whispers september 2013

7/29/2019 Whispers September 2013

1/4

Wekiva WhispersWekiva Elementary School Where Koality Education Happens Every Day!

1450 East Wekiva Trail

Longwood, Florida 32779

Phone: 746-3150 Fax: 746-3163

September 2013

Principal: Marjorie Adamczyk Assistant Principal: Jeff Fose

Seminole County Public Schoolswww.scps.k12.fl.us orwww.wekivaelementary.com

Principals Message

Curriculum Nights were held in

August to share with parents the

schedule, procedures and the academic

standards for each grade level. Grade

level standards have been around for along time. Over the years the

standards have changed; over the

years there have been issues with the

standards. There were way too many

Sunshine State Standards and the

NGSSS (Next Generation of Sunshine

State Standards) lacked written

elements. We now support a commonset of national content standards where

students from state-to-state are taught

and assessed called the Common CoreState Standards. The CCSS are

clearer, fewer, and higher than

previous standards. They prepare our

students for college and career

readiness and they are in many areas

comparable to internationally high-

performing countries. States and

districts who adopt the CCSS would

receive federal competitive funding

through Race to the Top. CCSS aretaught in grades Kindergarten through

second grade. In grades 3 5, teachersare using a blended model of the

CCSS and NGSSS. This is the last

year we will be working with the

NGSSS. With all this talk about new

standards, teacher accountability, new

appropriate assessment, you may be

asking if it is too much. Let me assure

you our students are coming to school

with more knowledge that ever before,

so as educators we must continue to

keep up with their challenges to helpthem be better prepared. Teachers are

breaking down the learning standards

into goals. These new standards

require students are to write across the

content areas more than they have had

to do so in the past. Writing is one of

Wekivas priority goals on the Wekiva

School Improvement Plan. Teachers

are investing a lot of time to help

students not only know and

understand their learning targets but to

track their progress as well.

The new reading series called

Reading Street is helping our teachers

meet the rigor of the new standards.The series has several components to

it that will help all struggling readers

and enrich our student book worms

If you did not get a chance to come

to Curriculum Night, please contact

your childs teacher and sign up to

have a conference.

This year, Curriculum Nights wereon two nights rather than three, due to

a Lake Brantley conflict. Next year,

we will try to stagger the grade levelmeeting times so more parents can

attend them.

Thank you for your patience on the

car ramp. We have reduced the time

from 3:45 to 3:25. Yahoo!

Grandparents Day was a big hit. I

told all of my students that if they

were without a grandparent, I would

be their Grandparent for the day. This

idea went over great in all the gradelevels but Kindergarten! I guess I need

to get to know them better.Our School Advisory Council for

2013 14 is Lisa Romine, Amanda

Propst, Tara Williams, Tracy Smith,

Carla Lowe-Tucker, Michelle Hill,

Teresa Norton, Stephanie Eger, Natali

Kramer, and Mary Trawick.

PTA Our Wekiva Parent Teacher

Association does a lot of work to help

our school get many items including

instructional technology equipment

with the funds they make at schoolevents. Please support them as they

support the school. This year, we are

only going to have one HUGE

fundraiser, so I hope everyone is

saving now to support it. PTA dues go

to the school too.

Until next time,

Ms. Adamczyk

Please remember:

**All students must be checked in

or out at the front desk. This is a

district policy.

**All students must have a written

note explaining their absence from

school.

Superintendent Visit

On September 4, Superintendent,

Dr. Griffin, Deputy Superintendent of

Operations, George Kosmac, Facilities

Planning Project Manager, Chris

Booth, Elementary Executive Director

Marian Cummings, and School BoardMember, Dede Schaffner spoke to our

staff and parents about the millage and

the future remodel of our school. Mr.Kosmac shared that the voters

approved the millage on the ballot last

school year allowing the School Board

to annually determine the percent of

the millage (up to 1 mill) every year

for the next four years. If the School

Board approves to use the full mill

each year and there are no catastrophic

events, our school will be remodeled

in 2015-16. The PowerPoint sharedwill be posted to our website. Dede

Schaffner told the crowd that sheknows Wekiva need the remodel.

