Wekiva Whispers

Wekiva Elementary School

1450 East Wekiva Trail
Longwood, Florida 32779
Phone: 746-3150 Fax: 746-3163
March 2011
Principal: Michael Pfeiffer Assistant Principal: Michelle Baker

Principal Message out at the beginning of the school Tickets go on sale soon for only $6
Parents: If you value your child’s day. per person.
safety and the safety of all Wekiva
children, DO NOT USE YOUR Ms. Turner is a Finalist!!! “Spring Fever”
CELL PHONE WHILE Congratulations to Ms. Chimere As the weather begins to warm up,
LOADING OR UNLOADING Turner, Wekiva’s Teacher of the Year some of our students are experiencing
YOUR CHILDREN WHILE ON and now a TOP 12 FINALIST FOR a little “Spring Fever”. Wekiva
THE CAR RAMP. We need your TEACHER OF THE YEAR for all reminds all parents and students to
undivided attention. of Seminole County Public Schools. follow the dress code: no spaghetti
This is quite an honor and certainly straps, tank tops, midriffs,
FCAT well deserved. Ms. Turner will now hats/bandanas in buildings, flip flops,
Please mark your calendars compete against the other finalists to or “low rider” pants. The complete
accordingly regarding the 3rd-5th see who will be crowned Top 3, and dress code can be found on your
grade FCAT schedule. It is essential eventually the SCPS Teacher of the Student Code of Conduct. We also
that your children are in attendance Year. remind our students the importance of
and on time on the days below: adhering to the rules and continuing
Kindergarten Round-Up to work hard on completing
Test Grade Test Type
On April 25-26 from 7:00 a.m. – 6:00 assignments and homework.
Date
p.m., Wekiva will hold its
3/1 4 Writing Kindergarten Round-up for all Trek for Tech
3/2- 4 Writing Make- incoming Kindergarten students for Our annual fundraiser, TREK FOR
10 ups the 2011-2012 school year. At this
4/11- 3, 4 Reading TECH, is coming on FRIDAY,
time, parents will also be able to sign
12 5 Math MARCH 4th! Students will walk/run
up for Kindergarten Tours, which are
4/13- 3,4 Math scheduled on May 2-3. To enter during their "Specials" times. Parents
14 5 Reading Kindergarten, students must be FIVE who are cleared Dividends for the
4/18- 5 Science years of age on or before September 2010-11 school year are welcome to
19 1, 2011. Required documentation come out to work at our Lap Card
4/15- 3, 4, 5 Make-Ups needed to register includes 3 forms of Stations or at our Water
21 proof of residence (Warranty Dispensing Tables. It's the only
FCAT Parent Support: Important Deed/Homestead Exemption/Lease, a
fundraiser where 100% of the
FCAT information, test samples and utility bill and an auto registration/
driver’s license/ voter registration), money raised stays at our school
resources are available on the state's
birth certificate (original), current and is used solely for our
website:
http://www.fldoe.org/default.asp physical (original, dated within the technology program. We really need
last year), DH 680 Immunization your support this year due
Form, and social security card if to deepening budget cuts. Help us
Dividend Vacation and FCAT available.
provide your students with 21st tech
F CAT is just around the corner! century skills! If you have any
Wekiva's Family Dinner
Please help us again this year by questions, please contact Karyn
Mark your calendars for
rescheduling your volunteer work
Wekiva's Family Dinner Night on Cook, Technology Facilitator at 407-
during the Writing Test, scheduled
Tuesday, March 15th, from 5:00 to 746-3151. Thank you!
March 1, and our FCAT testing
8:00 p.m. Come join the circus and
window of April 11-19. We thank
enjoy a wonderful spaghetti dinner Short in Undershorts
you for your support. Dividends
catered by Victorio's Restaurant. This
volunteering before school for our The clinic is in great need of boys
fun family night will also include
Cross Country program may continue packaged underwear/boxers any size
Wekiva's Art Show, student recorder
to volunteer; however, you must sign from 4-14. Any donations are
performances, and the book fair!

