Longbranch Weekly Family Newsletter
SENT: August 20, 2017
The Leader in Me
The Leader in Me was created based on the tenets of Stephen Covey's 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, re-written by his son, Shawn, as The 7 Habits of Happy Kids. Our kids learn:
- The 7 Habits (Be Proactive, Begin With the End in Mind, Put First Things First, Think Win-Win, Seek First to Understand Then to Be Understood, Synergize, and Sharpen the Saw)
- The 5 Paradigms of TLIM (Everyone can lead. Change starts with me. Develop the whole child. Everyone has genius. Students can lead their own learning.)
- Leadership Behaviors (Eye contact, handshakes, greetings, listening to understand, empathy vs. sympathy, appropriately responding to questions)
To learn more about The Leader in Me, click here: http://www.theleaderinme.org/what-is-the-leader-in-me/
This Week's Events
MONDAY
TUESDAY
- SBDM at 4:30pm in the Library
- PTO Lighthouse/Action Teams 101 Meeting at 6:30 in the Cafeteria
WEDNESDAY
THURSDAY
- Bus Evacuations in the AM
FRIDAY
- No school events today.
WEEKEND
Volunteer Opportunities
Fall/Yearbook Photo Day
Speaking of yearbooks, they are in! We just need to get them sorted, accounted for, and distributed.
PTO Lighthouse Team
NEXT MEETING
Please join us for a PTO Info Night/Action Team 101 on Tuesday August 22nd @ 6:30pm. Meet your PTO Board and learn about our transition from a PTA to a PTO Lighthouse Team.Learn all about Parent Action teams and how you can get involved in them.
POPCORN FRIDAYS
If you did not fill out your form at meet the teacher night and your child/children would like to participate in our Popcorn Fridays 9 times this school year, please complete the form and return it with your child by 8/28/17. $5.00 per child covers all 9 of our popcorn Fridays! Our first Popcorn Friday will take place on Friday September 1st!
AMAZON SMILE
Support Longbranch while you shop by shopping at AmazonSmile! Go to smile.amazon.com to create your account, search for "Longbranch Elementary PTO" as your
organization, and .5% of your purchase goes back to the school! Amazon will donate 0.5% of your purchase
to Longbranch Elementary PTO. Support us every time you shop! AmazonSmile is the same Amazon you know!
Same products, same prices, same service
KROGER DONATES 4%
Kroger donates 4% of all money you spend after you scan your Kroger Plus card as long as you connect the Plus card to our Longbranch PTA account. Click Community Rewards. Search for Longbranch and connect your plus card with Longbranch PTA. It's the EASIEST fundraiser you'll ever participate in, period. https://www.kroger.com/account/enrollCommunityRewardsNow
KONA ICE DAYS
We are looking for a team of parents to help us on Kona Ice Days to:
- Organize the classroom money collection.
- Be the point of contact with Kona on Kona Ice Days.
- Assist students with getting their syrup.
If you'd like to be on this team, please email Amanda: amanda.scroggin24@gmail.com
ACTION TEAM LEADERS
Solar Eclipse Q and A
Here's our most common eclipse questions answered! If we've missed your question, e-mail me: erika.bowles@boone.kyschools.us
1. Who is going outside to view the eclipse?
Anyone with a permission slip AND their own glasses
2. Can they go outside even if their teacher is not taking the class outside?
Yes, the administrators will take kids outside who have the permission slip AND their own glasses
3. What if the class is going outside but I don't want my child to go outside?
Your child will watch the eclipse via live feed indoors
4. Can I take my child out of school to watch the eclipse?
Yep. We recommend you fill out an EHO form so there's no reflection on your child's attendance record but you are also welcome to use a parent note for this absence.
5. What if I didn't turn in my EHO before August 21st.
No problem. Turn it in on the 22nd.
6. I don't want my child riding the bus home at 3:45 because the eclipse window doesn't end until closer to 4pm.
No problem. Write us a note and we'll hold your child at school until 4pm. You do need to come to school at 4pm to pick your child up. There will be no bus transportation at 4pm.
