Titan Newsletter
#KnowNova #GrowNova
January 2020 / Volume 6
Nova Blanche Forman Elementary School
Russell Schwartz - Principal
Janet Calamaro - Assistant Principal
Email: Russell.Schwartz@browardschools.com
Website: novablancheforman.browardschools.com
Location: 3521 Davie Road, Davie, FL, United States
Phone: 754 323-6600
Twitter: @NBFelem
Nova Blanche Forman Elementary Attendance Line 754 323-6602
Broward County Homework Hotline 754 322-1970 4 PM-8 PM
Rumor Control Hotline 754 321-0321
Dates to Remember
January 13-17 - Penny Wars
January 20 - Schools and Administrative Offices Closed
January 28 - PTA General Meeting at 4:30 PM
January 29 - Report Cards Issued
Happy New Year!!! I can’t believe that we are already in 2020. I truly hope that each of our Nova Blanche Forman families took the time during the break to relax and enjoy family and friends. I hope that 2020 brings all your wishes, goals, aspirations to life.
At Nova Blanche, we are continuing to strive towards academic excellence in our classrooms. The start of the new year will include a county assessment for grades 3-5 that will help us identify specific strengths and weaknesses of each of our Titan students.
Just a reminder about our focus on the program iReady; If your child has access to a computer and the internet at home, I strongly encourage that they spend at least 10 minutes per day (50 minutes per week) to enhance their skills. Take the time to speak to your child to reinforce how iReady will help them improve in school. Encourage your child to take each lesson and test question seriously! You can also discuss with them their results by looking at the My Progress feature together. My Progress will show you how many lessons they have completed and the percentage of questions that they answered correctly. iReady is a great tool to assist you, as the parent/guardian, with supporting your child at home. Please contact your child’s teacher if you need assistance logging in to iReady.
Lastly, ATTENDANCE MATTERS!!! Being in school is vital to the success of your child and our school. Being absent means a loss of instructional momentum and a lost opportunity to acquire knowledge. Our educators do an amazing job trying to catch up or supplement when students are absent but the best way to learn is to be in school daily. Absences, late arrivals, and early dismissals should be limited!!!
In closing, on behalf of everyone at Nova Blanche Forman, we wish you a happy and prosperous 2020. Thank you for being a part of our Nova family!!!
Sincerely,
Mr. Russell Schwartz
The character trait for this month is Respect. Respect is showing consideration, understanding, and regard for people, places, and things. "You are better than no one and no one is better than you"- Bob Dylan
Check out the Family Newsletter for Respect here: https://www.browardschools.com/cms/lib/FL01803656/Centricity/Domain/13726/Respect_Elementary_Family.pdf
Broward Standards Assessment Testing
Grades 3-5 will participate in the Broward Standards Assessment (BSA) this month. The dates are listed below. Please ensure students are in school and on time on these dates. There are 2- 80 minute sessions for each test.
1/7 & 1/8: 5th Grade English/ Language Arts (ELA)
1/9 & 1/10: 3rd Grade ELA
1/13 & 1/15: 5th Grade Science
1/16 & 1/17: 4th Grade ELA
1/21 & 1/22: 5th Grade Math
1/23 & 1/24: 4th Grade Math
1/28 & 1/29: 3rd Grade Math
Step Up for Students- Scholarship for Reading help
Is your child in 3rd-5th grade and struggling with reading? Check out Step Up for Students to see if they qualify for a scholarship to receive reading help! https://www.stepupforstudents.org/for-parents/reading-scholarship/how-the-scholarship-works/
Scholarships in Florida - Reading | Step Up For Students In 2018, Florida became the first state to offer an education savings account program for students enrolled in public schools. The Reading Scholarship, administered by Step Up For Students, was created to help public school students in third through fifth grade who struggle with reading.
Holiday Mindfulness!
Click Here to see 3 challenges some students face over the holidays and how you can help!
PTA Corner:
Welcome back and Happy New Year! Hope you had a GREAT holiday break.
Below are the highlights for January. We will update throughout the month as needed.
- Penny Wars week of Jan 13 – 17. Get your pennies ready!!!!
- Box top day is on the 17th and the theme tba
- Our next general meeting is the 28th at 4:30 pm.
- Watchdog launch event, tentative Jan 30 at 6:00pm. Dads please come out and support!
- Please support your PTA by becoming a member. We had a great half year; let’s keep the momentum going and finish strong.
Get your pennies ready!
Penny Wars is January 13-17
The School Choice Window opened on December 2, 2019.
Parents from Broward County, Palm Beach County or Miami-Dade County may request a student number from ANY Broward County Public School (not just the home school for the child).
You can apply online or learn more about the application process by visiting browardschools.com/schoolchoice.
For more information, contact the Demographics and Student Assignments Department at (754) 321-2480.
Parents interested in providing input into the performance evaluations of Nova Blanche Forman Elementary instructional and/or administrative evaluations may contact our office at (754) 323-6600 by April 10, 2020.
Please contact Employee Evaluations at 754-321-5067 should you need additional information.
Thank you.
ANNOUNCING A RECYCLING PROGRAM FOR MARKERS!
