A STUDENT PERSPECTIVE ON MIDDLE SCHOOL AT LCCS by Sofia Lesnewski

A STUDENT PERSPECTIVE ON MIDDLE SCHOOL AT LCCS

When I began middle school at LCCS in 2010 I was petrified. I worried: will I get lost in the chaos of changing classes?... Will I forget my locker combination? ...Will middle school be completely different from elementary school? As it turned out, within my first week of fifth grade, all three scenarios became realities. But even with these seemingly negative events, I was reeled in. With the magnificent mayhem of middle school, I had fallen in love with LCCS all over again.

What Makes our Middle School Special

Two things stood out as special right away:

Our teachers are extremely caring and qualified teachers. They design hands-on lessons and activities that required critical thinking and deep reasoning on the part of each student. We are not merely expected to learn the information, but to interpret it, and draw our own conclusions. Lessons at LCCS are taught in a relatable, interesting manner that sparks enthusiasm and dedication in both students and teachers. LCCS teachers are so committed to their responsibilities that they will sacrifice their own lunches and afternoons as long as it will benefit a student in need. 

LCCS’s CIRCLE values inspire tolerance and kindness, creating a supportive social environment that feels unique to our middle school. While there can be cliques or activities that can make middle school challenging, they are handled quickly according to policies that make it possible for students of all kinds to feel safe and comfortable inside the school building.

Graduating and Heading to High School

When I began middle school I had clear goals concerning my academic performance and future. Through the help of my family, my classmates, and my teachers these goals were encouraged, directed, and realized. My time at LCCS has allowed me to learn more than I could have ever imagined as a student and a person. From Language Arts to science labs, flipped instruction in math, and Wingspan, middle school has exposed me to the concept of creative learning, independently and through collaboration with teachers and peers. My time here may be coming to an end, but I will always be grateful that I attended middle school at LCCS!

Sofia Lesnewski is an eighth grader at Learning Community Charter School and will attend McNair Academic High School in September.

Highlights from the Week of April 21st at LCCS

Book Fair Success

The spring book fair was an incredible success.  Thanks to all the parents who volunteered to take shifts running the fair and to all the students and families that bought books.  It is wonderful to see the generosity of our school community in action to support reading.

First Grade Post Office

The first grade post office opened on Thursday.  Over the next few weeks our fist graders operate a post office for the school.  Everyone enjoyed writing letters and having mail delivered promptly and efficiently to classrooms or faculty mailboxes.  The post office is final component of the first grade's study of community and community institutions.  Please contact one of our first grade teachers Ms. Dynega at nicole-dynega@lccsnj.org, Ms. Megaro at stephanie-megaro@lccsnj,org, or Ms. Westley at sarah-westley@lccsnj.org  or stop by when the post office is open this week on Tuesday from 1:00-2:15 or on Friday from 9:00-10:15 in the library if you are interested in sending a letter to your child via the first grade post office.

NJASK for 6-8th Grades Monday 4-28-Thursday 5-1

Over the next four days our 6-8th graders will take the New Jersey Assessment of Skills and Knowledge the state's standardized test.  Our students are incredibly prepared for the test due to the tireless work of our faculty.  If you are a parent of a middle school student please make sure (no matter how difficult it is) that you child has a good night's sleep from Sunday through Thursday morning and eats breakfast.  Homework will not be assigned for our middle school students from Monday through Thursday due to testing.

What is going on in our Classrooms

The 2nd grade students have identified research topics for their non-fiction "All About Books."
Some exciting topics are: The Titanic, Civil War, Helen Keller, Comets, Martin Luther King Jr., and Pompeii.

In Spanish the 4th graders are working on scripts focusing on using vocabulary about the human body.  In a few weeks they will perform their plays for their classmates.

The 8th grade students worked with our fourth graders on making pulleys as part of the 4th grade simple machine study and the 8th grade's study of physical science.

Language Arts in the Middle School

Spring blooms with Literacy in the LCCS Middle School

by Lori Kraemer- Eighth grade Language Arts Teacher

Writing

Each day, I come to Jersey City excited to spend so much time engaged in the writing process with my eighth grade students.  They work hard to craft essays, narratives, poems, plays and reports,  writing them on Chrome books, and get immediate and constructive feedback on their work from teachers and peers.  Writing is a way of life here; it’s authentic, and not simply something we do to demonstrate test prep which is the only way that it's used in my own daughter's suburban eigth grade. 

Reading

It’s the same with reading. Here at LCCS, our classrooms are filled with words and pages of so many incredible books it's hard to keep up. Our students literally love reading, and its exciting to watch them devour so many worthwhile books read each week that it’s hard to keep up! Our students love to read  fiction and non-fiction alike, and spend hours debating and deconstructing books on every topic you can imagine.   Here students have learned to love to read. I'm constantly taking book suggestions from your students, and taking them home to share with my daughter because that kind of reading is simply not encouraged or supported  in her school. 

