September 1, 2023
Announcements
LION NATION NEWS-
We had a great house meeting today and announced our 5th grade house leaders! We appreciate all of the 5th graders who applied for these positions and completed the interview process. Congratulations to those who were selected to help lead their house meetings. We also hope you enjoy the long holiday weekend. Remember that school is closed on Monday, Sept. 4th for all staff and students. Please see the attached document outlining procedures at LHES for your reference.Important School Procedures
IMPORTANT DATES FOR LHES-
*Every Friday at LHES is Spirit Day! Wear school colors and show your school spirit!
September 4th- Student/Staff Holiday- No School
September 5th- 4th Grade Math Fall Growth Assessment
September 6th- 5th Grade Math Fall Growth Assessment
September 12th- PTO Meeting at 6:00 pm
September 14th- School Picture Day (Paper Fliers will come home soon) and
Back to School Night, 5:30-6:30 pm
NEWS FROM THE SCHOOL NURSE AND CLINIC-
Nurse Olson would like to remind all parents of our youngest lions to please remember to send in an extra change of clothes with your child to school. Sometimes accidents happen and the clinic is running out of smaller sized clothes for our students. It would help if your child had extra changes of clothes on hand in case of sickness or accidents. Nurse Olson also accepts donations of clean clothes and new packages of underwear in all children’s sizes. Thank you for your help!
FALL GROWTH ASSESSMENT INFO FOR GRADES 3-5-
Fall Growth Assessments in Reading and Mathematics will take place beginning August 29, 2023 and continue into September. Once the testing window is closed, detailed reports on each student’s performance will be available to teachers and families. The report will show which academic standards were assessed and whether the student answered the test item correctly. Unlike the spring SOL tests, there will not be a pass or fail score on the Growth Assessment. More information will be forthcoming on how families can access these reports through the VA Department of Education’s Parent Portal.
State legislation was passed in the 2021 Virginia General Assembly requiring students in grades 3-8 to take these growth assessments, once in the fall and once in the winter (mid-year). This year, the fall assessments will focus primarily on content from the student’s previous grade level. However, the testing system can adapt with test questions one grade level above or one grade level below the primary content as appropriate for the student. More information on these assessments can be found at www.doe.virginia.gov/teaching-....
If you have any questions, please contact your student’s school testing coordinator, Mrs. Hall, at 540-898-1433.
HERE COMES THE BUS APP-
Welcome to Here Comes the Bus! Know when your bus is approaching your stop. Here Comes the Bus® app is a school bus tracking app that can simplify morning and afternoon routines for parents and students by giving them real-time bus location and text or email notification alerts, helping them get to the bus stop on time. Here Comes the Bus® utilizes our GPS data and an easy-to-use customizable map that works on one or multiple devices, such as a tablet or smartphone. Register for Here Comes the Bus on the Spotsylvania County Schools webpage under the transportation tab!
DRILLS-
Our school practices safety drills each year in order to train students and staff on emergency procedures. We will be practicing fire drills, severe weather drills, and lockdown/intruder drills several times within the first 20 days of school and then continuously throughout the year. We will also practice bus drills in September and throughout the year. SCPS has adopted the attached standard response protocol. Please read the attachment for information on how we respond to emergencies.SRP Info
STUDENT TRANSPORTATION PROCEDURES FOR LHES
ARRIVALS-
The Bus Loop in front of the school is only for buses from 8:15 - 9:15 am. Parents should NOT drive vehicles into the front bus loop to drop off students for school. Please park in the parking lot and walk students inside if you arrive after 8:45 am.
The curbside parent loop is designated for car riders and families dropping off students in the morning. Students may be dropped off in the curbside parent loop in the mornings from 8:25 am to 8:45 am. Parents should remain in their vehicles and students should only exit when vehicles reach the cone zones. Please cooperate with staff to keep the line moving. The tardy bell rings at 8:45 am. If you arrive after 8:45 am, please park in the parking lot and walk your child to the front office to sign them in. Have your ID ready and ring the front bell for assistance.
Parking in disabled spaces is only allowed for those with disabled tags on their vehicle. Please do not park in these spaces if you do not have a disabled tag. Parents without disabled tags should park in other empty spaces in the parking lot and walk students into the front office to be dropped off. We have families with students with disabilities who need a safe place to exit in these designated spaces. Thank you for your cooperation!
DISMISSALS-
We have 3 designated areas for dismissals each day including the front Bus Loop for bus riders, Curbside Parent Loop for all parent pick up and car riders, and Daycare Vans/Sped Buses in the back blacktop area.
The Bus Loop is reserved for buses only between 3:00 pm and 4:30 pm. Parents should NOT drive vehicles into the front bus loop to pick up students during this time.
The Curbside Parent Loop is for ALL parents coming to pick up their children from school. If you wish to pick up your child regularly from the parent loop, please fill out a curbside form to get a car rider number. New numbers are being issued this year. Please do not use last year’s number when picking up your child. Please remain in your vehicle and follow the directions of staff so we can keep the line moving. It helps to turn right onto Lee Hill School Drive when exiting the curbside loop to increase the flow of traffic.
If you are coming to pick up your child after 3:10 pm, you will need to drive through the curbside parent loop even if you do not have a number. Students may only be signed out of the front office before 3:10 pm for early dismissals.
Transportation Changes- It is important that you notify the office and your child’s teacher in writing before 2:00 pm if your child has a transportation change. Please email the office at leehillesattendance@spotsylvania.k12.va.us and your child’s teacher with any changes or send a note in writing. We want to make sure we send students home the correct way to ensure their safety.
Late Buses- We do our best to notify parents with autodialer messages as soon as we are notified by transportation about late buses. If we send out an autodialer for a late bus and you wish to pick up your child, please call the front office to make arrangements after receiving the auto dialer message.