Bay Vista Bulletin
September 2022 Edition
Principal's Message
It has been such a pleasure to get the school year underway! There is nothing quite like the hustling and bustling of a school campus at the beginning of the school year! Our Jaguars, are definitely demonstrating they are ready to get back to work!
Thank you for your support and for working to observe and adhere to fundamental guidelines. If you are new to Bay Vista and have any questions regarding the fundamental guidelines, do not hesitate to reach out to your child's teacher or the front office. We are happy to assist with any of your questions to support your success in the fundamental program. Our car line is running very smoothly in the morning and afternoon. Our afternoon dismissal of "walkers" is going well and I appreciate everyone's help with picking up your 'walkers' on time.' Also, the parking in the neighborhood during afternoon dismissal has improved. Thanks so much for your help with this.
Instruction Begins at 8:15
It is important that all students are in their classroom, seated and ready to learn at 8:15 a.m. each morning. Teachers start the day right at 8:15 a.m. and every moment of the instructional day is filled. A few minutes late really does have an impact on your child’s day. Students also need to be picked up no later than 2:55 p.m. Our car line has been finishing up no later than 2:55 each day so please plan accordingly. Arriving at/after 8:15 a.m. or picking up later than 2:55 p.m. will result in a tardy. A tardy letter is sent home to families after our tardies. A student is referred to IAC after 6 tardies within a grading cycle.
ONE MEETING OPTION IN SEPTEMBER
As shared previously, there is only one Required Meeting for the month of September. Please keep our purple PTA/Meeting Calendar handy to refer to meeting options and other fun events for the full year. A copy can also be located on our website.
We have continued to embed our Guidelines for Success into our school culture. Feel free to ask your Jaguar about these Guidelines for Success as we are working to demonstrate those each day to become successful at school and in life.
STAR LITERACY/F.A.S.T. TESTING IS UNDERWAY
Our first cycle of testing is underway in all grade levels. Our testing data will assist teachers in identifying areas for acceleration/remediation of learning for each student. During our first round of parent/teacher conferences, teachers will review this data with you and offer suggestions about how you can support your student at home. CLEVER also offers several resources for your child to use at home for additional support and practice.
Included in this month’s newsletter are a few reminders as well as announcements from our School Counselor and all grade levels!
Thank you for partnering with us to support your child’s education!
Donna Hall
Principal
Dreambox and Istation at Home
Dreambox Weekly Requirements:
- Grades K-2: 3-5 lessons
- Grades 3-5: 10 lessons
Both Dreambox and Istation are adaptive programs which means the work within each program is unique to your student rather than a one-size-fits-all program. Teachers also assign lessons within each program that are specific to your student. Teachers monitor student progress to determine the next steps within the program and in the classroom.
When your student reaches their weekly lessons/minutes, it strongly supports their growth within their current grade level but also helps close gaps with concepts still needed in previous grade-level standards.
REQUIRED September Meeting
- Monday, September 12th
- Time: 6:00 p.m.-No admittance after 6:15 p.m.
- To receive credit, attendees must be present for the entire meeting.
Bay Vista PTA Updates
What a wonderful few weeks it has been getting to know both new and returning Jaguars and their families. We are truly thankful for all of the support you have shown over the past few weeks with PTA memberships, t-shirt sales and donations to our Opt-Out Fundraiser, which ends on 9/6.
At the time of this message, our Opt-Out Fundraiser has raised over $19,000 toward our $25,000 goal! Project Playground is moving full steam ahead! There is still time to donate: http://app.memberhub.gives/projectplayground
Fall is an exciting time of year and the PTA is busy planning some amazing events and opportunities to interact with fellow Jaguars. As promised, we have included Sign-Up Genius links below so that those interested in serving on the planning committee for any of our upcoming events can indicate their interest! A separate sign-up for those interested in volunteering at the event only (not serving on the planning committee) will be sent out closer to the event date.
