Penguin Press News
August 1, 2022
A Message from Principal Bame
Welcome back to our Track 4 Families!
The school year is off to a busy start, with our PTA fundraiser kicking off this week for tracks 1 and 2. An Apex Fun Run Fundraiser team will be on campus promoting our yearly fundraiser, sponsored by the Laurel Park PTA. Please take a moment to review the materials at the bottom of this document, as well as your child's red folder.
As always, safety and security continue to be a top priority. Please make sure you have read and saved our Family Handbook for future use. We also ask that parents and caregivers drive carefully in our parking lots and do not pass each other in the carpool line unless a school staff member directs you to do so. We have observed several scary moments because of reckless driving on our campus. All of us are responsible for keeping our roads and parking lots safe!
In addition to county and school policies that support the overall safety and wellness of our school, we take the following precautions in maintaining campus safety:
Laurel Park follows all WCPSS lockdown protocols and practices. These protocols are practiced twice per year (fall/ spring). We have designated relocation zones if we are outside when an emergency occurs. If danger is within our building, all staff know where to take the children if they are outside. This is part of our lockdown protocol.
Staff participate in annual training to support student emotional wellness during emergency situations.
Administrators have immediate access to Risk Management, Apex Fire, and Cary Police.
All exterior doors throughout the building remained locked and only staff have badges/ keys to enter and exit the building.
All visitors must present ID before being allowed to enter the building.
We have security cameras throughout the building and around the exterior perimeter of our building.
We do not publish school maps on our website or other public forums.
The county does not have fencing around our recess fields or most school campuses.
We have designated staff on each grade level who travel with professional grade walkie talkies and every staff member assigned to student groups has a red emergency bag that they carry at all times they are outside of the school building.
For more information on the WCPSS Safety and Security plans, click here.
¡Bienvenidos de nuevo a nuestras familias de Track 4!
El año escolar ha tenido un comienzo ocupado, con nuestra recaudación de fondos de la PTA comenzando esta semana para las pistas 1 y 2. Un equipo de recaudación de fondos Apex Fun Run estará en el campus promocionando nuestra recaudación de fondos anual, patrocinada por la PTA de Laurel Park. Tómese un momento para revisar los materiales al final de este documento, así como la carpeta roja de su hijo.
Como siempre, la seguridad y la protección siguen siendo una prioridad. Asegúrese de haber leído y guardado nuestro Manual familiar para uso futuro. También les pedimos a los padres y cuidadores que conduzcan con cuidado en nuestros estacionamientos y que no se crucen en la línea de vehículos compartidos a menos que un miembro del personal de la escuela se lo indique. Hemos observado varios momentos de miedo debido a la conducción imprudente en nuestro campus. ¡Todos nosotros somos responsables de mantener nuestras carreteras y estacionamientos seguros!
Además de las políticas escolares y del condado que respaldan la seguridad y el bienestar general de nuestra escuela, tomamos las siguientes precauciones para mantener la seguridad del campus:
Laurel Park sigue todos los protocolos y prácticas de cierre de WCPSS. Estos protocolos se practican dos veces al año (otoño/primavera). Tenemos zonas de reubicación designadas si estamos afuera cuando ocurre una emergencia. Si hay peligro dentro de nuestro edificio, todo el personal sabe dónde llevar a los niños si están afuera. Esto es parte de nuestro protocolo de confinamiento.
El personal participa en capacitación anual para apoyar el bienestar emocional de los estudiantes durante situaciones de emergencia.
Los administradores tienen acceso inmediato a Risk Management, Apex Fire y Cary Police.
Todas las puertas exteriores del edificio permanecieron cerradas y solo el personal tiene insignias/llaves para entrar y salir del edificio.
Todos los visitantes deben presentar una identificación antes de que se les permita ingresar al edificio.
Tenemos cámaras de seguridad en todo el edificio y alrededor del perímetro exterior de nuestro edificio.
No publicamos mapas escolares en nuestro sitio web ni en otros foros públicos.
El condado no tiene cercas alrededor de nuestros campos de recreo ni en la mayoría de los campus escolares.
Tenemos personal designado en cada nivel de grado que viaja con walkie talkies de grado profesional y cada miembro del personal asignado a los grupos de estudiantes tiene una bolsa de emergencia roja que llevan en todo momento cuando están fuera del edificio escolar.
Para obtener más información sobre los planes de seguridad y protección de WCPSS, haga clic aquí.
Saludos cordiales,
Director Raleigh Bame
Important - Review our Updated Family Handbook Below!
AIG Fall 2022 Nominations
Dear LPES Families,
It's that time of year when we accept Academically and Intellectually Gifted nominations from classroom teachers and parents! This is a time that we ask you to really reflect and determine if higher-level differentiation is needed for your student in Mathematics and/or Language Arts. If you are unsure, please talk with your student's classroom teacher or last year's classroom teacher to determine if AIG Testing, may be needed to meet the needs of your student.
When a student is nominated, the AIG teachers will go to your student's current and last year classroom teacher to interview them about your student's performance in the classroom, ask for unit assessments, enrichment opportunities, and classroom samples. The classroom teachers will complete a teacher AIG Observational Checklist and a Gifted Rating Scale. The AIG teacher will also pull formal data such as your student's mClass data, 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 makes the decision 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:
Fall AIG Nomination Window
Track 1 - Beginning of school year - August 17th
Tracks 2 - 4 - Beginning of school year - September 14th
Fall AIG Testing Window
Track 1 - August 22nd - September 2nd
Tracks 2 - 4 - September 19th - 30th
If you should have any questions about the AIG program or the process, please feel free to email me at astone@wcpss.net.
Thank you!
Amy Stone, MAED, NBCT
AIG Teacher
Laurel Park Elementary School
2450 Laura Duncan Road, Apex, NC 27523
laurelparkgiftedkids.com
Our Apex Fun Run event fundraiser and leadership program begins next week for Tracks 1 & 2! Tracks 3 & 4 begins on August 22nd!
We love the amazing leadership and character-building portion of the Apex program as it focuses on developing student self-control and interpersonal skills that are vital for school and life success. With this year’s #ApexXFACTOR theme, students and staff will be immersed in an epic two-week adventure where they will discover the mystery of the X-Factor and reveal the true leader that lives within them! These quick, engaging lessons tie in with our schools’ vision and mission, encourage students to create a positive environment, and inspire them to lead by example.
The Apex Fun Run event will be held on Thursday, August 11. (September 1 for Tracks 3 & 4). More info on how to make a pledge to support our school will go home next week!
#ApexLeadershipCo #ApexXFACTOR #BuildingLeaders
The Garden Club is proud to say that our school was able to donate a record 178 lbs. of food to the Dorcas Food Pantry and Western Wake Crisis Ministry last school year! Thank you to the members of our club, their parents, and the support of our wonderful PTA and school for making this possible. At a time when food pantries are in need the most, this is something our school should feel very proud of. We are well on our way donating for the new school year with 85 pounds total for July alone. Great job Penguins!
We have room for new members this year so please reach out if you would like to get involved with the Garden Club this year! WCPSS came to visit our garden recently and made a great social media post about us if you'd like to see what we're all about. Email lpesgardenclub@gmail.com if you want to learn more.
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