Watergrass Elementary...

$: Watergrass Elementary Schoolwges.pasco.k12.fl.us/wp-content/uploads/wges/2015/02/February-2015-OO-.pdfWatergrass Elementary School 32750 Overpass Road \ Wesley Chapel, FL 33545 \ 813-346-0600$
Watergrass Elementary School32750 Overpass Road \ Wesley Chapel, FL 33545 \ 813-346-0600 \ wges.pasco.k12.fl.us

Scott Mitchell, Principal \ Liz Boeger, Assistant principal

February 11, 2015

Ms. Hill, of the Snowy Owls, invited her grandson, Derek Holmes Jr., to bring his work vehicle, a 2015 Chevrolet NASCAR Stingray, to WGES on 2/10. He talked about the importance of school achievement to the students’ futures. Mr. Holmes works for NASCAR’s 12 Hours of Sebring race in the field of marketing and promotion. His next stop was the Florida State Fair!

Principal’s Message Quail Hollow Elementary is on track to reopen in August of 2015. We expect about 120 of our current students to be moving over to QHES for the upcoming school year. I am excited to announce that our Superintendent, Mr. Browning, has hired an administrative team for QHES. Ms. Kara Smucker will be the principal and Ms. Kimberly Natal will be the assistant principal. With these two leading the way, we will be seeing great things from QHES in the near future. Look for more information soon from them through social media. This month is School Choice Open Enrollment time. Everyone who currently attends Watergrass Elementary School on school choice is required to complete a new application for the 2015-‐16 school year. The application can be found on the district website: www.Pascoschools.org. Further information is on the last page of this edition of the Owl Oracle. This year’s state testing window is much larger than in years past. Parents of third, fourth, and fifth graders, please pay special attention to this section of our newsletter. If Mrs. Boeger or I can be of any assistance, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Mr. Mitchell Citizens of the Month January Character Trait: “Kindness”. Citizens of the Month were recognized on Friday, January 30th. Burrowing Owls: Kevin Donahue (Hunter) Paulina Garcia (Raysor) Pygmy Owls: Isabel Gil (Kiefer) Isabella Melendez (Hust) Eagle Owls: Andrea Monks (Goldstone) Azalea Scotland (Cabral) Snowy Owls: Mackenzie Lowery (Pickard) Trinity Eltzroth (Ruday) Spotted Owls: Christopher Deligatti (Wohl) Kaitlyn Baldwin (Marsella) Great Grey Owls: Lathen Falk (Bissett) Elf Owls: Aiden Rosales (Stockelman) Tropical Screech: Ava Rodriguez (Sanchez) Spectacled Owls: Tousey Green (Pygmy Owls) Logan Shipley (GGO)

Important Dates 2/13 Progress Reports Home 2/16 Holiday-School Closed 2/17 Eagle Owls--WCPAC 2/19 Burrowing--Safety Town 2/20 Burrowing--Safety Town 2/20 Great Grey Owls--WCPAC 2/20-23 Spotted Owls--EMC 2/23 SAC Meeting 2/26 Citizens of the Month UP-Coming Dates 3/6 Field Day 3/11 Picture Day 03/11 Burrowing Owls--WCPAC 03/13 Quarter 3 ends 03/13 PTA Spring Festival 03/16-20 Spring Break 03/23 Teacher Planning – No School for Students 03/23 SAC Meeting 03/30 Burrowing & Pygmy Owls to WCPAC 03/30 Report Cards go home

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Clinic Updates With over 800 students on campus this year our clinic gets very busy during the school day. We want to be able to give every student in the clinic our full attention. Here are some ways parents may assist us in meeting this goal: 1-‐Prescription medication check in or check out is best done during our non-‐busy times between 9-‐10AM and 3-‐4PM, or, you may email our clinic assistant, Mrs. Redman, to schedule an appointment. [email protected] 2-‐Please send a full change of clothing with your K-‐2 grade student for those occasional spills. Keeping this in the backpack or classroom saves a trip to the clinic to borrow clothing. All borrowed clothing needs to be returned once laundered. 3-‐Keep your child home from school if he or she has a fever or has been vomiting in the past 24 hours.

