Pelican Elementary: Pelican Press

Mission: Through the collaborative efforts of parents, staff, students, and the community, Pelican Elementary develops the emotional, social, academic, and physical potential of every student.

Vision: Pelican Elementary is a safe, secure, child-centered school which provides the foundation for career and college readiness for every child.

Dear Pelican Families,

It is our honor and a pleasure to welcome you to the 2026 – 2027 school year! We hope you all had a relaxing and fun summer break. We are extremely proud to serve as the admin team of this amazing learning community and to continue to support the students of Pelican Elementary! This year, our school theme is “Blast Off to Success". As a school, we will be infusing this concept in all that we do. As has been our mission at Pelican Elementary, we will continue to develop the emotional, social, academic, and physical potential of every student. With that said, the Pelican teachers and staff are excited for the 26-27 school year.

We would like to welcome all of our new families, whether you are joining us from another school in the district or have relocated from another city, state, or country. We are excited to share with you all that Pelican has to offer and believe you will soon feel as we do, that Pelican Elementary School is a special place for all children. Our educators, support staff, families, and other education partners are ready to welcome you into the Pelican Family.

Our teachers and staff are eager to meet their new students and begin this year’s journey with them. The dedicated staff at Pelican has been working tirelessly to finalize classes and schedules, engage in professional learning opportunities, and update our instructional models, class routines, and expectations, all with the goal of fostering academic success and a true sense of connectedness and belonging for our students. Our primary goal is to ensure student proficiency in core academic subjects, so we will continue to refine Tier I instruction, analyze data, conduct observations, and review classwork to guide instruction and intervention. Additionally, we will continue placing a focus on the integration of the Kagan Cooperative Learning, Restorative Justice practices, and social and emotional support strategies into our students’ daily school experience. We will work together to create a solid foundation for our students so that they have the opportunity to become self-directed learners, collaborative teammates, critical thinkers, and responsible citizens. We will continue to offer intervention services through specialized programs, counseling when appropriate, and the implementation of Tier II and Tier III programs and teaching and learning strategies.

We will be holding our traditional, in-person Meet the Teacher/Open House on Wednesday, August 5 from 3:00-5:00 pm. Last names A-L are from 3:00-4:00; Last names M-Z are from 4:00-5:00. This is where you will meet our teachers, support staff, and admin team. While in the classroom, your child’s teacher will share your child's daily schedules, resources, and expectations for the coming year. Please refer to the school’s website or school's FaceBook page for additional information on upcoming events.

As we have always said, Pelican's outstanding educators create the foundation for your child’s academic success. In addition, a large part of Pelican Elementary's success can be attributed to its active and engaged parents who are involved in the school. Please consider getting involved at Pelican Elementary this school year. Our Volunteer Orientation will take place on Friday, August 28th from 9:00-10:00 AM in the cafeteria. Our SAC (Student Advisory Council) meeting will take place on Thursday, August 27th from 5:30-6:00 PM in the cafeteria. We hope to see you there.

We look forward to the start of the new school year and to continuing our collaboration of providing your children with an effective and engaging educational experience. As always, we will look to our families to be positive partners in their children’s educational journey. The Pelican staff has always made a priority of working together as a caring and compassionate learning community with professionalism, teamwork, action, and expertise. We will always put the best interests of our students at the center of our purpose. Join us in ensuring the success of all Pelican's students. Stay healthy, stay positive, and stay connected.

As always, our door is open and our team welcomes your input. Please feel free to contact us via email at the address below or call to make an appointment to speak with us to discuss any ideas you feel will make this the best year yet!

Best regards,

Michele Stanford (Principal) micheleast@leeschools.net

Jennifer Milstein (Assistant Principal) jenniferlmi@leeschools.net

SchoolMessenger® Communicate is a program that enables administration from the District and schools to send families important messages, emergency broadcasts, attendance alerts and event reminders.

There is also a way to receive text messages, however under a rule by the Federal Communications Commission, you must opt in for that service. The process is easy and only takes a few seconds to complete. Simply text any one of these words subscribe, opt-in or yes to the number 67587.

You will know you were successful if you receive the following reply message:

You are registered 4 School Messenger notifications. Reply STOP to cancel, HELP for help. Msg&data rates may apply. Msg freq. varies. schoolmessenger.com/txt

You will want to repeat the opt-in process for any wireless numbers that you wish to include:

Please note, although the district does not charge you for this service, it does not pay for text or phone message charges that may be incurred by you for sending or receiving text messages or receiving phone calls. Check with your wireless carrier for possible charges.

In addition to performing the opt-in process above, you will want to ensure that the district has your wireless number(s) in our student information database. If you have not already provided that information to your school, please contact them directly.

Families may sign up for a free account at go.schoolmessenger.com to set communication preferences for calls and emails

Student arrival begins at 8:15.

