On May 1, Congressman David Price visited Lufkin Road Middle School. He toured the school, visiting with teachers and administrators. Representative Price spoke to a group of 8th grade students about his role in government: "At the end of the day, politics is all about making the community better and we all ought to care about that, " he said to the students. He led them in a question and answer session where he encouraged them to get involved in politics: "We live in a democracy and it's our job to care about government and get involved."

The NC School Report Card for Lufkin Road for 2007-08 is now available online. The Report Card provides information in terms of student performance, school safety, and teacher quality. The Report Card is available HERE.

Lufkin now has 3 after school buses that run Mondays-Thursdays at around 4:30pm. For more information on which bus is right for you click on the "After-school Bus" link under the "Parents" heading to the left of the screen.

Lufkin Road would like to thank the Apex Chamber of Commerce for their recent donation to the school. We appreciate their generosity, and we are excited to be a part of the Apex community!

Attention parents: Lufkin is now eligible to earn free school supplies from Coca-Cola. The program is called mycokewards. It's EASY and similar to saving your campbells soup labels or box tops for education. All you have to do is enter the codes from bottle caps or 12/24 packs on their user friendly website...

The PTA is in the process of putting together its annual Student Directory. If you would prefer that your child's information NOT be included in the directory, please complete this opt out form and return it to the PTA mailbox in the main office.

Dear Lufkin Parents,

Welcome to Lufkin Road Middle School! My name is Dr. Parry Graham, and I am the new principal here at Lufkin. I wanted to take a moment to introduce myself.

I am a native North Carolinian, having grown up in the beautiful mountains of Asheville. I attended Williams College in Massachusetts (another beautiful spot, right smack dab in the middle of the Berkshires), and then moved to the Boston area. After receiving a Master of Arts in Teaching at Tufts University, I taught high school German for six years at North Andover High School in North Andover, MA. I then spent four years working for an educational consulting company, called Co-nect (since purchased by Pearson), which gave me the opportunity to work with teachers and schools all over the country.

After convincing my Buffalo-born wife to move with me back to North Carolina, I started a doctoral program in educational leadership at UNC, which I completed in 2006. Along the way, I spent a year working as an administrative intern at Salem Middle School, and then three years working as an assistant principal at Cedar Fork Elementary.

And now I am joining you at Lufkin. I am incredibly excited to be part of such a wonderful school. I have heard tremendously positive things about the staff, students, parents, and community, and I take it as my primary responsibility to maintain and build upon Lufkin’s high level of excellence.

When I first met with the Lufkin staff, I told them that the most important thing that they needed to know about me was that I have the sweetest three-year old daughter on the planet. The staff has since provided some compelling evidence that my daughter, Sydney, may in fact be tied in the sweetness category with their own children and grandchildren. If nothing else, it is clearly a close contest.

When I met with the Lufkin staff, I also outlined the most important values that I hold as an educator, and I would like to share them with you. These values will inform and underscore my actions as principal, and will serve as the standards that I use in assessing our decision-making as a community of professionals.

First, we never give up on kids. For a variety of reasons, many students come to school with challenges that inhibit their ability to learn. However, I believe that, as educators, we are professionals. What makes us professionals is that, despite the challenges that students may bring with them to school—challenges over which we have no control—we are responsible for ensuring that every child is successful.

Second, we work together. I have spent a large part of my career learning how to help people collaborate in a team-based environment. I believe that better decisions and better results occur when professionals work in collaboration with each other. At Lufkin, we will take a team-based approach to providing the highest possibly quality education for your children. In addition, I believe that parents are the most important partners in ensuring students’ success, and I look forward to the opportunity to work with you.

Finally, we get better each day. In my opinion, the job that we do here at Lufkin is the most important job in the world: we help to shape children’s futures. Because our job is so important, it is our responsibility to continuously figure out how we can do our job even better.

Thank you for bringing your children to us each day, and thank you for holding us to a high standard of excellence. Your children deserve it!

Parry Graham, Ed.D.

This was the first time that Lufkin had a Diversity Day! It turned out to be a great hit and we plan to try it again next year. Diversity Day was inspired by the many cultures of the students and staff of Lufkin Road Middle School. During the assembly we did a dramatic reading, Did You Know Facts, live music from the chorus, a poster contest, and Dr. Dingle sang with selected students....

LRMS wants to express their deepest thanks for a generous donation of office furniture by First Citizens bank. Here are just a few of the new pieces in our front office. Doesn’t it look great!

If you are an IBM employee, you may contribute towards the purchase of selected equipment for LRMS through the IBM Matching Grants program. Read the letter below from Mr. Edmister to learn more about the IBM Matching Grants Program!

IBM Matching Grant Info