Seminole County Public Schools

www.scps.k12.fl.us or www.wekivaelementary.com
appreciated and should be sent in to
Mrs. Baginski.
Cross Country News
Congratulations to all Wekiva Cross
Country athletes who participated in
the Bear Lake and Wekiva meets.
Listed below are those who placed!
Hagerty
9 Year Old Boys: Jonathan DePaolo
4th
Keeth
7 Year Old Boys: Justin Mangum
2nd
9 Year Old Boys: Clay Ulmer 3rd,
Jonathan DePaolo 4th
Lawton
9 Year Old Boys: Clay Ulmer 3rd
Jonathan DePaolo 13th
10 Year Old Girls: Olivia Miller 12th
Sarah Pfeiffer 14th
Future Meets
Feb. 26 Crystal Lake @ Lake Mary
High School
Mar. 5 Hamilton
Bentley Meet has been canceled.
Student Council News
Student Council is still collecting Pop
Tabs for the Ronald McDonald
House. The school which collects the
most Pop Tabs will be recognized by
Local 6 News, win a cash prize, and a
trophy!
Final Notice: 2011 Yearbooks
Memories for sale! All of the
fantastic events from this year at
Wekiva will be included in this
yearbook. Although the early
purchase date has passed, you can
still buy a yearbook for $20.00. Final
date of the sale is April 4th. After that
date, any extras will be available in
the front office on a first-come-first-
served basis.
Recycle Cell Phones and Digital
Cameras
This is the best time of year to recycle
your old cell phones and digital
cameras that were replaced by new
models you received over the
holidays. Please send these items to
school, and we will help the
www.scps.k12.fl.us or www.wekivaelementary.com
environment and raise some funds for
student services and supplies!
Student Supervision
Parents are reminded that supervision
for students at Wekiva Elementary
starts at 8:05 a.m. Students arriving
before this time are unsupervised and
this creates a dangerous situation.
The only exceptions are if a student is
involved in an activity (ex. AR Club)
that starts prior to 8:05 a.m. Only
students enrolled in these early
programs have permission to be on
campus early. Siblings of students in
before school or after school
activities must be dropped off or
picked up at regular times
MusicKidz News
Going to Disney: Koala MusicKidz
is on the move...again! After
recording an audition DVD for
Disney's Magic Music Days in
December, KMK has received word
that we will be making an appearance
on Disney's Waterside Stage at
Downtown Disney on May 19th! In a
special program for Central Florida
schools, Koala MusicKidz will also
enjoy a free day at Epcot as a reward
for their hard work this year.
Congratulations!
101 Dalmatians: Also in May, we
will be presenting the musical, 101
Dalmatians, at the final PTA meeting
of this school year. Rehearsals began
on February 24 and will take place
weekly until the performance. We are
excited about our spring production.
Music Festival: Nine students were
invited to participate in Seminole
County's Elementary Music Festival
on February 19, 2011, at Hagerty
High School. Students participating
in the chorus were Natalie Harrison,
Logan O'Leary, Kaley Oliver, Conor
Patel, Kris Raventos, and Natalie
Rincon. Students participating in the
Orff ensemble were Dana Cassidy,
Molly Garrett, and Lindsey Martin.
Congratulations to these students for
their participation and hard work!
Field Day 2011
Mark your calendars for Field Day, to
be held on March 17th, and P.E. needs
Dividends to help out! Look for
information in the near future coming
home with your child.
Seminole County Public Schools
Science Expo
On February 8th, Wekiva students in
K-5th grade showcased many
wonderful science projects! In fact,
over 180 students participated and
were the scientist teachers, while
parents and visitors were the students
and learned much about science. A
thank you goes out to Mrs. Gabrovic,
the Science Committee, and all the
Wekiva staff who came out and
supported this tremendous hands-on
learning event.
3rd Grade Checker Day
Wekiva’s 3rd Grade is proud to host
its time-honored Checker Day on
Friday, April 1st, from 9:00-10:15
a.m. In the weeks before the event,
students will compete in a round
robin competition. The culminating
championship game will be an
extended family event, inviting
family members over 55 years of age.
With students acting as playing
pieces, the 3rd grade champions will
play for the ultimate championship.
Along with fostering sportsmanship
and friendship, the primary goal of
this activity is to develop students’
critical thinking skills.
“A” Honor Roll Recognition
Wekiva will honor its STAR
STUDENTS who earned ALL “A’s”
on their second trimester report card
at an “A” Honor Roll Recognition
ceremony. Students who meet these
elite and outstanding criteria will
receive a special invitation with their
report cards for the upcoming event.
Although light snacks, drinks, and
coffee will be on hand, this is not a
breakfast. All recognition
ceremonies will take place in the
media center with doors opening at
7:45 a.m. and recognition beginning
at 8:00 a.m.
2nd Grade: Monday, Mar. 28th
3rd Grade: Tuesday, Mar. 29th
4th Grade: Wednesday, Mar. 30th
5th Grade: Thursday, Mar. 31st
Supporting our Friends in Haiti
Love Haiti is a project of the
organization Feeding Children
Everywhere, Inc. One year after the
devastating earthquake that struck
Haiti, children and families are still
 Wekiva Whispers
Principal: Michael Pfeiffer
starving, and in need of our
assistance. For only 25 cents, a
person is provided with a complete
meal, balanced with nutrients to help
counter the effects of malnutrition.
Our students are not only raising
money, but will actually get to
participate in packing the food boxes
that will be sent to Haiti. The goal of
elementary schools across Central
Florida is to pack 500,000 meals! We
are having a friendly competition
between the classes to see who can
raise the most money; the winning
class will receive a pizza party. Please
support this worthy cause…we will
be collecting until March 1st.
Wekiva’s Boxtops Success!!
Recently, the students in the fourth
grade gifted resource class completed
cutting, counting, and packaging the
second submission for our box tops
rewards. Our school will again get
approximately $1,500 to be used for
students and programs that benefit all
children. Winning classrooms will be
announced in the next Whispers and
will receive their prizes soon.
Project Create
Project CREATE is a program
sponsored by the Central Florida
Chapter of the Florida Engineering
Society to promote engineering with
elementary school students by having
them create a project that addresses
an engineering challenge. The fourth
grade gifted resource students from
Wekiva have chosen a real world
problem: building roads over land
that is prone to sinkholes. Three
groups have built models of roads
using strategies that could help road
departments avoid damage if a
sinkhole occurred. In addition,
students will be involved in paper
airplane design competition and
bridge building. Competition takes
www.scps.k12.fl.us or www.wekivaelementary.com
Wekiva Elementary School
1450 East Wekiva Trail
Longwood, Florida 32779
Phone: 746-3150 Fax: 746-3163
March 2011
Assistant Principal: Michelle Baker
place February 25th at the new for every book read, and many have
Amway Center. already read more than half! All
students who read 8 books will be
Reading News
invited to the Ice Cream Sundae party
Bookadventure.com is a free online
in May. Special recognition and
resource for children to answer
prizes will be awarded to any students
comprehension question on books
who take on the challenge of reading
they have read. This resource is
ALL 15 books!
similar to the AR program offered at
Primary Reading: Students in grades
school. After your child reads a
K, 1, and 2 have been enjoying the
book, check bookadventure.com for
FRA (Florida Reading Association)
the book title and have them answer
books for this year. They have had 6
the questions about the book. If your
of the 8 books read to them at this
child does well on the
point, and have learned about story
bookadventure.com test, they will
elements, parts of a book,
most likely do well on the AR test at
fiction/nonfiction, adding creativity to
school. If they do not do well on the
writing, and comparing and
bookadventure.com test, you should
contrasting the characters, setting,
encourage your child to reread the
and events of various stories. The
book before taking the AR test at
students will get to vote for their
school. The AR tests that are owned
favorite FRA book in early April.
by our school are listed on our
Literacy Week: Wekiva students
website.
celebrated Literacy Week at the end
Book Fair Carnival: Students will be
of January. Each day, teachers shared
able to preview the book fair on the
poems with their class. Students had
9th and 10th of March. Books will be
an opportunity to participate in two
available for purchase starting Friday,
contests. Some students kept a log of
March 11th. Parents can also enjoy
all the minutes of reading they
the Book Fair with their children
completed over their Winter Break.
during our Family Dinner on
Two winning logs were drawn for
Tuesday, March 15th. We hope to see
every grade level, and the students
you there! Remember, the Book Fair
were awarded with a free book of
Carnival is "Your Ticket to Read"!
their choice! Other students created
Sunshine State Books: Wekiva
wonderful posters that celebrated or
students have been very busy reading
encouraged reading. Poster winners
this year! The Sunshine State
were awarded with posters of their
Reading program is going very well.
choice, and all of the great posters are
Students in grades 3, 4, and 5 have
on display outside of the media
been reading a great selection of 15
center. Please stop by and take a
books this year. Many students have
look! Congratulations to all of our
already read the 3 books needed to
participants, and keep on reading,
vote for their favorite on April 5th.
Wekiva!
They have been earning book charms
Seminole County Public Schools
 Lost and Found
Our Lost and Found is overflowing!
Parents and students are asked to
check the Lost and Found (located in
the cafeteria) for lost clothing, coats,
backpacks, and lunch boxes. All
unclaimed items will be donated to a
local charity by March 4th.

