LEAD Academy

Hey Lead Families, We have extended the deadline for our Book-A-Palooza event. If you haven't already signed up, please use the link and RSVP by the end of the day today. https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10c0f49ada72fa2fac61-bookapalooza2

Hey Lead Families, I hope everyone is doing well. Please see the updates and information for the coming week. Crew This week in Crew, all students will continue conversations about synergy. Synergy is when people work together to achieve more than they would have achieved apart. Students will discuss barriers to synergy such as ignorance, cliques, prejudice, and peer pressure. Please ask your students about crew conversations that are happening. Crew begins each day at 7:45, so it is vital that your student is at school on time each day. The scholastic book fair will be at Lead this week, April 4-8. Each class will have an opportunity to visit. Please check out the link to browse books and shop virtually. https://bookfairs.scholastic.com/bookfairs/cptoolkit/homepage.do?method=homepage&url=leadacademycharter On Thursday, April 7, from 5:30-7:30 pm at Lead Academy, we will be holding our first ever Book-A-Palooza! This event was canceled due to weather in October, and we are so excited to be able to see our families next week! The Book-A-Palooza event is meant to bring our Lead families together and celebrate our students, their learning, and the benefits of reading. We will have different stations that families can visit throughout the evening: Games: Carnival games and bounce houses will be available! Book Fair: Our Scholastic Book Fair will be in our new library! Petting Zoo: Come and meet some furry friends! Food Trucks: The following food trucks will be on campus, please bring money if you would like to purchase food. Spinx Cluk Truck, Pound Cake Man, and Neely'Q BBQ! Please use the link below and RSVP by April 4. https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10c0f49ada72fa2fac61-bookapalooza2 This week, we will have 2 dress-down days. Wednesday, April 6, and Tuesday, April 7 will both be dress-down days for $1 each day. The extra day of fundraising will go towards teacher appreciation week. Parents, please be mindful that dress-down day is a fundraising effort. Students should not be out of uniform if they choose not to participate in the fundraiser. All students must still be in school-appropriate attire. This means there should be NO HOLES in pants, there are to be NO CROCS or SLIDES, and that any message communicated on their clothing, either through explicit language or artwork or through suggested humor, should be school appropriate. The money will be collected at the front door as students enter. Update: We will not have Fun Friday this Friday due to field days happening later this month. Handbook Highlight: Restorative Practices: Lead Academy strives to build the problem solving skills of students by using restorative practice techniques. When an incident takes place that damages the culture of the school or relationships within the school, restorative practices are used to teach the importance of making amends and repairing damage done due to poor choices. Events: April 6: Dress Down Day for $1 April 7: Dress Down Day for $1 April 7: Book-a-palooza April 4th-8th: Scholastic book fair April 19: Spring MAP testing begins April 21: 3rd Grade students perform "The Lion King." May 2-6: Teacher appreciation week May 9-12: State Testing To listen, learn, & collaborate, any stakeholder wishing to snag some time with Mr. Baker can sign up for open office hours on any platform of your choosing by clicking the link. https://calendly.com/cubaker/meet Please feel free to reach out if you have any questions or concerns. I hope everyone has a great week!

Hey Lead Families, Many of you are aware of the school shooting today at Tanglewood Middle School. Our hearts are saddened by this situation, and it is hard to imagine this happening so close to home. Because it is difficult to predict how anyone will react to a traumatic event, the best we can do is be supportive and responsive to our students and their varied responses. Please know that our faculty and staff are available to our students if they may have questions or need someone to talk to during this time. As a charter, we serve students from all over the county and know there may be families that have a direct connection to today's events. We will look to learn what we can from this latest school tragedy and use that information over the coming weeks to determine what improvements we can make in security and response procedures. Please continue to keep the Tanglewood community, the students, teachers, staff, and parents in your thoughts and prayers.

Hey Lead Families, On Thursday, April 7th from 5:30-7:30pm at Lead Academy, we will be holding our first ever Book-A-Palooza! This event was canceled due to weather in October and we are so excited to be able to see our families next week! The Book-A-Palooza event is meant to bring our Lead families together and celebrate our students, their learning, and the benefits of reading. We will have different stations that families can visit throughout the evening: Games: Carnival games and bounce houses will be available! Book Fair: Our Scholastic Book Fair will be in our new library! Petting Zoo: Come and meet some furry friends! Food Trucks: The following food trucks will be on campus, please bring money if you would like to purchase food. Spinx Cluk Truck, Pound Cake Man, and Neely'Q BBQ! We are asking that families RSVP with the number of people attending to help us in planning for parking. Please use the link below and sign up by April 4th. https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10c0f49ada72fa2fac61-bookapalooza2 We look forward to seeing you at Lead on April 7th!