Engaging in Meaningful Ways

Reading and writing all day brings growth beyond the page. Here, students are encouraged to be themselves, to express their opinions freely, and to challenge one another to think openly about the many diverse issues facing us all on a daily basis. At my daughter’s school, the greatest debates involve footwear and the hallways are nearly silent. My daughter will survive despite her very common middle school experience, but I hate that it has to be that way. Our  middle school feels different, looks different, and sounds different than your average 6-8th grade environment; it’s a refreshing vibe, full of energy and joy where teachers and students demonstrate a true camaraderie. And that’s what keeps me coming back each day.

Lori Kraemer is thrilled to join us as a guest blogger. She's been a teacher at LCCS for 4 years and is also  the proud mom of three. She loves that she gets to experience eighth grade as a teacher and as the parent of a student in another school, and just wishes that her own child had the ongoing creative curriculum she's proud to teach here at LCCS every day. 

If you’d like to know more about our Middle School please join us on  Tuesday, April 29^th  at 6:30 pm in the auditorium for our Middle School orientation session.  Please also feel free to email Ms. Kraemer at lori-kraemer@lccsnj.org if you have additional questions about our Middle School English program.

Middle School at Learning Community by Mr. Laster

In anticipation of our upcoming Middle School orientation on April 29th this week and next we are featuring guest bloggers from our Middle School community.  We begin the series by hearing from James Laster, our Assistant Head of School.

Middle school can be an intimidating place.  It is a time of immense growth for your child academically, physically, emotionally and socially.   This is not only a huge transition for your children, but for you as well as parents.   Next week we will be holding an information session for 5^th grade parents where they can learn more about what lies ahead in the middle school.  We will be highlighting some of the things that make 6^th-8^th grade at LCCS unique and enriching. 

One of the things that I always love to accentuate is how we educate “the whole child”.  This is certainly true at all grade levels, but I believe the middle school is where students are able to truly discover their individuality and explore in depth things they are passionate about.  This is an experience they won’t get anywhere else. 

Our amazingly talented staff helps develop children into leaders through student council and our peer mediation program, environmentalists through Green Group, award winning presenters through National History Day, athletes through our growing sports program, renowned artists through Wingspan Arts and agents of change through 8^th grade community service and numerous outreach activities.

These things alongside our demanding and thorough academic program allow our students to not only be accepted in high numbers into the most competitive high schools in Jersey City and Hudson County, but also allows them to flourish and hit the ground running once they arrive.  Our graduates consistently matriculate to taking advanced placement courses and are accepted to top universities throughout the country.

I have to admit, after writing the two previous paragraphs I am once again reminded of how truly phenomenal LCCS is because of all we have to offer your children.  I can say with confidence that the rest of the staff and I are inspired to continue to develop new and exciting opportunities for your child to grow.

If you’d like to know more about our Middle School please join us on  Tuesday, April 29^th  at 6:30 pm in the auditorium for our Middle School orientation session.  Please also feel free to email me at james-laster@lccsnj.org if you have additional questions about our Middle School program.

Arriving at School in the Post-Pulaski Skyway Closure Era

In regard to students being late to school we have ended the practice of students receiving detentions for arriving to school late over several days.  We have seen a tremendous decrease in the amount of students being late for school and believe that this disciplinary approach to students being late for school is no longer necessary.

When we return to school on April 21st we all may face a new challenge of increased traffic due to the closure of the Pulaski Skyway.  We may not know the full effects of the closure until Tuesday, April 22nd when Jersey City Public Schools return from their spring break.  At LCCS we want to be as flexible as possible in regard to how new traffic patterns may impact all of our families' morning routines and  routes to school.  We encourage everyone to start their day a bit earlier in order to deal with increased traffic on the roads in the early days of the closure.  We hope that our students will be at school by 8:20 but we also understand that the changes in traffic patterns on the Pulaski will impact most Learning Community families.   At the same time we realize that accidents elsewhere may cause a child to be ten or fifteen minutes late to school due to increased street traffic throughout Jersey City.We are instituting a grace period where we will not mark students late until 9:00 am through Friday, May 3rd to address these traffic changes.  

If you drop your child off at school in the morning on Kennedy please only stop briefly and do not park your car there for any extended period of time.  When picking up a child after school from 5:30 on please do not park on Kennedy as well.  By complying with these simple requests space is created for our school buses to safely and quickly pick up and drop off students.  This also may be a time to consider car pooling with other LCCS families.  If you are currently not part of a car pool but would be interested in joining one please contact Charlotte Kreutz in the main office.  We will not be able to actually set up any car pools but we can certainly suggest some families that live nearby that you may wish to contact in order to set one up or join an existing one.

As you notice issues with traffic flow throughout Jersey City please feel free to contact Jersey City's Resident Response Center at 201-547-4900.  The Response Center will take calls from 8:00 am to 8:00 pm.

Let's hope that through getting up a bit earlier and more commuters embracing mass transit options the closure will have a minimal effect on how our school day begins.

