ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL’S CORNER
MRS. WILSON
PRINCIPAL’S
CORNER—
MATT BURKETT
Parents,
Parents,
As we approach the end of the
testing season and enter our final
nine weeks I want to encourage
you to continue to assist us in
maintaining academic
rigor. Reading to your child is
still the best way to help them
learn new vocabulary and
comprehension skills. However,
some of your children may have
outgrown this approach. A great
way to spend time with this group
of high achievers is to read the
same book and then have a
discussion at the dinner table
regarding different events that
occurred in the book. Whether
you read with or to your child
learning will avail.
Lake Alfred
Elementary School
Home of the L.A.E. Lions
R.O.A.R.
Volume 1, Issue 8
March 26th, 2015
During the week of March 23rd, our
3rd & 4th graders participated in
the FSA Reading and Math
Assessment. It was amazing to see
our Kindergarteners, 1st graders,
2nd graders, and 5th graders use
their flexibility skills byPage
ensuring
a
1
quiet campus during testing. After
Spring Break, we will have fortyeight instructional days left in the
school year. It is important that
students are present and focused
each day. If your child is having
trouble meeting grade level
expectations, please schedule a
conference with his/her teacher the
week after Spring Break. During
the conference, ask the teacher to
share strategies you can use at
home to help your child meet
promotion requirements. Thank
you for continuing to encourage
your child to do his/her best each
day!
Mission: To provide a high quality education for all students.
First Grade
March 30—April 3rd Spring
Break
4-8—AR Celebration
4-9—4th Grade Field Trip
4-10—-K-5 Awards Ceremony
4-14—-Report Cards
4-14—-PTO mtg @ 1:00
4-10—-Kindergarten RoundUp 4:00—6:00
.Wow Spring is in the air!!! Our 1st grade students have blossomed so much with their learning! In Literacy,
our current big idea is “How can we make sense of the world around us?” In this unit, we will continue to
review the comprehension skills/strategies making and confirming predictions, identifying point of view, distinguishing between cause and effect, asking/answering questions, making connections within a text to determine
problem and solution. New vocabulary and new spelling words will still be introduced every week. Please
make sure your child’s spelling words have been studied, signed, and returned to school daily. In Math, we will
be starting a unit on data. In this unit students will get to investigate by posing questions, collecting data, and
discussing their results. In science, students will explore the importance of water, identify the major parts of a
plant, and distinguish between living and nonliving things. Our Social Studies focus will be on economics. Students will learn to distinguish between good/services and their relationship to needs/ wants. In writing, our
students are learning how to write narrative stories. We will continue to write across the curriculum and
focus on capitalization and punctuation. What a busy month! Please continue to have your child read for 20
minutes each night and practice addition/subtraction math facts at home as well. Math Wars will be starting
soon at school! Thank you for your continued support and helping to ensure your child’s success.
Kindergarten
Second Grade
Kindergarten News
Our kindergarten students will
be blossoming this April! We
will be having some fun activities taking place this month! In
reading, we are comparing and
contrasting fiction and nonfiction stories. Students will be
able to identify text features
and describe the main idea in
books. We are also beginning
to read fluently and recognizing vowel pairs in words. In
Math, we are learning about 2Dimensional and 3-D dimensional shapes that are all
around us. Social Studies, we
are learning about wants and
needs and community helpers.
We hope our growing flowers
continue to blossom! Parents
please continue to practice
sight words and writing with
your child. One way to make
learning exciting for your child
is to turn it into a timed game
or “beat the timer” when
reading or writing sight words.
The end of the year is quickly approaching which means there are many fun and exciting activities
to look forward to. The 2nd graders will be taking a field trip to Polk State College for “Reading
Comes Alive” in the beginning of May, so please look for permission slips to be sent home towards
the end of April. We are continuing to focus on all academic areas until the very last day of school,
so please encourage your child to come to school ready to learn and work hard! One of our reading skills will be on Author’s Purpose. As your child reads each night, have him or her tell you why
they think the author wrote the story. Also, have your students share with you what they’re reading about in class. With all the non-fiction text we are reading, they are learning so much about
various subjects and important people. In Math, we will be working on graphing data using bar
graphs and picture graphs. If your child missed the M&M graphing project we did during Math night,
they’ll all get to experience it in class this month! Thank you, again, for your continued support in
your child’s education.
DATES TO
REMEMBER:
Fourth Grade
Welcome back from Spring Break! Now we have finished up with the state testing we will
be focusing in on reviewing skills from fourth grade for mastery and then moving onto getting our students ready for fifth grade. In writing we will be focusing on writing narratives
and incorporating details, and precise language in our stories. In math we will be reviewing
standards from earlier in the year, to ensure all fourth grade has mastered the standards.
In reading we will continue to review the skills taught this year through a variety of texts.
In science, we will continue the unit on interdependence. Also, all students will be expected to do an individual science project. Your child will be receiving information about
this within the next week. At home, please ensure your child is doing their homework. Also make sure they are reading 20 minutes each night. When they are finished
reading ask them questions about what they have read.
