Bay Vista Bulletin
April / May 2023 Edition
Message from the Principal
With just two months left in the school year, our teachers and students are working hard to prepare for Cycle 3 Testing across all grade levels. Thank you for your continued support of your students and our teachers to ensure all our Jaguars are ready for this important final round of assessments.
April and May are always busy months at Bay Vista. Below is a list of the upcoming events.
We have EIGHT opportunities for meeting credits for the combined months of April/May which include:
- 4/3 Virtual SAC Meeting-Zoom Meeting Link: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/84012632367?pwd=dEgrWSs0d0syY1V6ZkFLbE9PVkZ5Zz09
4/6 PTA Staff Luncheon (must sign-up on Sign-Up Genius link AND donate prepared dish with your student's name and grade level attached)
- 4/6 BVF Family Night at SkyZone (turn in receipt on 4/10 for meeting credit)
- 4/19 PTA Drive-thru Ice Cream Social (RSVP Required)
- 5/1 Virtual SAC Meeting- Zoom Meeting Link: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/84012632367?pwd=dEgrWSs0d0syY1V6ZkFLbE9PVkZ5Zz09
5/11 PTA Staff Luncheon (must sign-up on Sign-Up Genius link AND donate prepared dish with your student's name and grade level attached)
- 5/19 Family Dinner & Movie Night at BVF (RSVP Required)
- Various Dates Swim Volunteers-will accompany classes to and from the pool. You must be a PCSB registered volunteer. Volunteers MUST REGISTER ON THE SIGN-UP GENIUS links below.
Thank you to our amazing PTA for their hard work in fundraising for the Bay Vista 7th Annual Jaguar Jog!!! The event was a fun way to raise funds while promoting physical fitness, a healthy lifestyle, and building school spirit and pride.
Also, I want to extend my sincere appreciation to our PTA President, Heather Duncan. She has served as president for two consecutive years and has done a remarkable job! Thank you for your vision and leadership in strengthening our school community and spearheading so many amazing events for our Jaguars and families!
Donna Hall
Principal
SWIMMING Returns this Month
We are so excited that our Swim Program returns this month! In the coming days, our P.E. Department will send home more communication regarding the Swim Program which will include dates, permission slips, and so much more. We are looking forward to a successful swim season with our Jaguars! Volunteers should sign up using the links below.
- SIBLINGS, ADDITIONAL FAMILY MEMBERS, OR OTHER CHILDREN/STUDENTS MAY NOT ATTEND SWIM DAYS WITH VOLUNTEERS.
- Kindergarten: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/805054EA5A622AAFD0-swim2
1st Grade: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/805054EA5A622AAFD0-swim2
2nd Grade:https://www.signupgenius.com/go/805054EA5A622AAFD0-swim4
- 3rd Grade: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/805054EA5A622AAFD0-swim4
- 4th Grade: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/805054EA5A622AAFD0-swim3
5th Grade: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/805054EA5A622AAFD0-swim3
SUMMER BRIDGE-Bay Vista is a SUMMER BRIDGE site this year
for Rising K through 4th Grade
I am encouraging all students to participate in this 16-day face-to-face program from June 5th – June 29th. You may sign up to attend Bay Vista or your zoned school for Summer Bridge. The face-to-face program engages children in weekly themed lessons and virtual field trips while building math, science, and language arts skills. Most of all, Summer Bridge is designed to be fun for students!
We are happy to register your student for Summer Bridge. Simply click on the link to share your child’s information with us: https://forms.office.com/r/f002Ef42EH
Bay Vista is NOT a VPK site.
- Rising Kindergarten - For children entering kindergarten in August who have attended Pre-K/VPK: Children will sing, play and dance the day away, while they develop literacy skills and prepare for kindergarten success!
- Current K-4 (Children entering grades 1-5): Weekly themes, which vary by grade level, include space, oceans, insects, rainbows, animals, sports, and amusement parks. Summer Bridge is especially important for students who are performing below grade level in reading or math or who need additional help to stay on track.
- Before and After Childcare: Childcare is available before and after Elementary School Summer Bridge. Parents interested in childcare programs should contact the R’Club to register at (727) 578-5437. If R’ Club states they are full, please add your student’s name to the waitlist. R’ Club staff are monitoring those regularly and adjusting/adding staff as needed. If there are any questions families can communicate directly with R’ Club.
