 Did you know we will be getting a food forest at Langley? Thank you to Landscaper, Lincoln Smith, and to our garden committee chair, Dawn Madura, for making this a reality! Read about food forests here in the Washington Post (Langley is mentioned).
Thank you to the parent volunteers who have offered to serve the Langley community as PTSA officers for the 2019-2020 school year. These leadership positions are crucial as the PTSA strives to make more gains in fundraising and community-building this year, so we can ensure our teachers, staff, administrators and children have the support they need to be successful. Click "Read more" below to get to know the president, vice president, treasurer and secretary a little better. And when you see these women at school, be sure to thank them for stepping up!
 We are excited to continue FoodPrints this year with a new FoodPrints teacher, Ms. Courtney Lucente, and assistant teacher, Ms. Allie Davis. Ms. Courtney has a Master of Arts in Teaching degree from Johns Hopkins University and over a decade of teaching experience. FoodPrints combines her passion for education and love of food and cooking. Ms. Allie has a degree in Public Health from Dickinson College and comes from a family of teachers. She is excited to apply her knowledge of nutrition in the FoodPrints classroom. They both look forward to gardening, cooking, eating, and learning with Langley students this year!
All Langley students will participate in FoodPrints this year! We are planning monthly sessions for each class throughout the school year. FoodPrints integrates gardening, cooking, eating, and academic learning with the goal of growing healthy students and families. We help students learn about the natural world and how to enjoy eating healthy, whole foods. We welcome parent volunteers! Parents (or other family members) help our classes run smoothly. Students are so happy to have their parents come in to help, and there is always something tasty to eat. Look for FoodPrints dates from your classroom teacher or reach out to Ms. Courtney for dates. FoodPrints recipes will be served in the Langley lunchroom on Wednesdays. As part of the Class to Café program in partnership with DCPS and with the support of Wellness in the Schools Chef Meagan, the Langley cafeteria team will be scratch-cooking and serving some of the same recipes that we are preparing in FoodPrints. We hope your students will try these new recipes! Burrito Bowl: Sofrito Rice and Chicken Warm Bean & Corn Salad served on 9/25, 10/16, 11/6, 12/4, 12/18 Pasta with Colorful Marinara Sauce Simple Green Salad with Roasted Red Pepper Dressing served on 10/2, 10/23, 11/13 Red, White, and Green Hot Sandwich (Toasted Cheese Sandwich with Tomato and Spinach) ABC Salad served on 10/9, 10/30, 12/11 Courtney Lucente footprints lead teacher courtney@freshfarm.org office: 202.362.8889 mobile: 717.713.9094 Langley Elementary is proud to welcome the newest members of our school family. Read all about them below! Get to know the amazing teachers and staff that have been a part of our community and are joining us for another great year.  We hope you all had an incredible summer and are excited for our upcoming school year! Our PTSA made great strides last year and was able to raise over 10 times more funds than years past.
Because of our increase in fundraising we were able to replenish classroom libraries, paint the hallways bright colors, rebuild our garden, pay for the 5th-grade graduating class to go to Dave & Buster’s, host luncheons thanking our staff for all their hard work and much more! We created new traditions, including the Fall Festival, Make Some Noise fundraiser, Scholastic Book Fair, End of Year Block Party, Free Little Library and a new Flex Academies/PTSA summer camp. In the upcoming year we hope to build on our growth and support of our school. We are dedicating $5,000 to help pay for more free after school clubs/classes and $6,000 so that every grade K-5th has $1,000 to use towards field trips. Our goal for the fall is to have a room parent for every class who can assist the teacher & the PTSA in supporting our classroom families. We are also looking for parents to serve as PTSA Board Members, committee members and/or chairs and members of the Fundraising Cmte, Family Engagement Cmte, Grants Cmte and Garden & Wellness Cmte. Something as simple as being the chair of a specific event or helping with a specific task here or there would be a huge help, so let us know of your interests and special skills! Want to help donate items for our classrooms? We created an Amazon Smile Charity Wish List: https://smile.amazon.com/hz/charitylist/ls/3LWHRQIUQ7W31/ref=smi_ext_lnk_lcl_cl Items will be sent directly to the school and recorded in our PTSA donations. Lastly, our garden is in full swing and there is produce thriving. We are looking for volunteers to help us with weeding, planting and harvesting so that the garden stays productive and tidy. Interested in helping with any of the above? Email: langleypta101@gmail.com Not a member but want to be part of the exciting group helping make great things happen at Langley? Fill out the PTSA Membership form and turn it into the school office or email it to langleypta101@gmail.com Sincerely, Langley Elementary PTSA Board Christina Robbins (Pres), Dawn Madura (VP), Annie Wright (Sec), Julia Hedlund (Treas)  We are happy to share some amazing news: Flex Academies is our awesome new before and after care provider who will provide safe, nurturing, and fun before and aftercare to kids Pre-k to 5th grade. Flex Academies is a local company that serves more than 80 schools. And ,Flex Academies is familiar to our community, as they have been providing enrichment at Langley for three years.
