Penguin Press News
Noticias de Penguin Press ~ 12/10/21
Seasons Greetings from the Laurel Park front office team:
Pictured left to right bottom row: Maria Durango, Becky Lorenzen, Raleigh Bame, Kristy Smith
Pictured left to right top row: Diane Connell, Charelle Lovette, Elana Murray, Adam Barabasz
A Message from Principal Bame
Dear Laurel Park Families,
Season's Greetings to all! Our building will be closed to students and visitors from Thursday, December 23rd - 31st. Tracks 1, 2, and 3 will return to school on January 3, 2022.
As we venture into the winter season, many parents and students look to show appreciation and gratitude for the teachers and staff who serve their children every day. In addition to expressing gratitude, families also want to celebrate the mid-way point of the school year by sending in goodies to the classroom. Before moving forward with any celebratory plans, we kindly ask that you follow our health and safety policy outlined in our Laurel Park Parent Handbook:
Parties are not to be held during school hours for students. Having flowers or balloons delivered to the school is disruptive to the learning environment so please have these items delivered at home. Due to food allergies and dietary restrictions, foods are not permitted for birthday celebrations. A wonderful alternative for recognizing birthdays/holiday celebrations is to contact the teacher and ask for ideas for the classroom or donate a favorite book to the classroom library. ** healthy snacks may be provided with teacher permission **
Additional Notes for Staff Appreciation:
Teacher/Staff gifts can certainly involve food, but the food must be made from a commercial kitchen.
Teachers/Staff cannot accept tokens of appreciation in the form of CASH or checks.
Most LPE teachers have classroom wish lists if you would like to contribute to the classroom.
Staff profiles and LPE Staff Favorites also provide additional gift ideas, if needed. Note: not all staff members responded to the Staff Favorites survey we sent.
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¡Saludos de temporada a todos! Nuestro edificio estará cerrado para estudiantes y visitantes desde el jueves 23 al 31 de diciembre. Las pistas 1, 2 y 3 regresarán a la escuela el 3 de enero de 2022.
A medida que nos adentramos en la temporada de invierno, muchos padres y estudiantes buscan mostrar aprecio y gratitud por los maestros y el personal que atienden a sus hijos todos los días. Además de expresar gratitud, las familias también quieren celebrar el punto medio del año escolar enviando golosinas al salón de clases. Antes de seguir adelante con cualquier plan de celebración, le pedimos amablemente que siga nuestra política de salud y seguridad descrita en nuestro Manual para padres de Laurel Park:
Notas adicionales para el reconocimiento del personal:
- Los obsequios para maestros / personal ciertamente pueden involucrar comida, pero la comida debe prepararse en una cocina comercial.
- Los maestros / personal no pueden aceptar muestras de agradecimiento en forma de EFECTIVO o cheques.
- La mayoría de los profesores de LPE tienen listas de deseos en el aula si le gustaría contribuir al aula.
- Los perfiles del personal y los favoritos del personal de LPE también brindan ideas de obsequios adicionales, si es necesario. Nota: no todos los miembros del personal respondieron a la encuesta de favoritos del personal que enviamos.
Upcoming Dates:
- December 13th - 15th - Spirit Week
- December 23rd - 31st - Winter Break
- January 17th - No school MLK, Jr. Holiday
- January 18th - February 4th - PTA No Fuss Fundraiser
- January 25th - Last day for Canned Food Drive
- March 24th - Virtual STEAM Night
Dillard Drive Magnet Middle School Information
Please look at one of WCPSS's newest magnet schools. Located in the center of Wake County, Dillard Drive Magnet Middle's theme is focused on global studies and world languages. Dillard Drive Magnet Middle School is now offering French and Spanish—with the option of earning up to 2 high school language credits—and integrating global themes within all classes. Teachers at Dillard Drive Magnet Middle School create dynamic opportunities that connect students to current events, global topics, and the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals. Please reach out to Principal, Margaret Feldman, at mfeldman@wcpss.net or the school's magnet coordinator, Jessica Nelson, at jnelson1@wcpss.net.
