LEAD Academy

Good Morning Lead Families, I want to shout out all our lead families for your support, patience, and understanding during these first two weeks of school. Being a small and unique charter school, our systems and structures look very different from other schools and districts, and we are doing our very best to provide high-quality instruction while keeping our community safe. Please see below some of our happenings and important updates for this coming week: Covid Update: I am deeply concerned about the spike in positive Covid cases in our community right now, especially among students. I am also concerned that a parents' decision to send a sick student to school could result in a devastating outbreak among our staff, our unvaccinated students, and ultimately other families. My goal in this communication to you is not to incite fear but to encourage each one to take very seriously your role in keeping our students and staff safe so that we can keep our school open. I would like to strongly suggest that every child wear a mask to school. If you are sick, please be certain you are not Covid positive before sending your student to school. The Delta variant is incredibly contagious, and we are seeing more student cases than last year. I appreciate your help as we continue to keep our community safe. Face Coverings on Buses: Beginning Monday, August 30th, all students riding a bus will be required to wear a face covering. This includes all school events that require students to ride the bus. Please read the statement below from State Superintendent Molly Spearman concerning the mask requirements. "The South Carolina Department of Education (SCDE) announced on July 6, 2021 that it would no longer enforce the Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s January 29, 2021 Order that requires the use of face coverings by people on public transportation conveyances and hubs, which includes school buses. This decision was made at a time when COVID-19 transmission rates and case counts across South Carolina were very low. Throughout the pandemic, the SCDE’s has updated its COVID-19 guidance as conditions have changed and as more information has become available. It has become apparent based on COVID-19 data being reported by schools along with increasing levels of the highly transmissible Delta variant in local communities, that more protective measures are needed to lower the risk of virus transmission and keep our school open and operating as safely as possible. For this reason, the SCDE will again enforce the CDC’s Order requiring the use of face coverings by students and staff on state-owned and operated school buses. All districts must comply with this requirement no later than Monday, August 30, 2021." Spirit Week. We will celebrate our school spirit week from Aug. 31- Sept. 3. Here are the themes for each day. Motivation Monday- Dress as a person (past or present) that motivates you. Team Building Tuesday- Dress in gear from your favorite team! We Can Wednesday- Dress as your future self. Thoughtful Thursday- Dress down day to do random acts of kindness. Have Fun Friday- Dress in your fun Friday team Colors. Participation is free. Chromebooks: If your student is at home in isolation or quarantine without a Chromebook, please come by the school between 8-4 to pick up their device. Out of safety concerns, our open house and school dance events this week are canceled. We hope to have opportunities to reschedule these events later in the school year. As a reminder, there are no visitors allowed in our school, past the front office. Visitors are required to wear masks inside the school. Please communicate any questions that you may have. As always, we appreciate all of the support that we’ve felt. As we return to normalcy, we hope that we can continue to build learners and leaders dedicated to creating change in their communities.

Good Morning, Our Bus is unable to finish the route this morning due to mechanical issues. If you can, please drive your student to school. If you are unable, students will be counted as an excused absence. We plan for the bus to run this afternoon. We will update everyone as soon as possible. Thanks,

To clarify our message regarding Chromebook pick up: Only students who are on quarantine need to pick up a Chromebook.

Hey Lead Parents, If your student is home without a Chromebook, please see below our process for Chromebook pick-up: -Please come to the school to the main doors and look for the chromebook pick-up sign. -Please look for your student's grade level bin. Your student's Chromebook, charger, and log-in information is inside their case with your student's name. -You may pick up your chromebook starting this afternoon from 1:00-4:00. Tomorrow, you may pick up student chrombooks starting at 8:00-4:00. I appreciate your patience, and please let us know you have any questions.