Music Notes Our 5th graders are taking a field trip to Center for the Arts at Wesley Chapel to see ARCATTACK! Students will see two custom-‐engineered, hand built Tesla Coils that throw out electrical

arcs up to twelve feet long, each one acting as an instrument with a sound reminiscent of the early days of the synthesizer. A robotic drum set accompanies the spectacle. Sounds like ELECTRO-‐CHARGED fun! Send in your permission slip with $7.00 to go see this fabulous show! Our Kindergarten and First grade musical, “Oceans of Fun” will be at the Center for the Arts at Wesley Chapel High School Monday, March 30, at 7:00 pm. Make sure you send in the permission slips so your child can participate!

Art Palette

Feb Art News: Many students will be working with watercolor and Tempera paint this quarter. Please make sure your child is dressed appropriately for Art Days. Yearbook News: Yearbooks are $18 cash or check. Checks must be made out to WGES and have current address and phone number on them. P.E. Rundown Our monthly pledge for February is to Drink More Water! We hope to see all of our students hydrated and ready to learn in the classrooms and on the field! Please join us in encouraging our students to drink water instead of other sugary beverages this month. Exercise Logs for Quarter 3 have been distributed and are due by March 6. Please urge your child to be active at home and to fill out the Exercise Logs. Field Day will be on Friday, March 6. An informational sheet was passed out to each student asking for parent volunteers. If you are willing to help please fill out the form and turn it into Coach Satinoff as soon as possible. Remember to Snip & Clip: Please continue to save Boxtops for Education and Campbell’s Labels for Education. Thank you to everyone who has been snipping and sending these FREE fundraisers in for WGES Burrowing Owls The Burrowing Owls are leaving the nest! We are SO excited to be going to Safety Town on the 19th and 20th of this month. Mrs. Compton’s, Mrs. Ichimura’s, and Mrs. Raysor’s classes will be going on the 19th. Mrs. Perez’s, Ms. Smith’s, Mrs. Turner’s, and Ms. Hunter’s classes will be going on the 20th. Please be sure to sign and return the permission slip and fee as soon as possible. Tommy the Toothbrush visited on February 2. He taught us the importance of brushing and

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flossing our teeth and visiting the dentist regularly. Thanks to Dr. Stepanski at Children’s Dentistry for allowing Tommy to visit our school. Congratulations to last month’s Citizens of the Month, Kevin Donahue from Ms. Hunter’s class and from Mrs. Raysor’s class, Paulina Garcia. We chose these students based on their “Kindness.” At this time of the year, our classroom supplies start to dwindle. Please consider donating the following items to your child’s classroom: playdough, glue sticks, tissues, pencils, dry erase markers, baby wipes, and white card stock. Thanks so much for always supporting your Burrowing Owl Kindergarten!

Pygmy Owls Congratulations to Isabel Gil and Isabella Melendez for winning the Citizenship Award this month! Our students are continuing their study of place value and comparing numbers. Tying this in with fun activities at home is a great way to make home and school learning connections! Please continue to reinforce addition and subtraction math facts at home as well! Also, please read nightly for academic success. Remember, reading aloud to your child is an excellent way to increase his/her reading knowledge. Only fifteen minutes of reading each night can make a huge impact on your child’s reading!

Snowy Owl News The Snowy Owls are busy working on our STEM Fair projects. In mathematics we are learning about Perimeter and Area. It is essential for students to know their multiplication facts 0 through 12 flash speed. Please help your child by studying multiplication facts nightly. Please continue to encourage your child to see science and math in the world around them! Please remind your child to read nightly at home for at least 20 minutes. Ask your child about what he or she is reading. It is very important for school success. Since the beginning of the third quarter we are finding ourselves in need of some of the items that you were so generous in giving at the beginning of the year. This includes such items as pencils, baby wipes, hand sanitizer, tissues, and anything that you would like to contribute.