Hey Lead Families, We are excited to see our students back from spring break, which I hope everyone enjoyed! Please see the updates and information for the coming week. Crew! Students will discuss the ideas around synergy. Synergy is when people work together to achieve more than they would have achieved apart. This week, students will focus on celebrating diversity through learning about how our differences make us stronger. Please ask your students about crew conversations that are happening. Crew begins each day at 7:45, so it is vital that your student is at school on time each day. Our new car line dismissal process is moving much faster! Here are a couple of updates and reminders: School dismisses at 3:15. Please be in the car line no later than 3:30. If you arrive to pick your student up after 3:45, you will have to come into the main office to sign your student out. Please have your number hanging from your mirror and leave it up until all students are loaded in your car. Handbook Highlights A couple of reminders from our family handbook: A student absent from school must communicate with the front office upon their return to school. A written note is the preferred form of communication that should be given to the front office. Without a lawful excuse, students will be marked as an unexcused absence and risk becoming truant with the state after so many unexcused absences. If you have more questions about attendance, please reach out to the front office. Students may not use cell phones during the school day. They must be turned off and stored away. The cell phone will be confiscated and returned to a parent/guardian in the front office if used. If a parent/guardian reports that their student called them from a cell phone to come pick them up, the phone will be confiscated. Upcoming events: March 31: 3rd quarter report cards go home. April 6: Dress Down Day for $1 April 7: Book-a-palooza April 8: Fun Friday April 4th-8th: Scholastic book fair April 19: Spring MAP testing begins April 21: 3rd Grade students perform "The Lion King." May 9-12: State Testing To listen, learn, & collaborate, any stakeholder wishing to snag some time with Mr. Baker can sign up for open office hours on any platform of your choosing by clicking the link. https://calendly.com/cubaker/meet Please feel free to reach out if you have any questions or concerns. I hope everyone has a great week!

Good Afternoon Lead Families, I hope everyone is enjoying their weekend. Please see the updates and information for the coming week. This week in Crew, students will finish the final week of sharpen the saw. Students will discuss ways to sharpen our hearts. Please ask your students about crew conversations that are happening. Crew begins each day at 7:45, so it is vital that your student is at school on time each day. This Wednesday, March 16th, a game truck and Kona Ice will be on-site for students who earned this fundraiser reward. There will be no school for students on Friday, March 18th. Spring break will be March 21-25. Handbook Highlight A couple of reminders from our family handbook: Pants/Bottoms: Khaki (beige/tan), navy blue, or black pants, shorts, skirt/skort, or jumper must be worn Monday-Thursday and on field trips when specified. Tights and leggings cannot be worn alone. They must be covered by the acceptable articles of clothing mentioned above. All bottoms must be tailored style. No athletic-type pull on shorts or pants. Neat blue jeans may be worn on Fridays OR on field trips as directed by staff. Lead Academy uniform jackets/hoodies (dark gray design with logo) and may be worn Monday-Thursday. Only Lead Academy jackets may be worn inside the school building. During colder weather, heavier jackets may be worn outdoors only. Our new car line dismissal process is moving much faster! Here are a couple of updates and reminders: School dismisses at 3:15. Please be in the car line no later than 3:30. If you arrive to pick your student up after 3:45, you will have to come into the main office to sign your student out. Please have your number hanging from your mirror and leave it up until all students are loaded in your car. Upcoming Events: March 18: No School for students. March 21-25: Spring Break March 31: 3rd quarter report cards go home. April 7th: Book-a-palooza April 19: Spring MAP testing begins April 21-22: 3rd Grade students perform "The Lion King." To listen, learn, & collaborate, any stakeholder wishing to snag some time with Mr. Baker can sign up for open office hours on any platform of your choosing by clicking the link. https://calendly.com/cubaker/meet Please feel free to reach out if you have any questions or concerns. I hope everyone has a great week!

Parents, your child’s fundraiser order will be delivered to Lead Academy TODAY and must be picked up between 2:00 - 5:30 PM. Students with orders of 10 items or less will pick up and take their orders with them at dismissal. Orders of 10 items or more must be picked up by a parent or guardian. There are frozen products and we want to make sure they get all picked up since we do not have any refrigeration space available to store orders not picked up. You are welcome to send a neighbor, friend, older child or family members to come pick up your items if you are not able to make it. All they need is the student name and we’ll take care of the rest. Thank you so very much for your support! We had a wonderful fundraiser and could not have done it without you!

