November @ Lorena Elementary School

Wil Ferderer and James Webb
receive the Principals' Award

Elijah Turley and Mason Blalock
receive the Principal's Award

     We've been blessed to have a fantastic year so far.  In my eleven years as principal, I can't remember a year that has been so full of hard work, especially by our students.  Students come to school to learn, be with their friends, and to take on whatever is given them both academically and socially.  I appreciate how well our students are behaving this year.  

Marissa Zechmann and Kaitlyn Sheffer
receive the "Growth Award" from
Mr. Anderson

     The following are some special events that we've had this month.  Our Awards Assemblies take place in our Performing Arts Center.  Teachers give away a lot of awards.  Students earn other awards, like honor roll, perfect attendance, homework, no tardies, and clean slate.   Mrs. Miller (our counselor) put together some memorable videos for each of the three grade levels.  Her thrust in her lessons with classes focuses on Rachel's Challenge - how to spread kindness to others.  The students enjoyed seeing their art work set to music.

Averie Zant and Jacey Dewbre
enjoy some pizza and games

     The day before the Awards Assembly, a drawing was held, choosing 15 students (5 from each grade level) who made the honor roll, to eat pizza with Mr. Anderson at Peter Piper Pizza.  As always, we had a great time eating and playing for a few hours away from scho

Caleb Blanek is proud of his
efforts both in academics
and the ability to win 1,000
tickets at Peter Piper

ol.

Abigale Fuller and Emma Romer
enjoy some dress up time
at the 5th Grade Family Night

     This month was the setting for our first 5th Grade Family Night.  This year's family night was "Team up to Win it."  Students and parents visited our school cafeteria on the 20th to play games that focused on the gameshow, "Minute to Win it."  The cafeteria was full of families who came to enjoy each others' company and to play games competitively.

Emi     Finally, our students have not only been playing, but they've been working hard.  Each of the three grades took some important benchmark tests in Math, Reading, Writing, and Science.  3rd - 5th graders took a lengthy test to determine what they've learned so far in these subjects.  Writing was given to the 4th graders and the Science test was given to our 5th graders.  In each of these areas we use the data to determine students' progress at this time of the year.  We plan to have a longer, more comprehensive test called our Mock STAAR later in the year.  

     

Red Ribbon Week - Week of Activities

Lorena Elementary had a great week celebrating Red Ribbon Week!  Along with a dress-up theme each day that encouraged the importance of a drug-free lifestyle, each morning a varsity football player spoke in our morning assembly.  The purpose was to motivate our students to have a healthy lifestyle to achieve their future dreams.  On Friday morning, Coach Biles spoke to the students and read a motivational poem.  Ther week ended with a visit from the McLennan County Sheriff's Department where there bomb team did a very unique assembly for our students with the bomb robot.  The bomb team, along with the SWAT team and Lorena Police Department, led the students in our annual Red Ribbon Week parade to close out the great week!  Thanks to Mrs. Miller, our school counselor, for organizing a great week of fun and pertinent information for our students.

Lorena PTO TShirts for Sale

The Lorena Elementary PTO is selling the following tshirt designs for a fundraiser. Each design is available in short sleeve, long sleeve, or hoodie. Click the design to download the order form which you can return to the Elementary School with your payment.

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4th Grade Texas Night - A Rootin' Tootin' Great Time

Every year our grade levels organize an evening of fun for parents to come out with their children to enjoy the school setting in a more informal way.  The 4th grade teachers sponsored Texas Night on October 14th.  We had about 60 families come to enjoy cookie decorating, games (the washer toss was a big hit and Texas Bingo), crafts, and dancing (Ms. Abbe was very tired after the night was up.  Sixty minutes of dancing is a lot after a long day at work.

This activity was a great way to kick back and spend some time with family, mingle with the teachers, and hang out with friends.  Our next Family Night will be November 20th.  The fifth grade will have a game night.  More details and pictures of Texas Night will come later this week.

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Who are all these tall people?

We are through four weeks of school and we've had a wonderful start.  Our 5th Graders are not new to us, but their size is.  We're not used to having such tall folks walking our halls on a regular basis.  I'm very pleased at how they perform at school.  They are a very pleasant group of students.  I'm looking forward to having them "lead" for the 2nd straight year.

One of the best things about this group of students is their willingness to learn new concepts.  They are very receptive to the new material they're being taught.  These students show much responsibility in their actions.  As a group, they get along really well with each other.  This quality will benefit them later in life when they play football or other sports for Lorena High School.

Our 5th Grade teachers have a great relationship with this group of students.  Mrs. Browne and Dr. Curtis teach math, Mrs. Kelley, teaches them science, and Mrs. Ordner and Mrs. Biles are their language, social studies, and reading teachers.  We're blessed to have such a strong group of teachers leading this "new" group of learners.

