Koala’s Take Flight! Soar to New Heights!

March /April March 19~ School Level Oration Contest.

March 20~ 4th & 5th grade field day

Bay Meadows Elementary

Koala Gram

March 20~ Kindergarten Field trip to Green Meadows Farm

Bay Meadows is certainly flying high and soaring to new and even higher heights. Since we have returned from the winter break our engines have not stopped. Curriculum Night gave our parents valuable information about up-coming curriculum changes from the federal government as well as experiences with some of the hands-on teaching techniques we use on a daily basis to help students prepare for 21st century skills. Please take some time to read through this edition of the Koala Gram to learn all about our recent events and the students who have been winning a variety of awards for both academics and the arts. Soon we will need trophy cases for all of our accomplishments! I would also like to thank all of the parents who completed our School Improvement Survey. This survey gives the school valuable information that will help Bay Meadows continue to be a school of excellence. OCPS is also conducting a parent survey beginning March 12—26. The district values parent’s opinions and wants to hear from you. You will be able to access the district survey from Bay Meadows home page. In this edition you will also find important testing information. Please be sure to mark your calendars for Wednesday, April 18th also known as “FCAT Wednesday”. On this day all students will have a full day of school instead of early release. This will allow the students to have a more consistent testing environment. Thank you all for your continued support of Bay Meadows Elementary. Your support helps us to soar as high as possible. Pamela R. Angelo Principal

March 21~ 2nd & 3rd grade field day. March 22 ~ End of 3rd Marking period March 22~ K &1st grade field day March 23~ Student Holiday March 26-30 ~ Spring Break April 6~ Report Cards Go Home April 11 ~ First Grade Author’s Tea April 16th—April 27 ~ FCAT testing in 3rd, 4th, and 5th Grades April 18 ~”FCAT Wednesday” Full school day for students. April 26 ~ 2nd Grade Field Trip to Orlando Repertory Theatre. April 26—May 4 ~ Book Fair April 30 ~3rd Grade Field Trip to Legoland

Koala’s Are Keeping Up! Bay Meadows had a record turn out this year for Parent and Student Curriculum Night! The night was filled with fun, and important information for parents. The School Advisory Council sponsored a parent general session presented by the Principal, Pamela Angelo. She shared information about Common Core State Standards that will be the curriculum next year for students in grades K-2. The implementation timeline for 3-12 grade Common Core was presented as well. In addition, important FCAT 2.0 information and changes to the cut scores for FCAT which could impact School Grades was shared. After the general session, parents were able to choose from two of the following sessions: STEM, FCAT 2.0, Web-based literacy tools and Bullying Awareness. Bay Meadows would like to thank all of the parents and students who attended the events. We would also like to express our appreciation to the following presenters who were teachers, district personnel as well as the volunteers: Mr. Mike Ganio, Mrs. Jeanne Zanegood, Mr. Fritts, Mrs. Chill, Mr. Marzano, Mrs. Murphy, Ms. Janosczyk, Mrs. Vierling, Mrs. Snyder, Mrs. McBride, Mrs. Sprague, Mrs. Labato, Mrs.Wilmot, Mrs. Burginia, Ms. Donofrio, Mr. Stiles-Williams, Mr. Halper, Ms. Delmarco, Ms. Safford, Mrs. Walker, Mrs. Fillenwarth, Kathleen F. , Mrs. Murray, Mr. Halper, Mrs. Gael and Gina Labato.

Cuddle Up With A Book! The student session during Parent and Student Curriculum night was also a huge success! This event highlighted the books we received for our Media Center through the Target Literacy Grant. Thank you Mrs. Gael for writing the grant for Bay Meadows. We would also like to thank the Target Volunteers for coming out to support our event along with Chick-fil-A of Sandlake. The students enjoyed seeing new books in the media center, reading with teacher volunteers , Target Volunteers , and “Cuddles” the Koala! Thank you Kathleen F. for being a great school mascot for this event. Way to go Bay Meadows students, staff and parents! Your participation this year was outstanding!

Thank You Target Volunteers!

Koala’s Are Keeping Up! General Session

Parents joined the Principal, Pamela Angelo, to learn about important changes to curriculum standards, cut scores and school grading. Parents learned about the implementation of Common Core Standards in Language Arts and Math next year in kindergarten through second Grade. Parents also learned about the plan for implementation of the Common Core State Standards for 3rd—12 grade. Ms. Angelo shared important information on new cut scores for FCAT and how this could affect their child as well as the school.

