciate them.

Finally, we ask our parents to continuously monitor your students current grades and missing assignments. As of today, there are seven weeks remaining in the 2020-2021 school year. The 7th marking period will close on Wednesday, May 12, so please utilize ParentVue to access your students grades. As previously mentioned, if you would like to schedule a parent-teacher conference, please contact your student's school counselor, and he or she can schedule an appointment.

We hope you enjoy this week's edition of, "The Shield." Please continue to monitor all VBCPS family messages for updates, and

stay safe and healthy. Take care, and Go, Lancers!

April 23, 2021

The Shield volume 1, Issue 30

Lancer Families,

We hope everyone had a fantastic week. Our staff is so excited to welcome back all our Option One students, for four days of instruction, beginning Tuesday, April 27. Last week, we shared with you an adjusted schedule that was implemented this week in preparation for the next phase of face-to-face learning. We appreciate the flexibility of our students, staff, and families, and we look forward to seeing all of our Option One students at LMS, Tuesday-Friday.

As we shift to four concurrent days of face-to-face instruction for all our Option One students, we ask all our families to be aware of our new schedule because this will impact our Option Two students due to our lunch schedule changes. The new schedule is still accessible in "The Shield," so please make sure you are well aware of the changes.

With the return of additional students, four days a week, we anticipate slight traffic congestion in the mornings and afternoons due to the increased number of parents who pick-up and drop off their students. We will continue to implement the same pick-up and drop off procedures, however, we ask that our families understand and anticipate additional traffic in the parking lot beginning Tuesday, April 27, especially at dismissal. To assist our families and provide more supervision for safety reasons during dismissal, we will have additional staff in the parking lot to assist students with crossing parking lanes. In addition, we are asking that specific grade level parents consider utilizing our designated grade level lanes to increase traffic flow in and out of our parking lot. For visual purposes, we have attached a map in "The Shield," which provides an aerial view with directional arrows of our pick-up lanes.

As a reminder from last week, Marking Period 6 ended on April 14th, and report cards were made available on April 21 through Parent Vue. Marking Period 7 began on April 15th and it is critical that our families continue to monitor grades, homework assignments, and missing work. As previously mentioned, if you would like to schedule a parent-teacher conference, please contact your student's school counselor, and he or she can schedule an appointment.

We hope you enjoy this week's edition of, "The Shield." Please continue to monitor all VBCPS family messages for updates, and

stay safe and healthy. Take care, and Go, Lancers!

April 16, 2021

The SHield Volume 1, Issue 29

Lancer Families,

We hope everyone had a restful and relaxing Spring Break. It was awesome seeing our students return this week. Our staff is ready to continue this journey and we look forward to a fantastic Spring. As you may be aware, VBCPS announced Thursday evening a plan to return all Option 1 students in grades 7-12 to face-to-face instruction, four days a week, as of Tuesday, April 27. We are so excited to have all Option 1 grade levels in the building together, Tuesday-Friday. For more information regarding this recent VBCPS announcement, please refer to the VBCPS family update from Thursday, April 15, 2021.

With the recent announcement of all Option One students returning to the building on April 27, we will need to make some slight adjustments to our current schedule to accommodate the addition of another grade level, especially for our lunch schedule. To assist our preparations for April 27, we will begin our new schedule on Tuesday, April 20th. Doing so will allow us four days to practice our new schedule and establish our new routines prior to the return of all Option One students. The biggest change is when our lunch shifts will begin and end, which will impact our Option 2 students, so we are asking all our families to review the new schedule that is included in this week's edition.

As a reminder, Marking Period 6 ended on April 14th, and report cards will be available on April 21 through Parent Vue. Marking Period 7 just started so it is critical our families continue to monitor grades, homework assignments, and missing work. As previously mentioned, if you would like to schedule a parent-teacher conference, please contact your student's school counselor and he or she can schedule an appointment.

We hope you enjoy this week's edition of, "The Shield." Please continue to monitor all VBCPS family messages for updates, and

stay safe and healthy. Take care, and Go, Lancers!

April 2, 2021

The SHield Volume 1, Issue 28

Lancer Families,

On behalf of all our Lancer staff, we want to wish all our families a restful, relaxing, and safe Spring Break with family and friends. We cannot emphasize how proud we are to serve the Landstown learning community. We thank you for your continuous support and for working collaboratively with us, especially during these challenging times. Our staff, students, and families have shown resiliency and support for each other and we are so grateful for all the love and dedication to the success of ALL our students and families. As a reminder, schools will be closed during Spring Break (April 5-9) and will resume normal operating hours beginning Monday, April 12. Wednesday, April 14 is an adjusted dismissal with school concluding at 2:00 PM. The next edition of "The Shield," will be released on Friday, April 16, 2021. We hope you enjoy this week's edition and stay safe and healthy. Thank you again for your continuous support, take care, and Go, Lancers!