Eagle Family Weekly News

Attendance

We are incredibly proud of our Eagles! East Lake Elementary was again ranked #1 among elementary schools in Henry County for attendance! 🎉 That is an accomplishment worth celebrating, and it reflects the commitment of our students and families to being present and ready to learn.

We know there is a direct connection between attendance and student achievement. Simply put: students have to be here to learn!

We ask that you partner with us by making school attendance a priority. Of course, if your child is truly sick—vomiting, experiencing diarrhea (or “dia-rah-rah,” as my family calls it! 😊), or running a fever—please keep them home and allow them time to recover. We do not want to spread germs!

Otherwise, send those Eagles to school! 🦅 Every day and every instructional minute matters.

Thank you for helping us keep our #1 attendance ranking and, more importantly, giving your child every opportunity to learn, grow, and succeed!

I appreciate your partnership!

Dana

As we journey through the year, if you have questions about grades, instruction, or other classroom-specific matters, please reach out directly to your child’s teacher. Barring unusual circumstances, you can expect a response within 24 business hours. (I fully encourage—and actually prefer—that our teachers disconnect on weekends and school holidays to recharge and rest.)

If you have questions or concerns that extend beyond the classroom, please don’t hesitate to contact us at the school. We’re here to support you and your child every step of the way.

Kindergarten, 2nd, and 4th Grade Administrator: Ms. Varian
Corletha.Varian@henry.k12.ga.us

1st, 3rd, and 5th Grade Administrator: Ms. Southern

Melissa.Southern@henry.k12.ga.us

Principal: Dana Flowers

Dana.Flowers@henry.k12.ga.us

With your ongoing support and partnership to ensure safe, secure, and supportive learning environments, we are confident that this will be our greatest adventure...yet!

Your child has access to hundreds of eBooks and audiobooks through the Sora app! Sora is available on your student's Launchpad and can also be downloaded from app stores on other devices, making it easy to read anytime, anywhere. We're excited to celebrate that Henry County students have reached an incredible milestone of ONE MILLION Sora checkouts! Thank you for helping make reading a daily habit.

What can reading 20 minutes each day do for your child?

The Power of 20 Minutes

• Word exposure: You read 1.8 million words a year.

• Book count: You finish about 30 books a year (10 to 15 pages a day).

• Better focus: Sitting down for 20 minutes trains your brain to pay attention.

• Lower stress: Reading helps your body and mind relax.

Our first few weeks of school always come with a little traffic learning curve as we work together to establish our routines. This year, we have an increased number of car riders, so we want to make sure everyone is clear on our morning arrival procedures.

The good news? By Friday, all of our students were inside the building by 7:38! 🎉 We are confident that as everyone becomes familiar with the routine, tomorrow will be the start of our new normal.

🚗 A Few Important Reminders

We have three options for student arrival in the morning:

🚌 BUS LANE — STUDENT DROP-OFF | 7:15–7:30 AM ONLY
The bus lane may be used for parent student drop-off between 7:15 and 7:30 AM only. After 7:30, please use one of the designated car-rider options below.

🔵 RIGHT-HAND LANE — STUDENT DROP-OFF
This lane is for families who are dropping students off at the front of the building at the curb.

🟢 MIDDLE LANE — PARK & WALK
This lane is for parents who prefer to park and walk their student to the curb/front entrance
.

🚨 PLEASE REMEMBER:
NO STUDENT DROP-OFF MAY OCCUR IN ANY LANE EXCEPT A DESIGNATED FRONT-CURB DROP-OFF AREA.

For the safety of our students, students may not exit the vehicle and walk to the curb from the middle or far parking areas without an adult escort.

Be patient. Be alert. Be safe. We are getting there! 🦅

Monday: August 10

• BOE Study Session (4pm) and Meeting (7pm)

Tuesday: August 11

• iReady Math Diagnostic Assessment (Grades 1 - 5)

Wednesday: August 12

• Happy Birthday, Hayli Smith! 🎉

Thursday: August 13

• iReady Reading Diagnostic (Grades 1 - 5)
• Math Collab Planning for all grades
• CARE Team Meeting, 2:45 pm

Friday: August 14

• Family Night Friday! What are you doing to celebrate another awesome week of school?

