Reptile Review
January 2022
Principal Update
I hope you each had a wonderful winter break. It's hard to believe we are half way through the year and kicking off 2022. Just a reminder that our schools times have changed by 30 minutes. The front gates will open at 9:55am, the tardy bell will ring at 10:10am, and school will dismiss at 4:20pm.
Mrs. Basinger has been promoted to Principal of Gulf Highlands Elementary School. We wish her well in all her future endeavors. Our new Assistant Principal, pending board approval, is Mrs. Ketterer. She began her teaching career at New River, she then was a coach and Assistant Principal at WZES and an Assistant Principal at PES. She will officially begin on January 18th.
As COVID cases have began to rise again, we will work together to keep our students safe. Please check the students screener located on our school website. If your child is exhibiting any of the symptoms, please keep them home and complete the student absence form located on our school website.
Please continue to encourage your child to be reading at home. Starting in kindergarten, if a student reads 20 minutes a day at home, they will hear 1.8 million words per year. They will have read for 851 hours by 6th grade and on standardized tests, they will likely score better than 90% of their peers.
Have a wonderful week! Please reach out if you need anything.
Thank you,
Colleen Wilkinson
Principal
School Hours
Tardy Bell: 10:10am
Dismissal Time: 4:20pm
If your child is a bus rider, please check your parent portal for new bus times. As the new bus schedule run, please be patient with us for the first two weeks. Here is the information for the call center.
Dates of Call Center: 1/3 - 1/6
Times: Monday 8 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.
Tuesday - Friday 6 - 10 a.m. and 2 - 6 p.m.
Numbers to Call: 813-794-2500 or 727-774-2500 or 352-524-2500
PTA News
PE News
If your child is in Running club, hours for second semester are changing! Students can be dropped off at 9:25 at the PE gate. Running club will start at 9:30 and end at 9:55, when the first bell rings.
Field Day is March 11 and shirts are on sale now. Shirts can be purchased on acorn for $12 each. Shirts that are purchased help support our Reptile Run program. K-1st grade students who run 20 miles by May will receive a t-shirt and 2nd-5th grade students who run 25 miles will also receive a shirt. Thank you for your support of our future Cross Country stars!
Art News
During quarter two, our primary students have been working on making collages while using paper, cloth, ribbon, tissue paper and more. Students have also created paper crafts to represent trees, snowmen and candy canes. Intermediate students have been working on creating a still life while using oil pastels. During this process, students have practice blending and creating shading to make the objects look real. Students have also created paper crafts to show overlapping of shapes and colors.
Music News
Congratulations to Aveline Bishop, Elijah Cooper, Dezirae Gardner, Aubrey Miller, and Alvaro Torres! These students will be representing New River Elementary at the All County Chorus and Orff performance in February. We are so proud of our musicians, and we can’t wait to watch you grow even more!
Kindergarten – All classes will begin preparing for their in-school performance. “The Little Library: Singing Stories” will take students on a journey through three different books, singing and dancing along the way. More information to come!
1st & 2nd grade – All classes will begin preparing for our Spring Musical! We look forward to presenting your students’ hard work on Wednesday, April 20th at the Wesley Chapel Center for the Arts. More information to come!
3rd Grade – We will be exploring new elements of rhythm and melody through singing, movement, and instruments. Keep an eye out for information on our upcoming recorder unit!
4th Grade – We will be exploring new elements of rhythm and melody through singing, movement, and instruments. Keep an eye out for information on our upcoming ukulele unit!
5th Grade – We will begin sign-ups for our New River Percussion Ensemble. This Ensemble will meet on Wednesday mornings to learn new instruments and accompany the Kindergarten in-school performance. Look for more information coming home with your student!
Important Date
January 4th- Welcome back, Second Semester!
January 6th-January 21st- School Choice Window
January 12th- SAC Meeting 8:30
January 12th- Early Release Day- 2:20pm
January 17th: No School; Martin Luther King Jr. DayJanuary 21st- 100th Day of School
January 24th-28th- Literacy Week