Lutherville Lab Report

What's gone down & what's coming up at the leopards' lair.

December 13 2024

Lutherville Families,

We had a jam-packed, joyful week here at The Lab!

Our 5th grade class absolutely rocked their Winter Concerts this week. First for students on Monday afternoon and Tuesday morning, and then for families Tuesday evening. It is simply outstanding how far the students come as singers and musicians in a matter for 3.5 months to put on such a performance. Kudos to Mrs. Tunison, Mrs. Vincent, the 5th grade team, and of course our students and families. It is always a highlight to watch our wonderful students shine and show off their skills.

This week we also had a joyful spirit week! It was fun to see students get into the spirit. Kudos to those with some homemade additions to wild winter sweaters!

We also launched a fun way to celebrate students gains in math and reading fluency! In each grade level students are setting growth goals for automaticity with math facts and their ability to read fluently. When students meet their goal, they'll get their picture taken flexing their fluency muscles with our new Leopard chain and get their photo on our wall of fame in the front lobby!

Lots to celebrate here at The Lab and as always, we're grateful to our family partners in making all this happen. Have a wonderful weekend. We will not have a Lab Report next Friday heading into the winter break, so please do enjoy some rest and family time together and we will reconnect in 2025!

In partnership,

-Mr. McComb

Calendar Reminders:

12/16 - Chick-Fil-A Spirit Night

12/20 - 1:05 Dismissal, Winter Break begins

1/2/25 - Schools Reopen

Oscar in 5th grade flexed his fluency muscles, growing from 25 multiplication problems in 60 seconds to start the year, up to 75 problems consecutively answered correctly in 60 seconds! Wow!

5th Grade Concert

Our 5th graders were phenomenal on Tuesday night! It was such a joy to see families beaming with pride.

Student Absence Summaries

On Friday afternoon, custodial contacts for each student should have received an automated email with an absence summary to this point in the school year. We publish these to keep families aware of absence accumulation. Families are encouraged to send in notes, or remind teachers of notes received, for absences coded "21" (which is unexcused).

Families are reminded of the importance of avoiding "Chronic Absenteeism," which the Maryland State Department of Education defines as 10% of the school year (18 days, excused or unexcused). Today was the 72nd day of the school year, so we are striving to have all students with 7 or fewer absences to this point.

Mrs. Voelker - 2024-2025 Lutherville Lab Teacher of the Year!

On Thursday morning, our staff gathered for a Faculty Meeting. We celebrated our Maryland State Report Card gains, moving up to the 84th-percentile among Maryland elementary schools, and being the top achieving BCPS school within our comparison group (schools serving similar student demographic populations).

We also celebrated some staff members. Mrs. Voelker was named our Lutherville Lab Teacher of the Year for 2024-25! She was recognized for her excellent instruction, persistent optimism, collaboration, patience, and technology prowess to problem-solve throughout the building, among many other wonderful qualities. Mrs. Voelker was also surprised by her husband, who was able to sneak in the back and hear our staff shower her with praise and celebrate her contributions.

Congratulations!

Mrs. Voelker also passed our Lab Coat, our staff MVP award, onto Michalle Wolfe. Nurse Wolfe, parent to two Leopards and a BCPS sub nurse, has covered ~95% of our school days where the Health Suite needs coverage in Nurse Vita's absence. She has done so with grace, expertise, and skill. And she has done so while still maintaining her work at Johns Hopkins, often leaving Lutherville and heading into a night shift in the hospital. We are deeply grateful for her support and dedication to our staff and students.

BCPS Message Regarding Inclement Weather Plan

Please see the message below that was sent to BCPS Families on Wednesday, December 4th:

As we head into the winter months, we want to share important information about our Virtual Inclement Weather Day Plan for the 2024-2025 school year. The Maryland State Department of Education (MSDE) is providing local school systems with the option to repurpose inclement weather days as virtual school days. MSDE has approved BCPS' 2024-2025 Virtual Inclement Weather Day Plan. Our plan is to transition to virtual school days after three inclement weather closures.

After those three full-day closures, when inclement weather is forecasted, families will be notified if BCPS will transition to virtual learning for that day. Students will be reminded to bring devices, chargers, and other instructional materials home. Staff will also be asked to prepare lessons and materials.

Virtual Instruction Days

Art Newsletters

From Mrs. Powell

From Mr. Weigle

Notes from the PTA

Read-a-Thon Pizza Parties

Congratulations to Mrs. Nicholson & Mrs. Feltman's homerooms, who won for most minutes read and Mrs. Weisbecker's class won for top fundraising class. Both groups enjoyed pizza parties, with pizza donated by Olympia Pizzeria.

Reminder, if your family is considering attending the Holiday Light Spectacular, to please use the discount code above to receive a 10% discount and support Lutherville Lab.