Eagle News
September 2023
Words from Principal Stevens
Hello Cypress Woods Families!
What a start to the school year! First and foremost, we hope all of our CWE families are safe from the effects of Hurricane Idalia.
Thank you for all your support as our Eagles have settled into their classrooms and we are off to a great start to the school year. It’s hard to believe that we are already into the month of September. I appreciate all of the continued support as we work to maintain academic momentum. Our work together is extremely important. Research confirms that parental interest and involvement in a child’s education is the most significant reason children succeed in school.
The purpose of our work is to develop students who will be good citizens of the future. Our goal at Cypress Woods is to provide a nurturing and enriching education for all students. In reaching our goals, establishing and maintaining an orderly environment is essential. Listed below are a few ways that you can help us maximize student achievement at CWE:
Make sure your child is here daily AND on time.
We understand that traffic patterns and traffic lights have been an issue since the start of the school year. Please know, we are working daily with the Pinellas County Department of Transportation. We ask that families continue to obey all traffic rules, this is for the safety of our students, staff members and families.
With that said, students should always be on time for school. Students who arrive late to school (after 8:45 am) are expected to sign in at the front office and obtain a tardy slip. Tardiness on a regular basis is disrupting and detrimental to your child’s success.
Respect Our School Hours
Office Hours: 7:45 am - 3:45 pm
First Bell: 8:30 am
Class begins: 8:45 am (considered tardy if not in classroom)
School Hours: 8:45 am – 2:55 pm
No early dismissal after 2:30pm
Please respect dismissal time: Students must be picked up at 2:55 each day. Instruction in classrooms is bell to bell. We know sometimes appointments need to made during school hours, but please try to schedule them around our school times as much as possible. Please make sure other arrangements have been made if you will be running late.
Check your child’s planner/agenda nightly. The planner is an important communication tool from the teacher and includes homework assignments and important dates.
Participate in school activities. We welcome our volunteers, tutors, and mentors to campus. We also have a very active PTA that is a tremendous support to our school community. Please check the school website, PTA and school Facebook pages for ways you can become involved here at school.
Expect your child to demonstrate respectful, responsible and safe behavior. Cypress Woods is committed to providing a positive learning culture. We have a school-wide Positive Behavior Plan where we teach children behaviors that will ensure success in school and throughout life.
Each day presents wonderful opportunities to make a difference in the lives of children as we prepare them for success in school and in life. It is with pride that I look forward to a productive and enriching school year! Thank you for your continued support!
Go Eagles!!
MARK YOUR CALENDERS
School picture day is Thursday, September 14th. Families can order online now at www.leonards.com/photoprepay using the access code C619506 or pay by check or cash (exact amount as no change will be provided) and use the order form envelope attached to the flyer that was sent home with your student. When ordering online be sure to include your online confirmation on the form along with your student’s name clearly written and please note picture prices will go up $10 after picture day.
A FEW NOTES FROM THE CLINIC
Florida Law requires Parents to consent to any services provided by school nurses prior to any care being given. Pinellas County Schools has conveniently made these forms available for completion in your Parent Focus account. If you have not yet done so, please complete these forms as soon as possible. We want to make sure that should your student get ill or injured while at school that we are able to provide efficient care.
It is best practice to keep a change of clothes in your child’s backpack at all times. Even in the upper grades. Accidents and messes do happen, and it can be embarrassing for a student to have to wait for a parent to bring a change of clothes.
We recommend you check your child’s hair routinely for lice and nits. (Once a week, take a peek!) It’s important to know Pinellas County Schools does still have a no nit policy. This means that if your student is found to have lice/nits all must be cleaned from their hair prior to returning to school. Infestations are easier to handle if caught early. As a reminder, lice do not jump or fly, nor do they spread disease. Anyone can get lice, regardless of hygiene.
We have seen a large uptick in the number of Covid cases across the county, as subsequently in the school as well. Guidelines for returning to school after illness are no different for a Covid infection. If you or your student are ill, please follow your physician’s guidance. School board policy states students must be fever free for 24 hours without the use of fever reducing medications before returning to class.
Please feel free to reach out to the clinic with any school related medical concerns.
PHYSICAL EDUCATION
Hello from the P.E. Department! We are looking forward to an exciting and rewarding year. To ensure all students are safe and successful please review the rules and procedures listed below.
Overview: Pre-K students will have Physical Education class daily for thirty minutes. Kindergarten through Fifth Grade students will have Physical Education class three days a week for fifty minutes.
Attire: For your child’s safety, the P.E. Department requests closed toe shoes. We request no boots, high-heeled shoes, or sandals be worn to P.E. class. If your child wants to wear these shoes to school, we ask they be worn on days your child does not have P.E. or that they change before coming out to P.E. class.
Water bottles: We highly encourage sending a water bottle to school, labeled with your child’s name. We are monitoring heat advisories and providing water breaks and shade breaks. It is important your child stays hydrated.
Excuses: ALL students will be expected to participate in all P.E. activities unless they present a note from a parent/guardian or doctor. If a student misses P.E. for more than three days in a row, a doctor’s note is required. In instances such as hospitalization, long-term illness, broken bones, and stitches, we will require a doctor’s release note. The note must be given to the P.E. instructor before the child may resume participation.
Grading: Your child receives a grade in both skill and behavior each grading period.
Guidelines for Success:
Show self-control.
Own a positive attitude.
Act responsibly.
Respect self & others.
We follow the school wide SOAR reward program in which students receive feathers for positive behavior. Look out for our Athletes of the Month starting in September!
We hope this information will help you better understand our expectations for your child. Please do not hesitate to contact us if you have any questions. We look forward to a GREAT year!
Coach Anderson, Coach LaFave, Coach White, Coach Crispyn & Coach Evans 😊
🎶🎼🎹🎵 MUSIC 🎵🎶🎼🪘
Hello, and welcome back to another school year! I hope the summer went well for you and your family. Any student interested in learning to play the flute, clarinet, alto saxophone, or the trumpet, need to turn in their forms in order to be placed in a class. Band will take place during one of the students' PE classes, and must have a PE waiver in order to participate.
As of right now, I have no start date for Band, as I have only received one of the 100 instruments the county ordered for us. I will send word when they are received, so we can begin learning!
Any other materials needed will be sent home once we know the instrument your child/ren is/are playing. If you have any questions, please reach out to me at grimess@pcsb.org.
I look forward to this new musical adventure with your children!
Thank you for your support for this new musical opportunity!
Progress Monitoring Assessments
We are working to complete our first round of progress monitoring assessments in Reading and Math. Thank you for all your support in preparing your child for making sure they were present during testing. Teachers will use the information gathered during testing to inform instructional planning.
Parents of students in grades 3 through 5 can access their child’s scores in the Focus parent portal. For students in grades VPK – grade 2, score reports will be sent home.
As you review these scores, please remember that these assessments encompass an entire year’s curriculum, and we expect students will grow throughout the year.
If you have any questions regarding your child’s score, please reach out to your child’s teacher.
HELLO VOLUNTEERS!!
It was so nice to see/meet many of you at our Meet & Greet Expo and at our Volunteer Orientation! If you were unable to attend the orientation, please see the attached copy of our PowerPoint presentation and review it for important information regarding the volunteer program at Cypress Woods.
New Parent/Families who want to volunteer in the classroom, on field trips, with our PTA, afterschool clubs, etc. need to complete the online volunteer registration for a free Level 1 background check. Follow this link to get started: https://asd.pcsb.org/schoolwiresforms/volunteer/ Background checks may take 2 – 3 weeks. You will receive a system generated email once you have been approved to volunteer.
Volunteers who previously registered simply need to reactivate by logging into the volunteer system and answering the reactivation questions. I have attached instructions that will assist you with the web address for the system as well as the login format. If you have a somewhat common last name, you may have a unique login, so if the format shown doesn’t work for you, please email me and I will send you the unique login to reactivate. If you are not active, you will not receive updates on volunteer opportunities and school events. Please DO NOT use your phone to complete the reactivation process or skip any of the questions to avoid being placed on HOLD. The volunteer system works best with google chrome on a PC. If you previously volunteered at another Pinellas County School, please send me your legal name and date of birth so I can connect you with Cypress Woods.
Level 2 screenings are optional, but required if you will be volunteering in a situation where you may not be supervised by a staff member such as certain field trips. AFTER you have either received your Level 1 approval email or reactivated your volunteer status, please follow this link to see our approved vendors for fingerprinting: https://www.pcsb.org/Page/12334 There is a fee, and the Level 2 status will be good for 5 years. Please follow up with me 7 – 10 days after you’ve gone for fingerprinting, and I will confirm your status and arrange for you to obtain a Level 2 badge. **We are holding onsite fingerprinting on Wednesday 9/13 – see the link to make your appointment below**
Below are some upcoming dates and opportunities:
- Monday, 9/4/23 – Labor Day – No School
- *Rescheduled Open Houses* Wednesday 9/6/23:
- Gifted Classes 5-6pm (students currently enrolled in GP services)
- Grades 3-5, ACCESS & Ms. Wicks Classroom 6-7pm
- Wednesday, 9/13/23 Onsite Fingerprinting – For Level 1 Active and Approved volunteers ONLY. You will need to bring your driver’s license, know your social security number, and $50 cash or check payable to Postal Annex (No Credit Cards Accepted) Follow this link to make an appointment: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/20F0F48ABA62BA31-level1
- Thursday, September 14th – Fall Pictures. Thanks to all who signed up to volunteer, we are currently covered!
- Specialists Open House and PTA General Meeting 6:15-7:15pm
- October 2 – 13 APEX Fun Run PTA Fundraiser – Volunteers Needed for Run, watch for sign-up genius link soon or email them at cweptaboard@gmail.com to let them know you’d like to help.
- Wednesday, 10/4 PTA Walk to School Day – Parents/Students meet at East Lake Library at 8 AM then walk to school. PTA Coffee Chat in Media Center 8:45 – 9:30 AM Want to help? email PTA at cweptaboard@gmail.com
- Friday, 10/6 Family Lunch Day – Enjoy lunch with your student outside at our picnic tables the first Friday of each month. You must bring your Driver’s License to the office and check in. Level 2 Volunteers are needed to monitor all the lunchtimes in order to continue this program. Please contact me at shipleyk@pcsb.org if you are available to help the first Friday of each month. Then I will reach out to you the week prior to schedule coverage.
- Friday, 10/13 Volunteer Café – From 9:00 – 11:30 AM All volunteers are invited to join us in the Media Center and work on various projects for our teachers and staff. Snacks provided by GradePower Learning and coffee will be available. Our next one will be Thursday November 9th. An RSVP is not required; however, it would be good to know how many are coming so we have enough projects and refreshments on hand.
A message from our PTA:
PTA after school clubs will be announced soon! These clubs are free to students so PTA will need supplies and volunteers. Please consider donating your unwanted Legos to the Lego Club, and soil/seeds/supplies or gift cards would be appreciated for Garden Club. If you are interested in volunteering your time, please contact Kristin Sanders at cweptaboard@gmail.com or come to the meeting and Ice Cream Social on September 21st at 6:30 in the cafeteria!
PTA will also need volunteers to be on campus Thursday, October 12th for the APEX Fun Run! Information and a Signup Genius link will be sent to PTA members later this week.
Thanks for all your support!