Longacre Weekly News

Dear Longacre Families,

In February, we will celebrate Black History Month by honoring the achievements, contributions, and impactful stories of Black individuals throughout history. We will highlight Black leaders, artists, inventors, athletes, and everyday heroes who have made a lasting difference in the world.

Throughout the month, leaders from our Longacre and Farmington communities will visit classrooms to share their personal leadership journeys and experiences with students. Here are a few good links for activities to do with your family: Family Education website, National Archives website, or Education.com site.

There are two upcoming family events; Reader in Me Night and Family Leader in Me Night, that you are invited to. The West Oaks Civitans will provide childcare during the Reader in Me Night and each child will get a free book. Children are also invited to the Family Leader in Me Night. Please scroll down for more information. As always, feel free to contact me or the main office at 248-489-3733 if you have any questions.

With Longacre Pride,

Rhonda Henry, Principal

Special thanks to Bree Schwartz, our PTA Executive Board, Beth Schultz, Jody Perris and Tessie Chin for organizing Heritage Night last Thursday! It was a wonderful way to recognize and celebrate all of the cultures and heritages that make up our school family. Thank you to all the families who participated by wearing clothing that represents your family heritage, sharing food, preparing a display, and attending to learn about other families.

You and your Longacre student(s) are invited to learn about and participate in our Reader in Me Family Night on Thursday, February 6, 2025 at 6pm. Parents will learn strategies to help their child grow as a reader, writer and speller. Students will participate in fun and interactive reading activities sponsored by the West Oaks Civitans. Every student who attends will receive a free book. This is a parent and Longacre student event. Parents must stay with their child during this event. This family night is for current Longacre students only; no siblings.

Please Click here to sign-up:

Longacre Reader in Me Family Night Sign-up

We have exciting news to share! Longacre has been invited to apply for LEGACY Distinction, which is the highest certification level a Leader in Me School can receive. There are only 14 Leader in Me schools in the entire world who have been granted Legacy Distinction.

To be invited to apply for LEGACY Distinction the school has to meet the following criteria:

• Lighthouse School Certification has been maintained for a minimum of eight years.

• The school exhibits innovation and sustained growth to sustaining levels in the majority of Lighthouse criteria.

• The school has made and continues to make an innovative and distinctive contribution to the Leader in Me community or the education community at large.

Our LEGACY review visit is scheduled for Thursday, February 27th and we need your help! We are creating a video that includes testimonials of how the habits have empowered our students, teachers and families and invite your family to submit one.

Here are the directions:

1. Video record yourself/family or child completing this sentence: Learning the 7 habits at Longacre has empowered me/my child/my family to… (we are using the word "EMPOWER" as the legacy we want to leave for our students, staff and families, therefore we want to highlight that word throughout the video).

2. The video submissions should be brief- less than one minute.

3. Upload your video to this folder by Monday, February 10th: Longacre Legacy Videos

Join us for an informative, interactive and fun Family Leader in Me Night facilitated by our Parent Lighthouse Team and Student Lighthouse Team members! The evening will focus on Habits 4, 5 & 6. Bring your entire family to learn how the habits can positively impact your family.

WHEN: Tuesday, February 11- 6:15 p.m.- 7:45 p.m.

WHERE: Longacre

We hope you can join us! Please RSVP below. Thank you!

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/8050D4FAEAB29AAF85-54274907-family

Math Pentathlon has started, and we are excited about how many students are participating! In case you missed it, we now have a 4th and 5th grade team in addition to our K-1st and 2nd-3rd grade teams.

This activity is open to all 4th and 5th grade students, and it's not too late to join. The 4th and 5th graders meet on Mondays at 6 pm in the innovation spot. Hope to see you there!

Would your student be interested in receiving a free bike for the summer? We are partnering with a local community church (Nardin Park United Methodist Church) and they would like to help students at Longacre who may be in a need of a new bike for the summer. Bikes will be picked up after school is complete in June. If your family is interested in this bike program, please fill out the details below and we will reach out to you with specifics.

Families,

We are excited to announce that our school has officially kicked off our Light The Night campaign to support the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.

Join our team by working together with your child to visit our school team page at https://pages.lls.org/ltn/mi/DetroitL24/longacreelementaryschool and select “Join Your Classroom Team” and start getting support from friends and family from all over. By raising money, they will earn a Light The Night t-shirt when they raise $100 or more. Parents and guardians! You can even link your child’s fundraising page to Facebook -this is the coolest way parents and guardians can support your student’s fundraising efforts!

During the month of February, students will be working on Social Awareness: The ability to take the perspective of and empathize with others, including those from diverse backgrounds and cultures; the ability to understand social and ethical norms for behavior and to recognize family, school, and community resources and support.

Leader in Me HABIT: 5 Seek First to Understand-Then to be Understood

MANNER OF THE MONTH: Wait Your Turn

Parent IDEA be reading The Anxious Generation by Jonathan Haidt, for those not familiar, this particular book is timely and impactful book addressing the challenges our children face today. Click here to sign-up: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1cSIadp51K8-ftNshEPbapRjefTpvlwQE/view?usp=sharing

Thursday, February 6- Reader in Me Night- 6:00 p.m. (Scroll up for details)

Friday, February 7-

• Bonaventure Skating Night- 6:00-8:30 p.m.
• Popcorn Friday for $1.00- All proceeds go towards Leader in Me Initiative

Monday, February 10- Legacy Videos due today. Please scroll up for more information.

Tuesday, February 11- Leader in Me Family Night- 6:15-7:45. Scroll up for more information.

Wednesday, February 12- PTA meeting at 6:00 p.m. in the media center

Friday, February 14- LOC Credit Union is Open for all banking transactions

February 17-21- Mid-Winter Break

Thursday, February 27- Longacre's LEGACY REVIEW! Please scroll up for more specific information.

With the colder weather here, please send your child(ren) to school dressed appropriately for outdoor recess with coats, hats, and gloves/mittens. Additionally, please remember to label your child’s clothing items so they can be easily identified if they become misplaced. Children will go out for recess as long as the wind chill temperature is above 0 degrees.

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Twitter: https://twitter.com/LongacreElem

Instagram: @longacreleopards

Website: https://www.farmington.k12.mi.us/lon