Before we get into all of the fabulous events that have been happening, I do have a request - Please do not allow your student to bring any of the squishy balls or creatures to school. They are ripping them open in the classroom and the glue inside is sticking to desks, clothing, hair, etc. Please help prevent this mess but just keeping them at home. Thank you!

On to the fun stuff!

Congratulations to these students who competed in the SCPS District Science Fair last Saturday! Special congratulations to those who received awards at Wednesday's ceremony!

Congratulations to these students who competed in the Florida Jr. Thespian State Festival! Our Troupe competed in 12 performance and technical theatre events. They earned 5 Superiors and 7 Excellents. 2 of our students (Brynn and Ace) were just 1 point away from a perfect score!! Students and awards are listed below.

Jaxon R. - Superior in Costume Design

Jillian E. - Superior in Monologue

Timothy P. and Beckham D. - Excellent in Improv

Zoey H. - Excellent in Theatre Marketing

Colton F. - Excellent in Solo Musical

Ana D. and Payten R. - Excellent in Duet Acting

Alanys G. - Excellent in Make Up Design

Ace K. - Superior in Costume Design

Brynn F. - Superior in Costume Design

Mason A. and Luke C. - Excellent in Duet Musical

Quinn K. - Excellent in Make-up Design

Delila I. - Superior in Costume Design

Dr. Taylor, Mrs. Maiden, Mrs. Bond & Dr. Laudani celebrate CTE Month in their Think & Design swag!

Earlier this week was Crossing Guard Appreciation Day! We celebrated them all with a breakfast treat. Also, on Friday, Ms. Minnie, one of our crossing guards, was announced as the Crossing Guard of the Year for the state of Florida!

Our current 6th & 7th grade students have heard all about the Registration process for next year. It's time to help them pick their classes for the 2026-2027 school year! See below for more information.

Wednesday's Track Meet against Indian Trails was the last home meet of the season. Up next is the SCPS District Meet on Feb 21 at LMHS.

Congratulations to our Golden Panthers of the Month - Mrs. Lisa Potts and Mrs. Cara Maiden!

Pictures of the events above are attached on this post.

Have a great week!

Dr. Laudani

Principal

Help fund student and faculty needs on campus. Scroll to the bottom to see how to become a banner sponsor today!

2/13 - 9-9:30 am - PTSA Candy Sale

2/16 - No School - President's Day

2/17 - 1 pm - Code Red Drill 

2/18 - 3:05-4:30 pm - Girls Basketball Tryouts

2/19 - Spirit Day - Dress Like your Future Career

2/20 - 1st period - Student of the Month

2/21 - SCPS Track Meet @ Lake Mary HS

2/23 - 4:05-5:30 - 8th gr (& makeups) Boys Basketball Tryouts**

2/24 - 4:05-5:30 - Girls Basketball Callbacks

2/25 - 3:05-4:30 - 1st Boys Basketball Callbacks

2/26 - Jazz Band MPAs

2/27 & 2/28 - Band Solo & Ensemble

2/27 - 8th gr Gradventure Ticket purchase DEADLINE

2/28 - SCPS National History Day Competition @ LCMS

3/4 & 3/5 - ELA/SCI QBAs - block days (see below)

3/7 - SCPS Math Competition, Pantherettes MA Dance Competition

3/7 & 3/8 - Lake Mary/Heathrow Art Festival

3/9  - Chorus 3 MPAs

3/10 & 3/11 - MATH/SS QBAs - block days (see below)

3/11 - PTSA Spirit Night @ Menchie's 3-9 pm

3/12 - 4:45 pm SAC Meeting

3/13 - Teacher Workday

**Signed Permission Slips required to get in.

Repeated:

Calling All Tap Dancers! Our Newsies production is looking for a few great tap dancers to join our dance corps! Auditions are next Wednesday 2/18 from 3-4pm with Mrs. T and Mrs. Tuttle. Students must have a signed permission slip to attend. Visit https://bit.ly/LCMSnewsies for more information and the permission slip.

