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FEBRUARY 2022
MESSAGE FROM THE PRINCIPAL
Dear Parents and Guardians,
We have had a great start to our third quarter of the school year! We just watched our students enjoy celebrating the 100th day of school this past week. Students loved the activities planned by their teachers and it was a joy to see them excited to come to school to celebrate.
This past week we also celebrated the love of reading. We had several different incentives in place to promote reading and reading counts tests. Our students went above and beyond and surpassed our goals and expectations for this week. Students read over 5 million words, in one week! We are so proud of our students and their hard work!
In February, we look forward to kicking off our annual TBE Fundraiser! This year, our them is “The Greatest Show on Earth.” We will kick off the fundraiser with our annual assembly on Friday, February 18th. Students will have two weeks to raise money. Our fundraiser this year will mirror the structure of the event last year where students are working together as grade levels. We look forward to working together to support our fabulous school!
As always, we thank you for your support! We look forward to a great month ahead!
Alyssa Ledbetter
Principal
NEWS FROM THE ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL
Lost and Found is full!
Florida winter weather can be cold in the morning, but temperatures drop throughout the day and students start taking off jackets. Please write your child’s name on the label of their jacket so we can get them back to them.
State and District Assessment Dates-Please mark your calendars and plan for kids to be in school. If possible, please plan family vacations around the testing dates.
- 3rd Gr ELA FSA (session 1) Tues, April 5
- 3rd Gr ELA FSA (session 2) Wed, April 6
- 4th and 5th Gr State Writing Test, Thur, April 7
- 4th and 5th Gr ELA FSA (session 1), Mon, May 2
- 4th and 5th Gr ELA FSA (session 2), Mon, May 3
- 3rd Gr Math (session 1), Wed, May 4
- 3rd Gr Math (session 2), Wed, May 5
- 4th and 5th Gr Math FSA (session 1), Mon, May 9
- 4th and 5th Gr Math FSA (session 2), Mon, May 10
- 4th and 5th Gr Science FSA (session 1), Mon, May 16
- 4th and 5th Gr Science FSA (session 2), Mon, May 17
- District Post Tests May 16-June 2
As we get closer to district posttest dates, we will let you know more specific information for your child’s particular grade level.
Toys from home: Please check and clean out backpacks to make sure your child is not bringing toys to school that can be a distraction. Toys, pokemon cards, pop its, or items that are a distraction will be collected and parents are free to come and pick them up in the front office.
Be Proactive! Many of you have been making an extra trip back to the school because something was left at home. To help decrease the number of trips to school and disruptions after classes are in session, try this idea when preparing the night before and/or before leaving for school.
Make a checklist (or print this one below) with your child and hang it up in a prominent place. Each morning your child can check off what you need to bring before you leave the house.
Attendance-
Please refer to the CCPS academic calendar when planning vacations and appointments as much as possible. Vacation days are not excused absences and students miss valuable instruction by the teacher on the days they are not in school. A doctor note excusing an absence must be turned in to the school office within 24 hours of the student returning to school to be marked excused in the computer. Parents will receive a letter in the mail when the student has excessive absences whether they are excused or not. Habitual absences are monitored by the County Attendance Officer and may result in Truancy Court. Students who have been approved for Out-of-Zone permission to attend Tommie Barfield may have their permission revoked if they accumulate excessive absences and/or tardies and/or early pick-ups from school. Students are recognized quarterly and annually for perfect attendance.
Please follow call 377-8500 to report your child’s absence each day your child is absent. Calling the school will validate the absence so your child will not have an UNEXCUSED absence on their record.
LAPTOPS - Please Use Responsibly!
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
- 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.
The cost to repair or replace laptops for irresponsible damage is as follows:
- Power adapter $48.00
- Keyboard $95.00
- Screen $231.00
- Laptop Total Replacement $586.00
School Information: The inside and back cover of the Wednesday Communication Folder is where you can find detailed information about school. Please take a look there and/or call get clarifications on school procedures.
Dana Franklin-Riashi, Assistant Principal
Tommie Barfield Elementary School
239-377-8502
Follow us on Twitter: @tommiebarfield
Like us on Facebook: https://www.Faceboook.com/ccpstbe
Our Mission: Recognize individual genius, build confidence and create leaders.
KINDERGARTEN NEWS
Roses are red.
Violets are blue.
February is here.
Kindergarten has so much to do!
