Bear Essentials
Weekly eNews from Berkeley Lake Elementary, August 12, 2022
Principal's Message
It's been a great week of learning at BLES! The students are settling in nicely and instruction is underway. There are a few things that I want to draw your attention to:
- The Free and Reduced Price Application for SY22-23 is currently available. Please apply even if you aren't sure if you will qualify. I will send an email to each family with additional details.
- All children at BLES receive breakfast for free, regardless of income.
- Curriculum Night is coming up in the next few weeks and we are continuing to do it digitally to enable all families to participate. Your child's teacher will send out the link through Class Dojo 15 minutes prior to his/her presentation starting.
- The Car Rider line closes in the mornings at 8:10. Due to the large number of car riders, this is slow process, but we try to speed it up by shuttling cars to the bus lane once all our buses have dropped off and left.
- Please use the PikMyKid app for transportation changes...it is quick and easy. While we will accept hand-written notes for transportation changes, we will not accept Dojo messages or emails for this purpose. You must make changes in the app by 1:30 each day, but know that you can schedule changes up to a year in advance.
I hope that you have a great weekend, and we look forward to another great week!
Your Principal and Partner,
Dr. Pendleton
Next Week's Calendar:
Monday, August 15
- 3:00pm Chess Club
Tuesday, August 16
- 9:30am Play to Learn
Wednesday, August 17
- No events
Thursday, August 18
- 5:30pm Curriculum Night 3rd Grade
- 6:15pm Curriculum Night 4th Grade
- 7:00pm Curriculum Night 5th Grade
Friday, August 19
- 5th Grade Leadership Application Due
- 7:45am K-Kids Meeting in Ms. Ashadele's room
Curriculum Night is Coming Up:
See the curriculum night schedule in the image below. This event will not be in person but will be held virtually. The teacher will send links out for the event 15 minutes prior to event starting time through Class Dojo.
PTO News:
- We had an amazing turnout at the Room Parents/volunteer meeting Monday night. We are super excited for this year and everyone's ideas. Please be on the lookout for upcoming information and a survey from your class room volunteers!
- PTO Donations: If you have a student enrolled at BLES, then you are already a voting member of our Parent Teacher Organization (PTO). In lieu of a formal membership enrollment, we'd like for everyone who can to donate to the PTO, so we can continue to provide financial support to our school. We've added two options for PTO donations on MyPaymentPlus - the place where you already go to sign annual paperwork and pay for meals. Give to our general PTO fund to help pay for activities like STEM Night, cultural arts for each grade level and teacher supply reimbursements. We've also added a Helping Hands donation. Those donations go directly to buy essential items for our BLES food pantry. The suggested donation is $15.00 per family, however, we thank you for any amount you can contribute. Look for PTO in the "other payments" section. Email info@blespto.org if you have any questions.
- Spirit Wear: More spirit wear is coming soon! We had such a great response at meet the teacher, we are contacting our vendor for more! Be watching for the next sale to hit early this fall.
- PTO Volunteers: Next week we will send home volunteer information about getting involved in PTO. Some of the volunteer opportunities include field day volunteers, helping sell spirit wear, coordinating fall fundraisers and many more opportunities.
- Please remember if you have any questions for the PTO please feel free to reach out to us at info@blestpto.org.
COVID-19 Surveillance Testing for Students in Our Cluster
The GCPS COVID surveillance testing program is currently available to students and staff members in the Archer, Berkmar, Collins Hill, Dacula, Duluth, Grayson, Lanier, Norcross, and South Gwinnett clusters. If you have a current student in one of these clusters and are interested in participating in this pilot, click this link to sign up. Note: If you signed up for the program last year, you would not need to complete the sign-up again.
5th Grade Leadership Positions
It is time to apply for 5th Grade Leadership positions! Last week the counselors visited each 5th grade homeroom to talk about leadership and the opportunities the counselors offer to 5th graders. Fifth grade students can apply to be Safety Patrols, Peer Mediators, and/or School Store workers. Each student was given a detailed packet and application that can help you decide about what might be a good fit for them and what commitment you can make as a family. This is the English packet, this is the Spanish packet, and this is a summary sheet in both English and Spanish. There are also extra copies available outside the counselors' offices. These positions are not guaranteed, and positions will be given out to students who meet the criteria and as space allows. Applications are due on Friday, August 19th and no late applications will be accepted.
Please contact either counselor, Laura Marantz or Lyndsay Murphy, or our Parent Outreach Liaison, Sandra Orci (Spanish speaker) with any questions.
K-Kids
The first K-Kids meeting of the year will be on August 19th at 7:45 in Mrs. Ashadele's room. We will be finding ways to show "service" to our school and community. Our first project will be writing letters to senior citizens at a local retirement center.
4-H Kick-Off:
Resource for EBT Participants:
Check Out General News from GCPS:
Parks and Recs Events and Sign Ups:
Weekly Repeats:
Did You Know BLES is on Various Social Media Apps?
Berkeley Lake Recycles
Berkeley Lake recycles aluminum cans and old clothes and shoes (in any condition) in the two bins in the upper parking lot. The Green Team receives 10¢ per pound of donations, which helps pay the fee for the weekly paper and cardboard pick-up. The aluminum cans are recycled at Progressive Recycling on Simpson Circle. Please support our Green Team by recycling these items here at Berkeley Lake. Thank you!
Do You Have a Parent Portal Account?
If you need to register with the portal, please print and complete this registration form and turn it in to the main office. Along with the completed form, you are required to show a photo I.D. for verification.
We Collect Box Tops (Online)
Do You Have a MyPaymentsPlus Account?
Georgia After School Program (GASP)
Our Parent Center
The Berkeley Lake Parent Center is located across from the front office and it's providing services by appointment. For Parent Center support please call Ms. Sandra Orci, Parent Liaison, at 678-291-4232 or email her at Sandra.Orci@gcpsk12.org
Our Mission
To provide learning experiences in a secure and stimulating environment where every child can develop to his/her fullest potential academically, socially, and emotionally.
Our Vision
BLES is a positive safe, nurturing environment that fosters respect among all students, teachers, parents and community members, while forwarding world-class achievement that successfully maximizes each student's individual potential through engaging instruction.
We Thank Our Business Partners
- The Tutoring Center, Duluth, Ga.
- Mathnasium
- Ultra Baby LLC (Ultrasound and Photography)
- Atlanta Urgent Care - 5246 Peachtree Pkwy
Contact Us:
Berkeley Lake Elementary
4300 S. Berkeley Lake Rd.
Duluth, Georgia 30096
P: (770)446-0947
F: (770)582-7514