Science, a wormy sight Mr. Stearns’ 7th and 8th grade science classes spent the first couple weeks of school learning about worms. That might sound weird but it teaches the students about many biology and ecology concepts like the life cycle and digestive process of worms. Not only did students learn important scientific processes, they also learned how to take care of the worms’ home. To clean the worms’ home the first thing students did was dump out all the dirt, worms, and food because they need to put fresh news paper and food in the bins for the red wigglers.Second, they sorted through the old dirt to separate the worms from dirt.Third, they got the new food from Mr. Stearns and put it in the new dirt and they put the worms in the dirt too. Participating in this process helps prepare students for state assessments because they get to do hands on stuff. At first the students thought it was really weird having worms in the class room but after a couple days they said it was cool. by news staff - Garrett Thomas

Why start a worm farm? I’ll tell you why. Vermiculture produces rich organic fertilizer for your garden and potted plants and also disposes of unwanted waste products from your kitchen, therefore reducing the amount of waste headed to our landfills. To start Vermiculture at home just get three bins like in the picture. The top bin will hold the worms, dirt, bedding material (shredded

newspaper), and food (kitchen waste such as non-acidic peelings, etc.) The second bin will hold the compost. The bottom bin will be the storage bin for the worm tea to feed your plants. You should plan to clean out your bins and start fresh at least once every month. Good luck and happy worm farming! by news staff - Garrett Thomas

Vermi-Culture at Home

Kolby Kieth and Jalen Krisinger dump out the old dirt and sort the dirt from the old food and newspaper.

Dakota Green finds, and picks out the red wigglers from the old dirt so they can be put in new dirt.

Mason Shartz, Sam Hutchins, and Kevin Quimby get the food from Mr. Stearns and put it in with the new dirt and Red Wigglers.

ORANGE CRUSHALWAYS FREE ISSUE NO. 1

LARNED MIDDLE SCHOOL NEWS/SEPTEMBER, 2011/VOLUME 01

Mr. Reinhardt Says . . . UPCOMING EVENTS

September 5 - no school

September 6 - football Home vs. Kingman 4:30pm - volleyball @ Kennedy 3:45 pm

September 8 - football Home vs. DCSH 6:00 pm - volleyball Home vs. DCSH 4:30 pm

September 12 - Pictures - Board of Education Meeting 6:30 pm

September 15 - football and volleyball Home vs. Ellinwood 4:30 pm

September 22 - football and volleyball @ Russell 4:30 pm

September 26 - Site Council 6:00 pm

September 29 - football @ Kennedy

4:30 pm

Larned Middle School - Mr. Reinhardt has many things to say about this school. He says, like all schools across state of Kansas, the biggest issue he has to deal with is the budget. “We will get through the budget issues. There are so many good things we can celebrate,” said Mr. Rienhardt. For instance, ISS during the school day has been eliminated and anyone needing to serve ISS will now do so after school hours, 3:30-6:30 PM on Thursday or Friday. This change was made to help keep students in class where they can learn. Mr.Reinhardt expects everyone to work hard and do their best. Larned Middle School has implemented two new ways of getting important information out to parents as soon as possible. The first is Facebook. LMS has created a Larned Middle School Facebook Page. This page will serve as a post for upcoming events, contests, and

general “goings on” in the building. At this point in time, the page is open for outside comments and questions. As long as these comments and questions stay professional and appropriate for a school setting, it will remain open. If you are a Facebooker, please “Like” our page and feel free to use it to communicate with the school about your joys and concerns. , The second new communication tool, School Reach, will serve as an awesome way to quickly and efficiently notify parents and students via telephone, email, or text message about such things as your student’s lunch balance, unexcused absences, low grades, school closings, and many other valuable pieces of information. The office will begin using this program soon to send out information. It is populated by the phone numbers and email addresses you provided at enrollment. If need be, you are able to change your contact information by logging in and editing the information you created at enrollment. by news staff Katie Dizmang, Alleena Bauer

2011Open House8 t h g r a d e p a r e n t s l i s t e n e d attentively in Mr. Johnson’s class to hear what kids will be learning this year in math.

