Berkeley Lake ES
"Bear Essentials" Weekly e-Newsletter, April 24, 2020
Principal's Message
Dear Parents,
Thank you to those of you who attended my Coffee Talk Zoom on Thursday. It was great seeing so many of you! For those who could not attend, here is a recording of the meeting and link to the power point presentation. Key points are below:
“What if you woke up one day, and had to be an entirely different parent from the one you were the day before? For much of America, that day arrived last month.”
As we move into our second month of digital learning at BLES, we want our message to parents to be clear:
- The school does not want to add pressure, stress, or chaos to your already-complicated life.
- There is a team of people available to you for academic, technical, emotional, or economic support.
- While we cannot create anything like a sense of normalcy, we do want our students to feel connected to and supported by the school community.
Our plan going forward is to:
- Improve the digital learning experience
- Prioritize key AKS
- Keep students engaged
Promotion
GCPS wants to be sure that the move to digital learning does not have a negative impact on students. Grading and promotion practices will be designed to reflect that.
K-8: GCPS will base promotion on a student’s understanding and mastery of the AKS curriculum for his or her grade level. If a student is recommended to repeat a grade, the school or teacher will discuss it with the student’s family.
End of Year and Summer
We do not yet have enough information to tell you how or when students will be able to pick up their personal items, return books, etc.
If the current COVID situation is resolved in time and it is safe to hold summer school, GCPS would offer it primarily to students who had low participation in DLD and whose teachers recommend additional help based on the student’s limited understanding and mastery of the curriculum.
Plans are in the works to hold some kind of virtual end-of-year celebration virtually and to celebrate our 5th graders.
Beginning next week, the front office will be under renovation. No summer programs, including summer school or Camp Invention will be located at BLES.
Class lists will be shared in July, similar to how we did it last year.
Assuming we are back in school on August 5th, we will have a back to school bash in September.
As we continue to collect questions from you, we will answer them in this document. We will also post this FAQ's document on our website so you can refer to it at anytime.
I hope your and your family are staying safe and that you have a great weekend!
Your Principal and Partner,
Dr. Pendleton
News for Parents of 5th Graders:
Making Music Selection for 6th Grade Connections Classes
Please complete this short survey regarding your 5th grade child and middle school music connections and choices. You will need to be logged into your child's eClass G Suite for Education account to gain survey access. (If you have already completed the survey via your homeroom teacher's eClass page, you do not need to do it again.)
Completing this will give the middle school music directors a good idea of whom to expect and allow them to get you in the correct places more efficiently and quickly. I will continue to come out with any middle school music program updates between now and the end of the school year. Thank you!
Mr. Matt Green - BLES Music Specials Teacher
Duluth Middle School Information Page for Rising 6th Graders
News for All
Last Day for Meal Preparation and Delivery
Be Aware of Fraudulent Emails and Calls During this Time
Digital Show and Tell
This week, we announced to students another optional opportunity. Several Duluth High School seniors who are a part of the National Honor Society have created a Digital Show and Tell, with the idea that students will work on a personal project throughout the week and send in videos of what they were able to accomplish or learn. Some examples might be learning a new song, drawing a picture, or working on a computer program. If your student would like to submit his/her Digital Show and Tell video, please click this link to do so. The flyer below gives additional information, but the link in it will not work from this view, so please use the link from the previous sentence to submit work or view the PDF below the image.
Sports Matter Writing Competition
BLES would like to give a shout out to the following fourth and fifth grade students who participated in the Sports Matter Writing Competition!
- Angel Chen
- Isabella Cotugno
- Gabe Delima
- Sophia He
- Yet Ang Lim
- Eva Salomon
- Elyse Santoso
- Adam Tran
The winning entry will be notified by May 31st. Good luck to all!
700 for 700 Campaign
Please consider donating to the 700 for 700 Campaign, a grassroots Duluth Cluster initiative that is providing food boxes and other resources for struggling families.
How you can help:
- Donate food items at Life Church International, 4830 River Green Parkway, Suite 200, Duluth GA 30096.
- Money donations can be made at @DMSPTA VENMO or Satisfeed.org/Donate.
- Volunteer at the Saturday food pickups. Contact dmsptaga@gmail.com for more information.
- Spread the word to others to donate.
- Spread the word to families in need. Food boxes include forty pounds of fresh food for a suggested five dollar donation. Pickup is each Saturday 10:00- 1:00 at Life Church International. See more information below under Food Resources.
Virtual Spirit Week
Need to Register a New Student or Withdraw a Student?
Georgia Special Needs Scholarship/SB10
Letters to parents explaining the program, as well as the transfer request forms are posted on the Gwinnett County Public Schools Special Education website for parents to view and download. Here is the address - http://publish.gwinnett.k12.ga.us/gcps/home/public/about/curr-inst/content/seps/georgia-special-needs-scholarship
Opportunity to Share Student Artwork on the High Museum of Art's Social Media Pages Continues:
The High Museum of Art wants to celebrate all of the work that art teachers, teachers, students, and caregivers who-are-now-teachers are doing at home! The High Museum team has worked really hard to create a Virtual Student Exhibition gallery that will live on Facebook and most likely be shared out in Instagram and Twitter. They want submissions! This is for students who are Pre-Kindergarten through 12th grade. Students can submit their artwork through this link:
https://hmaatl.wufoo.com/forms/high-museum-online-student-exhibition/
Gwinnett Book-It 5K
How does this virtual 5K work?
