watergrass elementary school
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Watergrass Elementary School32750 Overpass Road \ Wesley Chapel, FL 33545 \ 813-346-0600 \ wges.pasco.k12.fl.us
Scott Mitchell, Principal \ Liz Boeger, Assistant principal
Citizens of the Month APRIL Character Trait: “Caring”. Citizens of the Month were recognized on Friday, April 24. Burrowing Owls: Keilah McDonald (Ms. Perez) Pygmy Owls: Meghan Lutes (Ms. Hernandez) Adam Brisbane (Ms. Kiefer) Karoline Davila (Ms. Camunas) Eagle Owls: D’Andre Sol (Ms. Reidy) Snowy Owls: Vincent Nguyen (Ms. Lutes) Tyler Sylva (Ms. Pickard) Spotted Owls: Chloe Collins (Ms. Marsella) Great Grey Owls: Addison Pollock (Ms. Bissett) Elf Owls: Brendan Stewart (Ms. Milligan) Tropical Screech Owls: Olivia Monnett (Ms. Sanchez & Ms. Conti)
Huntley Nicholson (Ms. Sanchez & Ms. Conti)
Spectacled Owls: Emily Fox (Ms. Satinoff) Michael Lutes (Ms. Satinoff)
May 1, 2015
School Counselors’ Corner
We look forward to May and all the celebrations this month brings. We will host our 6th Annual Turnaround Student Breakfast on May 29th. This is a very special event where we recognize students who have made significant progress throughout the school year. Fifth grade articulation events are in full swing. Counselors from Weightman Middle School will visit us on Thursday, May 14th, and we will travel to TEWMS on Friday, May 15th for a Pep Rally. Remember to return your permission slips to your teachers. Parents, if your child will be attending a different middle school and you have not received any information from that school yet, please contact Mrs. Ward.
Mrs. Ward and Dr. Kelly, School Counselors
Important MAY Dates 5/04 BOOK FAIR Begins! 5/04 KG Registration 5/04 Staff Appreciation Week 5/05 Spring Concert 7PM-WGES 5/06 Burrowing Owl Field Trip 5/14-15 Eagle Owls field trip 5/14 PTA Night at Happy Cow 5/15 GGO to TEWMS 5/18 SAC Meeting 5/20-21 Hallam’s Wax Museum 5/22 AR Celebration 5/25 Memorial Day—School Closed 5/28 PTA Pastries with Parents 5/29 Turnaround Student Breakfast UP-Coming JUNE Dates 6/2 GGO End of Year Celebration 6/3 Last Day for Students 6/3 Owl Oracle Summer Edition
Principal’s Message As we enter our last full month of this school year we still have a lot of work to do, especially our fifth graders. It is hard to believe but they will only be elementary students for a few more weeks. We wish them success as they move on to middle school. We have some fun activities planned for them as we say goodbye and wish them well. We also will be saying goodbye to some students and families as Quail Hollow Elementary School reopens for the 2015-‐16 school year. We look forward to hearing about the wonderful things happening at QHES, under the leadership of Mrs. Kara Smucker. Thank you for trusting your children to us for these past two years. It has been our pleasure to work with you. We wish everyone a safe and relaxing summer and look forward to an exciting 2014-‐15 school year ! If Mrs. Boeger or I can be of any assistance, please do not hesitate to contact us.
Mr. Mitchell
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Pride Award For the past 15 years the Greater Wesley Chapel Chamber has recognized students, selected by their school, for their extraordinary efforts beyond their educational expectations. On April 21, the following students from WGES were recognized for their hard work and academic achievement.
Valeria Ore (Mrs. Ichimura) Isis Thompson (Ms. Hust) Sean Donahue (Ms. Vaughn) Jana Elfaouatih (Ms. Hallam) Mallory Carter (Ms. Wohl) Arielle DeBrock (Mrs. Bissett) Yadiel Davila-‐Torres (Mrs. Litgen
Art Palette Any artwork that does not make it home this year will be kept through next school year. Yearbook: All yearbooks have been distributed. Pending extras, you may still purchase a yearbook from the front office during the summer. Have a great summer!
WGES PTA With the end of the year quickly approaching, we are left with one more Family Night for this school year. Our next Family Night will be Thursday, May 14, at Happy Cow! Come on out and wrap up this school year with a yummy dessert!! Our last few family nights have been wonderful!! Dickey’s, Happy Cow, and McTeacher Night were great!! Thank you to everyone who came out and supported the PTA. Boosterthon was amazing!! We are still in the process of collecting money! Boosterthon has
traditionally been our most successful fundraiser each year and this year was no different. The students really worked hard at getting those donations. Thank you!!! We are currently seeking volunteers to become part of our PTA board. There are several positions that will need to be filled for next year. If you are interested, please email [email protected] Our final General Assembly Meeting will be Thursday, May 28, in the Media Center. Please come and join the meeting. We will be introducing your 2015-‐2016 PTA Board. Our PTA is always looking for people to help volunteer for our various activities throughout the year. If you are interested in volunteering, please contact the WGES PTA at [email protected]
Remember to Snip & Clip Please continue to save Boxtops for
Education and Campbell’s Labels for Education over the summer. We have received $1,750.00, so far this
year. Proceeds have been used to purchase new books, ebooks and incentives for our reading program. Thank you Mr. Maldonado and volunteer, Mrs. Jennison, for your commitment to this fundraiser.
