Return to Headlines

9/29/24

 

Dear Laurel Park Families,

 

I hope everyone is safe following Friday’s storm. Many of our staff members, as well as families, have ties to Western Carolina, and it’s heartbreaking to witness the devastation there. While the school is not organizing a relief drive, WRAL has shared a helpful article with ways to support those affected in the West.

 

This week, we say farewell—but not goodbye—to Ms. Kim Carnell, Track 1 second-grade teacher, who is retiring on Monday. Ms. Carnell’s journey with children began in 1982, starting in a preschool setting before transitioning to public schools. Over the years, some of her former students have gone on to become lawyers, doctors, chemists, engineers, and educators. Ms. Carnell’s ability to stay positive, connect with students and families, and recognize each child’s uniqueness has made her a special part of our community. Her humor and Southern charm will be greatly missed at Laurel Park!

 

We also take time to celebrate Ms. Maria Durango on Wednesday, October 2, for Custodian Appreciation Day! Ms. Maria’s dedication to Laurel Park is evident in the strong relationships she builds with students, staff, and families. One day is certainly not enough to honor her, as she consistently goes above and beyond for our school!

 

We are excited to welcome back Track 1 students tomorrow!

 

Respectfully, 

Charelle Lovett, Principal

 

Upcoming Events / Important Dates (Community Calendar)

  • Sept. 30: Welcome back, Track 1!
  • Oct. 2: Custodian Appreciation Day! (Thank you, Maria!)
  • Oct. 7-9: Tracks 1 & 3 CogAT Testing
  • Oct. 9: Walk, Bike, or Roll to School; Spirit Night @ City Barbecue (Kildaire Farm), 11 AM-8 PM
  • Oct. 14-18: National School Lunch Week
  • Oct. 14: WCPSS year-round application opens for the 2025-26 school year
  • Oct. 16: Unity Day -- Wear Orange
  • Oct. 18: Happy Track Out, Track 3!
  • Oct. 19: Trunk or Treat, 2-4 PM
  • Oct. 21: Welcome back, Track 4!
  • Oct. 23-25: Track 4 CogAT Testing
  • Oct. 29: PTA General Meeting @ 6 PM in Media Center
  • Nov. 5: No School/Teacher Workday; Election Day

 

Beautification Day was a Success!

A big thank you to the families and volunteers from Home Depot and Devoted City Church for all your hard work! You dug up dead bushes, weeded, planted fresh greenery, and mulched the front of the school, making a huge difference. Special thanks to Amy Gagnon and Kelle Rogacki for organizing the event and bringing my vision to life. We will host another Beautification Day in the spring, where we will focus on adding more native flowers and plants to the carpool loop, as well as mulching and weeding areas that we didn’t get to this past Saturday.

 

 

Open Positions at Laurel Park

We are urgently seeking a 4th-grade teacher, a CCR (Cross-categorical resource) teacher, and an ECS (Extended Content Standards) teacher for our Track 4 calendar. Please help spread the word by sharing the image below. Job descriptions can be found at www.wcpss.net/careers. Thank you!

 

 

October is National Bullying Prevention Month

Laurel Park students will engage in bullying prevention during Classroom Huddle conversations, read-alouds, a door decorating contest, and wearing orange on October 16 to show commUNITY!

 

 

Chess Club Begins Soon... Sign-up!

This year, the Chess Club will be returning to AFTER SCHOOL on Thursdays. Due to a new Specials schedule, Laurel Park cannot accommodate any clubs during the school day. If your child would like to participate in Chess Club, please fill out the form below. No prior chess experience is required. We will limit sign-ups to 16–18 students per track due to the number of chessboards available. Once your child has signed up, you will be notified via email that there is space for them to participate this year.

Chess Club will meet in the Media Center on Thursdays 3:45 pm-4:30 pm.
  • Offered to ALL grades
  • Any students participating in YMCA afterschool sign into YMCA after chess club has finished
  • Students may be picked up from the carpool loop
  • Unfortunately, alternate arrangements must be made for students who typically dismiss via bus service. If your student normally rides the bus and would like to participate in Chess Club, you will need to ensure pickup at 4:30pm on Thursdays. 
  • 16-18 students per track max
If you have an interest in helping with the Chess Club, please make sure you have been cleared as a regular volunteer in the LPES front office (contact Ms. Franklin at krfranklin@wcpss.net). We could definitely use an extra set of hands! Prior chess knowledge is certainly not required!  This will be my last year at LPES, so it'll be great to have another parent to ensure the Chess Club stays active in future years.
 
