Month: February 2018

Hello Eagles!  It is been a short but busy week here at the LRE.  Below is some information about some upcoming events.  We hope to see you at some or all of these events!  Tomorrow is Cyber Safety day as well as class pictures.  Students are encouraged to wear yellow for Cyber Safety Day!

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Tuesday, February 27 at 6:00 pm, Dr. Henry will be leading a Milestones information session for all parents.  This is a chance to learn about the assessment and resources that you can use at home.  The PTA meeting will immediately follow the session at 6:30 pm.  Childcare will be available starting at 6 pm.

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March 1 is conference night.  To sign up for a conference visit:  https://www.myconferencetime.com/laurelridge/folder/1383

If a teacher’s schedule is full or you are unavailable on March 1, please contact your child’s teacher to set-up another conference time.  Teachers are available during their planning on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday as well as before and after school.

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Friday, March 2 is Read Across America Day!  Teachers will be send home information about some special events taking place that day.  Students are encouraged to dress up like their favorite Dr. Seuss character!

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More than 21,075 students, teachers, staff, and stakeholders participated in an inclement weather survey to determine how to make-up two days of instruction.  Approximately 63% of the respondents selected virtual learning.  As a result, the DeKalb County School District will implement virtual learning during the weeks of February 27^th – March 6^th and March 8^th – March 15^th.  Students will be given five school days to complete and submit each virtual assignment.

On February 26^th and March 7^th, teachers will provide an overview of the virtual learning assignments and provide hard copies as requested.  Kindergarten students will receive hard copies of their virtual learning assignments on February 26^th and March 7^th.  All students in grades 1-12 should access their virtual learning assignments through their VERGE accounts.  If your child is in 1-12 and you would like their assignments in hard copy, please let their teacher know or sign and return the bottom of this letter.  Please see below for details on how to access the assignments.

If you have any questions about the virtual learning assignments, please contact your child’s teachers via email.  Please call 678-874-6902 if you have additional questions.  Thank you for your continued support.

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In light of yesterday’s events in Florida, we want to assure you that the Laurel Ridge staff and the DeKalb County School District (DCSD) consider the safety of our students and staff our first priority.  Every school in the district regularly practices drills for emergency situations including intruder drills and has an extensive safety plan.  The DCSD Public Safety Department utilizes a threat assessment protocol to investigate, analyze, and review any threat made against a school or the district. DCSD has also recently added two canine units to the Public Safety Department.

We ask for your help in ensuring that we keep LRE safe.  Please make sure that when you visit the campus that you park only in designated areas.  The area in front of the school and by the trailers are fire lanes and need to be kept clear.  We ask that you always enter the building using the double doors by the front office.  As soon as you enter the building, please be sure to check in and out in the office to receive a visitor’s badge.  The staff has been instructed to stop any visitor without a badge.  If someone does stop you and asks about a badge, please be nice as they are just trying to keep our LRE family safe.  If you are coming to campus for a meeting, the front office staff will verify this with the classroom teacher or staff before you are permitted to exit the office.   We ask that once your meeting is over that you do not visit other locations in the building as we are responsible for accounting for all visitors if there is an actual emergency.  This is not only for our students’ and staffs’ safety but it also limits interruptions to instruction.  Just five minutes of lost instruction a day is equal to 15 hours of instructional time over one school year.

If there were an emergency, we will utilize the district’s calling post system to send out phone and email messages.  It is imperative that if any of your contact information has changed or changes in the future that you contact the front office to update your information.  We thank you for your continued support so we can make LRE a safe place for our students and staff. ~Ms. Kyle

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Upcoming Events:

Feb. 16 – Inclement Weather Make-up Day

Feb. 19 – No School

Feb. 23 – Internet Safety Day – Students should wear yellow to school

Feb. 27 – 6 pm: Milestones Information Session with Dr. Henry, 6:30pm: PTA Meeting (Babysitting will be available starting at 6pm)

Feb. 27 – March 6 – Digital Make-up Day (See announcement below)

March 1 – Conference Night

March 2 – Read Across America Day & Community Assemblies.

March 6 – 5:30 pm – How to help with student worries related to milestones testing with Ms. Wierwille (Open to students and parents), 6:00pm Parent-Student Milestones Night.  Come learn about ways to help with Milestones prep at home.

March 8 – 15: Digital Make-up Day (See announcement below)

March 9 – Inclement Weather Make-up Day

March 16 and March 19-23 – Book Fair

March 22 – 6:00 pm LRE Variety Show

March 22 – Report Cards

March 30 – Community Assemblies

April 2-6 – Spring Break

April 10 – Milestones testing starts.  For a complete Milestones schedule visit:  2018 DCSD GA Milestones Testing Schedule   More information about testing and the testing schedule will be sent out closer to time.

April 24 – 4:00pm – Principals Advisory Council Meeting in Media Center

April 26 – Report Cards

May 9 – Bike to School Day

May 11 – Community Assembly

May 18 – Field Day

May 22 – 1st-4th Honors Day

May 23 – 5th Grade Graduation

May 24 – Last Day of School, 1:15-1:45 pm Class Parties

Please see the following announcement about inclement weather make-up days:

Following feedback from its stakeholders, the DeKalb County School District (DCSD) will employ Virtual Learning Days using its Digital Dreamers technology to make up time lost in January to inclement weather.  More than 21,075 students, teachers, staff and stakeholders participated in an inclement weather survey that outlined options for making up two days of instruction. Of the respondents, approximately 63 percent selected virtual learning as the preferred option.