1st bell rings at 8:20.

Tardy bell rings at 8:40.

Breakfast time is 8:20-8:35.

Back parent drop off gate closes at 8:35.

Dismissal begins at 3:10.

Students have the right to a free and appropriate public education, but they assume the responsibility to attend regularly and on time. Parents/guardians are responsible for the attendance of their children within the compulsory attendance age, 6 to 16. Parents have the responsibility to inform the school of their child’s absences and to explain the cause of each absence. Learn more about Florida State Statues, Part II, School Attendance.

Regular and punctual school attendance is crucial for a student’s academic success. The research findings make a clear case for engaging families to reduce chronic absenteeism. Good attendance habits begin at home with the right messages from parents and caregivers.

Why It Matters

If children don’t show up for school regularly, they miss out on fundamental reading and math skills and the chance to build a habit of good attendance that will carry them into college and careers. The good news is that when students attend school regularly, they can see outsized literacy gains.

What Can We Do at Home?

Establishing consistent good habits at home can put children on the right track to good school attendance. Parents can:

• Set a regular bedtime and morning routine.
• Lay out clothes and pack backpack the night before.
• Know the first day of school and make sure their child has the required immunizations and materials
• Introduce their child to his or her teachers and classmates before school starts to help with the transition.
• Avoid letting their child stay home unless he or she is truly sick. Advise parents that sometimes complaints of a stomachache or headache can be a sign of anxiety and not a reason to stay home.
• Talk to teachers, school counselors or other parents for advice on how to alleviate a child’s anxiety about going to school or other issues.
• Develop back-up plans for getting to school if something comes up. Call on a family member, a neighbor or another parent.
• Avoid scheduling medical appointments and extended trips when school is in session.

Attendance Standard

• All students are required to be on time and present each day school is open during the school year.
• Students may not be absent from school without permission of the principal/designee.

• The school principal or designee is the only person authorized to excuse a student’s absence.
• A note from a parent/guardian is a request that a student’s absence be excused.
• A pattern of non-attendance is, missing 10% to 19% or more of school, whether the absences are excused or not. At such time the principal shall refer the student to the Attendance Review Committee to determine if early patterns of truancy are developing and identify root causes. An intervention plan will be put in place to identify potential remedies and improve the student’s attendance.
• For enforcement of school attendance purposes, unless acceptable documentation is submitted, an accumulation of daily unexcused absences that equal five (5) days in a calendar month or ten (10) days within a ninety (90) calendar day period, may be exhibiting a pattern of non-attendance as determined by the Attendance Review Committee.
• If the student exceeds the ten (10) parent/guardian notes in a school year, principals may request additional documentation for subsequent absences.

• Chronic tardiness is defined as six (6) or more tardies to school or to an individual class per quarter.

Make-Up Work

A student who is absent and the absence is determined to be an excused absence is required to make up all course work missed. It is the student’s responsibility to obtain assignments from the appropriate teacher(s) upon returning to class immediately following an absence. The student will be given the number of days absent plus one additional day to make up all work missed for full credit.

Definition: Accountability for your personal choices, obligations and duties.

How can you practice RESPONSIBILITY?

• Follow through on commitments
• Complete homework and chores without being reminded
• Take care of your things and those of other people
• Always do your very best
• Think before you act
• Think before you talk
• Think about what will happen if you say or do what you want to say or do
• Fix your mistakes
• Be a good example
• Think of ways to help others
• Keep Trying
• Finish your work before you play
• Listen to the opinion of others even if you don’t agree

Popular Quotes about RESPONSIBILITY:

• “Work on yourself first, take responsibility for your own progress.” ~I. Ching
• “You are always responsible for how you act, no matter how you feel.” ~Robert Tew
• “The greatest gifts you can give your children are the roots of responsibility and the wings of independence.” ~Denis Waitley
• “Accept responsibility for your life. Know that it is you who will get you where you want to go, no one else.” ~Les Brown

Parents / legal guardians, please read and review the Code of Conduct for Students document with your child.

The School District of Lee County is committed to being a world-class school system with a focus on improved student achievement so that all students meet or exceed rigorous standards. In order to meet this goal, the primary objective is to fully develop each student’s potential for learning while cultivating positive interpersonal relationships. These skills build a foundation for students to obtain academic, personal, and civic competencies necessary to become productive citizens. The School District of Lee County has developed the Code of Conduct for Students to clearly communicate the behavioral expectations and support students in making decisions that result in positive outcomes.

The Code of Conduct for Students is the District’s policy that creates a safe learning environment to ensure academic success. To accomplish this objective, it is necessary that the school environment be a safe and supportive community. The culture should be one that embraces diversity, civility, and academic achievement among all members of the school community to ensure that individuals feel valued, cared for, and respected.

