Penguin Press News
The Week of August 6th
A MESSAGE FROM PRINCIPAL BAME
Dear Laurel Park Families,
We have made it through several rainy weeks! Thank you for your continued support and patience as we ensure that students are dismissed safely. At this point in the year, especially with the addition of new kindergarten students, our carpool process does slow down. We anticipate that the wait time will improve once we have all students more comfortable with their daily routines.
Text Reading & Comprehension (TRC) Update:
The goal of the State is to ensure that every student read at or above grade level by the end of third grade and continue to progress in reading proficiency so that he or she can read and comprehend on grade level to ultimately become college and career ready. To ensure that students in grades K-3 are making progress in reading, teachers administer mCLASS Reading 3D, which includes a Text Reading & Comprehension (TRC) assessment, to students at least three times a year.
The TRC assessment asks students to read a leveled text aloud, answer oral comprehension questions, retell/recall the book and write the answers for two comprehension questions. Although the written comprehension score will no longer factor into determining a student’s reading level, the written comprehension score will be used by the teacher to inform instructional decisions.
This year, 2018-19, the State has adopted a different book set for the Text Reading and Comprehension (TRC) assessment. These books are different and require a variety of reading skills and behaviors for students to demonstrate. As a result of the new book set, the cut points and ranges for some grade levels have changed or been adjusted.
Parents will continue to receive Home Connect Letters after each benchmark to indicate your child’s performance as it relates to the benchmark.
Parents should continue reading each night to/with their child at home, have conversations around text to build vocabulary, language and communication and expose students to a variety of genres and content areas through text. Please contact your child’s teacher for additional information regarding mCLASS - Reading 3D.
Other Updates and Reminders:
- On Thursday, August 9th (during T4 Curriculum Night) Ms. Stone and Ms. Taranto (AIG Teacher Team) will host AIG information sessions for 3rd-5th grade families (all tracks). Ms. Bourne, our IRT and Literacy Coach will provide an mCLASS overview session for K-3 Families (literacy assessment program). Our Curriculum Nights are geared for adults, not children. We are always happy to see our little penguins, but the event itself does not provide specific activities for children or child care. Thank you for understanding!
- If you are interested in learning more about the Positivity Project character traits while also supporting our P2 work from a personal perspective, take a moment to complete the brief and free survey found at www.viacharacter.org
- It is not appropriate to initiate in depth conversations with teachers during morning arrival or dismissal. Please schedule a meeting or conference with your child's teacher should you have questions or concerns. We have many ears listening to conversations that should remain confidential. Teachers also need fair warning to prepare for conversations with parents.
- Congratulations to Mr. Nixon, LPES Assistant Principal, for being named a finalist for the 2018-2019 WCPSS Assistant Principal of the Year competition!
Kind Regards,
Mrs. Raleigh Bame
#cultivating learning/ growing minds
#LPESWAKE
Fall Picture Day is Coming!
* Information sent out today in Monday folders for T1/ T2
Tracks 3 and 4 - September 19th
Real Observations from our Safety Patrols!
- Cars are trying to pass other cars in the line. This is unsafe. Please wait patiently as we help our fellow peers into their cars. Many kids are still learning the ropes.
- Some of the child restraint seats/ booster seats are on the driver's side. It would be helpful if students were able to get out of the passenger side door. Plus, it is much safer!
- Everyone is trying to get somewhere on time in the morning and afternoon. Parents should drop off in carpool, instead of trying to find ways around the loop. We are all in this together.
These observations were truly made and shared by 4th and 5th grade students. Great advice and very wise feedback!
Counselor's Corner August 2018
It’s been a great start to the 2018-19 school year! The counseling team has been busy having lunch with 1st - 5th grade students new to Laurel Park this year. These Newcomers’ Lunch Bunch Groups provide the opportunity for students to make new friends and learn more about Laurel Park, facilitating the adjustment to their new school. If your child is new to Laurel Park this year and you have concerns, please feel free to contact your school counselor:
Caren MacEntee, Tracks 1 & 2 - cmacentee@wcpss.net
Ashley Waddell, Tracks 3 & 4 - awaddell@wcpss.net
Social Thinking August Updates
Apply for the 2018-2019 Chess Club at the Link Below!
MemberHub
Dear LPES families,
I hope everyone is settled into the school year. I have enjoyed seeing so many returning families and meeting our newest families that are joining our wonderful LPES community.
As you may have heard, the LPES PTA will be using a new platform, Memberhub, for all of our communications this year. We will no longer be using the PTA liaisons to send out newsletters, event reminders, sign-ups, etc. It is easy (and FREE!) to sign up to Memberhub! All you need to do is click on this link: https://laurelpark.memberhub.com/join/zi2eku, enter some basic information and you’re in! Memberhub is safe and private. We are only using the information you provide to send you PTA updates. Signing up to receive communications does not automatically mean you are signing up to become a PTA member or a volunteer. While we would love to have everyone join the PTA and volunteer their time, that is not our goal with getting everyone to log onto Memberhub. It is important to us for you to stay informed of what is happening at LPES. If you have any questions, please email: laurelparkespta@gmail.com.
If you are interested in becoming a PTA member, please go to laurelpark.memberhub.store.
There will be a PTA general meeting on Thursday, August 16th at 6:30pm in the media center. We will be voting in new officers and will update you on what is to come for the 2018-2019 school year. We are really excited to meet you and share our plans with you. You don’t have to be a member to attend.
Thank you.
Stephanie Mitchell
LPES PTA President
Grocery Store Rewards Cards
We love that we can now follow the PTA on Twitter! You should follow too!
Check it out @lpes_pta.
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