APRIL
2015
Upcoming Events
April 3rd
No School
April 13-24
FSA testing—5th grade
April 14th
SAT 10 testing 3rd
grade
April 17th
Honors Assemblies
April 17th
Discipline Data Chat
10:30 a.m.
April 25th
Saturday School 5th
9:00am
Principal—Sarah Jacobsen Capps
We are in the final stretch of the 201415 school year! We have communicated to students that we expect to
make the most of every minute until
the very end. The students showed
great support and encouragement to
one another during our SAT-10 and
FSA testing. I’m sure this will continue
as our 5th graders finish up our FSA
during the month of April.
Congratulations to Myles Benafield for
selling the most Buccaneer tickets for
our PTA fundraiser in the fall! He sold
70 tickets and has earned a visit to
One Buc Place, along with other incentives. This fundraiser provided
$350.00 to our PTA! Be on the lookout
for this opportunity again in August.
Many of you know our Lead Teacher
for Magnet Curriculum Integration, Dianna Uva. Mrs. Uva has been at Dunbar for 8 years, spending her first two
years as a 5th grade teacher and the
last six as our Lead. Mrs. Uva is highly
respected at Dunbar and has been
selected as Teacher of the Year and
Ida Baker Distinguished Educator of
the Year many times. Mrs. Uva will be
leaving us on April 28th, as her husband will be working in Germany for
the next few years. While we are excited for her and this new adventure in her
life, she will be GREATLY missed! Her
care for our students and contributions
to the school have helped in our success. Personally, she has been a huge
support and I’m sure my appreciation
for her will only grow in her absence.
Please join me in wishing her farewell by
sending an email to [email protected].
Our Music Specialist, Ms. Sabio, has
been nominated as the Rising Star Music Educator of the Year! In less than
three years, she has grown our Music
program tremendously to now include
chorus, African drumming and Orff ensembles. In addition, thanks to Ms.
Sabio, we now have an Intermediate
Partnership with the Patel Conservatory
for the Arts at the Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center. We will keep you updated as the final award is announced.
It is critical that ALL of our students are
on time to school each and every day!
When students are tardy to school, it
disrupts the classroom. Doors open at
7:20 a.m. Thank you for your help with
this.
As always, please contact me with any questions,
concerns or ideas on how to improve the school.
1730 W. Union St. Tampa, FL 33607
Sarah Jacobsen-Capps
Principal
Phone: 813-276-5677
Fax: 813-272-2254
School Website:
http:.//dunbar.mysdhc.org
Eric Felder
Assistant Principal
County School Board
Chair— Susan L. Valdes
Vice Chair—Doretha W. Edgecomb
Members—April Griffin, Sally A.
Harris, Carol W. Kurdell, Melissa
Snively, Cindy Stuart
Superintendent of Schools
MaryEllen Elia
www.sdhc.k12.fl.us
Dianna Uva
Lead Teacher
Dwayne Davis
Guidance Counselor
On
twitter.com/DunbarHasHEART
Attendance Line: 813-276-5677
Magnet Office: 813-272-4811
Magnet Website:
http://apps1.sdhc.k12.fl.us/magnet/
School Vision Statement:
School Mission Statement:
To develop a community of high
performing learners by promoting the
academic, social and emotional
growth of all our students.
To provide our students with meaningful,
hands-on opportunities to explore medical
sciences within a supportive and challenging environment while integrating math,
Assistant Principal—Eric Felder
Dear Parent/Guardian,
The purpose of this letter is to inform you that your student will be taking the computer-based Florida Standards
Assessments (FSA) Grade 5 ELA Reading and Math assessment(s) on April 13-24. If you or your student would
like to gain familiarity with the computer-based testing
platform, item types, and response formats your student
will see on the FSA assessments, training tests and answer keys are available at http://
www.FSAssessments.org/training-tests.The statewide
assessment program is designed to provide parents, teachers, policy makers, and the general public with information regarding how well students are learning Florida’s
academic standards. According to section 1008.22(3),
Florida Statutes, “Participation in the assessment program is mandatory for all school districts and all students
attending public schools, including adult students seeking
a standard high school diploma under s. 1003.4282 and
students in Department of Juvenile Justice education programs, except as otherwise provided by law. If a student
does not participate in the assessment program, the school
district must notify the student’s parent and provide the
parent with information regarding the implications of
such nonparticipation.” If you wish to access this legislation, please go to http://www.leg.state.fl.us/Statutes/
index.cfm?
App_mode=Display_Statute&Search_String=&URL=100
0-1099/1008/Sections/1008.22.html.
For information regarding test session length for all
Spring 2015 FSA assessments, please visit the FSA Portal
at www.FSAssessments.org, click on the Students and
Parents tab, select Student and Parent Resources, select the Computer-Based Testing Information folder,
and then select Spring 2015 Testing Times.
Please review the following policies with your student
before testing:
Electronic Devices—Students are not permitted to have
any electronic devices, including but not limited to cell
phones and smartphones, at any time during testing OR
during breaks (e.g., restroom), even if they are turned
off of students do not use them. If your student is found
with an electronic device, his or her test will be invalidated. The best practice is for students to leave devices at
home or in their lockers on the day of testing.
Testing Rules Acknowledgment—All FSA tests include a Testing Rules Acknowledgment that reads, “I unPage 2
derstand the testing rules that were just read to me. If I do
not follow these rules, my test score may be invalidated.”