Hey Lead Families, I hope everyone is enjoying this beautiful Sunday. Please check out the updates and information for the coming week. This week in Crew, all grades will continue discussing sharpening the saw. This week, the focus will be sharpening the body. Congratulations to our students of the month Maverick Moore (1st Grade) “Maverick has shown tremendous growth both socially and academically. He exemplifies true EPIC. At the beginning of the year, he was reserved but has shown curiosity in getting to know his peers and growing comfortable in our classroom. He enjoys participating in group discussion. He takes pride in persevering to complete his classwork, even when it is challenging. When someone is having a bad day, they can count on Maverick to brighten it with his sweet smile and friendly demeanor. Maverick is a true representation of our Lead Academy values.” Justin Ramon Cruz (5th Grade) “I am so proud of how much Justin has improved. Justin is working so hard in the classroom. He never gives up and is meeting challenges head-on. He is also a friend to everyone. He encourages them and always lifts them up instead of putting them down.” Crystal Garcia (7th Grade) “Crystal Garcia is hardworking and a great example of perseverance and persistence. She works hard to understand the aspects of her own learning and how to properly advocate for her own individual understanding. While working toward individual excellence she is always willing to help her classmates by sharing her understanding and assisting them along the way of their own journey toward success. She becomes visibly excited about learning when she can grasp a new concept and she becomes equally excited when she can help a classmate reach the same level of mastery on that concept.” Please visit our website and check out our students of the month highlight at www.myleadacademy.com. Fundraiser items will arrive at school on Tuesday. Students with smaller orders will receive their items at dismissal. Students with larger orders will need assistance from a parent/guardian. You will be able to park and come pick up items between 2:30pm and 5:30 pm on Tuesday. We will have Fun Friday this Friday, March 11th. Fun Friday is an opportunity for students to live out our EPIC habits of leadership through original, Lead created games. Much like DRESS DOWN DAY, all attire worn on Fun Fridays must be school-appropriate. To listen, learn, & collaborate, any stakeholder wishing to snag some time with Mr. Baker can sign up for open office hours on any platform of your choosing by clicking the link. https://calendly.com/cubaker/meet Please feel free to reach out if you have any questions or concerns. I hope everyone has a great week!

Hey Lead Families, I hope everyone is enjoying their Sunday. Please see updates and information for the coming week. This week in Crew, all grades will discuss what it means to sharpen the saw. Sharpen the saw means preserving and enhancing the greatest asset you have–you. Crew begins each day at 7:45, so it is vital that your student is at school on time. Wednesday, March 2nd, will be dress-down day. Students can pay $1 to come out of uniform. Parents, please be mindful that dress-down day is a fundraising effort. Students should not be out of uniform if they choose not to participate in the fundraiser. All students must still be in school-appropriate attire. This means there should be NO HOLES in pants, there are to be NO CROCS or SLIDES, and that any message communicated on their clothing, either through explicit language or artwork or through suggested humor, should be school appropriate. The money will be collected at the front door as students enter. Below you will find links to our family involvement surveys. This data will be used to analyze what we are doing well and areas we should consider reviewing to make some changes. The deadline for this survey is Friday, March 4th. https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfRIX3VIw8C7us14YkAJdHdAp80BTqIIuR3s-oh0PfDIe2BnQ/viewform https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeeV-nx4owff2U-SuwSEb6h3sgAWi6XVZYEOI3g9-gVaLkDRg/viewform Please see the latest updated K-12 Covid guidance. https://files.constantcontact.com/c3e69b7b501/b5b2dabd-6356-4108-96ea-8f59b936cba1.pdf To listen, learn, & collaborate, any stakeholder wishing to snag some time with Mr. Baker can sign up for open office hours on any platform of your choosing by clicking the link. https://calendly.com/cubaker/meet Please feel free to reach out if you have any questions or concerns. I hope everyone has a great week!