Nova Blanche Forman has partnered with Crayola Corporation to participate in marker recycling. Crayola has repurposed more than 70 tons of expended markers in the United States and Canada since 2013. The plastic is converted to make wax compounds for asphalt and roofing shingles as well as to generate electricity that can be used to heat homes, cook food, and power vehicles.
Students may bring markers from home and drop them into the art room Colorcycle box. All brands and types of markers may be recycled- even dry erase and highlighters. Crayola prepays the postage for students to send the worn-out markers to the repurposing center.
Through the Colorcycle program, Crayola keeps tons of plastic out of landfills each year, and our students have a concrete way to show they care for our earth. As well, there is an additional benefit. Before the markers are packed up and shipped out, the remaining ink is going to be collected and used by our students as watercolor paint!!!
Learn more at http://www.crayola.com/colorcycle
Direct questions about Nova Blanche Forman’s participation to pamela.k.brown@browardschools.com
Nova Cafeteria Information
· Breakfast is free for all students every school day
· Ice cream is $0.65 - served Wednesday’s / frozen fruit shape up’s are $0.50 - served Friday’s
· Free/Reduced applications are available online at www.myschoolapps.com
(The application must be completed each year.)
· Online payments and account monitoring is available at www.myschoolbucks.com
Arrival
School begins promptly at 9:30 AM. Students being transported to school by car must not arrive before 9:00 AM. Upon arriving late, after 9:30 AM, students must report to the front office where they will be given a tardy pass to be admitted to class. Parents must escort their children into the front office. Except in cases of a late bus, students will be marked tardy at 9:30 AM. As per the School Board of Broward County Discipline Matrix, habitual tardies can result in consequences such as time out, detention, social worker interventions and/or rescission of Nova placement.
Dismissal
Children are dismissed at 3:30 PM. If a student is to be picked up early, a note must be given to the classroom teacher in the morning. No child is permitted to leave the school at any time prior to the regular dismissal time unless he/she is signed out in the front office. Students will not be called to the office for early dismissal after 3:00 PM. Only persons listed on the registration form will be permitted to sign out a child. Parents are required to report to the office before visiting classrooms or any other school area. Parents attending after school conferences need to decide prior to the conference how their child is going home or if they will be attending the conference with them.
Per School Board Policy, there will be no dismissal after 3:00 PM. Dismissal begins at 3:30 PM. If your child is a car rider, please be on time, in an emergency call the office.
Children who are car riders at dismissal will be seated according to grade level. Parents who do not wish to park, must wait in the car line. Parents need to wait outside, not in the front office. Students will not be released to meet parents across the parking lot. Names of children and their grade level should be placed in the windshield of the passenger side of the car. It is of extreme importance that children be picked up on time or enrolled in the After Care program at Nova Blanche Forman. Parents who habitually pick their child(ren) up late will be referred to the school social worker.
To ensure the success of your children, it is important that they be in school on time and that they remain in school through the end of the day.
Nova Blanche Forman Unified Dress Code Policy
Students may wear the following:
Tops: Students may wear Polo-style oxford or turtleneck shirts or Peter Pan collar blouses for the girls. All tops must have sleeves and collars with the exception of "Nova Titan" t-shirts sold by PTA. The colors for tops are: solid white, navy, yellow and hunter green. It is not necessary to have emblems on the shirts.
Bottoms: Students may wear cotton twill long straight leg pants, knee length shorts, skirts, jumpers, Capri pants or skorts. Girls may also wear skirts and jumpers. A belt is optional as long as the pants are worn properly at the waist. Jeans may be worn on Fridays or the last day of the school week with a school shirt. The colors for bottoms are: solid khaki, navy, black, and hunter green.
Students can wear jackets, sweatshirts, vests or sweaters with an approved Nova shirt underneath.
Elementary students may NOT wear backless shoes. Sneakers are recommended.
No article of clothing or jewelry that may cause injury, such as belts, bracelets, wallet chains, collars with spikes or heavy link chains are allowed.
Children should be in their classroom by 9:30 a.m. Excessive tardiness as well as excessive early dismissals (early pick-up by parent or guardian) will result in the school initiating appropriate intervention(s) and consequence(s) as provided by School Board policies. If there are excessive tardies, a social worker can be assigned to meet with the family. If the tardies continue, we can request that an Investigator from the State Attorney's Office meet with you. If, after that, the tardies still continue, then charges may be filled by the State Attorney's Office and procedures will be initiated to rescind your child's Nova reassignment.
When a child is tardy to school, it is the parent's responsibility to escort the child into the front office. That way we make certain that your child is safe and in the building.
VOLUNTEERS
We welcome parents, friends, and community to become involved in educating students. Help build a strong future by becoming a Nova Blanche Forman volunteer. Volunteers can assist in classrooms, cafeteria, clinic, media center, field trips, PTA fundraiser, special events and even the office. Teachers determine the degree of volunteer assistance that is needed in their class. All volunteers must complete an online registration form and be cleared to volunteer as required by the Jessica Lundsford Act.
To apply on-line go to www.browardschools.com/getinvolved.
This includes parents who chaperone field trips. Volunteer must always sign in before going to their assignments. Younger children are not allowed to accompany parents on the volunteer’s activities in the school.