Monday, July 30, 2018

Beginning of Year Letter to LNC Families 2018

July 30, 2018
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 2018-2019 school year. I am honored to serve as principal of the high school and this will be a special year for the entire LNC Community, as we celebrate 20 completed years of school service. Your continuous partnership, in addition to our collaborative efforts aligned with the LNC’s mission and core values, will continue inspiring our students to “learn, lead and serve.”

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


When you return to school next month you will notice some building improvements inside our high school. First, through the Board's continued focus on safety, we have constructed a vestibule to the front office/main entrance area of our school, adding another level of safety and security for our students and staff. Additionally, through a successful Invest in Excellence campaign in 2017-2018, we redesigned the area off the MPR to create a “student union” which provides our students with a comfortable space to collaborate, socialize and study. Thanks to those parents who contributed to make this possible for our students.

As communicated in June, we will not be conducting a traditional Distribution Day this year. Instead, we are providing student schedules digitally via Schoology during the week of August 6. Students will be able to login to their Schoology accounts and access their schedules.New students will receive login information for their Schoology account so they can also view their schedules this same way.

We are proudly in year five of LNC’s 1:World Program and the second year of laptop utilization at the high school. You or your student may pick up the laptop on either Wednesday, August 1 or Thursday, August 9, during the specified times. Please make sure to sign-up in advance hereFamilies must pay their $125 co-pay before picking up their technology, which can be paid at lncharter.org via the HS PayPal portal or by clicking hereFreshmen who are participating in Freshman Kick-Off (today and tomorrow) will receive their laptops then and do not need to sign up.   

Freshmen and New Student Orientation will take place on Tuesday, August 14 at 6:00 PM.If you have a 9th grader or a student new to LNC HSplease 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 to simulate the opening day of school. Please make sure to have access to your student’s schedule, as we will not be able to provide a copy for you.  

The Opening Day of school is Thursday, August 16. 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 always takes some time for everyone to learn their appropriate procedures. These carpool procedures will be communicated before the opening of school.

When students return on August 16, they will notice some building improvements inside our high school. First, through the Board's continued focus on safety, we have constructed a vestibule to the front office/main entrance area of our school, adding another level of safety and security for our students and staff. Second, thanks to our parents who “Invested in Excellence”we redesigned the area off the MPR to create a “student union” which provides our students with a comfortable space to collaborate, socialize and study. 
  
“Back-to-School” Night for the high school will occur on Tuesday, August 21 at 6:00 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. We begin the night in the HS gymnasium.

Through the continuous support of our PTO, the Principal’s Coffee Chat will continue and I cordially invite all parents to join us for the first occurrence on Tuesday, September 4 in the high school gym lobby at 8:00 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/listen to the archive at their convenience.

In addition, 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. Our new Spanish teacher may be a familiar face, as Mrs. Sharon Albury has joined us, previously serving in the same role at the middle school. 

Other new faculty/staff members include:

Mrs. Angela Bates - Social Studies 
Mr. Brian McSwain - Chorus 
Mrs. Hannah Graham - Exceptional Children’s Teaching Assistant

In addition, Mrs. Christine Casillas joins our counseling staff by way of relocating from California. Here are the student-counselor assignments:

Students with Last Name A - G are assigned to Mrs. Bravener (formerly known as Ms. Faccone);
Last Name H - O are assigned to Mr. Porter;
Last Name P - Z are assigned to Mrs. Casillas.

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 these expectations. 

The simple expectation for our faculty, staff, students and parents is to be your best, every day.  

I hope you continue to enjoy these last few weeks of summer break and eagerly await the opening of school on August 16. I thank you all in advance for being your best in 2018-2019.

Yours in education,

Craig Smith
Principal, High School
Lake Norman Charter
csmith@lncharter.org
704-948-8600

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