Our school days include:
Honoring American Presidents
Activities about George Washington and Abraham Lincoln
Learning about geography – maps, globes, cardinal directions, landforms, bodies of water
Science activities about sound, motion, and push/pull
Daily guided practice:
Applying reading strategies to decode unknown text (segmenting, blending, letter sounds)
Story comprehension (characters, setting, plot, conclusion, sequence of events)
Sight word practice
Expand writing skills to include details and punctuation
Solid number sense 1-10
Developing addition and subtraction skills using numbers 1-10
Your Kindergarten Teachers
FIRST GRADE NEWS
In reading, we have begun the new year exploring what holidays and symbols talks about our country. We will be working on important skills such as: text features, poetry, making and confirming predictions, drama, and media literacy. Please continue to work with your child on committing the sight words to memory and on reading every day. These skills will help your child be a better, more confident reader.
In math, we are exploring place value. We are identifying, representing, and decomposing tens and ones. We will begin to work with larger numbers up to 120. Please help your child identify these numbers and quickly find them in a book. Please look over the papers your child brings home and help your child with difficult areas. This is a very important concept that will help your child throughout school.
In Leader in Me, we are continuing to talk about our big rocks, and we are talking about quadrant 2 living which involves explaining that some activities are important, and some are not.
First Grade Teachers
SECOND GRADE NEWS
In language arts, the topic for Module 6 has been weather and how it affects us. The students have been reading many stories about weather. Many of the stories were used to teach how text features- including titles, headings, captions, graphs, maps, glossaries, and/or illustrations- contribute to the meaning of texts. Identifying different characters' perspectives in a literary text was another standard that was taught through the stories included in this module. This module also had an emphasis on opinion writing. Students wrote opinion essays on their favorite pets which included reasons and examples to support their opinions. Then as a culminating activity, they will write an opinion piece on their favorite kind of weather. Please continue to encourage your child to read nightly so they can take quizzes on the books they have read and earn Reading Counts points.
In math, the students have been representing the unknown number in addition and subtraction problems using bar models and equations. They also have been working to fluently add and subtract within 100 and use a variety of strategies to solve word problems based on the numbers given. It is important for them to be confident with those skills since the next module will introduce addition and subtraction of 3-digit numbers within 1,000. You can help your child develop fact fluency by using the addition and subtraction flash cards for nightly practice.
In social studies, the students learned about different Native American cultures and the regions of the United States where they were located. As a culminating activity, each second-grade classroom did a STEAM activity in which groups of students designed homes of the Native American cultures they learned about. Then the students were able to tour each classroom to check out the creations which included chickees, longhouses, pueblo homes, and teepees. In science, the students are learning about the needs of plants and animals and the different habitats in which they live.
The Second Grad Teachers
THIRD GRADE NEWS
Third graders have been hard at work learning new things!
The students are still working on their multiplication fluency in Math. Multiplication is a large part of the 3rd grade math curriculum and the students have been singing their facts songs. Please have your child continue to practice these songs at home along with their flashcards. The students just finished up our elapsed time unit. They are starting to learn about perimeter now in class. They will be using strategies to find the missing side of a shape when a perimeter is given to them.
In Reading, the students are continuing to learn about text features and identifying the main idea in a text. In Writing, the students are writing an expository essay about animals and how they survive throughout the seasons. In Science, the students learned about the different forms of energy. They were able to create robots to show how the different forms of energy work. In Social Studies, the students are identifying different contributions from various ethnic groups in the United States.
During our lead time, we are talking about Habit 5 – Seek First to Understand, Then to Be Understood – Listen with your eyes, and heart not just your ears. Listen to the other person’s point of view before sharing your own. You can practice this at home through reflective listening. Say something to your kids and then have them repeat back what you said. Do this until you feel like everyone in the family listens without thinking of a response simultaneously.
Please continue to read with your child every night and practice multiplication facts. We appreciate all your help and support at home!
The Third Grade Team
FOURTH GRADE NEWS
Wow, time is just flying by this year in fourth grade. It is hard to believe we have settled into third quarter already. Our fourth graders worked so hard on their quarter 2 benchmarks and now we are full speed ahead as we start the push to be ready for our state assessments this spring. Now, more than ever, it is crucial for students to be in school, all day every day, as much as possible!
Science in February brings us to our research project about space exploration and those impacts on Florida. Then we will start our unit on the properties of matter and magnets. In Social Studies we will be turning our focus to the Civil War and reconstruction in Florida, and how that effected the industry in Florida.
In math, we finished up our module on fractional parts of 10 and 100. We will be moving into Module 15 which is adding and subtracting fractions and mixed numbers, and module 16 multiplying fractions. Please make sure you student is practicing their multiplication and division facts as these skills are crucial to being successful in math.
Reading this month continues digging deeper into text features, text structures, theme, and central idea along with many other comprehension strategies to help better prepare us not just for our FSA, but becoming the best reader we can be.
