Leopard Tales: September 1st

Good afternoon Lowes Island Leopards!

I hope that you are enjoying your long holiday weekend! The learning of routines, procedures, and expectations continued during last week. I am so impressed with how well our students are doing this school year!

In case you missed it, Dr. Spence and his team held a Back-to-School Webinar where they answered questions from the community. It is linked here as well.

There is important information in each newsletter I send out, so please take the time to review it each week.

Reminder: Tomorrow is a school holiday for Labor Day. We will see our Leopards again on Tuesday morning!

Your PROUD Principal,

Dr. Puschak kate.puschak@lcps.org

**Always BE KIND**

**Every Leopard Every Day**

I want to share that our arrival and dismissal has been going fairly smoothly! We appreciate that many of you have watched the video above to help ensure our students arrive and dismiss safely!

We have received some concerns from parents about what is happening across from the school.

Key Concerns:

1. Unsafe U-Turns on Bank Street: Many parents are making U-turns at the stop sign intersection on Bank Street. This creates a hazardous situation for children crossing the street, as these U-turns are often done without signaling or checking for pedestrians.
2. Parking on Bank Street: Parents parking on Bank Street are opening car doors without checking for pedestrians, posing a risk to those walking on the sidewalk.

Safety Recommendations:

• Avoid U-Turns: Instead of making U-turns on Bank Street, please drive up Pennrun Way, make a left onto Blossom Landing, and then a left onto Bank Street. Always adhere to stop signs and check for children crossing the street.
• Parking Considerations: If you must park on Bank Street, please be vigilant when opening car doors. Ensure no children or pedestrians are nearby to avoid accidents.

We appreciate everyone working together to create a safe environment for our students and families.

We are asking for parents and family members to wait until September to join their students for lunch. Our students need to learn the routines and procedures in the cafeteria without distractions. You may begin to join gyour student for lunch starting on September 9th. We appreciate your understanding!!

My name is Jennifer Hepler and I am the Family Liaison at Lowes Island Elementary School. As the Family Liaison, I work to bridge the communication between our school and home by helping parents get information and support your needs to ensure your child's academic and social success in school.

Some of the programs I do at our school are the following:

• Deliver weekly backpack buddy snacks to students
• Provide school supplies to students
• Organize winter coat drives for students
• Arrange interpreters for families to assist with conferences or meetings
• Assist families with applying for the free and reduced lunch program
• Work with the PTO to assist with the Winter Giving Tree Project
• Forward on any Community Resource information to families

If you would like your student to be a part of any of these programs, please send me an email. If there is anything else I can help with, please let me know.

Jennifer Hepler | Family Liaison

Lowes Island Elementary School

Jennifer_hepler@lcps.org

571-434-4450

Our students will take multiple assessments throughout the school year. You can click here to review the various assessments that are given in LCPS.

Line Soccer Scuffle

Welcome to the 2nd Annual LOW 5th Grade vs Teacher Line Soccer Scuffle Game! Please join us on Friday, September 13th at 6:30 pm in the main gym at Dominion High School. More information can be found in the link above.

Any 5th Grader who wants to play can join their house team to try and take down the teacher team! We are asking for all 5th graders who plan on playing to wear a yellow shirt and to be at Dominion High School by 5:45pm so that we can organize the teams and warm up. Parents are required to stay, for this FUNdraising event. We will also have an optional half-time shootout for all children to try to win a prize from our concession stand!

Speaking of the concession stand, we need donations and volunteers to make this successful. We are specifically looking for candy, snacks and drinks so that we can sell them to make some money for the 5th graders. Volunteers are needed for equipment set up, equipment clean up, admission table, 50/50 raffle, volunteer coach, and concession stand. Thank you, and we hope to see everyone there!

If you have any questions, you can reach out to Mr. Lucchino at michael.lucchino@lcps.org

🙋‍♀️ Volunteers Needed - Please email Volunteer@LowesIslandPTO.com for more information or to sign up!

🚶‍♀️ Walking Wednesday Chair - We’re on the lookout for a volunteer to chair our Walking Wednesday program! This is a rewarding role and a fantastic way to promote healthy habits like walking among our students.If you’re passionate about fitness and want to make a positive impact, we’d love to have you on board.

👐 Helping Hands Volunteers - We need assistance with tasks like laminating, cutting, bookbinding, and more. Your help will save our teachers valuable time and allow them to focus on what they do best—teaching!

🥖 Join Us for Spirit Night at Panera! - Mark your calendars for September 11th, from 4 PM to 8 PM, and join us at Panera! 25% of all sales will be donated back to the Lowes Island PTO. Let’s eat great food and support our school!

📅 Join Us for Our First PTO Meeting! - We’re kicking off the year with our first PTO meeting on September 16th at 6 PM in the school library. All parents are welcome to attend and learn about the incredible work we do for our school community. See you there!

🌟 PTO Membership - It's time to renew your PTO membership. Did you know that at just $10 per school year, your PTO membership fee is one of your highest yielding investments! On average, the PTO spends around $75 - $100 per child per school year. Your membership fee helps defray our costs so we can give more back to the school community. Join or renew your membership here.

🎂 Birthday Sign Fundraiser* - We are super excited to be bringing back the birthday sign shoutout fundraiser this school year! You can get details here. *The Birthday Sign fundraiser is only open to PTO members. You have to pay your membership dues before you can buy a week on the sign.

👍 Let's get Social! Like us on Facebook or Follow us on Twitter!