Community Kudos!!!!

Thank you Chick-fil-A for having

10% back to Wekiva on purchases

made during Grandparents Day!

PTA News

Are you ready for some football?

The second annual Punt, Pass and

Kick event is going to be even betterthan last year at our PTA Tailgate

Party on September 19, starting at

6:00. There will be lots of fun family

activities to do including starting a

Reflection Artwork! Bring the family

out and have a blast!

Our big fundraiser is coming up in

November, the Fund Run! Parents, by

popular vote, shared with PTA to have

one HUGE fundraiser but we need


2/4




Phone: 746-3150 Fax: 746-3163

September 2013



your support to help your childs

school get the supplies and technology

they deserve. Start saving those

dollars!

Lisa Romine

Wekiva PTA President

Grade Level NEWS!Kindergarten - Kindergarten students

are busy getting to know each other

and learning how to work and play

together. In the classrooms students

can be heard syllable clapping, and

singing, seen playing rhyming and

letter identification games, writing

using the correct directionality and

spacing, sequencing stories as well as

hunting for, writing and READING

high frequency sight (popcorn) words!Integrated science lessons include the

five senses, science tools and science

skills. Calendar math, counting and

cardinality counting, writing and

comparing numbers are just a few of

the math skills being mastered at this

time. The computer lab lesson was a

big hit as students learned theprocedures in the lab and used the

mouse to play some letter

identification & sequencing games

with Mrs. Cook. HavingGrandparents come to have lunch with

on Grandparents Day in the cafeteria

brought smiles to many, many faces of

all ages! We are looking forward to a

wonderful year of learning together!Kindergarten Parents Students are to

sit up against the wall during the

morning. This is the procedure for

children as they await their teacher at8:35. Please help us teach them to

follow it. Parents should not be sittingwith the students. You are welcome to

stay but we ask that you help them

follow the expectations.

First Grade - We would like to

welcome to our team two new

teachers! Heather Thornbury a

previous third grade teacher here at

Wekiva and Samantha Angstadt a

teacher from south Florida.

In math, we are learning number sense

through addition and subtraction

strategies. The first science unit hasbeen about science tools and what

they are used for. We had a fun filled

first week of school and worked

cooperatively to make homemade

bread and butter. It was delicious, we

have some very talented chefs in first

grade! Just a few reminders: If you

havent done so already, turn in yourdonation for the first grade

fund. Dont forget to bring in a new,

plain, white t-shirt that is one sizelarger for your child. We are

decorating these shirts for upcoming

events. Please remember to sign your

childs planner daily and assist with

homework. Your child's permission

slip to The Orlando Shakespeare

Theater is due by Friday, October

4th. Thank you to all of the parents

who have signed up for Dividends,

your support is needed and greatlyappreciated!

Our upcoming field trips are: The

Orlando Shakespeare Theater on

November 19th &

The Central Florida Zoo on April 24th

& 25th.

Second Grade - The second grade

teachers and students have been busy

gearing up for a great school year. The

teachers and students would like to

thank all the parents that attendedcurriculum night. We would like to

also thank the parents who have made

classroom donations. The students

have been hard at work, working on

our reading, writing, math and science

skills. In reading we have been

learning about the narrative elements

including main idea through a variety

of fiction and non-fiction books. We

are enjoying our new reading series

and writing a lot about the stories we

have read. Second grade is enjoying

integrating technology into our math

unit to help use master our addition

and subtraction facts. During science,

we have been completing labs andlearning how to work like a scientist.

We are exciting about what we have

been doing and cant wait to watch the

students grow as the year continues.

