LCES Panther Cub Communication #28
Week of March 11 – March 21, 2024
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Hello Families,
We had a super fun Dr. Seuss literacy spirit week! Thank you all for helping your student participate.
Spring Break:
Spring Break is March 11-14th. Please note that the office will be closed during this time. Enjoy your break!
We look forward to seeing you back in school on March 18th!
Conferences March 20th and 21st:
Parent Teacher conferences are just around the corner. Please use the link below to register for a time with your student teacher(s) PK-2.
https://www.flashappointments.com/client/lgn/mobile.cfm?busId=13089
Please note: School will be dismissed PK-2 at 11:00 on March 20th and 21st for PT Conferences. There will also be no Project Dream during those days. Please reach out to the front office if you need to change your child’s after school plans for those days. There will be an AM preschool bus but no PM bus will run. Please make arrangements.
Thank you all for sharing your kiddos with us everyday! Please reach out at any time if you have celebrations, questions, or concerns. Please note that the next parent communication will be sent on March 22nd.
Have a great spring break!
Katie Pongrekun
Principal, LCES
kpongrekun@lakecountyschools.net
| Staff of the Week Highlight! |
Each week this year in family communication, we will be highlighting a staff member in the building. If you want, please feel free to send emails, handwritten notes, or letters of encouragement to that staff member.
Trista Romoci-ELD Teacher
Ms. Romocki is our English Language Development teacher here at LCES. Trista grew up in Rochester, Minnesota. She began teaching in Korea, then returned to the United States to receive her degree in Elementary Education. Since then, she has taught abroad in Ecuador, Japan, and Switzerland. Ms. Romocki is a very big Rolling Stones fan and has seen them live five times. Her dream vacation would be to visit Botswana to see the elephants. In her free time, Trista enjoys hiking with her dog, listening to music, traveling, and spending time with her family. Thank you for all you do for our students, Ms. Romocki!
Send Ms. Romocki an encouraging note at tromocki@lakecountyschools.net
| K-2 Specifics |
- Attendance: If your student must be gone from school, please call Marissa or Zee to let them know so they can appropriately mark your child’s absence. All absences with a doctor’s note are marked as excused. If out for multiple days, your child’s teacher can put together work so your student doesn’t fall behind academically. Our attendance percentage goal for students is 94%. Kindergarten through second grade, for the month of January our attendance was 90% and for the month of February our attendance was 91%. Thank you for partnering with us and your child to maintain their attendance at school so students can experience academic success.
| Preschool Specifics |
Curriculum:
- Preschool Room – We are very excited to move into domain 4 and learn about plants. This domain is designed to teach young children appropriate, nonfiction content about plants. Children will have the opportunity for hands-on learning activities such as planting and observing plants. When interacting with real plants, students are given opportunities to engage in the scientific reasoning cycle by asking questions, making predictions, making observations, and recording observations.
Read this article for more information regarding science and early childhood.
Letter and Sound: Letter and Sound Video Link
Nursery Rhymes:
- Here We Go Round the Mulberry Bush
- One Potato, Two Potato
- Oats, Peas, Beans, and Barley Grow
- Ring Around the Rosey
- Peter Piper
- Tippety, Tippety
- 2 ½ Years Old Room – Children will start studying about clothes. Clothes come in a variety of colors, textures, materials, and patterns, which provide a wide range of observable features for children to explore. Supporting children how to zip, button, and snap their own clothing helps support independent learning and strengthen their fingers and hands.
Letter to families about clothing study: English and Spanish
Second Step Curriculum
- We will resume our social emotional curriculum for week 18 “Managing Waiting”. Kindly see the letter link below to help support your children at home. Letter Link English and Spanish
March Activity Bingo and In-Kind Form: English and Spanish. Kindly turn in your in-kind form by April 1st.
Reminders:
- With current staffing shortages, there is a chance that your child’s class will be split into other rooms and closed on any given day. This may occur after your child has already been dropped off.