Teacher Standouts
Inclusion Teacher of the Year Finalist - Errin Randolph, First Grade Teacher
The Council for Exceptional Children Suncoast Chapter 176 recognizes professionals who demonstrate outstanding potential, ability, and involvement in working with students of all backgrounds and abilities. Congratulation to Errin Randolph for being named as a Top 10 Finalist for the Inclusion Teacher of the Year. The finalist will be honored at a Spring Banquet where they will also name the Inclusion Teacher of the Year. We are so proud of Mrs. Randolph!Superintendent Standout - Jana Hill, VE Teacher
Superintendent Hendrick recognized one of our own teachers as his March Superintendent Standout. Mr. Hendrick names one teacher each month who stands out by exemplifying the district's core values: Commitment to Children, Families and Community; Respectful and Caring Relationships; Cultural Competence; Integrity; Responsibility; and Connectedness. This month he recognized Jana Hill, a VE Teacher, for being a district standout! Congratulations, Mrs. Hill!!!.
Bay Visa is proud to celebrate these two amazing ladies for all they do each day for our Jaguars!
Errin Randolph
Jana Hill
Porter Connell
Our Jaguars are making their mark!
PRIDE AWARD RECIPIENTS
PRIDE is the Program to Recognize Initiative and Distinction in Education. Its purpose is to encourage and reward outstanding academic efforts. Every year four high-achieving Pinellas County fifth-grade students from each school are recognized at the annual PRIDE Awards ceremony. Students are honored in the areas of math, science, social studies, and writing. Each student winner receives a medallion and a trophy to recognize his/her academic achievement. Congratulations to our fifth-grade students for their hard work to be the award recipients this year.- Writing - Carina Felardo
- Math - Kelton Pryce
- Science - Cameron Berry
- Social Studies - Claire Richardson
CROSS CREEK CHRONICLE Honorees
The Cross Creek Chronicle is a collection of published works by Pinellas County students. It is an honor to have a written piece published in the annual chronicle. This year, we had six students writing pieces selected by the district. These students will be recognized at the district's celebration in May at the Palladium. Congratulations!
- Amiya Henry (4th), Baylee Dotterer (4th), Benjamin Lamb (5th), Claire Fultz (4th), Colin Hamisak (4th), and Micheline Enlund (2nd), Daniel Nicholas (3rd)
Maria Edmonds Hispanic Achievement Awards
More than 400 students from elementary, middle, and high schools were honored for their academic achievements during the Maria Edmonds Hispanic Achievement Awards ceremony on March 27th at Ruth Eckerd Hall. In addition to the awards, selected 12th-grade students received scholarships to support their future academic endeavors.
Congratulations our four 5th-grade award winners.
- Gabriella Wilson, Emma Anderson, Kyra Ruiz, and Eden Rodriguez
Vyrle Davis Student Achievement Awards
The Vyrle Davis Student Achievement Awards, sponsored by Pinellas County Schools and City of St. Petersburg, honors African American students who have demonstrated academic excellence. Congratulations to our two fifth-grade recipients of this year's award! They will be honored at a ceremony on April 13th at The Coliseum.
- Kelton Pryce and Mariah Lovett
Yes, I Can! Student of the Year
More than 40 students were recognized at this year's "Yes I Can!" Awards breakfast. The "Yes I Can!" Awards honor students with exceptionalities who shine. Throughout the years, Pinellas County Schools has recognized the accomplishments of hundreds of students. The winners are recognized for their achievements in one of seven categories: Academics, Arts, Athletics, School and Community Activities, Self-Advocacy, Technology, and Transition. Congratulations to our award recipient this year, Porter Connell, a first grader.
Battle of the Books Team is.....
Battle of the Books is a reading program for students in 3rd thru 5th grade. The list of books comes from the Sunshine State Young Reader's Award titles. The program is a "quiz bowl" type of game in which teams try to answer content questions and identify titles and authors of the 15 Sunshine State Young Readers Award titles. Questions are based on plots, settings, and characters. Students are expected to read a minimum of 10 of the 15 chosen books in order to take the qualifying test. Taking the qualifying test does not guarantee making the team. However, those who scored well enough have been placed on the Bay Vista Battle of the Books Team and they will compete in our school Battle of the Books competition. The winning team at the school level will go on to compete at the Regional Competition.
