January 12, 2026

Dear Legacy Families,

I hope each of you had a wonderful winter break and that the first week back to school for the new semester was a happy one. In my last letter, I talked a little about our school’s implementation of Capturing Kids’ Hearts (CKH) and how it drives how we operate here at Legacy. For my next few letters to you, I’d like to share pieces of how you will see CKH in practice here at school!

Everything you’ll find with CKH comes out of what is called the “EXCEL Model”, which stands for: Engage, X-plore, Communicate, Empower, Launch. Engage and X-plore are integral components in the formation and maintenance of trusting relationships within the school. You’ll see Engage in practice when students are greeted by name when they get out of their cars, enter the building and their classroom. Staff seek opportunities to connect with the kids personally by checking in about their evening or weekend, and particularly when they know the student had a sports game, practice, or a birthday celebration. Knowing that the people around us care personally for us is an integral part of relationship building. We see X-plore through daily journal questions and sharing, and everyone’s favorite morning routine - “Good Things”! The steps of X-plore lay the groundwork for the new content for the day by tapping into prior learning and getting kids engaged right at the start of class.

There are many other ways that Engage and X-plore are seen throughout our days here at Legacy, so don’t be shy in asking your child’s teacher about ways they practice those parts of the CKH model each day at school. In upcoming letters, I’ll dive into Communicate, Empower, and the mighty “Launch”, so stay tuned!

We’re excited for what the second half of our school year holds, so cheers to the second semester! As always, feel free to reach out to us with any questions you may have about your child’s experience here at Legacy. We truly value your partnership.

Sincerely,

Anna Bengtsson

Elementary Assistant Principal

Now that we are back into the swing of things, we wanted to remind our bus rider families of a few things:

• If your student rides the bus in the afternoon, please make sure to email any changes to the front office (Office@legacyk8.org) and your student's teacher no later than 2:30pm. For example - if you are changing your student's NORMAL routine for the afternoon and need them to go to carpool or after care, please inform us as soon as possible.
• We also need to be sure the bus leaves Legacy on time to make its connections to the neighborhood buses. A lot of last-minute shuffling creates confusion and can create a bit of chaos. Please take a moment every morning to remind your student about their after school activities - sports, clubs, after care or how they are getting home (carpool or bus).
• We are unable to accommodate other students going home with bus riders at this time.
• Student safety is our priority and we want to make sure they are where they need to be, when they need to be there. We have a lot of students to keep track of at the end of the day and we want to ensure that they all get home safely and in a timely manner.

The Legacy Academy Science Fair will be March 5th but we need your student's Intent to Participate Form by January 13th. One form is for middle school and one form is for grades K-5. Once students complete the form and return it to school, they will receive information on how to display their project board.

Science Fair Parent Letter with K-5 Intent Form

Grab your sneakers and join us for an evening of friendly completion and quality time with your mom (or special adult) on January 24th from 3-5pm. If you would like to be a judge for this event and help setup please email vickey.harjo@legacyk8.org

Student Council will partner with the Elizabeth High School Make-A-Wish program again this year. We will offer a Dress of Choice on Monday, January 26th for $2. All proceeds will go to Make-A-Wish. Also, the Student Council will be raffling two stuffed animals. Students may purchase raffle tickets the week of January 26th during morning carpool. Tickets are $1 each. The winners will be announced during morning announcements on Jan 30th. Every child deserves moments of joy, hope, and imagination- especially during life’s toughest challenges. You may make a donation of any size to this cause.

Wranglers Community Spaghetti Dinner & Fundraiser February 1st from 4–6pm (Doors open 3:30pm) Elizabeth High School $20/adult, $10/kids 10 & under full meal included + silent auction, 50/50 raffle, and more! Come eat, socialize, and celebrate the Wranglers community Tickets on sale through January 25th at 8pm. All proceeds benefit the tournament baseball teams. Three teams are hosting this event to raise funds for equipment, practice fields, tournaments and more for their 2026 season. Thank you for your support!

https://elbertcountywranglers.betterworld.org/events/wranglers-community-spaghetti-di-2

Jan 13: LABOD Meeting 6pm

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

Jan 16: 5th Grade Field Trip to Ameritowne, 6th & 7th Grade Field Trip to International Towne, 8th Grade Field Trip to Cave of the Winds, Kinder Shape Pizza Day, $2 Dress of Choice

Jan 19: No School - MLK Day

Jan 22: Winter Sports Parent & Student Meeting 5:30pm

Jan 23: Class Pictures/Winter Sports Pictures, All School Make-A-Wish Assembly 2:30pm, No Dress of Choice

Jan 24: PTCO Mother & Son Dodgeball Event 3pm

Jan 26: Kids Heart Challenge Kick Off Assembly 2:15pm, $2 Dress of Choice for Make-A-Wish

Jan 27: 7th & 8th Grade Band at the Capitol, LABOD Meeting 6pm

Jan 29: All School Dress of Choice

Jan 30: No School - Teacher In-Service

Feb 3: Kindergarten & First Grade 100th Day of School, PTCO Meeting 5:30pm

Feb 6: Middle School Winter Dance 5:30pm

Feb 7: PTCO Nerf Night 5:30pm

Feb 10: LABOD Meeting 6pm

Feb 11: All School Dress of Choice, 8th Grade Parent Night at EHS 6:30pm

Feb 12-13: No School- Spring Conferences

Feb 16: No School - Presidents' Day

Feb 28: PTCO Father/Daughter Dance 6pm

Mar 5: PTCO Science Fair 4pm

See more events and club schedules HERE