The Lions' Roar Newsletter

September 2024

Welcome to Leader in Me Program

Each new school year brings opportunities for academic growth and growth in all areas of development. Although children must be knowledgeable when they graduate, they must also be healthy, engaged, responsible, and caring people. We’re grateful you’re here at our school and we’re excited to partner with you and your child. As a Leader in Me School, we believe that every member of your family has greatness and we can’t wait to learn and grow from you! Leader in Me (LiM) is an evidence-based, comprehensive school-improvement model—developed in partnership with educators and FranklinCovey—that empowers students with the leadership and life skills they need to thrive in a global community.

Our school has chosen to operate through a uniquely different lens. Leader in Me is about empowering your child to reach their full potential while ultimately finding their voice. As a school, the staff in this building have made five core commitments to your child. We call these our Core Paradigms. In these paradigms you will find the belief and way we view all students. At this school we see that:

• Everyone is a leader.

• Everyone has genius.

• Change starts with me.

• We empower students to lead their own learning.

• Educators and families partner to develop the whole person.

Not only do these paradigms apply to your student, they apply to all of us! Leader in Me provides our school with the vision and language to lead the school in a way that addresses all areas of development. As each child discovers and develops their unique gifts and talents, they are given opportunities to lead. As leaders, they become active, engaged partners in their own education, and their self-confidence, responsibility, and initiative grows. The children quickly understand the benefits of different gifts and talents; they learn to listen to new ideas, work together to achieve results, and motivate one another to be the best. We hope your school enjoys sharing these new opportunities. Together, we will see each child grow throughout the year!

Igniting Change with the 7 Habits!

This summer, our dedicated Staff Lighthouse Team embarked on a mission to transform student behavior with clear expectations. By infusing the wisdom of the 7 Habits into a new behavior matrix, they've created a roadmap for students to develop essential life skills in all areas of our school. Their collaborative efforts will undoubtedly shape a brighter future for our students. Check out the new and improved matrix below!

WSD FOCUS Update

With our transition to Focus, we've heard from families that they're not receiving emails, either because they're going to spam or because they're not being delivered at all. This is due to the multiple email domains that are used based on the type of communication. For example, mass emails and individual communications come from different addresses.

We are working with the Focus Support team to address this issue and ensure families receive all district communications. Here are some steps that can be taken by our families:

Mark the emails as "Not Spam"
Adjust spam filters with their email provider or email application
Emails will be delivered from the following email domains

Additionally, we are working to simplify this process by using a single email domain for all district communications sent through Focus. We expect this to be implemented within the next 2-3 weeks.

Here are a few training videos you may find helpful as well.

How to Download the Community App for Parents

Community Partnerships

Dear Lakeview Elementary Families,

Throughout the duration of the academic year, the Wentzville School District partners with community agencies that specialize in providing students, families, and educators with preventative education. Agency presenters are credentialed, coordinated through the District, and under the supervision of building administrators. Presentation topics are targeted toward specific grade levels. All students will participate in each program unless you choose to opt your child out of the lesson(s). If you are interested in opting your student(s) out of the presentation(s), please click the appropriate link(s) below.

Kindergarten Opt-Out Form

First Grade Opt-Out Form

Second Grade Opt-Out Form

Third Grade Opt-Out Form

Fourth Grade Opt-Out Form

Fifth Grade Opt-Out Form

If you have additional questions, please reach out directly to your student’s school counselor.

Thank you,

Your Lakeview Team

Doug Holler, Principal

Lauren Keebey, Assistant Principal

Stephanie Davenport, School Counselor K-2

Alissa Erbs, School Counselor 3-5

Ashley Thies, Educational Support Counselor

It's Scholastic Book Fair Time!

Need to refresh your child's home library for the school year? You will find the best books at our Scholastic Book Fair. Students can shop at our book fair in the library from September 11 - September 18 during the school day. We will close at 10:30 a.m. on September 18. In addition, we are excited to offer a family night so families can shop together. Students and families are invited to school on Wednesday, September 11 for the PTO Family Fun Night. The Scholastic Book Fair will be open from 4:30 p.m. - 6:30 p.m. Please visit our book fair homepage for eWallet and for more information about the book fair:

https://www.scholastic.com/bf/lakeviewelementaryschool23.