Web Based Literacy Tools Session Parent and Florida Virtual School Literacy Coach, Jeanne Zanegood, along with Mrs. Fillenwarth presented a session titled, “Apps...there’s more than Angry Birds for your kids!” Parents were able to see and hear about many great educational applications that they can use at home and on their mobile devices to help their children with reading. Mrs. Zanegood walked through many examples of various applications and explained how to use them for homework, practice and for studying for quizzes and tests. These applications can make homework time and studying more engaging and fun for students!

STEM Sessions Parents joined Mrs. Vierling, Ms. Snyder, Mrs. Wilmot, Mr. Marzano, Ms. Janosczyk, and Mrs. Murphy to learn about STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) Lessons that are a part of K-5 students instruction. Parents and teachers had a great time using important STEM skills to create and problem solve as they participated in a 4th Grade example of a STEM lesson. It was a fun time with parents experiencing what their children experience in school.

FCAT 2.0 What Makes it 2.0? Parents joined Mr. Fritts and Mrs. Chill to learn more about FCAT 2.0 in Reading and Math for 3rd through 5th grade

students.

Bullying Awareness Michael Ganio, District Director of Safety and Security, joined Bay Meadows to present information to parents about bullying.

Important Testing Information Parents, We are quickly approaching the dates for FCAT testing. Our fourth grade students took FCAT Writes on Tuesday, February 28. We are happy to announce that all of our fourth grade students were present and on time for testing on the day of the FCAT writing. Way to go Fourth Graders! Third, fourth, and fifth grade students will take the reading and math portions of FCAT on April 16 - 19. Fifth grade will take the science test on April 24 and 25. In order for our students to perform their best each day of testing, please be sure that they are well-rested, have a complete breakfast, and arrive to school on time. We want all tests to count, so it is important that you be aware of the following: 

If students are found with ANY electronic devices during testing, their tests will be invalidated. It would be best for students to leave devices such as cell phones, video games, etc. at home on the day of testing.

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If students leave campus before completing a test, they have started (for an appointment, illness, etc.) they WILL NOT be allowed to complete the test.

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All students will be asked to sign a pledge before testing that states they will not give or receive unauthorized help during the test. If students are caught cheating or if irregular scoring patterns are found during scoring, their tests will be invalidated.

If you have any questions regarding FCAT testing please contact Mrs. Gael at 407-876-7500 ext. 2224.

A Sensational Science Fair! Ms. Angelo and Mrs. Gael greet the distinguished panel of judges from Lockheed Martin.

Bay Meadows Top 15 student projects and the judges.

Way to Go 5th Graders! Fifth grade students participated in their first Science Fair at Bay Meadows. Distinguished judges from Lockheed Martin visited Bay Meadows to judge the top 15 student projects. Thank you to the following judges from Lockheed Martin: Dr. Glenn Gebert, Mr. Lynn Guthrie, Ms. Charna Parkey, Mr. Marty Holbrook and Mr. Fred Penkacik. Also a special thank you to Ms. Miryam Graddy for working with Mrs. Gael to secure such a qualified and distinguished panel of Engineers to judge the amazing research projects completed by students. Congratulations to all of our 5th grade student participants. Each participant completing their project received a special certificate. The top fifteen students received a Science Fair Medal and the top three received a plaque. Congratulations to the following top 15 students: H. Hallman, K. Fillenwarth, L. Misko, C. Bates, P. Caballero, J. Matzner, B. Montgomery, G. Cashwell, P. Khushal, H. Klees. A. Di Meo, A. Ceballos, C. Rylands, I Frye, and H. Klees, First place—C. Rylands, Second place—I. Frye and Third place—K. Wilmot. Thank you to the 5th grade team of teachers for working to assist students in understanding the scientific process and helping to set up for the event.

Thank you PTA for sponsoring Family Science Night through the Orlando Science Center. As a result of your assistance we were able to provide 14 science stations, a Digital Planet session and two “KaBoom” shows for our students. A special thank you to the following staff and parent volunteers: Chrishonda Thomas, Jennifer Matzner, AimeeHirten, Amy Alecock, Sara Haugh, Amy Timberlake, Judy Hughes, Viviana Collazo, Tom Nguyen, Tahira Quereshi, Sherry Daniels, Amy Joffe, Delores Wright, Amanda Cason, Sarah McBride, Nicole Carsten, MaryAnne Chill, Lisa Selski, Lisa Murray, Chuck Fritts, Michael Marzano, Mandy Fillenwarth, Nichole Fatkin, Pamela Angelo and Amy Gael. Special Thank You to Mr. and Mrs. Matzner for donating the Pepsi products and to Partner In Education Papa John’s Pizza for donating half of the Pizza and PTA for assisting with funds.

