Dear Lakeville Families,

I hope this message finds you well and that your family is quickly settling into the new school year. I want to celebrate Lakeville Elementary's earning a letter grade of B! This is a fantastic accomplishment, and I am very proud of our students' progress! This achievement is also a testament to our community's tremendous support. We certainly appreciate you all! As we enter the fall season, I want to take a moment to share some important updates and reminders with our school community.

Student Safety:

The safety and well-being of our students are our top priority. Please remember to follow the drop-off and pick-up procedures to ensure a smooth and safe experience for everyone. Parents should avoid using cell phones while in the car line and always be mindful of our crossing guards and student patrols. Also, students should not be dropped off before 8:15, as no supervision is in place before then.

Parent-Teacher Conferences:

Parent-teacher conferences are available upon request. They are valuable opportunities to discuss your child's progress, address any concerns, and set goals for the rest of the school year. Please visit our website for teacher email addresses.

Upcoming Events:

Several exciting events are planned for the coming months, including our annual Open House on September 10th. The evening will begin with a Title I meeting at 5:00 in our cafeteria. During this meeting, we will share how our school benefits from the Title I program. Afterward, the evening will progress with three sessions, allowing you to visit multiple classrooms if you have several children attending Lakeville. Also, please mark your calendars for the week of September 16th, as we will be hosting our fall book fair!

Academic Excellence:

I commend our students for their hard work and dedication in the classroom. Our teachers have been impressed with the enthusiasm and engagement they've seen so far. Let's encourage our children to do their best each day and support them in their learning journey. It is also essential that students arrive on time. Many of our grade levels begin essential instructional blocks at the start of the school day. Let's set our students up for success by ensuring a timely arrival.

Communication:

Strong communication between home and school is vital to a successful school experience. If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact your child's teacher or the school office. We are here to support you and your child every step of the way. Our school's main phone number is 407-814-6110.

Thank you for being an integral part of the Lakeville Elementary community. Together, we can make this school year a rewarding experience for all our students.

Take care,

Charles Jackson

Principal, Lakeville Elementary School

Our student services team is looking forward to working with and supporting your child this year. Each month we will focus on a new character trait to help build resilient students here at Lakeville. I will share them in the monthly newsletter so that you can talk about then at home with your child. In September , we will be celebrating Start With Hello Week from the 16th to the 20th as well as Resiliency Day on the 17th. As the School Counselor, I am able to provide classroom guidance lessons, individual and group counseling, and check-ins. Please don't hesitate to reach out if you have any concerns. We are looking forward to a successful year!

Understanding how and why others think, feel, and act.

Books on Empathy

Stand in My Shoes

I Am Human

The Invisible Boy

During the week of September 18-22, 2023, OCPS will participate in Sandy Hook Promise’s Start with Hello week. Start with Hello helps students build positive relationships by encouraging them to take small but powerful actions to promote connectedness and inclusion. Click on the attachment below for Lakeville's list of activities!

Students 3-5 will take their initial FAST Assessments this week.

Tuesday, 9/3 Reading

Thursday, 9/5 Math

Testing will begin at 9:00.

Please have your child here on time so that they can eat breakfast before testing begins.

Late students will not be admitted into their testing rooms and must make the test up on another day.

Please make sure your child:

• Gets a good night's sleep
• Eats breakfast
• Arrives to school on time

Reading with children spells success for early literacy. Putting a few simple strategies into action will make a significant difference in helping children develop into good readers and writers. One of the most important things that you can do for them is help them develop their reading skills.

Reading aloud, providing print materials, and promoting positive attitudes about reading and writing can have a powerful impact on your child's literacy and learning.

• Invite your child to read with you every day.
• When reading a book where the print is large, point word by word as you read. This will help your child learn that reading goes from left to right and understand that the word he or she says is the word he or she sees.
• Allow your child to read their favorite book over and over again.
• Read many stories with rhyming words and lines that repeat. Invite your child to join in on these parts. Point, word by word, as he or she reads along with you.
• Discuss new words. For example, "This big house is called a palace. Who do you think lives in a palace?"
• Stop and ask about the pictures and about what is happening in the story.
• Read from a variety of children's books, including fairy tales, songbooks, poems, and information books.
• Help your child see that reading is important. Set a good example for your child by reading books, newspapers, and magazines

Build reading accuracy by having your child read aloud and point out words he or she missed and help him or her read words correctly. If you stop to focus on a word, have your child reread the whole sentence to be sure he or she understands the meaning.

Reading well is at the heart of all learning. A child who can't read well, can't learn. Help make a difference for a child.

Congratulations is definitely in order to all of our splendid math mathematicians!! We were amazing last school year and boosted our grade to a “B”! Job well done and thank you families for all of your continued support. I am confident that we will soar even higher this school year if EVERYONE is All Aboard as we move Full Steam Ahead!!

Reflex is well underway as we are working to be fluent in our math facts! Parents you can help by practicing facts to 10 and 20 with your child(ren). For example, using playing cards (Ace to 10) or number cards to practice facts. Alternate flipping 1 card and your child tells you what is needed to make a set of ten or 20. If I flip a 7 the correct response is “3” or “13”. Play “War” with cards. Flip 2 cards and find the sum. The highest sum wins the cards. Number Sense is the foundation to all levels of math, so yes, our older students will benefit from these games as well. Once fluent with addition/subtraction, they should multiply the 2 cards that they flip and let the fun and learning continue!

Our Math club will be starting soon for students in Grades 3rd-5th. Permission slips coming soon!

Look for math everywhere because it is!! 😊 Did you know that math is also in the leaves of the trees? Yes! It’s called symmetry! Look for it!

Stay Tuned and stay amazing!

Mrs. Chandler,

The Math Hatter

Welcome to the 2024-2025 school year! I am Mrs. Bustamante, Lakeville’s Library Lady. I am so excited to see students coming to visit the library and checking out books to read. We have lots of reading adventures coming this school year. Soon we will have AR and students will start taking quizzes on books they have read. Students can accumulate points for passing quizzes and points equal prizes! More about that as the year progresses.

Our first Literati Book Fair of the year has begun! The online fair is open from now until Sept. 20th at https://literati.com/store/?school=lakeville-elementary-school-apopka-fl You may also buy student gift cards for the school fair at the online link. This way you do not have to send your child to school with cash for the fair. The school fair will run from September 16th-20th daily from 9:00 a.m.-2:00 p.m. We will be open for extended hours for families on Wednesday, Sept. 18th from 4:00-6:00. Please sign up to volunteer. We always need help setting up, helping students locate books, bagging purchases, and breaking down.

You can contact me at denise.bustamante@ocps.net

Happy Reading!

Mrs. Bustamante, Library Media Specialist

The OCPS Parent Academy offers district-wide, face-to-face Parent Academies, Learn Where You Live events which take place in each learning community, and virtual Lunch & Learn events on Facebook Live.

In addition to the OCPS Parent Academy events, there are monthly trainings held by the Curriculum and Digital Learning, Discipline, Exceptional Student Education, Multilingual Services, and Student Services departments for families.