Lake Forest Families,

We are excited for another great week at Lake Forest! This week, we will celebrate Start With Hello Week, a special opportunity to remind our students just how powerful a simple “hello” can be.

Throughout the week, students can participate in optional dress-up days and activities focused on kindness, connection, inclusion, and belonging. Every student will also receive a Start With Hello bracelet as a reminder to notice others, reach out, and help everyone feel included.

This week is a wonderful reflection of what we believe at LFE—Love Every Child. Challenge Every Learner. Lift Each Other. 💙💛

Encourage your Leopard to look for someone who may need a friend, offer a kind word, invite someone to join in, or simply start with hello! 🐆💚

It’s great to be an LFE Leopard!

Wishing you well,
Julie Cooke
Principal

Lake Forest Elementary School

When we assume positive intent, we remind ourselves that children are still learning the skills they need to handle big feelings, solve problems, and make good choices.

Positive intent does not mean ignoring inappropriate behavior. Instead, it helps us stay calm while communicating two important messages:

“That choice was not helpful—and I know you are capable of making a better one.”

When children feel that we believe in the goodness within them, they are often more open to correction, willing to learn a new skill, and ready to try again.

💡 Parent Tip: When your child makes a poor choice, focus less on “Why did you do that?” and more on “What can I teach you to do differently next time?”

What makes Lake Forest Elementary special to your family? Maybe it’s a teacher who made a difference, a moment when your child felt truly known and loved, the diversity of our school community, the relationships you’ve built, or simply the feeling that LFE is home. 🐆

We believe some of the very best stories about Lake Forest should come from the people who experience it every day—our families!

We invite you to take a few minutes to share your positive LFE story through the Google Form below. Your voice can help us celebrate our incredible community and show others what makes choosing Lake Forest so special.

✨ Real stories. Real families. One incredible community.

💙 Love Every Child.
💛 Challenge Every Learner.
💙 Lift Each Other.

This is the LFE Advantage. This is the LFE choice.

🐆 We are THAT Lake Forest.

👇 Share your story here:

https://forms.gle/nrbZhSNbzjxxESK48

This week, Lake Forest Elementary is participating in Start With Hello Week, a national initiative focused on helping students build connections, include others, and spread kindness.

Throughout the week, students are invited to participate in optional dress-up days and special activities that encourage friendship, connection, and a sense of belonging. Every student will also receive a Start With Hello bracelet as a reminder that something as simple as saying “hello,” inviting someone to join, or showing kindness can make a BIG difference!

We are excited to celebrate a week dedicated to making sure every LFE Leopard feels seen, included, and valued. 💚🐆

At Lake Forest, we Lift Each Other! 💙💛

Our friends at Wade Hampton High School are gearing up for Spirit Week, September 19–24, and they’re inviting the entire community to join the fun!

Throughout the week, families can enjoy community events including a Youth Sports Camp, car washes, Music at the Hamp, Wade’s Got Talent, a Silent Auction, Spaghetti Dinner, and several local restaurant profit shares.

LFE families—let’s show some love to our Wade Hampton community and support our future Generals!

Check out the flyer for dates, times, locations, and registration information. Go Generals!

We're inviting everyone to join the Lake Forest Elementary PTA for just $6!

Parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, neighbors, family friends, students...and yes, if your dog or cat could sign up, we'd welcome them too! 🐶🐱😊

Our PTA does an incredible job supporting our students, teachers, and school community all year long by funding programs, providing resources, hosting family events, and celebrating our amazing staff. Your membership helps make all of that possible.

Our goal is simple: one PTA member for every Lake Forest student. Every membership counts and helps support child advocacy, scholarships, educational resources, and so much more. Joining takes just a few minutes! Simply create an account through MemberHub and pay the $6 membership fee.

Join HERE today and help us make this our best year yet!