Lutherville Lab Report
What's gone down & what's coming up at the leopards' lair.
June 7, 2024
It's been a wonderful week at The Lab! This week we began celebrating a great school year with grade level picnics. We are grateful to have so many family members come and join in the celebration. Our 5th graders also put on a lovely talent show displaying a wide array of special skills and abilities for their schoolmates. And we kept the learning coming, even for grade levels where students have completed the curriculum, our fabulous teachers have come up with creative ways to keep the learning going -- like the 2nd Grade Potato Olympics. Students enjoyed weighing and measuring their potato, writing and reading its story, creating a flag, and even a parade of nations on the way to lunch Wednesday.
We look forward to our formal celebrations with Volunteers on Monday morning, Kindergarten on Tuesday morning, and 5th grade on Wednesday morning next week. A reminder that Thursday and Friday are 1:05 dismissals. Students will \receive report cards on Friday; they will also be published the FOCUS parent portal. If your child is not here on Friday, their report card will be available for pickup from the office during the summer.
With the time and efforts to support closure next week and get teachers out on time, we do not plan to publish a Lab Report next week. We wish all our Leopard a safe and super fun summer break making wonderful memories and we are excited to welcome them back in August. We will have some periodic communication during the summer, but please do not hesitate to reach out! And if you know anyone with a 5-year-old, have them get in touch with us to complete registration ASAP!
Summer Office Hours at Lutherville are 8:30 - 3:00, Monday to Friday. We'll be working with teachers to do strategic planning to continue to improve our school, and hosting a summer learning program for students from Lutherville, Hampton, Timonium, and Cromwell Valley.
Please see the attachment for sports camps run by BCPS teachers seeking to grow the love of sports they're passionate about!
In partnership,
-Mr. McComb
Calendar Reminders:
6/11 - Kindergarten Celebration
6/12 - 5th Grade Farewell
6/13 - 1:05 Dismissal
6/14 - 1:05 Dismissal (last day of school)
End of Year Events
Kindergarten Celebration - June 11th @ 10:00
All parents, guardians, and guests need to bring ID and badge in at the main office. RSVP to your child's teacher. If you have been badged into the building this school year, or visit prior to the event with your ID, we can pre-print a badge for you/guests and you can skip the wait the morning of. Be prepared to need to park in an adjacent lot and leave plenty of time.
5th Grade Farewell - June 12th @ 10:00
All parents, guardians, and guests need to bring ID and badge in at the main office. RSVP through directions from your child's teacher. If you have been badged into the building this school year, or visit prior to the event with your ID, we can pre-print a badge for you/guests and you can skip the wait the morning of if we are aware you are attending. Be prepared to need to park in an adjacent lot and leave plenty of time.
BCPS Survey on Student Cell Phone Usage
Team BCPS parents, caregivers and students--
BCPS wants to hear your thoughts on how student cell phone misuse impacts classroom instruction and learning. Team BCPS students, parents/caregivers, and stakeholders are invited to share their feedback by completing a brief survey. The survey closes June 11.
Welcome New Teachers!
Amidst a busy spring season, we have been pursuing some great teachers to add to our school family. Their positions are made possible by an increase in our classroom staffing to have three homerooms for our rising 5th grade students, an increase in our Related Arts staffing, Mrs. Zagurski and Mrs. Costantino transitioning into roles that are half-classroom, and half-resource (coaching) creating one classroom position, and Ms. Noonan's decision to pursue opportunities outside of teaching. Mrs. Lawler (part-time special educator) is also transitioning to take on a full-time role at Timonium Elementary where her children attend school. We wish Ms. Noonan and Mrs. Lawler all the best with their next steps and are grateful for their service to Lutherville Lab.
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.
Short survey (5 categories with many easy checkbox questions!)
Whether you joined the PTA this year or not, we would love to hear your feedback via this survey! We want to learn more from our LL community about what is working and what adjustments we can make in PTA offerings and structure. We also welcome your suggestions! This form is anonymous unless you choose to provide your name and contact info at the end to become more involved. Thank you in advance for weighing in!
Gratitude and Congratulations
The PTA wishes to extend our enormous gratitude to Mr. Andrew Leanna who is completing his fourth and last year as our PTA Secretary! Andrew has done a tremendous job of keeping us organized and aware of our bylaws, deadlines, correspondence and communication and has especially poured energy into supporting students and families by guiding our membership drives, managing our Spirit Wear offerings and website, initiating our Fun Run for Special Ed and always stepping in anywhere, any time support has been needed. You will be missed, Andrew! Ridgely will be lucky to have you involved as a father of two middle schoolers!
We also congratulate and welcome aboard Kelly Riolo who was elected this week as the next PTA Secretary for a two year term of 2024-2026. Among her involvement at LL so far, Kelly, the mom of a rising 5th grader and a rising 2nd grader, has enjoyed serving as a room rep/parent, a field trip chaperone, Sports Day volunteer and a co-chair for this year's Build-a-Leopard and Movie Night. We look forward to expanding the PTA's dedication to families by incorporating Kelly's experience and knowledge of equity best practices, family dynamics and focus groups in her role as a developmental psychologist at Kennedy Krieger.
Lastly, we extend our cheers and appreciation to our many chairs and co-chairs of events and efforts this year. Their dedication, creativity and organization has been phenomenal and made for a highly enjoyable and productive year for the PTA! Thank you also to every person who attended events, provided suggestions, questions and viewpoints to consider, volunteered behind the scenes and during programs, donated funds and so much more. We are so happy to be working together and to be evolving the PTA to best represent, include and support our amazing kids, school family and community!
Please take a moment to say thanks as you see these individuals in this last week or over the summer:
Board of Directors
Julie Hirsch, Advocacy
Marissa Kaser, Book Fair & Books and Donuts
Kelly Riolo & Kara Van Wyngarden, Build-a-Leopard & Movie Nights
Shaimaa Hussein, Fall Family Night Cultural Fair
Amanda Wolfe & Marissa Kaser, Food Truck Night & HersheyPark Ticket Sales
Eunjin Kim, For the Love of Art Fundraiser
Kim Schultz, Hop for Hopkins
Hayley Rose & Kim Harcum, Hospitality
Sharae Mcclean, Pizza Bingo
Julie Perlin, Read-a-Thon
Lindsay Winn, Reflections
Christie Miller - Room Reps/Parents
Kate Dachille, Skate Night
Maureen Henley & Michalle Wolfe, Spirit Events
Kara Van Wyngarden & Shannon Weiss, Spirit Wear
Rita Nabhan & Leah Wheeler, Spring Clean Up
Kate Bloom, Yearbook & Pizza Bingo
Staff Representatives
Amy Feltman & Denise Gillispie
Executive Committee
Andrew Leanna, Secretary
Catherine Pilotte, Vice President
Liz Roe, Treasurer
Lisa Reagle, President
Previous Lab Reports
Please find previous Lab Reports via the following links:
May: 3rd, 10th, 17th, 24th, 31st
April: 5th, 12th, 19th, 26th
October: 6th, 13th, 20th, 27th
September: 1st, 8th, 15th, 22nd, 29th
August: 4th, 11th. 18th, 25th
June 9th 2023 (with links to 22-23 Lab Reports)
June 17th, 2022 (with links to 21-22 Lab Reports)
Contact Information
Website: https://luthervillees.bcps.org/
Location: 1700 York Road, Lutherville-Timonium, MD, USA
Phone: 443-809-7800
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LuthervillePTA/
Twitter: @LuthervilleLab