Penguin Press News
November 21, 2022
A Message from Principal Bame
Dear Laurel Park Families,
Happy Thanksgiving week to all our LPE families! On behalf of our school staff, we wish all of you a restful and relaxing holiday. School will be closed on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday this week. When track 1, 3, and 4 students return next week, they can plan for a Student Council Spirit Week (see below for the daily themes our students selected).
As a reminder, please do not drop off or pick up students in our parking lot. Either plan to use the carpool lane or consider bus transportation. Unless your family has special permission due to specific circumstances, we ask that you kindly follow school policy.
We are very excited to announce our Teacher of the Year, Mrs. April Butler! April taught 2nd grade at Laurel Park prior to becoming an Intervention teacher in 2021-2022. We are very proud of all finalists and hope you will take a moment to watch our video announcement below.
2022-23 Finalists:
- Megan Aguilar
- Ashley Albers
- Alicia Brown
- April Butler*
- Sara Nichols
- Julie Schultz
- Sara Viola
WCPSS Family/ Community Message (Repeat Message from 11/20/22):
In light of the tragedy that took place on Saturday morning, we wanted to provide you with resources and support to your child. All of our school’s counseling and student services staff will be available this week if your child needs support while at school.
As a parent or guardian, we wanted you to know and give you the opportunity to decide if this is information you want to share. As you think about how to care for your child, there are some resources that you might find helpful to assist your child through this loss. WCPSS has partnered with Transitions GriefCare in hopes of better supporting our grieving families, students and staff members. Transitions GriefCare offers a range of support services to help children & teens explore, understand and express their grief. Their services are available to anyone in our community at no cost.
Again, if you are concerned about your child’s response to this or any tragic event, reach out to the school counselor for additional resources and support.
Below are additional links to resources for Parents/Guardians
How to Talk With Kids About Tragedies & Other Traumatic News Events
Understanding Children’s Grief and Ways to Provide Support
Understanding Teen’s Grief and Ways to Provide Support
Understanding Children’s Grief (Spanish version)
Helping children cope with scary news WRAL Story
As you read through the Penguin Press, please take a moment to review the PTA section located after our school updates.
As always, we appreciate your partnership and support!
Mrs. Raleigh Bame, Principal
LPE TOTY Announcement - Click Below!
Positivity Project Trait for the Week
Student Council Spirit Weeks!
AIG Updates from Mrs. Stone
This will be the last opportunity this school year that we will be accepting 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, this is a great time to meet with your student's classroom teacher to determine if AIG testing is needed to meet the needs of your student. When a student is nominated, the AIG teacher will send home consent for your student to be evaluated along with a parent observational checklist.
The AIG teacher will also meet with your student's classroom teacher to discuss your student's performance in the classroom, ask to see unit assessments, enrichment opportunities, and classroom samples, where we are looking for scores of 4. The teacher will complete a teacher AIG observational checklist and a Gifted Rating Scales on your student. The AIG teacher will pull all formal data such as your student's mClass data, StarMath assessments, interims and report cards scores and standardized testing scores such as the CogAT, IOWA and EOG.
After all the above data has been collected, each AIG candidate will be presented to the Laurel Park Elementary's School Based Committee for Gifted Education. The committee will review all the data and make a unanimous vote of whether the students should be tested for AIG services. If your student is selected, they will be given the CogAT and IOWA tests on the below dates:
Winter AIG Nomination Window
Tracks 1 - 3 is currently open until December 20th
Track 4 is currently open until January 20th
Winter AIG Testing Window
Tracks 1 - 3 testing will be January 9th - 13th
Track 4 testing will be January 30th - February 3rd
If you should have any questions about the AIG program or process, please feel free to email me.
Thank you!
Mrs. Amy Stone
Repeat Announcements Worth Noting
Coming Soon: Art to Remember!
An art fundraiser with Art to Remember!
It's a very special opportunity to order keepsake products customized with your child's art.
Right now, your child is creating an amazing piece of artwork at school and soon you’ll have the chance to turn that art into custom keepsake products. This is the perfect opportunity to order items for yourself, grandparents, aunts, uncles, or any other special person in your child’s life. It's a gift that will be treasured forever.
Meet Ms. Boyce, 5th Grade Teacher
Upcoming PTA Spirit Nights
City Barbeque, Cary - Wednesday, December 14, 2022
Ruckus Pizza and Pasta - Thursday, January 12, 2022
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