If you have any questions, please contact our school librarian Ms. Cook at jennifercook@wsdr4.org.

Reading Assessments

This fall, teachers and reading interventionists will be conducting reading assessments with all students. These assessments help us plan lessons and identify students who might benefit from extra reading support. In addition, our building reading specialists will work with small groups of students. These flexible groupings are not the same as Reading Intervention, families will be contacted directly by their child's teacher if he/she qualifies for Reading Intervention.

If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out to your child's classroom teacher.

Student Lunch Pins/Passwords

This school year, all student lunch pins will transition from a 5 digit to 6 digit lunch pin. For returning students, their lunch pin will simply have a "1" added to the beginning. For example, 12345 will become 112345. Additionally, their passwords will be updated to reflect the new lunch pin (ie - wsd112345).

LVE Daily Schedule for 2024-2025 School Year

Daily Schedule

*Lakeview school times did not change. Lakeview's school times will remain 9:00 a.m.-4:00 p.m.

8:45 a.m.- Students can begin entering the building (first bell)

8:45-9:00 a.m.- Arrival & Attendance

9:00-9:10 a.m.- Morning Announcements & Pledge

11:10-11:30 (L)/11:30-11:50 (R)- Kindergarten Lunch and Recess

11:35-11:55 (L)/11:55-12:15 (R)- 2nd Grade Lunch and Recess

12:00-12:20 (L)/12:20-12:40 (R)- 1st Grade Lunch and Recess

12:25-12:45 (L)/12:45-1:05 (R)- 3rd Grade Lunch and Recess

12:45-1:05 (L)/1:05-1:25(R)- 4th Grade Lunch and Recess

1:10-1:30 (L)/1:30-1:50 (R)- 5th Grade Lunch and Recess

3:50 p.m.- PM Announcements

3:55 p.m.- Chautauqua & PPU Dismissal

3:55-4:00 p.m.- Bus Dismissal

*Students can not be dismissed from the office after 3:30 p.m.

Safety Enhancements

We continually evaluate our processes and systems to provide a safe learning environment for the entire school community. We want all students, employees, and visitors to feel safe and cared for during their time with us. As part of our commitment to safety, our Safety and Security Committee approved several safety enhancements.

SafeDefend is a company that supports school safety initiatives. It will make an access-controlled safety box in classrooms and offices in every building district-wide. When activated, it immediately informs emergency responders (providing specific location information that expedites emergency response), initiates emergency protocols such as a lockdown, and provides our staff with life safety support tools to help mitigate dangerous situations.

Window Safety Film has also been installed district-wide to provide an added layer of protection to our buildings.

Our new Common Response Language would be used in the event of an emergency. This predetermined shared language is essential for minimizing confusion and ensuring that everyone has a clear understanding of the situation.

Thank you for your continued support and for entrusting the safety of your children to our team of dedicated educators.

Measurable Results Assessment (MRA)

We want to hear from you! The WSD will administer a Measurable Results Assessment (MRA) survey to families, students, and staff. This survey helps us identify areas where we can improve and track our school's overall progress. By understanding your perspectives on leadership, culture, and academics, we can better address specific needs and opportunities to enhance student success. It typically takes about 5 minutes to complete and asks questions related to the experiences you and your child have at school. If you complete the survey before September 17th, turn in a signed copy of the flyer that is linked below to be entered into a drawing for a $10 Book Fair gift card! A copy of this flyer was also sent home in your child's folder.

We will administer the MRA survey twice this year (once this September and again in April). Starting next year, we will only administer it once annually in April to measure year-to-year progress.

While we may conduct smaller surveys for planning purposes throughout the school year, the MRA is our district’s primary focus and channel for feedback. We value your input and appreciate you taking the time to complete the survey. A flyer was sent home with a QR code or you can follow this link to get started. Thank you in advance for your time and input.

Arrival and Dismissal Procedures

This is an important reminder of the drop-off and pick-up procedures that we will enforce for the safety and efficiency of the students and parents at Lakeview Elementary.

