Mission Statement
We, the Manatee Bay
Elementary School Community,
pledge to provide a quality education
that focuses on high expectations
and achievement for all stakeholders
in a safe and supportive learning
environment.
Vision Statement
The vision of Manatee Bay Elementary
is to be a community of lifelong learners
who value quality and integrity as we
strive to create a nurturing environment
in which children will develop selfesteem and respect for themselves and
others.
12/1
12/5 - 12/9
1st Grade Field Trip
PTA Holiday Shoppe
(Portable 10)
12/9
Chorus Holiday Show
12/11
Run for Tomorrow @ Cypres
Bay 1 Mile run-walk
12/12
Weston Philharmonic
Musical Assembly in Cafeteria
12/12 - 12/16 Washington D.C. trip for
5th Grade Students
12/13
4th Grade St. Augustine
Parent Meeting @ 6:30 p.m.
12/14
Carolina Ale House
@ 5:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m.
12/19
St. Augustine Chaperone
Meeting @ 6:30 p.m.
12/20
Dual Language 2nd Grade
Holiday Show @ 8:30a.m. 9:30 a.m.
12/21
1st & 5th Grade
Winter Celebration
12/22
K, IND, 2nd, 3rd & 4th Grade
Winter Celebration
12/22
Jack Hartman Concert for
Kindergarten @ 8:30 a.m.9:30 a.m.
12/23
Polar Express Event
(wear PJ’s @ school)
12/23
Gifted Meeting @ 7:30 a.m.–
8:00 a.m.
12/26 - 12/31 Winter Break
Manatee Bay Elementary School
Manatee Bay
Messenger
December 2016
Volume V Issue 4
Administration’s Message
Greetings to our Manatee Bay Community,
Welcome to December! Among the many accomplishments of last month, a few that
come to mind are our first Honor Roll assembly where we honored those students who
achieved outstanding academic results with Principal’s or Academic Honor Roll, the
Safety Patrol and Student Council induction ceremony led by our Mayor of Weston
Daniel Stermer , our give back to Haiti project with over 40 boxes and items hand delivered by 2 of our staff members who flew to Haiti, and feeding over 245 families for
the PTA Harvest Drive in Davie. Well done! #manateebaygives
This month is surely one of the most exciting months of the year for most of our kids.
It is the holiday season and this is a fitting time for all of us to teach our students to be
thankful and show them the value of generosity and kindness. This is also the month
that we have more days out of school. Parents, let us use this time to bond more with
our kids and to continue helping our children in their learning.
As you already know, we use the Florida State Standards for all our core content subject areas. As it is, the standards are more challenging particularly in the areas of Mathematics and Language Arts. In addition to our Manatee Bay holiday academic challenges, there are a lot of fun ways that we can teach our kids the literacy skills that they
need to acquire and master. We can read with our kids or share wonderful stories with
each other. We can use numbers and measurements when we prepare ingredients to
cook our favorite dish. There are a lot of resources that the school offers to help your
child improve in reading and math. You can contact your child’s classroom and ask for
books that your child can take home during the holidays. You may encourage your
children to practice writing “Thank you” notes to their family members and friends.
We can let our children keep a journal and let them write what they are grateful for
each day. Again, the best way to teach our kids is by example. We need to continue
nurturing and sharpening their brains in order to be ready when they come back to
school after the holidays. We truly appreciate and thank you for your continued support in all our endeavors to ensure your child’s academic success.
Join us this month in celebrating and enjoying the real gifts we have been given, our
lives, families, friends, home, workplace etc… Happy Holidays to one and all!
Sincerely,
Your Administrative Team!
