Penguin Press News
January 15, 2021
A MESSAGE FROM PRINCIPAL BAME
Dear LPE Families,
I hope that this newsletter finds your family safe and healthy, enjoying your track out. Many of you may have watched the Board of Education Meeting last night and saw that they voted for schools to remain in remote learning until at least mid-February. Some of you may be thinking that because of this decision your child will be able to stay with the teacher they had for the first semester. Unfortunately, schools will not be able to do that for the following reasons:
January 25th is the start of a new semester, making it a clean break with regards to grades from one teacher to the next. This matters significantly because of the online system we use, and the difficulty it presents to try and make that transition at a time other than a semester or quarter break.
In addition, the turnaround time for making the shift from one teacher to the next is a heavy lift. We have planned for this over the past three weeks to ensure a smooth transition, which will include a Meet the Teacher meeting on January 22nd.
Teachers have been assigned to their platform (Virtual or in-person) for the spring semester based on Virtual Academy and Plan A requests. Our Virtual Academy numbers were reduced by 18% for the spring semester. Because of this reduction, we needed a few teachers to transition from VA to face to face instruction.
Not being able to anticipate when a shift in returning to the building may occur, we believe it is best to be proactive and make the adjustments now based on parent preferences as opposed to waiting at the last minute and making a shift mid-quarter or mid-semester. To that end I want to share with you the following as we prepare to kick off the second semester:
You will receive an email welcome letter from your child’s second semester teacher on January 20th by 2:00 pm. In this letter your child’s teacher will provide you with a Meet the Teacher Google Meet code that will be held on January 22nd at 11:30 am. This letter will also provide families with the daily online instructional schedule and other supportive documents.
Our 3rd Quarter Supply pick-up day will take place on Friday, January 22nd. Please see the image below with times and locations. Students will need access to these materials the first week of school. If you need an alternative pick up time, please contact our main office at 919.290.2333.
Due to the ever changing circumstances of this year, we are delaying track change requests until March. More details will be forthcoming as we approach this time.
We certainly realize this has been a quick change and turn around for our community. As a school staff we will continue to do everything we can to provide guidance and support as we navigate challenging circumstances this school year. We appreciate your support and care!
Important Dates to Note:
- January 22nd - 3rd Quarter Supply Pick Day (information below)
- January 25th - First day of 3rd Quarter
- January 29th - Report Cards distributed
- February 3rd - Asynchronous/ Remote Learning Day
- February 24th - Asynchronous/ Remote Learning Day
- March 16th - Plan B Spring Picture Day
- March 17th - Asynchronous/ Remote Learning Day, Virtual Academy Spring Picture Day
- March 29th - Asynchronous/ Remote Learning Day
- March 30th - Asynchronous/ Remote Learning Day
- March 31st - April 13th - Spring Track-out
- March 14th - First day of 4th Quarter
- May 3rd - Asynchronous/ Remote Learning Day
- May 26th - Asynchronous/ Remote Learning Day
- May 31st - Holiday
- June 21st - Last Day of School
Upcoming PTA Spirit Nights 2021:
JANUARY - RUCKUS
Friday, January 29, 2021
4 - 9pm
FEBRUARY - PANERA BREAD
Wednesday, February 24, 2021
4pm - 8pm
MARCH - CITY BBQ
Wednesday, March 24, 2021
11am - 8pm
APRIL - TBC - BURRITO SHAK
Proposed date -Tuesday, April 27, 2020
All Day
MAY - FRESH LOCAL ICE CREAM
Thursday, May 27
Details of times to be confirmed closer to this date.
Counselors' Corner
We welcome you back to virtual learning and hope your family had a restful and enjoyable holiday break & track-out. With the understanding that family needs or emotional/social/behavioral concerns may have arisen over the long break, please reach out to any of us below if you would like additional support.
Caren MacEntee, Counselor, cmacentee@wcpss.net
Ashley Waddell, Counselor, awaddell@wcpss.net
Dr. Amy Hawkins, School Psychologist, ahawkins@wcpss.net
Rick Mendzef, Social Worker, rmentzef@wcpss.net
Virtual Magnet Elementary Mini Fair, January 12, 9:30-11:00a - click here to register
Virtual Magnet Middle School Mini Fair, January 14, 9:30-11:00a - click here to register
Martin Middle School virtual tours in January are open. Please sign up at the link below if you are interested. (Some dates are full.)
https://www.signupgenius.com/go/30e0b4da5a92ba64-martin1
New student enrollment begins October 15 at wcpss.net/enroll
The early college application is October 15-EXTENDED to JANUARY 6 at earlycolleges.wcpss.net/apply
The magnet application is October 15 -January 28 at magnet.wcpss.net/apply
STEAM NIGHT 2021 is ON!
Parents: Want to share your skills in Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, or Math? Sign up for the STEAM Night! It's going to be on Thursday, March 25th. Just fill out this form to show your interest. We can help on the presenting, just email Ms. Trent at ttrent@wcpss.net.
Tiffany Trent
STEM Teacher/Tech Contact
Laurel Park Elementary School
Support my classroom through Donors Choose.
Need Tech Help? Try the WCPSS Tech Help Page
Need More Tech Help? Fill out this form.
An Easy Way to Support STEM
I have registered our STEM classroom on DonorsChoose, an amazing website where individuals can contribute to public schools. Throughout the year, I will post requests for resources that will help make your child's time at school even more engaging, dynamic, and enriching.
Please spread the word about our STEM page (and contribute if you can)!
https://www.donorschoose.org/t-trentSTEM Fun for All!
Hey families,
Here is a fun way to get to fun educational online games. It's Ms. Trent's Bitmoji Classroom. Click around to discover what is there.
If you need passwords or usernames check the STEM Google Classroom.
3rd Quarter PE Updates from Coach Edwards
Dear Laurel Park Families,
Happy new year and I hope this finds you all having a safe and restful break. As I sit here and reflect on the first half on the school year. I want to thank all the students and parents that have made great efforts to come to the online google meets and in person classes the first semester. I have really enjoyed working with the children during these classes. I hope that the children have enjoyed the activities and had fun working on the different skills. We meet each class for a week at a time. It is very important that your child make every effort to be present at each class and participate in the activities and skill assessments.
In the limited time we had together we covered locomotor skills and throwing and catching. We also did some type of warmup activity at the start of each class. During this time we covered walking, galloping, skipping, jumping, hopping, sliding and running. We also worked on the basics of throwing and catching using objects like plastic bags, rolled up socks and small balls. The students were assessed during these activities or allowed to send in a video in grades 3-5 if they were unable to participate during class time.
We will be doing fitness activities and kicking skills during our next 2 units of study. During the fitness unit we will also be doing the Kids Heart challenge. This is a jump rope fundraiser for the American Heart Association. Be looking for more information about this coming in early February.
Your child’s report card will be coming out soon. If your child does not have a PE grade on their report card. The reason for this is that during our class meetings there was not enough data collected or skills assessments completed to allow me to grade their progress. If you have any questions please contact me at mjedwards2@wcpss.net
I look forward to seeing your children in the coming of weeks to continue our journey to stay healthy and make sure we are taking care of ourselves and those around us. Again, I want to thank you all for making education a priority during these difficult times.
Please let me know if you have any questions or need anything. The Laurel Park family is very important to me.
Stay safe and see you all soon,
Coach Edwards
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:
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)
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