Lutherville Lab Report

What's gone down & what's coming up at the leopards' lair.

August 23, 2024

Lutherville Families,

Welcome to the 2024-2025 School Year!!

We are so excited to have our Leopards back in the building on Monday! It was a blast to get a taste of the energy of our students on Tuesday and Thursday nights this week. Our staff was hard at work all week to prepare for your children and to teach them well. In addition to work in classrooms and planning, we took a trip to be learners to the Maryland Center for History and Culture in Mount Vernon. There we were immersed in Maryland's rich history and enjoyed some docent led-tours of exhibits highlighting African-American history in Maryland, particularly during the Colonial and Civil Rights Aras. Good educators are curious, growing educators, and we've got a whole crew of them here at The Lab!

We also welcomed our newest staff member, our new Cafeteria Manager Ms. Pamela Wilford. Ms. Pam, as she will go by with the students, has experience working in school settings and food service and is a positive, sweet, and nurturing soul! She fit right in with the ethic of care we always strive for at Lutherville Lab. She can't wait to meet the students on Monday!

A few reminders heading into the week:

Please work with your child on getting into a school sleeping and waking routine over the weekend.
Please have your child at their AM stop, ready to board at least 5 minutes prior to scheduled arrival (outside, standing, not waiting in cars). Remind children not to run or move toward the bus until it has come to a complete stop. More info here. You can also use the BusWhere App to help track your child's bus. More info here.
If your child has a different dismissal plan for the first day(s) than what will be typical/what was on the Transportation survey, please ensure their teacher is aware.
Breakfast and lunch are free and available to any student who would like it, every day.
If you want your child to have funds for snacks in the lunch line, please add through MySchoolBucks (directions in the Welcome Letter attached).
We are the last of, usually, 4 runs for each bus that takes our students home. If there are delays, which often occur the first week, they trickle down. Please be patient and monitor the BusWhere App in the afternoon.
Your children will likely be tired next week. A practice from the McComb home on Back to School Week is to eat dinner and get cleaned up ASAP when home, so when the crash comes there's nothing in the way of going to bed. (We do this for our kids too.) =)

We're looking forward to a great opening week of the school year!

In partnership,

-Mr. McComb

Calendar Reminders:

8/26 - First Day of School!

9/2 - Schools Closed (Labor Day)

9/6 - Lutherville Lab Spirit Day (LL gear or yellow/black)

Faculty Field Trip

Summer Reading Competition

Welcome back, students and families!

We are excited to start a new year of learning, and we look forward to finding out what you read over the summer! In June we sent the attached reading log and told you about a friendly competition with our neighboring school, Timonium ES. This is a reminder that logs are due before Sept. 13th so that we can tally up the totals and determine the winning school! If you participated in the BCPL summer reading program, you may transfer those minutes to the school logs and they will be counted in the competition. Please be sure to have your child write their name at the top of the log sheet before submitting it to their teacher. Thank you for your support and we'll see you at BTSN on Sept. 10th!

Sincerely,

Judy Henderson

Reading Specialist

Lutherville Lab

Welcome Ms. Pam!

Re-Introducing Our New Teachers

We could not be more excited to introduce our community to the wonderful teachers below. They each bring classroom experience and special skills and talents that will help Lutherville Lab continue in our journey of becoming the best school we can possibly be, for children and for each other.

Phylicia Conley joins us from Pine Crest Elementary School in Montgomery County. Phylicia’s interest in becoming a teacher was first formed right here at Lutherville Lab, where she attended elementary school and was inspired to become a teacher. Being taught by teachers who encouraged her imagination and fostered her confidence has had a lasting impact on her life. She fondly remembers having Mrs. Myers, Mrs. Tunison, Ms. Welton and Mrs. Nicholson during her journey. Phylicia graduated from Towson University in 2018 and brings 6 years of teaching experience to Lutherville. Phylicia resides in the Lutherville community and brings experience in 3-5th grades and experience with Restorative Justice coaching back to Lutherville Lab.

Kelsey Hernandez joins us from Middlesex Elementary School. Kelsey brings experience teaching in both the SEL classroom setting and 3rd grade general education setting to Lutherville. Kelsey, a 2018 Towson University graduate, also supported Middlesex through their Climate Committee and Environmental Club. Kelsey prides herself on building the rapport with and nurturing environment for students that allows them to thrive academically. Outside of school, Kelsey enjoys reading, sporting events with family and friends, staying active through volleyball or workout classes and her fur baby Bash.

Lindsay Lugli joins us from Johnnycake Elementary School. Lindsay brings thirteen years of teaching experience to Lutherville, mostly in grades 2 and 4. Lindsay is a student-centered, data-driven educator who has also produced student musicals and a student acapella group, and takes pride in contributing to positive school climate and community. Lindsay is a 2010 Goucher graduate and continued her education to earn at Masters in Cultural and Linguistic Diversity and Leadership from Towson in 2015. Lindsay, her wife Katie, also an educator, and their son and daughter live nearby in the Hampton community and love all things Disney!

