Lake Grove Elementary

Dear Lake Grove Families,

As report cards become visible to you in ParentVUE today, and you receive the iReady reports from classroom teachers, I want to remind you and your children how proud I am of how much they are learning and growing so far this year! Keep in mind that even in specials, students are working toward end-of-the-year standards, so a “2” represents the expected target for the majority of the school year as this indicates the child is progressing with the standard as expected. We use a variety of measures to determine each child's performance and growth relative to the Common Core State Standards, and by all accounts Lake Grove students are doing impressively well.

These reports represent what your child has demonstrated at this point in time. They do not capture all the amazing strengths and attributes of your child. Please look them over together, celebrate some of the successes, and look forward to our next steps; learning and growing together in the days and years ahead.

Another important measure of our progress as educators is how your child feels about school. Please ask them what's going well and what they're most proud of learning so far this year. If you learn anything you think the school should know, please reach out. We're always interested in your feedback.

Be well,

Principal Jennie Knapp

February is Black History Month. Numerous classroom discussions and activities this month connect to Black history across grades and curriculum. Attention to Black history is not limited to this month as we continue affirming that Black lives matter, and that we will keep growing as a community of learners committed to being anti-bias and anti-racist in all that we do. Read about district-wide efforts focused on Diversity Equity and Inclusion here and make a point to have some conversations with your child about the importance of celebrating Black History Month. Not sure where to start? Here's a resource that may be helpful.

Ask your child about which books they read and discussed in their library time this week.

Lake Grove will have an optional Friendship Day celebration on February 14th that may include an afternoon classroom activity with a Valentine card exchange. Students may bring their cards to exchange on Monday, February 14th. These cards should NOT contain any edible items, but may include small trinkets/games/toys. Please remember that students should bring in enough cards for each classmate or none at all. Look for any more specific guidance and list of student names from your classroom teachers.

If your student would like to participate, but purchasing valentines presents a hardship, please contact Wendy Post at postw@loswego.k12.or.us.

• February 22: Peace, Love, Laughter, and Kindness Day (wear tie dye, tutus, ties, and tennis shoes)
• February 23: Kindness Always Wins Day (wear your favorite sports team gear)
• February 24: Look to Your Future With Kindness Day (wear clothes for the job you want to have when you grow up)
• February 25: Lake Grove, Powered by Kindness Day (wear Lake Grove colors and/or spirit wear)

This February, we look forward to investing our time and hearts on the character trait of K I N D N E S S in our Social Emotional Learning (SEL) lessons, classrooms, and school.

The definition students will be learning this month is KINDNESS: the choice to act with words, gifts, or actions to bring appreciation, positivity, and encouragement to others and yourself.

Kindness is not only a feeling, but a choice we get to make every day to bring good things into our lives and the world. Those good things can look like more than kind words: Kindness is given through our actions, encouragement, attitude, and gifts. We will spend time thinking about how to be kind to ourselves, our environment, our school, and to one another. We will get to experience meaningful words through compliments and feel the joy that comes from showing appreciation and acts of service to others.

We will also be focusing attention on cultivating our relationships with each other. Lake Grove students will be participating in a schoolwide community building activity sharing how we sprinkle kindness in our school community. Please be on the lookout for information regarding our Kindness Spirit Week, February 22-25th.

Here are links for extension activities to explore KINDNESS further as a family:

K-2 KINDNESS Family Letter (English) 3-5 KINDNESS Family Letter (English)

K-2 AMABILIDAD para Familias (En Español) 3-5 AMABILIDAD para Familias (En Español)

We are so grateful for Wendy Post, our amazing school counselor/social worker. Wendy is a wonderful resource, a thoughtful listener and is incredibly supportive of our students, families and staff. If you would like to show your appreciation to Wendy, please feel free to drop her a note at postw@loswego.k12.or.us

With the gorgeous weather lately, it has been so nice to see more families walking to bring students to and from school! We kindly ask that dogs and other pets are kept off of school grounds during arrival and dismissal due to safety and allergy concerns. Thank you for understanding.

The Lake Oswego School District uses a standards-based report card for students in elementary schools. This report card measures a child’s progress toward proficiency or mastery of the priority standards in Reading, Writing, Language, Speaking, and Math.

This approach provides the means for communicating a child’s learning in more specific terms. Standards-based reporting articulates clear end-of-year grade-level standards for each subject. Using the scale below, teachers will communicate where a child resides on a learning continuum by indicating the student’s progress toward mastery of each identified grade-level standard.

The standards-based reporting scale:

4: The student works consistently at an in-depth and complex level within or beyond the end of year standard*

3: The student meets the grade-level expectation of the standard

2: The student nearly meets the end of year standard

1: The student demonstrates limited proficiency on the end of year standard

Important notes about the scale:

● Reporting is based on the end-of-year grade-level expectation. Therefore, proficiency would not be expected in the middle of the school year.

● A “2” represents the expected target for the majority of the school year as this indicates the child is progressing with the standard as expected. A “3” will be given when the student completely meets the grade-level standard.

● Details of what is expected at mastery level can be found on the report card or on the list of assessed grade-level standards.

● A “1” may prompt additional communication from the classroom teacher so parents will better understand their child’s learning journey.

*It is rare that a child will receive a “4” especially at the end of the first semester. A “4” score may prompt additional communication from the classroom teacher to discuss ways he/she is meeting the child’s unique learning needs.

Behavior Learning Targets are approached differently than end-of-year standards. For more information about your child’s progress, please contact the classroom teacher.