Video - https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=stmi_tUQg0I&feature=youtu.be
Article - https://bit.ly/31mjk4f
AIG Updates
Dear LPES Families,
It's that time of year again, when we accept 5th Grade Academically and Intellectually Gifted nominations from classroom teachers and parents! This is a time to meet with your student's classroom teacher to determine if higher level differentiation is needed for your student in Mathematics and/or Language Arts. When a student is nominated, the AIG teachers will collect both informal and formal data to determine the student's eligibility for AIG services. Informal data will be an AIG Parent and Teacher Observational Checklist, a Gifted Rating Scale, classroom performance on unit assessments, enrichment opportunities and classroom samples. Formal data collected will be your student's CogAt and IOWA scores, EOG scores and Report Card grades.
All the above data is collected for each AIG candidate and presented to the Laurel Park Elementary's School Based Committee for Gifted Education. The committee will review the above data and decide whether the AIG candidate should be tested for AIG consideration. If a student is being considered, they will be given the CogAt and IOWA tests on the below dates:
Spring AIG Nomination Window
All Tracks December 1st - 22nd
Spring AIG Testing Window
Tracks 1 - 3 on January 10th - 19th
Track 4 on February 1st - February 11th
If you should have any questions about the AIG program or the process, please feel free to email Mrs. Stone at astone@wcpss.net.
Thank you!
STEM Updates
Chromebooks: Parents, Please make sure your students turn off their Chomebooks at least every week. There are updates that happen when students turn off and on their Chromebooks. The district says that about 20,000 students in the district have never turned off their Chromebook to install those updates.
Save the date: STEAM Night will be asynchronous on March 24th. It will include a science fair that all students can participate in! We also encourage students to participate with music, art, literature/poetry, and other STEAM related things. We will start accepting video submissions in January. Science experiments will be shown off in March at school with a show during the school day for students.
Missing a Lunch Box or Coat?
2022 Prospective Family Tour Sign-up
December Student Council Updates
Laurel Park Food Drive
Laurel Park Student Council, in partnership with the Wake Relief Food Drive, will begin collecting non-perishable food items this week. We will be collecting through January 25th and look forward to great LPE community participation:
Canned items
Tuna
Chicken
Lunchmeat (Spam)
Corn
Peas
Green beans
Assorted vegetables
Soup or canned pasta
Assorted beans (black, kidney, garbanzo, etc.)
Fruit in juice
Pasta sauce (no glass please)
Additional Items of Need
Peanut Butter
Grits
Rice (no bags larger than 5 lbs. please)
Cereal (Cheerios, Corn Flakes, etc.)
Saltine Crackers
Mac & Cheese
Pasta (plain noodles, spaghetti, etc.)
Laundry detergent (pods preferred)
Soap
Toilet paper
Snacks for kids (anything individually wrapped that you would put in a lunchbox, the healthier the better)
PTA Updates and News
Do you know your child's email address?
Want more answers to tech questions?
Go to Students and click on Remote Learning Resources and FAQ on the Laurel Park Website.
Parent and Student Tech Guides (WCPSS)
Positivity Project Resource for Families
P2 for Families is an easy and effective way for families to discuss the importance of character strengths and positive relationships. It is differentiated for grades Pre-K – 2, 3-5, 6-8, and 9-12. Each character strength follows a 1-1-3 model: 1 quote, 1 video, and 3 questions to drive conversations around character at home.
Please choose your child’s grade level found at the link below:
Grocery Store Rewards Cards
Laurel Park Elementary School
Website: wcpss.net/laurelparkes
Location: Laurel Park Elementary School, Laura Duncan Road, Apex, NC, USA
Phone: 919.290.2333
Twitter: @LaurelParkElem