The Leopard Letter
Lake Forest Elementary PTA Newsletter
October 2016
Message from the Principal
Dear Lake Forest Family,
I hope your child's school year is going well now that the first quarter is coming to a close. Please help your child use their progress from 1st quarter to set goals for improvement. Please be sure your child is reading at least 20 minutes each night. Research shows that students who read more have higher achievement scores. Turn off the TV and electronic games and read, read, read!!!
Now that MAP testing is complete, I encourage parents to provide time weekly for their children to access the on-line Compass activities that are individualized for every child. This web-based computer program provides differentiated instruction to meet the needs of every learner regardless of ability levels, and use of the program can help students in meeting their yearly MAP goals. Compass can be accessed by clicking on the link on the Lake Forest website.
All parents will be invited to attend a conference with their child’s teacher this month. Please be looking for this information to come home. Please let us know if we can answer any questions. All parents are encouraged to “like” us on Facebook, “follow” us on twitter, and visit our school website on a regular basis. Great things are happening at LFE! Thank you to our staff, students, and community for your continued support. It takes all of us working together to make our school a success!
Partnering to help all children learn,
Julie Cooke
Principal
PTA Presidents' Report
Where did September go? HAPPY FALL! We hope everyone has had a great start to their 2016-17 school year! We would like to first thank the students, parents, teachers, and staff of Lake Forest Elementary for all of the hard work you did to help raise money for our school. RAISE CRAZE was a huge success on many levels. What an amazing 2 weeks of spreading kindness throughout our community as well as raising money so that LFE can purchase new technology and update our Media Center! Lake Forest students completed 809 Acts of Kindness AND…… raised $18,400!!! THANK YOU friends and family!! We had many FUNdraising contests along the way for students and teachers, so we would like to thank our local businesses who donated prizes for our fundraising efforts:
Hyatt, Hilton, Dominos, Bon Secours Wellness Arena, Big Air Trampoline, HoneyBaked Ham, Little Pigs BBQ, Tipsy Taco, Play It Again Sports, Cabi with Bethanne Eads, Urban Digs, & Zoe’s Kitchen
We’d like to take a moment to recognize the top 5 students in each grade level who raised the most money for our school during Raise CRAZE. These students went above and beyond, and we are so proud and thankful for them!!
Special Education: Nakiy Gardner, Cress Gilby, Allie Hall, Mason Brown
K4: Annalisa Bartschat, Amy Middleton, Caleb Edmonds, Dewey Forrester
K5: Ada Turner, Owen Foster, Olivia Carter, Delaney Terry, Ilania Fusetti
1st Grade: Dylan Edmonds, Natalia Ricci, Jaxson Hendrix, Margaret Beesley, Wise Robinson
2nd Grade: Lillie Becker, Porter Hine, Anna Grace Moorhouse, Palmer Odom, EJ Scott, Marshall Paul
3rd Grade: Emma Green, Luke Wallace, Lily Kirlin, Michael Diehl, Birdie Paul
4th Grade: Ella Mercier, Trang Nguyen, Syndey Respass, Karlee John, Sadie Butchko
5th Grade: Ejan Fusetti, Claire Wallace, Thomas Davidson, Lily Burgess, Olyvia Vanderhoef, Savannah Robinson
**TOP MONEY RAISER IN THE WHOLE SCHOOL!! Ejan Fusetti!! Ejan raised $1075!!
Thank you and keep up the outstanding work!
Last but not least, thank you to our faithful LFE PTA volunteers. Raise Craze would not have been a success without you. We always need volunteers, so please don’t hesitate to get in touch with us if you would like to join us in serving the students of LFE. Make your Mark! Volunteer!!
Sincerely,
Julie Wallace and JB Robinson, (PTA co-presidents) 063pta@greenville.k12.sc.us
PTA Membership Drive
The PTA will be holding a Membership Drive October 17-21.
If you haven't joined the PTA yet, be sure to watch for information to be sent home and join during the Membership Drive. The first two classes in K4-2nd and 3rd-5th with 100% membership will win a special surprise!
PTA Reflections Contest
PTA Reflections is a nationally acclaimed student recognition program to encourage artistic creativity in the classroom and at home. Students of all grades and abilities may participate and explore the arts based on the 2016-2017 theme: What Is Your Story?
Students may submit one entry into each of the 6 categories.
- Photography
- Visual Arts
- Literature
- Musical Composition
- Dance Choreography
- Film/Video Production
The arts—and the National PTA Reflections program—support student success and serve as a valuable tool for building strong partnerships in the the school community.
