Entering Lower Campus

Lake Carolina Main Entrance doors are only unlocked for morning drop off from 7:30-8:00am

Kelly Mill Main Entrance is unlocked from 7:30am-3:30pm

Staff and students are not allowed to open doors for visitors, please go to the main entrance on the Kelly Mill side.

Upper Campus Gator Groups

Gator Groups started for Upper Campus students today. Everyone had a great time with their group!

Lower Campus PE Shirt Orders Due Monday

Don't forget that PE Shirt orders are due Monday, September 30th!

This year’s shirt will be blue with green and white writing. Remember that this shirt counts as uniform dress. You have the option of ordering a t-shirt and/or a hooded sweatshirt.

All orders must be placed through Parent Portal by September 30th.

Go to student fees and click PE shirts and hoodies.

T-shirts are $10.00

Hooded Sweatshirts are $20.00

Car Rider Dismissal

If you are picking your child in the car rider line, please read these important reminders.

Lower Campus:

• Please keep the Dismissal Sign (with your student's first and last name) in the windshield until your child has gotten into your vehicle.
• If you do not have a sign, you will be asked to pull forward and show identification. 
• If you have a younger child in a car seat, if possible, please put the car seat on the driver's side of the car. 
• LCE staff does not buckle car seats. Please pull forward out of the car pool line to safely buckle your child.
• Please move your car as far as possible in the line. The first car should be at the end of awning and number 1. 

If you need a sign for your windshield, please ask the front office or your child's teacher for one. You can also print one here.

Upper Campus:

• Please follow the blue line on right for car riders and leave the left side of the driveway and area marked with "X" open for those entering front parking lot.
• Please move your car as far as possible in the line. The first car should be at the yellow sign.
• Students should be reminded to pay attention and look for your car during dismissal. Students can get into the vehicle once the car is stopped in the designated area.
• All cars should stay in the line to exit the pick up area. Please do not pass cars on the left.

After School S.T.E.M. for Kids Program @ Lower Campus

Interim Reports

Interim reports at Lake Carolina for students in 2nd through 5th grades are accessible from Parent Portal. If you have an active Parent Portal account, you may check your child's grades at any time and September 27th will be the 1st quarter interim grade for each subject area. When you log in to your account, the grades will automatically appear on the screen. There is not a report tab to click in Parent Portal.

It is important to monitor your child's progress through Parent Portal before report cards are issued. The first grading period ends on October 25 and the first report card will be issued on November 1.

You can access Parent Portal at https://parents.richland2.org. 

To create a Parent Portal Account:
1. Click Create an Account
2. Complete the top section with your personal information. Write down your Username/Password.
3. Add your child(ren) in the fields below. To add student(s), you will need to enter an Access ID and Access Password.
a. Access ID - Student ID number (either 5 or 12 digits). Your child's teacher or the front office can provide you with your child's student id number if you need to create an account.
b. Access Password - Student’s birthday, using 6-digits without dashes or slashes.
Example: MMDDYY - 010104
4. Click Submit.

If you have any questions, please call the school at 714-1300 (Lower Campus) OR 691-3360 (Upper Campus).

We appreciate your support. Thank you!

After School S.T.E.M. for Kids Program @ Upper Campus

D.A.R.E. Kick Off

Book Fair Closes Friday

The book fair closes tomorrow, Friday, September 20th.

Lower Campus will be closing at 12:00.

Upper Campus will be closing at 11:30.

 If you would still like to shop at the book fair after 12 on Friday, you can shop online and have your order sent directly to you by visiting scholastic.com/fair, find our school, and shop online until Saturday, Sept. 21. Free shipping for orders over $25.

Kindness Readers

Lake Carolina Elementary Upper Campus hosted a Kindness Reading event today in conjunction with Richland 2's Kindness Month. 

