Eagles' News from the Lake
11 February 2024
A message from Dr. Kelly, Principal
Dear, Lakewood Elementary School Families-
As you may know, I have been on bereavement leave. I will return this week. I appreciate the acute compassion my Lakewood staff and so many of our community members have expressed to me during this very difficult time. The emails and text messages have warmed my heart. Thank you, all.
I want to publicly thank Mrs. Levy, assistant principal extraordinaire, my dynamic Instructional Leadership Team and front office staff; Mrs. Khoury, Mrs. Gottesman, Mrs. Skrodzki, Mrs. Brown and Mrs. Robinson as well as our fantastic Lakewood teachers, professional support staff, food services staff and building services staff for continuing in excellence and providing great teaching and learning experiences for scholars during my absence. I also want to thank our scholars who remain incredible learners!
Families, thank you for completing the Quarter 2 Lakewood ES Community (Parent/Caregiver) Voice Survey. We appreciate the feedback. As we did for quarter one, we will analyze, and share the data with our Instructional Leadership Team, Staff, PTA, and our NAACP Parents' Council Representatives. The data will be shared with the community during the March PTA meeting, and later a PDF in one of my Principal’s newsletters. The data will be used to continue making Lakewood ES a place of excellence where relationships matter; and student-scholars and staff thrive!
Valentine’s Day
See the calendar below: Class parties will take place on Wednesday, 14 February from 2:15 to 3:15 pm. Volunteers are invited to begin setting up at 2:00 pm. Classroom teachers and room parents will provide more details.
Yours in enthusiasm and partnership,
Dr. Kelly, Principal
#OneBandOneSound
Black History Month
Throughout February, we will continue to celebrate Black History Month, paying tribute to and highlighting the remarkable contributions of African Americans. Our morning announcements have been infused with captivating biographies and exciting highlights of historical achievements. In classrooms and during art, music, physical education, and media, scholars are engaging in valuable learning experiences. Specifically, classroom resources have been shared to connect with the books or stories featured in the morning announcements. Teachers are leading learning with scholars and they are decorating doors using the knowledge they are gaining. Scholars will experience a Blacktastic virtual assembly later in the month.
Lakewood ES Calendar Check - February Events
Community: Lakewood SY24 Master Calendar (Table Form)
Community: Lakewood SY24 Master Calendar (Table Form) This is a live comprehensive calendar for the entire school year. We will continue to make updates as events are added. I hope this helps in knowing what is happening at Lakewood, as well as supporting schoolwide programs.
Dear Families, we are asking families to RSVP so that we may get a good count for the goody bags. The School Wide Success Team is also looking for outside volunteers to help run games at math night. We are encouraging families to attend and volunteer. Thank you!🙂 (Click here or on the picture below).
If you have not already done so, please check out our Lakewood Community Playbook. We want to provide easy access to the information you need. Please feel free to share any suggestions and feedback. We want to make this work for you! Click the photo below.
Action Items, Updates & Reminders
- 8:40 am - Scholars enter the building - they can eat breakfast, check out books, or join the line outside of their classroom.
- 8:55 am - Scholars enter classrooms, unpack and order lunch.
- 9:00 am - Instruction begins
Cultural Arts and Heritage Assembly Donations
Please Donate- We need YOU!
As we continue our commitment to fostering a diverse, equitable, and inclusive learning environment, we are excited to announce opportunities for our scholars to engage in enriching cultural arts assemblies. These assemblies aim to educate and inspire our scholars by showcasing various cultural perspectives, traditions, and artistic expressions.
In order to make these enriching experiences possible, we are reaching out to our wonderful community to seek your support. Your generous donations will directly contribute to bringing professional and engaging cultural arts assemblies to Lakewood Elementary, creating memorable educational experiences for our scholars.
Why are cultural arts assemblies important?
Promoting Diversity: Cultural arts assemblies expose our scholars to a wide range of cultural backgrounds, fostering an appreciation for diversity and encouraging acceptance and understanding.
Educational Enrichment: These assemblies provide unique opportunities for scholars to learn about different cultures, traditions, and historical events through interactive and captivating performances.
Building Inclusivity: By embracing a variety of cultural perspectives, we contribute to creating a school environment that is welcoming and inclusive for every scholar.
How can you contribute?
Financial Donations: Your financial contributions will directly fund the cost of cultural arts assemblies, ensuring that we can bring high-quality and educational performances to our school. You can donate HERE AT THIS LINK.
Volunteer Support: If you have connections with cultural performers, artists, or organizations that align with our mission, vision and goals, we welcome your assistance in coordinating or recommending potential performers.
Spread the Word: Help us reach our fundraising goals by sharing this message with friends, family, and local businesses that may be interested in supporting Lakewood’s cultural arts assemblies.
Here is the online donation link, again. Every contribution, no matter the size, will make a significant impact on the success of this initiative.
Let's come together as a community to provide our scholars with the enriching experiences they deserve. Thank you for your continued support, and we look forward to making these cultural arts assemblies a continuous reality for Lakewood Elementary. You can donate HERE AT THIS LINK.