- Reminder school doors open at 9:00 am each day, we ask that you wait until you schedule hours listed on your signed tuition agreement. Any time that is outside these hours are billable to you.
- Be sure to put your student’s yellow folder in their backpack to return on Monday so that we can fill them back up with important information. Thanks for helping with this.
| Important Dates PK-2 |
| March 11-15 | Spring Break |
| March 20-21 | Parent Teacher Conferences 12:00-8:00pmBook Fair @ LCES during ConferencesHalf Days of School: Dismissal 11:00am |
| March 28 | K-2 Community Meeting in the Gym at 8:00, HOWL of the month is Perseverance and the meeting will be led by Kindergarten |
Public Library Schedule:
| March 19,2024 | 10:40-11:10 | Stephanie & Sheryl |
| March 26, 2024 | 10:40-11:10 | Noemi & Donna |
| March 27,2024 | 8:20-8:50 | Frattolin |
| 10:10-10:40 | Kuehl | |
| 2:15-2:45 | Compean |
LCES Menus:
| Project Dream Information |
Spring Break Camp will run next week! All families that are registered will be receiving a text with information such as the schedule, bus, and packing list. If you have any questions about camp, please reach out to Brandon Reynolds at 719-427-7003.
There will be no Project Dream programs during Parent Teacher Conferences on March 20 & 21. Please contact the front office to make transportation arrangements for your student. Programs will resume on Friday, March 22.
The last day of Project Dream programs for the school year will be June 7th!
You can find the full Project Dream calendar here.
If you ever have any questions or concerns about Project Dream, please reach out to Raquel Contreras, our LCES Site Supervisor (719-293-5363 or rcontreras@lakecountyschools.net).
Project Dream El Camioncito programs will be paused until further notice. We will be in touch when El Camioncito is back in your neighborhood!
| Community News |
Hello Parents & Community Members,
LCSD, with the support of the consultant team, 2Partner, has been conducting a math curricula and instructional audit over the last year. Outcomes of this work were presented to the Board of Education on January 29th, 2024. Please see the presentation here: https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1IPPStybD9obziF1KZV_4gXosSSaJs8iIfxakg9M6fco/edit?usp=sharing
We are taking the next steps and seeking staff and community feedback on Bridges Mathematics as the Team’s recommendation for math curriculum for PK-5th grade students starting next school year. Please join us during conferences on March 20th and 21st in the entryway of LCES or LCIS to check out the proposed math curriculum and provide your feedback.
How the Curriculum was selected: A team of volunteer staff (The Math Curriculum Evaluation Team) worked with 2Patner to develop a math instructional philosophy to guide the work. The Philosophy was shared to the Board of Education in January.
Math Philosophy: At Lake County School District, student access and equity are at the forefront of instruction. Our goal is for all students to:
- Gain the confidence, tools, and expertise to engage in challenging mathematical problem solving
- Build fluency and a solid math foundation for future learning
- Find meaning and value in math education that leads to a choice filled life
- Deepen conceptual understandings to create connections and engage with big ideas
- Develop a positive math identity around the universal language of math, through rich mathematical discourse, creativity, fun, and exploration
The team used this philosophy to review and propose a mathematics curriculum. After a thoughtful process in which a highly rated (by EdReports), standards based curricula was analyzed, the best scoring curriculum for grades PK-5 was Bridges Mathematics.
The Math Curriculum Evaluation Team is taking the next step in this process and setting up a time for staff, parents, and community to preview the Bridges curriculum and provide feedback. Please join us during conferences on March 20th and 21st in the entryway of LCES or LCIS to check out the curriculum and provide your feedback. Once we receive your feedback, it will be compiled with our staff feedback and presented to the school board at the end of March with the potential final recommendation to the Superintendent of Schools.
We look forward to seeing you there!
Sincerely,
The Math Curriculum Evaluation Team
| Fliers |