Heather DeVaughn, Marie Dumervil and Giselle del Barrio
Saludos a nuestra Comunidad de Manatee Bay,
¡Bienvenido Diciembre! Entre muchos logros que hemos tenido este pasado mes se nos viene primero a la mente el de la Asamblea del Cuadro de
Honor; donde honramos a todos los estudiantes que han logrado resultados académicos excepcionales y que obtuvieron el reconocimiento
académico de la Directora. Durante la Ceremonia el Alcalde de Weston Daniel Stermer dirigió unas palabras a la Patrulla de Seguridad y al Consejo
Estudiantil. En Nuestro Proyecto de Donación para Haiti se logró recaudar más de 40 cajas que fueron entregadas personalmente por Mrs. Dumervil
and Ms. Kaplan; ellas volaron directamente a Haiti para asegurarse que la donación llegue a las manos de las personas necesitadas.
Nuestro Evento de la Cosecha “Harvest Drive” en conjunto con nuestra Asociación de Padres de Familia por sus siglas en ingles PTA, logro recolectar y
entregar comida para 245 familias en la ciudad de Davie. ¡Bien Hecho por ellos! #manatebaygives.
Con seguridad este mes es uno de los meses más emocionantes del año para la mayoría de nuestros niños. Es la temporada navideña y es para
nosotros la temporada perfecta para enseñar a nuestros estudiantes a ser agradecidos y mostrarles los valores de generosidad y bondad. Diciembre
es el mes en el que tenemos más días sin asistir a la escuela así que los invitamos a ustedes los padres a usar este tiempo para conectarse con sus
hijos y a continuar ayudándolos en su aprendizaje.
Como ustedes ya saben, nosotros utilizamos los Estándares del Estado de la Florida para todas las materias esenciales y nos hemos dado cuenta que
los estándares son cada vez más retadores en las áreas de Matemáticas y Lenguaje. Y por esta razón nosotros ofrecemos muchos recursos para
ayudar a nuestros estudiantes a mejorar en la Lectura y Matemáticas. Así que no duden en contactar a la maestra de su hijo y preguntar por los libros
que su hijo puede llevar a casa durante este periodo de vacaciones. Recuerde que hay muchas maneras para enseñar a nuestros hijos habilidades
literarias que ellos necesitan adquirir y dominar. Usted puede leer con sus hijos o compartir historias con ellos, puede usar números e instrumentos de
medición con los ingredientes de la comida al momento de cocinar su platillo favorito, puede incentivar a su hijo a practicar su escritura del tal
manera que escriba tarjetas de agradecimiento para sus familiares y amigos o puede hacer que su hijo escriba un diario. En otras palabras hacer
divertidas las experiencias educativas durante las vacaciones. La mejor manera de enseñar a nuestros hijos es con el ejemplo. Necesitamos continuar
nutriendo y amoldando sus cerebros para que estén listos cuando sea la hora de regresar a la escuela después de las vacaciones.
Nosotros realmente apreciamos y les damos las gracias por su constante apoyo para asegurar el éxito académico de su hijo.
Los invitamos este mes a celebrar y disfrutar los verdaderos regalos que hemos recibido en nuestras vidas, familias, amigos, casa, trabajo, etc….
¡Felices Fiestas para cada uno de ustedes!
Sinceramente,
¡Su Equipo Administrativo!
Heather DeVaughn, Marie Dumervil y Giselle del Barrio
Manatee Bay has established
new procedures for car arrival
and dismissal. There are a few
important changes and we are
asking our families to watch this
short, informative video which
explains these changes in detail: https://splice.gopro.com/v?
id=j6bNvWR6y. Together, we
can ensure a safe arrival and
dismissal for our students.
Arrival & Dismissal
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School starts at 8:00 a.m. Doors open at 7:30 a.m. Students arriving to their
classroom after the 8:00 a.m. bell will be marked tardy.
Breakfast is open and free for all students (Breakfast Club Opens at 7:15 a.m.).
If your student is absent, please call the attendance line directly at 754-323-6452.
Lunch accounts can be reloaded at www.schoolpaymentsolutions.com.
Drive all the way to the front of the carpool line when dropping off your student.