Upcoming PTA events
September 15th- Spirit Night at Bolay (information to come in a weekly email)
October 14th- Bay Vista’s Spooky Treat Trail
- Sign-up here to volunteer: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/805094AAFAE2AA2F49-treat1
October 19th- Spirit Night at Chipotle on 4th Street (information to come in a weekly email)
November 12th- 3rd Annual Fall Festival
- Sign-up here to volunteer: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/805094AAFAE2AA2F49-fall1
Join PTA or Renew Your Membership
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! Prize distribution for those that have already joined will begin next week (9/6).
- $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)
Counselor's Corner with Mrs. Erb
For the month of September, Bay Vista and Pinellas County Schools will celebrate Start with Hello Week. Start With Hello is a program that encourages students to be more socially inclusive and connected to one another with three simple steps:
- See Someone Alone
- Reach out and Help
- Start with Hello
Mrs. Erb will be going into all classrooms and teaching students these steps and encouraging students to include each other and build an inclusive school community. We will also celebrate Start with Hello Week during the week of September 19 – 23 with special theme days.
DRESS UP for Start With Hello Week September 19-23
Monday, 9/20: Celebrate our differences by wearing your favorite color
Tuesday, 9/21: Be "wild" about saying "Hello." Wear a crazy hat or crazy hair or a hat that shows something about you and start a conversation with a fellow Jaguar about their hat/hair.
Wednesday, 9/22: Show your support for "Start with Hello" by wearing green.
Thursday 9/23: Wear a shirt to promote kindness or love.
Friday, 9/24: Wear your Bay Vista shirt or the colors yellow and green to show your school spirit as a Bay Vista Jaguar.
Meet Mrs. Erb's Intern
Mrs. Erb will have a school counseling intern working with her this school year. Ms. McCullagh will be at Bay Vista on Tuesdays and Thursdays. She will be doing classroom lessons, running small groups, and working with individual students as needed. She is finishing up her degree in school counseling from Florida State University.
Kindergarten Updates!
Reading Focus:
In reading, students will focus on describing the appearance, actions, feelings, and thoughts of characters within a story, with an emphasis on comparing and contrasting characters’ experiences in stories.
Students continue to read just-right books and decodable books, with an emphasis on strategies to help them navigate through higher-level texts. Students activate their extra-strength Super Reading Powers to decode words accurately, monitor for meaning, self-correct, and cross-check. Students also use their Super Reading Powers to read at a steady rate with intonation and expression.
Writing Focus:
In writing, students will focus on using a combination of drawing, dictating, and/or writing to express their opinions about a topic or text with at least one supporting reason. As in previous modules, Explicit Writing Instruction is devoted to teaching students how to follow the rules of punctuation, capitalization, and spelling appropriate to the kindergarten grade level.
Math Focus:
In Math, we are representing addition and subtraction with objects and drawings as well as solving equations with sums up to 10 by acting them out.
Science Focus:
In Science, we are studying life science and recognizing that some books and media portray animals and plants with characteristics and behaviors that they do not have in real life.
First Grade Frolics
Our First Grade Jaguars are in full swing! They are learning all the processes and procedures that foster an environment ready for learning. They are getting to know each other and realizing that they are part of a class and school family.
In Language Arts, we are building a community of readers and writers. Students are learning to identify and describe the story elements in fiction stories.
In Writing, the first graders are learning to write stories about important things they like to do, important people in their lives and also places they like to visit.
In Science, they are learning about the Stars in the Sky, the Sun and the World Around Us. In Math, they are learning to start at any given number, count forward and backwards within 120 by ones. They are also learning to skip count by 2’s to 20 and by 5’s to 100. First Grade is busy!
Second Grade Tidbits
Second grade is in Module A for reading and writing. In reading, students are learning about main story elements like setting, characters, and main events. In writing, students are creating personal narratives about a topic of their choice. Students are practicing writing a strong beginning, middle, and end that uses appropriate transition words.
In science, we are learning that Earth is made of rocks and that rocks can be sorted by their physical properties – size, shape, texture, luster, color, and mass.
In math, we are working in unit 2 building on student understanding of place value. Key math concepts being studied are that 10 ones make 1 ten, 10 tens make 1 hundred, numbers can be compared using place value, and rounding numbers to the nearest ten.
