Dear Parents,

Welcome to Laurel Park Elementary School! We are so excited about welcoming our new little penguins to LPES. While we realize that we all share questions about when year round schools will open their doors this summer, we hope this newsletter will share information that will aid in your transition while we wait for local guidance. In this welcome newsletter, you will find the following documents:

1. Welcome Video from Principal Raleigh Bame
2. Virtual Orientation - featuring all LPES Kindergarten Teachers
3. Virtual Tour
4. Kindergarten Supply List
5. Bus Transportation link
6. Daily Special Classes information

We look forward to supporting your families as you transition to Kindergarten at Laurel Park!

Sincerely,

The LPES Planning Team

Please contact our school nurse:

Claire Larsen, RN

phone: 919-218-3591

email: clarsen@wcpss.net

School nurses in Wake County serve 2 to 3 schools. Ms. Larsen is will be on campus 2 days a week for the 2020-2021 school year.

Welcome from your School Counselors, Mrs. MacEntee & Mrs. Truskowski

Hello Families! We are so excited to welcome our newest penguins to Laurel Park! Our role as school counselors is to support the social-emotional growth of all students. We provide short-term individual counseling, topic-based small groups & classroom guidance lessons, as well as consultations with parents & teachers. Especially in the beginning of the school year, we support students' transitions, assuring they adjust well to their new school. You will see us in the hallways welcoming our new kindergarteners and we can't wait to meet you all!

Caren MacEntee (Tracks 1 & 2) cmacentee@wcpss.net

Ashley Truskowski (Tracks 3 & 4) awaddell@wcpss.net

PTA Organized - School Supply Orders 2020-2021

2020-21 School Supply Packs
It’s that time of year again!

SCHOOL CODE for ORDER: LAU074

School Supply Packs online ordering is now available! This convenient option ensures your student has all materials needed from grade level school supply lists without the hassle of shopping for each individual item. These kits are specific to Laurel Park and to each grade level. Please order for your student’s rising grade (2020-21 school year)!

First Deadline is May 25, 2020

https://www.educationalproducts.com/ShopPacks/

Welcome Rising Kindergarten Families. I look forward to meeting your little ones and helping them become life-long readers and learners. I hope “Lucky’s Library” will be a resource for the entire family!

Alison LeSueur, Library Media Specialist

@luckys_library luckyslibrary.weebly.com

Hello! I'm Mrs. Benner, your art teacher at Laurel Park Elementary. I have been teaching art for over 20 years and have taught at every grade level. After graduating from Ohio State University, I began my teaching career in Cleveland, Ohio, then came to North Carolina where I taught in several schools. We moved to Dubai for three years where I taught K-12 art in international schools. Finally, we moved back to North Carolina, where I have been teaching for the past 8 years. In my free time I like to read, go to the beach and spend time with my two daughters and our sweet dog, Scarlet.

The Kindergarten art program is designed to introduce students to the joys of creating and appreciating art. We will meet for 45 minutes every 6 days. Kindergarten artists will explore art through a variety of learning experiences. We will explore the Elements of Art and use a variety of materials to create original works of art and make connections between art and other disciplines. We will work on developing our fine motor skills through drawing, coloring, painting, cutting, gluing and sculpting. Most of all, we will have tons of fun creating! I can't wait to meet you!!

We have fun in music class! We sing songs in every weekly lesson and play instruments as often as we can. We also do a lot of creative/expressive movement, playing, and "body percussion" like clapping and tapping. Contrasting elements are explored. We look forward to Cultural Arts guests throughout the year and get to play on our classroom keyboards when appropriate. Each Unit includes 3 engagingly cool lessons.

