Berkeley Lake ES
"Bear Essentials" Weekly e-Newsletter, August 14, 2020
Principal's Message
Dear Parents,
Thank you for your patience and persistence as we launched our first-ever digital first day(s) of school! As I visited classrooms, I had the same excitement seeing the children's faces on Zoom as I do when they all rush in on the first day. Even with the technical glitches and first-day jitters, nothing was going to steal my joy this week because I have just missed the kids so much!
As you know, we re-adjusted class lists for kindergarten, 1st, and 2nd grades to reflect your preference for digital vs. in person instruction in the event that students return to school later this month. For now, we will freeze class lists until we see when and how many students return to the building. I appreciate you getting your input to me so quickly and your understanding of why we made those changes now, rather than a few weeks from now. It doesn't take long for the student-teacher bond to form and we hope to minimize any further changes in those grade levels.
Finally, I want to thank those of you who have reached out with words of encouragement during the past two weeks. It really lifted me up during what has been a difficult time. Please do let me know if I can help you in any way and I hope you have a great weekend!
Your Principal and Partner,
Dr. Pendleton
Do You Need to Change Your Contact Information in our System?
Parents, if you need to edit your information in our school records, like phone numbers, emergency contacts, etc., please do not to go to the registration site to do so. That site is ONLY for new students registering to the school. Any information changes entered will most likely not be made. If the name is recognized as an existing student it will not allow the information you input to upload.
Instead, go to your Parent Portal account, and you will see the options of making edits and adding information. Once the information is submitted the school receives a notice.
Virtual Curriculum Nights Coming Up Soon
Curriculum Nights will be virtual this year. Your teacher will send you a Zoom link so you can attend. Mark it on your calendar to be available for the meeting so you can hear all the teacher has to tell you about the curriculum and expectations.
Thursday, August 20
5:30pm Zoom Curriculum Night Pre-K and K
6:15pm Zoom Curriculum Night 1st Grade
7:00pm Zoom Curriculum Night 2nd Grade
Thursday, August 27
5:30pm Zoom Curriculum Night 3rd Grade
6:15pm Zoom Curriculum Night 4th Grade
7:00pm Zoom Curriculum Night 5th Grade
Need Tech Help During Digital Learning?
- Check the BLES website for troubleshooting guides.
- If you are not able to resolve your problem with the help guides, reach out to your child's teacher.
- If the teacher is unable to help you resolve the issue, complete the form in the Technology Help section of the website and someone in Tech Support will get back to you.
Meals Available for Students During Digital Learning
On Wednesday, we began our curbside meal pick up to provide our students meals during digital learning. If you are interested in picking up a meal for your child, there will be a table outside in the front of the school. You will pull into the front drive and walk up to the table outside to pick up the meals. Meals will only be available for pick up between 10:30 AM to 12:30 PM, Monday-Thursday. Thursday’s pick-up will include meals for both Thursday and Friday. Students will be offered the choice of both a breakfast and a lunch each day. Students will need to present their Student ID cards. This allows us to process and properly account for the meal. We will give those out the first day you come for a meal. The student does not need to be present to receive a meal. A Parent/Guardian may pick up a meal for their child, but he/she must have the Student ID card in order to validate their child’s enrollment and eligibility. Students will be charged for their meals based on their current eligibility of Free, Reduced, or Full Pay. In order to limit direct contact, we strongly encourage parents to add money to their child’s account via MyPaymentsPlus.
If you need to complete the Free and Reduced Priced Meal Application please click here. The application must be filled out each school year. Please complete as soon as possible.
Berkeley Lake Counselors
Lyndsay Murphy and Laura Marantz are honored to serve as your BLES School Counselors!
During digital learning, the Berkeley Lake Elementary School counselors will continue supporting students' academic success, career development, and social-emotional growth, utilizing Zoom and phone for individual meetings, conferences, presentations, groups, and classroom lessons/activities. In addition the counselors can help families connect with community, economic and mental health resources.
