Wekiva Whispers
Wekiva Elementary School
Principal: Michael Pfeiffer
Principal’s Message
I must inform everyone that after
seven years of serving as principal of
Wekiva Elementary, I will be
transferred to Walker Elementary
School. I would like to sincerely
thank all my teachers and staff, the
parents and the community, but most
of all the Wekiva students for all they
have done to make my time at
Wekiva an absolutely wonderful
experience. I will remember you all
and at the close of my career,
hopefully many years from now, I
will undoubtedly rank my tenure at
Wekiva Elementary as my most
rewarding professional and personal
experience. Your support has been
the key in making Wekiva one of the
top ranked schools in one of the top
ranked counties in the state. In short,
one of the best among the best!
Seven years ago, I stated that success
in education is based in three basic
statements: every decision must be
made on what is best for ALL
children; the key to success is
founded in sincere teamwork;
successful teamwork is dependent
upon strong open communication
between all stake holders. Over the
years, the above philosophy has
served us well. I have no doubt
Wekiva will continue its tradition of
excellence. I am proud to know that I
was able to be part of your success!
PTA News
A huge THANK YOU to everyone
who supported PTA this year. PTA is
proud to be honored with the
following awards this year:
Membership Award, 100% Faculty
Award, Grandparent Gold
Membership Award, Supermen
Award, and the Advocacy Award!
Many parents took on big roles, while
others preferred being “behind the
scenes”.
www.scps.k12.fl.us or www.wekivaelementary.com
1450 East Wekiva Trail
Longwood, Florida 32779
Phone: 746-3150 Fax: 746-3163
Summer 2011
Assistant Principal: Michelle Baker
Wekiva PTA 2011-12
With summer here, your Wekiva PTA
is already working on the upcoming
school year! Now that funds are so
desperately limited within the school,
Wekiva Elementary will be more
dependent upon fundraisers than ever
before. Thank you for participating
in Entertainment Books and the
Boosterthon Fun Run! These two
fundraisers benefit Wekiva students
in many recurring ways: Technology
Upgrades, Fall Festival, Family
Dinner, Supply Pack Coordination, 'A
Honor Roll' Recognition, FREE Ice
Cream Social, a FREE student
Motivational Show, Koala Players,
5th Grade Farewell and many, many
more!! Entertainment Books also
save parents LOTS of money! By
keeping them in the car, you’ll have
coupons whenever you need them, for
use all over town! Entertainment
Books come home the first week of
school next year – parents, please
help your student sell at least two.
Prizes such as an HD Video
Camcorder or Wonder Works
Admissions will be awarded to the
student who sells the most each
week! Don't forget about this reduce-
price summer FUN with the
following coupons from this year’s
Entertainment Book: ice cream &
bowling coupons, Chick-Fil-A, RDV
Ice Den, Gatorland, Arabian Nights,
Ripley’s Believe It Or Not & Congo
River, just to name a few!
Kindergarten parents – Please join us
in the Media Center for ”Coffee &
Kleenex” after you walk your child to
their classroom the first day of
school!
2011-12 School Supply Packs
School supply packs can be picked up
in the media center during Open
House on Aug. 12th.
Seminole County Public Schools
Teacher Requests 2011-2012
To clarify, Wekiva does not accept
specific teacher requests. As Wekiva
is blessed to have outstanding
teachers in all of its grades and
classes, we feel that all of our
students will be placed with a great
teacher. Specific student
characteristics or needs (ESOL, ESE,
health issues, 504 accommodations,
learning styles, etc.) will be taken into
account when scheduling students.
Kindergarten Parent Night
On Thursday, August 11, 2011,
Wekiva will hold its annual
Kindergarten Parent Night from 6:00-
7:15 p.m. This is a wonderful time
for parents to meet their child’s
teacher and become familiar with the
Wekiva kindergarten program. This
event is limited to parents only.
Open House 2011-2012
Wekiva will be holding its Open
House for parents and students on
Friday, August 12, 2011, from 10:00
a.m. – 12:00 p.m. Parents and
students are invited to walk the
campus and meet their teachers.
Lunch accounts, bus information,
PTA, supplies, and various other
school business can be conducted on
this day.
Moving?
Parents are reminded that if you are
moving, your new residency
information must be updated in the
office. Failure to do so may result in
your child being withdrawn from
school. If new to Wekiva or entering
kindergarten, and lacking residency
documents, students will not be
permitted to start on the first day of
school.
