October 2026 Newsletter

Apollo Families,

It’s hard to believe we are a few days away from the end of the first quarter. I want to thank you again for your continued support this school year. We are so proud of our students, staff, and community for all that has been accomplished in these first nine weeks of school. Our students have engaged in meaningful learning in their classes and have had a chance to showcase their talents in various ways.

At Apollo, we are proud to reinforce our LAUNCH expectations every day:

• Listen and Learn
• Act with Kindness
• Use safe Choices
• Never give up
• Choose to Lead
• Help and take Responsibility

#ApolloLeads

These expectations help create a safe, respectful, and productive learning environment for all students.

We also continue to grow as a Leader in Me school, empowering students to develop leadership skills through the 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. Students are learning to:

• Be proactive
• Begin with the end in mind
• Put first things first
• Think win-win
• Seek first to understand, then to be understood
• Synergize
• Sharpen the saw

These habits support academic success and help students become confident, responsible leaders in their classrooms and beyond.

If you have any questions, don't hesitate to contact us.

Your Extremely Proud Admin Team,

Mrs. DiLago and Mrs. Gainer

Lets give a BIG shout out to two of our very best!🎉

Our amazing 4th grade teacher, Ms. Davis was named Teacher of the Year and Mrs. Dori was honored as our Employee of the Year! 🚀

Both of these incredible women bring so much heart, dedication, and joy to our school every single day. We're so lucky to have them. 💖

• 10/06 - 4th Grade Fundraiser : Village Inn
• 10/12 - NO SCHOOL: Teacher Planning Day
• 10/16 - Fall Feast 5:00pm - 7:00pm
• 10/20 - Fall Pictures
• 10/20- Report Cards
• 10/22 - BMI Screening
• 10/26 - 2nd Grade Fundraiser: Chipotle
• 10/27 - In House Field Trip VPK
• 10/28 - Conference Night (appointment only)
• 10/29 - 1st grade Field Trip (permission slip & money due 10/22)
• 10/30- Q1 Awards (invitation only)
• 10/30 - 2nd grade Field Trip

As required by the Florida Department of Education, we are notifying parents that the following teachers are currently teaching out of field in the subjects listed below. We want to assure you that the teachers are fully certified by the State of Florida and are currently working to become certified in these out-of-field assignment areas.

Hale, Patricia- Missing: ESOL/ELL hours or endorsement

Irlbeck, Sharon - Missing: ESOL/ELL hours or endorsement

Jaquith, Candace - Missing: ESOL/ELL hours or endorsement

Jefferson, Alyssa - Missing: ESOL/ELL hours or endorsement

Jesse, Mabel - Missing: ESOL/ELL hours or endorsement

Lake, Jeffrey - Missing: ESOL/ELL hours or endorsement

Lemand, Jennifer - Missing: ESOL/ELL hours or endorsement

Wade, Zandra - Missing: Subject certification

School begins at 8:00am and ends at 2:30 pm. Gates open at 7:30am. Do not drop your child off prior to 7:30am as there will not be supervision.

7:30am - Breakfast is served

7:45am - Classroom doors open and VPK Drop-off

7:50am - Morning Announcements begin

8:00am - Instruction begins

2:15pm- VPK Pick-up

2:30pm - Dismissal

Reminder: No checkouts after 2:00 pm Monday-Thursday and no checkouts after 12:45 pm on Friday.

vpk

Every Friday is 1:30 dismissal for grades K-6 and 1:15pm VPK

Please have a plan for inclement weather dismissal. In case of emergency weather, we will hold biker's and walkers until it is safe to send them home. A shelter-in-place occurs when lightning is detected within 2 miles of the school. You can choose to pick your student up in the car loop during inclement weather dismissal. You will need your car tag and photo ID. Teachers will have a form available during Meet and Greet. You can let us know your plan during inclement weather.

Get ready to READ + RAISE! 🎉 Apollo’s Library Read-A-Thon kicks off Friday, October 9, 2026! Our goal is to encourage a love of reading while raising money to support our school library.

Don’t wait! Register your reader today. It takes less than 5 minutes!