Just a little reminder to please make

sure you are checking and signing

your childs student plan book (SPB)

nightly. Thank you for your continuedsupport in working at home with your

child and making sure they are reading

nightly.

Third Grade The third grade

teachers are gearing up for an amazing

year. Parents, please be sure to check

your childs SPB (Student Plan Book)

nightly to help your child stay on track

with homework and other important

classroom news. Some things we are

currently working on are the 5

Components of Reading,Understanding Place Value, Adding

and Subtracting Greater Numbers,Graphing and Organizing Data, The

Nature of Science and Map Skills. A

special thank you goes out to all of our

wonderful third grade parents who

have volunteered their time to work as

Dividends in our classrooms and at

home. We look forward to working

with you. Also, thank you to all

parents who have donated items for

our classroom and funds toward our

third grade activities.

Fourth Grade Fourth grade will be

sharing grade level news in Octobers

Whispers.

Fifth Grade - The fifth grade team

would like to welcome the students to

an exciting final year of elementary

school. We are jumping right into

meaty curriculum in all subject areas.


3/4




Phone: 746-3150 Fax: 746-3163

September 2013



In Reading, our students are working

with a new series called Reading

Street. They will be reading passages,

working with grammar, examining

vocabulary, and writing to express

opinions as well as report factualinformation. All of the weekly

reading tests are given via the

computer. In Math, we are working to

recollect those basic facts, and

introduce some division strategies. In

some classes, we have even been

courageous enough to say the word

algebra with no negative results. Wehave learned about PEMDAS and

exponents. Science has acquainted us

with terms such as aerology,bromatology, hyetology, and my

favorite, paedology. We have also

investigated the various methods of

investigation and look forward to

making models and conducting

experiments. Be on the lookout for our

super hero fifth graders to grab for the

tough challenges, fight the urge to be

mediocre, stamp out negative

thoughts, and soar to make this theirbest year ever!!!!

Music

We are off to a great start in

music! The students are singing,

playing many instruments and

enjoying making music together. Thisyear there will be a Koala MusicKidz

Chorus and a Koala MusicKidz

Instrument Ensemble for 4th/5th grade

students to participate in. Chorus

rehearsals are on Tuesday and

Thursday from 8:05-8:30am and

ensemble rehearsals are on

Wednesday and Friday from 8:05-

8:30am. Chorus rehearsals begin

Tuesday, September 10th and

ensemble rehearsals beginWednesday, September 11th. Third,

fourth and fifth grade students will

begin playing recorders in music class

very soon and they will all have the

opportunity to participate in Recorder

Karate! The students and I are very

excited for a musical year!

ArtWe are off to a great start in art too.

Kindergarten through third grade has

been creating lines and patterns.Fourth and fifth grade have studied the

work of artist Paul Klee and his use of

negative space through shape. In everygrade, students are creating beautiful

pieces of artwork!

PE

There are so many more reasons whystudents should get in the game with

Fuel Up to Play 60 this school year!

Encourage them to join today to lead

the charge in making your school ahealthier place! On their new online

Dashboard, students will have access

to games, the new Tracker and the

opportunity to earn Points for all of

the activities they do with Fuel Up to

Play 60. Fuel Up to Play 60 is

committed to online safety for its

users. There are some updates in

how students under 13 can

participate online. Here's some

important information you should

know to help get your child

enrolled.

1. Join! Show students how toenroll by going to

FuelUpToPlay60.com.

2. All students will have to entertheir birthday the first time they

log in. They will also be asked

to update their profile with

information like first name, last

name and email address. We

are asking for this information

in order to provide students

with a meaningful,

individualized experience with

FuelUpToPlay60.com and to

help us to better evolve the

program to meet the changing

needs of the participating

students.

