Berkeley Lake's Teacher of the Year
Short weeks are busy too! Everyone looked refreshed and rested from our long weekend when we returned this past Tuesday. We started the week with the announcement of our BLES Teacher of the Year (TOTY). Teachers were nominated by their peers to be TOTY candidates then completed applications. A group of PTA and faculty members narrowed the field to three finalists. These were Julie Asztalos, Berkley Fain and Paula Smith. These teachers were videotaped while instructing. Certified staff was asked to view these tapes and the nominees’ applications and then vote for our TOTY. The faculty selected Berkley Fain, who is one of our dynamic 5th grade teachers and a 10-year BLES veteran. Congratulations to Ms. Fain. We are so proud of her!
The Promise of Gwinnett Writing Competition
We have a new writing competition here in Gwinnett County for all students, grades K-5! The theme is ‘The Promise of Gwinnett’. While students will not be responding to a specific prompt, they should write about ‘promise’.
For example, How do you show your potential? How does your family encourage your dreams? What do you hope to do with your education?
Super important information about the contest and an entry form can be found in the folder outside Mrs. Shaw’s classroom, on her eClass page and on the BLES website.
- The entries MUST be the student’s original work- no revisions or edits by anyone other than the author!
- All entries must be turned in WITH a completed entry form to Mrs. Shaw no later than Friday, September 23rd.
The county winner of this writing competition will be entered in the Georgia Young Authors Writing Competition in the spring.
Your Input is Still Needed
Gwinnett County Public Schools is taking part in the AdvancED accreditation review process this school year. As part of that review process, every school must submit information and collect feedback by asking our parents to complete the AdvancED survey. We still need all parents to submit a survey response. We value your feedback and thank you for taking the online survey.
You can access this survey one of three ways:
- Through the Berkeley Lake website
- Directly through this link
- By scanning the QR code to the right.
Duluth Fall Festival
Ms. Fain will be featured among the BLES contingent at the upcoming Duluth Fall Festival Parade on Saturday, September 24th. Please consider joining us too. BLES families will be walking in the parade. I’ll be there, along with Mr. Carter and Ms. Barton. Wear your spirit wear or just purple and bring your family to join the fun! The parade starts at 10:00 and we are asked to line up at 9:15. Children must be accompanied by an adult. For more information contact PTA Volunteer, Lenka Taylor.
PTA Fundraiser Reminder
The PTA would like to remind everyone of the Charleston Wrap fundraiser going on now. It is a great opportunity to support our PTA, our school and our students. Be sure to bring in your completed coupons as you sell items so you can start collecting the monster keychains! All orders are due back to school by September 16th. Please sell to only friends and family - do not go door-to-door or sell to strangers. Use the Student Code found on your order form to register online so you receive credit for all your sales. If you have any questions, contact Emily Shih.
Have you Joined the PTA?
Our faculty has 100% membership and we want our parents there too! It’s only $7. The PTA Executive Board will meet next week to plan Bingo Night, Science Night, Literacy International Night, Cultural Arts, spirit wear, yearbook …and that’s just the beginning of the programs and events for our children. Please join by sending $7 to your child’s teacher marked PTA membership. We are asking each family to have one membership to support our fabulous PTA. Thank you to all the folks who have already joined the PTA and all the PTA volunteers.
Reflections Arts Contest
It's time to get creative! The PTA Reflections Arts Recognition Program is a national arts recognition and achievement program for students. This year's PTA Reflections theme is "What is Your Story?". Tell YOUR story through a poem or story, an original song, a photo or visual work of art, a short film, or a dance. Pick up a PTA Reflections Entry Form from the Media Center. The forms and submission rules are also available on the BLES and PTA website. Submissions are due back to the Media Center by Monday, September 26th. For more information or questions, please contact infoblespta@gmail.com.
Parent Teacher Conferences/Early Release Days
Parent Teacher Early Release Conference days are scheduled Wednesday, Sept. 28 and Thursday, Sept. 29. Sign up is now available online on the Berkeley Lake home page. Please sign up for your teacher conference online by September 22nd . Remember to plan for dismissal at 12:00 on both of these early release conference days. The teachers look forward to the conference to share your child’s progress.