Music Notes Our Chorus and Orff Ensemble Spring Concert is Tuesday, May 5th at 7:00 PM in our cafeteria. Students should be in the music room by 6:45 PM. Please wear your uniform. Our Elf Owls did a great job at their concerts during Autistic Awareness Month in April! There were as many smiles in the audience as there were on the stage. J Seven of our students participated in the All County Concert, Saturday, April 11, at River Ridge High School. Arielle DeBrock, Cassi Merritt, Dabria Negron, Jaden Rodriguez, and Jerica Rodriguez were part of the All County Chorus. Judy Chittenden and Faith Welling were in the All County Orff Ensemble. We are very proud of these students!
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Burrowing Owls We are wrapping up our year in Kindergarten! The students have learned so much and we cannot stress the importance of continuing that learning through the summer. Please continue to use the resources that your child¹s teacher has given you to enhance their learning.
We are excited about our last field trip of the year. It will be to the Glazer Children’s Museum in Tampa. We can’t wait to apply all of the engineering skills that we have learned about this year and practice becoming “Little Scientists & Engineers.” We will be having an End of the Year celebration. Be on the lookout for information from your child’s teacher. The Burrowing Owls would like to thank all of the parents and volunteers for an amazing year!
Pygmy Owls Congratulations to Meghan Lutes, Adam Brisbane and Karoline Davila for winning the Citizenship Award this month! Also, last month there was a typo for our Citizenship Award Winner, Marc Moua. Congratulations Marc! Pygmy Owl teachers want to remind you that with only a short time left in the school year it is important to read, read, read! Reading at home nightly with your child is one of the best ways to help your child be successful. It is also a great way to spend time together and have discussions about making connections to what they read. Thank you for your dedication to making your child a reader for life!
Follow WGES Online Keep in touch with all the latest happenings through your favorite
social media outlet.
EAGLE Owls The Eagle Owls would like to remind parents to return permission slips and payment for our upcoming field trip. We are so excited to extend our school learning by going to Pioneer Village. The dates for our trips are May 14 and 15. We will be using close reading strategies with both informational and narrative texts to jump start our learning of pioneer life. Close reading is a way to build comprehension, vocabulary and communication skills by re-‐reading and having dialogue about specific sections of text. We KNOW second graders will learn a lot through conversation centered about text in our lessons preparing for the trip and at this great destination!
Snowy Owls The Snowy Owls are continuing to work hard to master all of our third grade skills. In mathematics students are using number combinations to solve problems. Please continue to practice addition, subtraction, multiplication and division facts at home nightly. Students can utilize Khan Academy at home to practice third grade math skills. In reading, students continue to perfect their learning strategies. Please encourage your child to read at least 30 minutes each night and to take an AR test after completing each chapter book. We would like to express our thanks to all the volunteers who helped make our field trip to the Glazer Museum a success. We appreciate all the support you so generously provided!
Spotted Owls The Spotted Owls are excited to enter the second half of the fourth quarter! It is important to remember, however, that there are still plenty of school days left. Please continue to get a good
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night’s sleep, to eat a healthy breakfast, and to complete all assignments on time. Congratulations to Chloe Collins in Ms. Marsella’s class. Chloe is the Spotted Owl Citizen of the Month for April. Chloe shows how much she cares in all she does every day. Way to go, Chloe! Please give a big Spotted Owl welcome to Ms. McKitchen, who will be in Ms. Preston’s class through the end of the school year. Please be sure to tell Ms. McKitchen how much we love having her here. Finally, a giant thank you to all of our Spotted Owl students who worked hard on their STEM Fair projects and their 4-‐H Tropicana speeches. Your hard work has paid off and the Spotted Owl teachers want all students to know that we are proud of you! YOU ROCK!!!
End of Course Exams (EOC) Students in grades 2 and 5 will participate in these EOC exams in PE, ART and MUSIC. These tests are set to occur May 11 – 22. A more specific calendar for the grades affected will be sent home next week. Please mark your family calendars and avoid scheduling appointments or changing the school routines during these dates. Thank you!
Clinic Clothing Donations We are always appreciative of your donation of clothing to our Clinic Closet, but it is important that you only send in the following items with adjustable waistbands or in sizes 5-‐12:
ü Athletic Shorts ü Athletic Pants ü Underwear
Unfortunately, we will not be able to accept donations of bags of clothing as we do not have the space or resources to sort then re-‐donate unneeded items. Thank you for your understanding. Dress Code Reminder Most students have had growth spurts since last spring and now those cute shorts and
skirts from last spring are just too short! Parents, please help your child in his or her clothing selection to ensure that bottoms are of an appropriate length—no shorter than 3-‐4 inches above the
knee; that tank tops have straps wider than 3 fingers; and that students wear shoes that securely strap to the foot and are safe for recess and PE. Spaghetti strap tops or tanks with big, droopy arm holes are not allowed either. Also, undergarments must be UNDER the GARMENT.J Another issue we see this time of year is the increased wearing of caps and hats. These items are allowed when out at PE or recess, as sun protection. At other times the hat or cap needs to be tucked into the student’s backpack. Hats and caps should never be shared with classmates due to the risk of also sharing head lice. Thank you for your support of this policy, as dressing modestly and in safe clothing lessens learning distractions.
2015 ESE Parent Survey: The 2014-‐15 ESE Parent Survey is open from February 1 -‐ May 31, 2015. This is a statewide survey that parents may access at http://www.esesurvey.com. Please contact Madonna Vance at [email protected] , at the district’s Office for Student Support and Services for a paper copy of this important survey if needed. For questions or assistance from FLDOE, please contact Aimee Mallini, program specialist for parent services at [email protected]