Unit 1: Playing and moving to the Steady Beat

Unit 2: Whisper/Talk/Shout/Sing (4 Voices)

Unit 3: Playing, reading, and moving to Rhythm, Beat vs. Rhythm

Unit 4: Playing, singing, and moving to High and Low sounds (Pitch)

Unit 5: Playing, singing, and moving to Up and Down

Unit 6: Playing, moving to and creating Patterns of 2, 3, and 4

Unit 7: Instrument Families (Woodwinds and Brass, Percussion and Strings)

Unit 8: Playing, singing, and moving to Loud and Soft sounds (Dynamics)

Unit 9: Playing and moving to Fast and Slow (Tempo)

Unit 10: Playing, singing, and moving to Long and Short sounds

Unit 11: Found Sounds, Singing Voice and Timbre (different sound qualities)

Unit 12: Favorite songs review

Jenni Sonstroem

Music Specialist, Laurel Park Elementary (Year-Round)

NBCT, Early & Middle Childhood Music

MM, East Carolina University

BM, University of North Carolina at Greensboro

https://sites.google.com/wcpss.net/sonstroemmusicclass/ My Google Site

I am Ms. Trent the STEM teacher. STEM stands for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math. Because I teach 4 different areas, I try to combine them with each other. For example, Kindergarten students this year created a maze using math concepts and then programmed a robot to go through the maze. In my class, the Kindergarten students will be learning about the keyboard and touchpad on our Chromebooks. We also use iPads to create Green Screen videos using DoInk, code with Scratch Jr. and document our building challenges with Seesaw. I try to collaborate with the homeroom teacher as much as I can to support learning concepts taught in their homeroom.

My philosophy is teaching is simple. Learning should be fun. In Engineering, failing is a normal part of the process. FAIL - First Attempt In Learning. It teaches resiliency and we can always improve things and make it better. I try to build a growth mindset into my class.

Hello! Welcome to Laurel Park Elementary! I am Susannah Vitaglione, a specials teacher at LPES. Social Learning is an exciting class that supports Laurel Park’s positive school environment. Students will learn about how they think and feel, as well as considering the thoughts and feelings of those around them through fun stories and activities. As our children develop important academic skills throughout kindergarten, they also develop important social skills. In Social Learning, we work on what it means to be flexible, compromise and consider the perspective of others. All the stories and activities we do are developmentally appropriate. If you have any questions, please email me at: svitaglione@wcpss.net. You can also find more information on my website for Laurel Park as well. https://laurelparksocial.weebly.com/

Dear Laurel Park Families, Welcome New Penguins!!!!

I would like to take a few moments to introduce myself and express how much I am looking forward to working with all your children this year. I look forward to getting to know you this year and helping in any way. My name is Mark Edwards and I am the Physical Education Teacher at Laurel Park. I have been teaching in Wake County since 2000 and overall since 1987 in the state of Iowa and North Carolina.

Below is some important information that I hope you find helpful in regards to making your child’s journey this year a success:

• Safety in class during activities is my number one concern. This being said please have your children wear or bring a pair of tennis shoes to school each day. These should either have shoe laces or Velcro to keep the shoes on their feet during class activities. Please no opened toed or back shoes, crocs, sandals, boots or dress shoes.
• On the day that they have Physical Education please have them wear clothes that they can be active in. Please try to not have girls wear dresses on these days. Kindergarten classes will be on a six day rotation.
• In kindergarten Physical Education is divided into three main sections that we will focus on throughout the year:

1. Personal and Social Responsibility: This includes following school, class and game expectations, showing self-control, showing good sportsmanship and demonstrate the willingness to work in groups.
2. Motor Skills/Movement Concepts: This includes showing the ability to move around the play area under control using different movement concepts such as walking, galloping, skipping, jumping and running during class activities and games. They will also be introduced and assessed on the skills of throwing, catching, kicking and striking.
3. Fitness: This includes working on pacing and doing moderate to vigorous activities for short and long periods of time. \

Lastly, If your child has any medical concerns that you feel I need to know about such as asthma, heart issues or anything else please email me at mjedwards2@wcpss.net. If your child is hurt or sick and needs to be excused from activity in class please send me a written note or email prior to class if possible. Again, I look forward to helping your child along their journey this school year. Please feel free to contact me whenever you have a question or concern.

Thank you, Mark Edwards

Mjedwards2@wcpss.net

In addition to the Taylor YMCA, who serves students on campus at LPES, the following have confirmed that they will be providing before and after care for Laurel Park Students for next school year.

Kids R Kids - 150 Towne Village Dr, Cary, NC 27513 (919) 467-1112

Noah's Ark -100 S Hughes St, Apex, NC 27502 (919) 367-9898

Primrose - 1710 Laura Duncan Rd, Apex, NC 27502 (919) 339-3874

Learning Experience - 560 Evening Star Dr, Apex, NC 27502 (919) 303-7475