Bear Essentials

I can't wait to see many of you at our Family Fun Night, tonight from 5-7 PM! The weather is expected to be clear and warm. Perfect for a fun-filled night!

Georgia Milestones testing continues next week in grades 3-5. Our students will participate in the math portions of the assessment on Monday and Tuesday. Fifth grade will take the science portion on Thursday. We appreciate your support with making sure our students arrive on time and well-rested.

I have some bittersweet news to share with you all. Our AMAZING Parent Outreach Liaison, Sandra Orci, has been accepted into a graduate program where she will be working to earn her master's degree in education. We are so proud of her! With that being said, she will be leaving her position at the end of the school year. Ms. Orci has dedicated so much to Berkeley Lake and I know she has touched the lives of our families, students, and staff. She will be greatly missed.

It's hard to believe Monday is the first day of May. This is always a busy month with end of year assessments and activities. Be sure to check the Bear Essentials or website each week for upcoming events.

As always, I appreciate your continued support. My door is always open for feedback. Have a wonderful weekend!

Sincerely,

Ashley Coughlin

Ashley.Coughlin@gcpsk12.org

Healthy Kids Day® is the Y’s national initiative to improve the health and well-being of kids and families. For over 30 years, YMCAs and their communities hosted free community events aimed to inspire kids and families to keep their minds and bodies active throughout the summer months and beyond.

There are many locations for this event, but the closest one will be at the Robert D. Fowler Family YMCA at 5600 W Jones Bridge Rd, Peachtree Corners GA 30092-2036.

Shop unique arts and crafts while enjoying live entertainment, a chalk-art contest*, and food trucks. event is from 12:00 - 4:00 PM. Jones Bridge Park 4901 East Jones Bridge Road | Peachtree Corners | 678.277.0920. See the flyer below for more details.

Monday, May 1

• Atlanta Opera Comes for 3rd & 5th grade performances
• Title 1 Document Review in Parent Center
  
• First Day of Asian Pacific American Heritage Month
• 8:30am GMAS Gr 3-5 - Math Part 1
• 3:00pm Chess Club
• 3:15pm Green Team meets
  

Tuesday, May 2

• 8:30am GMAS Gr 3-5 - Math Part 2
  
• 9:30am Play to Learn

Wednesday, May 3

• GMAS Make-Ups
  
• 9:00am Basic English Class in the Parent Center

Thursday, May 4

• 8:30am GMAS Gr 5 - Science
  
• 5:30pm PTO Volunteer/Informational Meeting (In-person or through Zoom. Access information below.)

Friday, May 5

• GMAS Make-Ups
  
• Cinco de Mayo

Saturday, May 6

• Book Mobile Fun Run at the ISC

Students will take Part 1 of the Georgia Milestones Math Test. We would like students in grades 3rd-5th to be at school by 8:00 am to get settled and get breakfast if needed. GMAS testing will start promptly at 8:30 am. If a student is tardy, they may miss the test administration and need to do the assessment at a later time on a make-up day.

The Atlanta Opera company will come to perform "Hansel and Gretel" in the media center on Monday, May 1. This opportunity is for all 3rd and 5th graders and is a free performance for our students. The performance will be about 40 minutes long, followed by a 5 minute question and answer session from the performers.

Chess Club and Green Team will meet after school.

Students will take Part 2 of the Georgia Milestones Math Test. We would like students in grades 3rd-5th to be at school by 8:00 am to get settled and get breakfast if needed. GMAS testing will start promptly at 8:30 am. If a student is tardy, they may miss the test administration and need to do the assessment at a later time on a make-up day.

9:30 - 11:00am

If your 3rd, 4th or 5th grader was absent for any of the Georgia Milestones Test sections earlier in the week, he/she will participate in make-up testing.

Parent liaison, Sandra Orci, will continue her basic English class free to BLES parents in the Parent Center from 9:00-11:00am. Anyone is welcome.

5th Grade Students will take the Science portion of the Georgia Milestones Test. We would like students in grades 3rd-5th to be at school by 8:00 am to get settled and get breakfast if needed. GMAS testing will start promptly at 8:30 am. If a student is tardy, they may miss the test administration and need to do the assessment at a later time on a make-up day.

If your 3rd, 4th or 5th grader was absent for any of the Georgia Milestones Test sections earlier in the week, he/she will participate in make-up testing.

The 5K is our only fundraiser of the year to put new books into kids' hands!

