October 15, 2013 Morgan Woods Elementary School Oct. 18—End of First Grading Period Tiger Talks 7001 Armand Drive Looking Ahead UPCOMING EVENTS Tampa, FL 33634 (813) 872-5369 - http://morganwoods.mysdhc.org A Hillsborough County Public School VISION: Morgan Woods Elementary School will develop individuals who are capable of successfully meeting the challenges of the future. MISSION: The Morgan Woods Elementary School community will provide opportunities for personal growth and academic success for all students. First Grade First Graders have been CHAMPIONS. All First Graders have had a Developmental Reading Assessment (DRA) and a Florida Assessment for Instruction in Reading (FAIR). Parents were given these results in progress alerts or at parent conferences. This assisted the teachers to directly teach each child at their own reading level. Students have been getting to know their classmates, learning procedures, and tapping into new learning strategies. They have begun to learn their 300 sight words, applied skills to their writing, solved math performance tasks and observed properties in science. First Grade has a new CHAMPION, Miss Caputo, who has just joined Morgan Woods as our newest first grade teacher!! Third Grade Our students have been working hard on identifying non-fiction text features and how they help them with identifying the main idea and details in text. They have been working on how to write and respond to text dependent questions. They are using the information that they have found in the text to support their answers. Our students are starting to work on their STEM Fair projects. They are all very excited about the topics that they have chosen and are looking forward to some very exciting experiments. Social Studies has been all about maps, maps, and more maps. They have learned about many different types of maps and what their purpose is. The third graders have showed us what champions are made of! Medicine Per school board policy, medication must be brought to school via a parent. It is not safe for children to deliver medicine to school. Monday, October 21, 2013—Non-Student Day (No School) Every Monday is Early Release Day. Dismissal is at 1:15 p.m. Oct. 21—Non-Student Day (No School) Oct. 23—Picture Retake Day Oct. 25—Fall Festival and SMATH Night, 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. Nov. 1—Report Cards Go Home Nov. 3—Daylight Saving Time Ends—Move Clocks Back One Hour Morgan Woods Elementary Mr. Jonathan Barlar, Principal Mrs. Kilsys Garcia, Asst. Principal Welcome to Morgan Woods We were fortunate to add three new members to our staff. Please join Morgan Woods in welcoming Aaron Lewis, PE teacher, Angela Caputo, First Grade teacher, and Sue Stover, Third Grade teacher. We are happy to have Mr. Lewis, Ms. Caputo and Ms. Stover as members of our family. Red Ribbon/Say No to Drugs Week October 28-Nov. 1 It is time to celebrate Red Ribbon Week at Morgan Woods! Information will be shared on the morning show, and Red Ribbon decorations will be displayed around the school. This year’s theme is “Champions Are Drug Free”. A school-wide Say No to Drugs Walk is scheduled on Wednesday, October 30, 2013. Parents are invited to attend and walk with their child. If you would like to participate in our Say No to Drugs Walk, please fill out the form sent home and the Volunteer Application on the back of the form (if you do not have one already on file), and return it to your child’s teacher. Please join us for this special event. On Friday, November 1, 2013, students are encouraged to wear red clothes for the Red Ribbon contest. The class who wears the most red will get a prize. Guidance Gazette Betty Keene, Guidance Counselor Character Education Themes September: Courage - Being brave enough to do what you should do even when you’re afraid. October: Honor - Letting someone know you see how valuable they really are. Congratulations to the following students for being the Tiger Student of the Month for September! Kindergarten Catherine Colon, Jacob DeRocco, Daniel Galdamez, Josean Gonzalez, and Leah Van Tuinen Hillsborough Choice Options The Hillsborough Choice Application period for the 2014-2015 school year is almost here. The first application period for elementary school students opens November 12, 2013, and closes February 14, 2014. The first application period for middle and high school students opens November 12, 2013, and closes December 18, 2013. A parent information meeting will be held at Gaither High School on November 14, 2013, from 5:30 p.m.-7:30 p.m. If you have any questions, please call the Choice Information Line at 272-4692. First Grade Zaire Dennie, Nathaniel Fernandez, Jesus Lugo, Eric Machuca, and Cole Peterson Second Grade Pakeeza Azhar, Jonathan Blackburn, Ashley Pletcher, Chanel Rodriguez, Beneck Santiago Roman, and Elliana Truong Third Grade Steven Buckner, Sofia Cruz, Karina Lopez, Marcus Roman, Giannella Salas, and Nurbin Santos Fourth Grade Carlos Galdamez, Julian Garcia, Amarah Leece, and Ilyani Vasquez Fifth Grade Jesliann Alicea, Daivon Rosario-Lopez, Zane Schaediger, Miranda Smallen, Malikai Wakeman, and Demaury Broughton Way to Go, Tigers!!! County School Board Chair—April Griffin, Vice Chair—Carol W. Kurdell Members— Doretha W. Edgecomb, Candy Olson, Cindy Stuart, Susan L. Valdes, Stacy R. White, Pharm.D. Superintendent of Schools MaryEllen Elia