Thanks to everyone for a successful first week of school! Our entire staff has been overwhelmed with joy seeing all students back in the building. Thank you for your continued support as we have worked out kinks to getting back to in-person school this year. Chromebooks: We will begin issuing out Chromebooks to all students K-8 starting this week. Students will use Chromebooks to access their assignments if a student has to be home due to close contact or a COVID-19 positive. Spirit Week: Lead Academy will celebrate Spirit Week Aug. 30-Sept. 3. Please see the attached flyer. School Uniforms: We are still awaiting uniform orders. We will send notifications as soon as these arrive. Please ensure students are adhering to our school uniform policy. Please see our uniform policy in our Student/Parent Handbook. https://www.myleadacademy.com/page/21-22-studentparent-handbook Arrival and Dismissal Reminders: I appreciate your patience during our morning arrival and dismissal processes each day. Here are a few reminders to help make traffic move more quickly and safely: Arrival -Please do not let your student out before the doors open at 7:10. -During arrival, we use one lane. Please stay in the drop-off lane until traffic begins to move. Passing or attempting to pass other cars is very dangerous to student safety and could cause car accidents. -All students must be ready to get out, with their bookbags, when they arrive. If you need to park and get out, you must pull around and park in the parking lot. Dismissal -School dismisses at 3:15. -Please stay in your car. This will help to transition students more quickly. -At 4:00, all students are considered "late," and parents must come inside and sign your student out. -Please remember to pull all the way to the car in front of you. Do not leave large gaps in the line. We attempt to load as many cars as possible at one time. -Please be sure your car tag is visible on your dash until your student(s) are loaded. This helps us to get them out quickly. -Carline operates on an "Order of Arrival" system. Please stay in your lane during dismissal and do not switch to the moving lanes. School Breakfast and Lunch is free. If your student is eating breakfast, please arrive so students will have time to eat before class begins at 7:45. Thanks for your continued support, and I look forward to a great 2nd week of school. Please feel free to reach out with any questions or concerns.

Good Afternoon Lead Families, Thanks for your patience and understanding during our tornado warning yesterday afternoon. Please review our student/parent handbook for the 21-22 school year. https://www.myleadacademy.com/page/21-22-studentparent-handbook A few reminders: We will not allow parents/visitors to eat lunch with students. Dismissal Thanks for your patience as we continue to work through our dismissal process. Please continue to have your car tag visible and please stay in your car.

Thank you LEAD families for your patience as we took shelter due to the TORNADO WARNING. The lockdown has been lifted and dismissal has begun.

Good Afternoon Lead Parents, Greenville County is currently under a tornado watch. In the event that we go into a TORNADO WARNING, our dismissal process will pause, and students will go into tornado drill procedures in the building. During our tornado drill procedures, you will not dismiss your student. Once the tornado warning is lifted, we will resume our normal dismissal procedures. The school bus is obligated to seek shelter in the event of a tornado warning. The bus route will resume after the warning is lifted.

Greetings Lead Families! Thank you so much for a wonderful first day of school! It was great to see so many families drop off their students this morning! Here are a few reminders as we move forward into our second day of school and beyond: DISMISSAL/CAR LINE: -Please be sure to have car tags on the dashboard, visible for staff to see. -Please stay in your car at dismissal. This will help to transition students more quickly. Thank you for your patience as we continue to work out the kinks with dismissal. LUNCH: -This year, school lunch will be available for all students for free. Please send in your lunch forms as soon as possible as this determines our federal and state funding. -If you are dropping off lunch for your student, please do so BEFORE the start of his/her lunch period. If you are unaware of this time, please reach out to your student’s teacher. Lunch will only be served at their scheduled lunch time. ARRIVAL: -Parents may walk students to the front lobby, but not to the classrooms as this was a special event for the first day of school. Parents may drop off as early as 7:10am. -If our child arrives after 7:45am, they are considered late. Please note that you will need to walk your student into the main office and sign them in. Thanks and I look forward to seeing everyone tomorrow.

