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BOBCAT BANTERNEWSLETTER
Welcome Spring! As we enter the fourth quarter of the 2015-2016 school year, I have a few important items to share with you and I trust that you will assist me in some of these areas moving forward.
Attendance: Getting your child to school daily and on time should be a priority for every family! Research shows that missing 10% of the school days per year negatively affects a student?s academic performance. By 6th grade, chronic absence becomes a leading indicator that a student will drop out of high school. At Mitchell, we keep track of the students who are habitually tardy, absent, and signed out early. We know tardies are the parents? responsibility as well as early sign outs. When you sign your child out early to go to the beach or even a doctor?s appointment, that is sending the message that school is not important to you. Mitchell?s schoolwide attendance for this school year is 94.12%, a significant drop from past years. School does not dismiss for summer until June 10th and I expect all students to be present all day and on time unless they are sick.
MITCHELL ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
Uniforms: Mitchell has adopted a Mandatory School Uniform Policy. Any student who does not participate must follow the County?s guidelines, which are provided by an ?Opt Out? procedure. I have noticed as the year has progressed that some students do not follow Mitchell?s uniform criteria. I know there are reward ?No Uniform Passes? but I
see many more students out of uniform than there should be. Please refer to the Mitchell Elementary Parent Handbook for the specific school uniform description.
School Boundaries: Your child(ren) must reside at the house that you have listed as
his/her address. A convenient morning drop off or afternoon pick up point is not a residence address and you will attend your neighborhood school next year. Mitchell Elementary is prepared to educate the students that reside in the growing neighborhoods around Mitchell. If you need a boundary map to assist you in locating a home in the area, please secure one in the school office. Mitchell is closed for School Choice for the 2016-2017 school year.
It is my job to ensure that all students at (continued on page 2)
A PUBLICATION OF THE MITCHELL ELEMENTARY PTA
VOLUME 77, ISSUE 4 APRIL 2016
THE PRINCIPAL'S POST
PRINCIPALDeborah Anderson
ASSISTANT PRINCIPALKevin Moon
GUIDANCEMonica Mirasola
ABOUT MITCHELL
205 Bungalow Park Tampa, FL 33609 813.872.5216
SCHOOL WEBSITE
mitchell.mysdhc.org
PTA PRESIDENT
Deb Sledge
BANTER EDITOR
Christiana Thompson
ADMINISTRATION
VISION
Inspiring lifelong learning and service for every student
MISSION
To develop the desire, knowledge and skills enabling students to reach their highest potential in the 21st century and beyond
Art Night 2016
(continued from page 1) Mitchell are safe and learning to the best of their abilities! I know you are willing to assist me by getting your child(ren) to school on time each day in the proper uniform. I look forward to a wonderful two months of teaching and learning!
To Be The Best, Give Your Best!
Sincerely,
Debbie Anderson
Proud Principal
It is hard to believe that we are entering the last nine weeks of this school year. As we move through this last nine weeks grading period, it is important to emphasize with your child the importance of making every moment count while they are with us at Mitchell. This is the time of year that Spring Fever catches on with many of our students. Fifth graders think they are in middle school, 3rd graders think they are 4th graders, Kindergarten as 1st, etc. The 4th nine weeks contain many skills that are crucial for students to master so that they are prepared to enter at their prospective grade the next school year. This is not a time to brush off assignments, give more priority to extracurricular activities, etc. During the summer, student regression
MR. MOON'S NEWS YOU CAN USE
is at its highest and this last nine weeks will bridge many skills and concepts that they will need in order to be successful at the start of the next school year.
Testing updates
By the time this edition is printed, most grade levels with the exception of 5th grade will be completed with State Standardized testing. Thank you for your cooperation in being flexible with school closures for volunteer opportunities to protect a secure testing environment for our students. We appreciate your cooperation! The month of May is fil led with many district assessments. Students in grades 1-5 will participate in specials end of year assessments. Students will take an assessment in PE, Music, Art and Strings. If you have any questions in regards to testing, feel free to give me a call. As state assessment reports become available, we will notify you through Parent Link phone calls and text so that you can be sure to know how your child performed.
