Dear Families,
It’s hard to believe we only have four and a half weeks before summer break! This is always an exciting and busy time of year. One of the major events that happens in April and May is our Georgia Milestones Assessment in grades 3-5. Our students will start the assessment on Monday morning, and it will continue over the next two weeks. Since this is a standardized assessment, we will begin promptly after morning announcements. To ensure your child is set up for success, we ask that they:
· Get a full 8-10 hours of sleep each night.
· Eat a healthy breakfast (at home or at school).
· Arrive on time so they don’t feel rushed or have to make-up the assessment at a later time.
Your help with this is greatly appreciated.
I am looking forward to our Family Fun Night on April 28 from 5-7. There will be music, games, activities, food, and FUN. If you are joining us for dinner, Skip’s Hotdogs and Hamburgers will be selling meals for $10. Kona Ice will be here if you would like to purchase a sweet treat and bottled water will be available for $1. All other activities and games will be free for all families to enjoy. Come spend a fun evening with us!
As always, I appreciate your continued support. My door is always open for feedback. Have a wonderful weekend!
Sincerely,
Ashley Coughlin
April 22nd (Saturday), GCPS Relay for Life Car Show
If you like cool cars, you won't want to miss this event. Click here for more information.
April 24th - May 12th, GMAS for 3rd, 4th, and 5th Grade Students
The end of year Georgia Milestones Assessment (GMAS) will begin on Monday and run though the next two weeks for regular testing with make-up testing running through early May, if needed. Attendance on these dates will be important. 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.
April 27 (Thursday), Duluth Town Green STEAM Event from Duluth Schools
Join us for a night of science, technology, engineering, art & math on Town Green as students from the Duluth school cluster showcase their project-based learning projects. Students will show off their real-world applications, investigations and more!
From Our PTO:
- PTO General Meeting: Join us on May 4, 2023 at 5:30 pm for our PTO/Volunteer Informational Meeting:. Join the PTO for a BIG THANK YOU for helping out the school this year. We will get together at school to discuss what the PTO is all about, how you can help and volunteer at the school and just hang with other parents while we say thank you for all the help you've given to our amazing Berkeley Lake Bears this school year. There will be light refreshments and drinks. If you can’t make it in person, you can join by Zoom.
- We are in need of 2 more members for the board. There is a special need for bilingual parents to be involved. If you’re interested, please email info@blespto.org
- The PTO will be selling Class of T-shirts for incoming Kindergarten students to 4th grade and we need to determine how many to order. If you’re interested in buying a shirt, please fill out this link so we can determine the demand for these shirts. This form is just to determine interest and is not an order form. When the shirts become available, we will let the school community know. Graduating year T-Shirt: INTEREST FORM
P.E. Safety Reminder
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
K-Kids
The K-Kids are looking for new members for the 2023-24 School year. We are looking for 4th graders rising to 5th grade who are interested in joining our Kiwanis Kids (K-Kids) Club for next school year. Current K-Kids will be visiting 4th grade classrooms next week to encourage membership.
Applications will be posted outside of Mrs. Ashadele's room. Students can also return the completed forms (front and back) to the front office. Forms are due by May 10th.
Atlanta Opera Coming
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.
If You Were Unable to Attend Last Week's Parent Workshop About Our Gifted Program
You can still access all material that was shared by clicking on this link. If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out to Emma Kraeling at Emma.Kraeling@gcpsk12.org.
The Lost and Found is Full!
Please ask your child to look in the lost and found for missing items. There is an overflow of coats, jackets, sweatshirts, and water bottles. We have put green tags on items that have been in the Lost and Found since before Spring Break. These will be donated to charity on April 21.
May 6 (Saturday)
The Book Mobile 5K will be held on Saturday, May 6, 2023, at the Instructional Support Center.
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.
Through May 31: Survey Parents of Students Receiving Special Education Services
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.
Camp Invention Hiring Leaders and Giving Scholarships
We still have 10 scholarships left....We were just given another donation from the Nordstrom Corporation!
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.