Leader in Me has us diving deeper into Habit 6: Synergize. Our students have been actively working on and displaying this habit through our “Connect for Success” lessons. We are focusing on valuing other people’s strengths and learning from them.
We are so thankful for your continued support at home as we move into more difficult topics and preparations for state assessments. We are now more than halfway through the year. We like to tell our students they are now rising 5th graders, We are very proud of how hard they are working, but we need to stay focused so we can finish quarter 3 strong.
Thank you! Your Fourth Grade Team
FIFTH GRADE NEWS
It has been another busy month full of learning and fun. We have been reviewing and practicing our habits with Connect for Success and working hard to set goals for quarter three.
We have lots of new learning and exploring going on this month. In Math, we just wrapped up our unit on fractions and are now using the four operations to solve measurement problems involving customary units, time, and line plots. Science has taken us to outer space where the students are learning about our Galaxy, inner and outer planets, comets, asteroids, and much more. Our students are continuing to practice multiple reading skills/strategies including central idea, inferencing, and vocabulary skills. They are also reading up a storm as they continue their quest to reading, at least three, of the Sunshine State Young Reader books.
Please continue to encourage your child to read for at least twenty to thirty minutes per night. Reading improves comprehension and acquisition of vocabulary. Ask your child about what they are reading and encourage them to ask questions.
Homework is an extension of the day’s lesson and therefore imperative to your child’s understanding of the material being taught in class. Please encourage good organization and study skills, as well as completion of nightly homework.
As always, we sincerely thank you for your continued support and wish you a happy and healthy 2022!
The Fifth Grade Team
ARTISTIC STROKES
We had a great January in art at TBE!
Schoolwide, we learned about Martin Luther King Jr. and then created a portrait of MLK. Kinder through second grade drew portraits of him and then third through fifth grade incorporated some of their own dreams into their artwork as well.
Kindergarten and second grade are learning how to show movement in their art while first grade is creating art that shows something real and something that is imaginary. Fourth and fifth grade will be working on some winter art and third grade has been working on creating a landscape of the Marco bridge.
A few students have also been creating some optical illusions as well!
If you haven’t check out your student’s artwork on Artsonia, check them out here: https://www.artsonia.com/connect/TCCPZFNC
To look at our artist’s work or to see who the Star Student was for each day, follow @beauvaisCCPS on twitter.
MUSICAL NOTES
STOP THE PRESSES! Third quarter reporters are really getting the scoop on musical instruments, styles, and composers. Research and projects become the focus of this month, along with preparing for our annual TALENT DAZE. There’s excitement in the air as our young performers get ready to showcase their skills. I can hardly wait…
Mr. Craig Greusel
Music Teacher
PHYSICAL EDUCATION
This past month in PE class, students have been working on their dribbling with control, using both their hands and feet, and playing a few different games to work on offensive and defensive tactics. Students enjoyed a fun game of multi-goal soccer and capture to the treasure to help increase their heart rate as well during class. We continue to work on resolving conflicts appropriately and working cooperatively with their peers.
Our third thru fifth grade run club continue to meet on Wednesdays and Thursdays. Although they do not need to run both days, they must be present at least once a week and present respectful and responsible behavior while running. *If you are dropping your student(s) off, please do so before 7:45am and park in the lot by the tennis courts. If you are here at or later than 7:45, please go through the car line for normal drop off procedures as the parking lot causes traffic jams for the car line once it is open.
Just a reminder: Please send a note if your student cannot participate in PE for any reason. Doctor’s notes can go to the front office, and they will forward me any necessary information. If it’s a minor excuse, you may send a parent note for PE class that week. Long term excuses must have a doctor’s note.
Deana Richett
TECH TALK BY MRS. MCCARTY
Our TBE students continue learning and building skills outlined in the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) student standards, which are: Empowered Learners, Digital Citizens, Knowledge Constructors, Innovative Designers, Computational Thinkers, Creative Communicators, and Global Collaborators. More details can be found here: https://www.iste.org/standards/iste-standards-for-students
In Quarter 3, the primary students (K-1-2) learning focus is Building a Digital Toolbox, with lessons on Microsoft Software and skills they can use across the different subjects and grade levels, such as: creating digital graphics/artwork using Microsoft Paint. creating a document using Microsoft Word, and Gr 2 will be learning to create a spreadsheet and graph using Microsoft Excel.
