• January 13 = No School for Students
  
• January 16 = No School MLK Day
• January 17-20 = Florida Assessment of Student Thinking (FAST) (see schedule below)
• January 23 = Report Cards Go Home
• January 23-27 = Literacy Week (see flyer below)
• January 26 = Health Screening & Open Media Night January 26 5:30-7PM
• January 27 = Read-A-Thon and "Pie in the Face"
• January 31 = PTO 5:00PM & SAC 5:30PM (Parent Lighthouse Meeting)
• February 1 = Early Dismissal 11:50

Your child has been preparing and reinforcing the skills necessary to demonstrate their learning so that they are as prepared as possible and have every advantage to do their very best! There are many ways in which you can help your child on the day of the test.

*Make sure your child gets a good night’s rest.

*Have your child eat a healthy breakfast.

*Make sure your child arrives to school on time.

*Gently support and encourage your child to do their BEST!

Thank you so much for your support!

MES will observe a closed campus on district and state testing days. Visitors and Volunteers WILL NOT be able visit on these dates. This includes visiting your child for lunch.

Dates for Closed Campus: January 17th, 18th, 19th and 20th

Testing Schedule

• January 17 = State Progress Monitoring #2 (PM2) 3/4/5 ELA
• January 18 = State Progress Monitoring #2 (PM2) 3/4/5 Math
• January 19 = State Progress Monitoring #2 (PM2) K/1/2 ELA
• January 20 = State Progress Monitoring #2 (PM2) K/1/2 Math

Students in Pre-K through grade 10 will be participating in the state required and mandated Florida Assessment of Student Thinking (FAST) Progress Monitoring 2 (PM 2). FAST will be administered three times per year to track your student’s progress in learning the Benchmarks of Excellent Student Thinking (B.E.S.T.) Standards in English Language Arts (ELA) and mathematics.

FAST assessments are computer-adaptive tests taken on a computer. The questions get easier or more difficult depending on how a student responds, and each student will see different questions from a common item bank. Unlike the CCPS Benchmark Assessments that focus on the content taught during the quarter, the FAST assessments will include items that cover the standards for the entire year, so your child will likely encounter content that has not been taught yet.

For more information on the test design, please visit https://www.fldoe.org/accountability/assessments/k-12-student-assessment/best/. If you or your student would like to interact with the online testing platform or review FAST sample items at home, sample test materials are available at https://flfast.org/families.html. For more information about the FAST program, please visit the portal at FLFAST.org.

Did you know here at Manatee we have 13 school wide leadership roles? This means our students apply for jobs that take place outside their classroom. Some examples are News Crew, Lunch Leader, and Campus Caretaker. These jobs are open to all third-fifth graders. We have openings often and students can find applications on the bulletin board near the cafeteria. Ask your child if they have a school wide leadership role or if they would like one.

Each Wednesday, Manatee Elementary students will bring home their Wednesday Home/School Communication folders with their completed work and important notes and other information from the teacher, office, or PTO. Reviewing the contents of the envelope with your child each Wednesday will keep you informed and let your child know that school is important. Students are expected to return their folders with any required parent signatures the next day.

Volunteers

Manatee Elementary appreciates volunteers and all that they do for our students, teachers, and school community. In order to volunteer, one must complete the CCPS online volunteer application (www.collierschools.com). All volunteers (new or returning) must have an up-to-date volunteer application. Once you have clicked the link you must select the "Apply to Volunteer" button or “Update your Application” button for returning volunteers. If you have any questions about the CCPS volunteer application process, please email volunteer@collierschools.com. Once you have submitted your application or if you have any questions about volunteering at MES or your volunteer status, please contact Lisa Mastromonaco at 377-7600.

Lunch with your Child

Some of our families enjoy coming to school to enjoy an occasional lunch with their child(ren). In planning ahead for having lunch with your child(ren) please review the MES check-in procedures:

• Please check in the front office prior to your child’s lunch time (visitors are permitted for lunch only; not recess).
• Anyone joining a child for lunch must be on the student contact list for that child.
• To check-in as a visitor, you must present a U.S. Government issued I.D. Your I.D. will be scanned, and you will be issued a visitor sticker that should remain visible the entire time you are on our campus.
• Due to the limited capacity in our cafeteria, lunchtime visitors are restricted to the picnic tables (with umbrellas) in the courtyard area just outside of the cafeteria. If it is a rainy day, please plan to reschedule your lunchtime visit.
• When your child’s class exits the cafeteria, he/she should join them in line. At this time, please return to the front office, sign out, turn in your visitor sticker, and exit campus through the main entrance.
• Adults needing to utilize the restroom while visiting for lunch will need to do so in the front office (not the student restrooms).

Closed Campus

On state assessment days, MES will observe a closed campus. This means no volunteers or visitors will be allowed on campus during the school day.