Believe it or not - it is time for our current 6th and 7th graders to select their classes for next year!

Both groups attended information sessions with their counselors about the classes they have to choose from.

Selections will be made in the appropriate grade level Google form by February 28.

Presentations and Google forms can be found here: https://sites.google.com/myscps.us/lcmsregistration/home

39th Annual Lake Mary- Heathrow Festival of the Arts

Address: 950 Market Promenade Avenue, Lake Mary, FL 32746

Date: March 7th and 8th 2026

Ms. Dean sends Congratulations to the 2D and 3D Art Students for being selected to show their Artwork at the 39th Annual Lake Mary- Heathrow Festival of the Arts!

Come support our panthers and see Student Artwork in the Seminole County Public School Student Artwork tent! All are welcome to attend! There will be food trucks, Artists Tents Music and more!

Print & sign this permission form:

This is their ticket to get in.

Print & sign this permission form:

This is their ticket to get in.

P.E.A.K. Award for Educators: 2026 marks the 6th year of awarding OWC's PEAK Award to honor a Professional Educator who is Accomplished & Kind. Do you know an educator who…

·        Is consistently professional and ethical?

·        Is proud to be an educator? Models teaching expertise and competency?

·        Stays current with teaching practices?

·        Demonstrates compassion and kindness for students, staff, and colleagues? 

The attached flyer describes the PEAK award in more detail. Please share the flyer with your staff, teachers, and parent groups.  Due March 27, 2026. PEAK winners are awarded a certificate, cash award, and several other gifts. 

If you have questions, please contact me at 319-210-2466 or melwinnike@gmail.com

Download printable flyer here: Band Camp Flyer

Get ready for an unforgettable night, SCPS Families! Join us at the Kia Center as the Orlando Magic take on the Phoenix Suns for a special SCPS Community Night packed with school spirit, exciting moments, and fun surprises. Click below for discounted tickets and a portion of every ticket sold goes back to the school you select. Share with your friends and join us for this fun family event!

https://www.gofevo.com/event/Seminolecounty543

Let's Get Circulating - Library Challenge

The race is on! Which school will lead the district in reading and rise to the top of the challenge? Let’s Get Circulating!

Dear LCMS Parents and Guardians,

We are pleased to inform you that the After School Tutorial will continue during Semester 2. Families are invited to register their students to participate in this academic support opportunity.

Please be advised that all students are required to re-register for Semester 2, including those who participated in the After School Tutorial during Semester 1. Re-registration is necessary to ensure accurate enrollment, attendance, and staffing. To re-register, please use this link: Semester 2 Tutorial Sign Up

After School Tutorial is designed to provide students with additional academic assistance, including support with classwork and homework across subject areas.

Thank you for your continued partnership and support. Should you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Sincerely,

Paige Brinker-Martin

SCPS/Lawton Chiles Middle School

Instructional Reading Coach

The Agriculture Council of America announced that March 24, 2026, will be National Agriculture Day with the theme of “Together We Grow.” Ag Day 2026 also celebrates 250 years of progress in agriculture. 

Cara Maiden, LCMS's Exploration of Agriscience Teacher,  will be hosting an event for her students to meet and interact with local professionals who work in  or support agriculture-related fields. The goal is for students to learn about real-world agricultural careers, ask questions, and see how agriculture connects to their community and future opportunities. 

Participation would involve setting up a small table or station and speaking with students during the event. 

Where: LCMS 

When: Tuesday - 3/24/26

Time: 10:00 am - 3:30 pm 

More details to follow.

Thank you for your willingness to participate. 

Please email Ms. Maiden with questions : maidencz@scps.k12.fl.us

Sign up here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeLZVTXVeIg8CswVEcK6lkiViSXPzPbMURDhBa3plBZuvk0fg/viewform

Help support the LCMS Sports and Wellness programs by participating in the Oviedo Run Club's Spring Rising 5K! Kids pay only their age up until March 16th, and adults are only $25. All participants get a great shirt and finisher award. The middle school with the most registrations will win $500! 

