*** Rigor in the Classroom - Mathematics ***

Ms. Alonso’s students are using hands-on manipulatives to solve word problems. 

Lawton Chiles Elementary School 2024-2025 Theme:

Level Up 2.0 - It Only Gets Better!

We have exciting news to share—our school has been recognized as a top school in OCPS District One for logging the most reading minutes in Beanstack! One school per School Board district was selected among schools who were Beanstack “newcomers” with less than 25% participation before the Let’s Read, OCPS challenge, and have improved beyond that benchmark to become a “Beanstack Igniter” or beyond. 

Thanks to our dedicated students, supportive families, and committed teachers, we have demonstrated the power of daily reading. As a reward for our hard work, our entire school has won a school-wide pizza party later this month, courtesy of the district. We will hold the celebration later this month! Details will be sent out to teachers and families soon. 

 

Reading at home plays a crucial role in building strong literacy skills, expanding vocabulary, and fostering a lifelong love for books. Your support in encouraging daily reading makes a huge difference in your child's academic success. Let’s keep the momentum going by continuing to read at home and logging those minutes!  


Thank you for being such wonderful partners in your child’s education. Together, we can continue to build a community of enthusiastic and skilled readers.  


Happy Reading!  


Erin Willis

Principal

THE LAWTON LEDGER

Wednesday, Feb. 12, 2025

Valentine's Day Dance is today!

Useful Links 

Lawton Chiles ES Website

Lawton Chiles ES Facebook

Code of Student Conduct

OCPS 2024-25 Calendar

Bus Information

OCPS Website

Connect with Lawton Chiles Elementary School
11001 Bloomfield Drive
Orlando, FL 32825
(407) 737-1470
Parent Engagement

o Phone: 407-737-1470, Fax: 407-737-1471

o School email: lawtonchiles_es@ocps.net

o Parent Engagement Liaison email: glenda.martinez@ocps.net

o Registrar email: enid.pabon@ocps.net

o Follow us on Facebook: Lawton Chiles Elementary – OCPS

o Follow us on X: @LCE_OCPS

o Talking Points

I am Glenda L. Martinez, your Parent Engagement Liaison for Lawton Chiles Elementary. My role is to bridge the gap between school and families. I support families, school staff and build community partnerships. I am passionate about life, family and helping others. My goal this year is to promote literacy and assist our LCE families by creating a cohesive, collaborative and coordinated system of support while building capacity in families so that all students can experience success.

Contact

Tel: (407) 737-1470 x. 3572311

Email: glenda.martinez@ocps.net

TODAY!

Valentine's Day Dance

TODAY!

Virtual Workshop - "Testing Season with your ELL in mind" - tinyurl.com/ELLTestingSeason21225


* Sponsored by OCPS Parent Academy (5:30pm)

February 2025 Calendar:

Schools closed Monday, Feb. 17 for Presidents Day.

After-School Tutoring on Tuesdays and Thursdays (Gr. 3-5):

Family Night at the Scholastic Book Fair

Thank you to those who joined us for Family Night at the Scholastic Book Fair! Hope your students came home with interesting books!

Family Literacy Night at LCE (Feb. 19):

Join us for Family Night and New Worlds Reading on Wednesday, Feb. 19, 2025.

All Pro Dad Meeting (Feb. 20):

Join us for our next All Pro Dad chapter meeting on Feb. 20, 2025 at 7:30am in the Media Center. Parents and family, come join us for a fun event with your students! Participate in activities and have a chance to win prizes. Your support makes a difference! We look forward to seeing you.

To our 5th grade parents/guardians:

Legacy Middle School is hosting a family night on Thursday, February 20th from 5 - 6:30pm.


Read Legacy Middle's latest Community Brief - Jets in Action! (Monday, Feb. 10)

SAC Meeting (Feb. 24):

Join us for our next SAC (Student Advisory Council) Meeting on Monday, Feb. 24th at 3:45pm in the Media Center. All are welcome!

Do you have questions about the Florida State Test?


Want to know how to find your student's results and track progress?


Join us for answers on Monday, Feb. 24th after the SAC/MPLC Meeting.


We appreciate your support!

VPK Registration coming soon!  


Students must be 4 years old by September 1, 2025. Please apply online with Florida Early Learning for the certificate here:


https://familyservices.floridaearlylearning.com/Account/Login/


Bring the certificate when dates are announced.

Superintendent Vazquez on New Year's resolutions and OCPS resources now that January has passed:

Feb. 3, 2025


Are you keeping up with your New Year's resolutions? On this week's Mondays with Maria presented by Addition Financial, Dr. Vazquez and Nancy Alvarez reveal the one resolution you absolutely should keep (and why!). Plus, find out the resources OCPS offers to help you on your journey.


** Listen to more on this topic on the Mondays with Maria Podcast, wherever you get your podcasts.

Volunteering at LCE


We would love to have nothing but 100% parent involvement at LCE! If you have not done so, please go to OCPS site and sign up to become an ADDitions School Volunteer. Once you do that, you will need to watch a safety video on your dashboard before we can place you to our school. Below is the link:

www.ocps.net/departments/community_resources_/a_d_ditions_school_volunteers

TalkingPoints


The TalkingPoints app is a free, two-way communication tool that allows teachers and families to communicate in multiple languages. 


  • Teachers can send messages to parents in their preferred language. 
  • TalkingPoints automatically translates messages into English for teachers. 
  • Families can send and receive messages in their preferred language. 


Any questions, please contact Ms. Glenda Martinez at (407) 737-1470 x. 3572311.

Accessing Test Scores Online:

PTA Membership

Join PTA at: 

https://lawtonchiles.memberhub.com

Food, Fun, and Fellowship at Lawton Chiles

Teachers of the Month


We want to continue to highlight our amazing staff at Lawton Chiles Elementary School with our Teachers of the Month. These teachers are recognized by their peers for all they do to help achieve our school mission and support student learning!


