Wekiva Whispers

Wekiva Elementary School 1450 East Wekiva Trail Longwood, Florida 32779 Phone: 746-3150 Fax: 746-3163 October 2011 Principal: Marjorie Adamczyk Assistant Principal: Michelle Baker Principals Message September came and went quickly! During September, there were lots of assessments going on at school. State and local assessment help to drive the instruction. Teachers will now analyze the scores to determine the best strategies to help students learn the grade level standards. Communication is so important at this time of the year. It allows us to understand where children are, what help they need, and what interventions must be in place to be proficient at their grade level. Students taking state testing need to be diligent now, not later, in preparation. Teachers have been conferencing with parents at this time to make sure everyone is working together. SynreVoice or School Connects, our phone communication device that allows us to call home with upcoming events is still not in operation. We are hoping it will be functioning soon. One of the concerns in the upper grades has been homework. Students should have homework every night. The homework should be done independently unless the teachers shares differently. Homework is not only about practicing a skill; it is about the responsibility to continue learning. We also do not have enough time in the school day to do independent reading. At school, students are placed at instructional reading levels; at home they should be working at an independent level. If you have a child in grade 3-5, here is another website offered to our students for FREE!!! It is affiliated with FCAT Explorer, called FOCUS. It has mini-assessments for math, reading and science for FCAT 2.0 practice depending on the grade level. Students use their FCAT. Explorer user name and password to log-in. http://focus.floridaachieves.com/(S(3wbtmq45jwmku5y2 hvtyj1eg))/login.aspx Ms. Cook, our Technology Facilitator will place the link on our website for easy access. Our Positive Behavior Support Team is also working together on our arrival and dismissal procedures. There are many parents on campus that are not checking in at the front office. To make the campus a safe and secure place to be, look for more messages and information from me in the near future. Until then, please check-in at the front office, so that you have a name tag. Please note, that if you are stopped to go to the office, it is part of our procedures to keep children secure. Until next time. Ms. Adamczyk PTA News Its almost that time and we are hard at work planning your annual WEKIVA ELEMENTARY FALL FESTIVAL. Dont forget to mark your calendar and save the date SATURDAY, OCTOBER 29th from 11:00-3:00. We have planned many exciting things for the whole family to enjoy! The 2011 Fall Festival will include: A Giant Slide, Bounce House, Dunk Tank, Rock Wall, DJ Music, Games, Spin Art Station, Spooky Science Lab, Cake Walk, Chili Cook-Off, not to mention great food and fall treats! There will also be 2 performances by the very talented kids from Super Studios and dont forget the most anticipated event of the yearthe sliming of our brand new principal, Ms. Adamczyk at 1:00. We also encourage everyone to participate in the costume contest being held under our pavilion (please Seminole County Public Schools www.scps.k12.fl.us or www.wekivaelementary.com no skimpy or overly scary costumes). Be the lucky one to take home a prize for best dressed or most creative! Tickets are sold day of for $7 for students and $4 for preschoolers, Parents are always free! Sign-up sheets have gone home so dont miss your chance to volunteer or whip up your best batch of chili. As always these events are only successful with your participation! Be sure to send it in and be a part of this Wekiva tradition by donating as little as an hour of your time. Please contact Megan Davidson @ 407-702-7151 with questions. We look forward to seeing you all at this years Fall Festival on SATURDAY, OCTOBER 29th. Grade Level News Music Ms. Kranz The new school year is in full swing in the music room. Parents of 4th and 5th graders have received a letter about recorders for their students. Third graders are busy preparing for their Veteran's Day Program on November 11. All grade levels are busy singing and playing instruments with differing levels of difficulty. Your students produce beautiful music every day, and I am proud of them. Koala MusicKidz t-shirts are on sale now in the music room. If your child is a part of the Advanced groups, they need a t-shirt as a part of their KMK uniform. If you have any questions, please contact Mrs. Kranz at 407-7463148 or sue_kranz@scps.k12.fl.us. Thanks for your support of the music program at Wekiva Elementary School. Shop and Help! From Dr. Baker Parents, if you missed your first chance to participate in Wekivas passive fundraiser, Schoolstore.com

