Lutherville Lab Report
What's gone down & what's coming up at the leopards' lair.
August 19th, 2022
On Monday we will welcome our wonderful instructional staff back to Lutherville Lab and in just 10 days we'll be reunited with our young Leopards!
Please make sure you are prepared for the school year by taking care of the 5 tasks below:
1. Establish or Visit your Parent Portal Account for teacher assignment and bus info
2. Complete the transportation survey to help us with dismissal
3. Complete medical forms as needed (these must be done each year)
4. Gather school supplies for your child(ren)
5. Add funds to www.MySchoolBucks.com or apply for a household meal benefit, as needed.
KG Families: Be sure to see information for Tuesday afternoon's playground play date below.
All Families: We hope you'll join us for Sneak-a-Peak on Thursday evening.
Before and After Care update: HotSpot has rebranded as "Caliday." Caliday is now the Before & After Care provider in the Lutherville Lab cafeteria. Please see the enrollment flyer attached to the newsletter for more information.
Please read on for important information related to transportation and additional details to setup for a successful start to the school year.
Finally, if you are looking for a fun fall activity for your child, Cockeysville Field Hockey is looking for children K-5 for their program. Their flyer is attached.
We'll see you soon!
-Mr. McComb
We're Hiring a Front Office Secretary!
If you know someone with exceptional organizational skills who is a quick learner, can multi-task, and wants to serve our community with excellence, please share our job posting with them! The posting closes August 29th.
Transportation Updates
BCPS Transportation Update
For their own safety and the safety of others, please also take the time to reinforce bus riding expectations with your child.
Students receiving transportation services have the responsibility to follow all bus rules. These rules include:
- At the bus stop, wait in an orderly manner, out of the way of all traffic, until the bus stops, and bus driver opens the door.
- Stand at least five (5) feet back from the stopping position of the bus.
- Wait until the bus stops completely before moving forward to board it.
- The aisle of the bus must be kept clear, so that the rear emergency exit is always accessible. Large objects such as musical instruments, athletic equipment, and school projects are prohibited, unless the student can carry the object themselves, hold the object on his/her lap, or place the object on the floor between his/her legs.
- Once on board the bus, follow the Bus Rules as posted:
- Follow directions the first time they are given.
- Stay seated, facing forward at all times.
- Keep all body parts inside the bus.
- Keep hands, feet, legs, arms, personal property, and your voice to yourself.
- No eating, smoking, drinking, or vulgar language at any time on the bus.
- Wait until the bus stops moving before getting out of the seat and moving forward to get off the bus.
- Always board your assigned bus and get on and off at your regularly assigned bus stop.
- Once off the bus, proceed immediately away from the bus.
Transportation Information
Car Riders: Registration for Car Riders will be available at Sneak-A-Peak at a table in the car loop. We will be issuing numbers 40 and above for this school year. If you kept your materials from last year, those special items can be safely stored in a memory box/time capsule. =) Please refer to the image below for directions on the car loop. Again, our major focus with car loop is safety and efficiency to minimize backup onto York Road.
Reminders:
- Please pull forward as far as possible (leaving a pass through for staff in the morning as designated in the image below)
- Supervise your children in morning until staff on duty come to the loop
- In the afternoon, wait until staff bring or direct your child to the car for them to enter (please don't call them over to you, as we are trying to direct and monitor student movement for safety).
Walkers: We will continue to use the back door by the rec room for parent drop-off. Please wait for Ms. Vincenet/staff to open the door at both arrival and dismissal. We are aware that the sidewalk there can flood in heavy rains and have bumped our request from Grounds to regrade the grass for better drainage.
Arrival Traffic Pattern
School Meals Update!
During the pandemic, the USDA made it possible for school nutrition programs to serve all students free breakfast and lunch through “waivers.” Congress did not extend these waivers for the upcoming school year, so meals are no longer available free of charge to all students across the country. Lutherville is designated as a school qualifying for the National School Lunch Program (NSLP)and School Breakfast Program (SBP). These are the “standard” meal programs for schools that do not qualify for additional support. The cost of meals this year is $1.40 for breakfast and $2.90 for lunch.
To put funds on your child’s account to purchase meals, visit www.MySchoolBucks.com. You can also add funds through this site for snacks. Don’t worry about lost lunch money ever again!
Families may be eligible for assistance to reduce the cost of meals, but must complete an online Free and Reduced Meal Application, to determine eligibility. To apply for assistance with the cost of school meals, please complete the Household Meal Benefit Application (HMBA) by visiting www.myschoolapps.com. If applicable, please complete your meal application as soon as possible to expedite process. The information you supply is confidential, and applications will be processed upon receipt.
If you need help finding your child's student ID for their account, this can be found on the Parent Portal. Please see the screen shot below.
FOCUS Parent Portal
It is important that all parents are connected to the student information system through the parent portal. Please use this link to access the portal and click “sign up now” if you haven’t already. Additional support documents are linked to this newsletter.
Through the parent portal, families can:
- Access teacher assignment and student schedule
- Update student privacy preferences
- View transportation (bus stop) information
- View report card information
- In the fall, you'll receive information from BCPS on the opportunity to update emergency contacts through the Annual Student Review Form, this will be through the Portal as well.
If you are having issues, please contact the Technology Help Desk at 443-809-4672
School Supply List
Attention Families of Incoming Kindergartners!
Are you and your child excited, anxious, looking forward to meeting other kindergarteners and their families? The Lutherville Lab Parent Teacher Association (PTA) would like to invite you to pop in at the playground behind the school for popsicles on Tuesday, August 23rd from 4-6 pm. There's no need to RSVP, just come by whenever suits your schedule! Questions can be directed to luthervillelabpta@gmail.com.
In addition to this event you might be wondering, what does the PTA do?
The PTA is an advocacy group for students at LL. We are a group of volunteers - parents and teachers - who work collaboratively to support school initiatives, plan community events and advocate to the Baltimore County Public School system (BCPS) for the needs of our students. Volunteers can donate funds, time and ideas to make our school family as strong as it can be. More information will be coming soon but in the meantime:
- Joining the PTA is simple and easy - simply follow this link to purchase a $15 membership (renewable each year).
- To follow us on Facebook please click here.
We hope to see you on the 23rd!