I know that I say this every year, but it is still true.  It is hard to believe that we are a few mere weeks away from coming to the end of the 2017 - 2018 school year.  This has been a very busy year in which we celebrated our school's 50th anniversary and broke ground on the new LES, giving us the opportunity to pay homage to our past and look forward to the future.   With the new construction came a unique set of challenges such as the change in traffic flow,  limited parking and the rumblings and vibrations  from the construction site, but through it all, I would not trade any of it.  With progress sometimes comes pain, but when I tour the new school and see all of the wonderful things it will bring to our community, students, faculty, staff, and parentes, I have to smile and say that it has been well worth it.  I want to thank you all as well for your patience and understanding through this process.  Change is very, very difficult,  and being inconvenienced is just that - an inconvenience, but I thank YOU for accepting it all with grace and with the  mindset of being able to see what is to come.  What awaits us at the finish line is going to be well worth the inconviences and wait!

Can you believe that we are already into the second nine weeks?  This year is quickly flying by, and we still have lots to do.  I just want to take this time to thank you, our parents, for all of your support.  Whether you come and volunteer your time and talents, attend our programs and events, send in things when we request them, or share kind words through our social media outlets, we appreciate all that you do to help us at Lugoff Elementary.  It truly takes village to accomplish all that we do, and none of this would happen without each of you.  

I know that I say this every year, but boy, how the summer is quickly coming to an end! We have been working extremely hard to get things ready for a great new school year and hope that you are enjoying these last few weeks.   I just wanted to take a moment to remind everyone that registration will be held Wednesday, July 26th in the cafeteria from 9 - 1 and 3 - 6.  If you are a brand new student to LES or a returning student, I cannot encourage you enough to please visit our school's website at les.kcsdschools.com and register.  This will save you lots of time at the actual registration on Wednesday. The website will also let you know exactly what you need to bring with you.  If you are going out of town this week and will miss registration, simply call the office upon your return so that we can schedule a time for you to come in.  In addition, if you are new to LES, please check out the car rider, walker, and bus rider videos we made at the end of last year so that you will know what to expect the first day of school.  These are posted on our webpage as well. Construction of our new school should be in full swing by that time, so we want to make sure that everyone is aware of where to go.   Take care, and we hope to see you this Wednesday! 

As you know, our new school will begin construction this summer.  While we are very excited about this process, we also know that there will need to be some major changes in the way we do things the year and a half that our school is being built. The first major change has to do with where students will be dropped off and picked up - AM and PM. Since construction will begin on the gym/car rider side of the building once school is out, the car rider area will be moved to the bus loop (students will enter/exit the building through the door closest to the playground)  and buses/walkers will be moved to the front parking lot area  (entering and exiting the building through the glass doors which say "media center").  So that we can hopefully work out the kinks before next year, we will do a trial run the entire  last week of school, which is May 22 - 26.  There will be lots of people on hand to help direct you, and we will be sending out a video via our media outlets - Twitter, FB, Dojo, newsletters, website, etc. - so that you will be able to observe these changes ahead of time.  Please note that the front parking lot will be blocked each morning and afternoon because of the new dismissal process, and cars will not be able to get in or out during this time.  We ask that you please exercise patience and understanding during this transition.  

How time flies when you are having fun!  None of us can believe that we are already halfway through the third nine weeks.  As always, I would like to thank each of you for your support of Lugoff Elementary School. Our BoosterThon Fundraiser was another huge success, and at last count, we were approximately $1500 away from reaching our goal of $15,000.  That is fantastic!  We will be using that money to improve reading instruction which includes the purchasing of  additional books for classroom libraries, books for the school library, software to improve reading comprehension and skill acquisition, and move leveled books  to meet the needs of our diverse readers.  We are super excited to be able to do all of this, and it is all because of your hard work! THANK YOU! 

