Families & Students

Welcome

7/24/24

Hello Mountain Families!

We hope you all enjoyed a lovely summer. The Mountain staff is so excited to welcome your children to our new school year. I am Megan Lee. This is my second year as principal here and it is truly an honor to work with you, your children and our dedicated staff. Jen Schmierer, assistant principal, and I are thrilled to be partnering with you to support families and staff making Mountain the most idyllic place for our students. We want our students to be excited and ready to learn every day. Our custodial and administrative staff prepped over the summer to make sure we are ready to go. A more comprehensive newsletter will follow soon. But we wanted to get you some initial information. Some big changes this year are 1) School times have changed. School now starts at 8:10 a.m. and ends at 2:40 p.m. and there are no more half days on Wednesdays.

Students can arrive on campus at 7:50 a.m. for breakfast pick-up and supervised play. Preschool for 4Y follows the K-6 schedule. Preschool for 3Y starts at 8:00 a.m. - 11:00 a.m. for am class and pm class TBD (more info to come). There is no school on Fridays for 3Y preschool.

Bus Information Each student that meets the requirements to ride the school bus must complete a 2024-2025 Student Bus Card. LAPS provides bus service for all Los Alamos County elementary students who live at least 1 mile from the school, for middle school students who live 1.5 miles from the school, and for high school students who live 2 miles from the school. Check out LAPS Transportation website for more information and to review bus routes. If you have any specific transportation questions, please reach out to our Director of Transportation, Keith Rosenbaum: k.rosenbaum@laschools.net.

School Supplies Mountain School Supply Lists 2024-25

School Hours: 8:10 a.m. - 2:40 p.m.

Free breakfast and lunch will be provided again for all students.
Breakfast & Lunch Information-2024-2025 Students will eat in the same locations as last year. There will be eating locations on the upper and lower playgrounds.

There will be a K-6 early bird program and club information will be forthcoming. The program will begin the first day of school at 7:30 a.m. It will go until 7:50 a.m.

We do not offer after school care, however there may be some clubs. Please see the Mountain Club Info tab for more information. There is a child care program provided by the YMCA right here on campus. Contact Tamryn Clancy for more information: tclancy@laymca.org

Educational Assistants Needed

We have EA positions open and would love to fill them before school starts. If you have students attending Mountain it is a great way to feel involved in their world and you get to follow their school schedule for holidays and days off. Please let me know if you are interested, or go directly to the employment website to apply: https://laschools.schoolspring.com/

Bell Schedule

Emergency Procedures

Should an emergency or disaster situation ever arise in our area while school is in session, we want you to be aware that the schools have made preparations to respond effectively to such situations. In fact, public schools in New Mexico are built to meet stringent construction standards, and they may be safer than your own home in the event of a disaster.

Should we have a major disaster during school hours, your student(s) will be cared for at this school. Los Alamos Public Schools have detailed emergency response plans, which have been formulated to respond to a major catastrophe. While the specific details of these plans cannot be made public, we will provide any information necessary for your emergency planning needs and peace of mind, in case of an emergency. After you have thoughtfully reviewed this process, please sit with your child(ren) and help them to understand that it is necessary for them to follow the directions of any school personnel in times of an emergency drill or actual emergency situation. The safety of all depends on all personnel and students treating drills and emergency directions with serious respect.

Your cooperation is necessary in any emergency:

Do not telephone. You can receive updated information through an emergency communication system, provided by the school district and Los Alamos County. Telephone lines may be needed for emergency communication.
In the event of a serious emergency, students will be kept at their schools until they can be picked up by an identified, responsible adult who has been listed as such on a LAPS emergency card, which is required to be completed by parents/guardians at the beginning of each school year. Please be sure you consider the following criteria when you authorize another person to pick up your child at school:
- S/He is 18 years of age or
- S/He is usually home during the
- S/He could walk to school, if
- S/He is known to your
- S/He is both aware and able to assume this

During an extreme emergency, students will be released at designated reunion sites, to be identified by the Incident Commander and located on school campuses. Please instruct your student to remain at the school until you or your designee arrives.

