LTES Families:

I cannot believe that this week marks the end of the first advisory! I want to thank all families for helping to start this year out in the right direction. Yesterday, I met with our Instructional Superintendent, Mr. Hughes and the Chief of Schools, Dr. Alexander, both of whom mentioned the positive trajectory of LTES and the excitement continuing to build across DCPS for our school, particularly with the Blue Ribbon status. This is all due to our great staff and community support.

PlayGround Update:
We submitted all feedback to DGS regarding improvements to the initial playground design. At this point, we are just waiting on a start date - hopefully soon!

LTES Community Thanksgiving and Blue Ribbon Celebration:
On Friday, November 18th from 5:30–7:15 pm, we will be hosting our first LTES Community Thanksgiving. Dinner will be provided by the PTO for all in attendance! To kick-start this event, we will first recognize the staff and families that have put in incredible amounts of hard work over the past years to make us a Blue Ribbon School. The PTO and teachers will be reaching out with more specifics as we get closer to the date, but please mark your calendar.
 
Parent Teacher Conferences:
It has been great to see so many families around the school over the past few weeks completing parent-teacher conferences. We firmly believe that a child can only reach his or her full potential when the family and school are collaborating at high levels. As we have somewhat changed the schedule for these conferences, please let your homeroom teacher know whether you prefer the increased time slots spread out as opposed to the traditional one-day conference day. We can always modify for the next advisory. If a conference has not been scheduled, please reach out to your teacher as soon as possible.
 
Impact Aide Forms:
Your child was sent home with an impact aide form last week. These forms finalize enrollment numbers for us and determine funding for the rest of the school year.  It is critical that all families complete the forms and get them back to us as soon as possible. 

After-School Update:
We are working to now improve some logistics with After-School, particularly with increasing the coverage outdoors and decreasing the wait time for parents during pick-up. We appreciate your patience as we continue to refine.
 
Upcoming Events:

• 11/4 – Parent Teacher Conference Day – No School for Students
• 11/11 – Veteran’s Day – No School for Students
• 11/17 – PTO Meeting
•  11/18 – PTO-Community Thanksgiving (more info to follow!)

Also, thanks to all that made it to our costume parade last week; it is always great to see our community come together.

Please reach out with any questions and/or feedback.

Sincerely,
A. Smith

LTES Families:
 
I hope that everyone is continuing to have a great school year.  We have been busy the last few weeks with trips to the Kennedy Center, National Museum of African-American History, Hispanic Heritage Month Celebration, ECE visit to Cox Farms, K visit to Stribling Orchard and more.  I am personally excited about the breadth of experiences we are bringing to our students and the high levels of student-centered instruction in the classrooms.  You continued support is appreciated - please the updates below:
 
PlayGround Update:
As of today, the hope is that the playground construction will begin over the next few weeks and be completed prior to January 2017.  This Thursday, we have a meeting with the playground contractors and DGS to begin reviewing equipment options for our new playground.  Please keep an eye out for the plans in the parent center so that we can receive more community input.
 
Parent Teacher Conferences:
The first Parent-Teacher Conference Day will occur Friday, November 4th. In hopes of making these conferences more practical and productive, some teachers are beginning to schedule them as soon as this week. While times still can be made available on the 4th, our hope is that by creating a larger window, with more time slots spread out, we can see more families in a more efficient setting.  This will be a teacher-by-teacher choice, so please look for further scheduling information from your homeroom teacher.
 
Impact Aide Forms:
Your child will be sent home with an impact aide form this week. These forms finalize enrollment numbers for us and determine funding for the rest of the school year.  It is critical that all families complete the forms and get them back to us as soon as possible.  Thank you for your support with this.

Upcoming Events:

• 10/20 – PTO Meeting – please join!
• 10/27 – Fall costume parade
• 10/28 – Professional Development Day – No school for students
• 11/18 – PTO-Community Thanksgiving (more info to follow!

​Please reach out with any questions and/or feedback. 

Sincerely,
 
A. Smith