Students may not be signed out between 1:30 p.m. and 2:00 p.m. Please plan appointments
accordingly.
Office hours are from 7:30 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.
ATTENDANCE POLICY
School Board Policy 5.5, Attendance, states both excused and unexcused absences along with tardiness and early sign-outs will continue
to be counted when determining a student’s pattern of non-attendance. A student has a “pattern of non-attendance” if he or she is absent
from school a total of 30 hours (5 days) in any one marking period or 60 hours (10 days) within 90 days.
The attendance policy is available online in the four major languages and can be accessed at www.browardstudentservices.com/attendance
-resources/. Parents are required to maintain current contact information at the school. If you have any questions, please call Geri Norris,
Guidance Counselor.
Student absences may be reported 24 hours a day by calling our Attendance Line at 754-323-6452 and leaving a message, or by sending
an email to [email protected]. Please remember to provide student name, teacher, date of absence, and reason for absence. For prolonged absences, please be sure to provide appropriate documentation. Any calls received after 12:00 p.m. will be
updated the following school day. Calls are encouraged before 12:00 p.m. Thank you.
NonDiscrimination
Statement
Kindergartner Corner
The end of 2016 is here and what a year it has been! We would like to
give a huge shout-out to the parents that have volunteered and donated to our classrooms to help make all of our activities a success. Our
Thanksgiving feast was a huge success, and the kids enjoyed their turkey. We are looking forward to our Winter Wonderland celebration, as
well as Polar Express Day. We have some
exciting things coming up in the New Year,
including: a trip to Tradewinds Park Farm
and starting spelling. Please continue to
have your child practice their letter sounds
and sight words at home. We hope you
have a safe and happy holiday season and
New Year!
The Kindergarten Team
The School Board of Broward
County, Florida, prohibits any
policy or procedure which results
in discrimination on the basis of
age, color, disability, gender
identity, gender expression,
national origin, marital status,
race, religion, sex or sexual
orientation. Individuals who wish
to file a discrimination and/or
harassment complaint may call
Equal Educational Opportunities
(EEO) at 754-321-2150 or
Teletype Machine TTY 754-3212158.
Reasonable Accommodation
Statement
Individuals with disabilities
requesting accommodations
under the Americans with
Disabilities Act Amendments Act
of 2008 (ADAAA), may call Equal
Educational Opportunities (EEO)
at 754-321-2150 or Teletype
Machine TTY 754-321-2158.
Evaluation Input
Fabulous First Grade!
We hope everyone had a very Happy Thanksgiving!
This month we will be learning many new things. In
Math, we are using related facts to find missing numbers and using our problem solving skills for both addition and subtraction. In Science, our focus is Matter
and Living/Non-Living things and in Social Studies, we
continue to discuss Government and Civics. We are
working on retelling and story elements in Reading.
Please read nightly and complete i-Ready Reading and
Math lessons at home.
Respectfully,
The First Grade Team
In accordance with Florida
Statute 1012.34, parents have
the right to provide input into the
instructional/administrative
evaluations. To provide such
input regarding any Manatee Bay
employee, please address your
comments in writing to Mrs.
Heather
Hedman DeVaughn, Principal.
To provide such input regarding
your principal’s evaluation,
please address your comments
in writing to, Sandra Shipman, at
the Office of School Performance
and Accountability.
The opinions expressed in
this publication are not necessarily those of Manatee Bay
Elementary School or
Broward County Public
Schools.
Second Grade
We are so excited to be learning chess through
videos with the chess lady, chess activity
book, and playing chess with our classmates. We
are learning how to set up the chessboard with its
pieces and learning how the pieces move. We
have also learned about the history of chess and
how the board is divided into ranks (horizontal
lines) and files (vertical lines).
In Math, we are learning to regroup while adding
2-digit numbers. Please do not teach your child
the algorithm, they need to understand the reasoning behind regrouping. On the other hand,
practicing basic math facts up to 20 will help them
focus on the more complex tasks.
