The video above gives a lot of laughs, but it also reminds us all what is important. Things will not always go the way we planned. Remember, everything we do is for the children and they are worth it!

We are so happy and grateful to be partnering with you through this pandemic to keep your children safe and continuously learning. Please let us know if your family needs anything. Thanks for continuing to work hard. We are striving to make each day better than the last!

Looking for someone to show some gratitude to this week? Meet Lauren Graham, our new school counselor. Ms. Lauren moved to us from Asheville High School. She spends her days at APS supporting students and families with whatever needs arise. She will be working with each of our classes to support strong social emotional health. Please reach out to her by visiting her virtual office linked above. If you would like to send Ms. Lauren some mail this week, please send it to:

Lauren Graham

Asheville Primary

441 Haywood Road

Asheville, NC 28806

You can drop off non-stamped mail at the central office mail slot at 85 Mountain Street.

There will be two virtual town halls on Tuesday, September 15th and Tuesday, October 13th at 5:00 PM to discuss the upcoming I-26 construction project by the DOT and continued renovation needs of Asheville Primary. The superintendent wants our school to be a beautiful, safe place to learn, discover, and thrive and so do we! Come to the virtual meeting to hear preliminary plans from DOT and ACS maintenance representatives. Closer to the date, you should receive more information about how to participate and submit your suggestions and questions. Please plan to join in!

• On Friday, September 4 an email was sent out from Polly Bolding regarding our packed lunch policy. Please let us know if you have any additional questions.
• On Friday, September 4, our illness policy was updated. The updated policy is attached below. We appreciate everyone helping us to keep all children safe and healthy.

Teachers are moving towards joining Google Meets with nicknames in order to provide an added layer of online security for our students. Our Enhancement teachers are starting to use them for club meetings this week and some of our Lower El teachers will also begin using them this week. Over the next couple of weeks, all Lower El classrooms will transition (SLOWLY) to using nicknames instead of calendar invites. Next month ECE teachers will begin moving (SLOWLY) towards using Google Meet nicknames.

We wanted to make sure that we allow students and families time to get settled in remote learning and at the same time move forward with this added security feature.

Please watch the video below about how to access Google Meets using nicknames. Your child must be logged in with the student acsgmail.net account, not personal gmail accounts, in order for this to work.

We appreciate your patience in figuring out the best ways to serve your children in a remote setting. If you have any questions, please reach out to your child's teacher for support.