LAF Newsletter
November 4
Notes from the Principal's Desk
We have had many PTO volunteers busy at work over the last two months. Thanks to all of their efforts we have successfully hosted the Book Fair, Mini Marathon, King Arthur Flour Company, Head Show Club, After School Enrichment, and of course, Halloween. Thank you to the many on the scenes and behind the scenes family members who make the beginning of the year events a great success.
Our teachers and students have been working hard to create portfolios of work to share during conferences in December. Lafayette's conference structure is student led which means that your child is part of the conference and conversation with the teachers. Each conference will have time for you to meet with the teacher alone but at Lafayette we want the responsibility of the conference to rest where it should -- with the student. The teacher facilitates the conference, but the student is responsible for answering parent questions and concerns about student learning. Students share with their parents what they have learned, show their parents their work, and discuss areas of strength and weakness. We have recognized that after the conferences our students:
* Assume greater control of their academic progress.
* Accept personal responsibility for their behaviors and academic performance.
* Learn the process of self-evaluation.
* Develop organizational and oral communication skills.
We have open and honest conversations with our students about their academics which assists us in pushing them to reach and exceed their potential. We look forward to the students sharing these experiences with you. In the upcoming weeks, I will be sharing with you questions that you can ask your child during the conferences so you can make the most of your time with your child and their teachers.
Please note that at Lafayette there are four days of early dismissal due to conferences: December 5th - 8th.
A Note from Mr. Freyre
I am happy to hear that everyone had a safe and fun filled Halloween. Over the past month, I have been collaborating with our School Counselor, Ms. Cindy Weiner, to visit each fourth grade classroom during their Character Period class. During their Character Period, Ms. Weiner and I discuss the differences between effective and ineffective communication with the students. This conversation is led by an activity that instructs students to work together to rebuild a Lego structure. Throughout the discussions, Ms. Weiner and I have incorporated aspects of the Anti-Bullying Law to teach students the differences between a conflict and "bullying". We have discussed specific language that if connected to a person's characteristic (hair color, ethnicity, weight, intelligence, etc.) is targeted, that the incident could potentially lead to a Harassment, Intimidation and Bullying (HIB) investigation. Upon completing the character lesson with fourth grade, we will begin visiting fifth grade rooms. We look forward to working with all the students to help them learn about effective and kind communication.
Please feel free to contact me if you should have any questions.
Career Day @ LAF - Survey
This year Lafayette School is considering hosting a career day on March 24, 2017.
We are looking for parent volunteers who would enjoy sharing their current career or a past career with our students and staff. Your presentation would last about 15-20 minutes with a Q&A period. If more than one person shares a career, you can work as a team or present on a panel. If you think you would enjoy sharing a bit about your job, please fill out the interest survey below. This survey is not a commitment on your part. Once we have everyone's interest, we will contact you with further information regarding our career day. If you have any questions, you can contact Cheryl Russo, Principal; Cindy Weiner, School Counselor; or Kyle Kermick, Design and Technology teacher.
Books and Bites Blog
Out latest LMC Blog is filled with student work, book recommendations and even some recipes. Thank you to our amazing LMC staff and the Broadcast Club for connecting our garden and Farm to School to books.
A Note from the PTO
Happy Fall Lafayette Families! As we enter November, I’d like to take a moment to thank you all for donating, volunteering and making Lafayette such a special school.
HALLOWEEN CANDY FOR THE TROOPS
“Snickers” the Robot is in the lobby by the main office and ready to receive your left over candy. All donated candy will be gathered, packaged and sent to our troops. Snickers will be at the school until Monday, November 7th to receive your candy donations. Thank you Janet Moran for organizing!
RUMMAGE SALE
November’s big event is the Lafayette Rummage Sale. This year’s sale will take place on Saturday, November 19th! The last early donation drop off for the Rummage Sale is this Saturday, November 5th from 12:00pm - 2:00pm at 14 Pembrooke Road (Chatham Township) and 1 Maple Street (Chatham Township). Please see the attached flyer for donation drop off times on November 17th and 18th, as well. We need more volunteers to make this event a success! The Rummage Sale is a great event for the whole community! Please consider signing up at http://signup.com/go/NEgNgA to help!
BOOK FAIR
Mae Hacking and Terry Cooper did an amazing job running the LAF Book Fair! Family night was a huge success with Oink and Moo and the Old Fashioned Ice Cream Truck. We sold a record number of books. Parents, students and teachers were thrilled with the titles available! Thank you to the many volunteers who gave of their time to make the Book Fair such a great event!
MINI-MARATHON
Brenda Colvin and her whole team had a fantastic race day! Our runners were ready and their smiles were priceless as they crossed the finish line. It takes a great number of volunteers to make this event possible. Thank you to everyone that gave of their time and to the parents and grandparents that came out to cheer on their runners, we thank you too!
KING ARTHUR BREAD BAKE
Wow! Thank you to the Lafayette community for the tremendous amount of bread that was baked! We were able to donate over 650 loaves to area food banks. A huge thank you to Janet Moran who organized and distributed all the bread!
PTO DUES
Ninety percent of our parents have paid their PTO Dues. Thank you! If you have not paid your PTO Dues of $20.00, please send in cash/check in your child’s backpack or pay online at https://squareup.com/store/lafpto
GENERAL FUND
Thank you to all of you who have contributed so generously to the Lafayette General Fund! If you have not donated and wish to do so, please send cash/check in your child’s backpack or donate online at https://squareup.com/store/lafpto The PTO of the Chathams is a 501(c))3 non-profit organization, so all of your donations are tax deductible and can be matched by your employer.
We are thrilled to announce that we have already donated Back Jack Chairs for reading nooks in various classrooms, new books for the library, Little Suns solar panels for our D&T classroom and new books for Reading Workshop. Your dollars are at work every day at LAF!
Our next PTO meeting is Thursday, January 5th at 9:15am.
Have a lovely holiday season and I wish you a wonderful 2017!
Kathryn Himstreet
LAF PTO President
School Messenger Email & Text System
School Messenger is updated nightly with the phone and email information you have listed in Genesis under Guardian 1 and 2. Please add/update your contact information accordingly based on where you want to receive alerts. Please make sure that cell phone numbers are entered in the field for cell phone. If you choose to opt into our texting messaging alerts from School Messenger, you will only be able to do so if you subscribe to SMS alerts from a cell phone number that is listed in a cell phone field under Guardian 1 or 2 on this page. If Guardians share an email address, please list it under one of the guardians and not both.
If you want to receive School Messenger SMS (text message) alerts, subscribe by texting “Y” to 68453. To unsubscribe at any time text “N” to 68453.
Please enter at least 2 Emergency Contacts. When entering Emergency Contacts, you can enter multiple phone numbers. Do not enter Guardians as Emergency Contacts because, in the event of an emergency, we will always contact the Guardians listed on this page before Emergency Contacts. If you need to add or modify a street address or a Guardian’s name, please call Sally Moreno in Central Office Registration, at 973-457-2560.