The goal of the fee-based program is to provide a standardized fee based program that allows for accessibility to families at a reasonable cost. The fee based program provides our students with supervision and organized activities.

PAYMENT AND FEES

Registration Fee: $25 one child / $40 per family (non-refundable)

Before School: $35.00 a week per child
After School: $50.00 a week per child

• Tuition will be prorated on days in which there is no school (ex: holidays, professional duty days, etc) or when we offer no afternoon care due to Early Dismissal Days.
• Payments for services must always be made in advance of the week beginning services. This means that all tuition fees are due by the Friday prior to the participating week.
• Before school program opens at 6:30 a.m.
• Children must be picked up by 6:00 p.m. each day. A late fee of $1.00 for each additional minute will be charged beginning at 6:01 p.m. Late fees are to be paid upon arrival and in your school’s form of payment.
• Three (3) late payments will result in dismissal from the program. There will be no discounts for absences in programs using the flat rate structure.

CONTACT MS. LYNN NAPOLI (DIRECTOR) FOR MORE INFORMATION

The purpose of the Dress Code is to encourage students to focus on the learning process without the distractions of unsuitable dress and grooming. Students shall maintain a clean, orderly appearance at all times.

The responsibility for the personal appearance of the student rests with the parent/guardian and the student. Personal appearance shall not detract from the educational process. The following establishes the minimum acceptable standards for student dress to be interpreted and enforced by the administration or designee.

1. Closed toe shoes shall be worn at all times. Sandals, crocs, slides, shower shoes and/or bedroom slippers are not permitted.
2. Apparel shall be adequate in both length and coverage to be considered appropriate for school.
3. Pants shall be worn fastened and at the waist.
4. Altered clothing, i.e., cut-off jeans, pants with holes, tears, rips, etc., and/or ill-fitting garments are not acceptable.
5. Shirts and blouses shall be appropriately fastened in accord with the design of that shirt or blouse. The length should extend beyond the waist level. Spandex or stretchy skirts are prohibited.
6. Transparent or see-through tops, bare midriff, strapless, or low-cut clothing, or tops that provide minimum coverage or are of a suggestive nature are prohibited: halters, spaghetti straps, backless dresses or tops, tub tops, tank tops, muscle shirts, or any clothing which may be distracting are prohibited.
7. Any articles of clothing or jewelry that could likely cause injury, such as chains, rings, chokers, with or without spikes or studs, are prohibited. Wallet chains of any length are prohibited.
8. Apparel, emblems, insignias, badges, or symbols that promote the use of alcohol, drugs, tobacco, or any other illegal activity are prohibited.
9. Apparel or symbols which may be gang related may not be displayed on a student’s person, locker, vehicle, or personal belongings.
10. Gang related tattoos or other tattoos that may cause a substantial disruption, as determined by the administration, are prohibited.
11. Neither headgear (hoods, hats, bandanas) nor sunglasses will be worn inside the building.
12. Clothing with slogans or advertising that has a double meaning is prohibited.
13. Shorts and skirts must extend beyond the end of the fingertips with arms extended downward and should approach the knee. No short shorts or running shorts are allowed.
14. Prohibited adornments (piercings) include, but are not limited to, hoops or rings attached to the nose, eyebrow, cheeks, or lip.
15. Pajama attire of any kind is not permitted.
16. Makeup and eyelash extensions are not permitted.
17. Long coats, including trench coats are not permitted inside the building.
18. Blankets, pillows, gloves and/or stuffed animals are not appropriate for school.

THE SCHOOL ADMINISTRATION SHALL HAVE THE RIGHT TO APPRAISE ANY CURRENT FASHION OR FAD AND DETERMINE WHETHER IT IS APPROPRIATE FOR SCHOOL.

What is a Chromebook?

A Chromebook is a relatively new type of computer that combines simplicity, speed, security and very long battery life at an affordable price. Long battery life is one of the Chromebook’s best features, allowing students to utilize the device through an entire school day without having to plug it in.

Chromebook Updates for the 2026-2027 School Year:

The School District of Lee County has adopted a new Chromebook policy for this school year. Students in grades Kindergarten through 5th grade will use Chromebooks while at school only. Chromebooks will not be checked out to students for home use.

Taking Care of Your Chromebook

Your Dell Chromebook is a durable device. It is designed specifically for student use that features rubberized edges for shock resistance, a reinforced frame and spill-resistant keyboard. Even with these features, you must take good care of the device. The device is your responsibility.

Protect Our Asset Tags

Chromebooks may have two School District asset tags and one or more manufacturer’s labels. Please leave the labels intact and visible.

Keep Food & Drinks Away

Spilling food or drink inside of the device can ruin the device. Keep food and drinks away while your Chromebook is out.