📹 Watch this quick video to learn how to sign up:
https://youtu.be/12tmuXH8zCg

📚 Register your reader here:
https://www.read-a-thon.com/readers/r/cfwloT/1?utm=email

Once registered, you can track your child's reading progress and share their Read-A-Thon page with friends and family to help raise funds.

Thank you for supporting our Apollo Library 💙

Hello Amazing Apollo Family!

We are getting ready for a Veterans Day performance which will be given here at Apollo by chorus on November 5th (Thursday) at 6pm. As part of this important expression of honor, I am asking school staff and families to submit to me military pictures of those in your family who have or are currently serving. These precious photos should be sent to my email (scanned or digital picture) blais.roxannel@brevardschools.org. I will turn these into a slideshow to be viewed during the program and may get permission to show it on the morning news. You may submit several photos if represented.

Please include:

Name of veteran

Branch

Relation at Apollo

Any short information about service that you would like included

The deadline will be 10/31 so that I can have time to complete the slideshow. All are invited to the event on the night of November 5th. Hope to see you there to support our proud Veterans.

October is Down Syndrome Awareness and Dyslexia Awareness Month so we wanted to share a few facts about both.

1. Down Syndrome is the most frequent chromosomal disorder. It occurs in approximately 1 in 700 births.
2. The colors for Down Syndrome awareness are blue and yellow.
3. Down Syndrome is a lifelong condition, but many individuals with Down Syndrome grow up to have jobs, live independently and enjoy various recreational activities.
4. Down Syndrome is named after John Langdon Down, a British doctor who first published a clinical description in 1866.
5. People with Down syndrome have a high capacity for empathy and social understanding.
6. People with Down syndrome have a wide range of abilities, and it's impossible to predict them all ahead of time.
7. There are many famous people with Down Syndrome including actor Chris Burke, Spains city council woman Ángela Covadonga Bachiller, Guatemalan fashion designer Isabella Springmuhl Tejada and the founder of Collettey's Cookies Collette Divitto.
8. Every year on March 21, people all around the world come together to celebrate World Down Syndrome Day by wearing brightly colored, mismatched socks.

Dyslexia

1. Dyslexia is a language-based learning disability.
2. The color for dyslexia awareness is red.
3. Dyslexia occurs in people of all backgrounds and intellectual levels.
4. Dyslexia is the most common reason for difficulties in reading, writing, and spelling.
5. It affects 20% of the population.
6. It was first referred to as “word blindness.”
7. In 1896, a doctor in England published the first description of the learning disorder that would come to be known as developmental dyslexia.
8. Famous people with dyslexia include Albert Einstein, Walt Disney, Tom Holland, Pablo Picasso, just to name a few.

Go Red for Dyslexia!

Come join our Apollo PTO!

Becoming a member you can help when needed on school events (during and after school hours), support teachers and staff with their needs, volunteer for field trips. All you have to do is be a registered volunteer, by applying online at Brevard Public School. Click on the button below to link you to the application page.

Hello Apollo Families!

The ballots have been sent out for you to vote on two new parents that would like to represent you for the 26-27 school year. The School Advisory Council (SAC) voted last month to fund a request from 6th grade to purchase IXL. This is a personalized learning program that students actually enjoy! Our SAC meetings begin at 3:30 pm. If you would like to attend, we will meet in the Conference Room. If you can't make it in person, there is a virtual link through Teams; each month will have a different link. There is not a meeting scheduled for October, but the next meeting is November 9th, 2026.

If you would like more information, please contact thibideau.phyllis@brevardschools.org

Meeting Link for November: Meeting ID: 242 215 599 486 959 Passcode: X4QH2hV6

School Improvement Plan

The Brevard County School Board approved Apollo’s School Improvement Plan which also serves as our Title I plan. Please take a minute to review our school’s plan under the "About Us" section of the school website. We also have the plan in our Title I notebook in the front office. Copies of this document will be made available upon request and if you would like the document translated please contact the front office.