Highlights from the Week of April 7th at LCCS

Even though spring break was almost upon us this made last week incredibly exciting with events highlighting our tremendously talented students.

The week began with the annual Middle School Talent Show.  The evening included songs, dances, and films made by our students.  

If you missed the event this year consider joining us next year. It truly is one of the best tickets in town.  


Each kindergarten class presented a play based on their collaboration with Ms. Jaffrey.  Each play was remarkably different and highlighted the tremendous collaboration that occurs between Ms. Jaffrey, Ms. Vanderhorn, Ms. Turner, and Ms. Porter, and our kindergarten families.

Later in the week the first grade hosted a publishing party to present their books based on their animal research.  Ms. Jaffrey also led each first grade class in a special xylophone performance as well.

2nd grade has entered into the world of fractions.  Students can already see how fractions are used in everyday life, especially when you want to split a cookie equally amongst two friends or four friends! 

In Spanish our 5th graders are creating books about people of their choosing (friends, family members, or celebrities) and describing them using adjectives and character trait vocabulary words they've learned in class.  

We held our first Coffee and Conversation session on Friday for parents to discuss questions, concerns, or to simply learn more about what is going on at school.  Two parents joined us for our initial session and I'm looking forward to our next one on Friday, May 2nd at 8:30.  

The week concluded with our school recognition of April as poetry month.  Students in grades 5-8 attended a performance and workshops led by the international award winning slam poet, Gayle Danley.  We were all moved to both laughter and tears by Ms. Gayle's incredible performance.  Our K-4 students attended an incredible poetry and music performance called "Poetry and Precussion, Beats, Rhymes, and Life" by the rappers, drummers, and musicians, Josh and Jacob.  All of our 4th graders attended a workshop with Josh and Jacob after the performance on drumming, rapping, and poetry.  Both performances were funded through the Student Activity Fee.  

I hope that everyone has a relaxing spring break and I look forward to seeing everyone back at school on Monday, April 21st.  

Middle School Updates

MIDDLE SCHOOL EVALUATION

This year we’ve begun a full evaluation of the Middle School at LCCS to make sure that it is most effectively providing an education that serves the students’ needs and the school charter. The  faculty, the LCCS Board of Trustees, James Laster and I have carefully evaluated the LCCS program.  Together, we have identified our successes as well as areas where we could improve and enhance the overall program so that it works specifically for our community and our students.

ADJUSTMENTS TO BATHROOM RULE

Based on that evaluation, many decisions were made in the interest of improving the learning and social environment for all of our students. A recent rule regarding student bathroom use have caused some concern among our families. We appreciate all the parents who took the time to speak out and voice your concerns.  Please know are listening. We made two key adjustments, specifically based on your feedback:

Students will no longer be limited in terms of the number of times they may leave a class during a month for the bathroom.  We will return to a system of students signing a bathroom log sheet. Teachers will work with a student and his or her family if there is a concern about a student visiting a bathroom too often during a specific class.

CREATING A MIDDLE SCHOOL ADVISORY COMMITTEE

LCCS is a community of teachers, administrators, students and parents, and as we continue to evaluate our middle school, we’d like to include more families in that process. We’re expanding our Middle School Evaluation Committee and our goal is to have one parent from each of the nine middle school homerooms join us.  The committee will meet periodically to discuss the middle school's progress in terms of academics and overall school climate, as well as make suggestions for improvement.

The first meeting will be May, 8th at 6:00 pm in the school library.  If you have a student in 4th-7th grade and would like to participate, please email me by April 25th. We hope that involving more families in this evaluation will insure that our middle school meets the needs of all of our students and grows in line with the values that we all hold as important here at LCCS.

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A New Blog and New Lines of Communication

Last month the LCCS Parent Teacher Organization sponsored open forum discussion was a successful enlightening experience for me. It was wonderful to hear some of the issues you felt were important and I want to know more.  I encourage all parents to come to them in the future and we have begun to plan another similar event on May 7th at 6:00 pm in the auditorium. In addition, in order to continue an open dialogue, I would like to invite parents to join me for a monthly Coffee Conversation our first one will be on Friday, April 11th from 8:30-9:00 am in the LCCS library .  There is no set agenda for these conversations. This is the time to ask questions, express concerns, and provide input. 

There are many exciting things happening at LCCS, both inside and outside the classroom. I recently started a twitter feed to share these with the community on a regular basis.  Anyone can follow the twitter feed at Mrcolinhogan. Tweets will also be posted on our website.  In addition I will also be sending out a short weekly email blast with highlights from the week about our innovative academic program.   

I also plan to use this blog to engage in weekly conversations with our school community about what is going on both insider school and in the larger world of education.  Please feel free to raise questions or concerns to my blog postings and I will respond to questions either through the blog or a  via a personal email.  

I hope that through these forums, I can provide greater insight into what is happening at our school now, our plans for the future and to continually listen to and address community concerns and feedback 

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