Staff supervision and student drop-off begin at 8:45 a.m. If you arrive early, wait with your child(ren) until 8:45 a.m., in your car, in the car rider line, to assure that they are supervised.
Parents should not drop students off in the parking lot in order to avoid the drop-off line. This can create a serious safety hazard, as cars entering/exiting likely are not expecting to see children walking or running in areas of the lot other than in the drop-off zone.

***IMPORTANT *** Due to student safety, students who walk home from school will not be able to meet their parents at the front of the building. Parents will need to meet their children at the Fox Ridge sidewalk or the playground (West Wind). If you are picking up your child by car, then you need to utilize the parent pick-up line.

Walkers/Bike-riders- Walkers/Bike-riders are defined as students who walk/ride home on their own without a parent/guardian. The parking lot is not a designated crosswalk and is extremely dangerous for students to walk through unattended. Please do not bypass the carline for convenience and put your child and others in danger. Please do not put your children or our staff in this situation.

Car Riders- Car Riders are defined as students who will have parents/guardians who will utilize our car rider line to drive through and pick their child up. This is the most efficient way if a parent is coming to pick their child up. The line might look long but it moves quickly.

All cars will enter at the west entrance of the building near the school's marquee. Cars will line up and follow the directions of the staff members facilitating the car rider pick-up.
When prompted, parents will "scan" the QR code listed on their Parent Pickup tag and sign in. Please wait until prompted to scan/enter your information. Please include the names of all children you are picking up and grades.
Cars will pull in front of the building
Students must enter/exit curb-side for safety.
Cars will then promptly exit the parking lot at the same entrance/exit of the building. Cars are not allowed to cut through the parking lot and access the east entrance to leave.
Please take a moment to view the Arrival/Dismissal MAP so that you are familiar with the procedures on the first day.

A smooth and efficient procedure takes all of us to work together. I appreciate your willingness and expect all parents to follow the outlined procedures.

PTO Events

PTO is already working hard on planning some amazing family events! Here are the dates for the events they've planned so far. These events are always tons of fun! We hope to see you all there!

PTO Family Night/Book Fair - September 11 @ 5:00-7:00 pm

First PTO Meeting - September 12 @ 4:45-5:45 pm

Trunk R Treat - October 20 @ 2:30-3:30 pm

PTO Winter Event - December 14 @ TBD

PTO Bingo Night - March 7 @ 6:00-7:30 pm

Wear It Wednesday

Wear it Wednesday!

Every Wednesday at Lakeview is a House Spirit Day, which we call WEAR IT WEDNESDAY! If your child wears a shirt reflecting their house color, they get one house point. We recognize not all families or students have official house shirts, and we want to recognize students who rock their house colors. As a reminder the colors are:

Altruismo - Black

Amistad - Red

Isibindi - Green

Reveur - Blue

If your child comes to school in a house shirt OR wearing a shirt of their color, they earn a point for their house.

Reporting An Absence

A parent or legal guardian must call the school office each day a student is absent. Student attendance will be recorded on a daily basis. When a student returns to school after an absence, a note of explanation from the parent, legal guardian, physician, or other health providers, must be submitted for absences to be excused. Failure to submit notes or make telephone calls explaining why a child is absent will result in the absence being marked as unexcused. You can reach our attendance secretary, Mrs. Kim Majesky, at 636-332-2923 or send an email attendance.lakeview@wsdr4.org.

Late Arrivals

If a student comes to school after 9:00 a.m., he or she will be counted as tardy and a parent must sign them in at the office. Please do not send a late child into the building alone. A pass will be issued by the office secretary to admit the student to class. Students are considered tardy if they are not in their classroom by school start time (9:00 a.m.). Being on time is important. Students who come late miss important educational experiences.

Dismissal Changes

Changes to your child’s dismissal/transportation plans need to be communicated to the teacher or the main office. If you need to make an occasional transportation change (car rider instead of the bus, etc.), you must send a note to your child’s teacher. If that is not possible, you may call the office on the day of the change before 3:15 p.m. so the office staff has adequate time to notify your child’s teacher. You must provide a note or call each day that you want your child to go home in a different manner than usual. Students may not be signed out of the office after 3:30 p.m.