January 2011

FALCON EXPRESSFALCON EXPRESS FLORANADA ELEMENTARY

SCHOOL

5251 NE 14th Way Fort Lauderdale, FL 33334

(754) 322-6350

Principal, Keith Peters

Assistant Principal, Dr. Sheila Lewis

High Expectations, Achievement, Excellence

Principal’s Message

The School Board of Broward County, Florida, prohibits any policy or procedure which results in discrimination on the basis of age, color, disability, gender, national

origin, marital status, race, religion, or sexual orientation. Individuals who wish to file a discrimination and/or harassment complaint may call the Director of Equal

Educational Opportunities at (754) 321-2150 or Teletype Machine TTY (754) 321-2158.

Individuals with disabilities requesting accommodations under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) may call Equal Educational Opportunities at (754) 321-2150

or Teletype Machine TTY (754) 321-2158.

The opinions expressed in this publication are not necessarily those of Floranada Elementary or Broward County Public Schools

Dates To Remember

January 3 - Students return to school

January 6 - SAC Meeting, 5:15 pm

PTA Meeting, 6:15 pm

January 6 - Rickards Middle School

Presentation – Floranada Media

Center, 7:15 pm

January 17 - NO SCHOOL

January 18 - Super Citizen Ceremony, 8:30 am

January 24 - NO SCHOOL

January 25 - 3rd Quarter Starts

January 29- Floranada Day

Happy Holidays to everyone! It has been a very successful year thus far and we look forward to 2011 with high hopes of maintaining our “A” status that we

reclaimed this past year. We will be rolling out our plans when we return from the Winter Break to assist those

students in need of additional support. We will continue

to provide the climate of high expectations that enables Floranada to have so many high achieving students.

I know that you are as proud of Floranada as I am. Let’s continue to make this the caring, supportive environment that we are known for. I thank you for all that you do for our children. We cannot do what we do without the support of our families. Have a wonderful Winter Break!

Keith Peters,

Principal

School Visitors

Parents visiting the school to pick up students, visit the cafeteria or

attend a meeting with staff will need to register at the front office desk

by presenting a driver’s license or government I.D.

Please don’t leave home without it.

Los padres que visiten la escuela para recoger los estudiantes antes

de las 2pm, los que visiten la cafeteria o los que vengan a una reunion

necesitan firmar en la oficina al frente de las escuela, presentando la

licencia de manejar o alguna identificacion gobernamental.

Attention 5th

Grade Parents!

It is time to start thinking about which middle school your child will be attending. Most of our students are in the

boundary of Rickards Middle School. Principal Ron Forsman and several others from Rickards Middle School will

be at Floranada on Thursday, January 6 at 7:15 PM to present to our fifth grade parents. Broward County also

offers several magnet programs for students showing a special interest in particular fields. For information about

the different magnet schools, their programs and curriculum offered and admission information, please visit

http://www.browardschoolsmagnetprograms.com/

The application window is now open. The deadline to apply for all magnet programs is February 16, 2011.

Character Education

During the month of January students, faculty and staff will be practicing the

character trait "Respect”. Respect means showing consideration, understanding,

and regard for people, places, and things. One Super Citizen student will be

selected from each classroom. These students best display the trait of “Respect”.

High-Flying Fun!

Yes, that is a bike jumping over Mr. Peters!

Students who sold 10 or more items in the Fall

Fundraiser were treated to an awesome BMX bike

show where they got to see this stunt live.

The students loved the show! We are not so sure

Mr. Peters did!

From the 3rd Grade Team:

Bright Happy Time

The end-of-year holidays are here at last,

That bright, happy time when we have a blast!

Our wish when your new year has finally begun:

That you look back at months full of pleasure and fun.

Happy Holidays!

DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION LAUNCHES

NEW WEB TOOL FOR PARENTS

~ Parents encouraged to visit www.fldoe.org/SuccessMeasures to learn about changes to

Florida standards and assessments ~

TALLAHASSEE – The Florida Department of Education launched a new web resource today designed with

parents in mind. The new “Success Measures” website was crafted to help parents understand how changes to

Florida’s standards and assessments in the months and years to come will impact their children. The most

critical element of the site is the newly created “Success Measures Pathway Tool,” which is designed to provide

parents and students with personalized reports detailing what is being taught and tested in our classrooms on a

student-by-student basis.

