Dec. 12, 2021

It's a Vote that Really Matters - Don't Click Past it
By Barbara Cohen
School Director
Our teachers don't do what they do for accolades. They do it because they are passionate about knowledge, education, and impacting the lives of children.
Nevertheless, it is critically important that we as a staff and as families support our teachers in every way possible.
So, as we come to the end of 2021, we want to thank all the parents and families who have voted for our “Teacher of the Month” this school year.
To acknowledge our 2021 Teacher of the Month winners, we want to say, “We appreciate you!” to these amazing teachers:
August - Mrs. Kaitlin Brooks, 1st-grade teacher, and Mrs. Jennifer Kruseman, EC teacher
September - Mrs. January Howell, high school teacher
October - Mrs. Peggy Hill, K-5 Music teacher
November - Ms. Kate Illian, 2nd-grade teacher, and Mr. Judson High, 3rd-grade teacher.
December’s Teacher of the Month voting will end this week. Will you please take a moment to share whom you believe deserves to be our December Teacher of the Month? VOTE NOW
From the Nurse's Office
Hello Raptor Families!
At the December 9th Special Board of Directors meeting, the board voted unanimously to continue the mask mandate until the next board meeting in January. The board also voted to allow school administrators to change to a mask optional policy if certain metrics are met. The metrics that must be met to change from a mask required to a mask optional requirement is as follows:
Rutherford County, Henderson, and Polk County transmission rates are in the yellow or blue: Moderate Level or Low Level for 14 consecutive days or more.

The school recommended using a 14-day transmission rate as a metric based on other districts (Henderson County, Polk, Rutherford) which had to reverse their mask optional policy and return to mask required due to quarantines and COVID positive rates changing in less than 7 days. Masks are only required in Henderson County Public Schools for pre-K to 6th grade through Jan. 1st.

Vaccinations are now available for students ages 5 and up which was not the case when school reopened on August 9, 2021. LLCA does not require vaccinations for any student. However, if students are vaccinated this could potentially reduce the number of COVID positive cases and reduce the number of students who have to quarantine due to exposure.
Box Tops for Education
Want an easy way to help support LLCA with the shopping you already do? Sign up for Box Tops for Education! No more clipping and counting - just scan and go! You can scan paper receipts with the free Box Tops App, or forward your digital receipt from online shopping.

Report Card Time is on the Horizon
Report cards will be issued for Q2 on January 5th, 2022. We will send home report cards with K-5 students on that day. For grades 6-12, we will mail the report cards on January 5th. If you would like to view your student’s progress before report cards are issued, you may do so through your PowerSchool account. The grades will be finalized by December 17th before teachers leave for the Winter Holiday. If you need help logging in to PowerSchool, please contact Mrs. Youngblood at gyoungblood@llcharter.org
Literacy at Home: Digital Children's Reading Initiative
The North Carolina Department of Public Instruction’s (DPI) Office of Early Learning has developed and released a new virtual resource, Literacy at Home, to help support North Carolina’s youngest readers. Literacy at Home provides activities specific to each grade level from pre-kindergarten through fifth grade. This online resource provides background knowledge 

on evidence-based literacy practices, as well as instructional activities for families and caregivers. Users can explore this free online resource, sort by skill, and begin to explore the essential components of literacy such as phonological and phonemic awareness, phonics and spelling, fluency, vocabulary, oral language, and comprehension. By learning about each of these essential components of language, caregivers can effectively aid younger students in learning how to read. Learn More
  • Dec. 14-17: End-of-Course state testing for High School Students:
  • Tuesday, December 14th: English II EOC
  • Wednesday, December 15th: Math I EOC
  • Wednesday, December 15th: Math III EOC 
  • Thursday, December 16th: Biology EOC 
  • Dec. 17: Polar Express Day for Elementary School Students
  • Dec. 20-Jan. 3: Winter Break, School Closed. (No newsletter published)
Kindergarten & Elementary Update:            
Over 200 Attend LLCA's Winter Joy Concert
 Our elementary students had a very busy week preparing and performing in our annual Winter Performance. “Winter Joy” was held this week in the Raptor Center. It was directed by Mrs. Peggy Hill. Coach Elizabeth Parke and Mrs. Sonya Blakeley assisted with students behind the scenes. The evening performance began with Ms. Colette’s K-2 Tap Club - The Sleigh Ride Dancers. The audience was taken through a myriad of songs and acts that included snowmen, elves, bongo players, Raptor Bells, and Hawaiian Christmas hula dancers. It ended with the Raptor Sticks students rocking out Green Sleeves via bucket drumming. Mrs. Hill is an outstanding teacher who instills the love of music in her students.
Free Binders
We are excited to announce that we have received funding for all of our middle schoolers to receive a binder.... free of charge! If you have sent funds to purchase a binder, you should have received a refund on 12/8/2021.

Testing Dates 
January 24th - January 28th, 2022 Star 360 Reading and Math K-8
February 14th - February 25th, 2022 - \\ NC Check-Ins Science 5 and 8 and Reading and Math 3-8

Fun Fridays
Students who have no missing assignments and no behavior referrals will be able to participate in a fun activity during WIN time. The students enjoyed socializing, playing kickball, and/or hiking for the 2nd Fun Friday. We plan to play board games this Friday. 
Uniforms
Please continue to have your child do a quick uniform check before they leave home. Beginning January 4th, teachers and students will be conducting uniform checks every morning during Homeroom.

SOAR Expectations - It's a Team Effort
Please remind your children to please be mindful of displaying the SOAR Expectations while on the bus and all other areas within the school.  Safe, Organized, Achieving, and Respectful.
Student's Night In, Parent's Night Out - A Huge Success

On Friday, December 3rd, the National Honor Society and the National Junior Honor Society hosted an event for parents to have a night out, and for kids to have a fun and festive night in!
 The event was held as a fundraiser for the organization and allowed NHS student leaders to put to practice the leadership skills they learned a month ago at the NHS Lead Conference. The students organized, planned, and hosted the event with great success! 
 The event hosted nearly fifty children while their parents went shopping, ate a nice dinner together, or maybe even took a much-deserved nap. The children’s event began with a snack and a get-to-know-you activity with their group leaders. After this, the children went to various rotating stations: cornhole, Simon Says, a holiday card craft station, Just Dance!, and dodgeball. After several hours of play with the older students, the children enjoyed a pizza dinner. The evening ended with a cozy lights-out movie in the gym—eating candy canes and watching Frozen 2. 
 The event was a success for all, and the NHS thanks the administration, and the NHS students, and their families, for all of their support. 
Our next Basketball game is January 6th at Long Shoals, and the next home game is on January 11th against RMCA. Spring sports tryouts begin Feb. 14th. Physicals and forms are required. Print them here
Holiday Helping Hands Gift Wrapping Party takes Place at Lake Lure Town Hall
As part of the community effort to ensure that all Raptor students in need have a good Christmas, Lake Lure Classical Academy, The Town of Lake Lure, the Lake Lure Police Department, and Lake Lure Baptist Church worked together to raise money and purchase gifts for the Holiday Helping Hands Campaign. Here, the elves were busy this week wrapping all the gifts. Thank you to everyone who supported this fun and meaningful annual campaign!
Our Mission:
To provide an educational community with high academic and character expectations, creating life-long learners. 

Our Vision: 
To partner with community resources supporting a culture of mutual respect and academic excellence that reflects high quality and relevant instruction and produces college and/or career-ready graduates.
Visit us online at llcharter.org