If you have any questions or are interested in helping, please note it on this interest form, and I'll respond as soon as I'm able.
 
Best,
Ryan Garcia
LPES Chess Club Coordinator
 

Walk, Bike, or Roll to School on October 9

Walk & Roll to School Day invites participants to celebrate the joy of active commuting while building a sense of community and school spirit. Whether addressing the need to make routes to school safer for active trips or encouraging children and teens to be more active, these events can be powerful tools to inspire lasting change. Of course, they are also fun! For more about the Walk, Bike & Roll to school program, see their site at www.walkbiketoschool.org. 

How to participate?

  • Walk or roll from your home with a parent or responsible adult
  • Create a walking or rolling "bus" with a group of your closest friends
  • Join a group - see the schedule below for rally locations and departure times!
  • Volunteer! Get in touch at LPESWalkBike@gmail.com.
  • Spread the word! See our resources at the bottom of the page.

What is the schedule for the October 9, 2024 Walk & Roll to School Day?
8:15 AM: Picardy Pointe departs from Pond 
8:30 AM: The Trace departs from mailboxes at Dotson Way
8:35 AM: Apex Community Park departs from the first baseball field closest to Laura Duncan Road
8:40 AM: Ellington place departs from the playground
8:40 AM: Linville Ridge departs from open field near corner of Candun Drive and Laura Duncan Road
8:45 AM: Laurel Crossings departs from patio
8:45 AM: Laurel Park Place departs from Royal Berry Court 
ARRIVAL: Penguin Point
​

Trunk or Treat is October 19, 2-4 PM

Trunk or Treat promotes a safe environment for neighborhood children and families to trick or treat. Kids can dress up in costume and trick or treat from trunk to trunk in the school's parking lot. There will be games, activities, trick or treating out car trunks, and a pumpkin decorating contest.

 

 

Reflections Art Competition Deadline is October 21

The National PTA Reflections Art Competition, an annual extracurricular art competition, is seeking submissions from students in one of the six categories -- dance choreography, literature, photography, film production, musical composition, and visual art. The deadline for student submissions is Oct 21st. More details are on the PTA website: https://www.laurelparkespta.com/reflections.html.

 

 

Physical Education Updates

I want to thank you all again for the honor and privilege of being able to be a small part of your child’s educational journey this year. We are continuing to focus on class expectations and working on personal space and locomotor movements like walking, galloping, skipping, and now adding side slides and leaping in the kindergarten classes. We have also added some dribbling or bouncing skills to work on eye/hand coordination. In grades 1-2, we have also continued to work on locomotor movement during warm-ups and then dribbling and passing skills used in basketball. Starting in October, grades K-2 will begin to work on striking skills by using balloons to work on keeping them up in the air by themselves and in pairs. In grades 4-5, we are finishing up team handball and then getting ready to start basketball skill work and small games. Then they will start to work on striking skills used in the game of volleyball using beach balls to play with. Grade 3 will be finishing up on dribbling, passing, and shooting skills before moving on to striking skills using balloons like the younger grades.

 

Just a few reminders:

  • Please make sure that your child has a pair of tennis/sneakers shoes at school each day. With all the wet weather in the past few weeks, there have been several more students coming to class with boots and other types of shoes that are not safe for them to participate in.
  • Please also remind them that the focus for PE class is to work on the different skills, teamwork, and making improvements each week on those skills and their overall wellness.
  • We all can be successful at this if we make sure to listen and watch the demonstrations before each new activity and then use our practice time during class wisely. If all of us do this, we will all improve and have a lot of fun together.

Have a great week,

Mark Edwards

 

Salem MS Travel Club Trip in Spring 2026

Dear families,

Salem Middle is going to Berlin, Prague, Krakow & Budapest in Spring 2026, and you’re invited! We’re excited to tell you more about the trip we’re planning with EF Tours, our educational travel partner. Please be sure to register for this info session to be considered for this opportunity: https://rsvp.eftours.com/sjbnakk
 
When students travel, they expand their knowledge of the world around them, discover more about themselves, and grow more confident. These skills are critical for creating the global citizens of tomorrow, and we would love to have your student join us on this adventure.

In this info session, we’ll talk about:
  • How this opportunity will benefit your student
  • What we’ll see and do on our trip
  • Everything that’s included in this experience
  • How your child can earn academic credit
  • How we’re keeping this safe and affordable
  • How to enroll on this trip (before it fills up!) during EF’s risk-free enrollment period
There are limited spots on this trip, so we would love to have you attend this meeting to learn more about this exciting opportunity!

