March 9, 2026

Hello Legacy Families!

What is it like to be a principal? I get asked that question often, by parents, friends, family, and especially by former students I run into out in the wild (many of which are all grown up and with their own kids now). I often reflect back to my elementary principal, Mr. Gebben. Although I had no idea that my future self would become a principal, I certainly looked up to Mr. Gebben as a student. I think back to what it was like to be a principal during that time. There was no email, no text messages, and no computers for staff or administration. The school only had 3 Radio Shack TRS-80 portable computers on carts designated for students use. The elementary office had one secretary with a typewriter and a phone. There were around 280 students in the K-6 building and my class had 35 students from kindergarten all the way to 6th grade. Times were certainly much different back then.

So, what is it like then to be a principal in 2026? My immediate answer would be, "busy." There are definitely a lot of things to keep track of, things that need constant attention, and many decisions that need to be made on a daily basis. My schedule is full of trying to solve problems at the speed of incoming email, being responsible for not just a building filled with staff, but hundreds of students as well. Some days can be fairly straight forward and quiet where I am able to work on different projects and planning, but other days I find it hard to catch a breath going from one very different situation to the next.

Probably the most difficult part of the job for sure can be decision making. Some decisions are really easy, others take a lot of thought, time, or team discussions. Almost assuredly when making decisions, someone will not agree with the decision made, even when a lot of thought and care has been taken. On occasion, something just doesn’t work the way you thought it would.

By far the best part of this job is spending the day working with amazing students and a fantastic staff. Even after difficult days, I wake up ready to come to work because most days I get to greet students as they enter our building. I get to see our hard working staff ensuring each student gets a day of quality education. After 25 years in education, I could write an entire page of why I like doing what I do, but I am in danger of going too long and I must wrap up.

Thank you all for being a part of Legacy! Please, if there are any concerns, reach out. I am happy to speak with you any time. Spring break is right around the corner!

Tony Vruggink

Principal

The LABOD (Legacy Academy Board of Directors) will have a board meeting on February 24, 2026 at 6pm in the cafeteria (AGENDA HERE). If you cannot attend the LABOD meeting in person, feel free to watch via this Zoom link. You can find the past meeting minutes on our website or click HERE. Attending these meetings counts towards volunteer time.

March is National Nutrition Month and the Sprouts Healthy Communities Foundation is helping kids grow healthy through nutrition education and hands-on gardening programs that bring learning to life. Legacy Academy received a donation of seeds and $2,000 to start a school garden. With the support of Sprouts Healthy Communities Foundation, we look forward to teaching children how to grow and prepare fresh, nutritious foods, and empowering them with the tools they need to develop healthy eating habits that last a lifetime.

Please have your student(s) check lost and found before spring break. Any lost and found items that have not been claimed will be donated to a charitable organization on Friday, March 13th. Please label everything. When children participate in sports and change out, they misplace their uniforms, and we need a name to return them. Please label polos, pants, shirts, shorts, jackets, and sports practice items.

A friendly reminder of the procedures and rules of our carpool lines:

1. Please stay in your vehicle. It is imperative for your safety and the safety of your student and our staff that you remain in your vehicle. We will safely help your student(s) from your car. If you would like to exit the vehicle or need to assist with items, car seats, etc., please pull into the visitor lot and do so there.
2. Students need to exit and enter the vehicle on the curb side for safety reasons. If this cannot be accomplished, please park in the visitor parking and we will escort them across the crosswalk.
3. We do our best to not allow students in the front (north carpool) line to exit or enter on the west side of the crosswalk. We are not always adequately staffed to allow students to enter or exit their cars at that spot. Please wait to be waved down the line and your student will meet you there.
4. On that note…please pull all of the way down to the end of the carpool line to allow for other cars to line up behind you for students to drop off and pick up. We have staff eagerly waving you down the line to help assist your student(s).
5. Please do not pull out of the carpool line. We have had some near misses with parents who have parked in the parking lot and are pulling through the through lane with parents who have cut out of line. Please be patient. We do our best to keep the line moving as smoothly and safely as possible. Our staff will let you know if you can pull out of the line.
6. Please do not cut through the staff parking lot to enter or exit the front carpool line.
7. Please be mindful of conversations with the staff working carpool as we would like to keep carpool moving!
8. Your carpool number MUST be visible when entering the carpool line. Tinted windows make it hard to read numbers that are either on the top of the windshield, visor or on your dash. If you are missing your carpool number, we will ask you to enter the building and show a form of identification to pick up your student(s).
9. Please obey traffic laws and suggestions on Legacy Trail and Legacy Circle. Elbert County Sheriff's department is monitoring the illegal left hand turns into the Legacy parking lot. Keep in mind you can only turn RIGHT into the front parking lot and RIGHT out of the front parking lot. Please, NO RIGHT hand turn onto Legacy Trail from Legacy Circle for the back carpool line. When entering the back carpool line, you must turn LEFT onto Legacy Trail. When exiting, you can turn left or right off of Legacy Trail IF the traffic is clear.