Prior to testing, test administrators read the rules to students, and students acknowledge that they understand the
testing rules by signing below the statement on their ELA
Writing planning sheet, ELA Reading worksheet, and/or
their Mathematics work folder.
Discussing Test Content after Testing—The last
portion of the testing rules read to students before they
sign below the Testing Rules Acknowledgment states,
“After the test, you may not reveal details about the passages or items to anyone. This includes any type of electronic communication, such as texting, emailing, or posting online, for example, on websites like Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram.” Please make sure your student understands that “discussing” test content includes any kind of
electronic communication, such as texting, emailing, or
posting to blogs or social media websites.
Test Invalidations—Students are responsible for
working on their own during the test and for protecting
their answers from being seen by others. If students are
caught cheating during testing, their tests will be invalidated. FDOE employs a test security company, Caveon
Test Security, to analyze student test results to detect unusually similar answer patterns. Student results within a
school that are found to have extremely similar answer
patterns will be invalidated.
Leaving Campus—If your student leaves campus
before completing a test session (for lunch, an appointment, or illness, etc.), he or she WILL NOT be allowed
to complete the test session. If your student does not feel
well on the day of testing, it may be best for him or her to
wait and be tested on a make-up day. Please remember
not to schedule appointments on testing days.
If you have any questions related to this test administration, you may contact Eric Felder at 276-5677.
For more information about the FSA assessment program, please visit the FSA Portal at
www.FSAssessments.org.
Thank you for supporting your student and encouraging
him or her to do his or her best during this test administration.
Sincerely,
Mr. Felder
H O M E O F T H E D O L P HI N
Lead Teacher Corner—Dianna Uva
USF Department of Public Health will be sending students who are studying for their
Bachelor’s Degrees in Public
Health to Dunbar this month to
present medical exploration lessons to our third, fourth, and
fifth grade students. This will
be an excellent opportunity for
our students to learn about the
field of public health and health
issues, including water pollution,
foodborne illnesses, and recycling.
We hope you will be able to join
us!
Spring Fling is coming!
Dunbar will be hosting our annual Spring Fling Carnival on Friday, May 15thth, from 5:30 –
7:30 PM. A flyer with ticket
sale information will be sent
home on Friday, April 17, 2015.
We hope you can join us for our
Spring Fling and participate in
all of our fun activities, including a bounce house, relay races,
face painting, spin art, and a
water balloon toss. We are in
Muffins with Mom will be
need of volunteers. If you are
held in the cafeteria on Friday,
able to volunteer the night of
May 8, from 7:00 AM to 7:45
Spring Fling or donate any supAM. All students who attend
plies, please let me know.
Muffins with Mom with their
mother, older sister, grandmothPlease remember to fill out
er, auntie, or special friend will
receive a free book. A flyer will your application for a magnet
be sent home on Friday, April
school for the 2015-2016
24th, with additional information.
school year. If you missed the
Business Partnership Recognition
Community Resources
Dunbar is excited about our continuing Business Partnerships with
Florida Hospital Tampa, USF Health, the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, and the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation. All of these businesses help support our magnet theme of medical and science exploration throughout the school year by providing guest speakers to present
lessons to our students.
If you are interested in becoming a Business Partner with Dunbar, or
know of a business that would be interested, please contact Dianna Uva
Parent Involvement Information
Please stop by and take a look at Dunbar’s Parent Involvement Notebook, located in the front office. The
Parent Involvement Notebook has information about
helping your child with different subject areas, information about Title I, and information about parenting.
Information is available in both English and Spanish.
first application round, the second application round for middle school students will opened
on March 24 and will close on
April 16. Results will be mailed
mid-May. The second application round for elementary students will open April 28th and
close May 14th. Results will be
mailed mid-June. If you submitted an application for your
child who will be entering sixth
grade next year, you should
have received their placement
letters the end of February.
If you submitted an application
for your child who will be entering elementary school next
year, you should have received
a placement letter in March.
Dunbar has a community
resource notebook located in the
front office. If you would like
any information about community resources that are available to
you and/or any information
about parent involvement,
please stop by and take a look at
our notebook. Information is
available about ways you can
help your child, information
about Title I programs, and other
resources that are available in the community.
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Guidance Counselor—Dwayne Davis
CHARACTER ED
March’s character trait we focused on Persistence.
In April we will be focusing on Loyalty
Testing season is upon us!
As you may know, FSA and SAT-10
testing has begun. Our teachers and students
have been working very hard all year to make
sure that everyone is prepared for these assessments.
Primary grade students have taken the
SAT-10 in reading and math.
Third through fifth grade students
will take the FSA.
Make sure your student gets plenty of sleep-at least 8 hours each night.

