Forest Lake Newsletter
November 2017
Our Mission is Possible...with Teamwork!
- Dr. Paul Nehrig - Principal
- Mr. David Sanford - Assistant Principal
Dear Panthers,
November brings cooler weather and many signs of the holiday season. With so many activities this time of year, it can be a challenge for our students to stay focused on their learning at school. As we move through this second nine-week grading period, let’s all commit to helping our students maintain a balance of hard work and fun, striving to achieve their goals while taking time to celebrate the season.
November is also a time for thankfulness. With Thanksgiving coming soon, I want to express my gratitude to our students and their families, teachers, staff members, volunteers and community partners for making Forest Lake a great school! I’m thankful to all of you. This Thanksgiving, consider the following:
“Sometimes we focus so much on what we don't have that we fail to
see, appreciate, and use what we do have!”
~ Jeff Dixon
November features many important events, so please remember to check our online calendar, listen for the Sunday night Panther Updates, read information sent home with your student, follow us on Twitter, and coming soon, our own school Facebook page!
On Friday November 10th, schools are closed to honor Veteran’s Day. Please remember the brave men and women in uniform who served our country and protected our freedoms. Take a moment to thank a veteran for their bravery. If you are a veteran, please accept my thanks on behalf of everyone at Forest Lake!
Our fall Panther Parent Night will be on Thursday, November 16th, from 5:30 to 8:00. We’re looking forward to the opportunity to share important information about what our students are learning and how parents can support that learning at home. We’ll begin the evening with a Title 1 meeting, have sessions for parents on curriculum led by teachers, free child care, and pizza for everyone who RSVPs. Also, attendees will be the first to see the unveiling of our new school logo, with chances to win free spirit t-shirts featuring the new logo. Every family who attends will get free books for their students. We hope to see you there!
Have a great November, Panthers, and remember – “Our Mission is Possible… with Teamwork!”
The mission of our Forest Lake Elementary community is to provide
a learning environment where all students can achieve academic success.
Sincerely,
Dr. Nehrig
Principal
Forest Lake Elementary
School Advisory Council
Deltona Star Student of the Month
Box Tops 4 Education
PTO NEWS
Happy Thanksgiving, Panther families! We are thankful to be part of such an amazing school community. Huge thanks to everyone who came out and made our Spooky Story Night a smashing success! We also had a great response to our Box Tops campaign; thank you for your support! Next submission date is in March, so keep clipping!
We hope to see you at BINGO Night, which is Tuesday, November 7 at 5:30pm. We will be serving dinner for $3 per person, and we will have some great prizes for kids & parents alike!
We are gearing up for next month’s Ornament Night & Penguin Patch Holiday Shop; stay tuned for all the info on holiday fun at Forest Lake!
Forest Lake PTO
Contact info: panthers1pto@gmail.com
Twitter @ForestLakePTO
Facebook: Forest Lake Elementary PTO
Grade Level News
KINDERGARTEN
It feels as if October came and went in the blink of an eye! Our kindergarten classrooms are so busy the time is just flying by! We have worked on writing lowercase letters, learning the elements of a story (characters, setting, beginning, middle, and end), and key details of a story. We are working very hard at writing our numbers and independently rote counting up to 30. Soon we will be going on our 2nd field trip of the year to the Lyonia Environmental Center here in Deltona and we are super excited about that!
On Monday, November 6th, we will begin our next round of our SIPPS Program in which the kindergarten students work on sight words and reading. The students will move between the four kindergarten classrooms and really seem to enjoy having a “new” teacher for 30-minutes each day! Keep practicing those sight words and reading your SIPPS stories at home!
FIRST GRADE
Happy November! First grade is planning a field trip to The Museum of Arts and Science on December 5. Consent forms and money need to be turned in no later than November 21. If you’re interested in being a chaperone you must have a current volunteer form on file. No siblings will be allowed to attend the field trip. The students should be bringing home SIPPS stories on a regular basis. Practice reading them daily. Please make sure that your child memorizes all sight words sent home. They will need to have mastered the first 125 words by the holiday break. Students should be working on memorizing their math fact to 20 and it would benefit them greatly if they know their doubles facts and how to make a ten. Review homework and check for neatness and accuracy before turning it in. Thank you and enjoy your holiday break.
SECOND GRADE
On November 21, students will be participating in culminating activities to match their learning about immigration and the contribution of American Natives. Each teacher will host each class on a rotating schedule. Children might be working with the teacher or in small groups reading a legend or revisiting colonial times to close this unit. Thank you for your input about immigration and your traditions- they were very interesting and the children enjoyed discussing them. We want to wish you all a very Happy Thanksgiving. Enjoy your time with family and friends. Holiday begins at 2:00 pm on November 21 and we return on November 27.
Third Grade News
We are super excited to talk about our “Wonder” book study. In anticipation for our field trip on November 20th, we have decided to read the book every day in class. We look forward to analyzing the similarities and differences between the book and the film adaptation. We are working hard in math learning about fractions as unit fractions and on number lines. In science we are exploring the properties and states of matter. Social studies has us taking a trip around the world as we navigate through the regions of the United States. Third grade looks forward to seeing parents on the 16th for Parent Night. We got through the 1st nine weeks, and we are thrilled to be diving into our 2nd nine weeks with you all.