Guest readers visited each homeroom to read a picture book about kindness to students. Many thanks to the following for your kindness and taking the time to come to read to our students today: 

Laura Dekle, Catherine Austin, Lindsay Agostina, Dr. Andrea Berry, Mindi Ishmal, Tim Stuhler, Heather Buchman, Chambers Vivian, Dr. Helen Grant, Chandra Gibson, Peter Wittig, Michael Williams, Angie Simpson, Christie Duncan, Quanique Bruington, Marybeth Gawrys, Mike Brooks, Jeff Williams, Mike Geneva, Jennifer Burgos-Carnes, Liz Adams, Capt. Alserhan, Col. Staples, Officer Ivan Tucker

Pictures from Kindness Readers

Voting for 2019-20 School Improvement Council

The following parents are interested in serving on the Lake Carolina Elementary School Improvement Council. Please read the bios below and vote using online SIC Ballot 2019. Voting will close on Monday, September 30. Thank you for your time and support for LCE!

Deitra Matthews:

She is a proud military wife with two beautiful children. She is a strong believer in kindness, compassion, solutions, and serving mankind. Love is truly her religion, and helping women, children, and their families grab MORE out of life has become part of her purpose.

A graduate of Savannah State University, she holds a Master’s degree in Public Administration with a concentration in Public Policy. She also holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Coker College where she double majored in English and Psychology. She considers it an absolute privilege to be able to use her degrees in various areas to serve others; but, what she has found to be her greatest and most rewarding degree is one that she believes that she is currently pursuing. That is the degree of life.

It has become part of her personal ministry to help women and children across the globe seek MORE out of life by encouraging and supporting them through their journey of wanting MORE, needing MORE, and finally understanding that they deserve MORE!

Deitra is also a very active community advocate who very often voices the concerns of under-served

children and their families. She has been a board member with The Ram Foundation for 6 years, and she  is an active board member with Palmetto Health’s Children’s Hospital. She also volunteers with the Hydrocephalus Association and the Save the Children Action Network, where she serves as the Voter Engagement Lead.

Deitra was previously employed with Richland County School District One, where she was the Program Director of the 21st Century Program at St. Andrews Middle School.

Her past active memberships include School Improvement Council at Catawba Trail Elementary School, Parent Advisory Board with Richland County School District Two, Executive Women’s Committee of the Capital City Club, Junior League of Richmond, Virginia, Junior League of Fayetteville, North Carolina, NAACP – Kansas City, Kansas Chapter, and The National Council of Negro Women.

Deitra is also a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated.

Her husband, Brian, is a Colonel in the United States Army, where he still serves. Her two daughters, Caroline and Claudia, are currently in the eighth and fifth grades respectively.

Deitra’s philosophy is deeply rooted from 1st Corinthians 13. For, she believes that if LOVE is one’s leading guide, then one must follow it.

Crystal Piper-Smith:

I am the mother of Caden Young a 3^rd grader in Mrs. Crowell’s class. I am originally from Columbia, SC and I was educated in the Richland County School District 1 public school system.  Since 2009 I have served as a college professor of public health administration at the University of North Carolina Charlotte. Quality education and excellence in academics will continue to be one of my top priorities and I am excited about the opportunity to serve the School Improvement Council and ensure our children receive a quality education that prepares them for a successful future. I have served as a volunteer (reading to classes, special event planning, field trip chaperone, and homeroom parent) at my son’s previous school for the past 3 years.  I look forward to the opportunity to work with administration and staff to make the best decisions for all students. I can bring my experiences as an educator, researcher, and parent to assist with planning and evaluating the needs of our school. I have previous experience serving as a liaison on other boards in my current position, and if I am elected I will make myself available to hear parents’ ideas so everyone feels their contributions are valued. I am passionate about making sure our children’s educational environment is safe and inclusive.

