Lea Express for Friday, September 14th

LEA EXPRESS FOR WEEK ENDING FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 14th, 2018

Wednesday, September 19 – Yom Kippur: Schools and Administrative Offices Closed

Friday, September 21: School Selection Process Begins

Tuesday, September 25: Lea Back To School Night

Wednesday, October 3: Fall Title 1 (and SAC) Meeting

LEA AFTER-SCHOOL PROGRAM ENROLLMENT
Open enrollment for the Lea After-School Program was closed effective September 11th, and Ms. Arttia, Lea’s after-school program director (lea-nettercenter@sas.upenn.edu), has created an enrollment wait list for new families. Enrollment of “returning” families (from last school-year and this past summer) continued through this week and ends today, Friday, September 14th.

SCHOOL ADVISORY COUNCIL MEETING (SAC)
The SAC met Wednesday evening in the library to discuss a range of issues:

For Back to School Night we need 4 volunteers for our Welcome Table (please let us know if you want to help out).
The cafeteria has been scheduled for updates to allow for a serving line but these have not been completed yet and no due date for the work has been set.
We are hoping for donations to the Auditorium of lighting and sound equipment, and our drama teacher, Mr. Gottschalk, is following a lead.
The leveling process has begun across the district and it is possible that Lea might lose teacher due to current enrollment levels being lower than enrollment projections. The SAC is working on a letter to the school district to advocate for keeping all our teachers, so please let Molly McGlone (mcglone.molly@gmail.com) know if you would like to sign the petition.
The school selection process is about to begin and the SAC would like to be sure that our out-of-catchment Head Start and sibling families fill out the appropriate forms if they wish to enroll their child at Lea for Kindergarten. We will hold an information session for those families.
We also got updates from the Family Engagement and Partnership Coordinators about all the wonderful things happening to support both families and teachers/staff at Lea by various partners in our community.
If you have questions or suggestions please pass them along to Molly (608-213-4443).
Our Annual Fall Title 1 Meeting will occur on Wednesday, October 3rd from 4:30-6:00 PM in the Lea Library in conjunction with our SAC Meeting. Please save the date and join us for this important conversation about our school-wide plan and the school budget for our school. We need the assistance of our entire school community to prepare our students academically, socially and emotionally for high school, college, career and life.  Families are the best source of information about our students’ needs, and we value your input and need your support. Please plan to attend.

SAC meeting dates for 2018-2019: 10/3/18, 11/14/18, 12/5/18, 1/9/19, 2/6/19, 3/6/19, 4/3/19, 5/8/19.

HOME AND SCHOOL ASSOCIATION MEETING (HSA)
On Thursday, September 20th from 5:30-6:30 pm in Room 106, the Home and School Association (HSA) will host their first monthly meeting of the school year. The HSA fosters open communication between the school and families in order to create an engaged and positive environment for students at school, at home, and in the community. Monthly HSA meetings will be held on the 3rd Thursday of every month.

HSA meeting dates for 2018-2019: 9/20/18, 10/18/18, 11/15/18, 12/20/18, 1/17/19, 2/21/19, 3/21/19, 4/11/19, 5/16/19.

FAMILY PLUS CAFÉ
Beginning Friday, September 21st from 9:00 to 11:00 AM, we will be introducing our 12-week Family Café series, where Lea families can come together to support one another. The Family Café will take place every Friday morning in the Lea Library where a continental breakfast will be available. Upon program completion, participants will receive a certificate of completion and a Walmart Gift Card. For additional information, please speak with our Family and Community Engagement (FACE) Liaison, Mr. Brown (antbrown001@gmail.com) and/or return the attached flyer to the FACE Office (next to the Main Office).

BACK TO SCHOOL NIGHT
On Tuesday, September 25th from 4:00 to 6:30pm, we will be hosting our Back to School Night! This is a great opportunity for families to meet their children’s teacher and learn about the upcoming school year. Starting at 4:00 pm, families are invited to arrive in the small schoolyard on Locust Street to check out our Partner Fair showcasing our many community partners and resources. Make sure to stop by our School Advisory Council (SAC) and Home and School Association (HSA) table to sign up for Class Dojo, take our family survey, and take advantage of our giveaways! Around 4:30 pm, Principal Savage and our school staff will welcome our families in the auditorium, and then all families will visit their children’s classrooms to meet their teachers. We look forward to seeing you!ENGLISH LEARNER FAMILY MEETING
On Tuesday, September 25th from 1:30 – 3:00 pm in the Lea Library, we will host the first of 4 quarterly meetings for the families of English Learner (EL) students. These meetings will be led by Lea staff who work with EL students and families (teachers, FACE Liaison, Community Partnerships Coordinator, OST coordinators, etc). With the help of our bilingual counseling assistants (BCA’s) and school district interpreters, Lea staff will share general school updates with families and address their questions and concerns. The PennSmiles Dental Bus and Comcast Internet Essentials will be at the meeting so interpreters can help families sign up for their services. If you have any questions, please contact Ms. Steckel (bsteckel@philasd.org) and/or Mr. Rich (rjliuzzi@gse.upenn.edu).EL family meeting dates for 2018-2019: Tue 9/25/18, 1:30-3:00 pm;

Tue 12/5/18, 1:30-3:00 pm; Wed 2/13/19, 12:00-1:00 pm; Wed 4/3/19, 12:00-1:00 pm.