In Science, we are having fun learning about
different kinds of weather, seasons, water cycle,
and how we can prepare for severe weather. The
experience of Hurricane Matthew has helped students understand the importance of preparation. We are also discussing Florida's weather
patterns and how we do not get snow, but we still
experience the winter season with cooler temperatures.
3rd Grade
We have been super busy with many fun activities in third grade. We had college and career day
with our favorite college teams! We celebrated Red Ribbon Week with silly socks to show how we
are drug free. We also had a great time dressing up as our favorite literary characters. We have so
much to be thankful for this November. Enjoy the holiday with your families.
Fourth Grade News
Happy Holidays! Our fourth graders are excitedly
looking forward to our upcoming overnight trip to St.
Augustine! All of the classes are researching and
learning about our state's history! Even students that
are not attending will be participating in activities
that will enrich their knowledge. Over break, please
make sure that your children do not back slide academically. There is an i-Ready Challenge coming
up. More information is forthcoming, so keep your
eyes peeled!! Research proves that students who do
not read and study math facts lose ground over
break. Let's keep up our momentum!
IND
InD classes are studying the history and traditions of the holiday of Thanksgiving, which will
culminate in our Thanksgiving Feast on November 22nd.
The InD Team is happy to announce that we will
begin our first Special Olympics program on
Friday, November 18th. Each week we will have
our children participate in different outdoor
events which will last until the beginning of
May. Students who participate will receive an
award at our end of year Parent’s Day Event.
On November 29th, the InD team has a Parent
Enrichment Night where we will have a representative from CARD speaking to our InD parFifth Grade
ents. CARD is a statewide initiative established
by the Florida Legislature in 1993 to provide
Fifth Grade is proud to be representing Manatee Bay support to individuals, families and educators
Elementary School on our trip to Washington D.C. De- in order to optimize the potential of people with
cember 12th to the 16th. If you are attending remember autism spectrum disorders.
to be at the Ft. Lauderdale Airport at 8:25 a.m. During
the month of December fifth grade will be working on
the following Florida Standards: in Reading R.I.2.5 compare and Contrast the overall structure in two or more
informational texts, and R.I.3.9 Reference information The language of STEM….language skills
from multiple sources when writing or speaking about a are needed and used in STEM education.
As speech language therapists we often
topic. In Math Fifth grade will be continuing to work on work in subjects that people don’t typiChapter 5 Dividing Decimals and Chapter 6 Add and cally connect with language. For examSubtract Fractions with Unlike Denominators. In Sci- ple, we may work on math and science
assignments, working through vocabulary,
ence Matter and Energy are the topics being covered.
Speech and Language
ESE Resource
describing what worked and what didn’t
in solving problems, and explaining the
processes. Students are required to be
able to explain how they got to an answer
and showing understanding of the concepts involved.
Amazing to believe that the holidays are creeping up on us, and yes, it is the "most wonderful time of the year!" As we look forward to this special time and enjoy the beautiful sights,
cheerful sounds, and delicious scents around us, take some time with your child to think
about the many things we are thankful for. In addition to their "wish lists", have them
make a "gratitude list". Talk about all the things we have (material and spiritual) that bring
us joy and how fortunate we may be. Perhaps it is a good time to clean out closets filled
with clothing we no longer use or toys we no longer play with. This is a good time for giving and donating to those less fortunate. Have them research the various charitable organizations and agencies that may need help. There might even be some volunteer opportunities. These experiences help our children learn about themselves and others. This is a
most wonderful time of the year, and with gratitude, it becomes even more meaningful. We
are so grateful for a wonderful school and wish you all a joyous holiday season.
In STEM Robotics we will be continuing to explore and use the Engineering Process Design to encourage our critical thinking. This month we will be engaging in some deconstruction and construction projects that will be keeping us pretty busy. Thanks to the generous donation by Ultimate Software, we will be taking apart computers and
keyboards to get an up close look at what is allowing these objects to process their information. Then the students will be given the task of “making it better” or “more efficient.”