All Intermediate grade students continue to practice proper keyboarding techniques for the first 10 minutes to each Tech Class using the District program Typing Club. Please encourage your student to practice 3-4 times at home for 10 minutes each to achieve proper form for 10-finger typing. The District end-of-year typing goals are:
· Grade 3: 85% or above accuracy + 15 Word Per Minute (WPM) speed
· Grade 4: 85% or above accuracy + 18 Word Per Minute (WPM) speed
· Grade 5: 85% or above accuracy + 22 Word Per Minute (WPM) speed
In Quarter 3, intermediate students in grades 3 and 4 will learn using the program: Minecraft: Education Edition (or M:EE). Please note the M:EE District Guidelines, Mrs. McCarty’s TBE Tech Class M:EE Rules, and the District/Tech Class Consequences if they misuse the M:EE program.
- 🎧 🎧Audio: Please check that your student has a working set of headphones/earbuds for the sound effects of the program. If not, please email me: mccartjo@collierschools.com.
- 🖱️ 🖱️ Mouse: In addition, if students bring a computer mouse that works with the District Laptop, it would be beneficial for working in the program. I do have some to loan out, however once used, they must sit in quarantine 3 days prior to another use.
- They might ask to use the program at home, as they’re super excited, however students should only be used the program on their District Laptop at school in Tech Class for a specific assignment.
Finally, the TBE Grade 5 students take on a leadership role for the school as they learn Desktop Publishing skills in Microsoft Publisher, as they collaborate to create a collage page of candid photos for a classroom at TBE. Their work will be publishing in the school yearbook! This is an exciting, authentic project that has been a tradition at TBE for many years. I am excited to see what this year’s class of 5th grade digital creators produce!
MEDIA CENTER NEWS
Reading Counts Updates
First through Fifth graders have read 55,602,111 words this year. Students in grades 1-5, have read and passed 6,937 tests on Reading Count Books.
We will be tracking the number of books read the week of January 24-28 which is the State of Florida’s Literacy Week. TBE will be celebrating our Literacy week later in the year. We hope the tracking will help to motivate more to read.
SSYRA NEWS
We now have 6 students who have read all 15 of the SSYRA books. We will be celebrating those students that have read 7 of the SSYRA books with a lunch celebration on February 18th. This is a date change from Feb. 14 so a few more days for students to reach this milestone! J It’s not too late to encourage your student to join us on this journey! Encourage your student to read some SSYRA books and join the fun!
Kindergarten – Second Grade students have begun reading or having the SSYRA Jr books read to them. Second graders have been challenged to read the 5 independent readers or beginning chapter books on their own. When they successfully pass the Reading Counts test they earn a Brag Tag. These Brag Tags are only being offered to our second graders during this challenge!
SCHOOL COUNSELOR
Following Directions Takes Practice
The ability to pay attention to speech is essential. To sharpen your child’s listening skills:
- Start with one-step directions. “Please put your coat on.” Then suggest two-step tasks. “Please put your coat on and get your backpack.” When your child has mastered following two-steps, give three instructions at once.
- Play Listening games. The classic game of “Simon Says” helps children practice listening carefully and following directions. You can also try “Treasure Hunt.” Hide a small toy. Then have your child follow your spoken clues until it is found.
- Teach a simple task. Your child might learn to make the bed, for example. “Pull your sheet up to the top of the bed.” “Now pull your comforter up.” “Put your pillow on top.” Add, “Great listening!” when your child is finished.
Leanne Hope, 239-377-8506
NURSE STATION
Happy February to all of you. Happy Valentine’s Day. Please remember to call your child into school if they’re sick. We are down to 3 full months left in this school year, it’s so hard to believe.
You’ll see me write this in every newsletter, but I can’t emphasize enough how important it is to make sure that your contact information is current incase we need to get a hold of you if your child is sick or an emergency occurs. If you need to update or change anything, please call the main office and they’ll be able to change it for you 239-377-8500.
If your child has medical concerns, please make sure they’re addressed with me NCH Nurse Tricia. I’m at TBE on Monday, Wednesday and Friday and cover another school on Tuesday and Thursday. Roxanne our NCH School Health Assistant is at TBE on Tuesday and Thursday and covers another school on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. The clinic number is 239-377-8509 and if we don’t answer the phone, it’s because we are busy, please leave a message.
All medications need to be dropped off at the school by a parent/guardian and the proper paperwork needs to be in place before it can be accepted. All over the counter medications need to be in a sealed package and nonexpired and age appropriate. Prescription medications need to come in the original package with the label on it with the child’s name on it and the medication authorization will need to be signed by the physician that prescribed it before medication can be accepted. This is a district policy and it’s same throughout any CCPS school.
Thank you.
Tricia Kutzke NCH Nurse
Tuesday and Thursday @Everglades City School
Clinic Hours 7:30am till 3:30pm/ Clinic # 377-9809
Monday, Wednesday, and Friday @ Tommie Barfield Elementary School
Clinic Hours 7:30 am until 3:30 pm /Clinic# 377-8509