STAAR Testing at Lorena Middle School

In order to fulfill the requirements of House Bill 3 passed by the 81st Texas Legislature and incporated into the Texas Education Code (TEC) Chapter 39, the Texas Education Agency developed the STAAR (STate of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness), which will provide the foundation for the state of Texas public school accountability system.  STAAR is designed to more thoroughly assess the content of a course, including both concepts taught in previous grade levels and readiness for the next instructional level.  Questions will require higher order thinking skills and more complex through processes. A significant change from TAKS, which was untimed, is that the STAAR is limited to 4 hours.  Extended time accommodations for students with unique learning needs will continue to be offered. 

The STAAR program at grades 5 - 8 assesses the same subjects and grades previously assessed on TAKS.  

More details about STAAR can be found on this page (TEA - STAAR Resources).

	Math	Reading	Writing	Science	Social Studies
Grade 5	April 1	April 2		April 24
Grade 6	April 22	April 23
Grade 7	April 22	April 23	April 1 & 2*
Grade 8	April 1	April 2		April 24	April 22
Grades 5 & 8 Retest**	May 13	May 14
Grades 5 & 8 Retest**	June 24	June 25

*The 7th grade writing assessment is a 2-day exam.

**The Student Success Initiative requires that students in grades 5 and 8 pass both the reading and math exams to be promoted to the next grade. 5th and 8th grade students not successful on the April administrations of math and reading will retest in May and /or June if needed.  

Eighth grade students enrolled in Algebra 1 will take the End of Course (EOC) exam in May.  Students will only be assessed in the subject for which they are enrolled. 

Please note that on the days students are testing, we request that parents and guests not join students during lunches.  We thank you in advance for your cooperation and support. 

One Act Play Wins 1st Place - AGAIN!

The Terezin Promise

On Saturday, March 1st, Lorena Middle School's One Act Play competed in District 17-AAA UIL One Act Play Competition in China Spring.  Lorena beat LaVega, Connally, West, Robinson and China Spring ISDs to take home 1st Place!!  This is the second year in a row that Lorena Middle School took the honors of 1st place show.  In addition to 1st place show, Bradyn Braziel received Best Actress and Ryan Kirby received Best Actor.  Jacob Goldstein won Outstanding Crew Member.  These students worked hard and it paid off!  Congratulations to Mrs. Peevey and the cast and crew of The Terezin Promise.  Thank you to everyone who helped support them along the way!  (A special thanks to Center Street Antiques, Jack Payne, Mr. Krobot, Mrs. Cookus, Mrs. Newman and The Goldstein Family)

The cast and crew are pictured to the left, showing off their medals and trophy.

The cast included:  Bradyn Braziel, Alesis Juntunen, Hayley Anderson, Lexi Kincaid, Mason Lewis, Bradley King, Cade Kilpatrick, Ryan Kirby, Hunter Isham, Trey Busby, Kenlly Fieseler, Caleb Nyander and Brie Lomenzo.

The crew included:  Maddie Pitts, Jacob Goldstein, Isaac Romer, Taylor Gilliam, Emily Mosley, Sara Zawadzki and Megan Marshall.

March Teacher of the Month

Congratulations to Mrs. Laurie Bagby!  

Mrs. Bagby has been nominated and selected as the Lorena Middle School Teacher of the Month for March.  Mrs. Bagby serves as the Librarian for students in grades 5 - 8 at Lorena Middle School. She is in her 9th year in the Lorena ISD.

Below is a portion from the nomination letter Mrs. Bagby received:
Mrs. Bagby does a great job of teaching, guiding and instructing our students.  She listens to students and helps them find material that fits their interests. 

Mrs. Bagby is kind, understanding and helpful. She knew just the book series to recommend for our student.  Mrs. Bagby went the extra mile to engage our student and got to know her.  Our daughter beamed with pride when she told Mrs. Bagby about reading over the weekend and making a 100 on her AR test!  Mrs. Bagby even called us to share this positive story. This is only one example of how Mrs. Bagby goes above and beyond for students and parents. We are so thankful for her thoughtfulness and support.

Congratulations Mrs. Bagby!

If you are interested in nominating a teacher for Teacher of the Month, please go to the following link LMS Teacher of the Month Nomination Form or contact the front office at 254-857-4621.

Junior High UIL Academic Meet!

On February 5th, Lorena Middle School hosted the District UIL Academic Contest for District 17-AAA.   Students from 6th, 7th and 8th grades from surrounding schools competed against each other in multiple academic contests. We are very proud of all the students who represented Lorena in such a positive way. One Act Play will compete on Saturday, March 1st in China Spring. Results are provided and students who placed in 1st, 2nd and 3rd are pictured.  Congratulations to all the students and their coaches.

