Family Knight News

Greetings LES Families,

Here we are already halfway through the month of April. It's moving quickly because of our wonderful week of Spring Break! Oh boy was it needed! I'm so thrilled when our students and staff get a chance to rest. They work so hard every day, our schedules are jam packed, and the weekends are short. Now we are moving toward the end of year. Allow me a moment of indulgence to talk about our wonderful 5th grade students.

I am filled with so much pride and gratitude for the short journey the 5th graders and I have shared together. This is such a wonderful group of kids. And I'm not biasedly making a claim. This group of students are the staff's favorites. Of course, we don't encourage favoritism, but in the case of our students who will be leaving us in one very short month of time, I think we can make an exception and shine a spotlight on an incredible group of students that's about to transition to middle school. Throughout this year, they have shown determination and kindness. I love seeing them come and go each day because they are such great friends. Parents and families, you should be very proud of them. I'll save the rest of my bragging for their ceremony.

Another group of students who are moving on is our incredibly smart and well-behaved preK babies. Well, they aren't babies anymore! They are independent, kind, sharp, and have developed into some very well-rounded young people. Not to mention that they are the cutest little people ever! It seems like yesterday that they came to LES as little 3 and 4 year olds. It's been a joy to see them flourish in their development with the support of their wonderful teachers.

Needless to say, all of our LES students are simply wonderful! Many of our 3rd-5th grade students are staying after school each day to prepare for their GMAS assessments. The overwhelming majority of our students do a fantastic job each and every day following rules, listening to staff, getting along with peers, making friends, and learning the curriculum. Our students tackle difficult concepts as they work hard to compete with their fellow peers in the county. Beyond academics and more important than anything they learn, most of our students show good character and leadership qualities. Embedded in this is empathy and compassion shown towards others.

These traits are especially important as we celebrate Exceptional Children's Week! We are celebrating those who are differently abled. It is important that students understand that they are part of a very big world where many people exist who are very different from each other. Teach kids to be accepting of differences and to be respectful and kind to others. Being a good citizen and a good friend means being understanding and inclusive.

Thank you for reinforcing these values. We hope that you will help us celebrate Exceptional Children's Week. Our flyer is attached below for your convenience.

Thank you for all you continue to do to support us here at LES. Our International Night was hugely successful Over 1700 people flooded our playground for the community Easter event planned by LVFirst UMC. Wonderful weather and clear skies allowed our staff and students to safely enjoy the Solar Eclipse. And this past Friday, both our parking lots were full as families showed up to have an eventful Field Day with students.

The Lion King (reprised)

We learned on Friday that our students will be performing at the May 16th board meeting at the ISC. We are incredibly honored that our students were chosen to represent the Central Gwinnett cluster with an artistic performance. You were welcome to show up to the meeting or stream LIVE via the GCPS website. Please join me in congratulating our teachers of the Arts as well as our wonderful student Lion King staff.

I extend my heartfelt congratulations to you as well. Your support and guidance have played a pivotal role in shaping some remarkable young individuals. It's a privilege to be a part of their educational journey.

Sincerely,

Your Proud Principal

Candace Haynes

This week we are taking some classroom visits. Come see the great work going on at LES! See you at 12:00 pm!

We have many photos to share! Follow our social media pages and check out our website to see more!

We don't have many pictures as of yet! Be sure to check ParentSquare for posts from your child's teacher and also follow our social media pages for more photos.

Only water is allowed in our classrooms. Please ensure that student water bottles only contain water. This carpet will be with us for the next 10 years or more and we want to be good stewards of what we have received.

• For safety reasons, it is very important that students wear tennis shoes to school. Even when not in PE, students are playing outside daily. We have seen numerous accidents, including trips and falls in the hallway. Please save the crocs, yeezys, slides, sandals, and similar shoes for wearing outside of school.
• Head coverings such as hats, caps, hoodies, satin night caps, scarves, bandanas, etc. should not be worn to school.

Again, we ask that you only check out students for in situations that are urgent. Please do not circumvent the regular dismissal process by checking out students on a daily basis. Early checkouts disrupt classroom instruction. All students within the LES attendance zone have the option of riding the bus. If you are unable to retrieve your child from the car line, please allow your child to ride the bus.

Student drop off should take place in the rear of the school from 8:20-8:50. Please ensure your child is at school on time. Breakfast, Joyful Learning, Morning Meeting, and Morning Announcements all take place prior to 9:00 am and are immediately followed by Knight Time, which consists of academic intervention schoolwide. Please ensure our students have the best start to their day by being on time. All students within the LES attendance zone have the option of riding the bus so that they are on time to school.