Let’s top last year’s number of 766 registrations and make this an even greater day to support literacy!

Remember: the school with the most 5K registrations wins a visit from the GCPS Book Mobile! The trip fee is waived, and the first 200 books given away are free!

Register at bookmobile5k.com and get the awesome shirt shown here.

If you aren't able to do the 5K and would like to make a donation to the Book Mobile program with a credit or debit card, follow these steps on the GCPS Foundation page:

• Use this link to get started
• Select or type the amount as a one-time gift to the Book Mobile fund
• A $100 donation gets your name or an honoree listed on the back of the race day t-shirt.
• Complete the billing and payment information
• You will receive a confirmation letter from the GCPS Foundation in the mail.

• When: May 4 at 5:30 PM in person at school or on Zoom.
• What: Join us to learn about the BLES PTO - everything you ever wanted to know, but weren’t sure who to ask. We will share answers to questions like what is involved, who can contribute and join (Pssst! Spoiler alert…EVERYBODY?) and we also will be offering a big thanks to this year’s current volunteers! It’s also a great opportunity to address any and all needs, concerns and events for the upcoming 2023-2024 school year!
• Light refreshments will be provided.
• We hope to see everyone there! 💜 If you can’t make it in person, you can join by Zoom.

  Join Zoom Meeting Link
  https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87986418077

  Meeting ID: 879 8641 8077

• Email one single picture to Amy Potter at oakyma2023@gmail.com and please include your child's name and homeroom teacher's name in the email.

• We are so proud of our 5th graders, and we have a super fun last day of school planned! We could use some help to make it a success. Please plan to come and help make it a fun and memorable day by clicking on this link to sign up! (Make sure to be on time and bring your ID for check in.)

  
  

Desserts and Treats needed for the Teacher Appreciation Lunch on May 10th

• Let’s treat our teachers and staff to some delicious desserts. Please click here to sign up to bring in a dessert for the appreciation lunch on May 10th.

Parent input is valuable to us, so please take a few minutes to read the draft documents and give your opinion on the draft documents for the 23-24 school year. The draft documents are linked below and are available on BLES website and in the Parent Center until May 1st.

Below are links to all the draft documents, as well as a link to the input form:

• Click here to review the LSPI Summary Draft Proposal.
• Click here to review The Plan & The Promise Draft Proposal.
• Click here to review the Budget Draft Proposal.
• Click here to review the Wish List Draft Proposal.
• Click here to provide input.

Click here to preview summer enrichment opportunities and activities for gifted and high ability students. Students can benefit greatly by participating in summer enrichment opportunities and activities. Examples of academic, social, and personal benefits may include:

Academic

• Studying topics of interest at an in-depth level.

• Exploring potential college majors, fields of study, and careers.

• Continuing the learning momentum from the academic school year.

• Learning about topics that extend beyond the school curriculum.

• Increasing academic motivation and goals.

• Participating in hands-on and practical academic activities.

• Becoming familiar with a new learning environment.

Social

• Engaging in high-level discourse with other motivated students.

• Meeting students from different schools, regions, states, and countries.

• Developing lasting friendships with peers who share similar interests.

• Discussing areas of interest in an in-depth manner with other participants.

• Learning in a collaborative and cooperative environment.

Personal

• Enhancing self-confidence through accomplishing goals.

• Gaining new perspectives and ideas about society.

• Enhancing intrapersonal skills.

• Discovering personal characteristics and qualities.

• Developing an increased sense of self. Please share this information with your parents and students.

BLES 5th grader, Harbor Coggin, won the Gifted Student of the Year for BLES! He was invited to attend a ceremony and received an award for all of his hard work. Way to go, Harbin!

To celebrate this week, many of our students visited the BLES Media Center during National Library Week!

From May 1st - May 24th, all students should please return all of the Media Center books they have checked out as they become due. (This does not mean they need to return their books ON May 1st. Students should return the books as they become due.)

Students will be bringing pink notices home if they have overdue books or outstanding fines. Please remind your students to return their overdue books to the Media Center or take care of any outstanding book fines before they leave for the summer.

This summer, all Berkeley Lake Elementary students in grades K-5 are encouraged to participate in the Beanstack Summer Reading Challenge! We want to give students a summer reading experience that will help instill a love for reading among all of our students.