This is the 4th year for most of these 5th graders.  I can honestly say that they like being here at the elementary.  We're going to enjoy their stay here as long as possible.  Let's hope these students take us to greater heights in our academics this year.  

So, all in all, we're blessed to have such a great group of students being taught by teachers who love to teach and are willing to go the extra mile for them.

Changes for 2014-2015

We are excited about the new year that is just around the corner.  In order to prepare for the new school year, I want to inform you of a couple changes.  

DRESS CODE CHANGE:  First, we are altering our dress code.  The following has been added to our handbook.  The bolded italics are what we are adding:

ELEMENTARY:  Students may wear shorts.  Shorts should be conservative and modest in appearance.  The length must not be higher than the length of the fingertips when the arms are held at full length at the sides.  If the shorts are too short, the child will be told not to wear them again.  If the child continues to wear shorts that are too short, the parent will be notified and appropriate actions will be taken.  Skin tight clothing is not appropriate as an outer garment (i.e., biker shorts, leotards, tights).  Baggy/sagging clothing is not allowed.

AFTERNOON PICK-UP LINE:  Our afternoon parent pick-up during dismissal will be changed because of the configuration of our front entrance.  Students who will be picked up will sit in the gym rather than in the front of the building.  Our pick-up line will begin at the front of the gym.  Red squares will be painted on the sidewalk to designate where the child will stand to be picked up.  Six pick-up spots will be in place.  Students will wait in the gym until their name is called and then will proceed to the designated pick-up spot.  Parents, we hope this provides a quick and efficient way for you to pick up your child in the afternoon.  Also parents, because of all the construction and potential congestion, it is strongly advised to pick your child up in the line this year, rather than walking up to find your child.  I appreciate your cooperation on this.  Bus dismissal will stay the same as in past years.

CHECKING IN:  Because of the changes to our entry area, checking in for lunch and other times will be different.  Please be patient with the new procedures for checking in.  

A New Look for a New Year

Hello everyone.  We've been watching the progress of our improved building complex this summer and have been very pleased with how it is looking.  As of August 7th, the construction is nearing completion.  Just to let you know, we are proud of the new additions and the smell of fresh paint and new carpet to our school.  Here's what we're looking forward to:
1) Entrance area:  We have a more secure and appealing front.  New double doors for our entry, new canopy for the front, and an appealing update to our walls and sign-in area.
2) Office updates:  Mrs. Sanders (our new assistant principal) has her office in the entry area.  The reception area has new cabinets, a newer desk, and a new intercom system.  My office is enlarged as well as the nurse's office (now called our "clinic").  My office has beautiful windows, giving me a lot of sun.
3) 5th Grade wing:  All the cabinets have been painted and new carpeting has been added to all the rooms.
4) 3rd and 4th grade wings:  New cabinets have been purchased with new carpeting and more electrical plugs.  Also, new speakers to the rooms connect our new intercom system.
5) Halls:  All our halls have new tiling.  We now have black and red lines down our hall.  New paint in the halls with a new red, black, and gray trim give it a brand new appeal.
6) Restrooms:  All our restrooms have been updated with new toilets, stalls, and basins for their handwashing.
7) Cafeteria:  The floor in the cafeteria is beautiful.  A combination pattern of white, black, and red tiles make it look very spacious.  We now have adult restrooms in the cafeteria where the stage used to be.  This will provide conveniance for our visitors and give our staff another restroom facility.
8) Connections:  Our main building is connected to our two outer buildings.  The walkway to the gym provides a wider area for wheelchair access and will be covered and enclosed so students can enter and exit the gym safely.  Our cafeteria has a connecting hall to our "fourplex" building.  This will provide easy access for our Lifeskills class and allow students to get to the Leopard Room without having to go outside.
9) Teachers' workroom:  We've moved our teachers' workroom next to the breakroom.  They are now connected are have new cabinets and flooring.  This will be a better set-up for all teachers, being centrally located in the building and close to the staff breakroom.  We also have new floori
ng and cabinets in our breakroom.
10) Library:  Our library has new carpeting that looks different than the rest of the carpeting in the building.  It looks sharp.  We also have a new desk for check-out.
11) Alley:  We will have a smooth road in the back along with new sidewalks and canopies.  The back road will have better drainage and will have speed bumps so traffic will be managed.  NOTE:  Traffic behind the elementary school is limited to school vehicles and vendors for the cafeteria.

All-in-all we're getting so much for our students and staff.  We are all excited about the new look to our building and with all the positive changes, it will be even more delightful coming to work every day.