Hello LEAD Families! It is with great enthusiasm that I write this letter of introduction as the new Assistant Principal of LEAD Academy Charter School. I am incredibly grateful and excited to join the LEAD Crew! I look forward to working in partnership with Principal Baker and the staff. Prior to joining LEAD I was a classroom teacher and instructional coach. I taught elementary education for 15 years, coupled with two additional years as a middle school advisor. The majority of my teaching career has been spent in an EL school in the Rochester City School District. I was also a founding teacher of a local charter school there, so I am excited to bring these learning experiences to LEAD. On a personal note, my husband and I relocated to Greenville from Rochester, NY just a few months ago. The transition to the south has been GREAT! The southern hospitality has been warm and very welcoming! I am really excited to get to know you and your students this year. Please know that you can always reach out to me if you have any questions or concerns. I look forward to having a GREAT school year!

Hello students and families! As promised, here is the updated information regarding the first day of school, arrival and dismissal. We cannot wait to see our crew mates on Monday! FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL: Parents WILL be allowed to walk their student to their classroom on the first day and greet the teacher. Parking: If you walk your student into the school building, please park in a parking space and not in the car line. Our normal school day begins at 7:45 am, however; on the first day of school we are extending our start time to 8:00am. You will be able to arrive as early as 7:10 am to meet your teacher on the first day of school, however; all visitors will need to exit the school building by 8:00am so we can begin the school day. This will be a great time to bring in your student’s supplies. If you are dropping your student off, and are NOT coming in the building, please use the car line so someone can receive your student from your car. If your student is riding the bus, please be mindful that there may be some delays with pick-up and dismissal on these first days due to becoming familiar with the route. Car tags for families who will be picking up their student will be sent home with your student on the first day of school. UNIFORM UPDATE There is a delay in the current uniform order due to a backorder from the supplier. We will send a notification when orders arrive. If your order has not arrived before school begins, we ask that your student wear a solid red, gray, black OR WHITE solid shirt. All students are still required to wear bottoms in accordance with Lead Academy uniform guidelines. DISMISSAL: Dismissal will begin at 3:15pm. Instruction continues until the end of the day, so we discourage dismissals after 2:30pm. If you are picking your student up at the end of the day, please be mindful that there may be some slight delays due to becoming familiar with the dismissal protocol. This will improve over the first few weeks. During dismissal, please stay in your car. We will deliver your student to you in a timely fashion. Thank you in advance for your cooperation. LATE ARRIVALS: Please note: Teachers will be prepared to greet parents on the first day of school up until 8:00am, but not thereafter. Instruction will be in progress. If your student arrives after the start time, they are considered late. The parent/guardian dropping the student off MUST walk their student into the building and sign them in.

UNIFORM UPDATE There is a delay in the current uniform order due to a backorder from the supplier. We will send a notification when orders arrive. If your order has not arrived before school begins, we ask that your student wear a solid red, gray or black shirt.

We wanted to provide any families that are new to our building the opportunity to come and walk around the school and make sure that your student(s) feel comfortable on their first day of school. Staff will be in the building to offer help and to make all of our "new-to-the-building" crewmates feel ready to take on the year.

ATHLETICS UPDATE Boys Soccer Practice (Grades 5th-8th) - August 9th-11th and 13th (Monday-Wednesday and Friday) 6:00-7:30 PM @ Southside Park (Address- 417 Baldwin Rd Simpsonville, SC 29680). Each player should have athletic clothing, cleats, shin guards, and water for practice. Cross Country Ongoing Tryouts (Boys and Girls Grades 5th-8th ) - August 9th, 11th, and 13th 4:30-5:30 PM @ LEAD. Rain or Shine-Players will meet near the outdoor basketball court. Each player should have athletic clothing, running shoes, and water for the tryout. Girls Volleyball Practice (Grades 5th-8th)- August 9th and 10th from 3:30-5:00 pm @ First Baptist Church of Greenville Activities Center (AYMC) (Address: 847 Cleveland St. Greenville, SC 29601). Each player should have athletic clothing, indoor athletic shoes, and water for the tryout. **If a player did not attend tryouts, but still has interest in playing, please attend this week's practices. If you have any questions regarding athletics please contact our Athletic Director, Will Keller (wikeller@myleadacademy.com) via email.