Manatee Elementary 2022-2023 Grade Level Lunch Times:

Kindergarten 11:35-11:55

1st Grade 11:10-11:30

2nd Grade 12:00-12:20

3rd Grade 12:25-12:45

4th Grade 12:50-1:10

5th Grade 10:45-11:05

Parents can complete the annual Emergency Information Form online. Simply visit the CCPS Portal and login as a parent (do not login using your student's information), then click on the FOCUS icon and follow the on-screen prompts to complete all sections of the form, including Student Information, Contact Information, and Health Information.

Click here to visit the CCPS Portal.

Click here for Directions on Completing the Electronic Emergency Form.

Birthdays

Birthdays are special for all students, and each classroom teacher may acknowledge a student’s birthday in a variety of ways. Birthday celebrations/parties, however, may not take place at school. Food items sent or brought in by parents/guardians will not be allowed and will be returned home with the student. Distributing party invitations at school will only be permitted if there is an invitation for all students in the classroom (or all girls or all boys). We cannot share students’ phone numbers or addresses with other parents.

Just a reminder - laptops are still CCPS property and need to be cared for responsibly.

Pursuant to Rule 27 of the District’s Code of Student Conduct, students are responsible for the cost of repair or replacement of District property in their possession such as a laptop or other electronic device. The rule provides the following:

RULE 27. SCHOOL PROPERTY – MATERIALS/BOOKS/INTERNET/NETWORK/AND OTHER

DISTRICT DEVICES

Students are expected to take good care of school property. Students must assume full

responsibility for the care of school property available to them. This includes, but is not limited to textbooks, uniforms, equipment, electronic devices, or library books. These items are issued by school personnel and must be returned to the same person upon completion of the school year or withdrawal from school. Responsibility for the property rests with the student to whom the property is issued. Loss of items due to theft or other circumstances will not be accepted as an excuse for nonpayment or for not doing class assignments. Failure on the part of any student to pay for lost or damaged items shall deprive the student of further use of free items outside the school. If an item is lost and before another one is issued, the student will be required to pay full price for items less than one year old. For older items, replacement cost will depend on the original price and the age and condition of the items when issued. If the item is found and returned, a refund will be made to the student. If the item is damaged, the student is required to pay a damage charge depending upon the degree of damage and the condition of the item when it was issued.

The District’s internet/network system has not been established as a public access service nor established to create a limited public forum. The District has the right to place restrictions on its use to assure that use of the District’s internet system is in accord with its limited educational purpose. Student use of the District’s computers, network and internet services ("network") will be governed by Board Policy 7540.03 and the related administrative guidelines, and the Code. Misuse of the network will result in disciplinary action. The due process rights of all users will be respected in the event there is a suspicion of inappropriate use of the network. Users have a limited privacy expectation in the content of their personal files, electronic files, and records of their online activity while on the network.

Authority: F.S. 1006.28, 1006.28(3)(b), 1001.43(1), 1001.51(4)

Incident codes: CD, CE

The cost to repair or replace laptops for irresponsible damage is as follows:

• Power adapter $48.00
• Keyboard $95.00
• Touch Screen Laptop Screen $231.00
• Non Touch Screen Laptop Screen $117.00
• Laptop Total Replacement $586.00

Technology support is available to students and parents by visiting www.collierschools.com/CollierConnect.

Textbooks and library books are essential to the learning process and will be checked out to your child. These books are furnished by CCPS and become the responsibility of the student. Students/parents are responsible for paying for any lost or damaged books. Please stress to your child the importance of responsibility and respect for school materials and property.

Parents may review their children’s instructional materials at the school site. Parents may also schedule an appointment to review currently adopted instructional materials at the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Administrative Center. Please contact Julia Lorenzo, Instructional Materials Manager at LorenzJu@collierschools.com or 377-0103.

Did you know?

Participating in quality early learning programs paves the way for learning at school and throughout life. What children learn in their first few years of life—and how they learn it—can have long-lasting effects on their success and health as children, teens, and adults. According to the National Institutes of Health, studies show that supporting children’s early learning can lead to:

• Higher test scores from preschool to age 21
• Better grades in reading and math
• A better chance of staying in school and going to college
• Fewer teen pregnancies
• Improved mental health
• Lower risk of heart disease in adulthood
• A longer lifespan

CCPS has Head Start and VPK parent pay openings in classrooms at our school and a variety of other locations across the district now and for the upcoming school year. Please visit http://collierschools.com/prek or call 239-377-0590 for more information. For information on other early learning centers in the area, please visit http://elcofswfl.org . Additionally, parents who have concerns about their child’s development (age birth-5) and would like to explore the possibility of early intervention services can contact Florida Diagnostic and Learning Resource Systems (FDLRS) at https://tinyurl.com/IslandCoastChildFind for a free developmental screening.

COMPLETELY ONLINE

Registration for all Kindergarten through 12th grade students NEW to the district will be online.

https://www.collierschools.com/registration