Ms. Flicker - 5th Grade

Principal Willis, Ms. Flicker, Assistant Principal Astone

Ms. Flicker goes above and beyond as a colleague; some of her teammates would even say she is an overachiever in the best way possible. She gets to work early, stays late and works so hard on creating engaging lessons. Ms. Flicker is a great team player, she is always ready to help! She is often the first person to offer to help anyone, at any time. As a colleague her knowledge of state standards for math and science are next to none. Ms. Flicker always has something positive to share about her students and you can tell that she adores them. She is genuine and a go-getter.


Ms. Flicker also goes above and beyond for her students; she really loves her students and it shows! She works so hard to make sure they can be their best selves. Many students look forward to greeting and visiting her classroom to talk with her every week. Ms. Flicker is student minded and is always looking for ways to connect with her students. She makes learning fun by creating engaging activities for students to help them learn to love science and math.


Ms. Tomashevska - Music

Mrs. Tomashefska with Assistant Principal Astone

Mrs. Tomashefska is a skilled musical artist and music teacher. Her passion for her job is evident every day. She is creative and brings endless energy to our school. She is a light that shines bright wherever she goes. You can hear her singing in the hallway in the mornings and her joy emanates from this school. Not only is Ms. Tomashefska joyful; she also has a positive attitude and is so caring and kind. She tells the best stories and always keeps you on your toes with her contagious laughter.


As the instructor of some of the awesome clubs offered by our school, she is extending learning for the children and teaching them that school is meant to be enjoyed. Mrs. Tomashefska helps develop life long skills. Our students are so lucky to learn from her.


National School Counselors Week - Ms. Jensen

Ms. Jensen with Principal Willis

The week of February 3, 2025 is recognized as National School Counselors week (always the first week of February). We celebrated our wonderful school counselor, Ms. Jensen, with a bouquet of flowers and a gift card to her favorite store. We are so glad to have her at Lawton Chiles supporting our students and families!

Familiar Faces in New Places


Mrs. McCall

We are excited to introduce a familiar face in a new role Mrs. Amy McCall! Many of you already know Mrs. McCall from her time as our dedicated media clerk, and we are thrilled that she will now be serving as our front office school clerk. In this role, she will be the welcoming face of our front office, assisting families and supporting our school community with warmth and professionalism.  


Ms. Sabrina Depaz

We are also pleased to share that Ms. Sabrina Depaz has transitioned into a new role as our school registrar. As our former school clerk, Mrs. Depaz is already a valued member of our team, and in this position, she will play a key role in helping families with enrollment and guiding them through the educational process. We are so grateful for her expertise and dedication to our students and families!

Learning at Lawton


We are celebrating Black History Month on campus. Every Friday for the month of February the staff will be wearing our Black History Month shirts. 

Deion Jones proudly showing off his new shirt.

Celebrating Black History Month at LCE:

Our staffing specialist, Alysha Jenkins, and our Speech Language Pathologist, Angela Griffin, have created a bulletin board in the front office. We are so grateful for the achievements Black Americans have made and are currently making for our country. From education and music to military and sports, their contributions are integral to American History. 

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Lawton Chiles Community footnote: Black History Month -- Did You Know???

1) Today there are about a quarter million active duty Black or African American military personnel in the U.S. armed forces (17.6% of total):

Source: Department of Defense Read full report

2) Growth in Black or African American adults with at least a 4-year college degree since 1940 (just prior to World War 2):

Source: US Census Bureau

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Our 5th grade students are engaged in a science lab learning about about the digestive system!

Nearby images: First grade students in Mrs. Jones’ class are engaged in hands on learning about text features!

Ms. Alonso’s students are using hands-on manipulatives to solve word problems. 

Ms. VanFossen’s math class is completing a cumulative review on fractions using a Jeopardy game! 

Our 5th grade Mathletes are working hard learning a new math game! They were engaged in learning and had a great time! 

Ms. Bober’s students are playing a game that allows them to practice their phonics and comprehension skills. 

Our kindergarten students celebrated the 100th day of school by dressing as if they were 100 years old! Ms. Smith's, Ms. Silva’s class and Ms. Perez’s classes pictured. 

Tennis, anyone?

Third grade having their first lesson on Tennis in PE with Coach Flores and Coach Meier. This is the first year that our students are having the opportunity to learn Tennis! 

Students in Ms. B’s VPK classroom practicing their foundational skills in small group!

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Thank you very much for reading.

Ms. Willis, Principal

Lawton Chiles Elementary School

February 12, 2025

11001 Bloomfield Drive
Orlando, FL 32825
Phone 407-737-1470
Fax 407-737-1471 | EEO Statement
This communication may contain information that is legally privileged, confidential or exempt from disclosure, and intended only for the use of the addressee(s) named above. If you are not the intended recipient, please note that any dissemination, distribution, or copying of this communication is strictly prohibited. Anyone who receives this message in error should notify the sender immediately by telephone or by return e-mail, and delete the message from their computer and any printout thereof. Please note that OCPS utilizes spam and junk e-mail filtration applications in its e-mail systems. That filtering process may prevent or delay delivery of certain e-mail communications. If you do not receive a timely response to an e-mail communication, please contact the intended recipient by phone.
Copyright Notice
Reproduction of this material, either written or electronically, including the general layout, graphics, analyses, and content topics without the express approval of Target Performance Systems, Inc., a Florida corporation, and OCPS - Lawton Chiles Elementary School is forbidden without written consent. Thank you for your support of Lawton Chiles Elementary School and the Orange County Public Schools. Please contact Principal Willis at 124924@ocps.net with any questions or for further information.