Dorothy C. York Innovation Academy
Jan. 23-27 Newsletter
A monumental highlight of the week is that our elementary students have started Spanish as an additional specials class! We welcome Mrs. Welch to York and are thrilled for the students to begin their foreign language journey. We also welcome Mrs. Santos to our elementary music department. Students will now be receiving a "Music, Technology and Culture" class for an extra 30 minutes in addition to the weekly one-hour traditional music class.
This week was Literacy Week on campus, and it was so fun seeing students show off their love of reading! We have had many outstanding bookmark designs, drawings, 3-D models, and videos turned in to showcase SSYRA award winning titles. Remember all SLAM projects are due on February 1st to the Media Center. Some of our middle school students participated in "buddy reading" with elementary students, and it was wonderful seeing the smiles of all involved as students took turns reading with each other and discussing the text.
Our inaugural chorus club of 5th, 6th, and 7th grade students began practicing this week with Mrs. Bullard. They are off to a great start and we can't wait to hear them perform!
Fifth grade safety patrol members enjoyed a "Patrol Fun Day" after school on Thursday. It was a fun time to kick back with a snack and games in the gym with their fellow patrol friends! We are thankful for all the ways our patrols help out to keep our campus safe and clean.
The York faculty honored our site's Teacher of the Year (Valerie Service,) Ida S. Baker Award Winner (Stephanie Hannett,) and Support Person of the Year (Jose Murga) at the Straz Center on Thursday night for the Excellence in Education Awards. Benigno Lopez was the previous Ida S. Baker finalist for all of Hillsborough County Schools, and he was honored as he shared some of his amazing accomplishments to celebrate diversity and inclusion within the district as he handed off the title.
York's Intramural Track meet for 5th-7th grade track team members is Monday, January 30th from 3:15-5:00pm. Kona Ice will be parked in front of the school near the track from 3:00-5:30pm. Come check out our beautiful track and field facility while cheering on your Admiral!
Magnet offers are now available for those who applied in the first choice round to join York's family! The Magnet offer window will run 1/26 at 5pm until 2/3 at 11:59pm. Tell your friends and neighbors who may have applied to be on the lookout for offer emails and click "accept" if given a seat. If you aren't offered a seat in this round, the application will stay active for the spring choice round. (Reminder, if your student already attends York you do NOT need to re-apply, your student is set though grade 8!)
Our PTSA is in search of an individual with knowledge about installing engraved paver stones around campus. If you would like to donate your installation skill set or have a connection, please reach out to our PTSA by emailing president.dcyorkptsa@gmail.com.
Literacy Week Buddy Reading
Upcoming Events & Reminders
January 30: Intramural Track Meet
February 2: 5th Grade Field Trip
February 3: 4th Grade Field Trip
February 6: PTSA Parent Meeting at York
February 7-8: 4th and 5th Grade In-House Field Trip
February 8 ,9, 10 & 14: 7th Grade Field Trip (one group per day)
February 9: VPK Field Trip
February 16: Kindergarten Field Trip
February 17: No SCHOOL
February 23: VPK and Kindergarten Jack Hartman Concert (on campus)
*Black History Month details coming in February newsletter editions
Reminder that parents should be utilizing the car line for morning arrivals. Please do not park in front of the office as those spots are needed for visitors/office staff, and students crossing the car line to enter the building is a safety concern.
Dismissal is at 3pm SHARP. Please make sure you have entered the car line no later than 3:10pm. ** Early Release Mondays have resumed for the remainder of the school year with 2:00pm dismissal.
Please remember that York is a uniform school. Monday-Thursday students should have a red, blue, or gray polo. On Fridays, students can wear a school spirit shirt.
Polo and Spirit Shirts are still available!
Polos and Spirit TShirts.pdf (hillsboroughschools.org)
Cash or Check made out to York Innovation Academy must accompany your order.
Instructions to access Canvas are available in English and Spanish on the school website:
Dorothy C. York Innovation Academy / Homepage (hillsboroughschools.org)
Admirals in Action
Mrs. Wright’s third grade class enjoyed fortune cookies with positive affirmations written by the students just in time for the Chinese Lunar New Year.
Mrs. Crouch and Mrs. Smart’s classes investigated physical and chemical changes to the states of matter!
Mrs. Hilliker’s class worked on some writing construction activities to help improve their grammar, paragraph structures, determining the difference between evidence and elaboration, and so much more!
Ms. Kovalovich's class explored our campus looking for the buried treasure of “AR” words!
Ms. Cawood’s Pre-K class had so much fun “ice fishing” for letters, making a polar bear snack, and throwing “snowballs” this week during their Arctic unit!
Ms. Cajigas & Mr. Lopez's classes learned how to extract DNA from strawberries and observed it under the microscope.
Media Center Updates
We had a fun week of health and wellness here at York, with the activities that we listed in last week’s newsletter along with a teacher lap walking contest we had throughout the week at school. Each lap the teachers walked gave them a ticket for a raffle drawing for a $25 gift card. Speaking of prizes, click below if you participated in the Peanuts activity or the bingo activity this week and submit a registration for a chance to win.
Click below for some fun videos from our elementary physical education department.
Admiral on Deck: Ms. Cajigas
Hello Admirals!
I am Ms. Cajigas, a middle school science teacher at York. I was born and raised in the beautiful island of Puerto Rico. I moved to Florida with my family in 2013. I have a Bachelor’s degree in Science with a major in Biology. This is my 17th year of teaching. I have taught elementary, middle and high school. Teaching middle school life science is my passion. I love engaging students in lab activities and providing field trip opportunities. I am very blessed to be part of the York Innovation Academy family. In my free time, you may find me at Universal Studios with my husband or walking my dog around the neighborhood. I love spending time with family and friends, and meeting new people. I can’t wait to see what the future will bring to our amazing school.
Save the Date for "Spring into STEAM" at York
York's Relay For Life Team Updates
Character Trait of the Month
How Can You Help?
Many guardians of Admirals have reached out to see how they can support the campus. Below are some ideas:
- Volunteer in our Media Center. Fill out the required HCPS form here: Volunteer Services / Overview (hillsboroughschools.org) and email valerie.service@hcps.net to let her know you'd like to help out!
- Donate any new or used Lego or Duplo blocks
- Donate any new or gently used uniform clothing
- Visit DonorsChoose.org and search "Dorothy C. York" and support a classroom of your choice
- Apply to be a substitute at Hillsborough County Public Schools (kellyeducationalstaffing.us)
- Visit our PTSA page at Dorothy C. York Innovation Academy PTSA - Home | Facebook
Dismissal Map
Dorothy C. York Innovation Academy
Website: hillsboroughschools.org/york
Location: 5995 Covington Garden Drive, Apollo Beach, FL, USA
Phone: 813-533-2400
Twitter: @HCPS_YorkMagnet