Aug 16, 20238 min read

LCTA PTA eROAR, August 16th, 2023

LCTA PTA eROAR, August 16th, 2023

To get eROARs directly in your inbox every week, sign up to be a PTA member!

Become a PTA member today! Only $10 per parent/guardian for the entire school year. First 50 sign ups get a free Lyles-Crouch car magnet! https://lyles-crouch.memberhub.com/store 🗓 Subscribe to the PTA calendar 🗓

Upcoming Dates: Friday, August 18, 8 am - 12 pm: Step Up to Kindergarten (K only) Friday, August 18, 12:30 - 2:30 pm: Open House (K-5) Friday, August 18, 11:30 am - 1 pm: Uniform Locker is open Friday, August 18, 7:30 - 8 am, 12:30 - 2:30 pm: PTA tabling outside front doors Monday, August 21: First Day of School! Monday, August 21, 7:30 - 8:30 am: Coffee + Kleenex Friday, August 25, 7:45 - 8:30 am: Uniform Locker is open Tuesday, August 29, 7 pm (zoom): Nuts + Bolts Friday, September 1 - Monday, September 4: Labor Day Holiday (No School) Friday, September 8, 5 - 8 pm: Back to School Family Picnic Thursday, September 14: Back to School Night (Parents/Guardians Only) Monday, September 18 - Friday, September 22: Scholastic Book Fair Week Tuesday, September 19, 5 - 8 pm: Family Book Fair Night

Welcome to our first eROAR for the 2023-2024 school year! We hope you've all been having a wonderful summer! At Lyles-Crouch Traditional Academy (LCTA), we are the LCTA Lions, and the eROAR is the weekly school email sent out by our wholly volunteer-led PTA! We're all so excited to welcome you to a fantastic school year ahead!

Table of Contents

Official welcome from our PTA President
School contact info
Welcome to our new registrar
ParentSquare + PowerSchool
Kindergarteners Only: Step up to Kindergarten
Open House (all grades, K-5!)
Uniform Locker: Open on 8/18 and 8/25
Come meet the PTA on 8/18 and 8/21
Nuts + Bolts on 8/29
First Day of School Prep
School Supply List
Uniform Policy

Official welcome from our PTA President Dear Lyles-Crouch Parents and Students, Welcome back (and welcome to new families!). I hope this letter finds you rejuvenated and excited for the upcoming school year. It is with great pleasure that I extend a warm welcome to you all as we reunite after a refreshing summer break. As the President of the Parent Teacher Association (PTA) here at Lyles-Crouch Traditional Academy, I am thrilled to kick off another year of collaboration, growth, and community-building. My son is a 5th grader this year, and through all the years at Lyles-Crouch I have been constantly amazed at the level of involvement by the community. I also want to take a moment to thank each and every parent and community member who has stepped up to be a part of the PTA Board this year. We have a fantastic team and I am grateful for everybody’s time and effort. The PTA plays a pivotal role in our school community by fostering a strong partnership between parents, teachers, staff, and students. Our mission is to enhance the educational experience of all Lyles-Crouch students and create an environment where each child can thrive. Here's a brief overview of what the PTA does:

Community Building: We organize various events and activities throughout the year that bring families together, allowing them to connect, share experiences, and build lasting friendships. From our back to school family picnic, to International Night, these events create a sense of belonging and support within our school community.
Support for Teachers and Staff: The PTA provides resources and assistance to our dedicated educators and staff. We help fund classroom supplies, professional development opportunities, and other tools that enrich the teaching and learning experience. The PTA also honors all teachers and staff for their dedication and work throughout the year through appreciation events.
Enrichment Programs: We offer a range of enrichment programs that enhance the curriculum and broaden students' horizons. These include funding school assemblies and field trips for all, as well as the book fair week coming up in September as well as running the Reflections program for our students.
Fundraising: Through various fundraising efforts, we support all the initiatives mentioned above. Our biggest fundraiser of the year, Lion Fest / Walkathon, helps pay for all the PTA sponsored activities and enrichment programs for your child - so thank you in advance for your generosity!
Advocacy: The PTA serves as a platform for parents to voice their concerns and ideas related to the school. We work collaboratively with school administration to address these concerns and advocate for positive changes.

As we embark on this new school year, I encourage you to get involved with the PTA. Whether you have a little time or a lot, your contributions make a significant difference in the lives of our students. Sign up to be a PTA member (remember - first 50 sign ups receive an awesome LCTA magnet for free), attend our monthly General Membership PTA meetings, volunteer at events, and share your ideas. Together, we can make Lyles-Crouch Traditional Academy an even more remarkable place for our children to learn and grow. Please mark your calendars for our upcoming Back to School Picnic on September 8th at 5 pm, where you'll have the opportunity to meet and connect with other families and learn more about the PTA. Once again, welcome (back) to Lyles-Crouch! Let's work hand in hand to make this school year the best one yet. Feel free to reach out to me at president@lctapta.org if you have any questions or ideas to share. Looking forward to an amazing year ahead! Shivani Chandra School contact info Main Office: (703) 706-4430 Principal: laura.burkart@acps.k12.va.us Assistant Principal: colleen.cassidy@acps.k12.va.us Registrar: kelly.dorcey@acps.k12.va.us Nurse: jasmine.wood@acps.k12.va.us Counselor: rachel.hoover@acps.k12.va.us Social Worker: kelly.robinson@acps.k12.va.us PTA President: president@lctapta.org Welcome to our new registrar Our new registrar, Ms. Kelly Dorcey, started on Monday! We extend her a warm welcome to the LCTA community! You can reach her at kelly.dorcey@acps.k12.va.us. Ms. Dorcey is also who you should contact with any absences or delayed arrival information throughout the school year. ParentSquare + PowerSchool Much-anticipated teacher assignments and transportation information will be shared with families today via ParentSquare. PowerSchool access will also open today. Please be on the lookout for a ParentSquare communication from your child's teacher this week. Kindergarteners Only: Step up to Kindergarten All rising kindergarten students will have the opportunity to meet their teacher, see their classrooms, tour LCTA, and experience a condensed schedule of a typical school day from 8 am – 12 pm on Friday, August 18. Lunch will be provided. Students may wear uniforms on Friday if they wish, but it is not required. Note: Students who are eligible for bus transportation will be picked up at their designated stop at the scheduled time. The dismissal time will be different due to the shortened day. The Department of Transportation will provide further information this week. More details can be found here: https://www.acps.k12.va.us/enroll Open House (all grades, K-5!) Students and families in all grades K-5 are invited to visit their classrooms and teachers during this time briefly. Supplies may be dropped off as well.* More info on school supplies follows below. *If you purchased school supplies through Sprout, the PTA will place them in your child's classroom for you. If your family needs assistance with supplies, please contact our Social Worker, Ms. Kelly Robinson.