 Summer Reading
Keep your children reading this
summer. Research shows that
children who read just 6 books on
their independent reading level
maintain their reading level over the
summer and are more prepared to
start the next school year. Check out
www.bookadventure.com. This free
website offers over 3,000 AR type
comprehension questions and will
also generate a booklist for your child
based on their interests. The Hunt
Club library is also offering a free
summer reading program. Happy
reading!
Join Koala MusicKidz in 2011-12
Koala MusicKidz is a great way to
involve your student in the world of
music before they reach middle and
high school. The students learn many
valuable lessons - from good singing
technique to teamwork to
responsibility. Boys are encouraged
to join as well. Boys are a valuable
presence in the music program,
preparing them for the band and
chorus experiences that will be
offered in middle and high school.
Supporting Wekiva
Support Wekiva as best you can by
doing the following:
• Support your child’s class by
being a DIVIDEND.
• Join PTA and support PTA
fundraisers.
• Support Technology.
• Shop at Target and designate
Wekiva as your “school”.
• Turn in Box Tops for Education,
Campbell Soup labels, Tyson
labels, Coke Rewards, and ink
cartridges.
Stock Market
Simulation/Challenge
All grade levels in the Gifted
program have taken part in the
Florida Stock Market Challenge,
sponsored by the Florida Council on
Economic Education. Each individual
or group was given an imaginary
$100,000 to purchase stock and then
tracked its progress for 15 weeks.
Teams competed within the state and
the region and found out their
www.scps.k12.fl.us or www.wekivaelementary.com
profit/loss on a weekly basis.
Congratulations to Jason Williams
and Jake Ebanks, two 5th grade
students who took 1st place in our
division in the state and won a $50
pizza party from Papa John’s. They
also won $100 which can be spent for
school related items.
2011 Yearbooks Are Here!!
So many memories can still be found
in the remaining few yearbooks still
for sale in the front office. The great
color pictures of Fall Festival,
Boosterthon, Trek for Tech, clubs,
classroom activities, plays and much,
much more are contained within the
yearbook pages. Don’t delay!
Purchase your child’s yearbook for
$20 in the front office while they last.
Box Tops
Wekiva received almost $4000 from
our Box Top collections this year.
That is amazing and thanks to all!!!
This money goes right back to student
programs and is a major budget
component in these tough economic
times. Thank you to all of the
teachers who support this program
and to all of the students who remind
their parents to cut out the Box Tops
before throwing away the empty
packages. A great big thank you to
the parents and PTA members who
also help support this program. It
takes just a short while to make a big
difference for our school. Keep
collecting Box Tops over the summer
and turn them in when we start the
2011-12 school year.
Recycling
Did you know your cell phone is
worth fundraising CA$H? Any used
cell phone will do, collecting them
from your place of employment helps
us greatly! Wekiva is always
collecting cell phones throughout the
year as well as empty ink cartridges,
old laptops, PDAs/iPods, video game
players, and even DVDs. Thank you
for helping us RECYCLE and
REUSE!
Seminole County Public Schools
Spring Recycling Contest Results
Wekiva would like to extend a HUGE
thank you to everyone who sent in
items to be recycled during our
contest last month. I’m happy to
report we earned $367.07. The money
will be used to help us renew one of
our online site licenses.
Congratulations to the winning class,
Mrs. Sheryl Turner’s 5th graders, who
earned $50 for their class. I’d also
like to thank our business sponsors:
Charles Schwab and Leavitt
Management Group for their
continued support with our recycling
program. Please continue to send in
items since we recycle all year long.
Summer Health Tips from P.E.
While you try to stay fit as a family, it
is important to have fun while
keeping safety in mind. Here are
some tips: Warm up and stretch
before any activity, wear appropriate
headgear or pads when cycling or
skating, always swim with a buddy,
record your activities in a fitness
diary, stick to a schedule, and let
everyone in the family have a turn
choosing activities.
Lost and Found
As the school year comes to a close,
we remind all parents and students to
check the Lost and Found (located in
the cafeteria) for lost clothing, coats,
backpacks, and lunch boxes. All
unclaimed items will be donated to a
charity at the close of the school year.
Important Dates
8/11 Kindergarten Parent Night,
6:00 p.m.
8/12 Open House, 10:00 a.m.-
12:00 p.m.
8/15 First Day of School