Calling all photos for our yearbook collection! We need your photos! Please make sure you select the correct event when submitting your great event photos.

Hello parents and staff of Legacy Academy! The time is fast approaching when you will be called upon to elect a director to the Legacy Academy Board. There are two seats with a three-year term available this election year.

We ask anyone interested in running for the board position to submit a one-page biography. In that biography, we would like you to address the following questions:

• Family Background – please briefly describe your family background, occupation, and interests.

• Education Philosophy – please describe your educational philosophy and how you see it fulfilling the vision of Legacy Academy.

• Mission Statement Interpretation – please describe your interpretation of Legacy Academy’s Mission Statement and how you envision a board member’s responsibility for implementing it.

• Commitment to Legacy Academy – please describe your understanding and commitment to Legacy Academy.

All submissions are due by Friday, April the 3rd, 2026, and should be submitted to Jennifer Roden at jennifer.roden@legacyk8.org. Candidates will have multiple opportunities to meet with families and have a short on-camera interview link in the Legacy Ledger.

Important Dates

Bio Submission Deadline - Friday, April 3rd

LABOD Meeting - Meet the Candidates - Tuesday, April 14th 6pm

Election - Thursday, April 23rd

What Do School Boards Do?

The Legacy Academy community elects a school board of five members to oversee the school and ensure the community's desires are met. A typical school board meeting will include many business items, such as approving the school calendar, adopting curriculum, overseeing construction, and approving contracts with outside vendors. A successful school board will balance the discussion of the seemingly tedious business of running the school while paying close attention to the school’s priorities for academic achievement.The school board’s primary responsibilities are to:

• Set the vision and goals for the school

• Adopt policies that give the school directions to set priorities and achieve its goals.

• Hire and evaluate the administrator.

• Adopt and oversee the annual budget.

Qualities of Great School Board Members

• Great school board members have a clear vision for the school. They set the vision and goals and measure the school's success against the goals.

• Great school board members focus on moving the school forward and educating all students to meet high standards.

• Great school board members work as a team. They collaborate well with others and respect the other board members and administrators.

• Great school board members adopt a fiscally sound budget. They pay attention to finances and regularly monitor the school's fiscal health.

• Great school board members focus on what is best for all students. They focus on student achievement and implementing policies that will ensure success for all students and not a personal agenda.

• Great school board members advocate for public education at the local, state, and national levels. They take advantage of opportunities to communicate the needs of schools to other levels of government and advocate for strong schools.

• Great school board members conduct themselves in a respectful, collaborative manner in public.

• Great school board members come to meetings prepared.

• Great school board members avoid “rubber stamping” proposals and are willing to ask hard questions.

• Great school board members do not micromanage. They focus attention on overall policies and are respectful of each others’ time rather than focusing on just one issue or talking aimlessly at meetings.

Board elections are coming up in April and we invite you to consider running for a PTCO board position. Serving on the board is a great way to support students and staff and help shape school events. No experience needed, just a willingness to help our school. These events provide meaningful opportunities for students to connect beyond the classroom and strengthen our school community. If you are interested in running please submit your bio to ptco@legacyk8.org by March 31st.