With virtual learning, teachers will provide students with a virtual assignment that is content-specific and relevant.  Virtual learning access will be made available to students over two weeks – Feb. 27 through March 6; and March 8 through March 15. Students will have five school days plus a weekend to complete their assignments.

Assignments may involve reading, writing, conducting research, performing mini labs, completing practice problems, taking notes, and/or answering questions. Students will be given one week to complete and submit the virtual assignment.  Parents will receive assignments from their child’s teacher the week of February 20.

This approach will allow the district to make up two lost inclement weather days. Students will make up the other two days with schools open on Feb. 16 and March 9.

Hello Eagles!  As another week comes to a close, there are a number of important reminders and updates to share with you.  First, thank you for your continued support of all the hard work that goes on every day here at LRE!  As we move into second semester, please take a minute to review our arrival and departure procedures for the loop in front of the school.   Arrival-Departure Procedures  These procedures are for everyone’s safety.  It is also important that when you visit the campus that you are not parking in the fire lane in front of the building or the gravel area by the trailers which is also a fire lane.  If you are parking in the neighborhood, please be sure you are not blocking intersections or driveways.  When you are on campus, for the privacy of our students and staff, please do not photograph or video anyone with the exception of your own child(ren).  Finally, we are asking for your help in having your students not bring toys especially Pokemon cards to school.  These types of items are starting to cause a number of issues in classrooms and cafeteria.

 

Upcoming Events:

Feb. 12 – Principals Advisory Council Meeting in Media Center at 4pm

Feb. 15 – Report Cards

Feb. 15 – Loved Ones Breakfast. Please RSVP to amber_bohannon@dekalbschoolsga.org 

Feb. 16 – Inclement Weather Make-up Day

Feb. 19 – No School

Feb. 23 – Internet Safety Day – Students should wear yellow to school

Feb. 27 – 6 pm: Milestones Information Session with Dr. Henry, 6:30pm: PTA Meeting (Babysitting will be available starting at 6pm)

Feb. 27 – March 6 – Digital Make-up Day (See announcement below)

March 1 – Conference Night

March 2 – Read Across America Day & Community Assemblies.

March 6 – 5:30 pm – How to help with student worries related to milestones testing with Ms. Wierwille (Open to students and parents), 6:00pm Parent-Student Milestones Night.  Come learn about ways to help with Milestones prep at home.

March 8 – 15: Digital Make-up Day (See announcement below)

March 9 – Inclement Weather Make-up Day

March 16 and March 19-23 – Book Fair

March 22 – 6:00 pm LRE Variety Show

March 22 – Report Cards

March 30 – Community Assemblies

April 2-6 – Spring Break

April 10 – Milestones testing starts.  For a complete Milestones schedule visit:  2018 DCSD GA Milestones Testing Schedule   More information about testing and the testing schedule will be sent out closer to time.

April 24 – 4:00pm – Principals Advisory Council Meeting in Media Center

April 26 – Report Cards

May 9 – Bike to School Day

May 11 – Community Assembly

May 18 – Field Day

May 22 – 1st-4th Honors Day

May 23 – 5th Grade Graduation

May 24 – Last Day of School, 1:15-1:45 pm Class Parties

Please see the following announcement about inclement weather make-up days:

Following feedback from its stakeholders, the DeKalb County School District (DCSD) will employ Virtual Learning Days using its Digital Dreamers technology to make up time lost in January to inclement weather.  More than 21,075 students, teachers, staff and stakeholders participated in an inclement weather survey that outlined options for making up two days of instruction. Of the respondents, approximately 63 percent selected virtual learning as the preferred option.

With virtual learning, teachers will provide students with a virtual assignment that is content-specific and relevant.  Virtual learning access will be made available to students over two weeks – Feb. 27 through March 6; and March 8 through March 15. Students will have five school days plus a weekend to complete their assignments.

Assignments may involve reading, writing, conducting research, performing mini labs, completing practice problems, taking notes, and/or answering questions. Students will be given one week to complete and submit the virtual assignment.  Parents will receive assignments from their child’s teacher the week of February 20.

This approach will allow the district to make up two lost inclement weather days. Students will make up the other two days with schools open on Feb. 16 and March 9.

Good afternoon Eagles!  It is hard to believe that it is February already!  Tomorrow we will kick off the month with our monthly assembly.  Students were asked to wear a shirt or sweatshirt to support their favorite college tomorrow.  At the assembly, we will kick off our 2nd annual Great Kindness Challenge.  The Great Kindness Challenge is one week devoted to performing as many acts of kindness as possible.  Last year students in 91 counties from 15,057 schools completed over 50 million acts of kindness in one week! For more information about the Great Kindness Challenge, please click on the following link: GKC Parent Letter

We will have our annual Loved One’s Breakfast on Thursday, February 15 from 7:10 am to 7:50 am.  The menu choices will be a chicken biscuit or yogurt with a muffin.  The meal will come with grits, juice, milk, and mandarin oranges.  Coffee will be available for adults.    Adult meals are $1.90 and child meals are $1.40.  Please RSVP to Ms. Amber Bohanan at amber_bohannon@dekalbschoolsga.org Exact change is appreciated!

LRE will be participating in the annual Young Georgia Authors competition.  To learn more about the competition please view the competition please look at the following document: YGAWC Flyer and Rules

Finally, just a reminder that if your child has a fever, diarrhea, or is vomiting, they should stay home for twenty-four hours once they are fever-free without medicine and twenty-four hours after last diarrhea/vomiting incident.  We know it is a difficult decision about when you should your child home from school.  The following flyer from Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta is a great resource when trying to make this important decision.  Too Sick for School