Congratulations to our Battle of the Book Team.
- Jay Gross, Baylee Dotterer, Shelby Smith, Amelia Diehl, and Dakota Fischer (alternate)
SAC Nominations
If you are interested in being on the SAC Board or a SAC member, please click the link below to submit your name. Those interested in being a board member will submit a brief statement of their qualifications using the Forms Link below by Friday, April 15th. Only potential board members need to submit qualifications.
Nomination/Submission Link: https://forms.office.com/r/BxaBYnvvYf
The current SAC committee will review the candidates and vote at our May SAC Meeting.
SAC Board Positions
Chairperson
- Calls SAC meetings to order, maintains order & sees that the meetings are properly adjourned.
- Works closely with the Principal to plan each meeting and establish an agenda in time to notify the members of the purposes of the meeting and accepts item for the agenda.
- Shares leadership with the Principal and other SAC members.
- Notifies members of upcoming meeting dates.
Vice Chairperson
- Collaborates with the Principal, Chairperson, and Secretary
- Acting Chairperson in the absence of the Chairperson
SAC Secretary
- Keeps accurate, complete minutes and shares minutes.
- Maintains up-to-date files of minutes
- Keeps accurate records of attendance
End-of-Year Conferences begin this month
Final Week of School - May 22 - 25--Last day of school is an EARLY RELEASE day at 12:25 p.m.
Dreambox Lesson Requirements
Weekly Lesson Requirements
Grades K, 1, 2 - Complete 5-7 lessons per week
Grades 3, 4, 5 - Complete 10 lessons per week
PTA News
Spring has sprung and the PTA has a few more events before the end of the school year!
The PTA promised that if our Spring fundraiser, the Jaguar Jog, reached the goal, they would provide a Popsicle Celebration for our student body! We ended up raising more than $9,000 and we are holding true to our promise!
Check out our updates below as there is still many ways to get involved before the end of the school year!
PTA Board Elections
PTA Board elections are now open! Please vote for your preferred representative for each of the listed positions. The ballot will remain open until Thursday, April 6th.
https://usf.az1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_dcoQSZQACB9vkz4
Teacher Luncheon
Our next teacher luncheon will be held on Thursday, April 6th, and the theme is Spring Picnic! Please consider donating if you are able! All donations can be dropped off in the car line on the morning of the 6th, or in the office prior to 9am.
Sign-Up Genius Link: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/30E0C4AADA92CA2F94-april1
Spirit Night at Skyzone
Spirit Night at Skyzone is on Thursday, April 6th from 2 p.m. - 9 p.m. and the best part is that there is NO SCHOOL on Friday! Come on out and jump with fellow Jaguars! Just be sure to mention to the cashier that you are part of the Bay Vista fundraiser. The flyer is attached to this email!
SkyZone Flyer: Bay Vista Fundamental April 6th.pdf
Committee Planning Needs
We have 2 remaining PTA hosted events this school year and are looking for planning committee members to ensure their success. If you are interested in serving on the Ice Cream Social committee or Family Dinner and Movie committee, please sign up using the links below. We will be reaching out to volunteers this week!
ICE CREAM PLANNING: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/805094AAFAE2AA2F49-icecream1
FAMILY DINNER PLANNING: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/805094AAFAE2AA2F49-family1
Previously Communicated Information
SPIRIT GEAR
Spirit Gear is now available in the MemberHub store for purchase:
https://bayvista.memberhub.com/store?limit=21&live=true Orders are typically delivered to students within 1 week.
PTA MEMBERSHIP DRIVE
You can still join PTA, renew your membership, and/or sponsor activities via our membership portal: https://bayvista.new.memberhub.store/store. As a reminder, students of families who join or renew will earn some super cool prizes!
- $10 Family Membership- earns Homework Pass
- $30 Silver Family Membership- earns Homework Pass and BVF Car Magnet
- $60 Gold Family Membership- earns all of the above PLUS a BVF T-shirt (adult size)
Upcoming PTA Events
- April 6th- Teacher Luncheon (meeting credit option for providing a prepared dish-sign-up at the link above.)
