Mintz Elementary School Newsletter

February 2021

Important Dates/Events

Important Dates/Events

February 1st - Virtual Family Event - School Advisory Council

February 8th - Report Cards Available Online

February 12th - Non-Student Day

February 15th - No School, President's Day

February 25th - Virtual Kindergarten Round Up

Important Dates/Events
Early Release Mondays

Early Release Mondays

Each Monday is an Early Release day. Your child is released at 12:55 PM. Parents, please set a reminder on your phone or smartwatch to remember these days--It's easy to get busy and forget.


MONDAYS

February 1st

February 8th

February 22nd

Early Release Mondays

News from Ms. Moltisanti

Happy February, families!


I want to welcome all of our new students and mariners who have joined us on-site from eLearning. We also welcome Ms. Deana Sharp, our new 5th grade teacher, to our faculty. Ms. Sharp has taught at a variety of Hillsborough County Schools and worked as a peer evaluator, a mentor, and a literacy coach.


We have our virtual Ready for Kindergarten event coming up on February 25 at 6:00 PM. If you have a child who will be 5 by September 1 or know of friends or neighbors who do, please help spread the word about this opportunity. parents can register online at:

https://tinyurl.com/MintzKG

We will email the Zoom link the day before the event.


I want to personally thank every parent in car line for having car tags visible every day! It has helped our afternoon car line run very smoothly! As we have had more students return to learning on campus, the morning car line is busier, especially closer to the bell. All of the adults who greet students in morning car line have to be in class right after the bell. We must close the gates promptly at the 7:40 bell to begin our learning day. Please be proactive and try to arrive a few minutes earlier to school.


Each class is studying and researching historical figures for Black History Month. I am excited to hear about our students' learning.



Keeping Children First,

Debbie Moltisanti

2020-2021 STEM Fair Winners

Congratulations to our Mintz Elementary STEM Fair winners! Over the next few weeks, Mrs. Velez will be working with the students to prepare their Flipgird video submissions for the Hillsborough County Schools district-wide STEM FAIR event. Thank you to everyone for your hard work at STEM Fair.




INDIVIDUAL


5TH GRADE

1st Place (district) Jacob Rellick (VELEZ)

Nom Nom Birds How does the time of day affect how many Hummingbirds come to eat?


2nd Place (district) Saniya Frederick (VELEZ)

Free the End Does the tool you use to defeat the Minecraft Ender Dragon affect the amount of time it takes?


3rd Place Makenna McGill (VELEZ) Among Us Cooldown


4th Grade Individual

1st Place (district) Sylee Glass (KANE)

Flying High How does the paperweight of airplanes affect on the distance they fly?


2nd Place (district) Gavin Moss (KANE)

Farthest Kick How does the way you kick a soccer ball affect how far it rolls?


3rd Place (tie) MacKenzie Watson (KANE) How Much Popcorn?

3rd Place (tie) Cameron Nelson (KANE) Soccer Ball Pressure


GROUP PROJECTS


5th Grade GROUP

1st Place (district) Atticus Jaquith & Zakaylah Bond (SHARP)

Mask Up Which type of mask blocks water best? Cloth vs paper


2nd Place (district) Brooklynn Kelley, Alyssa Quiles, Janiya Rosario (Sharp)

Garbage Breakdown How does recycling affect the amount of trash?


CLASS PROJECTS


2nd Grade Class Projects

1st Place (district) Ms. Ellerman's Class

Powerful paper How does the shape of paper folding affect its strength?


1st Grade Class Projects

1st Place (district) Ms. Walker's Class

Taste Perception How does color affect taste perception?


2nd Place Ms. Williams' Class

Which Food Stays Fresh?

Habit 4-Think Win-Win

Abundance Mentality

Abundance Mentality

Abundance mentality is the thought that there is plenty of success to go around. We can all enjoy and share in the success; it's not you versus me. It's us together. Teaching young students that when we seek to find a third alternative; we can all win.

Siblings rivalry is a competition between children to be the first, to get the prized toy, to have mom or dad's undivided attention. Modeling for children that when working together we can all enjoy the toy or the game. Mom or Dad can love everyone and share their attention.


Lose-Lose: "If I'm going to lose, so are you."

Lose-Win: "Go ahead take advantage of me."

Win-Lose: "I am going to win and you are going to lose."

Win-Win: "Let's find a solution that works for both of us."


Family Activity:


Enjoy an afternoon with the family. Go to a nearby park, beach, or any place with plenty of sunlight. Talk with the family about how great the warm sun feels on our face and that there is plenty of sunlight for everyone to enjoy. Enjoying the sun does not take away from the sun; whether one person enjoys the sunlight or a million. There is an abundance of sunshine--plenty for everyone to enjoy. Like sunshine-or love- think with an abundance paradigm.

Abundance Mentality

Mid Year Assessments Grades 2 - 5

Mid Year Assessments are given to our 2nd - 5th grades to monitor student learning. Your child's teacher will reach out to you to share your students' progress. Please ensure your child is at school on time. We want them to do their best!


Tuesday, February 9th & Wednesday, February 10th - Reading Assessment

Tuesday, February 16th & Wednesday, February 17th - Math Assessment

ESOL - English Language Learners

News from the Media Center

Mintz Media Center Canvas Course

If your student has not enrolled in the Mintz Media Center canvas course, please take a moment to do so using this link -- https://sdhc.instructure.com/enroll/KR7F4Y This will allow your child easy access to many resources including ebooks, safe research sites, and more.

MAKERSPACE

Makerspace focuses on Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Math by promoting problem-solving skills and tasks that engage the learner. Mintz Elementary's Makerspace is open, but with some new protocols for safety. Students will no longer be able to share supplies but will be able to pick up materials to take home. When a student comes to the Media Center to check out library books, they can also locate materials from Makerspace to bring home and complete the task.

SSYRA JR

First-grade readers completed a book box reading activity that showcased five award-winning books and was asked to vote for their favorite selection. According to the Mintz Elementary 1st graders, the best book was...."We Don't Eat Our Classmates" by Ryan T. Higgins.

SLAM Showcase

Fourth-grade students are reading this year's Sunshine State Young Readers Award-Winning books for the countywide SLAM Showcase. Students can earn a VIP badge, which will grant them access to Mrs. Howell's pop-up SLAM celebrations by testing on the books as they read! Also, students will have the opportunity to compete in this year's virtual SLAM, Student Literacy and Media Showcase event, by creating a 2D art project or a digital book trailer, in response to any of the 15 SLAM books. Please encourage your child to read all of the SLAM books. Who will be the first student pictured on the SLAM Wall of Fame?!

Excellence in Action Awards

The Excellence in Action Awards (EIA) were established for parents to recognize individuals who have made a difference in the life of their child with special needs who receives Hillsborough County Public Schools (HCPS) Exceptional Student Education (ESE) services. Over the last 21 years, family members, including students, have been inspired to submit hundreds of nominations for administrators, teachers, support staff, transportation staff, therapists, community members, and volunteers who have touched their lives.


EIA nomination submissions will be accepted from family members or students only, and should specify how the nominee has made a difference in the life of their child with special needs. EIA nominations will be verified and separated into categories. The winner of each category will be determined by committee solely on the content of the submission.


To recognize one of our Exceptional Student Education teachers or support staff, please visit:

Deborah Moltisanti, Principal

Deborah Moltisanti, Principal

Deborah Moltisanti, Principal

1510 Heather Lakes Boulevard, Brandon, FL, USA deborah.moltisanti@sdhc.k12.fl.us 813-744-8353 mysdhc.org/mintz