Summer VPK
We are excited to be hosting VPK this summer for South Tampa. If you have a student entering Kindergarten this fall and have not participated in a VPK program, I encourage you to register through Early Learning Coalition at https://www.elchc.org/. We will be accepting certificates for students to participate at Mitchell on April 25th at 8:30am via the gate by the Media Center off of Bungalow Park. Our VPK class will be much larger this year to accommodate many more students than in years past as we will be the only public school in South Tampa offering VPK this summer! (continued on page 3)
As you plan summer vacations and camps, please keep in mind that the 2016-2017 School Calendar starts earlier next year. The first day of school is Wednesday, August 10, 2016.
REM INDER!
IMPORTANT UPCOMING DATES
April 22 Spirit Day sponsoring 5th Grade events
April 25 Summer VPK Registration, 8:30am, Media Center
April 25-29 Teacher & Staff Appreciation Week
April 28 Conference Night, 3:30-8:30 *Parents & Teachers
April 29 Talent Show - 4th-5th Grade, 6:00pm, Cafeteria
May 6 Women's Bobcat Breakfast, 8:00am, Covered Court
May 10 PTA General Meeting & Cub Chorus, 6:30pm
May 10-11 RIF Distribution
May 16-19 Spring Book Fair, Media Center
May 27 Field Day
May 30 Memorial Day - NO SCHOOL
June 10 Last Day of School, 12:15pm dismissal
Sync your calender at http://www.mitchellelementarypta.org/events/
(continued from page 2) Important Student Dates for Field Trips and End of year activities
- May 5th - 4th Grades United Skates Field Trip
- May 12th - 3rd Grades United Skates Field Trip
- May 13th - Patrol Picnic - May 17th - 5th Grade Busch Gardens
Field Trip - May 20th - 5th Grade Picnic - May 20th - 1st Grade Tampa Theater
Field Trip - May 27th - Field Day Festivities - June 8th - 5th Grade Clap out and
Awards Ceremony - June 9th - 5th Grade Breakfast
I hope to see you at many of the events coming up over the next few months. Be sure to check your weekly Blast email for additional updates and events.
Kevin Moon
Assistant Principal
I can?t believe that we have made it to the last nine weeks of the 2015-2016 school year. I have enjoyed working with this Board of Directors, the 50+ fantastic volunteer chairs and their countless committee members! PTA has been host to great events both educational and fun, and we are already working hard preparing for next school year and we want you! We would love to see new faces come join us. You decide how much time you have and let us know your interests and we will find a place for you. Please contact me ([email protected]) or any PTA Board member you know and
we will get you started.
As we finish off this last nine weeks, we are wishing the best of luck to our 5th grade class as they spread their wings and fly off to middle school. Such a big but great transition in life. But, we are sending them off in style: 5th grade field trip to Busch Gardens, picnic in the park, memory book signing and breakfast and, of course, the infamous Clap Out and Awards Ceremony. Class of 2016, we are very proud of you! Don?t forget you started out as a Bobcat and will always be a Bobcat!
Happiness is being a Mitchell Bobcat!
Finish the year strong,
Deb Sledge
President, 2015-2016
MESSAGE FROM PTA PRESIDENT, DEB SLEDGE
Thank you to everyone who made Art Night a huge success! A special thank you goes out to our 670 fabulous artists! Your work is outstanding! Thanks to the parents who supported the art program. We sold 60% of the frames and had 68 special Art Angels. Thank you to Lisa Woodward and Alison Shamblin for helping make this event a success. All art work will be returned in a few weeks.
Katie White
THA NK YOU!