Bay Meadows and The Extreme Health Challenge

The Extreme Health Challenge Visits Bay Meadows

Ms. Angelo, Mr. Wilmot and Mrs. Rhoads competed in a hula hoop challenge as they were cheered on by students. Other fun events involved students racing with nutrition facts and helping the puppets answer nutrition questions.

On January 30th, The Michelee Puppets visited Bay Meadows to present an Extreme Health Challenge for Kindergarten through Fifth Grade Students. Students learned about and participated with the puppets in a game show challenge as they learned about the importance of making healthy choices for diet and exercise.

Congratulations All Around!

Congratulations to Mr. Stiles-Williams on his promotion to Assistant Principal at Palm Lake Elementary. We will miss him at Bay Meadows!

Two of Bay Meadows students have artwork at the Orlando Museum of Art. Fifth Grader- Caroline B. and Fourth Grader - Samantha H. Congratulations Caroline and Samantha who both have artwork that was selected to be on display in the Peggy Crosby Student Gallery at the Orlando Museum of Art. Their artwork will be on display through April 1, 2012. The museum galleries are open Tuesday—Friday from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 pm and Saturday and Sunday from 12:00pm to 4:00 pm.

Thank you Media Moms for helping us keep up our recognition of readers board for Sunshine State Books!

Hooray for third grader, Ellie Z., for her achievement in reading twenty nine Sunshine State Books. She received an award from the Department of Education. Way to Go!

The Bay Meadows Art Club participated in the Crayon Masterpiece fundraiser for A Gift for Teaching. Fifth grader - Mackenzie’s artwork was chosen as one of 10 best. It was framed and auctioned off at a fundraiser event.

OCCPTA Reflections Award of Excellence Congratulations go out to five Bay Meadows Elementary Student winners of the Orange County Council of PTA Reflections Contest. The following students Reflections submissions have been forwarded to the Florida PTA for state level judging. Congratulations and good luck as we hope to see many of them move on to national level judging. Photography Joey M. Samuel M. Kate F. Visual Arts Serena Y. Khushil G. Special Thanks to Susan Botsford for organizing and submitting the entries.

Second Grade Service Project This year the second grade students at Bay Meadows collect donations of gently used books and school supplies for the children of migrant workers. The second graders made posters and placed boxes around the school for collection. They also helped to organize the collections and get them ready for delivery to migrant worker families. Way to Go! Your generosity will help make a difference for others!

Saving the Planet and $aving Money One Bottle and Piece of Paper at a Time!

We are excited to introduce a new OCPS recycling program for our school. The new program will offer more money to Bay Meadows for our recycled paper and bottles. Recycle bins will be placed in each classroom and large recycle trash bins will be in each hallway to collect the items below: 

Paper

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Magazines

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Cardboard (food boxes and shipping boxes)

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Plastic Bottles (emptied)

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Metal Cans (emptied and rinsed)

The classrooms, the cafeteria, the office and Bay Meadows families can all help recycle and save money. We are excited that the new recycling vendor will take plastic bottles, as they are always used for class parties and PE activities. Bay Meadows families can still drop off their recycling to the outside recycling dumpster located next to the cafeteria loading dock. We just ask that you do this during non morning drop-offs and afternoon pick-ups.

Multi-lingual Event Dates from the Parent Leadership Council

1. Family Resource Fair Saturday March 17, 2012 Dr. Phillips High School 9:00 am - 1:00 pm 2. Spirit of Excellence Award May 2, 2012 6 p.m. Location to be announced

Bay Meadows Scrabble Club! A special thank you to Mr. Halper, Media Specialist , and Ms. Donofrio, Fourth grade teacher, for volunteering their time in developing and hosting the after school Scrabble Club for 3rd—5th grade students at Bay Meadows. This club is a wonderful way to increase vocabulary, math skills, develop focus, learn how to work as a team, play fair and meet other students. Students interested in scrabble club must fill out an application/permission and meet the criteria. Scrabble Club will meet Mondays after school until 4:30 beginning March 19th.

A Wonderful Walk –A-Thon Thank you to the Bay Meadows Families and Community for their contributions to the Walk-A-Thon this year. All of the proceeds go back to the school PTA to help fund many PTA programs. The students who participated in this event enjoyed a beautiful day of walking and then a dance celebration at the conclusion of the day. Thank you to all of the parents, teachers and volunteers who worked to prepare for this event.