Front row, left to right: Haley Flores, Kynlee Bartosh, and Adley Mattei
Back row, left to right: Haden Johnson, Brock Sykora, Zane Grimm & Caden Crenshaw

6th Grade: Music Memory: Carson Ford (5th), Spelling: Colleen Ryan (4th), Casey Towner (5th), Number Sense: Zane Grimm (2nd), Haley Flores (3rd), Garrett Blalock (6th), Mathematics: Zane Grimm (3rd), Haley Flores (5th), Garrett Blalock (6th), Calculator: Megan Jones (4th), Maps, Graphs and Charts: Brock Sykora (1st), Hannah Elkins (4th), Jacob Carson (6th), Editorial Writing:  Haden Johnson (3rd), Colleen Ryan (4th), Listening: Caden Crenshaw (2nd), Dictionary: Kynlee Bartosh (2nd), Poetry:  Adley Mattei (3rd), Impromptu Speaking: Hannah Ballard (5th), Adley Mattei (6th) and Art:  Hannah Elkins and Sarah Green (5th tie).

Left to right:  Garrett Swain, Calvin Small, Braedon Herbelin,
Emily Mosely, Alder Fulton & Kimberly Kolls in front.

 7th Grade: Impromptu Speaking:  Braedon Herbelin (1st), Raley DeLeon (4th), Spelling:  Mabry Strauch (4th), Number Sense: Alder Fulton (2nd), Braden Robinson (6th), Maps, Graphs and Charts: Garrett Swain (4th), Hunter Hudgens (6th), Listening: Kimberly Kolls (2nd), Dictionary: Emily Moseley (3rd), Emma Harris (4th), Science:  Braden Robinson (4th), Social Studies:  Garrett Swain (1st).

Left to right: Emily Jander, Kayla Garner, Austin Lanning and Trey Busby.
Isaac Romer and Jackson Goodall in front.

8th Grade:  Ready Writing:  Jackson Goodall (1st), Number Sense:  Emily Jander (2nd), Trey Busby (3rd), Mathematics:  Emily Jander (1st), Calculator:  Hunter Isham (5th), Maps, Graphs, and Charts:  Austin Lanning (2nd), Trevor Jackson (5th), Listening:  Jamie Soukup (6th), Science:  Kayla Garner (3rd), Social Studies:  Isaac Romer (1st), Joel Horton (4th), Art:  Ryan Kirby (5th), Emily Mathis (6th).

February Teacher of the Month

Congratulations to Coach Luke Blaylock!  Coach Blaylock  has been nominated and selected as the Lorena Middle School Teacher of the Month for February.  Coach Blaylock teaches 7th and 8th grade science as well as boys' athletics.  He is in his second year of teaching and this is his first year of teaching at Lorena Middle School.

Below is a portion from the nomination letter  Coach Blaylock received:

I could not be more pleased with the hire of Coach Blaylock.  He is very deserving of Teacher of the Month.  My student says great things about him.  My student states that Coach Blaylock is kind and seems to really love his job.  He says "Coach Blaylock knows what is important.  He teaches students lessons about life, not just sports. "  What more could a parent ask for than a public school teacher and coach displaying integrity and good values to students.  Most would say that Coach Blaylock is quiet, but I would say that -actions speak louder than words.-  A big Thank You to Coach Blaylock for exhibiting fine character to the students of Lorena Middle School. 

Congratulations Coach Blaylock!

If you are interested in nominating a teacher for Teacher of the Month, please go to the following link LMS Teacher of the Month Nomination Form or contact the front office at 254-857-4621.

LMS Construction Update

Have you wondered about the progress going on behind the fence when you are making your way through the morning car line?  Wonder no more.  Progress is being made for the Lorena Middle School Cafeteria.  Below is a brief slideshow of progress from multiple views.  On Saturday, February 1st, the concrete for the new portion of the LMS cafeteria was poured.  Please do not hesitate to contact Dr. Drews if you have any questions about the progress of construction at LMS.  As progress is made, more updates will be provided. Interior work for flooring and other projects will be starting soon. Thank you for making this project possible.  It's a great day to be a Leopard!

Think Through Math - Free Online Learning

The state of Texas has provided a free online math tool for school districts, Think Through Math (TTM). At Lorena Middle School, all students have a user name and log in to access this great online tool to help develop math skills.  Students take a pretest the first time they log in.  Results of this test set each student on an individual targeted pathway.

To access Think Through Math, go to lms.thinkthroughmath.com/

Results show that students who complete at least 30 Think Through Math lessons in their targed pathway make INCREDIBLE gains.  With TTM and steady, consistent effort, every student can improve their math trajectory.

An example of THINK 30 Success:

·                               Students attempting 30+ lessons achieved a 12 point year-over-year gain

·                               67% of these students scored at the Advanced level!

        

           Please contact the Lorena Middle School Campus with any questions.