As a service to our families, Ms. Varian has created a Bus Remind to provide you with the pertinent details regarding bus transportation that is specific to your child's route.

We encourage you to sign up for the Remind group for your child’s bus only. We will use this platform to share important transportation updates, changes, and information as it becomes available.

Thank you for partnering with us to help keep our families informed and our students’ transportation experience running smoothly! 🦅

Students in Grades 1 - 5 attended their first school assembly this week! For kindergarten, we visited their classrooms to share the school news. With all students, we addressed behavior expectations with a focus on our positive behavior supports and recognition! Please review this with your student and pay attention to the number of stars issued to your child each day.

If you have questions, reach out to your child's teacher for details or to schedule a conference.

At East Lake, we believe that all students can learn and grow in a safe, respectful, and supportive environment. Creating this environment is a shared responsibility among staff, students, and families.

We are committed to ensuring that every student is treated with dignity and respect. Positive behavior is not only encouraged—it is intentionally taught, modeled, and reinforced by our staff. These lessons help students develop the confidence, skills, and attitudes they need to succeed in school and beyond.

We also know that when schools and families partner together, students thrive. We ask our families to join us in reinforcing positive behavior messages at home to create consistency and shared expectations.

💫 What Does It Mean to SOAR at East Lake?

Our students are encouraged to demonstrate the following core behaviors each day:

• Safe

• On-Task

• Accountable

• Respectful

These four pillars of behavior guide all interactions and expectations within our school.

🏆 Recognizing Positive Choices

Students have multiple opportunities to be recognized for making positive behavior choices:

• Weekly Eagle Feather Drawings with fun prizes

• Random Acts of SOARing recognition

• Classroom Awards

• Quarterly Behavior Celebration Days (every 9 weeks): Students who meet the behavior point requirements during each term will be invited to participate in these celebrations.

⚠️ When Behavior Doesn’t Meet Expectations

We understand that children are learning and growing, and sometimes mistakes happen. When students exhibit minor behaviors that disrupt the learning environment, we implement our
5-Step Behavior Plan:

1. Warning – Reminders and reset opportunities provided

2. Conference with student – Guided support of behavior expectations

3. Behavior Reflection – Reflection will be completed by student & sent home for parent review

4. Citation Form – Citation completed and sent home for parent signature

5. Behavior Check-In with member of A-Team (Principal, AP, Heart Coach, Counselor or Instructional Coach)
   
   

Each of these steps will reduce the number of stars students earn in one day. Daily star accrual will help determine eligibility for positive behavior celebrations.

Please know the following:

• Prior to issuing a step, teachers have provided reminders, behavior interventions (as appropriate for individual students), and opportunities for improvement.
• All staff members may redirect your student's behavior.
• Specials teachers will communicate behavior concerns with homeroom teachers.

📝 More Serious Violations

For behavior that violates the Henry County Schools Code of Conduct, a formal Behavior Referral will be submitted to administration (Ms. Flowers, Ms. Southern, or Ms. Varian). In these cases:

• An investigation will occur of the incident reported.

• A consequence will be issued based on district guidelines.

• The student may become ineligible to attend the Behavior Celebration.
  
  

By working together, we can help every student SOAR—not just in behavior, but in learning and life!

Our Backpack Buddies program is designed to support families who may benefit from additional food assistance over the weekend. Students enrolled in the program receive a discreet bag of non-perishable food each Friday to help ensure they have access to meals when school is not in session. If you would like your child to participate, please sign up using the QR code.

Click here for additional details about routines and procedures at East Lake.

Please consider leading our community as a member of our PTO Executive Board! Interest forms are coming home with all Eagles this week.

Stay tuned for a sign-up link if you are available to volunteer to help with set-up, operations, or clean-up of this incredible event!

Please see the menu and details for increased cost of lunch and breakfast this year. You can find details and submit an application for the Free & Reduced Lunch Program by clicking this link and choosing the best option.