• On May 2, registrants will receive a short form to complete. A self-reported time will be optional.
• Whether you were able to run the full 5K or complete a .5 mile fun run, you will receive a Book Mobile race day shirt in the mail.
• Everyone who completes the form will be entered in a drawing for great prizes – Stripers tickets, Fox Theater tickets, and more!
Runners are encouraged to post pictures of their 5K/Fun Run on social media - #bookitforthe bus, and tagging @gcpslibraries. Let’s connect and encourage each other!
Click here for more information or to register for the event.
GOT P.E?
Yes we do!
Join our P.E. teacher, Ms. Birozes, as she follows a daily workout led by "Joe the P.E. Coach," from England. Joe does a daily workout Monday through Friday on the YouTube channel for the Body Coach TV. Enjoy his funny and motivational character as he guides us to a "total body" workout. This week he is playing trivia with us as we exercise. Have FUN!
Parent Teacher Organization (PTO) News:
Updated PTO Planning for 2021:
It’s time to select next year’s board so we can begin our planning and budgeting process.
We typically have a live meeting so you can meet and ask questions of our candidates. Given our current state, we’ll need to vote online. Please get to know the candidates for next year’s PTO board by viewing their biographies on our site.
Please submit your vote via this survey by next Friday, May 1.
Remember, if you have a student enrolled at BLES that means you’re a member and you have a vote.
We are still in need of two Vice Presidents. (You can write in yourself or a nomination for someone else in the survey. We can follow up with a separate vote after we find new candidates for Vice President.)
Email us at info@blespto.org if you have any questions or challenges with voting.
Yearbooks:
May 8 is the Deadline for All Yearbook Activity: Go to this site for news about this year’s yearbook features – including online signing. All purchases, photo uploads, customizing pages and online yearbook signing must be completed by that date. Upload your photos and customize your book now to help us commemorate this historic year!
(If you have any trouble loading your photos to share in this year’s yearbook, we’ve created this site in addition to the Tree Ring site. You can load your photos in either place.)
Purchase Your School Supply Kits for Next Year Before May 29:
Food Resources:
Food from BLES
Duluth Co-Op
Now appointments only for food pick up because of shelter in place order.
Food, Personal Care Items, Baby Items & Clothing
3395 Fox Street ,Building 101
Duluth ,GA 30096
770-623-9563
www.duluthco-op.org
serving 30096 and 30097 zip codes
Norcross Co-Op
Please call to verify times
Food & Clothing, School Supplies, Financial Assistance
500 Pinnacle Ct.
Norcross, GA 30071
770-263-0013 (Contact person – Shirley Cabe)
shirley@norcrossco-op.org
www.norcrossco-op.org
serving Norcross and Peachtree Corners zip codes
*Address has been updated from the first time information was sent out. Please use this address.
Cross Pointe the Church at the Gwinnett Center
Please call to verify times
Food, Personal Care Items, Clothing
1800 Satellite Blvd.
Duluth ,GA 30097
678-812-4500 (Contact person – Linda Mann)
Satisfeed.org
Life Church International
4830 River Green Parkway
Suite 200
Duluth, GA 30096
Pick up Saturdays from 10am-1pm
Receive a 40 pound food box for $5.00 per family (suggested donation)
Other Resources:
Need an Internet Hotspot?
Remember you can also turn your cell phone into a hotspot using these directions.
Parent Support Group
Need to Reach One of Our BLES Counselors While School is Out?
GCPS offers the following resources to continue our mission of teaching and learning while looking out for the health and safety of our students, staff, and learning communities.
Get Georgia Reading
New - Gwinnett Public Library Offering Free Online Tutoring for Students:
A partnership with the Gwinnett County Public Library (GCPL) is bringing online tutoring to GCPS students. Gaining access is as easy as 1-2-3. View or Click on the PDF flyer below for more information.
Additional Resources Offered by the Gwinnett Public Library:
Save the Date!
Open House/Meet Your Teacher Day for the 2020-2021 School Year
Meet Your Teacher Day for the 2020-2021 school year will take place on Friday, July 31st. Normally, Meet Your Teacher Day falls on the first Thursday in August, but since school is set to start on August 5th next year, the date was moved up.
Do You Have a Parent Portal Account?
If you need to register with the portal, please print and complete this registration form and turn it in to the main office. Along with the completed form, you are required to show a photo I.D. for verification.
Remember to Save Those Box Tops!
Box Tops for Education is changing the way we submit Box Tops products to benefit our school. We’ve earned hundreds of dollars from this fundraiser. We hope this will continue as we switch over to this new, online effort. The change is: No more clipping! All you need is your smart phone to download the Box Tops for Education App, select Berkeley Lake Elementary School and scan the receipts with Box Tops products to help our school earn cash. Download this flyer for more details.
Our Parent Center
The Berkeley Lake Parent Center is closed for the remainder of the 2019-2020 school year. We look forward to opening back up for you to check out instructional materials once we return to school. If you have questions or comments please do not hesitate to contact our Parent Outreach Liason, Sandra Orci at Sandra.Orci@gcpsk12.org
Our Mission
To provide learning experiences in a secure and stimulating environment where every child can develop to his/her fullest potential academically, socially, and emotionally.
Our Vision
BLES 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.
Contact Us:
Berkeley Lake Elementary
4300 S. Berkeley Lake Rd.
Duluth, Georgia 30096
P: (770)446-0947
F: (770)582-7514