The Beanstack Summer Reading Challenge runs from June 1 to July 31, 2023. All students will be enrolled automatically in the challenge on our Beanstack site. We challenge our students to participate and keep track of their reading on our Beanstack site at http://gcpsk12berkeleylakees.beanstack.org/

Mrs. Norby will be monitoring the progress of BLES students who participate in the challenge and rewards will be given to those who participate! Students who participate will also be helping our school get to the top of the leaderboard! We're competing against schools and libraries across the nation for a chance to win cash prizes from Beanstack.

1. Click here to log into your student Beanstack account. For student login, students should use their student number and 4-digit birthday (mmdd).
2. Once students are logged in, they can access the Summer Reading Challenge, where they can log their reading and receive badges!

The K-Kids met on April 21st and cleaned up the playground for Earth Day! The group has had a fantastic year. Check out our video here.

The K-Kids will be visiting 4th grade classrooms in search of next years 2023-2024 K-Kid Members. Applications will be available beginning Monday outside Mrs. Ashadele's classroom and will be due May 10th.

We will say goodbye to this 5th grade group on May 18th at 1:45 in the BLES Café and award our K-Kid of the Year and the K-Kid that was selected for the Mel Hayden Medallion Award for outstanding service.

The Office of Family Engagement is partnering with The Office of Research, Evaluation, & Analytics to present a Parents/Families Virtual Focus Group. The focus group will be held on May 9, 2023, from 5:30 pm until 6:30 pm. During the session, parents will be introduced to the School Profile, and have the opportunity to ask questions and provide feedback.

Click here for the ZOOM link

and

here to see the flyers for this event in different languages.

Who: Parents/Guardians of students receiving Special Education services

What: Parent Mentors Present: “Self-Determination – What is it and How can I Support my Child?”

When: Thursday, May 11, 2023, 9:30am – 11:00am or 6:00 pm-7:30pm

Where: Click here for the In-Person registration link for 9:30am session

or

Click here for the Zoom registration link for 6pm session.

If your child is receiving special education services from GCPS, then the state is asking you to participate in a parent survey to measure parent/family perceptions of the success of parents engagement between home and local schools. The survey is now available and will run through May 31st. Click here to access the survey.

Spring Has Sprung! Please remind your students to wear tennis shoes daily. Family Fun Night is coming up with a lot of jumping activities and an obstacle course too, so safety is a priority!! Ankle support is especially needed with PE activities (and any other physical activities).

Be Safe and Have Fun,

Ms. Birozes

Parents, please do not bring fast foods or carbonated drinks into the cafeteria. Fast food is not permitted in the Cafeteria.

We still have camp scholarships left...

Discount Rate for Camp Invention Available Through Scholarship Funds

• Thanks to the generous support of the Nordson Corporation Foundation, a limited number of need-based scholarships are now available for students on a first-come, first-serve basis. The scholarship is for the amount of $150, which leaves a remaining camp fee of $125. If you are interested in this scholarship opportunity for your child, please email Trina.Ashadele@gcpsk12.org.
• More information about Camp Invention can be found in the Summer Camps section below. This camp will run June 5th - June 8th from 8:00AM - 4:00PM, but an extended day option is available for an additional charge.

Camp Invention is in search of Leaders in Training (LIT).

• Leaders in Training are adults or older teens looking who are willing to work the camp and learn more about its program. Leaders in Training can receive special codes to bring their own children to Camp Invention. Click here for more information about this program.

The fresh market at Friendship Baptist Church is now only open on Fridays from 3:00 - 5:00 PM.

Laundry Love is a non-profit program that provides free laundry service for low- or no-income families. There is a new location in our area.

• Simpson Circle Cleaners, 2880 Simpson Circle Norcross, GA 30071 (at intersection with Buford Highway)

Laundry Love events at this location are planned to take place monthly, but check with the laundromat or laundrylove@pleasanthillpc.org for details and updates.

Monthly Events:

• 1st Thursday mornings, 10am to noon
• 3rd Thursday evenings, 5:30-7:30pm

Registration Monday-Friday from 2:00-7:00 PM.

Ages 6-18

Click here for more information or scan the QR code in the image below.

Click here for more information.

We are looking for High School Leaders, Middle School leaders and Campers. Please check out this link for more information. Email Trina.Ashadele@gcpsk12.org if you have questions.

See flyer below for details or click the link here to register.

This camp is not the same as the coding camp above. This camp is different and intended for rising 1st to 6th graders.