As an addition to our arts program, Jessica Powell will be joining Lutherville Lab as a primary grade art teacher. She lives in Phoenix, MD with her husband Nathan, and their two children, Maddie and Jacob. Jessica graduated from Towson University in 2007 with a master’s in art education. She has been teaching with BCPS for the past 17 years working as the Magnet drawing and painting teacher at Patapsco High School and Center for the Arts for the past 11 years. As a landscape painter and narrative figure artist, Jessica has a true passion for making art. In the classroom, she works closely with students to help them foster the same enthusiasm she has for art making.

Over the years, she has worked closely with Juniors and Seniors to complete advanced placement art portfolios and college portfolio requirements. She has had the opportunity to see students thrive in the arts after graduating. She is now excited for a new chapter at Lutherville Lab teaching young artists as they begin their journey.

Hello! Here are a few items to know and to do from the Parent Teacher Association (PTA):

TO DO:

PURCHASE YOUR 24-25 PTA MEMBERSHIP

Ready to purchase your $15 PTA membership, good for this school year? Great! For now, you have two options:

1) our online platform, Givebacks or

2) completing and mailing/sending in this paper form with check or cash.

COMING SOON: Venmo as a payment option! Stay tuned or email us at luthervillelabpta@gmail.com to be notified when it becomes available.

NOMINATE SOMEONE FOR CO-VICE PRESIDENT

The PTA has opened the floor for nominations for a Co-Vice President and has received one nomination so far. If you would like to nominate yourself or someone else, please email luthervillelabpta@gmail.com by Tues Sept 3rd. Elections will take place at Back to School Night on Tues Sept 10th.

CONSIDER OPEN BOARD OF DIRECTORS (CHAIR, CO-CHAIR AND COORDINATOR) POSITIONS

It takes many people serving for as little or as much time as they can to help our PTA support the school as well as we do! If you're someone with a bit of time to give, we hope that you'll take a moment to peruse this document to see a list of opportunities and to learn more about which positions are year-long, which are one-time events and about how many hours we believe will be involved with each. These positions are not elected, however, the initial deadline to indicate interest is coming up soon - Fri Sept 30th. More instructions on how to proceed are in the document linked above.

DON'T FORGET THE TEACHERS! HELP US WITH OUR "STOCK THE LOUNGE" DRIVE & ITEMS FOR THEIR CLASSROOMS

If you have not had the chance already and are willing to send in items with your child(ren), drop off at the office or have sent to school please take a look below:

Option A: Please use this SignUp Genius link to provide funding via Venmo or sign up for specific supplies (KCups, creamers, chocolate, soap, disinfecting wipes).

Option B: If you'd like to support your child's classroom directly, you are welcome to bring any of the following to Sneak-a-Peek and give to your child's teacher or send in anytime throughout the school year: boxes of tissues, paper towels, gallon or quart zip-top baggies, sanitizing wipes.

MARK YOUR CALENDAR FOR BASKIN ROBBINS SPIRIT NIGHT!

Wed Sept 4th from 5:00-8:00 pm

I scream, you scream, all the leopards scream for ice cream! Come socialize with friends new and old while supporting the Parent Teacher Association (PTA). A percentage of all sales will come back to benefit our school. Parking can be tight so please consider parking around the back side of the building or nearby and walking over. Hope to see you there!

OPPORTUNITIES FOR KINDERGARTEN & FAMILIES NEW TO LUTHERVILLE LAB

PTA Kindergarten Welcome & Info Session, For Families of Kindergarteners

Tues Aug 27th from 12:00-12:30 pm

Rec Room (where Kindergarten Roundup was held, front left side of the building, look for balloons)

Kindergarten students will be dismissed at 12:45 pm so come get parking early, ask any questions to help you with your transition and learn more about the PTA. You might be wondering how this 30 min info session will be different from all the other welcome events happening!

1) For starters, it's a chance to take advantage of parking which will be limited with school in session. Plan for extra time by looking first in the school lot and then head to either the Best Buy lot or street parking on Division Ave or spaces along the fence on Franke Avenue (behind the school, make sure to watch for no parking signs on Middle Ave and lastly, please be mindful not to block neighbors' driveways).

2) This will be your chance to ask questions that have come up that perhaps you didn't know you had or didn't have a chance to previously. Parents of older students will be there to share tips they learned along the way including how to work through big emotions (both the kids' and yours!), help with bus and other BCPS apps and how to best communicate with the teachers.

3) Lastly, we are excited for you to learn more about Lutherville Lab (LL) traditions and ways big and small that you can join our community. Our goal this year is to meet everyone where you're at so whether it's attending playground meetups where you live, contributing resources financially or through a business connection or sharing a talent you already possess, we will assure you that PTA membership is for everyone.

Welcome Receptions for Families New to Lutherville Lab with a Student Entering 1st-5th Grade

Student and family members are all welcome, refreshments provided

You will meet with Mrs. Ilene Kiewe (School Counselor) and members of the PTA.

Two options (please register for one by clicking here)

Option 1: Wed Sept 4th from 4:15-4:45 pm (before Baskin Robbins fundraiser which will be from 5-8 pm)

Option 2: Tues Sept 10th from 4:45-5:15 pm (before Back to School Night which will be from 5:30-7:30 pm)

Enter school through main doors, sessions will be held in the library