MCPS Inclement Weather Decisions
MCPS is working to create a plan for virtual learning in the event that there are inclement weather days. In the interim, I want to share important information for our school community. At this point, it appears that virtual learning would happen only if there were multiple days off in a row. If this scenario arises, we will inform families with enough prior notice that there would be virtual learning for the next day. The homeroom teacher would send out a zoom link for scholars to access. Our elementary start time would be 11 am, with 4 hours of learning available. Scholars would have an ELA period, a lunch period, and a Maths period. Please stay tuned for more information as needed if winter weather approaches.
Ever wonder how decisions are made behind the scenes for weather-related school closures? Click HERE to discover the thoughtful process that goes into making these important decisions for the safety and well-being of our students, staff, and community.
Amid the recent increase in COVID-19 cases, we kindly request your attention to the MCPS community message. In the event that your child tests positive for COVID-19, we urge you to follow the necessary protocols.
Please promptly inform your child's classroom or homeroom teacher via email, ensuring to copy Mrs. Winifred Robinson, our dedicated attendance secretary, and registrar, and our assistant principal, Mrs. Leah Levy. This will help us take immediate and appropriate steps to ensure the safety and well-being of all scholars and staff. Thank you for your understanding and continued support.
Newsletters
Check out what's going on this month in our classes!
Volunteering
*Please consider volunteering. Many classrooms still need room parents.
Interested in becoming a Lakewood Volunteer? We would LOVE to have you! You can volunteer helping the teacher in the classroom or we also need volunteers at lunch and recess. There are a few steps to complete before beginning your service as a volunteer in our school.
Volunteer Form
Complete the MCPS Parent/Guardian and Community Volunteer Form . The form serves as an introduction of yourself, your interests and availability in volunteering, and some important reminders about volunteers in schools. Turn in this form to the teacher or the main office.
Online Training
Complete the mandatory online Recognizing Child Abuse and Neglect Training. This training is required for any volunteer who regularly supports schools, chaperones a field trip, etc. and is available in multiple languages. When the course is completed, a report is created to serve as proof of satisfying the training requirement.
Contact the teacher or lunch/recess volunteer coordinator
After you have completed the volunteer form and the online training, contact your child's teacher if you would like to volunteer in the classroom or Mrs. Chanel Press for volunteering at lunch or recess at - Text: 785-979-3863 or Email: chanellee39@gmail.com .
Technology Help
Staff Roster
Looking to contact a staff member? We welcome two-way communication! Click the picture below for our staff roster.
PTA International Night
PTA Pizza Night Bingo Rescheduled. Stay tuned for details.
Spiritwear
CHECK OUT OUR SPIRIT WEAR ONLINE STORE!
Community Agreements
Code of Conduct, Behavior Flow Chart, and our Community Agreements
Please review our Community Agreements, the Code of Conduct, and Behavior Flow Chart with scholars.
MCPS & Lakewood use Restorative Justice practices. What is Restorative Justice?
Restorative Justice is a mindset and philosophy toward school climate and relationship building. Important components are:
- Proactively and intentionally developing relationships and building community.
- Restoring, repairing, or healing the school community when harm has occurred
The focus is on education, learning from mistakes, identifying and working on the root of the behavior, making deep-level change, repairing relationships, and restoring students and staff to the environment.
The Key Values of Restorative Justice include:
- Nurturing healthy relationships built on trust
- Fostering mutual respect between individuals
- Feeling a sense of responsibility for your community
- Repairing harm and transforming conflict
- Reintegrating back to your community if harm has been caused
Principles of Restorative Justice
We work together to foster the physical, social, psychological, and academic well-being of students, staff, and families through:
Community Building: Building caring communities and healthy relationships based on mutual trust, respect, and responsibility
Self Care: Learning to recognize and regulate our emotions, so we don’t cause harm to ourselves or others
Conflict Resolution: Recognizing when our words or actions have harmed others and taking steps to repair that harm
The state of Maryland passed House Bill 725 in 2019, which requires school systems to incorporate the use of restorative approaches. The majority of the work in Restorative Justice is preventative and proactive. Montgomery County Public Schools has worked diligently to incorporate restorative justice and restorative practices in all of our schools to better serve the needs of our students.
The MCPS Restorative Justice Unit will prepare and engage all stakeholders in restorative practices through meaningful trainings, school-level support, collegial collaboration, and supported community partnerships. CLICK HERE for the RJ website.
Planet Aid
Please donate your gently used clothing and shoes. You will see the yellow bin near our entrance to the parking lot. This is a positive way to contribute to the environment and community. Partnering with Planet Aid makes it all so easy! Lakewood earns 10 cents per pound and will use this money for scholars and staff. Planet Aid accepts clothing, shoes, and other textiles (for example, bedding, towels, and curtains). This means that there is no need to separate items based on their condition. Even items that are stained, torn, or frayed can be recycled, so drop off your worn-out items, too! The only articles of clothing we cannot accept are those that are dirty, wet, or moldy.Thank you in advance.
Dr. Kelly, Principal
Yours in Partnership.
Website: https://www2.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/schools/lakewoodes/
Location: 2534 Lindley Terrace, Rockville, MD 20850, USA
Phone: 240.740.5750
Twitter: @PrincipalLES5