whispers september 2011

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  • 8/4/2019 Whispers September 2011

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    Wekiva WhispersWekiva Elementary School

    1450 East Wekiva Trail

    Longwood, Florida 32779

    Phone: 746-3150 Fax: 746-3163September 2011

    Principal: Marjorie Adamczyk Assistant Principal: Michelle Baker

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

    Principals Message

    The attendance for our Curriculum

    Nights was wonderful. Thank you for

    coming to learn about schedules,

    subjects and procedures. If you did not

    have a chance to be here, please try tomake an appointment for a teacher

    conference.

    This newsletter has bits ofinformation from all grade levels,

    exceptional education, English

    Language Learners and other special

    areas on our campus. Feel free to

    contact other area teachers for moreinformation if needed.

    As you probably know, students

    have been taking a variety ofassessments depending on their grade

    level. These assessments help give the

    teacher(s) guidance and direction for

    lesson planning. You will be contactedif the teacher feels your child will

    need additional support. In some

    cases, we can use our WOW (Work-

    out Wekiva) time for even more

    instructional time. Teachers would

    only make this decision with you.Mr. Maldonado and Ms. Clodfelter

    are on a leave of absence and we wish

    them both a speedy recovery. Ms.

    Long is assisting our custodial staff

    for now. Ms. Katya Malespin is

    working with Ms. Clodfelters class.Other new staff members include:

    Amber Taylor, SLD; Stephanie Eger,

    Kindergarten; Miriam Santiago,

    Cafeteria Assistant; Nilda Colon,

    Paraprofessional; Mary Trawick and

    Cindy Bock are also returning

    paraprofessionals.The Entertainment Book fundraiser

    has almost ended (see PTA News).

    Thank you to our PTA ladies for all of

    their hard work collecting anddistributing them. I wonder who won

    the chance to slime me.

    Until next time

    Ms. Adamczyk

    PTA News

    Families and students, Thank you for

    purchasing an Entertainment Book

    from your student and thank you for

    selling books for Wekiva Technology!

    Please sell any remaining books andreturn orders to school. Any unsold

    books can be returned through

    classrooms or the front office. Pleaseknow: Entertainment books are NOT

    free and are available for purchase,

    only.

    With Entertainment Books behind

    us, only one PTA fundraiser remains.The awesome Boosterthon Fun Run!

    The Boosterthon Fundraiser Kicks-

    Off Tuesday, Nov. 1! If you'reavailable to cheer and pour drinking

    water on Thursday, Nov. 10, during

    your student's hour of the

    BOOSTERTHON FUN RUN, pleaseemail

    [email protected] .

    Fun Run times are:

    Grades Pre-K through 1 = 8:45 a.m.

    Grades 2 and 3 = 9:55 a.m.

    Grades 4 and 5 = 11:05 a.m.*Please check-in at the front officeand arrive at the side field 10 minutes

    before start time. Volunteers must be

    approved dividends.

    Thank you helping Wekiva students

    through your fundraising sponsorshipsand purchases! EVERY PENNY

    COUNTS when it comes to our

    students!!

    Membership is at 287 and climbing.

    Grade Level News

    KindergartenKindergarteners are excited and

    eager to learn. In math, we are

    learning to represent & compare

    whole numbers 0-20, and to join and

    separate sets.

    In reading, we are connecting thoughts

    and ideas to both fiction and non-fiction text, recognize and use letters,

    sounds and popcorn (sight) words. We

    are looking forward to our Ice Cream

    Sundae Social on Grandparents Day,

    September 14 from 12:45 1:15.

    Kindergarten will be full of fun as we

    learn about the fabulous five senses in

    our grade level rotations. Playing and

    working together each day issomething we all look forward to!

    First Grade

    Curious scientific minds abound in

    First Grade! We have learned about

    the scientific process and different

    tools scientists use. In math, addition

    and subtraction strategies are a plus indeveloping number sense. We had a

    fun day wearing hats to school after

    reading our story "The Hat" andwriting purr-fect stories about cats

    from our story "Sam and the Bag".

