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May Newsletter

Lake Elementary

May NewsletterLake Elementary

Introducing Mr. Gomez

We are so excited to welcome Mr. Gomez to our staff as our new fifth grade teacher. As we've shared, Mr. Sonberg is taking on a new role called a TOSA - Teacher on Special Assignment. He will be providing PE to various students while also helping in the office as a part-time administrator handling student discipline. Mr. Sonberg is pursuing his administrative credential and we couldn't be happier for him. Thus the reason for a new fifth grade teacher. So with no further ado, let's meet Mr. Gomez.

Let's Meet Mr. Gomez

My name is James Gomez and I was born and raised in the Sacramento area, specifically Roseville. At a young age I was very active and got involved in the sport of wrestling. I had high level success as an athlete and coached a small amount starting at the age of 13.


After high school I got my Associates in Marketing at Sierra College then transferred to Boise State University to earn my Bachelors. During that time my love for wrestling sort of dwindled but I found myself coaching kids in an obstacle course gym, still eager to be a role model and positive influence on kids.


Once I finished college I got a really good job getting a lot of money to sit in a room and stare at a computer. It didn't take long until I started to get the itch to coach and help mentor kids. The financial tech life wasn't for me so once Covid hit, I started soul searching and felt like being an educator was where I belonged.


I believe the soft skills I've developed as a coach of relationship building, adaptability, and room control will translate smoothly into the classroom making me a very strong teacher. I am at the beginning of my career as an educator but I am more than a decade into my passion of being a mentor and teacher. I am beyond excited to start my career at Lake with the incredible parental support, small intimate classrooms, and dynamic learning environment. I appreciate this opportunity more than anything and I look forward to August eagerly.


Note from Mrs. Baker: We couldn't wait until August to work with Mr. Gomez, so imagine our excitement when he said he would love to work during Summer Camp! Many of you will meet Mr. Gomez in June when he joins our summer school team.

CAASPP Testing

California Assessment of Student Performance and Progress

May is a busy month for schools, and that includes Lake. Students in grades 3-8 have been busy with the state assessments in math, ELA, and science. As you may know, only students in grades 5 and 8 take the science test.


We just want to say thank you to parents who put their kids to bed on time and made sure they ate a healthy breakfast at home or school.

Upcoming Events in May

Aside from CAASPP and the Physical Fitness Test, the following events can also be found on our Events page on the website, but here's a rundown of what's headed our way for the rest of the month.


CAASPP testing continues through the week of May 9. Students who may have missed any testing dates will be given time to complete tests after the week of fair. Our goal is that every student has completed testing by the end of May.


Physical Fitness Test will also be held for students in grades 5 and 7. (High school freshmen take it as well.) Mr. Sonberg oversees our PFT schedule for testing


The annual Plaza Softball tournament will take place Thursday and Friday, May 12 and 13.


There will be no school May 18, 19, and 20, due to the Glenn County Fair. Good luck to all our fair participants. We are proud of the 4-H tradition in our community. We hope to see many of you at fair!


Grades 1 and 2 are taking their biannual field trip to the Sacramento Zoo on Thursday, May 26.


There will be no school on Monday, May 30, due to Memorial Day. Click here for more information to share with you child regarding this national holiday.

Lake Parents Mentor Program

We need you!

We are very excited to begin a brand new "offering" for our newest parents.


The idea of the Parent Mentor Program was developed when discussing goals for our current LCAP (Local Control and Accountability Plan). In short, the LCAP is intended for schools to develop improvement goals outlined in a strategic plan. One of our areas of growth is rebuilding our community engagement after Covid. Various partners in education - parents, grandparents, community members, staff, and students - have been involved in these conversations.


Our goal with the program is to identify Lake parents who have been part of the Lake family for a few years and will volunteer as a parent mentor. These mentors will be paired with new parents, mostly our new kindergarten parents, but we do have new families join us in various grade levels as well.


There is no specific "job" to be done as a mentor. We are simply looking for parents who want to be that additional point-of-contact regarding school-related events and happenings.


If that sounds like something you'd like to do, please let Mrs. Baker know. Feel free to call, email, or just stop by the school to tell her. We are very excited about getting this program off the ground and will be scheduling a Parent Open House in August. Stay tuned for more information! In the meantime, sign up to be a Parent Mentor today!