31 LMS Students Received New Bikes and Helmets After Having Perfect Attendance
By Shannon Weidemann (McKone) on Friday, June 9th, 2023 in More Top Stories Northeastern Oregon News
LA GRANDE – 31 sixth-grade students at La Grande Middle School were presented with brand new bikes and helmets this week thanks to having perfect attendance during the 2022-2023 school year.
This program is put on by Rogers Toyota of Hermiston and rewards sixth-grade students for their attendance.
Baker Middle School Principal Chris Wagoner says that the Rogers Family did a study many years ago that showed that great attendance in high school was something that could be predicted by how well kids attended in sixth grade. So that is why it is focused on sixth grade.”
Wagoner said that an assembly was held at the beginning of the school year to hype the students up about this program and inform them of what they can receive for having perfect attendance.
The definition of “perfect attendance” is defined by each school participating in this program. Wagoner says that at LMS, perfect attendance is when a student has three or fewer excused absences. An excused absence would be for something like a sickness, or something where the student has to be gone.
Wagoner notes that LMS has about 165 sixth graders and 31 of those students received a bike and helmet this year. This number rose dramatically from years past according to Wagoner, who said that they have done this for three or four years now and usually they average three students who receive bikes. Wagoner said that he feels that hyping this program up at the beginning of the year excited the kids and made the goal seem achievable to them.La Grande Middle School received the highest number of bikes this school year, according to Wagoner. Also noting that organizer have given out over 5,000 bikes and helmets in total over the years.