FOURTH GRADE
In November we are taking the first VLT and VMT of the year. These tests assess Math and English Language Arts standards covered so far this year. In STEM class, students will create and test their model airplane designs. Fourth grade is excited to have two field trips this month. First, we will be attending the Gillespie Rock Museum as a culminating activity to our Rocks and Minerals unit. Second, we will visit Epic Theaters to view the movie, “Wonder” after reading the book as a class. Be on the lookout for upcoming information about seasonal celebrations from your child’s teacher!
FIFTH GRADE
“Dear Captains Log, so far this year in 5th grade we have done amazing things and completely blasted off into a new world of decimals, water cycle, European explorers and we even conducted a Scientific Experiment based on the amount of pumpkin seeds in each pumpkin. Needless to say, were having a blast. Now we are beginning to switch gears and we’re heading to an even more exciting destination. This destination will be filled with topics such as Properties of Matter and Fractions. We’re going to fun events like to the movies to see, “Wonder” on November 20th. Parents please don’t forget about permission forms and $10.00 so we can get our ticket to an amazing event! While you are watching the shining stars of fifth grade be sure to be on the lookout for a flyer for Curriculum Night (date is to be announced), where parents can experience a day in the life as a 5th grader here at Forest Lake Elementary where our mission is possible with teamwork!”
SPECIAL AREA NEWS
MUSIC
Both the Chorus and Orff Ensemble will have their Winter Concert on Thursday, December 7th at 6:00 P.M in the cafeteria. This concert is free and all are welcome!
PE
For the month of November both Coach Boyle and Coach Albano will have the students continue with their mile run training. First rotation in November we will combine classes and do one day of cross country running and one day of a practice timed mile run on the track. Mile run testing will be in December!
Coach Boyle will be starting football skills during PE class. We will work on throwing the football with the correct form and accuracy. We will also work on being able to catch the ball while standing still and on the move. During one rotation we will play the running back game with all grade levels to learn the difference between offense and defense, proper use of the flags and to practice our chasing a fleeing skills.
Coach Albano will be starting Volleyball for the month of November. The students will be learning the fundamentals of bumping, setting and serving. The second rotation they will be learning the rules of the game and the skills during game play.
ART
November is an exciting month for art because our students’ work will be put on display at the annual Fall Festival of the Arts in DeLand. Student work will be in the rotunda of the Volusia county administration building in downtown DeLand. You will be notified if you child’s work has been selected for display soon.
We will be creating three dimensional art using clay soon. Each grade level will have a different type of pot that they will make and paint after it is fired. The work will be sent home in paper lunch bags that will be decorated. If you could send in a pack of lunch bags that would be greatly appreciated!
STEM
FLE STEM is having a great time learning about aerodynamics. We will soon host a school-wide paper airplane contest with winners in each grade level for distance and duration aloft and classroom winners for creativity. Students in kindergarten were read a story about the first paper airplane and have learned to fold three different styles of planes. First and second grade students read leveled Raz-Kids books about the different types of flight while third, fourth, and fifth graders read leveled NewsELA articles on the four forces on an airplane. First through fifth graders then researched different types of paper airplanes on iPads and this week are folding their competition planes. Results will be posted next month. Also, several classes have already earned their first “gross-ology lab” due to outstanding behavior in the STEM lab. Those bonus labs will begin after the airplane contest. SCIENCE RULES!
MEDIA CENTER NEWS
Students in grades 3-5 are encouraged to read at least three SSYRA books to be eligible to vote at our voting party in April. To further encourage our students to take part in this reading challenge, several incentives are being offered. For each book read, students can earn a different charm. To earn a charm, students need take the SSYRA book’s Reading Counts test and score 70% or higher. Students will also earn prizes for every three SSYRA book quizzes they pass.
We can't wait to see all of our SSYRA readers at the voting party in April! Happy reading!
FLORIDA KID CARE
COMMUNITY NEWS
Volunteers and Business Partners
If you need to renew your volunteer form or you need to fill one out for the first time, please click here for the new online application in English or here for Spanish. Schools will no longer have paper applications on site. If you or somebody you know needs to fill out a new online application but do not have access to a computer, there will be a computer available in our Parent Resource room.
Once applicants have been approved or denied, they will receive an email. Applicants may also check in with our front office to check on their status.
School Information
Website: http://myvolusiaschools.org/school/ForestLake
Location: 1600 Doyle Road, Deltona, FL, United States
Phone: 386-575-4166
Newsletter
Please look for our monthly school newsletter on the first Monday of every month. If you know of a parent that did not receive an email for this newsletter and they would like to receive one, please have them send their email address to Mrs. Wagenhauser at vdwagenh@volusia.k12.fl.us . You may also access the newsletter on our school website at http://myvolusiaschools.org/school/ForestLake .