Blog of Craig Smith: Beginning of Year Letter to LNC Families 2017

July 31, 2017

Dear Parents and Families of the LNC Community:

On behalf of the Lake Norman Charter High School faculty, staff, and administrative team, I would like to officially welcome you to the 2017-2018 school year. I am honored to serve as Principal of the High School. Your continuous support, in addition to our collaborative efforts aligned with the LNC’s mission and core values, will continue instilling our students with a lifelong desire to “learn, lead, and serve.”

This letter provides valuable information to assist in a fluid opening to the 2017-2018 school year. Please do not hesitate to contact me (csmith@lncharter.org) with any questions.

Schedule Distribution Day is Wednesday, August 9 from 8 AM - Noon at the High School. Thank you for using the Sign Up Genius to select your time to attend so we can be as efficient as possible. Student schedules will be available for pick-up and our PTO will be stationed in and around the HS gym for you to purchase locks and shop for LNC spirit gear. Remember, students are only allowed to use school-issued locks. Mr. Funchess, our new Assistant Principal, and I will be circulating throughout the gym to welcome you and your student(s).

For the second-year in a row, we will deploy student technology (HS laptops only) during Distribution Day in the HS Multipurpose Room (MPR). Please note that the Pay Pal button is now available for you to pay the 2017-2018 technology cost for your student(s). The tech usage cost of $125/student can conveniently be paid on the HS website by either clicking on the HS Pay Pal Portal icon at the bottom of the homepage or by clicking here. This cost must be paid by Monday, August 7.

To further assist with the flow of students, we encourage students with last names A - K to pick up their schedules in the HS GYM first, then go to the MPR for their laptop. Students last names L - Z are requested to pick up their technology first in the MPR, then visit the HS Gym to obtain their schedule.

Freshmen and New Student Orientation will take place on Tuesday, August 15 at 6:30 PM.. If you have a 9th grader or a student new to LNC, please join us in the HS MPR for a brief welcome, followed by the opportunity to meet your students’ teachers and chance to tour the building and locate your classes. Please make sure to bring your schedule with you to the orientation, as we will not be able to provide a copy of the schedule for you.

The Opening Day of school is Thursday, August 17. Our start time is 7:45 AM and our dismissal time is 2:45 PM. We appreciate your patience during the first few weeks of carpool, as it will take some time for everyone to learn their procedures. The carpool procedures will be communicated before the opening of school.

Thank you for recognizing the importance of attending every class and minimizing non-essential absences. Not only is strong attendance through the school year key to your student's success and required for athletic/extra-curricular participation, attendance the first few weeks of school is used to calculate state funding. Therefore, excessive absences results in insufficient resources for our school and students.

Two very important events transpire during the last week in August. The “Back-to-School” Night for the high school will occur on Tuesday, August 29 at 6 PM, giving all families the chance to visit classrooms, engage in critical conversations with the teachers, and simply tour the building by following their student’s schedule.

The Principal’s Coffee Chat will continue and I cordially invite all parents to join us for the first occurrence on Tuesday, September 5 in the high school gym lobby at 8 AM. I will also continue to live-stream the Coffee Chat via Periscope (viewable through Periscope App, Twitter, or internet browser), allowing all families to view the chat live or watch the archive.

Along those lines, I encourage our families to connect with me through Twitter and my professional blog. I utilize both of these forums to communicate our successes, promote school-related events, share resources, and connect professionally with educational colleagues across the nation.

I would like to take this opportunity to introduce our new faculty members, beginning with our previously mentioned new Assistant Principal, Mr. Marcus Funchess. Mr. Funchess most recently served East Lincoln High School (Lincoln County) as an Assistant Principal for the past four years. His administrative career began at C.E. Jordan HS (Durham County) and his teaching career includes 7th and 8th Grade Math and Science. He received his Bachelors in Biology and Licensure from N.C. Central University and his Masters in School Administration from N.C. State University. In addition, he is a graduate of NC School of Science and Math.

Other new faculty members include:

Mr. Nick Cox - Technology Coordinator

Mrs. Kieran Hale - Art

Mr. Dylan Scaringelli - Band Director

Mrs. Beverly Schroth - Science

In addition, Mr. Mike Porter joins our counseling staff. Here are the student-counselor assignments:

9th - 12th Graders with Last Name A - G are assigned to Ms. Faccone.

9th - 12th Graders with Last Name H - O are assigned to Mr. Porter.

9th - 12th Graders with Last Name P - Z are assigned to Mr. Eastwood.

The expectations of our students should always align with the expectations we have for ourselves as educators. This accountability begins with holding myself accountable every day and embracing the expectations. I look forward to continuing our partnership with all LNC families as “Together we learn, lead, and serve.” I hope you continue to enjoy these last few weeks of summer break and anxiously await the opening of school on August 17!

Yours in education,