"Cat Camp' is a one day camp hosted by Duluth Middle School for rising 6th graders. It will take place on July 20th, from 9:00 - 3:00.

Camp Rise was founded by a Speech Language Pathologist and an Occupational Therapist for children with special needs. It is a summer camp geared towards individuals with various diagnoses ages 4-13.

We provide a friendly, supportive, and cooperative atmosphere. Our approach fosters individual growth in functional communication and motor skills at each camper’s own pace. Click here or on the image below to learn more.

• Withdrawing or Enrolling a Student? Click here to learn the steps for the process.

• Parents, please do not bring in fast food to the school cafeteria. Thank you in advance for your cooperation in this matter.

• Would you like to purchase a small gift item for our PBIS (Positive Behavior and Intervention Store)? Click here to see our Wish List.

• Podcasts in English and Spanish

• If your family does not have internet at home and you will need it for the various Digital Learning Days, click here to request a hotspot now. You only need to request one per family and you may keep it for the entire school year. You will need to return it at the end of the year in May.

• Student fines - click here to see if your child has a library, technology, or other school fine.

• GCPS 2023-2024 School Year Calendar

• GCPS is Hiring

• Weekly eTips for Parents in English and Spanish

• Reminder about sending in birthday treats for students Per the Student Handbook: Parents may provide snacks only, no drinks, favors, balloons, or flowers for the child’s birthday. Whole cakes that need to be sliced by staff are not permitted. All students should be included. Nutritious snacks are encouraged. Birthday treats should be handed out and eaten in the cafeteria during the last ten minutes of the lunch period. Please make sure that students mainstreamed in your classroom are included in the count for treats. Buying ice cream at school for each class member is encouraged. Students may not pass out invitations to parties at school unless all members of the class are invited.

• If your family needs additional support, our counselors and Care team can help with basic needs like food, clothes, personal hygiene items, etc. If you would like to access these resources please contact Lyndsay Murphy (K,2,4) Lyndsay.murphy@gcpsk12.org 770-582-7523, Laura Marantz (1,3,5) Laura.marantz@gcpsk12.org 770-582-7522, or Sandra Orci (Spanish) Sandra.orci@gcpsk12.org 678-291-4232

• Afternoon Transportation Changes Parents, please remember that afternoon transportation changes must be made by 1:30 and there are only two ways for you to make an change for your child: Use the PikMyKid app or send in a signed note. Dojos, emails, or phone calls to change afternoon transportation will not be accepted. Thank you for helping us enforce this rule and keep our kids safe!

• No Student checkouts after 2:15 PM

• If your child misses school Information needed on the excuse note includes: today’s date, the child’s full name, child’s teacher, child’s grade level, date(s) of absence, reason for absence, and parent signature (typed full name if sending via email or Class Dojo).

• Berkeley Lake Elementary's Local School Plan for Improvement (LSPI)

• Follow us on Social Media Facebook and/or Instagram

• MyPaymentsPlus Gwinnett Public Schools uses MyPaymentsPlus as a site for school-related payments and documentation sign off. If you do not yet have an account with this site, you will need to set one up. Click here to learn more.

• We recycle: 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. Here are instructions for how to continue to give to our school using the new Box Tops process.

• Do You Have a Parent Portal Account? You may have heard about Gwinnett's Parent Portal. The Parent Portal is a website that will allow you to log in and see your child's information, such as attendance, grades, standardized test scores, etc. 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.

• Georgia After School Program (GASP) Click here to get more information about the Georgia After School Program.

• 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

• We Thank our Business Partners - if you would like to learn more about a business partnership with our school, click here.
• The Tutoring Center, Duluth, Ga.
• Mathnasium
  
• Ultra Baby LLC (Ultrasound and Photography)
  
• Atlanta Urgent Care - 5246 Peachtree Pkwy
• Brooks Injury Law (Boosterthon Business Partner)
• Peachtree ESQ (Boosterthon Business Partner)
• Fives Group (Boosterthon Business Partner)
• Friend of BLES (Boosterthon Business Partner)
• Georgia After School Program (GASP) (Boosterthon Business Partner)
• JR's Log House (Boosterthon Business Partner)
• Ms. Sweet - 3rd Grade (Boosterthon Business Partner)
• CAMP RISE GEORGIA (Boosterthon Business Partner)

Berkeley Lake Elementary

4300 S. Berkeley Lake Rd.

Duluth, Georgia 30096

P: (770)446-0947

F: (770)582-7514