Please join me in congratulating Michael Tremonti in Mrs. Hackworth and Troil's 3rd grade class. Michael has grown so much in the art room. I have had the privilege to work with this young emerging artist since he was in 1st grade. He explores color, line and shape in all of his projects. I noticed after we talked about abstract artist, Kandinsky, that Michael found true comfort in his creative approach. He showed so much expression with his use of color. His class and I both agree that he has quite a future as an abstract painter.
When we sat down to ask Michael what inspired him, he said it was his fellow
3rd grade classmate, Emmerson Grabill, as she is always an encourager to him in and out of the art room. When creating art, Michael uses a lot of blue because it reminds him of his favorite hockey team, The Tampa Bay Lightning. Michael prefers using paint when he creates art. Painting allows him to mix the colors together to help express himself.
Congratulations, Michael! I am so proud of you and your hard work this year! I encourage you to keep creating. You have a wonderful talent to share with the world.
Katie White
ARTIST OF THE QUARTER: MICHAEL TREMONTI
Our PTA President, Deb Sledge, recently had the wonderful opportunity to speak with Mitchell?s Community Service Officer, Officer David Weaver-Rogers, aka Officer Weaver to students and staff. During the conversation, she learned some great news - as of the end of February, Mitchell no longer shares Officer Weaver with 10 other schools. He now only splits his time at 5 elementary schools: Mitchell, Mabry, McFarland Park, Grady and Gorrie.
We have made progress towards having a dedicated Community Service Officer at Mitchell! THANK YOU to the over 175 Mitchell parents who participated in our Security Guard Survey conducted earlier this year. You can access and review the full set of survey results at http://www.mitchellelementarypta.org /wp-content/uploads/2016/04/Safety- and-Security-Survey.pdf.
Here is a summary of Deb's Q& A with Officer Weaver:
Tell me about yourself. I am married with one 27 year old daughter who is a successful attorney. No grandkids? yet and no pets.
Tell me about your job. I was a street cop for the City of Tampa for 20 years. My roles included traffic/homicide, child abuse investigation and eye-opening work on a task force with the Secret Service on counterfeit
money. Then, I was a School Resource Officer at Coleman Middle School for 5 years before retiring. Three years ago, I returned as a Community Service Officer II.
What do your duties include? I am responsible for the security of students, staff and visitors at ALL of my assigned schools. I visit each of the 5 schools 2 times a week. I am also a part of the metal detection team for middle and high schools for Area 1.
What is your favorite part of the job? The best thing is interacting with the kids. They are all so innocent; they are my kids. Working with the elementary kids has softened me up and let me open up after having worked with the middle and high school students and as a street cop. I don?t do this for the
pay; I do this job for the kids.
What is the worst part of the job? Well, unfortunately, it is dealing with the parents.
Can you tell us what your daily routine is when you come to Mitchell? First thing I work with is the morning traffic at the school and getting the kids in safely. Second, I check the school grounds for tampering of playground equipment, fences, and locks. I make sure no strange objects are laying around the campus. Third, I have the opportunity to interact with the kids ? discussion on bicycle safety, stranger danger, and safety patrol lessons. I spend lunch time in the cafeteria, interacting with the kids and performing more ground checks. Afternoon time allows me to hang with the kids on the playground and monitor bullying. By dismissal, I am handling Kindergarten patrol. Any Kindergartener not picked up at their bus stop by a parent is transported back by bus to the area high school where I pick them up and take them back to their elementary school where they wait for their parent to pick them up. But, anything can pop up during my day and I can be needed at that school, just doing my job.
If you see Officer Weaver, please go up introduce yourself and your kids! He would be happy to meet you!
MEET OUR COMMUNITY SERVICE OFFICER: OFFICER WEAVER
The Hillsborough County Public Schools Vision: Preparing Students for Life
www.sdhc.k12.fl.us
Superintendent of SchoolsJeff Eakins
County School BoardSusan L. Valdes, ChairDoretha W. Edgecomb, Vice-ChairApril GriffinSally HarrisCarol W. KurdellMelissa SnivelyCindy Stuart