Thanks,
Shannon Taylor
sptaylor@wcpss.net

Please note this is a non-school sponsored trip.

 

Academically/Intellectually Gifted (AIG) Information from Ms. Atwell & Ms. Baker

Important links for ALL families:

 

Laurel Park Character Strengths

Each month, a selected character strength is highlighted in the morning announcements and discussed during your child's Classroom Huddle/morning meeting. In October, we will focus on Leadership -- You have the ability to influence others to do the right thing. 

 

Friendly Reminders

  • LPES Family Handbook 
  • Please remind your child to check the lost and found area in the cafeteria. We will donate lost and found items quarterly.
  • Each child needs a labeled set of extra clothes to keep in their backpack or cubby. This is not just for bathroom accidents! The Front Office does not have extra clothes to give to students. 
  • Interested in volunteering at LPES? Register at www.wcpss.net/volunteer
  • Students who arrive at school after 9:15 AM must be signed in by the parent/guardian via the QR code on the front door. Early check-out ends at 3:15 PM. 

 

 

Upcoming Cultural Arts Programs at LPES

Cultural arts workshops are funded by the LPES PTA. Thank you to families who have supported the PTA through fundraising efforts to make this and other cultural arts programs possible!

 

Virginia Maier, Artist (5th Grade Legacy Project)

Each year, LPES 5th graders create a Legacy Project to commemorate their time at the school. Previous projects include the large metal penguin, the metal circle sculpture, dragonfly weaving in the cafeteria, fabric banners and mosaic penguins in the entrance, circle fabric weaving in the library, and three large murals. This year, we are excited that local teaching artist, Virginia Maier, will work with students on October 16, 17, and 18 (Tracks 1 and 3) and October 22 and 23 (Track 4) to create individual wooden pickets. Students will design, paint, and help install their self-portrait picket which will be on display outside on the playground. For more information, check out https://unitedarts.org/artist-directory/the-picket-fence-project/.

5th Grade Parents: If you are interested in helping with the project, please sign up to volunteer here https://www.signupgenius.com/go/20F0549A8AC2FA75-51720515-legacy#/

 

Black Box Dance Theatre (PreK, ECS, K, 1)

We are excited that Black Box Dance Theatre’s teaching artists will be on campus to work with students! Each class will participate in a 60-minute workshop that allows for full student participation as they learn the history of modern dance and create dances based on the ELA curriculum. The interactive workshops will engage all learners through multisensory experiences and active participation as we work together to tell stories through movement and dance. For more information, check out https://unitedarts.org/artist-directory/dance-workshops-and-residency-to-move-curriculum/

 

Michael Beadle, Poetry Artist (4th grade)

Poetry teaching artist Michael Beadle will continue to work with our fourth-grade classes! In the workshops, “Wild Words and Free Verse”, students will learn creative approaches and techniques for brainstorming, writing, and editing poems. Starting with word games, students will explore word-mixing to create new and original ideas. Students will also learn how to compose their poems by studying the techniques in sample poems. This workshop is a fun and engaging way to reinforce our ELA curriculum. For more information, check out  https://unitedarts.org/artist-directory/wild-words-and-free-verse/ 

 

Laurel Park PTA Information (laurelparkespta.com)

Advocacy Chair Needed

The Parent Teacher Association (PTA) began as a group of mothers who did not have the right to vote but found ways to advocate for children (i.e., child labor laws). Since the early 1900s, the PTA has worked to continue to advocate for children, provide families with relevant resources, and advocate for public education. The LPES PTA board is currently seeking someone to serve as the Advocacy Chair. This person will schedule parent sessions based on school needs (e.g., school safety, technology safety), attend Board Advisory Council meetings, and much more. Contact lpesptapresident@gmail.com if interested in serving in this position. 

 

Join the PTA

Laurel Park has an active PTA that serves as our primary parent-teacher organization. Advocating for public schools and sound instruction is the PTA's priority in supporting the school with clubs, coordinating school events, beautification, playground enhancements, teacher planning days, and instructional resources. PTA members will receive a 10% discount on all spirit wear!

 

Devoted City Church Trunk or Treat Fall Fest

LPES recently partnered with Devoted City Church for our Beautification Day and our upcoming Trunk or Treat on  October 19. They extended an invitation to the LPES community to their Trunk or Treat Fall Fest on October 26, 3-5 PM. This free event will have trunks, a bounce house, food, and fun!
 
Location: 590 Westhigh St. Cary NC 27513