Meet Lower Campus' School Nurse

Greetings Gator Families,

I have enjoyed meeting many of the students and families these first few weeks of the 2019-2020 school year. I wanted to officially introduce myself to those that I haven’t had the opportunity to meet. My name is Rebecca Kopp and I am the new School Nurse here at Lake Carolina Elementary Lower Campus. Although new to school nursing, I have been working with pediatric patients since January 2014. I love interacting with children and helping them when they are feeling unwell. I also enjoy teaching them about their health and assisting those with chronic problems such as allergies and asthma. 

A little about myself, I am married and have three children, Abigail (11y), Max (8y), and Emma (5y). We live here in Lake Carolina and love the community. I am originally from South Carolina and graduated from Lugoff-Elgin High School. I lived in Charleston for several years until I moved home to attend nursing school at Midlands Technical College. My husband is from Germany and we often visit his family there in the summers. We spend lots of time at Lake Wateree and in the fall  we love watching football to cheer on the Carolina Gamecocks and the Citadel Bulldogs. 

Please feel free to contact me if you ever have questions or concerns regarding your student’s health needs. I can be reached by phone 803-714-1300 ext 3010, or by email rkopp@richland2.org, or you can always stop by and visit the Health Room if you are on campus.

Sincerely, 

Rebecca L. Kopp, RN

Congratulations Lower Campus

We’re proud to announce that Lake Carolina Lower Campus has been named an official national banner Unified Champion School for its commitment to inclusion! Determined by Special Olympics South Carolina, in order to receive this designation Lake Carolina Lower Campus met 10 standards of
excellence focusing on Unified Sports, Inclusive Youth Leadership, and Whole-School Engagement.  #unifiedLCE 

More info: https://bit.ly/2EnQXVD

Shop at the Book Fair

The book fair is here!

Parents....
Thank you for shopping at family fun night last Friday! We have another evening shopping opportunity for you. You are invited to visit the book fair from 4:30-5:30 on tomorrow, September 17th,  before the start of parent orientation at upper campus. Come by and grab a book for your child and support our fair!

Lower Campus Hours:
Monday - Friday 7:30-3:15 

Upper Campus Hours:
Monday -Thursday 7:30-2:30
Friday 7:30-11:30AM

Disability Awareness Training

All new students to Lake Carolina Upper Campus and 3rd graders participated in disability sensitivity training today. This event is in conjunction with Richland Two's Kindness Month. The training involves each student rotating through stations that simulate various disabilities to build empathy for others. Volunteers run each station to help the students "experience" the disabilities and classroom teachers follow-up with classroom discussions.

Many thanks to our school counselor, Mrs. Skinner, for organizing this training and special thanks to the parent volunteers: Kim Toogood, Talia Lynn, Deitra Matthews, Kimberly Blake, April Jarrett, Michelle Hubbard, Julius Frazier, Stephanie Jackson, Tayyaba Sadiq, Maria Guerrero, Sandra Meyers, Nicole Tyler, Tasha McAden, Isabelle Henderson.

Disability Awareness Training Pictures

Family Fun Night is Tonight

Tonight is Family Fun Night!

Join us at the lower campus from 5:30-7:30pm for an evening of fun for the entire family! 

We will play BINGO and give out some exciting prizes. Bring your appetites because we will have food for purchase from CiCi’s, Groucho’s and Chick-fil-a. 

Come early and check out the Book Fair which will be open from 4:30-6pm! Hope to see you there!

Congaree National Park Swampfest Art Competition

Swampfest is an annual event held in cooperation with SERCO (South East Rural Community Outreach) and will take place this year on October 4th and 5th.

The theme for this year's art competition is Congaree Critters.

If it swims, flies, walks, or slithers, it could be a Congaree critter. It could have eight, six, four, two, or even hundreds of legs - or maybe no legs at all!

The competition is open to all K-8 students. Both two and three dimensional works are accepted. First place and honorable mention are awarded for each grade level.

Please include on the back or attached:

• Your full name
• Grade level
• Lake Carolina Elementary 
• Your homeroom teacher's name

Artwork is due no later than September 26, 2019. Deliver it to Mrs. McConnell already labeled with information above. Good luck!