Our teachers use the adopted Health Curriculum, The Great Body Shop, to teach the required Oregon Health Standards to our students. THE GREAT BODY SHOP is a comprehensive health education curriculum which is sequential, developmentally appropriate, culturally sensitive, and medically accurate. The lessons align with Oregon’s Health Education Standards and are embedded with social-emotional learning. Watch your classroom teacher's newsletter for upcoming topics. If you would like to review the health curriculum, please contact the school office. More information, including an opt-out form if needed, can be found on the District website.

Have you ever thought about working here at Lake Grove Elementary School? We have positions posted and are looking for wonderful people to join our team!

See the postings for more details, and feel free to contact the office with any questions 503-534-2357.

Please label your student's coats and water bottles with their first and last name so we can return them before they get to our lost and found collection. If you have lost something at school, please take a look through the slides and submit a request for pickup. Please help by labeling all items. We will do our best to return labeled items directly to the student. See all items collected here. Please note that items not claimed will be donated by February 21st!

If your child will be absent, please email your student's teacher and copy the office at lgattendance@loswego.k12.or.us. Please list the date your child will be absent and any illness symptoms. You may also call us at 503-534-2357, or leave a voicemail on the 24-hour attendance line at 503-534-2299.

If you need to pick your child up early for an appointment, please be sure to bring your ID in to the office to sign them out.

2/14 Friendship Day at LG

2/15 - PTA General Meeting (Zoom, 7pm)

2/16 - Boundary Committee Open House (Zoom, 5:30pm)

2/17 Early Release Thursday

2/21 No school - Presidents' Day

2/22-2/25 Kindness Spirit Week at Lake Grove

SHARE YOUR VALENTINE'S LOVE FOR OUR LG STAFF!

This Valentine's Day, Monday, February 14, please join us in bringing a hand-written note of kindness for your teacher or any member of the staff! The PTA will deliver a sweet treat of coffee (donated by Lake Grove Starbucks) and doughnuts that morning for LG staff. We're also looking for volunteers to help plan a fun Teacher Appreciation Week, May 2-6. If you're able to help, please contact Ali Koper at akoper@outlook.com or 503-415-9699.

USED BOOK DRIVE FEBRUARY 14-16

Share your love of books on Valentine’s Day! If you have some books at home that your student has outgrown, bring them in to school for a second life! Between February 14-16, donate your gently used or new books in our classroom baskets. Teachers will “shop” through the books to refresh their classroom libraries. Questions? Contact Lasse Vestergaard at lakegrovepta@gmail.com.

SPIRIT WEAR ORDERS DUE FEBRUARY 16

This will be the last Spirit Wear offering this year, so get your order in today! If your student didn’t bring home an order form, download and print the flyer below and return it to school. Note the PTA now accepts electronic payments via PayPal at https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/LGPTA

UPCOMING PTA GENERAL MEETING

Join our next PTA general meeting on Tuesday, February 15 at 7 p.m. to hear updates from our fundraising and enrichment teams, with a special focus on discussing our plans for the Cougar Day Jog-a-thon. Zoom link for the meeting on February 15. https://loswego-k12-or-us.zoom.us/j/86963636167

VOLUNTEERS NEEDED TO ENSURE ART LITERACY RETURNS TO LAKE GROVE CLASSROOMS LATER THIS YEAR

Art Literacy is a completely volunteer run program that introduces elementary students to art principles, elements, and techniques. All training, presentation materials, projects and supplies are provided by our PTA. This is a great opportunity to work with students in the classroom! This Spring, students will learn about artists JMW Turner and Grant Wood.

Several teachers have booked their Art Literacy sessions and more will be added as teachers confirm. To sign up to participate in an art lit lesson in your student’s classroom, visit: Lake Grove Art Literacy: Lake Grove Art Lit Presentations (signupgenius.com)

Presenters should participate in the training session offered on Thursday, February 17 from 7-8:30 p.m. at the Lake Grove Elementary Library. If you cannot attend this training session, a recording will be available offline afterward. Sign up here to learn about Turner: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/409084EADA922A1F85-lake

Length of time required in the classroom:

-Presentation: 15 minutes

-Hands-on project: 30 minutes

You will be paired with at least one other volunteer for your classroom and will work together to ensure that all key roles and responsibilities for your classroom are covered. A monthly training will be held to ensure all volunteers are prepared.

Questions? Contact Kim MacKay at kimtamura@gmail.com.

VOLUNTEERS NEEDED TO MAKE COUGAR DAY JOG-A-THON A SUCCESS

Fundraising is extremely important for enrichment programs at LGE. Contributions to our PTA help create completely volunteer-run programs like Art Literacy, Run Club, Oregon Battle of the Books and more. Donations also fund student events and celebrations like 5th grade graduation, as well as allow us to show our appreciation for the stellar teachers who help our students grow and thrive! Without funding from families and local businesses, and volunteers stepping up, our PTA could not offer this level of support.

In April, Lake Grove students will participate in raising funds for their school through a “Cougar Day Jog-a-Thon,” planned for Friday, April 29. In order to execute the jog-a-thon, there are several jobs available to help prepare and plan for this event.

Sign up to manage one of these items!

• Compile a list of local businesses that may be interested in advertising to our families, build the list in a table with contact information (a list of local businesses already captured from previous years is available as a starting point for this volunteer). Timeframe: now through February.
• Contact local businesses mentioned above for potential business sponsorships. This could include dropping off flyers or sending emails and making phone calls. Timeframe: now through mid-March.
• Organize the display area/jar/campaign to donate funds to local charities. This is a task for a creative person! Let’s get the kiddos excited about building community. Timeframe: early April.

Fundraising questions? Contact lakegrovefundraising@gmail.com.

At Lake Grove, we are an inclusive school community fostering social, emotional, and academic growth for all students.

Principal: Jennie Knapp

Website: https://www.losdschools.org/lg
Location: 15777 Boones Ferry Road, Lake Oswego, OR, United States
Phone: 503-534-2357