LES Family,

     Can you believe the first nine weeks has come and gone already?  It seems as if we blinked, summer was ending, school was beginning, and a wonderful year of learning had commenced.  First, I would like to thank each of you for a great beginning to the school year.  It is because of the partnership that we hold with you that helps us ensure that your child receives the quality education he/she deserves.  Second, I would like to thank those of you who have returned the Title 1 Compacts we sent home with your child several weeks ago.  Being a Title 1 school allows us to gain access to additional monies which supports special programs, such as our Reading Interventionist and our transition first grade classroom.  We were also able to purchase additional Chromebooks so that every third, fourth and fifth grade student has personal access to a computing device to use during the school day.  If you have not returned the compact or need another one, please contact your child's teacher.  Last, as the temperatures begin to change, please remember to write your child's name in permanent ink in any removable items, such as sweatshirts, lunchboxes, sweaters, jackets, coats, hats, etc.  This way, we can return items when they are found.  It would also be helpful for you to check your child each day to make sure that they return with what they bring each day.  Again, thank you for all that you do and for making every moment "Count" at LES!

LES Families,

     The time that we have all been waiting for has finally arrived!  While I hope that you and your family had a wonderful, relaxing summer, I also hope that you are equally as excited about the start of school. Whether you will be joining us for the first time or are a returning family, it is our sincere wish that you are ready to embrace this year with enthusiasm and a commitment to work together.  

      Here are a few things you will want to know that will help make this transition a little smoother:

1.  Our school day runs from 7:40 - 2:40 daily.  Early drop off begins in the car rider area at 7:10 AM for those families who need to get to work.Even though you will see staff members here prior to 7:00 AM, there is no one on duty to  supervise your child until 7:10.  

2.  The tardy bell rings at 7:50 AM.  This means that students must be in their classrooms prior to 7:50 in order to be considered on time.  Once the bell has rung, staff members on duty will proceed into the building.  Please bring your child around to the front office and sign them in.  

3. We have specially made car rider and walker tags that families must use. If you do not have your tag, or you send someone to pick up your child without the tag, both will be asked to proceed to the office.  Here you will be asked to provide an ID and be checked against the list of persons allowed to pick your child up.  We take every precaution to ensure the safety of your child, so please note this in advance.  

4.  The last thing I would like to remind you of is the fact that the front parking lot is not a drop off or pick up area unless you are coming into the building to conduct business.  In such case, please do not park behind other legally parked cars or stop in the middle of the drive way, but proceed to a parking space to park.  The same is true about walkers.  Walkers should not be dropped off or picked up from the parking lot.  They must cross with the crossing guard on Hwy. 34 and proceed into the first door on the bus rider side of the building.  These things may seem insignificant, but they pose safety concerns when there is extra, unnecessary traffic in the front parking lot.  

      Thank you for your attention to these matters as we kick off a new year!  Welcome back, Counts!

Wow!  I cannot believe how quickly the summer is passing!  Even though I would love to "pump the breaks" and slow everything down to a turtle's pace, I somehow cannot get that trick to work!  As you enjoy time at home, let me encourage you to have your children participate in a few educational opportunities that are availabe to them. IXL (Math) and Classworks (ELA and Math) are both available whenever and wherever you have access to the internet.  On our homepage, there is a tab for students and parents.  There you will find links to these and other websites.  Your children will use the same passwords they used during the school year.  Don't have access to the internet?  No worries -   just have your children read. Whether it is helping read the recipe for a delicious chocolate cake, reading the road signs as you travel near and far, or cuddling up on the couch with a good book or magazine, just read, read, read!  Enjoy!

Parents,

     Thank you for an outstanding first nine weeks!  It was great seeing so many of you at our awards programs as we celebrated the many successes of our young people.  Remember, every child can receive an award for reaching his/her Accelerated Reader (AR) goal.  If your child did not receive this award, let's work extra hard this nine weeks to make it happen!  

     I would also like to remind each of you that the Kershaw County School Board voted at its last meeting to extend the second nine weeks.  What this means for you is that January 11th, 12th, 13th, and 14th are all days when students attend school.  Friday, January 15th is now a teacher workday, so students will not attend school.  In addition, the second nine week ends on January 14th, and the third nine weeks now begins on January 19th.  At this time, report cards are scheduled to still come home on January 20th.  Please mark all of these very important changes on your calendar.

     As always, I thank you for all that you do to help make LES a great place to be!  

In advance, I thank you for all that you will do to make this a memorable, successful school year.  Welcome back, Counts!