Wekiva Whispers
Wekiva Elementary School 1450 East Wekiva Trail Longwood, Florida 32779 Phone: 746-3150 Fax: 746-3163 October 2011 Principal: Marjorie Adamczyk Assistant Principal: Michelle Baker nows your chance! Just register online at www.schoolstore.net and enter our school ID# 144839. Then, our school will earn money every time you shop online at over 200 merchants, including Target, Walmart, Kohls and the Disney Store. You can also order books and magazines at the Family Book Store AND purchase gift certificates for your childs teacher! In only two short weeks, our school has already earned $475, and the teachers have received over $2,000 in gift certificates for their classrooms. Its a win-win scenario, so support Wekiva and register now! Free Workshop Free Cyberbullying Prevention Workshop for Parents 6-7 p.m. Monday, Oct. 24 Winter Springs High School auditorium 130 Tuskawilla Road Winter Springs, FL 32708 Sgt. Charles Albrecht with the Seminole County Sheriff's Office and Julie Emmer with Seminole Behavioral Healthcare will be leading a Cyberbullying Prevention Workshop 6-7 p.m. Monday, Oct. 24, at the Winter Springs High School auditorium. All parents are invited to attend this interactive workshop, which will look at what cyberbullying is and how to prevent or stop it. To sign-up: www.seminolecares.org Seminole County Sheriff Office Carls Safe Crossing Campaign Did You Know The week of October 3rd -7th is School Zone Safety Awareness Week for Seminole County. We are stressing that students and parents alike be extra safe whenever you are in a school zone. A school zone is described as that portion of a street or highway located within a school area that is subject to a reduced speed limit at certain times of a day. A school zone is defined by traffic control devices and normally adjacent to school property. It may be established at other locations when justified by an engineering study. School zones are not to be applied in a blanket manner for all streets and highways within a school area. We will be passing out flyers, holding Safety Zone campaigns and having extra patrols in and around our county,and our school zones during this week. Please make sure to slow down and be careful when you are entering a school zone. Stay Safe out there. BOOK FAIR Scholastics TO THE BOOK FAIR AND BEYOND is coming soon! On Mon. Oct. 24 & Tues. Oct. 25, each child visits the Book Fair to preview the books. Students can make purchases during school on Wed. Oct. 26-Fri. Oct. 28. Your childs Wish List will have the price of each book they selected. Please dont forget to add 7% sales tax. On Wed., Oct. 26 (8:30-9:30 am) were hosting a GRAND EVENT for grandparents and parents to shop without children; refreshments will be served. Well also be open after school on Wednesday, Oct. 26 until 3:00 pm. and on Saturday, Oct. 29 during Fall Festival (11-2:00). We have books for all ages, including preschoolers and adults. We hope youll be impressed at the selection. NEW: SHOP the BOOK FAIR ONLINE from home or for outof-town relatives (available Oct. 19Nov. 8). Click the Book Fair link on Wekivas homepage. RECYCLING CONTEST Our FALL RECYCLING CONTEST continues until Oct. 21. The class that earns the most points will earn $50 from Cartridges for Kids. Items we recycle include: empty inkjet, laser, fax and copier cartridges, laptops, iPods, cell phones, PDAs, scientific calculators, video game consoles & games, digital cameras, movie DVDs and GPS devices. Please send those items to your childs class so they can add them to their class tally sheets. Help us REDUCE, REUSE & RECYCLE! Any questions, call Mrs. Cook at 407-746-3151. Important Dates 5:00 SAC Work Day Non-attendance Day for students. 10/20 First Grade at Orlando Shakespeare 10/24 Red Ribbon Week Kick-Off Book Fair Opens 10/27 Hearing Screening Grades PreK, K, 1, and 3-new to FL 10/29 Fall Festival 11-3 J 11/1-10 Boosterthon Kick-off 11/2 5:00 SAC 6: 15 PTA 11/3 Picture Retakes 11/4 Fifth Grade at Orlando Repertoire Theater 11/5 Wekiva Elementary is hosting a Garage Sale Proceeds and donations go to Wekiva Walks for Autism. Saturday, November 5th, 7:00 am 1:00 p.m. If you have items for us to sell, please call Cassandra Curtis at 407746-3117. 10/12 10/17

Seminole County Public Schools www.scps.k12.fl.us or www.wekivaelementary.com