LEA AFTER-SCHOOL FAMILY ENGAGEMENT NIGHTS
On Thursday September 27th from 4:00 – 6:30 pm, the Lea After-School Program will hold its first Family Engagement Night of the school year, which include Family Check-In Meetings with program staff as well as Family Night Events.

After-School Family Check-In Meetings are held on a monthly basis on the last Thursday of every month (9/27/18, 11/29/18, 1/24/19, and 4/25/19), and include the following activities: family orientation regarding after-school programming and attendance, family feedback, student needs and supports, and family volunteer opportunities.

After-School Family Night Events are held every 2-4 months and feature fun family activities including: Lights on for After-School (10/25/18), Family Fun Night Math Carnival (12/5/18), the Health and Wellness Fair (3/28/19), and the After-School Culminating Event (5/23/19).

BIG BROTHERS BIG SISTERS
Big Brothers Big Sisters (BBBS) are now accepting applications for students in Grades 4-8. The mission of Big Brothers Big Sisters is to provide children with strong, enduring, professionally supported, one-to-one mentoring relationships. At Lea, “Littles” (student mentees) and “Bigs” (college-aged mentors) will meet during after-school hours (3:00 – 6:00 pm) through the Lea after-school program. BBBS applications can be found in the Partnerships Office, Room 125.

ACADEMIC FAMILY TEACHER TEAMS (AFTT)
This school year, Lea will be implementing the Academic Family Teacher Team (AFTT) model for family and community engagement in Grades K-3. AFTT is a classroom-based, teacher-led, data-driven family engagement model focused on supporting children’s academic goals by linking home and school learning. Classroom teachers in grades K-3 will invite families to participate in three 75-minute group meetings and one 30-minute individual, family-child session annually.

The first of these AFTT meetings for Grades K-3 will occur on Wednesday, October 24th beginning at 5:30 pm. Childcare will be provided and we will have dinner after the AFTT session. More information is forthcoming, and we hope to see all of our Grades K-3 families on October 24th!

PENNSMILES DENTAL BUS
The PennSmiles Dental Bus from the Penn School of Dental Medicine provides complete dental care for every child at Lea who completes the PennSmiles permission form, which was sent home during the first week of school, and can be found in the Nurse’s Office across from the Main Office.

As a parent/guardian, you must fill out, sign, and return the PennSmiles permission form to the Lea school nurse (Nurse Harrison) or the Main Office. Note: If you are not your child’s biological parent but have legal guardianship of your child, you must attach documentation proving your legal guardianship to your completed permission form!

VOLUNTEERING AT LEA
In order to volunteer in any capacity this year (including chaperoning field trips), parents/guardians and community members must attend a mandatory Volunteer Orientation Training at Lea with our Family and Community Engagement (FACE) Liaison, Mr. Brown (antbrown001@gmail.com).

Volunteer Orientation Training dates for 2018-2019:

10/5/18, 12:30-1:30 pm; 11/7/18, 12:30-1:30 pm; 1/11/19, 2:00-3:00 pm;

2/26/19, 2:00-3:00 pm; and 4/4/19, 2:00-3:00 pm.

HIGH SCHOOL FAIR
On Friday, September 28th, our 8th graders are invited to attend the School District of Philadelphia’s High School Fair. Parents/guardians: please return the field trip slips we sent home on Tuesday, September 11th.

FAMILY ENGAGEMENT SESSION: THE HIGH SCHOOL SELECTION PROCESS
On Tuesday, October 9th, from 4:30 – 6:30 pm in the Lea school library, our School Counselors and Family & Community Engagement Liaison will host a workshop for Grade 8 families with information about the high school selection process. Dinner will be provided.

The School District of Philadelphia

What Parents Need to Know About Title I and Family Engagement

2018-2019 School Year

#LovingLearning@Lea

Henry C. Lea Elementary School

You are invited to a meeting to learn about Title I of the Every Student Succeeds Act.  Title I provides funding for our school to provide additional help to assist students have a well-rounded education.  At this meeting, we will talk about our Title I program and Family Engagement. We will also be available to answer any questions you might have.  When you come to the meeting you will learn about:

The regular curriculum used at our school,
The Title I and Family Engagement Program at our school,
The assessments we use and what they mean,
The proficiency levels we will help your child to meet,
Activities that you can do at home to help your child succeed, and
How you can be involved in the Title I and the Family Engagement program at our school.

The meeting will take place on Wednesday, October 3rd

from 4:30 PM to 6:00 PM in the Lea Library.

We look forward to seeing you at the meeting!

—————————–Please Detach and Return—————————

Yes, I will attend the 2018-2019 Annual Title I Family Engagement Meeting on Wednesday, October 3, 2018 from 4:30-6:00 PM in the Lea Library.

Student Name: ____________________________ Homeroom: ____________

Parent Name:_____________________________

Best way to reach me:

Phone #__________________________ Email: _______________________