Event information:

Join The Oviedo Run Club for our 4th Annual Spring Rising, benefiting underfunded educational gardens in our local schools. A portion of your registration will help provide the seeds, soil and supplies necessary to keep these learning grounds growing. 

Our post-race event will feature local gardening clubs, farms and nurseries to help guide and teach how to plan and care for the home garden. Walk through the vendor area for free gardening advice, cuttings and seeds.

Each finisher will receive an unforgettable and non-disposable finisher's award, sourced from local businesses.

The course is traditionally an out and back route that runs along the Cross Seminole Trail and past many important Oviedo landmarks. The trail was once the railroad that helped Oviedo become one of the country's largest supplier of watercress and celery.

Race packets will be full of practical items you'll be sure to use again, along with the best commemorative race shirt that ends up in everyone's regular running attire. 

DON'T FORGET

PLEASE BRING A FOOD ITEM ON RACE DAY - food collected at the event will be donated to HOPE Helps, Inc. and local public school food pantries. 

The Oviedo Run Club is committed to putting on a green event, which entails the use of compostable water cups, on site recycling and race packets that are full of useable items, not to be wasted.

Several of our clubs are up and running.

Parents MUST sign a Google permission slip for each club their child plans to attend.

Visit the Students page of the LCMS website for a list of clubs & their Google permission forms:

Visit the list to see all the new clubs!

Have an issue? Don't know who to contact? Follow this flowchart.

All staff emails can be found on the Staff page of the LCMS Website: https://www.lcms.scps.k12.fl.us/staff

Administrator content areas can be found on the Our School page of the LCMS Website: https://www.lcms.scps.k12.fl.us/187285_2

The Conference Request Form can be found on the Parents page of the LCMS Website and at the bottom of this newsletter:

president@lcmsptsa.com @⁨Courtney Witt⁩

vicepresident@lcmsptsa.com @⁨Yadi Soto⁩

treasurer@lcmsptsa.com @⁨Maura Ward⁩

secretary@lcmsptsa.com @⁨Lindsey Smallwood⁩

membership@lcmsptsa.com @⁨Sarah T⁩apia

grants@lcmsptsa.com @⁨Kourtney Greenstein⁩

hospitality@lcmsptsa.com @⁨Felicia Prior⁩

8thgrade@lcmsptsa.com @⁨Kellie Burzee⁩

reflections@lcmsptsa.com @Monica Hagan

SACRep@lcmsptsa.com @⁨Kelly R⁩epstien

socialmedia@lcmsptsa.com Lisa Bartek

studentperks@lcmsptsa.com @⁨Kelly R⁩epstien

spiritnights@lcmsptsa.com @⁨January Sambell⁩

If you are interested in volunteering in the Lorenzo Library before school or during lunches, email Kelly Repstien at either of the emails above.

For more information about LCMS PTSA, visit: https://www.lcmsptsa.com/

To sign up for LCMS PTSA, visit: https://lcmsptsa.givebacks.com/shop?category=17470

To register to be a Dividend, visit: https://dvd.scps.k12.fl.us/

PTSA Facebook: LCMS PTSA

PTSA Facebook Group: Lawton Chiles Middle School Families Oviedo, FL

PTSA Instagram: chilesptsa

We do not accept any food deliveries (Door Dash, Uber Eats, etc.) for students.

We do not accept any drop offs of any kind - PE Uniforms, lunch, homework, etc. If a student forgot their lunch, they will still be fed by Red Apple Dining.

We do not allow students to bring and share cupcakes or other treats. Please save the birthday celebrations for after school.

Please follow these links to important documents for a successful school year:

Support our sponsors!

These banners are hung on the PE field fence in the car line as well as on 419.

If you would like to become a sponsor, please contact: https://share.hsforms.com/1JG4T_qJIQq2TMHgRyay3dQ4amsl