Apollo will be partnering with the local Domino's in Titusville to have monthly spirit nights. These will occur on the second Tuesday of EVERY month. This is a great way for Apollo to earn money towards school initiatives while providing your family an easy dinner plan. We will send remembers the night before to all families through FOCUS messaging and students will be sent home with their sticker reminders.

1850 Knox McRae and their phone number is 321-268-8008

Policy 5511 – STUDENT DRESS CODE

The BPS Board recognizes that each student's mode of dress is a manifestation of personal style and individual preference. The Board will not interfere with the right of students and their parents/legal guardians to make decisions regarding their appearance, however, the standards of appearance for students shall ensure that the student be clean, neat, and properly dressed. They shall observe modes of dress and standards of personal grooming that are in conformity with the studious atmosphere and good personal hygiene necessary in schools. Furthermore, it is the responsibility of the principal to see that the dress or appearance of no student shall be extreme to the point of creating a disturbance or is hazardous to oneself, others, or school property. The dress code shall be incorporated into the Student Code of Conduct. Please visit the link for full details on Policy 5511. https://www.brevardschools.org/page/updated-student-dress-code-policy

MyReaXiumApp for Parents & Guardians is almost here!

The ReaXium mobile application, MyReaXiumApp, is launching this school year over the next few weeks. Here is what your school needs to know:

• It is available for iOS & Android devices
• It is designed for parents and legal guardians of school bus riders.
• The app allows them to:

• Access Bus Route Information:

• View bus route details for each student.

• See a map displaying the bus route with labeled bus stops.

• View the assigned pickup and drop-off stops for the student

• Check Bus Availability:

• Receive notifications when a student's bus is actively running for their school.

• Receive Student Status Updates:

• Get real-time updates whenever a student boards or exits a bus.

To learn more about how the app works and materials available to parents/guardians, review:

• Video Guides for MyReaXiumApp: https://go.reaxium.com/VideosParentTraining

• WebPage for MyReaXiumApp: https://reaxium.com/solutions/k12-education/school-transportation/school-bus-tracking-app-for-parents/

How do Parents/Guardians of Bus Riders get access?

1. Invitation Email: Sent to their custodial contact email on file for their children.

2. Rolling Basis: Invitations sent in stages, beginning with ESE and elementary.

3. Expected Timeline: Invite sending ongoing until the end of September.

4. Initial Campaign: ReaXium & district manage the first invitation email initiative.

5. School Invites: Schools may issue post-launch invites on a case-by-case basis.

6. Verify Information: Ensure accurate email addresses in their children's records.

7. Multiple Children: Match email addresses to avoid separate invites for each child.

Remember all this information and more is available at the BPS Transportation Website.

The FortifyFL app is a suspicious activity reporting tool that allows anyone to instantly relay information to law enforcement and school officials. Students, staff, families, and members of the community can use the app to report school safety concerns anonymously and easily.

The SpeakOut Hotline (800) 423-TIPS is designed to help you anonymously report any threatening behavior or situation that endangers you, your friends, family, community, or your school campus. Reporting isn't "snitching,” reporting is when you need to keep yourself or someone you know safe from threats, harmful behaviors, or dangerous situations.

By guaranteeing a caller's anonymity, SpeakOut allows the caller to give information without the fear of retribution.

Welcome Back!

It is so good to see our students shining faces again, they are the highlight of our day!!

Just a friendly reminder or two. Since we are on the Community Eligibility Program here at Apollo (CEP for short), all our students eat at no cost for breakfast and lunch and snack if they attend Aftercare. If you are adding money into your student’s account by clicking on the button; you'll need your child's ID number to signup.

If you want to check your students grades, attendance and communicate with your child's teacher. Just download the app from your app store on your phone and stop by the office to pick up your parent portal pin.

FOCUS is generating attendance letters for students with 5 or more unexcused absences. If you have any questions, please contact the front office.

Principal

Michelle Gainer

Assistant Principal

Email: ApolloElementary@brevardschools.org
Website: https://apollo.brevardschools.org/o/apes

Location: 3085 Knox McRae Drive, Titusville, FL, USA
Phone: 321-267-7890
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100057704497888