Lead Families We know the afternoon can be a tough time with all of the varied activities and appointments that all of us must balance throughout the year. Our hope is that we can improve the efficiency of the afternoons for our families by making some changes to our dismissal process. In order to do this, we need your help! Here are some changes that will impact you directly: In the next week, we will be distributing new car tags for afternoon dismissal. These car tags will now have numbers instead of student names. With our new dismissal program, all siblings will share the same car tag number. Your car tag will need to be placed where it can be clearly seen in your car. It will also need to remain visible until all of your students have loaded. Once you remove your car tag from sight, our staff will consider your car fully loaded and ready to leave. If your student is delayed in getting to your car, we will have you pull up and park so that the carline can continue to move forward with dismissal. We understand that you can find yourself in the carline for long periods of time. We’re hopeful that our new procedures will cut this time significantly, but this system will only work as well as the people involved in making it work. For that reason, here are some other ways you can help: Talk to your student about the importance of listening and watching for their name to allow for all students to leave the building safely and quickly. Please refrain from reading books, using your cell phones, playing loud music, and taking naps. This slows down the ability of our staff to communicate with you. Pay attention to and follow directions being provided by the staff members. Staff are managing a lot of different areas that are hard to see outside of the building. Please know that staff are making minor changes and adjustments daily that better enable us to improve the dismissal timeframe. Many aspects of the carline that you see outside will remain the same. Please continue to arrive and fill the right lane first. Once that lane is out to the road, please begin filling the left lane. As with all transitions, there will be some growing pains. We appreciate your patience as we work to refine this system to create an even better experience for all Lead families. Thanks and please reach out if you have any questions.

Good Evening Lead Families, I hope everyone had a restful long weekend. Please see the updates and information for the coming week. This week, students will finish this month's series of Crew discussions. Grades K and 4th will discuss seeking first to understand. Grades 1st and 3rd will discuss think win-win. 2nd grade students will discuss putting first things first. 5th grade students will discuss conflict resolution. 6th and 7th grade students will discuss physical courage and moral courage. 8th grade students will discuss what it means to be a leader. Crew begins each day at 7:45, so it is vital that your student is at school on time. A huge shout out to all of our students for leading your loved ones through our student-led conferences. We enjoyed seeing everyone on Friday and hope everyone was able to gain insight into your student's learning at Lead. To listen, learn, & collaborate, any stakeholder wishing to snag some time with Mr. Baker can sign up for open office hours on any platform of your choosing by clicking the link. https://calendly.com/cubaker/meet Please feel free to reach out if you have any questions or concerns. I hope everyone has a great week!

We are excited to invite our lead families into the building for our student-led conferences. Here are a few reminders for tomorrow: To keep students at the center of these conferences, any parents or guardians wishing to have more conversations with their student's teacher(s) will be asked to schedule those meetings for another date. Crew leaders will be present, but they are there to support the student in presenting their work and learning. Students should be dressed in their Lead uniform or nicer. Students should not be in jeans or pajamas. We are still concerned about the rise in COVID cases and want to ensure that SLCs are both informative and safe. It is a requirement that all guests ages 5 and up entering the building wear a mask properly (covering both the nose and chin) for the duration of their time in the building. We look forward to seeing everyone tomorrow!

Our Friends and Family Fundraiser ended today. Please turn in remaining order forms TOMORROW! *Don't forget to turn in both your order form and money. *Put your order form and money in the collection envelope. *Make sure you have filled out all the information in the top left hand corner of your order form, including your phone number. This is VERY important! *Make sure everyone has paid you before turning in your order.

THIS IS THE LAST DAY OF OUR FUNDRAISER! Now is your chance to make any last minute sales! I also want to remind you about a few things before you turn in your fundraising collection envelopes. *Don't forget to turn in both your order form and money. *Put your order form and money in the collection envelope. *Make sure you have filled out all the information in the top left hand corner of your order form, including your phone number. This is VERY important! *Make sure everyone has paid you before turning in your order. Don't forget to turn in your hedgehogz tickets to your teacher so that you can receive your hedgehogz keychains!

Parents, Just a reminder that our Friends and Family Fundraiser ends this Wednesday. Now is your chance to make a few last minute sales and earn great prizes such as a Kona Ice Party and Gametruck Experience! Be sure to collect all money and orders and send them in to school this Wedensday, 2/16 in the collection envelope.

Good Afternoon Lead Families, I hope everyone has enjoyed a restful weekend. Please see the updates and information for the coming week. This week in Crew, students will be preparing for student-led conferences (SLC's) happening this Friday, February 18th. Please be sure to sign up, as we are excited to welcome many of you to the building for the first time in a long time. Our students have been working hard to share their learning with someone they care about. Thanks for your support in our fundraiser sales. Order forms and money are due this Wednesday, February 16th. Students should turn them into their classroom teacher on Wednesday morning. Monday, February 21st, is a school holiday. There will be no school for students. Thank you for not sending your children to school when they are sick. Covid-19 in our county is widespread, ongoing, and not contained. We strongly encouraged the continued use of masks every day. Please see the link for the Updated School and Childcare Exclusion List from the S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control. https://scdhec.gov/health/child-teen-health/school-exclusion https://scdhec.gov/sites/default/files/media/document/2021.2022-School-Guidance-Booklet-1.15.2.pdf To listen, learn, & collaborate, any stakeholder wishing to snag some time with Mr. Baker can sign up for open office hours on any platform of your choosing by clicking the link. https://calendly.com/cubaker/meet Please feel free to reach out if you have any questions or concerns. I hope everyone has a great week!