WHAT THE COACH’S SEE

Football - Coach Allan B. Stokes is looking forward to a good football season with a fairly strong team. “We have lots of big athletic kids with a lot of experience on the field,” said coach Stokes. “They are very disciplined and excited to play.”

Coach Stokes went on to describe his defense as looking good and believes the offense will be able to get the job done as well. He thinks it is going to be a very good season.

He doesn’t like trying to predict scores but would rather take it one game at a time. Coach is very excited to work with this great group of guys and is centering this football season on a famous Vince Lombardi quote,

“We will relentlessly chase perfection knowing we can never catch it , but in the

processes . . . we may catch excellence.”

When asked if there was anything else he would like to add Coach Stokes said, “These boys have put a lot of work in to football and are getting better every day.”

Volleyball - Coach Barb King said the 2011 Larned Middle School Volleyball team is looking great. She said they do a lot of stretches and drills to help build skills. When asked for her win/loss prediction for this season she replied that she believes it will be a close game every time or that the Indians are going to win.

When asked what she thinks is the most important thing the girls can take away from playing volleyball, Coach King quickly replied that she thinks

the most important thing is team work.

Show our student athletes you appreciate their hard work and dedication by attending sporting events and yelling for a victory.

by news staff - Dakota Stevens

NEW FACE IN OUR SPACEMrs.Conrad is one of our new teachers. She has a wonderful husband Toby. They decided to move from Mound City, Kansas To Larned, Kansas because her husband got a job in Macksville, Kansas and she got a job at the Larned Middle School. She teaches 8th Grade English, Creative Writing , and a class at Larned High School. Mrs.Conrad has three kids: Colby - 23, Wil - 22, and MacKenzy - 19, and two pets: a siamese cat named Jaspur and a silky terrier named Kali. by news staff - Kamber Corpening

FOOTBALL & VOLLEYBALL

The Lady Indians have been lucky to have Coach King as their coach for several years now. Thanks Coach King for your dedication!

This is Coach Stokes first year as Head coach of the Larned Middle School Indians. He comes to us from Lyons where he was head coach JV and varsity defensive coordinator.

Go Larned Middle School

Indians!

From the Nurse’s Office

There are strict guidelines for bringing and administering medications at school. These guidelines are set by the school board in effort to ensure the safety of all students. Please remember the school does not have medications we can give your child so you need to send any medication your child should receive.

If a medication can be given at home, it should be to keep from disrupting your child’s school day. If your child has to have the medication given during the school day please provide the school nurse with a note from your Health Care Provider explaining when the medication should be given.

Over the Counter Medication:

1. Any over the counter medication brought to school has to be kept in a secured area of the office or school nurse room. this includes: acetaminophen, ibuprofen, cough drops, sore throat lozenges, medicated creams, drops for the eyes, ears, and nose and anything else considered a medication. Students are not allowed to have

these in their pockets, backpacks or in their lockers.

2. The over the counter medication has to come to school in the original container you purchased it in. Medications in baggies, unlabeled containers or other containers cannot be given. Please label your medication with your child’s name.

3. If an over the counter medication is to be given during the school day, the Permission for Non-Prescription Medication form needs to be filled out, signed by the parent/guardian, and returned to the school. This form explains the following information: The exact name of the medication being sent, the dates and dosage requirements and the reason for medication.

Prescription Medication:

1. Any prescription mediation brought to school needs to be kept in a secured area of the office or school nurse room. Exceptions include emergency medications for asthma, severe allergic reactions, and diabetes.

2. Sharing of prescription medications among children in the same family is not allowed. Each child needs their

own prescription bottle with their name on that bottle.

3. If the medication is a prescription filled by a pharmacy, it must be properly labeled with the child’s name, dose of medication, how to give medication and the time if required. Expired medication cannot be given at school.

4. If a prescription medication is to be given during the school day, the Permission for Prescription Medication form needs to be filled out and signed by the Healthcare Provider and the parent/guardian.

