Principal's Monthly Message

August 2018 Message

Dear Lakewood Falls Families,

Welcome Back, we missed you!!

On behalf of our entire staff, I would like to welcome our new kindergarten students as well as our returning first, second, third and fourth and fifth grade students! It is with great honor and much enthusiasm that I send you this welcome back letter only a few days before the start of the new school year. As you can likely imagine, much planning and hard work has gone into preparing for a successful school year.

Let me begin by introducing myself! My name is Scott Winters and I am thrilled to be your principal! I am excited to welcome you to the 2018-2019 school year and I look forward to meeting all the new faces as well as hearing all about your summer adventures! For those of you who have not met me, I moved here from Arizona in early July after enjoying 18 years working in various educational roles out west. Most recently, I was a K-8 principal in Glendale, Az. Additionally, I have seven years of experience as a middle school principal. I am very excited to be at Lakewood Falls and I look forward to working together with all of you in order to make this a fabulous school year! I would also like to introduce to you our new Assistant Principal, Mrs. Kelly Lustrup. She comes to us with over 14 years of experience in the Plainfield school district. She is beyond excited to meet all of you and make this school year great!

All teachers return tomorrow, August 13^th for three days of intensive training. However, many have been here throughout the summer. Our staff has spent hours preparing materials, creating child-centered classrooms, and reviewing data. The rooms are beginning to look amazing! Secretaries and office staff have registered new students, put together information packets to be sent home with all students, and organized new materials.

 We are extremely excited about the many positive changes that are happening throughout our campus. First, we want to welcome all new and returning staff to our community. I may be a bit bias but I believe we have the best staff in the district. Secondly, we are excited to introduce some new changes, including the adoption of a school-wide social skills program called “Well-Managed Schools”. Additionally, we will be using ClassDojo school-wide in order to track student positive and negative behavior as well as to increase parent communication. Finally, we have revised our school-wide rules to include R.O.A.R. (Respect, Only make good choices, Accept and acknowledge others, and Responsibility).

Important Information

Remember, the first day of school is Thursday, August 16^th.

School Times: The school day begins at 8:55 AM and students should arrive on campus no earlier than 8:40 AM. Students will report directly to their classes on the first day. We will have staff available to direct all students.  AM Kindergarten runs from 8:55am-11:45am. PM kindergarten runs from 12:45pm-3:30pm. All other students will be dismissed at 3:30pm.

AM Drop off: How to enter the parking lot at drop off

1. All cars will enter the front lot and merge into one lane in front of the school.
2. Please pull as far up as possible along the curb before letting your child (ren) out of the car.
3. Once you come to a complete stop, please let your child(ren) out of the car on the passenger side only.
4. Please be prepared to let students out quickly as possible as we want to keep the flow of traffic moving. 
5. Students should head towards the front doorway (A) prior to 8:40am. At 8:40am, both the (A) and (B) doors will be opened.
6. Beginning at 8:40am, students can go directly to their classroom, to the cafeteria for breakfast, or to the school store on designated days.

Pick Up: How to enter the parking lot at dismissal

1. Upon entering the parking lot, will be 2 lanes. The right hand lane, against the curb, is allowed to make a right hand turn toward Taylor Road upon exiting. The left hand lane, nearest the visitor parking, is for left hand turns only, back toward Lakewood Falls Drive.
2. All cars entering for pick up will be required to have a name placard in the window upon entering the parking lot. Please place this in a visible spot so the duty teacher can see it. *They will radio ahead so that your child(ren) are ready to go when you arrive.

Placard Rules: Beginning week 3, parents will be required to have an identification placard. K-2 students will have a Green placard. 3-5 students will have a yellow placard. If you have multiple children at our school, it will default to the color of the oldest child. These MUST be visible in your front window as you pull up. If you DO NOT have one in your window, you will need to park and come inside to pick up your children. This new procedure will help us to ensure the safety of all of our children and assure that they go home in the correct vehicle.

3. Please pull up as far as possible when waiting in line. Those in front will be directed to stop just before the solid white line. Be sure to watch for the direction of the dismissal staff on duty.
4. We will fill the entire drop off area (both lines) with cars before loading students. If you are parked behind the cones in the back of the drop off area, please be patient. We will load cars as quickly as possible.
5. Children should get in on the passenger side only. Again, please ensure that students load quickly.
6. Please be sure that your child(ren) cross the parking lot at the designated crosswalks only – Kindergarten Doors and/or Solid White Line.
7. Once all students are loaded, we will dismiss all cars in the drop-off area at one time.
8. When leaving the parking lot, there are 2 lanes. The right hand lane, against the curb, is allowed to make a right hand turn toward Taylor Road. The left hand lane, nearest the visitor parking, is for left hand turns only, back toward Lakewood Falls Drive.

Meet the Teacher Day: Our time for you to meet our teachers and administration is scheduled for Wednesday, August 15^th from 1:00 PM – 3:00 PM. Come to meet teachers and see where your children will be learning throughout the 2018-2019 school year.

Sincerely,

Mr. Winters, Principal

Important Dates!!!!!

• First day of school is Thursday, August 16th, 2018
• *Our Curriculum Night originally scheduled for August 28^th will have to be re-scheduled. Both Liberty Elementary Honors and Creekside have events scheduled the same and parking becomes very difficult.
• We are tentatively planning Thursday, September 6^th. More information to come shortly.