- April 6th- Spirit Night at Skyzone (meeting credit -turn in receipt with child's name by Monday, 4/10)
- April 19th- Drive-thru Ice Cream Social (RSVP Required) (meeting credit option)
- May 19th- Family Dinner and Movie Night (RSVP Required) (meeting credit option)
Thanks for your support,
The Bay Vista PTA
Kindergarten Happenings
ELA
In Reading, students will relate to characters in books by describing their appearance, actions, feelings, and thoughts. We will compare and contrast characters' experiences in stories. And we will focus on retelling and fluency. Students will continue to read higher leveled “Just-right” books and decodable books. The secret word is “unicorn.” If you are reading this, mention this secret word to your teacher for a special prize.
In Writing, students will focus on expressing their opinions about a topic or text and be able to give one supporting reason for their opinion. We will continue our work on how to follow rules of punctuation, capitalization, and using grade-appropriate phonetic spelling. In May, we will return to writing narratives like storytellers across 3 pages. Our stories should include characters, settings, and events with details.
MATH
In Math, students will extend their counting skills to 100. They will count by 1’s up to 50 and then to 100 and count backward within 20. Students will count by 10s and explore patterns on a hundred chart. In May, we will measure and analyze and compare shapes.
SCIENCE
In Science, students will observe plants and animals, and describe how they are alike and how they are different in the way they look and in the things they do. Students will recognize that some books and other media portray animals and plants with characteristics and behaviors they do not have in real life. In May we will study scientists and inventors.
SOCIAL STUDIES
In Social Studies, we are finishing a unit on jobs people do and will begin an Economics unit to learn what kinds of money we use, how to earn money, and what we do with our money. Then we will focus on the difference between a “need” and a “want.”
1st Grade Frolics
Our current Reading Unit focuses on narrative texts about overcoming obstacles and reaching goals. The topic of perseverance is learned through characters’ experiences and adventures in historical and realistic fiction and fables. Readers will immerse themselves in module texts about characters who face unique challenges and understand the importance of trusting and accepting the support of key role models to do their best and succeed.
In Writer’s Workshop our first grade scholars are writing stories that are realistic and fictional. In realistic narrative writing students will create their own realistic characters and develop stories that could actually happen. Stories that are developed will include story elements such as sequenced events, a problem and a solution.
In Math, our first graders are learning how to tell time to the hour and half hour. They will learn to identify coins and their values. Students will be able to count different combinations of coins up to one dollar.
In our Science Unit we are learning about Living and Non-Living Things. As the school year winds down students will learn about the basic needs of living things such as people, animals and plants.
Second Grade Happenings
Reading
In reading, we are moving from Module G to Module H. Students will end the year working in a book club! Students will get to take leadership of their learning by studying the setting, characters, and events in a story through discussion, collaborative tasks, and conferences with the teacher. This will serve as an engaging way for students to apply many of the concepts they have learned this year, while also giving them the independence to explore literature with a smaller group.
Writing
In Module G, students were able to revisit opinion writing and write to share their opinion about their favorite things. In Module H, students will be writing to entertain by creating their own book series based on a character that they create. Students will be guided through the process of carefully thinking about their character's personality and appearance, then creating stories for their character to play a part in. Much of this work will connect to what students have learned in reading, such as developing a setting, supporting characters, and a beginning, middle, and end that connects and develops as the story unfolds.
Math
We will be finishing the year with geometry, time, and money. Students will build on their understanding of shapes and learn new concepts such as identifying a line of symmetry. Additionally, students will strengthen their understanding of time by learning how to read a clock to determine the time. Students will build their understanding of money by identifying that different dollars and coins equal different amounts. They will apply their understanding by answering real-world questions that involve money.
Science
The last part of the year will be spent studying our Life Science standards. Students will learn about habitats, the basic function of different body parts (heart, lungs, brain, etc.), and plant and animal life cycles, and partake in two labs about trees and the cardiovascular system.
Third Grade Updates
ELA
F.A.S.T is quickly approaching! As a reminder, the first week of May will begin our ELA testing for progress monitoring cycle 3. We will be taking practice assessments at the end of April. Please make every effort to have students at school every day!