Parents, we need your help to reach our goal! Please make sure you REGISTER your student TONIGHT and enter 7 TEXTS and 7 EMAILS AT FundShoppe.com, so that they can WIN their first HEDGEHOG 🦔 Keychain TOMORROW! We need your help to reach our School Goal of 2,000 Texts/Emails. We would love your support in our fundraising efforts! The money we raise will be used to support important goals and programs that benefit our students and teachers! Your child will even have an opportunity to earn some great prizes in the process!

Hello Again Lead Families, I forgot to mention this in my Sunday newsletter that we are having fun Friday this Friday, February 11th. Fun Friday is an opportunity for students to live out our EPIC habits of leadership through original, Lead created games. Much like DRESS DOWN DAY, all attire worn on Fun Fridays must be school-appropriate. Also, please save the date for our Student-led conferences (SLCs) for Feb 18th. Please look for communication from your students' teacher.

Good Morning Lead Families, Today is the deadline to complete the intent to return form for the 2022-2023 school year. Please click the link below if you have not done so. Have a great day! https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfqxcNKvz25wvS002g_uQruv2HxLWj3t588-WQBl5ZuyeQEHA/viewform

Hey Lead Families, I hope everyone is doing well. Please see the updates and information for the coming week. This week, Crew will be a continuation of last week's conversations. Grades K and 4th will discuss seeking first to understand. Grades 1st and 3rd will discuss think win-win. 2nd grade students will discuss putting first things first. 5th grade students will discuss conflict resolution. 6th and 7th grade students will discuss physical courage and moral courage. 8th grade students will discuss what it means to be a leader. Crew begins each day at 7:45, so it is vital that your student is at school on time. Congrats to our January students of the month! Ryker Moss - K5 Ryker is an all-around EPIC Leader! He is a friend to everyone and makes sure everyone in our class feels included. He tries his best to be a leader for his peers in kindergarten. You can always count on Ryker to be doing the right thing, even if no one is watching. He is firm in his values and never waivers from what he believes in! Emma Richard - 4th Where do I even start with Emma?! She is patient and kind to anyone in our class. She is the first to try and talk to someone who may be struggling. If a friend isn't ready to talk she doesn't mind just being present and being a kind presence. In class, she challenges herself and if she finishes work early-- she always finds ways to make it better. Watching her make connections with her crew mates no matter who they are is an honor. Emma models what it means to be E.P.I.C. Jeremiah Gipson - 8th Jeremiah is a curious, passionate and kind student. He demonstrates leadership through his participation in class and hyping of his friends and peers to achieve their own success. Jeremiah is also an exemplary student. He checks in with his own understanding, deeply reads to find and analyze meaning and responds to feedback from his teachers. This student is almost constantly smiling and bringing joy to their classroom community and school. Please visit our website and check out our students of the month highlight at www.myleadacademy.com. Parents, please complete the intent to return form for the 2022-2023 school year. Complete this form no later than Tuesday, February 8, 2022. Please click the link below. https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfqxcNKvz25wvS002g_uQruv2HxLWj3t588-WQBl5ZuyeQEHA/viewform We need your help! We just kicked off our exciting Friends and Family Fundraiser! The money we raise will be used to fund important student programs and activities. Our fundraiser features a popular variety of exciting items including: Cookies, Cakes, Chocolates, Cups, Kitchen Gadgets, Support Our Troops, Wrapping Paper and much more! Out of town family and friends can also participate by shopping at our online store with more than 600 items available for ship to home and ship to school. Your child should have brought home a Fundraiser Packet with all the information about our fundraiser this past week. If you can't seem to find it, please ask the front office or your child's teacher for another one.  Thank you for not sending your children to school when they are sick. Covid-19 in our county is widespread, ongoing, and not contained. We strongly encouraged the continued use of masks every day. Please see the link for the Updated School and Childcare Exclusion List from the S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control. https://scdhec.gov/health/child-teen-health/school-exclusion https://scdhec.gov/sites/default/files/media/document/2021.2022-School-Guidance-Booklet-1.15.2.pdf To listen, learn, & collaborate, any stakeholder wishing to snag some time with Mr. Baker can sign up for open office hours on any platform of your choosing by clicking the link. https://calendly.com/cubaker/meet Please feel free to reach out if you have any questions or concerns. I hope everyone has a great week!