    Thank you to all the parents who have

    donated to our grade fund and whohave sent in the money for our

    upcoming trip to the theater.

    Second Grade

    Second grade is hard at work this

    year! In reading, we are currentlydiscussing narrative elements of astory, the difference between fiction

    and non-fiction, and the main ideas

    and supporting details. We hope to

    start chapter books very soon! In

    writing, we are focusing on theWriting Trait called Ideas by using

    fun lessons and picture books to get

    our students thinking creatively! We

    are really enjoying our new science

    curriculum and will begin our study

    on Earth's surface later this month.

    Personal History is very importantand our students are looking forward

    to their first oral report next month!

    Be sure to keep reading and studying

    math facts each night for homework!

    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

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    Wekiva WhispersWekiva Elementary School

    1450 East Wekiva Trail

    Longwood, Florida 32779

    Phone: 746-3150 Fax: 746-3163September 2011

    Principal: Marjorie Adamczyk Assistant Principal: Michelle Baker

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

    help your child stay on track with

    homework and other important

    classroom news. Some things we will

    be working on in September are Nate

    the Great Detective Unit,

    Understanding Place Value, Addingand Subtracting Greater Numbers,

    Graphing and Organizing Data, The

    Government, and the Nature ofScience. 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 lookforward to working with you. Also,

    thank you to all parents who have

    donated items for our classroom andfunds toward our third grade activities.

    Fourth Grade

    Fourth graders have enjoyed theantics of Suds and Joey in reading

    Fourth Grade Rats while learning

    about plot and character analysis, and

    experiencing the creative writing of

    well-known author Jerry Spinelli. As

    writers, the students have exploredwriting poetry and self-reflection,while being exposed to 6 + 1Traits

    Writing. In math, they are completing

    a chapter on multiplication and

    division, and preparing to apply these

    concepts to solving algebraicexpressions and equations. They are

    also learning to use science tools and

    skills to understand our natural world.

    Soon, they will be studying Earths

    place in space.

    Fifth GradeLithology, myrmecology,

    rhinology...If you are a 5th grade

    student at Wekiva, you might know

    the definitions of these words. Thescience classes are discussing the

    careers and responsibilities of being a

    scientist. We have discovered

    scientists are more than people who

    wear goggles and white coats!

    The math classes are learning there is

    a plethora of ways to divide! Everyone

    loves choices from kinds of ice cream,

    to shoe fashion, so why not have some

    choices when it comes to math.

    The language arts classes arebeginning their first novel study along

    with reading the short stories from the

    Harcourt text. Look for your child tobe discussing such topics as theme,

    plot, protagonists, and resolution.

    Along with reading a good book, they

    are actively working on developing

    the 6 Traits of Writing.Rounding out the curriculum is the

    study of early civilizations in social

    studies. Students are learning abouttheir culture, practices, and how they

    helped shape our country.

    The fifth grade is filled with active

    learning each day. Ask your childwhat new facts they learned today. By

    the way, the definitions are: the study

    of rocks, the study of ants, and the

    study of the nose. How did you do?

    From Ms. JohnsonThe goal of the ESOL program is to

    meet the immediate communication

    needs of the English Language

    Learner (ELL) students by teaching

    English as expeditiously as possible,

    so that he/she can function effectivelyin the regular academic program. We

    make sure to provide our diverse

    learners the necessary tools to ensure

    academic success. Most of our

    homeroom teachers are ESOL

    certified/endorsed; therefore, they are

    highly qualified to reach theirlinguistic as well as their cultural

    needs.

    From Mrs. Closson

    The Wekiva Elementary Guidance

    Department provides a comprehensive

    developmental school counseling

    program that assists families, students,

    and teachers in many areas, with

    special focus on academic

    achievement and personal/social skill

    development. Academic achievement

    includes test interpretation,

    advisement, study skills, organization,

    test taking skills, academic and

    behavioral goal setting, and schooltransitions. The area of personal/socia

    skills concentrates on violence and

    drug prevention, anger management,resources for grief and loss, groups for

    divorce and changing families,

    mentoring, and making and keeping

    friends. Please feel free to call if you

    believe we can be of assistance. (407-746-3154)

    From Ms. Kelly-Bubon/Ms. Taylor

    Students with SLD, Specific

    Learning Disabilities, are identified as

    having a normal to above normal

    intellectual quotient, however,struggle with grade level academics.