Spotted Owls Just a few notes from the Spotted Owls! We are continuing to prepare for this year’s new FSA Writing Test, which will take place on March 2. It is important that your child gets plenty of rest, eats a nutritious breakfast, and arrives at school on time everyday, but especially on test days. Positive encouragement from a parent on the morning of the test is also important! Testing will begin at 10:00 AM and the students will have up to 120 minutes to complete the test. That time includes reading from one to four articles, addressing the prompt, whether an explanatory or an opinion based prompt. Students will then plan, cite text evidence while writing their essay, and finally edit and revise the final product. The Fourth Grade FSA Reading test will be March 25-‐26 and the Fourth Grade FSA Math test will be April 1-‐2. We will be doing practice assessments before the tests to help guide instruction and give the students a chance to experience the new FSA format. Our 4th graders will not be having a Valentine’s Day party, however, they can bring valentines to share at the end of the day on Friday, February 13th. If they choose to bring valentines, we ask that they bring one for everyone in their class to avoid anyone feeling left out. You will be

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getting a short note about this very soon. Thank you! Christopher Deligatti from Ms. Wohl’s class and Kaitlyn Baldwin from Ms. Marsella’s class were chosen as January’s Citizens of the Month. These students exemplify the character trait of KINDNESS. Remember! Mark your calendar for these dates when your child’s class will be heading the Energy Marine Center in Port Richey: Ms. Gaudens’ and Ms. Wohl’s February 20th Mrs. Chatmon’s and Ms. Preston’s February 23rd Ms. Marsella’s class on February 24th. Lastly, the Spotted Owls are in need of more pencils, notebook paper, and tissues. If you are able, please consider sending these items to school with your child. It will be greatly appreciated.

Great Grey Owls Greetings Great Greys! January has quickly passed, and we wanted to bring your attention to some exciting things we have coming up in February for the fifth graders. First, all fifth graders should be working on their STEM Fair projects. The students should be wrapping up all aspects of their project and working on their slide shows in Google Docs. Make sure your presentation represents all of the time and effort you put into your project. The slide shows are due February 18th. We know we'll have a tough competition! Speaking of STEM, in math class our new topic is Fractions, which includes adding, subtracting, multiplying and dividing fractions and mixed numbers; and in science we are learning about Force and Motion. Please make sure to review these concepts at home, and don’t forget that you can access the math and science book, as well as additional resources, from the Think Central and Science Fusion links on Kids Corner. These will prove very helpful for studying at home. In ELA we will be working hard on Unit 3 skills such as comparing and contrasting while reading about space. We will also be busily preparing for our FSA Writing Assessment by reviewing Opinion and Informative/Expository Essays. Students will be practicing writing from text and using evidence to support their answers. If you

have any questions or concerns about the upcoming assessment please contact your child’s teacher. Let’s have a great quarter 3 Great Greys. Remember to give your best effort all of the time. Good luck!

School Counselors’ Corner

Mrs. Ward and Mrs. Hoffman would like to congratulate the members of our Owls on the Move Girls Running Club, who completed the 5K for our K5 on February 7. Way to go Jackie, Elizabeth P, Megan, Isabella, Mallory, Jillian, Riley K, Amara, Kaitlyn, Sienna, and Rylie H-‐ overall female winner of the race! We look forward to continuing our Thursday afternoon runs. Dr. Kelly and Mrs. Ward continue to visit classrooms in Grades K-‐5 and are currently teaching lessons on Safety and Student Success Skills. We are also running small groups. Please contact us with any concerns about your child. We are always happy to help and to get to know all of our Watergrass families. Mrs. Ward and Dr. Kelly, School Counselors

Follow WGES Online Keep in touch with all the latest happenings through your favorite

social media outlet.

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Three-For Night 2/26!

6:00-‐7:00PM

WGES Cafeteria 1-‐SPRING Testing Info Meeting

Join Mark Butler, District Testing Coordinator, to learn more about the FSA and FCAT testing in grades 3-‐4-‐5. Parents in

ALL grade levels welcome.