Parent Orientation for 3rd-5th Grade

R2 Celebrates Hispanic Heritage Month

Richland 2 Policies on Bullying and Harassment

Richland School District 2's policy on bullying and harassment has been presented to every student at Upper Campus and will be presented to Lower Campus students during their first lesson with Mrs. Ishmal within the next few weeks.

To view the policies, please visit the attached links.

LOWER CAMPUS PRESENTATION

UPPER CAMPUS PRESENTATION

If you or your child have any concerns about bullying, please contact your campus school counselor:

-Mrs. Ishmal, School Counselor at LCEL, at mishmal@richland2.org or 714-1300 ext. 3003

-Mrs. Skinner, School Counselor at LCEU, at jskinner@richland2.org or 691-3360 ext. 37116

Message from PTO: Raise Funds for LCE

Help Raise Funds for Our School!

Did you know that at Lake Carolina Elementary there are a variety of ways to help earn money for our school? Yep, that’s right, it is so easy to do, and oftentimes it's FREE! Simply clipping labels off of certain groceries that you already purchase or scanning receipts on the new Box Top app or entering a phone number at checkout where you already shop, or when you shop on Amazon.com, you can help us raise money for our school! And you can earn even more by asking your friends and neighbors to do the same.

Learn About FREE Ways to Earn Money for Our School...

-Amazon Smile Rewards

Amazon donates 0.5% of the price of your eligible AmazonSmile purchases to the charitable organization of your choice - in our case that is the Lake Carolina Elementary PTO! AmazonSmile is the same Amazon you know and love. Same products, same prices, same service. This new program just lets you support our PTO while buying Amazon products you already buy. Remember, always start at smile.amazon.com and Amazon will donate 0.5% of the price of your eligible AmazonSmile purchases. 

-Box Tops for Education

For over 20 years, Box Tops for Education has given families an easy way to earn cash for their school, with products they already buy.

Now you can simply scan your store receipt with the Box Tops mobile app to identify participating products and instantly add cash to your school's earnings. Send those receipts and Box Top labels in! Look for the Box Top mailboxes at school! Find out more by visiting: www.boxtops4education.com

-Publix Partner in Education

Each time you shop at Publix, simply enter your phone number at checkout! Users must register annually, please visit the following link to sign up:

https://corporate.publix.com/community/corporate-campaigns/publix-partners

A percentage of your total will be given back to LCE. It's that easy! This donation adds up quickly. Plus, the more people you can get started (Hint Hint - pass the word on to your friends and neighbors), the more money Publix gives to our school! 

-Kroger Community Rewards®

Kroger Community Rewards® program is its way of "Giving More Back to the Community!" which means it is an easy way for you to earn money for our school each time you shop at Kroger.  You simply sign up online and then each time you enter your phone number at Kroger, a portion of your total purchase is donated to our school! To learn more and to sign up, visit: 

https://www.kroger.com/account/enrollCommunityRewardsNow/

PTO Family Fun Night

LCE PTO Presents... Family Fun Night!

Join us this Friday, September 13th, at the lower campus from 5:30-7:30pm for an evening of fun for the entire family! 

We will play BINGO and give out some exciting prizes. Bring your appetites because we will have food for purchase from CiCi’s, Groucho’s and Chick-fil-a. 

Come early and check out the Book Fair which will be open from 4:30-6pm! Hope to see you there!

School Club Applications Due Friday

After school club applications are open. Please see links below for information. Applications are due by Friday, September 13. No late applications will be accepted. 

Club sponsors will let you know if you child has a spot in the club or not once applications have closed.

Apply for school clubs:

Information and Sign Up for a Lower Campus School Club

Information and Sign Up for a Upper Campus School Club

Reminder: MAP Testing @ Upper Campus

The Measure of Academic Progress (MAP) Assessment will be this week for Upper Campus students.