Kindergarten parents, please know that students will attend school for their last full day, Friday, May 15th. We will have their graduation ceremony on Monday, May 18th at 12:30 pm in the gym. Children will arrive at noon to go to their classrooms to put on caps and gowns, and parents will be seated in the gym. We have an inventory of caps and gowns for the children during the ceremony. These will be cleaned before we put them on the children. When the ceremony is complete, we ask parents to return to their cars and enter the front carpool. The children will go to their classrooms to remove their gowns, and we will dismiss them through the front carpool area. We are preparing for this exciting day! If you intend on taking other children attending Legacy Academy to the graduation ceremony, please fill out the following information https://forms.gle/rgCRVchYDCBScepz9

We invite you to our 5th grade continuation ceremony, scheduled for Wednesday, May 20th at 9:30am in the gymnasium, the last day of school. Students will be dropped off through the carpool at 8am. Please have your child dress in appropriate, nicer clothing. This is not a formal event, but it is worthy of dressing a little nicer. We ask that parents return to the school at 9:30am for our celebration.

If you usually use the front carpool line, please park in the carpool area located farthest north, parallel to Legacy Circle, but not in the fire lane adjacent to the school. The other option is to back into the parking spaces in front of the building to ease into the carpool lane after the ceremony. If you pick up your children in the back middle school lane, please park directly in the carpool lane. PLEASE DO NOT BLOCK THE DUMPSTERS.

We ask students to bring a treat to share (brownies, cupcakes, cookies, chips, cheese and crackers, pretzels, finger-food-sized vegetables or fruit, juice boxes, small water bottles, etc.). Following the program, we will have a brief reception and conclude around 11:35am. We will take the children back into the building to retrieve their belongings. Parents should return to their cars and pick up the children, as usual, through the carpool lane they use. Students will be released at noon, along with the rest of the school. Have a great summer. We have enjoyed working with your children.

As always, if you have any questions, you may email Ms. Miller and Ms.Yates.

8th grade graduation will be on May 18th at 5:30pm. Graduation gowns must be ordered by April 3rd to arrive in time for graduation. The cost is $20. An online order form is available for your convenience. We will deliver caps and gowns to them on May 11th. The graduation ceremony is semi-formal, so please iron your student’s gown. On May 18th, your student must be at school from 8-10am for graduation rehearsal and must be in uniform. Students must be picked up after rehearsal and may not leave the property. Students must return to school by 4:30pm and report to Mrs. Moore’s room (the last classroom on the west side of the building, before the exit doors). Please arrive promptly at 4:30pm so we can distribute cords/sashes and prepare. Only 8th grade students are allowed in the room before the ceremony. The graduation ceremony will begin at 5:30pm and last approximately one hour. There will be a 10-minute intermission while we prepare the cafeteria for a dance. This dance is for Legacy Academy 8th grade students only. Students will be dismissed out the back east doors and should be picked up promptly at 8:30pm.

Graduation Gown Order

Mar 10: LABOD Meeting 6pm, Legacy & Elizabeth Middle School Band Concert 6pm at EMS

Mar 12: Kids Heart Challenge Day & Jump Rope for Heart, End of 3rd Marking Period

Mar 13: No School - Teacher In-Service

Mar 16-20: No School - Spring Break

Mar 24: LABOD Meeting 6pm

Mar 26: Middle School Band Field Trip to CBA Band Festival, R.O.A.R Assembly 8:30am, Spring Sports Parent/Student Meeting 5:30pm

Mar 27: All School Dress of Choice

Mar 31: Middle School T.W.I.X. Assembly 8:15am

Apr 3: Spring Pictures/Spring Sports Photos, All School Dress of Choice

Apr 7: PTCO Meeting 5:30pm

Apr 10: Middle School Dress of Choice, Night of the Arts 4pm

Apr 14: LABOD Meeting 6pm

Apr 17: All School Dress of Choice

Apr 22: K-3 Concert 6pm

Apr 24: No School -Teacher In-Service

Apr 23: PTCO Field Day