    Instruction is supported in the general

    education classroom provided by Mrs.

    Kelly-Bubon and Mrs. Taylor.

    Students are taught a variety of

    strategies that help them in Reading,Math and Written Language areas.

    From Ms. Roffe

    Students in Ms. Roffes K-2 class

    are learning a variety of skills in the

    following curriculum areas:Expressive/Receptive/Spontaneous

    Language, Functional Routines, Pre-

    academic Concepts, Play Skills, Socia

    Interaction Skills, and Academic

    Skills as determine by individual need

    The four main methods instruction

    used to teach these skills are DiscreteTrial Training, Pivotal Response

    Training, Functional Routines

    Instruction, and Direct Instruction

    (these methods are all based on thescience of applied behavior analysis).

    From Ms. K (Kavaliauskas)

    I support the general education

    teachers and their students with ASD.

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    Wekiva WhispersWekiva Elementary School

    1450 East Wekiva Trail

    Longwood, Florida 32779

    Phone: 746-3150 Fax: 746-3163September 2011

    Principal: Marjorie Adamczyk Assistant Principal: Michelle Baker

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

    The type of support provided is

    completely based on the students

    needs. Social skills groups are also a

    support implemented to help facilitate

    social thinking and peer relationships.

    From Ms. Ashcraft and Ms. Keiffer

    Speech and language skills are the

    basic building block we use tocommunicate in all arenas. Speech-

    language pathologists address

    difficulties with: 1. Speech-the way

    we talk; our voice (too nasal or too

    hoarse), articulation (sounds inwords), or fluency (lack of stuttering)

    and 2. Language what we say; our

    vocabulary, content andgrammar/structure. After a referral,

    evaluation process and determination

    by a student study team, students may

    qualify to receive speech and/orlanguage services to improve their

    communication skills.

    From Mrs. Kranz

    The music room is up and running!

    Fourth and fifth grade returningstudents should be locating theirrecorders for this school year. The

    school store will be selling Yamaha

    recorders for $5 to 4th and 5th graders

    first, along with 3rd grade students

    participating in Koala MusicKidz. Aletter will be sent home regarding

    loaners, should you decide to opt out

    of that opportunity.

    We are looking forward to a fun-filled,

    musical year!

    *Advanced Chorus (4th 5th) Tuesday

    3:15 4:15 p.m.*Advanced Instrumental Wednesday

    7:55 8:35 a.m.

    *Beginning Chorus Thursday

    3:15 4:00 p.m.

    From Ms. Gabrovic

    Super Scientist dates are as follows:

    Round #1 - December 1-December 8

    Round #3 - April 26-May 3

    If you are interested in helping Mrs.

    Gabrovic on your childs science lab

    day, please email Mrs. Gabrovic at

    [email protected]

    Critter Care Club will begin thismonth for all interested fourth graders.

    Each class will be assigned a month to

    take care of the Science Lab critters.If you have not turned in your form,

    please do so as soon as possible.

    Additional forms can be found on

    Mrs. Gabrovics website.

    From Coach Prose and Coach Gray

    P.E. would like to welcome you and

    your children back to another schoolyear! We have many exciting

    activities planned for your children

    this year. We just finished bicycle

    safety and cooperative games and arestarting a Geocaching/Letterboxing

    lesson. Geocaching and Letterboxing

    are fun activities you can do with your

    children, which involves searching for

    cache on the computer and then using

    a GPS to find the location. Thelocation could be locally or on theother side of the world. In the near

    future, look for information about a

    Family Bike Ride/Hike at Wekiva

    Springs State Park and permission

    slips for your child to join our CrossCountry Club that starts in October.