7. Are you going out for recess on August 21st.
Nope.
8. What about mid-day kindergarten? Are they riding on the bus.
Yes. The eclipse window doesn't open until they are all either safely back home or safely at school for the afternoon session.
9. Do you have glasses?
We do not. We canvased the entire tri-state area (or at least everyone on the district bid list in the tri-state area). We did not acquire any eclipse glasses.
10. Can I send in cereal box or other homemade viewers for my child to use?
No. Our directive is glasses only with the ISO approved code marked clearly on the glasses.
11. Can I pick my child up early on August 21st and use an EHO instead of a parent note.
Yes you may.
Cafeteria Visitors
From our Unified Arts Team (aka Specials teachers)
Art with Mr. Steele
Spanish with Mrs. Plaski
Music with Mrs. Melvin
PE with Mrs. Freihofer
Keyboarding or PBL with Mrs. Roberts
Library with Mrs. Niemi and Mrs. Hamm
STEAM for grades 3-5 with TBD
Be looking for a UA newsletter in a few weeks! For now remember gym shoes on your PE day.
Parent Handbook and School Policies
From Our Staff Lighthouse Team
We are excited to have new student Leadership Guides this year from The Leader in Me. Our guides help us to focus our instruction on Creating a Leadership Culture, Leading Your Self, Leading Others, and More Ways to Lead. We are looking forward to setting Wildly Important Goals (WIGs) with students and this year we are getting gutsy with our goals!
Volunteering at School
You also need to complete our school volunteer training. The company that previously housed our training online has gone out of business and our training is kaput. I will be rebuilding the training and it will be back in action very soon.
New District Grading Policy and Scale
90-100 = A
80-89 = B
70-79 = C
69 and below = Incomplete
Anything below a 70 will be considered Incomplete. A student scoring an Incomplete in any content area will experience remediation either during or after school until the grade is at 70 or above. If the grade remains Incomplete at the end of the school year, it will become a D or F. Our goal is mastery of content so D's and F's will not be a part of our vocabulary unless we are experiencing an exceptional circumstance.
Remediation may occur during the core content class, during the extension block, or as a part of before or after school ESS.
FALL EVENTS
22: SBDM at 4:30pm and PTO Info Night/Action Team 101 at 6:30pm
23: Strings demo at school for grades 3, 4, and 5
24: Bus evacuations at bus dismissal in AM
25: Bus driver breakfast at 8:15am, Kona Ice Day
28: Ballyshannon Redistricting Board Workshop at Ralph Rush at 6:30pm
29: Strings parent meeting at 6:30 in the cafeteria
30: Girl Scout parent meeting at 6pm, Lifetouch Fall Pictures
SEPTEMBER
1: Popcorn Friday and Spirit Day
4: No School--Labor Day (Building closed to employees)
6: Superintendent's Advisory Council
12: SBDM at 4:30pm
14: School Board Meeting at Ralph Rush Center at 7:30pm
15: Kona Ice Day
19-29: Boosterthon Fun Run
OCTOBER
6: Kentucky Kids Day, Cooper Homecoming, Tailgating, Popcorn Friday, Spirit Day
10: Bus Evacuations at AM dropoff and SBDM at 4:30pm
12: School Board Meeting at Ralph Rush Center at 7:30pm
13: NO SCHOOL--Professional Day for Staff (Waived)
16: NO SCHOOL-Flexible Inservice Day for Staff
18: 4th Grade Field Trip to Frankfort
20: Kona Ice Day
27: Practice Leadership Day
31: 2017 Leadership Day/Host Site for Cincinnati Leader in Me Summit
NOVEMBER
1: Superintendent's Advisory Council Meeting
3: Popcorn Friday and Spirit Day
9: School Board Meeting at Ralph Rush Center at 7:30pm
14: SBDM at 4:30pm
17: Kona Ice Day
22-24: NO SCHOOL-Thanksgiving
29: 5th Grade Field Trip to Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra