August Monthly News
BROOKER CREEK ELEMENTARY
A MESSAGE FROM THE PRINCIPAL
Thank you for an amazing start to the 2023-2024 school year. We greatly appreciate your patience as we work through the typical first day procedures.
We hope you join us for our Open House, taking place on Wednesday, August 23. Due to the school size and limited parking, we will split the sessions and follow the schedule below:
5:00-5:45 VPK/PreK3-Grade 2
5:45-6:15 Gifted services in the classroom, ESE services in the Media Center, and our Meet the New Assistant Principal/PTA meeting will take place in the cafeteria.
6:15-7:00 Grades 3-5
If you are able, please attend the 5:45 session in the cafeteria. Our new Assistant Principal is eager to meet everyone.
Additionally, we begin the first testing session, for all students, on August 21. More information is below. What is important to remember is that students are being tested on benchmarks that they have not yet learned. This test serves as a pre-test to inform teachers as to what students already know or don't know. While students absolutely should try their best, the results should be used as an information piece. We will make good use of what this test reveals.
Lastly, I'd like to thank J&R Bicycles, Reliant Insurance Services, our PTA, Bella Pizzeria and Grill, and Calvary Church for their support during our teachers' pre-school planning. Their contributions provided breakfasts and lunches which allowed the staff to feel appreciated. It made for a better learning experience. Thank you all very much for your support.
I'm looking forward to a great year!
Mr. Hodges
A Message From the Assistant Principal:
It has been a fantastic first two days of school at Brooker Creek. I met so many wonderful scholars and family members at Meet the Teacher and during the first two days of school. For those of you who I have not met, my name is Kristie Gerber, and I am the new Assistant Principal for Brooker Creek. I have worked with Pinellas County Schools for 11 years and prior to those, I spent 20 years working in higher education settings. I am excited to be a member of the Bobcat Community and I look forward to the upcoming year.
Speaking of the upcoming year, the first round of FAST and STAR testing will begin on August 21st and run through September 8th. Letters will go home prior to testing alerting you of grade level specific testing dates.
Our teachers have been diligently working to acclimate students to their new grade level and building community within their classrooms. Building a community foundation now is imperative to the work they will be doing in the coming weeks and throughout the year.
Please let me know if there is anything I can do to support you or your scholars here at Brooker Creek.
Go BOBCATS!!
PTA NEWSLETTER
MEET YOUR BOARD!
The 2023-2024 PTA Board has been hard at work all summer planning for the upcoming school year. Per our bylaws, we are under new leadership. We would like to thank Meghan Davis and Nicole Andrews for their commitment and dedication last year and service to the PTA!
Now let's meet your new board:
PTA President: Jen Reyes presidentbcepta@gmail.com
PTA Vice President: Marissa Phillips vicepresidentbcepta@gmail.com
PTA Secretary: Darcy Knez secretarybcepta@gmail.com
PTA Treasurer: Morgan Boyd treasurerbcepta@gmail.com
We are looking forward to a "Bright New Year" with students, teachers, and staff. Throughout the year keep your eyes peeled for fun events for students and families! We would like to invite you to stop by the cafeteria during Open House to learn more about PTA and our programs, including All Pro Dad's during our general meeting. We will also be hosting our "Game Night" with our new assistant principal.
If you have any ideas, questions, or concerns, you can reach out to the PTA via our email addresses.
A Message from the President: Playground Update!
For those returning families who worked hard last Spring during our Read-a-Thon, we would like to provide you with a playground update. We know the playground was supposed to be ready to go with the start of school. As sometimes happens, things were held up on the district and vendor side. Mr. Hodges has worked hard on the PTA's behalf to make sure everything needed was given to the right people. We are finally in a place where the playground has been ordered. At this time, I do not know exactly when it will be installed. I apologize that we still do not have a playground for our older grade levels. I know many students, families, and staff were looking forward to the new equipment for the start of the year. I will keep everyone updated with developments as I have them.
Thank you all for your continued support of our school and this project!
Jen Reyes
CLINIC NEWS
Welcome back for another terrific year here at Brooker Creek.
I wanted to send out a few updates for the clinic this school year. As you may have noticed, upon logging into your student focus/portal account, all of the clinic forms are now online. These forms include the clinic card (this form previously came home in the first day packet and was yellow.) The form must be filled out in order for us to be able to reach you or a person you designate, should there be an emergency at school. Also online are the parent consent forms. These consent forms are very important. These are what tell me what I can and cannot do for your student if he/she becomes sick while at school. While I hope that everyone would want all the available healthcare that the school offers, which is only what is listed on that form, I understand that some parents do not want those services for their student. However, I still need to have a form on file. If I do not get a form for your student, you are automatically opting out of all health care. This includes temperature checks, ice for minor injuries, head checks for lice etc. Again, these forms must be filled out online in your parent portal. If you have not filled these out yet, please make sure to do so ASAP. If you want to change your form because you misinterpreted it or filled it out incorrectly and are unable to edit, please let me know via email at glatczakd@pcsb.org and we can get it fixed for you. This is new for all of us this year, but we can get through it if we work together.
Lastly, over the counter medications (OTC) include anything you purchase at the store to relieve a symptom. This list includes, but is not limited to: cough drops, medicated lip balm, (students are able to carry regular chapstick or lip gloss), Tylenol/Acetaminophen, Advil/Ibuprofen, anti-itch cream, eye drops, bug repellent, etc. These OTC medications must have an orange “Administration of Over the Counter Medication” card signed by the parent, accompanied by a prescription from the physician/dentist. This card is kept in the clinic along with the medication provided to the school in its original unopened packaging. Students are not permitted to self-carry such medications on school property at this time.
All medication is to be transported from home to the school by a parent/guardian and kept in the clinic for proper documentation of administration.
As always, if you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact me.
Thank you for all your support and understanding.
Your school nurse Diana
727-943-4600 Ext 2026
ART NEWS
“Creativity is allowing yourself to make mistakes. Art is knowing which ones to keep.”
Welcome back to the Art Room BCE Families!
For those of you who are brand new to Brooker Creek, my name is Shannon Livingston and this is my 8th year teaching art at our amazing school and my 18th year in Pinellas County. My husband and I are beginning year two of “empty nesters” with our daughter in her sophomore year at Rollins College. Our doodle dog, Lucy was not happy at all to see her sister head back to college this week.
I have a very exciting year of projects and community art shows planned for our students. Being that I see all of our kids every year from Kindergarten through 5th grade, it is my standing goal to foster a love of art in your children first and foremost. Drawing, painting, sculpture, clay, digital art and photography are all areas we will be exploring.
A new addition to our program this year will be the implementation of an online student gallery of their main lesson art projects on Artsonia. This online gallery not only lets us share the artwork with friends and relatives far away, but also offers a wonderful way to earn funds for the Art Room through customized keepsakes. Stay tuned in the September newsletter with directions on how to access this student gallery once we get it up and running.
Many of you witnessed the beautiful transformation of our courtyard amphitheater steps last year. Every grade level participated in making over 5000 ceramic tiles for this spectacular mosaic. We partnered with SHAMc (Safety Harbor Art and Music Center) to see our DREAM come to life. It is our long-term goal for more mosaic creativity in the coming years to the steps leading to our media center. We will use the funds raised by the Artsonia gallery, Pinellas County Art Referendum, local grants and parent/community sponsors. If you would like more information on becoming a “Friend of The Arts” at BCE, please reach out to me at livingstons@pcsb.org for sponsorship information.
Lastly, the Art Room is ALWAYS looking for generous donations of the following:
· “fresh juicy markers” as we describe them. Crayola makes some really beautiful sets with fancy colors like Tropical, Bright and Pastels. It’s always nice to have a variety of colors other than the basic.
· Art is messy....really messy...We are constantly in need of baby wipes for quick and easy cleanup when time is a factor. Which it always is.
Thanks as always for your generous support not only to the Art Room but to our entire school and staff. We make a great team!!!
Here’s to a wonderful year,
Mrs. Livingston
Library Media and Technology News
Welcome back to school. We have been busy scheduling student media center orientations and students will soon be able to visit the media center and check out books. Please remind your child about the importance of checking out a “Just Right Book” to increase their reading enjoyment and take time to share their books with them. By sitting together looking at the pictures, reading the captions and talking about the story you are modeling good reading habits that will last your child a lifetime. Our Media Center is open to all students, staff, and parents who wish to check out books or use any of our many resources.
Teachers have the option to schedule a whole class visits every two weeks. Visits will include a Library Media lesson with book checkouts. Students may borrow two or three books (depending on grade level) and keep them for two weeks. Books must be returned in good shape by their due date. If you would like to help your student pick out books, you may easily access our school’s catalog at https://destiny.pcsb.org/ then click on Brooker Creek, then the catalog tab. Please note that you can use this link for any Pinellas County school.
Mark your Calendars!
Scholastic Book Fair will be October 13th – 20th
Reading is vital to every child’s success and raising kids to love reading means getting involved while they’re young. Now is the time. Since there will never be a substitute for a parent’s direct involvement in his/her child’s education, please make plans to visit our Book Fair. We will need volunteers! Please contact Mrs. Gabbert at the Media desk if you can help.
Great Resources to Check Out:
Digital Learning: https://www.pcsb.org/Page/858
The main focus of the office of Digital Learning is to collaborate with district and school-based personnel as a resource to support school libraries, classrooms and curriculum in their transformation from print to digital content. This is great resource!
OverDrive: http://pplc.lib.overdrive.com
With OverDrive, you can borrow and enjoy free eBooks, audiobooks, and more from your public library’s digital collection. All you need to get started is an internet connection and your public library card.
The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more you learn, the more places you’ll go.
— Dr. Seuss
Keep Reading!
Mrs. Danielle Gabbert, LMTS
PE NEWS
Bobcats!
We are so excited to begin a new school year! We hope everyone had a great Summer! We anticipate a great year with many fun activities and events throughout. This year's PE Staff is the same as last year, it comprises of Mrs. Watt, Mr. Broome, and Miss Kuzio.
There are a few very important things we would like to remind you about as it pertains to your child's PE class and experience...
- Students are allowed to bring water bottles to class. They must only have water inside. Also, please have your child's name on the water bottle.
- Jackets and sweatshirts seem to frequently be left at class. It's suggested that students have their names written inside their jacket or sweatshirt just in case it is left or lost.
- Dr.'s notes/notes from parents. We must have a note from a doctor if a student is going to miss an extensive amount of time. A doctor's note must then be provided in order for a student to return. A note from a parent will suffice if a student needs to miss 1 or 2 days.
- Proper attire. Make sure your child is wearing proper attire during their PE days. Many students start off the year with new shoes and clothing. Sitting out because you don't want get dirty is not an option:-)
- If your child has any urgent health concerns, please notify us immediately.
- No Sunglasses, unless the student has a doctor's note.
- NO CROCS!!! It is a Pinellas County Schools guideline that students may not participate in PE while wearing Crocs, sandals, or opened toed shoes. Students wearing Crocs must unfortunately sit -out for the class period and points will be deducted from their grade.
How Students are Graded in PE
Each student begins the grading period with a total of 100 points. Their grade is broken down into 4 categories, each category is worth 25 points. The categories are...
- Be Kind to Each Other/Sportsmanship (which also constitutes as the students Conduct grade). The expectation is that students will remain on-task while the teacher is talking. They will treat each other with respect by not making fun of each other or saying hurtful comments. Students are expected to display good sportsmanship no matter how well they perform a skill or whether they win or lose an activity.
- Respect the Equipment. The expectation is that students will use the equipment safely and as intended, while cleaning up after themself.
- Try Your Best. The expectation is that all students try their best during each activity. This includes learning a skill, participating in a game, doing their warm-up and lap, etc...
- Skill Development. The expectation is that students perform skills and tasks as explained and demonstrated by the teacher.
If a student does not meet an expectation during class, a point is taken away from that specific category. Student grades are updated weekly, and you can view them online. We are always here to answer any questions about your child's PE experience:-)
We would greatly appreciate any of the following donations:-)
- Hand sanitizer
- Disinfectant Products
- Kleenex
- Sidewalk Chalk
- Dry Erase Markers
- Any old athletic tents (to use for extra shade)
- Water "misters"
Thank as always for your tremendous support for our department! We look forward to a great school year!
PE Department
Elementary School Wellness Guidelines
While we know that students and families enjoy providing treats to students, particularly on birthdays, there are strict rules and guidelines provided for the elementary student consumption of food items. We try to use our best discretion for these situations. The link provided below will take you to the district website outlining the guidelines, but we have included a graphic below. Items such as candy, cupcakes, and donuts do not meet the guidelines and we ask that you please do not provide them as the office staff will remind individuals of the guidelines and the food items will be returned to the adult delivering them. The link and graphic provided list options that are acceptable, and we ask that you make allowable selections when needed. Thank you for understanding.
Brooker Creek Elementary
Email: Hodgesjo@pcsb.org
Website: https://www.pcsb.org/brooker-es
Location: 3130 Forelock Road, Tarpon Springs, FL, USA
Phone: 727-943-4600