In our intermediate grades we will also continue exploring circuits and how they work. All students will be taking
advantage of our Makerspace area and we are very excited to see where their amazing minds take them! We will
also be incorporating a few holiday activities to enjoy the season in STEM as well! Happy Holidays!
In second grade, we enjoyed reading the story "La difunta familia Díaz". We learned about El día de los
muertos and story structure. We read and discussed
the story in 3 parts, the beginning, the middle and the
end. When we read the middle the students didn't
want to stop, they couldn't wait to find out what happened to the main character Angelito and his new human friend. Check out our bulletin board in the main
hallway to see the Beginning-Middle-End booklets we
created!
Students have also been enjoying taking the Abuelito
Pancho and la Abuelita Rosa home for the weekend
and documenting everything they do. They love to
share their stories and the pictures! We have also been
having fun learning poems from Latin America. We sing
them and we discuss the vocabulary. It is a lot of fun!
See if you recognize any of these verses:
- Patito, patito, color de café...
- Tengo una vaca lechera...
- Los pollitos dicen...
- Que llueva, que llueva...
- Cucú, cucú, cantaba la rana...
En segundo grado, disfrutamos leyendo el cuento “La
difunta familia Díaz”. Aprendimos sobre el día de los
muertos y la estructura de un cuento. Leímos el cuento
en 3 partes, el principio, el medio y el final. Cuando
llegamos al medio, los estudiantes no querían parar de
leer porque querían saber que le iba a pasar al personaje principal Angelito y su nuevo amigo vivo. Pasen a
mirar nuestros trabajos en la cartelera que está en el
pasillo principal de la escuela.
Los estudiantes también han estado disfrutando de la
compañía del Abuelito Pancho y la Abuelita Rosa, cada
semana un alumno se lo lleva a su casa y escribe en un
diario lo que hicieron juntos. Luego comparten sus historias y fotografías con la clase.
Por último, hemos estado aprendiendo diferentes poemas latinoamericanos, cantamos y aprendemos nuevo
vocabulario. ¡Es muy divertido!
¿Reconoces algunos de estos versos?
- Patito, patito, color de café...
- Tengo una vaca lechera...
- Los pollitos dicen...
- Que llueva, que llueva...
- Cucú, cucú, cantaba la rana...
Special Area Classes
Technology News!
It has been a busy few months in the computer lab. Kindergarten and First grade students have learned
about basic hardware and its use. Their mouse skills are improving each day as they learn to
click, hold and drag the mouse while keeping it in a small space. We are continuing to use the
website www.minimouse.us to assist us as we become more proficient controlling the mouse.
Second through Fifth grade are all registered in an online touch typing course, www.typing.com.
The course starts with home row keys and immediately introduces extending out from there with
the second lesson. Students are implementing the following keyboarding goals as part of their
touch typing curriculum: 1) Stay on “Home Row” using anchor points, 2) Maintain good posture,
3) Keep eyes on screen and 4) Work on accuracy before speed. It is exciting to watch them create skills that are an integral part of the future they will be a part of.
Dec 5th – 11th is Computer Science (CS) Education Week. Here at Manatee Bay Elementary every
student explores computer science at www.code.org. The challenging game style lessons help
students develop skills of critical thinking, logic, persistence and creativity that are intertwined
in a fun setting. The code.org initiative purpose is to make computer science a subject for everyone. CS instruction will continue during the second half of the school year as students strive to
master skills in sequencing, debugging, looping, functions and conditional statements. Computer Science is for everyone, young and old. It allows for creative expression with the creation of
interactive games and stories that can be shared with others. Give it a try yourself and be part of
the exciting CS movement!
INTERESTING CS FACTS:
 90% of parents want their child to study CS.
 54% of students describe CS as a subject they like “a lot!”