Parent Workshop
Please join us on Tuesday, September 13th from 6 pm to 7 pm for a Parent Workshop on Technology Resources and Internet Safety. This workshop will be facilitated by Jessica Hill, our Local School Technology Coordinator, and our two counselors, Laura Marantz and Sara Penland. Please join us for important information about technology resources for parents.
K-Kids
K-Kids is a community service club for 4th and 5th grade students, which operates under school regulations and in partnership with the Kiwanis of Duluth. Our Kiwanis sponsors are George Rhode and Gil Guggenheimer; teacher advisors are Ms. Ashadale, Ms. Chung and Ms. Sentell; and parent volunteer, Valerie Bussey. K-Kids are the elementary version of Key Club in high schools. The K-Kids goals are to provide opportunities for working together in service to the school community, to develop leadership potential, to foster development of strong moral character and to encourage loyalty to school, community and nation. Above all else, K-Kids is a community service club whose members are dedicated to improving the school's community. K-Kids made decorations for today's Grandparents’ Day luncheon. Thank you to our K-Kids and all the grandparents and families that came out today for this annual special luncheon. PTA did a terrific job capturing memorable photos of our special guests.
Milestones Test Results
Parents of 4th and 5th grade students: Georgia Milestones Assessment System (GMAS) Student Scores have been uploaded into the Parent Portal. If you log in to the Parent Portal you will need to click on the Test History tab. Once there, you will scroll down to the bottom of the page. On the right hand side you will see Assessment Reports. Click on 2016 Spring End of Grade Student Report. You will be able to see how your child scored on the Milestones assessment. Right below that link is the 2016 Milestones End of Grade Parent Guide. This is a great resource to inform you on how to read the individual student report. We are still waiting for the paper copies of the GMAS student reports to be delivered to the school. Once they have arrived, they will be sent home with your child. If you have any questions, please contact Sophia Barton.
Best of the Bus
On September 12, we will kick-off our Best of Bus (B.O.B.) program! This program helps bus drivers strengthen positive relationships with students and their parents. It also connects the behavior of students on the bus to the school building. The school supports the bus drivers with added recognition programs for individual students and student groups. Additionally, the school will routinely check with drivers regarding successes, challenges and needs. Individual student's positive behavior will be recognized by bus drivers giving an “Ask Me” sticker to any student who is displaying an exceptional desired behavior. The bus driver always includes a simple statement about the positive behavior which earned the sticker. Adults in the school reinforce the “Ask Me” sticker by asking those students wearing them to explain what they did to earn it. Bus drivers will also distribute a Paw Point to students with each “Ask Me” sticker. Whole Bus positive behavior will be recognized with a "Tire Placard" for each trip to or from school with excellent behavior from all students on the bus. These buses will receive public recognition on the B.O.B. bulletin board, on the morning announcements and with a special B.O.B. certificate and presentation when a bus reaches 30 "Tire Placards."
IT Girls Club
IT Girls applications are in the 4th and 5th graders Friday folders today. As a part of our ongoing focus on STEM studies, we created "IT Girls" for students to encourage interest, understanding and hands-on development of these capabilities. The goal is to provide our students with a competitive advantage in their academic and future career interests by guiding them through real life, project-based work. Guest speakers with careers utilizing STEM concepts will provide insight, inspiration and guidance to our students. The club meets Tuesdays from 7 to 8 AM beginning October 11 and has room for 30 participants. Applications are due Friday, September 16 to Kathy Bentley.
The Parent Center
The Berkeley Lake Parent Center is open each day from 7:30-3:30. The Parent Center is located in room 1.194 in the front hall. Ms. Angela Schoenknecht, the Parent Instructional Coordinator (PIC), is available by appointment. Please call 678-291-4233 for Parent Center support or Ms. Sandra Orci, Parent Liaison at 678-291-4232.
Our Vision:
Berkeley Lake Elementary School 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.