Turn your radio to AM 1610 for emergency If students are to be kept at school, radio stations will be notified. If electrical service is not affected, information will be relayed via LAPS to the radio and television broadcast media. In addition, information regarding day-to-day school operations will be available by accessing our website, or subscribing to our E-Alerts web-based system. All sites have hotline numbers, which will be updated.
In the event that any emergency takes place during the time that students expect to be transported to or from school:
- If students are on the bus at the time, they will be kept on the bus, and the driver will ask for assistance through radio contact with the school and district
- Any child who is home waiting for the bus will not be picked up and remains the responsibility of the parent or
- In any situation, if the student’s bus does not arrive at the stop within fifteen (15) minutes, the student should return
- In the event that an emergency occurs in the afternoon, the driver will make every attempt to continue delivering the students to their homes. Should road conditions prevent the driver from delivering students to their home or to school in the morning, the students will be delivered to the nearest district site, and that site’s personnel will communicate with home school personnel to inform them of the students’
In case of a hazardous release event (i.e. chemical spill) near the school area, Shelter procedures will be implemented to provide “in place” All students and staff will clear the fields, report to their rooms, and all efforts will be made to prevent outside air from entering the classrooms during the emergency. “Shelter-In-Place” signs will be placed in classroom windows or hung outside classroom doors during a drill or emergency. Students arriving at school during a Shelter drill or event should report to the school office or to a previously designated area at the school because classrooms will be inaccessible. When the dangerous incident has subsided, an “all clear” signal will be given.

In the case of a county-wide evacuation, which would include the schools, that evacuation would proceed in accordance with the protocols established in the Los Alamos County Emergency Operations Plan. Please access the County’s website for this county-wide evacuation plan.

Parental Roles in Emergency Preparedness

Discuss the Standard Response Protocol with your child(ren)
Please make sure to update your student’s school emergency Call or come by the school to update. Remember to update again when necessary.
Sign up for E-Alerts on the school and district You’ll be notified by email whenever an emergency results in a delay, cancellation, or early dismissal.
As part of your family plan, know your student’s Please check the accuracy of this schedule with your child.
Parents with students currently taking emergency medication (i.e. medication for diabetes, seizures, anaphylaxis, asthma, etc.), please provide the nurse with a three-day supply of medication in a prescription container that is clearly marked with your child’s name and Please include doctor’s orders for the prescription and parental permission for a dispensation of the medication and any special storage instructions.
Notify and provide the school with the special dietary needs of your

You might want to think about having your student have a change of clothes and personal hygiene articles (toothbrush, toothpaste, deodorant, contact lens kit) in their locker.

Please discuss these matters with your immediate family. Planning ahead will help alleviate concern during emergencies.

Important Forms

Parent and Families Handbook

School Messenger

LAPS uses the School Messenger system to notify parents for reasons that impact safety and academic performance of students.

Once your child is enrolled at LAPS, you will be automatically enrolled to receive email notifications from School Messenger. LAPS highly recommends that parents also sign up for text messaging so that they may receive important announcements via text, such as emergency notifications. To sign up for text messaging, please follow these instructions in English or Spanish.

If you have a student in one of our schools, please ensure that your school contact information and emergency contact information is up-to-date.

If you need to make a change to your contact information, please call or visit your school office.

School Supply List

Technology Advisement

The purpose of any computer utilization is to enhance the educational experience. All students and staff are required to have a signed district Technology Agreement on file. Use of computers is a privilege and not a right. Inappropriate use will result in the cancellation of those privileges. LAHS administration will determine what is inappropriate use and that decision will be final. Inappropriate use will result in the closing of an account at any time or by removal from a computer-based class.

Ethical Use of Technology Board Policy 6144R