Make sure your student eats breakfast each
morning. Remember that fuel is needed for both
the brain and the body.

Make sure your student gets to school on time
each FCAT testing day.

Send your student to school prepared (glasses,
sweater, snack, etc.)

Talk with your student about the importance
of doing their best.

Things parents can do to help their children’s perform Better.
Encourage your student to do the following during
testing: listen carefully to the teacher's instructions, follow directions, and use the test-taking
strategies learned in class.
Dunbar Elementary Magnet School’s
[email protected]
Guidelines for Success
Read everyday for
at least 30 minutes.
DUNBAR HAS HEART
Have Pride in My Work
Encourage Each Other
Attitude is Everything
Responsible for My Actions
Treat Everyone Nicely
Have you joined your Dunbar PTA?
We need your support.
Please join our PTA family. Membership is $6.00. Together we can achieve
greater goals for our children!
Call 813-276-5677
to receive more information.
Page 4
Math Resource Teacher—Ms. Buchanan
3rd Grade:
Congratulations to the 2nd and 3rd Grade Dunbar
Math Bowl Teams!
Math Bowl is a team competition in which students
work together to solve complex math problems. To be
chosen to be on a math bowl team is a great honor; students must score highly on a qualifying quiz and be recommended by their teacher as someone who works
well with others. The Dunbar Math Bowls will be on
May 1st (third grade) and May 8th (second grade). The
winning teams will go on to compete at the district level at the end of May.
2nd Grade:
Team Burr
Marsha Dorcelus
Rena Malcolm
Dwayne Mathurin
Kielyn McCray
John Parnes
Team Murray
Angelyce Baez
Tiana Bolds
Teri’Yahna Finley
Gregory Lott
Danielle Myers
Team Poteet
Jaliyna Camacho
Kivaughn Greaux
Demetric Johnson
Jonathan Oakleaf
Vanessa Rodriguez
Team Harper A.M.
Jodi Charlton
Raaghava Deepak
Elier Aguilar La Rosa
Jason Ramos
Amir Stiff
Team Harper P.M.
Ta’Liyah Grady
Brandon Hernandez
Henry Jajera
Ki’Maud Walker
Kennedy Works
Team Skirvin
Terrance Bolds
Joshua Bullerin
Vishawn Carter
Eddy Pierre-Louis
Mikyra Williams
Mathematicians of the Month for March:
Kindergarten: Salome Bosque Jure & Angelo Fortson
First Grade: Sabrina Bosque Jure & Ki’Avia
Greaux
Second Grade: Liz Walker, Teri’Yahna Finley
Third Grade: Sarah Hartman, Jay-Von Newson &
Savannah Branson
Fourth Grade: Briana Rodriguez-Alvardo, Janice
Baez, Jade Leong & Nijon Lee
Their teachers nominated these students because they exhibit characteristics of a true mathematician. Check out
the bulletin board in the hallway by the front double doors
to see more about these scholars!
Media Specialist —Mrs. Long
Happy spring! March was Bowl Time for the kindergarten and first grade. Congratulations to Mrs. Steinwach's kindergarten class for winning the Fly Guy Bowl. The students had to read seven of Tedd Arnold’s Fly Guy books, and
then answer questions pertaining to the plot of each book. This was the first year for a kindergarten bowl, and both
Mrs. Steinwach’s and Mrs. Harger’s classes did a fantastic job.
Congratulations are also in order for Mrs. Thornberry’s first grade class who won the Junie B. Jones Bowl. Mrs.
Thornberry’s team captain was Adeola Adeyemo, and teammates Amir Banner and Savannah Owens. The first grade
classes also did a wonderful job and we are very proud of all their great reading.
We had holidays and special days in March to celebrate. The first week was Read Across America with Dr. Seuss’s
Birthday. It was also Women’s History Month in which we highlighted famous women with books and a scavenger
hunt.
If you have a fourth grader, please encourage him/her to finish reading as many of the Battle of the Books as they are
able. The qualifying test to decide each teacher’s team is on Monday, April 27, 2015.
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H O M E O F T H E D O L P HI N