“Providing a user-friendly resource that allows our parents and students to understand Florida’s curriculum

standards and assessments is critical to our efforts to make them more informed about their schools,” said

Education Commissioner Dr. Eric J. Smith. “As we move forward with national standards in our classrooms, this

new tool will help us to better work with parents to prepare our children for their continued educational

achievement and future workforce success.”

Through the Success Measures Pathway Tool, users can submit the school year, grade level and the

anticipated courses their student will be taking. With this basic information, the Pathway Tool then generates a

brief report detailing the assessments aligned with the courses selected at the time the courses will be taken, as

well as a thorough listing of the content covered on those assessments. Parents and students can use the Success

Measures Pathway Tool to learn about current and future assessments and coursework.

The Success Measures website is aimed at educating parents and students about how Florida’s curriculum

standards and assessments system combine to produce statewide measures of student success. Presently, the

website focuses on student assessments such as the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test (FCAT), FCAT

2.0, and End-of-Course assessments. In the future, the Success Measures website will encompass all Florida

assessments including postsecondary readiness and certification exams.

To utilize this new tool, visit the Florida Department of Education website for Success Measures at

www.fldoe.org/SuccessMeasures.

Help Your Child Comprehend Comprehension strategies are conscious plans — sets of steps that good readers use to make sense of text. A

comprehension strategy helps students become purposeful, active readers who are in control of their own reading

comprehension. Here is a strategy to help you while you read with your child.

Questions can be effective because they:

* Give students a purpose for reading

* Focus students' attention on what they are to learn

* Help students to think actively as they read

* Encourage students to monitor their comprehension

* Help students to review content and relate what they have learned to what they already know

The Question-Answer Relationship strategy (QAR) encourages students to learn how to answer questions

better. Students are asked to indicate whether the information they used to answer questions about the text was

textually explicit information (information that was directly stated in the text), textually implicit information

(information that was implied in the text), or information entirely from the student's own background knowledge.

There are four different types of questions:

* "Right There"

Questions found right in the text that ask students to find the one right answer located in one place as a

word or a sentence in the passage.

Example: Who is Frog's friend? Answer: Toad

* "Think and Search"

Questions based on the recall of facts that can be found directly in the text. Answers are typically found in

more than one place, thus requiring students to "think" and "search" through the passage to find the answer.

Example: Why was Frog sad? Answer: His friend was leaving.

* "Author and You"

Questions require students to use what they already know, with what they have learned from reading the

text. Student's must understand the text and relate it to their prior knowledge before answering the question.

Example: How do think Frog felt when he found Toad? Answer: I think that Frog felt happy because he

had not seen Toad in a long time. I feel happy when I get to see my friend who lives far away.

* "On Your Own"

Questions are answered based on a student’s prior knowledge and experiences. Reading the text may not be

helpful to them when answering this type of question.

Example: How would you feel if your best friend moved away? Answer: I would feel very sad if my best

friend moved away because I would miss her.

Try some of these questioning techniques as you read with your child each day. This time of bonding with your

child and expanding their knowledge is priceless!

Out-of-Field Certification Floranada is pleased to announce that the following teachers are pursuing coursework beyond their current

certification areas. Our professional teachers are continuously working on professional development to hone their

teaching skills and to increase their levels of content expertise. The following teachers are working towards

becoming certified in ESOL and they will successfully complete their requirements within Multicultural Education

Training Advocacy (META) timeline.

Ms. Crunkleton

Ms. Cummings

Mrs. Ortiz

Ms. Scott

Ms. Szpak

FCAT EXPLORER: HELPING YOUR CHILD SUCCEED Practice Makes Progress! That’s why the Florida Department of Education built FCAT Explorer—to provide

practice for helping your child make real progress on the skills needed in the classroom, on the FCAT, and in life.

FUN, EFFECTIVE, AND FREE

FCAT Explorer is a set of free, Web-based practice programs. The content is built from the Sunshine State

Standards that are tested on the FCAT. Kids can practice by themselves because the programs give them corrective

feedback and learning guidance.

YOUR 3rd

, 4th

or 5th

GRADE CHILD ALREADY HAS A PASSWORD

ALL YOU NEED IS INTERNET ACCESS

First go to www.fcatexplorer.com

Your child’s sign-in is the their last name and their first initial.

Their password is 06, the first 4 letters of their last name and their birth month and day.

EXAMPLE FOR JANE SMITH born July 7th

Sign-in-SMITHJ

Password-06SMIT0707