 Women who try CS in high school are 10X’s more likely to choose it as a major in college.
 CS is about logic, problem solving and creativity.
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Computer jobs are the #1 source of new wages in the US.
100% of students at MBE receive CS education!
Guidance
ATTENDANCE COUNTS!!
Were you aware that students who are in school, on time, every day in a month are being rewarded at the end of
the month? They are receiving a small award and having their picture taken with our ATTENDANCE COUNTS
banner. It has been proven that students do better academically and socially when they are in school, on time,
every day. If your child has a fever or has a contagious illness, they should be at home. Other than that, they
should be present in the classroom on time, every day!!!
Geri Norris
School Counselor, NBCT
Manatee Bay Elementary School
754-323-6450
[email protected]
Student Council News
Thank you to all who donated to the Haiti collection. With your support and the help of
DHL, we were able to send 40 boxes to Haiti. Mrs. Dumervil had the privilege of personally overseeing that our items reached those
in need. The annual Harvest Drive was a success. Thank you for supporting our families
at Croissant Park Elementary as well as local
families in our community that were able to
receive donations from Western High
School. Information regarding our annual toy
drive will be going out early December. Please make sure you know which grade
level/gender your class is donating a toy
for. Thank you for all of your support in all
that we do with Student Council.
Lets put a "Cap on Cancer". Help support our
Student Council Relay for Life team and wear
a hat on December 16th. You can make a donation towards the Relay team to help show
your support. All money will go towards our
Relay for Life team. Bring your donation of
$1.00 the morning of December 16th from
7:30-8:00am to the main hallway and show
your support by wearing your hat all day.
iReady & Ten Marks Why are they
so important for our students?
Manatee Bay Elementary strongly encourages our families
and students to participate in iReady and Ten Marks. Both
of these computer based programs are designed to assist
students differentiated needs, and help them to be successful in school. iReady Diagnostic is backed by extensive
validity research and consistently achieves industryleading results when studied alongside rigorous assessments such as the Florida Standards Assessment (FSA).
Most recently, independent research showed i-Ready Diagnostic to be highly correlated with, and an accurate predictor of results for state assessments. In addition, Ten
Marks research findings also indicate that students using
TenMarks Math made significant improvement in their
math skills over a 6-week period as compared to students
who did not use TenMarks Math, therefore increasing
their mathematical thinking and scoring higher on state
assessments as well. Both programs also have a direct impact on classroom instruction and teachers whose students use these programs on a regular basis report that
they see an increase in student achievement. If you have
additional questions about the importance of both these
programs please feel free to contact me.
Thank you,
Giselle del Barrio
Please have a photo ID when visiting
Manatee Bay Elementary.
Parents, Guardians & Visitors
ARE NOT permitted to walk through the school
without first checking into the front office.
Volunteer Procedures
Keeping students safe is a priority. The STAR System (Security Tracking And Response) continues to be used at all schools. The STAR System provides schools with
high-speed security checks against local, state and national sex offender databases and against state and local law enforcement files. When parents, visitors, and
volunteers come to school, the office staff will swipe their driver ’s license into a bar code reader, verify the name, take a photo and print a badge with this picture.
All visitors must check into the front office upon arrival and check out when leaving.
VOLUNTEER / VISITING CLASSROOMS
You MUST apply online @ www.browardschools.com/getinvolved
In order to volunteer in your child’s classroom, attend classroom activities, attend field trips or participate in any other activity in the school you must go online and
complete the application.
** YOUR PERSONAL INFORMATION IS PROTECTED**
Once approved, you must bring your driver’s license (or the document you used to register) with you when you attend your first event in order to get a badge
made—the badge will remain in the school throughout the school year.
Manatee Bay Elementary School
19200 Manatee Isles Drive
Weston, FL 33332
Phone: 754-323-6450
Fax: 754-323-6490
Attendance Line: 754-323-6452
Visit our website for
important information and
links to team web pages at
www.manateebayelementary.net