Uniform Locker: Open on 8/18 and 8/25 Our school is a uniform school. As such, to help support our families, the PTA runs a Uniform Locker, which is stocked with gently used items for your family to shop free of charge. The Uniform Locker will be open on August 18th from 11:30 am - 1 pm and on August 25th from 7:45 - 8:30 am! All are welcome! The Uniform Locker is located by the side entrance of the school, near the school parking lot. Donations are accepted year-round to the front office or at the Locker itself whenever it is open. More info on specifics of our school Uniform Policy follows below. Come meet the PTA on 8/18 and 8/21 The PTA will be tabling outside the school's front doors on Friday, August 18th from 7:30 am - 8 am and then again from 12:30 pm - 2:30 pm! We are excited to welcome you to the school! Please come by to say hi, learn more about all the PTA does to support our school, and learn how you can become a member yourself! We will also be tabling outside the school's front doors on the first day of school, Monday, August 21st, from 7:30 am - 8:30 am for our Coffee + Kleenex event! Come join us for coffee, Kleenex, donuts, and chatting!

Nuts + Bolts on 8/29 An opportunity for all to learn all about our school and programs! This is a school-wide virtual information session. Please join us on Tuesday 8/29 at 7 pm, virtually, to learn all about Lyles-Crouch Traditional Academy. During this informative night, you will learn more about our rigorous curriculum, Core Knowledge, as well as general school information, Social, Emotional, and Academic Learning (SEAL), and much more! PTA will also be present to share a short intro to the PTA and the budget for vote. Please use the link below to join the webinar at 7 pm on Tuesday 8/29. Join Zoom Meeting https://acpsk12.zoom.us/j/9504686078 Meeting ID: 950 468 6078

First Day of School Prep The first day of school is on Monday 8/21. Official school hours for students are from 8 am until 2:35 pm daily. Arrival Time The cafeteria opens at 7:30 am for students eating breakfast. The main doors of the school open at 7:45 am for children to go straight into their classrooms for structured learning activities prior to the start of the official school day. *We strongly encourage being at school at 7:45 am.* Classes begin at 8 am. Students arriving after 8 am will be considered tardy and will need to be signed in by an adult in the office. Students not riding a bus to school each morning may be dropped off by car or walking. The car line runs parallel to our school building along Saint Asaph and Gibbon Streets. On the first day of school, families will say goodbye at the front of the building outside. We have many staff on hand to help our youngest children and new students find their classrooms AND we'll be hosting Coffee and Kleenex for our parents! Dismissal Time Afternoon dismissal will begin at 2:30 pm with the bus riders being dismissed first. Kindergarten students are dismissed on the bus loop side of the building also at 2:30 pm. Students being dismissed as car riders or walkers will be dismissed to the front of the building at 2:35 pm. Students attending Nannie J. Lee Rec. or YMCA are escorted to their bus by LCTA staff. Students attending Campagna are escorted by LCTA staff to the cafeteria. Meal Accounts We serve breakfast and lunch daily. Your child may bring or purchase lunch. ACPS uses SchoolCafe to manage meal accounts. Visit this site to set up your child's account: https://www.acps.k12.va.us/.../meal.../schoolcafe-payments. If purchasing breakfast or lunch, your child will use an ID number, which the teachers will have and they will help the students practice entering the number on the keypad. Some families may qualify for free or reduced cost meals. You can access the forms here: https://www.acps.k12.va.us/.../free-and-reduced-price-meals, or come into the school and we can assist in completing the forms. School Supplies The '23-'24 LCTA school supply list can be found here: https://lcta.acps.k12.va.us/families/school-supplies. Supplies can be brought to school during the first week of school (or during the Open House on 8/18, as noted above). A reminder that if you purchased supplies through Sprout, the PTA will deliver those to your child's classroom. If your family needs assistance with supplies, please contact our Social Worker, Ms. Kelly Robinson, at kelly.robinson@acps.k12.va.us. You can view the School Supply List below. Uniforms The Dress Code provides a standard for our students, which fosters an environment conducive to learning and respectful behavior. Please reference our uniform guidelines here for specific code requirements: https://lcta.acps.k12.va.us/families/uniform-policy. LCTA does not use a specific vendor; uniforms may be purchased anywhere. We also have a Uniform Locker at the school run by the PTA that is stocked with gently used items for your family to shop free of charge. You can view the School Uniform Policy Below.