ATHLETICS UPDATE Boys Soccer Practice (Grades 5th-8th) - August 2nd-5th (Monday-Thursday) 6:00-7:30 PM @ Southside Park (Address- 417 Baldwin Rd Simpsonville, SC 29680) Each player should have athletic clothing, cleats, shin guards, and water for practice. **If a player did not attend last week's tryout, but still has interest in playing, please attend this week's practices. Cross Country Tryouts (Boys and Girls Grades 5th-8th )- August 2nd, 4th, and 6th 4:30-5:30 PM @ LEAD. Players will meet near the outdoor basketball court. Each player should have athletic clothing, running shoes, and water for the tryout. Girls Volleyball Tryouts (Grades 5th-8th)- August 2nd, 3rd and 5th from 3:30-5:00 pm @ First Baptist Church of Greenville Activities Center (AYMC). Address: 847 Cleveland St. Greenville, SC 29601. Each player should have athletic clothing, indoor athletic shoes, and water for the tryout. If you have any questions regarding athletic tryouts please contact our Athletic Director, Will Keller (wikeller@myleadacademy.com) via email.

Hey Lead Families, Please check out the latest newsletter as we prepare for the start of the school year. https://core-docs.s3.amazonaws.com/documents/asset/uploaded_file/1433433/The_Lead_-_73021__1_.pdf

ATHLETICS ANNOUNCEMENT- Our volleyball tryout dates have been finalized! Please see the information below. Lead Academy Girls Volleyball Tryouts for grades 5th-8th Dates and Time: August 2nd, 3rd and 5th 3:30-5 pm Location: First Baptist Church of Greenville Activities Center (AYMC) Address: 847 Cleveland St. Greenville, SC 29601 If you have any questions regarding athletic tryouts please contact our Athletic Director, Will Keller (wikeller@myleadacademy.com) via email.

Please take a moment to read through our Safe Return Masks Protocols for the upcoming school year. For any additional questions, please see our 2021-2022 Safe Return to In-Person Instruction Plan https://core-docs.s3.amazonaws.com/documents/asset/uploaded_file/1414121/2021-2022_Safe_Return_to_In-Person_Instruction_and_Continuity_of_Services_Plan_copy.pdf

ATHLETICS ANNOUNCEMENT- We are excited to announce that our fall athletic season is getting ready to kick off. We have three different sports that students in grades 5th-8th may participate in during the fall season. You can find the different sports and tryout information below. Boys Soccer- July 28-30 6:00-7:30 PM @ Southside Park (Address- 417 Baldwin Rd Simpsonville, SC 29680) Each player should have athletic clothing, cleats, shin guards, and water for the tryout. Cross Country (Boys and Girls)- August 2nd, 4th, and 6th 4:30-5:30 PM @ LEAD. Players will meet near the outdoor basketball court. Each player should have athletic clothing, running shoes, and water for the tryout. Volleyball- TBD** Please note that our volleyball tryouts had a complication with our rental facility. The specific dates and times are still being determined, but they will take place the week of August 2nd. A more specific update for volleyball will be posted early next week. If you have any questions regarding athletic tryouts please contact our Athletic Director, Will Keller (wikeller@myleadacademy.com) via email.

Good afternoon Lead Families, I hope everyone is having a restful summer. I want to communicate some important information to help everyone prepare for the start of the 2021-22 school year. Please click the link to read about these updates to start the school year. The information included is not comprehensive, and I understand there are many questions after completing such a unique school year. More information will be communicated as we move closer to the start of school and will hopefully answer questions you may have. Thanks and I look forward to seeing everyone soon! https://www.myleadacademy.com/page/2021-2022-family-welcome-letter