3. Students under 13 years oldjoining or logging in to Fuel

Up to Play 60 will needparental consent to fully

participate. There are two

options for gaining this

consent. Students can enter a

parent email address as part of

the online process or download

and print a paper form which

their parent can sign. This

Parent Permission Form can be

mailed to Fuel Up to Play 60 or

faxed. Details are provided on

the form. Having parental

permission will give studentsfull access to all of the

awesome things Fuel Up to

Play 60 has to offer, including

contests, awards, emails and

messages.4. It's Time to Kick Off the

NFL Season and Fuel Up to

Play 60!

5.6. Back to school! Back to

football! Back to Fuel Up to

Play 60!Are You In to helpempower students to lead

healthy change in your

school? Encourage all of you

students to JOIN Fuel Up to

Play 60 - or if they're already

in the game, have them log in

to update their accounts.

Students who update their

accounts or create new


4/4




Phone: 746-3150 Fax: 746-3163

September 2013



accounts by September 30,

2013, will be entered for a

chance to win a customized

NFL jersey.

Parent Workshop FREE!

Empowered Parents Workshop

Series

Session 1Helpful Tips for Surviving the

School Year with your Child

Date: October 1, 2013

Time: 6:00 8:00 p.m.

Where: FDLRS Action

3130 Edgewater Drive

Orlando, FL 32804Empowered Parents is a free

workshop provided by Florida

Diagnostic and Learning Resources

System or FDLRS. If you have

questions about it you may callAnjanette McGee-Cason at 407-317-

3674 or email her at anjanette.mcgee-

[email protected]

Parents will learn helpful tips on

working with your child onhomework. Meaningful Questions to

ask and discuss with your childs

teacher during conferences. Explore

helpful educational websites and apps.

And much more!

Recycling Program

Throughout the year, we promote the

recycling of the following items (the

list has changed, so be sure to

check this updated list): empty inkjet

& laser printer cartridges, used cellphones, PDAs, iPods/MP3 players, e-

Readers devices and iPads/other

Tablets. Please be sure to include any

cables with your electronic devices.

We do not accept desktop computers

or printers since we ship our recycled

items to the company. Best of all, ourschool earns cash that is used to

purchase our online subscriptions.

Help us RECYCLE & REUSE! If

your business would like to participate

in our recycling program, please

contact Mrs. Cook at 407-746-3151.

Media Center RequestWe can use gently used Children's

Magazines that you would like to

donate to the media center. Our

students enjoy reading them. Thank

you!Sunshine State BooksMrs. Cook has begun promoting thisyear's Florida Sunshine State Reading

Program for grades 3-5. A flyer of the

15 books for Grades 3-5 and those we

also have from the Grades 6-8 list will

be coming home shortly. It will alsoexplain the program in more detail.

The list is available on the Wekiva

website on the Media Center page

under 3-5 Info. Once the computer lab

is available for classes, she will also

provide an opportunity for each class

to learn more about the books on this

year's list.

FRA BooksThe Florida Reading Association

Children's Book Award Nominations

is underway. This is a statewide

program that allows students in the

primary grades (K-2) to vote for their

favorite book from this year's list of

eight titles. You can see the 2013-14

books on the Wekiva website on the

Media Center page under K-2 Info.

Teachers will be reading and

discussing these books with their

students.

Calendar

September

19 Football t-shirt day

19 6:00 PTA Meeting

19 6:15 PTA Tailgate Party &

Fuel Up 60 Kickoff23 25 School Pictures

23 Pictures 4th

/ 5th

Grade

23 Pictures - Smith/ Taylor/ PreK

24 Pictures 2nd

/ 3rd

Grade

25 Pictures Kindergarten / 1st

24 End of period

October

1 Progress Reports Go Home

14 No School / Teacher Workday

21 - Book Fair

26 Book Fair ends

26 11:00 3:00 p.m. Fall Festival

November

5 Fund Run Kick Off

6 End of Semester

8 Picture make-up

14 Fund Run

17 22 American Education Week

19 Report Cards Go Home

27 through 29 - School Closed

whispers september 2013

Documents