Students can request a virtual or phone meeting with their school counselor by using the Counselor Contact form on the BLES Counselor e-class page. Counselors will make contact with the student's family once a student request is made to make arrangements for a Zoom or phone call. Families are encouraged to contact us via phone and email as well. The counselors love to meet with and support our students and their families.
Please do not hesitate to contact your school counselors!
Laura Marantz, Ed.S. Grades Pre K, 1st, 3rd, 5th 770-582-7522 Lyndsay Murphy, M.A. Grades Pre K, Kindergarten, 2nd, 4th 770-582-7523
Back to School Food Drive
We must give a BIG thanks to our PTO and all the families who donated food for our BLES food pantry! We had a great response, with a lot of quality, non-perishable donations during school kit pick-up on Monday and Tuesday. Thank you for your thoughtfulness and caring. If you did not get to donate, please feel free to drop donations in the bin at the front of the school. Because of the great response, our pantry is open for business! Please contact a school counselor to access the pantry.
Resources for our Families:
Positive Intervention Behavior Support (PBIS)
PTO News
- Box Tops for Education is Online: Starting this year, Box Tops are being collected online only. Here are instructions for how to continue to give to our school using the new Box Tops process.
- PTO Membership and Donations: If you have a student enrolled at BLES, you’re a voting member of our Parent Teacher Organization (PTO). In lieu of a formal membership enrollment, we’d like for everyone who can to donate to the PTO so we can continue to provide financial support to our school. We’ve added two options for PTO donations on MyPaymentsPlus – the place where you already go to sign annual paperwork and pay for meals. Give to our general PTO fund to help pay for activities like STEM Night, cultural arts for each grade level and teacher supply reimbursements. We’ve also added a Helping Hands donation. Those donations go directly to buy essential items for our BLES food pantry. The suggested donation is $15 per family. However, we thank you for any amount you can contribute. Look for PTO in the “other payments” section. Email info@blespto.org if you have any questions.
- Spirit Wear is Coming Soon! Our new spirit wear website will be up and running in a couple weeks. We’ll have two new t-shirt designs. A couple weeks after the website closes, we’ll host a pick up day for shirts, socially distanced of course! To prepare for the change of seasons, we’ll have another online store in October with other new designs for sweatshirts and long-sleeved t-shirts. Special thanks to our spirit wear committee chairs, Amy Rodriguez and Kim Sheehan.
- Thank you! We appreciate your generosity to assist in filling our BLES Food Pantry during school supply pick up days this week. Please keep our food pantry in mind throughout the year! We appreciate our Helping Hands committee chair, Kori Dickens, for partnering with the counselors for this program.
A Look Ahead...
Curriculum Nights will be Virtual This Year. Your teacher will send you a Zoom link so you can attend. Mark it on your calendar to be available for the meeting so you can hear all the teacher has to tell you about the curriculum and expectations.
Thursday, August 20
5:30pm Zoom Curriculum Night Pre-K and K
6:15pm Zoom Curriculum Night 1st Grade
7:00pm Zoom Curriculum Night 2nd Grade
Thursday, August 27
5:30pm Zoom Curriculum Night 3rd Grade
6:15pm Zoom Curriculum Night 4th Grade
7:00pm Zoom Curriculum Night 5th Grade
The GASP (Georgia After School Program) is no longer available at Pinkneyville Park as previously advertised.
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.
Berkeley Lake Recycles
Berkeley Lake recycles aluminum cans and old clothes and shoes (in any condition) in the two bins in the upper parking lot. The Green Team receives 10¢ per pound of donations, which helps pay the fee for the weekly paper and cardboard pick-up. The aluminum cans are recycled at Progressive Recycling on Simpson Circle. Please support our Green Team by recycling these items here at Berkeley Lake. Thank you!
We Collect Box Tops (Online)
Our Parent Center
The Berkeley Lake Parent Center is located across from the front office and it's providing services by appointment. For Parent Center support please call Ms. Sandra Orci, Parent Liaison, at 678-291-4232 or email her 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