Our data states that 20% of our students have chronic absenteeism. This is defined as students who are absent 10% or more of their enrolled number of days. We are actively following up with parents of students who fall into this category. This includes excused and unexcused absences. Attendance is directly aligned with academic success; a child can't learn if he or she is not in school. If your child falls in this category, please ensure that your child is at school every day unless sick and/or contagious. If you need to review our attendance policy, please see the attached handbook below.

It will be so much easier for you! Be on the lookout for information coming to you very soon from GCPS via ParentSquare!

About Us

Lawrenceville Elementary has been proud to be a PBIS school for the last several years. PBIS focuses on positive behaviors, teaching and reteaching school and classroom expectations and rewarding students with incentives. Our school expectations are taught and referred to daily so all students can be equipped to have a successful day at Lawrenceville Elementary.

Our Awesome Incentives:

• Lead Bucks: Buy rewards and admission to events throughout the school year.
• PBIS Celebration: Fun school-wide events to celebrate students for awesome behavior!

You can help!

We encourage all parents to talk with your child about the school motto and what it means to them. Ask them if they earned any Lead Bucks this week. Ask them about some of the PBIS Celebrations and how to earn it.

Did You know?

PBIS held a Silent Disco Glow Party last month! Students got to experience 3 different genres of music through headphones and had a blast dancing, singing, and switching stations through their headphones.

Parents, guardians, and those adults on student's list continue to be welcomed to join us for lunch during the child's lunch time. A gentle reminder that outside vendor food (per district policy) is not allowed for students. Please reinforce providing lunch from home or utilizing the school meal plan. All visitors should park in front and check in at the front desk.

Due to limited parking on Wednesdays, please avoid visiting for lunch on this day. Two Play 2 Learn classes are in session on Wednesdays and parking is very limited throughout the day.

Ice cream is sold daily. It is $1.00 cash only.

Classroom ice cream parties are a great way to celebrate students. Please send the money to the teacher with a note if you would like to purchase ice cream for the entire class.

Our Blueprint for the Future is available online. To see the 8-page executive summary, click here. PDFs of the comprehensive document in English, Spanish, Chinese, Korean, and Vietnamese are also provided.

We encourage all families to create a MPP account. No purchase is necessary to have a MPP

account. You will be able to read and digitally sign documents and/or make necessary payments. It

is a great way for you to manage and keep track of all of your student payments and forms in one

place throughout the school year.

MyPaymentsPlus is linked directly to your school’s student information system (SIS), enabling us

to show real-time balances and invoices, and eliminating the need to call or visit your school in

search of information.

Simply create a free MyPaymentsPlus account to get started today:

https://www.mypaymentsplus.com/welcome

April 14th-20th - Exceptional Children's Week

April 18th - 12:00 pm - School Council Meeting

April 22nd - May 22nd - 3rd through 5th Grade GMAS administration (Specific schedule forthcoming)

May 2nd - 6:00-9:00 pm - PTA Sparkles Skate Night

May 6th-10th - Staff Appreciation Week

May 20th - 6:00 pm - 5th Grade Promotion Ceremony @ CGHS

May 21st - 5th Grade Fun Day/5th Grade Walk

May 22nd - Last Day of School

Our PTA needs some active support to help finish out this year and begin planning for next year. Are you available and interested? All help is welcomed! Please send an email to danielle.davis@gcpsk12.org if you are interested.

Vision Statement: Lawrenceville Elementary will provide the foundation for all students to become life-long learners and successful citizens.

Mission Statement: We will provide a learning environment where students strive to: Lead by Learning, Embrace Diversity, Achieve Excellence, and Demonstrate Leadership.

Motto: Today’s Learners … Tomorrow’s Leaders

Our Theme This Year: I Belong, You Belong, We Belong at Lawrenceville Elementary!

Lawrenceville Elementary School

Principal ~ Mrs. Candace Haynes

Assistant Principal ~ Mrs. Bridgett Brown

Assistant Principal ~ Mrs. Kadian Dennis-Walls

Assistant Principal ~ Mr. Kemel Roberts

Website: https://www.gcpsk12.org/LawrencevilleES
Location: 122 Gwinnett Drive, Lawrenceville, GA 30046, USA
Phone: 770-963-1813

Join our social media accounts:
Facebook

Instagram