Good Afternoon, Lo-Ma Students and Families!

Thanks so much to those who attended conferences this week! If you didn't get a chance to, I encourage you to reach out to your student's teachers to touch base. My wife and I attended conferences for our own kids for the first time and it was so helpful to know what strengths we can build on and gaps we can help fill. I've heard from multiple parents that these conversations helped them gain clarity around curriculum, teacher expectations, and how we can work together to support their students. 

As our fall sports season wraps up this weekend with state cross country, I want to say thank you to all the coaches, sponsors, and spectators that made those seasons memorable for our students. There are also many people to thank for the strong showings by our fine arts department and student organizations at events like state marching band, all state auditions, and quiz bowl competitions. Next week our drama students will have their matinee for the play, Clue. This was a favorite board game of mine growing up, so I'm excited to see the story unfold on stage! Public performances will be Friday night and Sunday afternoon. 

Just a reminder that there is no school tomorrow. I encouraged our students to be good role models tonight if they plan to be around town for Halloween activities. Our elementary students came through the secondary building today in a parade of costumes and I love seeing our older students make their younger peers smile just by cheering them on or giving them a high five. I hope this continues once they leave our building!

As we reflect on the first quarter of the school year, I gave students the option to record an area in which they've grown at least one percent since the start of the year. There were some simple answers like positivity, being calm, and socializing. Others went a bit deeper and mentioned things like, "being a leader," "accepting that I don't need to have everything together," and "making strong connections with people." We continue to move forward making incremental progress with the confidence that it will lead us to accomplish great things. 

Go Panthers!

Blake Dickinson

7-12 Principal