What makes Flex Academies special? Flex Academies will combine enrichment classes with aftercare so that kids can choose if they would like to do yoga, art, Spanish, soccer or other sessions. The prices will be less expensive than what Langely was able to offer last year. Flex Academies will also offer sponsorships to select kids who cannot afford enrichment or aftercare classes. Flex Academies will also be more involved in our school community and join school events. Last school, year they sponsored a face painter, and attended Summer Splash and our end of year Block Party. Where do I sign up? Please register here. Enrollment is available year round. Drop in rates are available. What are the hours? How will kids get to/from class? Pre-care will be from 7 to 8:15 am and aftercare from 3:15 to 6pm. The aftercare teachers will come to each class and pick the kids up and walk them to their enrichment and/or the aftercare class. Who are the teachers and what are their qualifications? Flex Academies is still hiring the director and teachers. Flex Academies is hoping to build a team mainly from Langley’s teacher community. All selected teachers will be highly qualified, have background checks and will be certified in five important categories (CPR, First Aid, Epi Pen, Concussion Protocol, Spotting Abuse/Neglect). Once a director and teachers are appointed, Flex Academies will send an email to all registered parents with more information. What will the schedule look like? Pre-care usually involves some quiet time, homework assistance if needed and getting ready for the school day. Aftercare includes snack, a special project, reading/homework help, and free play (all in that order). Kids often go to the playground or the gym to play. Where do I drop off/pick up? You will drop off and pick up from a dedicated classroom. Will there be care on days off and during vacations? Full day programming will be offered at Langley on professional development days, parent/teacher conference days, and during February and Spring Break. How will Flex Academies communicate with parents? Flex Academies promises to be more proactive in sharing the schedule, updates and also join many school events to gain feedback and communicate with our school family. More questions? See our FAQ here or reach the Flex Academies team via email at info@flexacademies.com.  The summer is in full swing! While school is closed for the summer break, our kids and teachers are still having a blast at Langley. They are part of our first summer camp offered by Flex Academies. Flex Academies has been Langley’s enrichment class provider for a few years now, offering yoga, soccer, music and dance to children after school. This Fall they will also provide pre- and after care. Since school let out for the summer, kids have been having a blast at camp - doing sports, arts and crafts and lots of free play inside and outside. They are also doing some writing and math so they don’t forget everything they learned during the school year. The camp director is the fabulous Ms. Ashley Greer, who has been part of Langley’s before and aftercare for three years. She makes sure the camp runs smoothly and that all children are having fun and being safe! Ms. Megan McDonald is the assistant camp director. She is a Langley educational aide and has been volunteering and working with children since she was 14 years old. All camp teachers have had background checks and are CPR certified. We Langley parents can rest easy knowing our kids already have great relationships with these trusted camp leaders and it also made the transition a breeze. Sign up: All children are invited to attend, regardless of the school they typically attend or where they live. There is still time to register your kids for camp. Find out more here. Hours: Camp runs from 9am to 4pm, with an extended day option from 8am to 5pm. Schedule: Every week has a different theme. Below is an example of the daily schedule.  Check In: Check in at the main entrance. You can walk your kid to the cafeteria, where they children gather for breakfast to fuel up for the day.
Food: Lunch and breakfast is provided and you can find a food schedule here. Please remember to pack snacks for your children, as those are not provided. . Hydration: Please pack a reusable water bottle. The campers go outside and we want to make sure everyone stays hydrated! The campers will be able to refill their bottles at water fountains throughout the day. Clothes: Please make sure your child wears comfortable clothes and athletic shoes. No sandals, please! Nap: There will be nap time/quiet time for the younger children. Cots will be provided for them to use. Please pack anything your child might like, such as a blanket, pillow, stuffed animal. Security: Each camp leader carries a walkie talkie so they can communicate any issues. Those who enter the building must be buzzed into the front door and sign in under the watchful eye of the security guard, who is on site at all times. Other FAQs: Check them out here. If you have any questions, contact Stephen at Stephen@flexacademies.com.  What a year of growth and gains for the Langley Elementary community!
Thank you to the teachers, administrators, aides and staff for the hard work and dedication, to the families who pitched in and participated, to the PTSA for their pride and support, and to the children for lighting up all our lives. Enjoy the well-earned break. Happy Summer! |
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