Use Your Chromebook When Appropriate

Your teacher will decide when and how it is appropriate to utilize your Chromebook and personally-owned technology in class. The school will also identify Technology Free Zones, where your devices must be put away.

Be Polite - Use Headphones

Students are expected to use headphones or keep the sound on the Chromebooks muted at all times, as not to disrupt the class.

Safe Internet Browsing

Your Chromebook is configured for safe Internet browsing. We do our best to filter inappropriate content. Parents should be aware that no filtering system is perfect. Students should also note that you must still follow The District’s Acceptable Use policy no matter where the Chromebook is used.

Your Chromebook Apps

Google Drive: Cloud Storage

Store all of your documents here and access them from any device, anywhere with an Internet connection. In addition to District Chromebooks, you can access your Google docs on any computer, iPad, iPhone or Android device.

Google Docs: Word Processor

Similar to Microsoft Word. Docs automatically stores its documents in your Google drive. Like Drive, there are apps for your computer, iPads, Android tablet, and phones so that you can edit your documents anywhere.

Google Sheets: Spreadsheet

Similar to Microsoft Excel and can be accessed with any Internet enabled device.

Google Slides: Presentation Software

Similar to Microsoft PowerPoint and can be accessed with any Internet enabled device.

Google Classroom

Your classroom in the cloud. Teachers can easily distribute and collect assignments via the web.

If Your Chromebook...

Breaks

If your Chromebook is not functioning properly or is physically damaged, please:

1. Notify your teacher.
2. With your teacher’s permission, take the device to the designated area in your school, usually the media center, to swap out the device.
3. Login with your District account and allow your apps and information to sync to the device.

If Lost or Stolen

You are responsible for the security and care of your Chromebook. You will be responsible to reimburse your school $400 for a lost or stolen Chromebook.

Lost/Stolen Device Procedure:

1. Report the missing device to your teacher.
2. With your teacher’s permission, visit the designated Chromebook distribution area in your school to get a replacement.
3. Login with your District account and allow the apps and data to synchronize to the replacement device.
4. Your school will contact you to pay for the lost/stolen device.

"My child needs to take medication in school. What is the procedure?"

When a student requires medication to be given during school hours, the following procedure must be followed:

1. A Health Care Provider/Parent Permission for Medication form must be completed for every medication,both prescribed and over the counter which is to be given. This form, which is obtained from the school clinic, must be current, filled out completely, and signed by a parent or guardian, and the Health Care Provider.
2. Each medication must be received in its original container with the student's name, name of medication, dosage and amount clearly visible on the bottle.
3. All medication should be brought to the school by the parent or guardian and must be counted at the time of receipt.
4. An asthmatic student in grades 4-12 may carry a metered dose inhaler on their person when they have written permission from both their parent/guardian and their health care provider. Younger students may be given permission to carry an inhaler when deemed able by the licensed prescriber, parent and school nurse. An Authorization Form, available from the school clinic, must be completed.
5. A student at risk for life threatening allergic reactions may carry an Epinephrine auto-injector and self-administer while in school, participating in school-sponsored activities, or in transit to or from school or school-sponsored activities if the school has been provided with parental and physician authorization which includes a verification of the student's ability to self-administer the Epinephrine. An Authorization Form, available from the school clinic, must be completed.
6. All medication remaining at the end of the school year must be either picked up by the parent or destroyed.

Monday, September 7th- NO SCHOOL-Labor Day

Wednesday, September 9th -Fall Picture Day

Thursday, September 10th- Fall Picture Day

Thursday, September 17th- Southern SnoBall (after lunch-$2.00)

Wednesday, September 16th- Q1 Interim Report Day

Monday, September 14th-Otis Spunkmeyer Fundraiser begins (ends Wednesday, September 30th)

Pelican Elementary has been recently inspected and certain asbestos-containing materials or assumed asbestos-containing materials such as: fire doors or roofing materials that are tested prior to repairs or removal as needed, have been located in the school buildings. Please be aware that the School District of Lee County has an active management plan designed to ensure that the building is maintained safely for all occupants. These materials are being controlled in accordance with the Asbestos Management Program for the School and following the limitations and procedures of the policies and requirements of the Asbestos Operations and Maintenance Program of the School District of Lee County.

The report listing the location, quantities, and condition of all known materials and contains the details of the control procedures is available at the school office for your inspection during normal school hours. Copies of the whole or parts of the school’s asbestos file can be supplied to you at a cost of $0.15/page.

Armor Persons, District 5 (Chair)
William F. Ribble, Jr., District 3 (Vice Chair)

Samuel Fisher, District 1
Melisa W. Giovannelli, District 2
Debbie Jordan, District 4
Jada Langford Fleming, District 6
Vanessa M. Chaviano, District 7