Seminole County Public Schools
Sabal Point Elementary Gator Tales
October 2016
Dates To Remember
10/7 Fall Picture Day
10/11 Read–A-Thon Ends
10/13 & 10/14- No School for
Students
10/21- PTA Fall Movie Night
Notes from Administration
Thank you for all of your support this school year. Can
you believe it is already October? We have lots of great
events planned this month. We appreciate all of your support in
our Read-A-Thon fundraiser. These events help support our
school in many different ways. Please see the following ways to
support Unity Day and Red Ribbon Week this month.
Just a friendly reminder that pets are not allowed on
campus per SCPS rules and procedures. There have been quite
a few dogs on campus at arrival and dismissal times. To ensure
the safety of all students please refrain from bringing them on
campus. We appreciate your support.
Tickets
10/26-10/27 PTA Reflection
Forms and Artwork Deadline
11/15- Teach-In Day
Has your child been coming home with tickets? This is our new
Positive Behavior System this year at Sabal Point. With the
support of our PTA, students earn tickets from school personnel
and can turn them in for weekly drawings or collect them for
charms. Congratulate your child for all of his or her tickets!
Unity and Red Ribbon Week
Spirit Day is Every
Friday!
Don’t forget to wear
your school colors!
Support our School in being Bully and Drug Free!
October 19th- Wear Orange for Unity Day
October 24th- Wear Red to support Drug Awareness
October 25th- Don’t let drugs mix you up! Mis-Match Day
Follow Us on Facebook and Twitter
October 26th- Put a Lid on Drugs- Wear your favorite
Hat
October 27th- Team Up Against Drugs and Bullies- Wear
your favorite Team attire
October 28th- Follow all of your Dreams- Pajama Day
Seminole County Public Schools
Arrival and Dismissal
As you’re arriving in the morning, please pull all the way forward before letting students out of the car.
Please do not pull up by the Sabal walker gate (near the cafeteria) and drop students off, as this causes a safety
issue for our students who are walking. Please make sure students are in the seat near the sidewalk, so they are
not crossing in front of cars. We understand that the car line takes longer the first few weeks of school, but we
ask that you do not make double lanes. Don't forget to have your 4 digit/letter security code ready when calling
in changes of dismissal.
Student Changes of Transportation
Please know that changes to dismissal should be made before 2:30, unless it is an emergency.
The passwords provided on the back of a student’s emergency card will be requested when changes in transportation
are called in to the front office.
1. If you are unable to provide the password, then we will not change the method of transportation.
2. If we do not have an emergency card on file, then we will not change transportation until the card is turned in
to the front office.
3. Any changes to the information on the emergency card need to be handled in person with appropriate
identification.
Thank you for your attention to this matter, as we continue to provide a safe learning environment for all our students.
Reading News
We have a new computer program at Sabal Point – Istation! Every student is currently enrolled
and will have home access as well. We are excited to see how this program will improve and
enrich students’ reading abilities. Here is some information regarding this program:
Istation (aka Imagination Station) is an award-winning, comprehensive e-learning program used by
more than four million students and educators around the world. Known for its accurate
assessments, engaging curriculum, and trusted teacher tools, Istation helps students in
prekindergarten through 8th grade achieve academic growth. Istation’s computer-adaptive
assessments (known as ISIP™) immediately place students on personalized instructional paths
unique to their needs, and the animated, game-like interface engages students so effectively that
they don’t even realize they’re being evaluated.
Please email or call if you have any questions,
Sally King Reading Teacher, [email protected]
Seminole County Public Schools
More Reading News
How Parents Can Support Reading Standards
Despite the complexities of the standards, there are several basic ways parents can support their child’s learning. The
recommendations below line up with the four broad areas of the Common Core reading standards: Key Ideas and Details, Craft and
Structure, Integration of Knowledge and Ideas, and Range and Level of Complexity.
Key Ideas and Details
What it means: Your child will be encouraged to carefully read many books and texts. Within these texts, your child will be
working to understand what is happening, summarize key events or points and recall details important to the story or topic.
How parents can help: After you share a story, talk about important story elements such as beginning, middle and end.
Encourage your child to retell or summarize the reading. After reading nonfiction, ask questions about the information, “Is the
spider an insect? How is a spider different than an insect?”
Craft and Structure
What it means: The standards within this area (or "strand") focus on specifics within a book, for example, an author's
specific word choices or phrases. A second emphasis relates to understanding the underlying structure of common types of
texts, including storybooks, poems and more.
How parents can help: During and after reading, call attention to interesting words and phrases. This may include
repeated phrases, metaphors or idioms ("sick as a dog," "a dime a dozen.") Talk about any new vocabulary and other ways
the author used language or words to make the text interesting, informative, funny or sad.
Integration of Knowledge and Ideas
What it means: Within this strand, students will be working to compare and contrast details from stories, describe key ideas
using details in informational text, and tell how two texts on the same topic differ.
How parents can help: For younger students, encourage your child to describe how the illustrations within a book support
the story. For older students, have fun reading different versions of the same fairy or folk tale. Talk about the similarities and
differences between the two books. Then switch to nonfiction and read two books on the same topic. Compare the
information in each, again focusing on similarities and differences. "Let's look at each book and think about the words used
to describe weather. How are the descriptions alike? How are they different?"
Range of Reading and Level of Text Complexity
What it means: Teachers will be using a variety of techniques to introduce a range of books and other written material that
both support and challenge a child's reading level. This may include nonfiction and fiction, infographics, poetry and more.
This will be done with the ultimate goal of making sure students understand what they're reading.
How parents can help: Parents can help promote their child's skill while developing their reading stamina (ability to "stick
with it."). This means helping them avoid frustration or anxiety about tackling a harder book. Support your reader by talking
through some of the things that make a text complex, including multiple levels of meaning, inferred information (implied
rather than clearly stated) or more sophisticated graphics.
Seminole County Public Schools
October Math News!
Halloween Math Hilarity:
Q: If I had seven pumpkins in one hand and eight pumpkins in the other, what would I have?
A: Big hands
Looking for a great math website to practice facts and more?? For our older students, fluency with math facts makes
math about a million times more efficient. For younger students, quick recognition of numbers and fluency with place
value is vital. A great website to practice in all areas of math is http://www.sheppardsoftware.com/math.htm
There are activities for all ages of children with tons of great math games. You can set them as timed or untimed, and
enter your initials on the high score record!
GO MATH! WEBSITE Don’t forget that you can access the math and science text books, print from the homework
workbook (called Common Core Standards Practice on the website), as well as enjoy great math games and tutorials on
Think Central. You can access this through ePassport. This link is on the SCPS website (www.scps.k12.fl.us) on the
bottom right. Your child’s login is his/her student identification number and the password is his/her birth date
(YYYYMMDD). If you need this information, email me or your child’s teacher.
FOURTH GRADE PARENTS AND STUDENTS: I have created a YouTube Channel on which I do four or five homework
problems from the Go Math homework book with explanation. If your child is stuck on homework one night, go to
YouTube, search Mrs. Olvey, and look for the lesson (ex. G4 3 8 would be grade 4, chapter 3, lesson 8).
MATH TEAM If your fourth or fifth grade child would like to join the Math Team, please have them come to my room on
Monday morning at 8am. All fourth and fifth graders are welcome to come and do some amazing problem solving!
Thank you and keep loving math!!
Maura Olvey, [email protected]