Welcome Back, LRES!

 

Where has the summer gone?  It seems like we were just waving goodbye to our children in June and here we are welcoming everyone back in September. 

 

Our students made us all proud last year, with our SOL scores coming in strong. We are working hard to ensure they continue to rise this school year.

 

There have been a few changes over the summer in our staffing and I would like to introduce our new staff members to you. 

 

·        Mr. Mark Groom is our Administrative Intern.  He was a third grade teacher at Swans Creek Elementary and is excited to join our dedicated staff. 

 

·        Mrs. Brenda Stone is our new kindergarten teacher who comes to us from Hawaii with many years of experience.  She is a wonderful addition to our kindergarten team.

 

·        Mrs. Melissa Massett and Mrs. Sara Louise Dunn are our first grade teachers.  They both come to LRES with years of experience in the primary grades and are excited to join our strong first grade team.

 

·        Miss Elizabeth Penning is our fifth grade teacher.  She comes with a lot of knowledge about LRES, being that she was a Lake Ridge Lifer, having attended kindergarten through fifth grade here!

 

·        Miss Rebecca Alarico is our new Librarian.  She has a desire to instill a love of books and reading in our children and is excited to work with the entire student body of LRES!

 

·        Mrs. Cindy Higgins is our half-time Resource Teacher.  She, too, has many years of experience, loves working with children, and will be working closely with Mrs. Mudd.

 

·        Miss Mandie Neal is our part-time P.E. Assistant. She comes to us with a major in Athletic Training and Physical Education.  She will be a wonderful addition to our PE program.  Miss Neal was also a Lake Ridge Lifer!

 

·        Mrs. Jennifer Ransdell is our new Strings teacher.  She comes to us from Stafford County with many years of experience.  I know our fifth grade Strings students will gain a wealth of knowledge under her leadership.

 

·        Mrs. Nicole Saxon is returning to Lake Ridge as our half-time French teacher.  As you might remember, she took a long-term substitute position in first grade last year and did a wonderful job.  We are excited to have her back this year teaching our young students French.

 

·        Mrs. Anita Powell-Straw and Ms. Debbie Oakley are joining our staff as our Speech Pathologists.  Mrs. Powell-Straw will be here Monday through Wednesday and Ms. Oakley will be here on Thursdays.  They will be working closely to schedule the children to meet their speech needs.  We are happy to have them here.

 

As you can see, we have quite a few new faces in our Lake Ridge Family.  When you see them, please welcome them and say hello.

 

We are also excited to have met many of our new students at the Kindergarten and New Student Orientations.  Hopefully these orientations gave you and your children an overview of our school and will help them feel comfortable coming in on the first day.

 

Please be sure to place our Back-to-School Nights on your calendar; Tuesday, September 23 for Kindergarten, first, and second grades; Wednesday, September 25 for third, fourth, and fifth grades.  Both evenings will begin at 6:45 p.m. in the cafeteria for a brief overview of our school and a video message from Dr. Steven L. Walts, our superintendent. The evening will then end with a presentation by the teacher in each classroom. 

 

Again, we welcome you to Lake Ridge Elementary School.  If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact us at 703.494.9153.

 

Have a great beginning of the school year and I look forward to seeing each of you at our Back-to-School Nights.

 

Take care,

S. Sanders