Module G: What are the responsibilities of the levels of government?
In this module, we will be continuing to explore informational text. Students are immersed in informational texts that are integrated with Social Studies. Students will be able to recognize that government has local, state, and national levels and each level has a unique structure and responsibilities. Students will determine the central idea of an informational text, identify relevant details that support the central idea, and tell how the text features support the central idea. Students will also be able to identify and explain the author’s purpose and summarize informational texts in their own words. In Writing, students will be conducting research to gather information about the responsibilities of government. Students read, annotate, and organize facts from multiple sources, with the goal of crafting an expository essay. Essays should include reasons supported by details from multiple sources, use transitions, and provide a conclusion. Our word study is focusing on run on sentences and prepositional phrases.
ELA Module H: Daring Detectives Crack the Case
In our final module of the year, we will be reading Mysteries! This is a highly engaging unit where students will circle back to literary text. Students will review how characters develop throughout a plot, discover a theme, and explain characters' perspectives and points of view. In writing, students will write personal or fictional narratives. Our word study will focus on decode words with common Greek and Latin roots and affixes.
MATH
In math, students will explore a variety of measurement topics while applying skills with the four operations to solve problems. Students will work with length, liquid volume, temperature, and mass. They will also tell time to the nearest minute and determine time intervals. Students will measure lengths of objects using rulers to the nearest centimeter and half or quarter inch. They work to understand how long objects are so they can use estimates to check that their measurements are reasonable. Students will continue to solve one- and two-step word problems concerning data sets. They will work with scaled pictographs, bar graphs, line plots, and circle graphs.
SCIENCE
In science, students will investigate and describe how plants respond to stimuli such as how plant stems grow toward the light, and their roots grow downward in response to gravity.
Students will also classify animals into major groups (mammals, birds, replies, amphibians, fish, arthropods, vertebrates, and invertebrates, those having live births and this which lay eggs) according to their physical characteristics and behaviors. Students will visit the Science Lab to investigate and explore the life cycle of a mealworm.
4th Grade Facts
ELA
In 4th ELA, we will continue with Module G, which is focusing on art through the lens of a variety of informational texts. Our Essential Questions for this Module are: How do we influence art? How does art influence us? Later in April and May we will move into Module H. In Module H Reading, students will engage the bulk of their time with a final piece of fiction. After spending the first five lessons of the module focusing on strategic reading lessons, students spend the rest of their time reading the novel Manatee Summer by Evan Griffith. As an author who grew up in central Florida, Griffith provides students with a relatable story about a boy living in the same area in which they live. The essential question for Module H is: How you connect to characters as they grow and change?
Social Studies
These last two months, our lessons in Social Studies will be from the Economics benchmarks. Economics is all about decision-making! They will be
thinking about their thinking! They will learn the terms income, credit, insurance, and more. They will also consider how to spend their money. These are all really important and real-world concepts!
Math
In April and May, 4th grade mathematicians will complete their final math units focusing on Geometry and Measurements. We’ve begun learning to find the area and perimeter of rectangles, and next we’ll explore drawing, measuring and decomposing angle measurements. We’ll complete our 4th grade benchmarks by learning how to convert customary units of measure to equivalent units. As we finish out this unit, students will also be reviewing standards we’ve learned throughout the year as we head into the home stretch towards the FAST test in May!
Science
In Science, students will continue with their Life Science units. We’ll be learning about heredity, the parts of flowers, and the life cycles of native Floridian plants and animals. Students will also go to the lab to complete their last lab of the year. The Cubelets lab lets students use programmable cubes to explore the various types of energy. These are really fun labs and students love it!
Fabulous 5th Grade
ELA
We are in the middle of our Holocaust unit! The students enjoyed the field trip to the Holocaust Museum, where they heard a survivor speak and received plenty of background knowledge on the Holocaust. During this unit, we are reading a book titled Number the Stars about a little girl named Annemarie, living in Denmark, in 1943. While we read through this book, we are focusing on the setting, conflict, and characters with a tie to how each of these contributes to the overall plot. We are also working on summarizing and finding relevant details and themes. We are using text-dependent questions with FAST-style questions to get the students in the mind frame of testing. This module ends at the end of April, and we will be starting Module H. In this unit, students will be exploring what it means to be a strategic reader as they engage with texts from a variety of genres and answer text-dependent questions. They will also explore how real-life heroes and characters in a story each make their community a better place.