    From Ms. Cook

    Recycling Program

    Throughout the year, we promote the

    recycling of the followingitems: empty inkjet, laser, fax and

    copier cartridges, laptops, used cell

    phones, digital cameras, PDAs/Palm

    Pilots, iPods, GPS devices, VideoGame Consoles, Video Games and

    DVD Movies in their boxes. 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, our school 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 contactMrs. Cook at 407-746-3151.

    Parent Pick Up

    Parents waiting in the car line; the

    school has received phone calls that

    the driveways to our neighboring

    homes are blocked.Also, it is not the school policy topark and pick up children in the car

    line area. We have created a policy to

    keep your child safe. Picking them up

    does not assure that they are going

    home safely because we cannot

    account for it. If you wish to pick up

    your child, you must come to the front

    office and check them out before 2:30

    (1:30 on Wednesday). Thank you foryour assistance in this matter. Safety

    and security is our number one

    concern.

    Read Every Day for Homework!

    Seminole County

    Sheriff Office

    Crossing Guard

    Corner

    Did You Know

    The first weeks of school are always abit chaotic as we embark on new daily

    routines. Please allow yourself

    additional travel time whencommuting near or through school

    zones and be especially mindful ofreduced speed limits, school crossings

    and our Crossing Guards. Remember

    to avoid distractions in your vehicle.

    Parents, it is very important that you

    make use of the pick-up/drop-off

    traffic plans in place for your school.They are designed with the safety of

    your child, the Crossing Guards and

    all others who rely on alternate means

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    Wekiva WhispersWekiva Elementary School

    1450 East Wekiva Trail

    Longwood, Florida 32779

    Phone: 746-3150 Fax: 746-3163September 2011

    Principal: Marjorie Adamczyk Assistant Principal: Michelle Baker

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

    of transportation. Lets have a safe

    school year and dont forget to Buckle

    Up!

    Annual Book Sale

    Wekiva will be hosting its annualUsed Book Sale and Ice Cream Social

    on September 20th. We will be

    collecting book donations fromSeptember 6th through September

    16th. Please send in any gently used

    childrens books you would like to

    donate to the sale. Books can be

    dropped off in the media center. Allproceeds from the sale will go directly

    to support reading at Wekiva

    Elementary. The used book sale willbe at the first PTA meeting on

    September 20th at 7:00. This is a

    great opportunity to clean out your

    shelves, pick up some inexpensivebooks, and enjoy some free ice cream

    with your children! If you have any

    questions, please contact Mrs. Hull at

    407-746-3137 or

    [email protected].

    Important Dates

    9/7 5:00 SAC 6:15 PTA

    7:00 Sign Up for Boys Scouts

    (Media) & Girl Scouts

    (Cafeteria)

    9/12 Robotics Club begins9/14 12:45 1:45 Grandparents

    Day in Kindergarten

    9/15 Picture Day for Grades

    Pre-Kindergarten through 2

    *Chick-fil-A Night

    9/16 Picture Day for Grades 3 -5

    Picture Day is for theyearbook too!

    9/20 Ice Cream Social at 7:00 p.m.

    PTA General Meeting

    Book Sale!!!9/28 Papa Murphys Night

    9/29 No School

    10/4 4th Gr. Museum Field Trips

    Ms. Raby/Ms. Castro

    10/5 Progress Reports Go Home

    5:00 SAC

    6:15 PTA

    10/6 4th G. Museum Field Trip

    Ms. Russell/Ms. Crenshaw

    10/7 4th Gr. Museum Field Trip

    Ms. Hewitt/Ms. Lindsey

    On September 2, Major Robert Hurd and his daughter Emma said the Pledge of

    Allegiance on KNN. Major Hurd is now stationed at Fort Bragg, NC with the

    82nd Airborne Division. He has served in Iraq twice before and is getting ready

    to go to Afghanistan again later this month, for a year. Wekiva is going to

    adopt his division this year.

    This Sunday is Patriots Day, in remembrance of 9/11, September 16 we shareConstitution Day, and during the week of September 26 30 is Freedom Week.

    School Board MeetingSeptember 13, 2011

    Educational Support Center

    at 2:30

    Budget Open to Public