Third Grade
Now that we’ve had a relaxing and enjoyable spring break, it’s time to get back to work! Third grade teachers are eager to return
to a group of refreshed students. This month, we will begin reteaching standards in reading and math. However, our lessons will
be taught differently. Our goal is to help students develop a better understanding of the topics. These skills will be built upon in
the next grade level so it is very important that your child continues to strive for perfect attendance as we journey through the
end of this school year. As always, we encourage parents and guardians to check your child’s agenda daily for updates regarding
your child’s progress.
This month, third graders will begin working more on writing standards, social studies and science. In writing, we will continue to
focus on how to write an essay with text evidence. Parents can help by making sure their child writes EVERYTHING properly.
From the heading on their homework papers to punctuating the end of every sentence (and everything in between).
In social studies, we have an EXCITING unit to learn! We will begin to study and research the 50 states of the United States of
America. Parents, you can help your child by explaining the difference between a city, a state and a country. Then continue by
teaching them about our home state of Florida. There will be a culminating test at the end of this unit about our state of Florida.
In other news, third grade teachers would like to confirm our next field trip on May 6 th to Lakeland Marchant Stadium to watch a
minor league baseball game. More information about this trip will be sent home once these details have been set.
Specific details about other field trips have not been set as of yet however, if you’re interested in being a chaperone on any of our
field trips please let your child’s teacher know as soon as possible. There is an approval process that must take place before chaperones are chosen.
Stay tuned….we’ll share information regarding your child’s FSA reading and FSA math tests as we get it. Scores are usually released to school towards the end of the school year.
We appreciate your continued support and we’ll see you soon!
From the Desk of the Math Coach - Mrs. Scott
In the month of March, our math focus is unwrapping word problems and solving them. Many times, students get lost in the sentences of word
problems, leaving them confused with how to solve them. Here are the steps to help your elementary student in solving word problems:
STEP 1: Read the problem slowly. Don’t be afraid to read it twice!
STEP 2: Underline the question! Are you looking for a number or a word?
STEP 4: Circle the important information!
STEP 5: Plan your solution!
STEP 6: Reread the problem. Check-does your answer make sense?
From the Desk of the Guidance Counselor—Mrs. Olson
Tolerance in Action
Tolerance refers to an attitude of openness and respect for the differences that exist among people. Although
originally used to refer to ethnic and religious differences, the concepts of diversity and tolerance can also be
applied to gender, people with physical and intellectual disabilities, and other differences too.
In Reading, Fifth Graders will be reviewing and mastering the comprehension skills of making predictions, plot development and ask
and answer questions. Students will work on writing narratives to develop real and imagined experiences or events using effective techniques,
descriptive details and clear event sequences. Please keep checking your students Spelling homework and do the practice test with them on
Thursday night.
In Math, this is a very exciting month for our students. They will be using all that they have learned throughout the year to dominate
our new Math FSA. Prior to testing, we will be reviewing and reinforcing all learned skills. Please assist your children with any questions of understanding they may have. We will going over all standards from base-10 relationships, working with decimals, working with fractions, converting measurements, and finding the volume of composite shapes.
In Forbes SCIENCE, the students are completing the Earth and Space Unit. Your child should be able to tell you information about the Galaxy
that we live in and what makes up our Solar System. We will be continuing to review the steps in the scientific process. In Vice’s SCIENCE the
students are learning about Living Organisms. Students will learn about the organs in the Human Body and the functions of each of the organs.
Students will also learn about other living organisms such as animals and also plants. After learning about living things students will learn how
living things survive and adapt to different environments. Please continue to make sure you child is studying science notes and studying vocabulary. A 5th grade Science Study Guide will be sent home for your child to study over Spring Break. After Spring Break, students will be reviewing all the skills they have learned since August.
The School Improvement Plan (SIP), Parent Involvement Plan
(PIP), and School Public Accountability Report (SPAR) are
available in the front office in the parent involvement notebook and on our school website. These documents are available in other languages upon request.
Parent Portal
The myPolkSchools.net Parent Portal is a new on-line
service offered to parents and guardians in Polk County. The service will bring together into one single web
page information about ALL of the students for a particular parent. Where is it? Go to https://
parent.mypolkschools.net. How do I register? In order to access the Parent Portal you must first register.
Please visit the portal and click the "Register" button.
Follow the prompts and enter your information, once
you’ve completed the form, click on "Create Account".
TITLE ONE INFORMATION
PARENT RESOURCE CENTER
Free classes and workshops for parents with a child in a Title I
School.
Additional information can be found on the school’s website or at:
www.polk-l.net/parents/Involvement/plug.htm or
www.polk-l.net/parents/involvement/pirc.htm.
Visit the Title I Parent Center closest to you located at Garner
Elementary School. You may call 863-965-5488 for additional information. Parents can have a voice, give input, and/or make suggestions.
HOW? By participating on the School Advisory Counsel, PTO, volunteer, or
by placing your suggestions in the Parent suggestion box located in the
front office.