Third Grade Thoughts
ELA: Module A - How can I relate to characters in books? In this module, it focuses on building a community of readers and writers. Students are introduced to a variety of classroom routines and collaborative structures that promote academic conversations and propel classroom discourse.
Math: Unit 2 Place Value - Students will extend their knowledge of place value to 4-digit numbers and apply this to represent, compare, order, and round multi-digit numbers. They will also compose and decompose numbers by place value in different ways.
Science: What goes up, must come down - In this unit, students will explore the Law of Gravity by demonstrating that gravity is a force that can be overcome. They will complete a STEM challenge by creating a prototype balloon rocket, testing it, then redesigning it to test it again. Students will also raise questions about the natural world, and investigate them individually and in teams through free exploration.
Fourth Grade Fun
ELA
In September, fourth graders will be finishing the first module of the school year, Module A. Module A has focused on realistic fiction that provides an entry point for discussions about building classroom community. In writing, students have been working on crafting personal narratives about their culture that provide insight into their families and continue to strengthen the classroom community.
In the middle of September, 4th graders will begin Module B. In this module, students focus on reading informational texts through the lens of the Module Essential Question: How are animals in Florida impacted by changes in their environment? In writing, students will focus on writing an expository essay based on a prompt and text set. This will begin with an introduction to the key components of an expository essay.
Science
In Science, fourth graders will begin our first unit of Earth Science with “Patterns in the Sky.” Students will examine how the earth’s rotation and revolution affect the appearance of the sun and stars in our sky. In our second unit, “Gazing at the Moon,” we’ll be learning about how the earth’s rotation and revolution affect the appearance of the moon as it progresses through its monthly phases.
Math
Fourth-grade mathematicians will continue to develop their math problem-solving strategies. Our first units will focus on place value, rounding, and fluently adding and subtracting multi-digit numbers. It’s important for students to be practicing their multiplication facts now, too…multiplication is our next unit!
Fifth Grade Facts
Math-We are just beginning Unit 2 which is on volume. We will be learning how to find volume using several different methods. We will also learn how to find the volume of composite figures.
Science-We are beginning our Unit on the Solar System. We made pocket solar systems and will be making a human solar system outside. On Myon we will be competing for a project about the inner and outer planets. We will also learn about other objects in our solar system such as asteroids, meteors, comets, and our moon.
ELA- We are in our realistic fiction unit! We have been learning a lot about our main character, Ally from Fish In a Tree. We have practiced discussing characters and settings in depth. We have also looked at the book's theme and completed a hashtag for it, with text evidence to support it. For writing, we are in our personal narrative unit and are focusing on all the parts and techniques of a personal narrative including Show Don’t Tell, Sensory Details, Settings in-depth, and Figurative Language. This week we listened to music and highlighted the pieces of figurative language that we found and described what they mean. Next up is our science non-fiction unit!
Upcoming Dates
September—ONE MEETING OPTION this month
2-- Opt-Out Fundraiser ends
5--Labor Day – No School
6-9 PTA Fundraiser Prize Distribution
- After-school Clubs and Programs start
9-- Student Pictures
*12 Required Parent General Meeting- 6:00pm at Lakewood High School
- Focus: Fundamental Guidelines & Alternate Meeting Credit Guidelines
12--Mid-term Progress Reports
Start with Hello Week
- 19--Celebrate our differences by wearing your favorite color
- 20--Be "wild" about saying "Hello." Wear a crazy hat or crazy hair or a hat that shows something about you and start a conversation with a fellow Jaguar about their hat/hair.
- 21--Show your support for "Start with Hello" by wearing green.
- 22--Wear a shirt to promote kindness or love.
- 23--Wear your Bay Vista shirt or the colors yellow and green to show your school spirit as a Bay Vista Jaguar.
A Look Ahead to October
3* PTA Board Meeting @ BVF
3* SAC Meeting via Zoom
11* PTA General Meeting/Family Literacy Night
14* Treat Trail / Pumpkin Auction (meeting credit if volunteering)
14* End of Grading Period/Infraction Period 1
17* No school
19* PTA Family Spirit Night @ Chipotle
20 * Staff luncheon (meeting credit for volunteers)
27* Report Cards Go Home