2-‐Chorus Performance

Stay on after the meeting for a chorus performance!

3-‐Free Math Grab-‐Bag Giveaway!

Stop by the Media Center after the concert to take-‐home-‐a-‐sack of free math resources-‐while supplies last!

WAY TO GO RUNNERS!

Thank you, WGES PTA Volunteers for making our 5K for our K5 a great day of races for everyone!

New State Testing Calendar Our students in grades 3, 4, and 5 will participate in new state testing this year. The Florida Standards in English Language Arts and Math, and the Next Generation Sunshine State Standards in Science will be assessed in separate test windows. The dates listed below are planned test dates for each test session. The windows list the last date the specific test may be taken by any student for each test.

FSA AIR TEST (Window 1 through 3/13/15) (paper/pencil test) Grade 4 and 5 Writing: March 2

FSA AIR TEST (Window 2 through 4/10/15) (paper/pencil tests) Grade 3 and 4 Reading: March 25 & 26 Grade 3 and 4 Math: April 1 & 2

FSA AIR TEST (Window 3 through 5/8/15) (online tests) Grade 5 Reading: April 13 & 14 Grade 5 Math: April 20 & 21

FCAT TEST (Window 3 through 5/8/15) (paper/pencil test) Grade 5 Science: April 27 & 28

Please mark your family calendars and avoid scheduling appointments or changing the school routines during these dates. All tests must be given in the order listed above per district and state rule. When a student is absent for one test it may push the student into make up testing for that test and any that follow. This can cause some students to test poorly due to the change in routines. Thank you!

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2015-2016 IMPORTANT UPDATES School Choice Open Enrollment At A Glance

The District School Board of Pasco County is committed to providing students with educational options to support learning that is rigorous and relevant to their world and prepares them for the future. Parents can indicate their request for the best educational option for their children between February 1st and March 1st by completing a School Choice Open Enrollment application on the district web site: www.Pascoschools.org. The following information is provided in the hope that it assists schools in addressing some of the questions that often arise during the application process. We thank you for the support and guidance that you give to our students and their families during the district’s Open Enrollment period. Please be aware that several school boundary changes affect students for the 2015-‐16 school year.

OPEN ENROLLMENT WINDOW: FEBRUARY 1ST – MARCH 1ST(2015) ALL PARENT INQUIRIES REGARDING CHOICE: [email protected] CLASS SIZE AMENDMENT CONTINUES TO BE A PRIORITY

APPLICATIONS: Complete and digital applications will be accepted.

o Provide access to a computer at your site or encourage them to visit local public libraries, which have computers available for public use.

o Each child must have a separate application. o Applicants from neighboring counties require an approved release from the home county before March 1st. Students currently on approved School Choice do not need to reapply UNLESS:

1. Their address changed after initial approval,

2. They reside outside of Pasco County,

3. The student will be moving to the next school level (Elementary to Middle OR Middle to High), OR

4. They attend WCES, WGES or VES (affected by reopening of QHES).

Employees:

o District School Board of Pasco County employees must submit their request within the same timeline as non-‐employees.

o Employee preference will be considered if the employee is (or anticipates being) employed full-‐time at the requested school or within its feeder pattern. Please refer to the current Memorandum of Understanding for additional details (exception: new hire or transfer after Open Enrollment deadline).

If a parent needs to verify the assigned attendance zone, please direct them to the District website, under the section “Parents”, then “School Boundaries.” If further clarification is needed, please contact the District’s Planning Department at 813-‐794-‐7970 or 727-‐774-‐7970 or 352-‐524-‐7970.

ANTICIPATED TIMELINES

� Determinations to the parents of high school students by May 1st. � Middle school and elementary school determinations by the end of the current school year.

Please visit the School Choice website to access the School Choice Open Enrollment guidelines and the approved School Choice Open Enrollment plan, approved by the Florida Department of Education, for detailed information regarding Open Enrollment School Choice.

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