**Deadline for submissions is October 18, 2016.
School Improvement Council (SIC)
School Improvement Council, or SIC as it is commonly called, was initiated by South Carolina legislation over 20 years ago as a means of assuring the influential voice of parents and community members in the education of their children. Some SIC members are appointed, some are elected and some are members as a result of their job. Everyone is welcome to attend. We would like to elect three new committee members this year: Stephanie Babetz (parent/chair), Julie Burnett (parent/chair), and Aaron Conley (parent). Please use the link below to let us know your vote and to provide topics you would like discussed during our meetings this school year. Our next meeting will be held Friday, October 28, at 11:30 am. We hope you can join us!
Voting link: https://goo.gl/forms/9ozO2PYGJxKqKlNX2
Fall Dance
The Lake Forest Elementary PTA presents our first ever Fall Dance on Friday, October 21, from 6:00-8:00 pm.
The cost is $5.00 for students and free for parents.
The dance will be held in the side car line parking lot. If it rains, the dance will be moved inside to the cafeteria. Tickets will go on sale at 5:45pm before the dance. Pizza, drinks, candy, and glow sticks will be available for purchase. We will have a DJ, games and prizes! Students are welcome to wear costumes, but no scary costumes will be permitted. Children must be accompanied by a responsible adult.
Parents: Don’t forget your lawn chairs so you can sit back and enjoy the fun. Questions? Contact Julie Wallace at 063pta@greenville.k12.sc.us.
BoxTops for Education
We are collecting Box Tops to support our school, so tell your neighbor, your family, or anyone else you know to start clipping. Our school receives 10 cents for every Box Top turned in. That is FREE money for LFE. Please turn in any Box Tops collected by October 25th so we can submit them for the Fall deadline. Thanks for supporting our school!
Red Ribbon Week
Students will celebrate Red Ribbon Week during the week of October 24-28 with a different theme each day. We encourage all students to participate.
Monday, Oct. 24 – Red Out! (Wear Red)
Tuesday, Oct. 25 – Team Up Against Drugs (Wear your favorite team gear/shirt)
Wednesday, Oct. 26 – Shade Out Drugs! (Wear sunglasses)
Thursday, Oct. 27 – Peace Out to Drugs! (Tie Dye Day)
Friday, Oct. 28 – Our School Chooses to be Drug Free! (Wear LFES shirt)
You Shop. Amazon Gives.
If you shop Amazon.com, you can support Lake Forest!
- Amazon donates 0.5% of the price of your eligible AmazonSmile purchases to the charitable organization of your choice (LFE is already in their system. You just have to choose it as your organization of choice.)
- AmazonSmile is the same Amazon you know. It's the same products, the same prices, and the same service.
- Support your charitable organization by starting your shopping at smile.amazon.com
Fall Dance October 21
Red Ribbon Week October 24th - 28th
PTA Spirit Day October 28
Scholastic Book Fair October 31 - November 4
Election Day/No School November 8
Holiday Pictures November 11
PTA Spirit Day November 18
Thanksgiving Break November 23-25
PTA Holiday Shop December 5-9
Mixed Bag
Back by popular demand, the PTA will be offering an opportunity to purchase Mixed Bag merchandise. All orders placed will arrive in time for the Holidays and as always, shipping and taxes are not incurred by ordering Mixed Bags through the school. Look for the catalog in your child’s folder or stop by the front office for extras.
Mixed Bag start date: Tues, Oct 25
End date: Tues, Nov 8 (important for Holiday arrival)
Develop a Love For Reading!
Great readers love to read, but all readers may not love to read novels. That’s what’s so great about reading. There are so many different kinds of texts to read. It is very important that your children find what they love to read.
Here are a few ideas to get you started:
- Expose your child to lots of different texts – books, magazines, comic books, e-books… Let them choose what they would like to read and find what they like.
- Model reading for your child. Let them see you enjoying and learning from your own reading.
- Develop reading routine. Create a quiet place in your home for reading, establish reading times, and read aloud together as a family!
- Take your child to the library or bookstore. Ask your child’s teacher for ways your child can borrow books from them. Students can ALWAYS check out books from Mrs. Robinson’s room. I have books on all levels and interests!
- Encourage your child to have something to read with them all the time, especially in their backpack at school, so they have something to do anytime they have to wait!
- Talk to your child about what they are reading. Ask questions and check for understanding.
You are your child’s first teacher – Help them learn to LOVE reading!
Beth Robinson
Literacy Specialist - Lake Forest Elementary