Important Dates
2/26 Cross Country @ Crystal
Lake Elem.
3/1 FCAT Writes 4th Grade
3/2 SAC, 5:00 p.m.
PTA Board, 6:15 p.m.
3/8-17 Book Fair
3/15 2nd Gr. FT to Orlando Rep
PTA Family Dinner Night
3/17 Field Day
3/18 Teacher Work Day
3/21-25 Spring Break
3/28 School Resumes
2nd Grade Honor Roll
Breakfast, 7:45 a.m
5th Gr. FT to Env. Center
3/29 3rd Grade Honor Roll
Breakfast, 7:45 a.m
5th Gr. FT to Env. Center
3/30 4th Grade Honor Roll
Breakfast, 7:45 a.m
ABCS Lunch
3/31 5th Grade Honor Roll
Breakfast, 7:45 a.m
Pre-K FT to Zoo
5th Gr. FT to Env. Center
4/1 5th Gr. FT to Env. Center
3rd Gr. Checker Day, 9:00
4/5 Sunshine State Voting
4/6 Code Red Drill
SAC, 5:00 p.m.
PTA Board, 6:15 p.m.
4/11 FCAT Starts
4/22 No School
4/25-26 Kindergarten Round-Up
4/28-29 Health Screening 1st and 3rd
Grades

Seminole County Public Schools

www.scps.k12.fl.us or www.wekivaelementary.com