The medication administration guidelines were created with the safety of your children in mind. If the guidelines are not followed the school cannot administer the medication sent. If any time the medication changes name, dose, time to be given or the reason to be given, a new form needs to be filled out and sent to the school before the medication can be given. You may obtain the medication administration forms from the office.

If at any time you have any questions about the Medication Administration Guidelines please call the school.

Linda Gobin MSN, RN, School Nurse

HOMECOMING 2011 -- SEPTEMBER 6-9The parade, crowning the royal couple, the pep rally, football game, and finally the homecoming dance, all add to a spirit-filled week of homecoming excitement and grandeur each and every year in Larned Schools.

But what is the true purpose of homecoming? The answer is, alumni. This is not to say homecoming is only for alumni. On the contrary, homecoming is a time for EVERYONE involved with the school and community to have fun and reflect on the past and present, so the future may become clearer for us all.

Therefore, homecoming is be a grand community event with a strong emphasis on our alumni. These people are a direct link to our past. They provide us an accurate account of the past accomplishments of our school and community.

As students we should welcome our alumni, defining this event by the very people who helped build the character of our school during the good times and the bad. Because without the actions of the people in our past, there would be no direction for our present and future.

DAILY THEMESTuesday - Black Out Day

Wednesday - Gender Bender

Thursday - Favorite Team Day

Friday - Orange and Black Day

The class with the most people dressed up throughout the week will be awarded a PRIZE!

Larned Middle School PTO NewsThe Parent Teacher Organization (PTO) met on Monday, August 29 for the first monthly meeting of the 2011-12 school year. The purpose of this meeting was to discuss PTO goals for this school year. PTO President, Deann Baker reported the primary goal of PTO is to provide supplemental funds to classroom teachers to purchase resources.

Treasurer, Val Marshall reported that close to $4,000 was raised last year, which allowed the PTO to sponsor many funding needs in the building. Some of the PTO funded activities included: snacks for students during state assessment week, installation of a few projectors in classrooms, teacher appreciation meal during parent/teacher conferences, teacher appreciation gifts, supplemental reading material for a classroom, and various classroom supplies.

PTO would like very much to increase the total dollars earned over last year

in effort to help teachers even more than before. To do this they plan to streamline previously done fundraisers and events and possibly host a few new ones.

LMS PTO will work in partnership with the grade level classrooms again this year to collect boxtops for education. The first of two contests among the classes is set to begin September 6 and run through October 31. The class with the most box tops earns a free pizza party. The second box tops for education contest will run from November 1 through January 31, with the winning class earning a pizza party.

The PTO will also once again host cookie dough sales. This fundraiser is set to begin November 1 and end November 20. All order forms will be turned in by the end of November to ensure dough delivery by Christmas. This year students will have opportunity to earn cool prizes based on how much cookie dough they sell. Some of the prizes available include: a scooter, video games and iPod downloads.

The Parent Teacher Organization will meet one time each month at 3:45 PM, date to be announced.

THANK YOU LMS PTO FOR WORKING SO HARD TO MAKE OUR SCHOOL

GREAT!

MYLIFE TOUR ASSEMBLY Wednesday, August 31, Larned Middle and High School students were treated to an awesome assembly by The MyLife Tour Challenge Group. The group came to Larned Middle School from Andover, Kansas and provided a high-energy performance that

BOX TOPS FOR EDUCATION

Class Contest #1 September 6 - October 31

Class Contest #2 November 1 - January 31

FYI (for your information) - 7th Grade Language Arts teacher, Mrs. Smith is sure her class will be eating pizza on November 1 and February 1. Come on EVERYBODY, give her class a run for the money. Bring it on!

focused on communicating personal responsibility to the students. Through music, comedy, multimedia, and live presenters students were challenged with the idea to take responsibility for their life, their school and their world.

To learn more about the MyLife Tour Group go to their website,

www.themylifetour.com

or

find them on Facebook.

Look for Box Tops from these

companies in your cabinets at home and at

the grocery store. For a complete list go to

www.boxtops4education.com