-Monday, September 9: Reading
-Tuesday, September 10: Math

Please make sure your child...
-is at school on scheduled testing days.
-has a good, healthy breakfast on days of testing.
-has adequate rest the night prior to testing.

Thank you for your support!

Summer Reading Celebration

Students enjoyed having pizza for lunch and celebrating all the reading they did over the summer. Thanks for encouraging your child to read! 

Pictures from lunch

School Improvement Council for 2019-20

Our School Improvement Council (SIC) is looking for parents who are willing to work with a collaborative group to generate ideas that will help improve our school. 

If you are interested in serving on our SIC during the 2019-2020 school year, please submit a personal biography by Friday, September 13 . SIC meetings are once per month in the mornings beginning at 7:30am and usually last 30-45 minutes. 

Please include your name and the current grade level(s) of your child(ren) in your submission.

There is one SIC at each campus of Lake Carolina Elementary.

--Submit lower campus (K-2nd grades) bios to Jackie Hatchell at jhatchell@richland2.org or to the front office.

--Submit upper campus (3rd-5th grades) bios to asimpson at asimpson@richland2.org or to the front office. 

Bios of nominees will be published in The Communigator Blog with a ballot form for voting.

This is a great opportunity learn more about our vision and get to know administration, teachers and community members. Thank you for your consideration!

BHS Captain Class @ Upper Campus

Thank you to Mr. Ben Ehrlich and the Captain Class students at Blythewood High School for volunteering at Upper Campus this year.  

Lower Campus PE shirts

This year’s shirt will be blue with green and white writing. Remember that this shirt counts as uniform dress. You have the option of ordering a t-shirt and/or a hooded sweatshirt.

All orders must be placed through Parent Portal by September 30th.

Go to student fees and click PE shirts and hoodies.

T-shirts are $10.00

Hooded Sweatshirts are $20.00

Summer Reading Celebration

LCE will host our Summer Reading Celebration on Friday, September 6th for students who turned in their reading medal from Richland Library's summer reading program. Students will be treated to a pizza celebration with a cold drink! 

Lower Campus will have pizza during their scheduled lunch time. Upper Campus will begin their pizza celebration at 11:30.  

Great job reading Gators!

Lower Campus September Reading Challenge

Read FIVE South Carolina Picture Book Award Nominees in September.

2019-2020 List of Book Nominees

Complete the challenge and have your name entered to Read with Ross in the media center doghouse!  

Monthly Reading Challenge Rules

September Reading Challenge Form

A paper form is also available in the media center.

Lower Campus School Sponsored Clubs

Please review the club information for Lower Campus in the link below if your child is interested in being a part of a club. Be sure you are not signing up for more than one club, this allows more students the opportunity to participate if interested. Applications are in listed in the links on each club slide

All club applications must be submitted online by Friday, September 13. No late applications will be accepted.

Information and Sign Up for a Lower Campus School Club

Upper Campus School Sponsored Clubs

Please review the club information for Upper Campus in the link below if your child is interested in being a part of a club. Applications are in listed in the links on each club slide.

All club applications must be submitted online by Friday, September 13. No late applications will be accepted.

Information and Sign Up for a Upper Campus School Club

Upper Campus Garden

LCE Upper Campus was awarded a grant from the SC Department of Education in partnership with Clemson Extension's School Gardening for SC Educators. The grant supplied all of the materials to start four raised bed gardens. Students learn the process of planting, growing, harvesting and preparing foods they can eat through the care of the garden. 

In June, we planted sweet potatoes before summer break. Harvest day for the sweet potatoes was last week. The kids were thrilled to see the large amount of sweet potatoes from their labor! This fall, we will be planting squash, broccoli, kale and onions. In the spring, we will be planting lettuce, collards and English peas. 

We will continue to harvest, plant and care for the garden throughout the school year and celebrate the fruits of our labor with taste testing! 

LCEU August Sweet Potato Garden