SCIENCE
Our students are currently going to the science lab to learn about “Bird Beaks”, how they are each adapted to their environment, and how they help them survive. We are also finishing up a unit on “adaptations”, both physical and behavioral. Next, we will be starting a unit on Environments. We will learn all about the different environments around the world. We have also been doing “Walk to Science” in which students go to a different teacher each week and work on a standard that they might have had trouble with on our midyear diagnostic. We are preparing them for the SSA, which will be coming in May.
MATH
We just wrapped up Unit 12 on Geometry and have started Unit 13 on Measurement and Data! We are learning about different types of graphs and how to use them. Next, we will be working on converting customary measures as well as metric measures. This is a big skill that takes a lot of practice. In our last unit 14, we will be working on Algebraic Thinking. This will include writing numerical expressions and evaluating them using the order of operations. Lastly, we will be working on patterns with numbers including input/output tables. We still have lots to learn, so don’t let students slack off!
PM3 Testing Dates to Save
The week of April 24th: STAR Reading and STAR Math for 2nd grade.
The week of April 24th: Kindergarten: STAR Early Literacy testing this week.
The week of April 24th: First Grade STAR Reading testing this week.
Week of May 8th: Kindergarten and First Grade will finish STAR Math testing this week.
3-5 FAST Testing PM3
Week of May 1: 3-5 FAST Reading
Week of May 8: 5th grade Statewide Science Assessment
Week of May 15: 3-5 FAST Math
Teachers will share more exact dates with families.
Upcoming Dates - April and May
APRIL
April 3 6:00 - Virtual SAC Meeting (meeting credit opportunity)
- Must log on to be admitted into the meeting by 6:05 p.m.
Zoom Meeting Link: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/84012632367?pwd=dEgrWSs0d0syY1V6ZkFLbE9PVkZ5Zz09
April 4 6:30 pm Pride Awards Ceremony to honor Pride Award Recipients-Ruth Eckerd Hall
April 6 PTA Staff Luncheon
- (must sign-up on Sign-Up Genius link AND donate a prepared dish with your student's name and grade level attached)
April 6 PTA Spirit Night at SkyZone (meeting credit opportunity-turn in receipt by 4/10)
April 7 NO SCHOOL
April 11 8:30 a.m. Volunteer Appreciation Breakfast
April 19 PTA Drive-thru Ice Cream Social (meeting credit opportunity-RSVP REQUIRED)
April 21 First Grade to Mahaffey
April 21 Midterm Reports sent home
April 28 Schoolwide Popsicle Celebration for exceeding the Jaguar Jog fundraising goal!
MAY - Specific FAST and Star testing dates will be shared by your child's teacher
May 1 Virtual SAC Meeting (meeting credit opportunity)
- Must log on to be admitted into the meeting by 6:05 p.m.
Zoom Meeting Link: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/84012632367?pwd=dEgrWSs0d0syY1V6ZkFLbE9PVkZ5Zz09
May 1-5 Teacher Appreciation Week
May 11 PTA Staff Luncheon
- (must sign-up on Sign-Up Genius link AND donate a prepared dish with your student's name and grade level attached)
May 11 New 23/24 Kindergarten Families Orientation
May 15-17 Uniform Donations for Gently Used Uniform Sale
May 17 Chorus Concert @ Lakewood High School
May 17 6:00-8:00 Cross Creek Chronicle Ceremony to honor PCS students published work
May 18 3:30-5:30 Uniform Sale in front hallway-all items $1
May 19 PTA Family Dinner & Movie (meeting credit opportunity-RSVP REQUIRED)
May 19 Grade 5 Picnic @ Lake Vista Park
May 22 Field Day
May 23 Grade 5 to Sea World
May 24 9:00 a.m. Fifth Grade Moving On Ceremony-5th Grade teachers will share specifics.
May 25 Last Day of School-Report Card Distribution, Dismissal at 12:25 p.m.