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,

We are all surprised how fast September has flown by! We have certainly had a fantastic month here…it’s been incredibly busy, but the progress the students have made in just a few short weeks has been astounding! By now, everyone is settling in well to their new classrooms, their new routines and getting down to the business of learning. This year has so much in store, our entire team is excited to witness their growth!

October is always a fun month at school…we’ll be diving in to all things Fall as we gear up to the busy holiday season. This month, we will host our Fall Festival and Book Fair. The month of October has many recognitions including Bully Prevention, Hispanic Heritage, and Disability Awareness.

We could definitely use a few extra hands for the Book Fair and Fall Festival– if you are interested in helping out, please contact Ms. Nicol, Volunteer Coordinator.

As always, if you have any questions or concerns – please let us know. We are always here to help. We are looking forward to a great October!

Best regards,

Michele Stanford (Principal) micheleast@leeschools.net

Mrs. Stamper was awarded the Florida Agriculture in the Classroom's School Garden Grant for $500.

i-Ready is an online program for reading and/or mathematics that will help your child’s teacher(s) determine your child’s needs, personalize their learning, and monitor progress throughout the school year. i-Ready allows the teacher(s) to meet your child exactly where they are and provides data to increase your child’s learning gains. i-Ready consists of two parts: Diagnostic and Personalized Instruction.

i-Ready Diagnostic

The i-Ready Diagnostic is an adaptive assessment that adjusts its questions to suit your student’s needs. Each item a student sees is individualized based on their answer to the previous question. For example, a series of correct answers will result in slightly harder questions, while a series of incorrect answers will yield slightly easier questions. The purpose of this is not to give your student a score or grade, but instead to determine how best to support your student’s learning.

i-Ready Personalized Instruction

i-Ready Personalized Instruction provides students with lessons based on their individual skill level and needs, so your student can learn at a pace that is just right for them. These lessons are fun and interactive to keep your student engaged as they learn.

Learn more about i-Ready by watching this video!

Where can my student and I see the progress being made?

You and your child can monitor progress by clicking on My Progress in the bottom navigation bar.

On the My Progress page, you will be able to see:

1. Time-On-Task: The number of minutes your student has spent this week (Monday–Sunday) on i-Ready Personalized Instruction

2. Lessons Passed: The total number of lessons your student has passed this school year

3. Lesson Streak: How many lessons your student has passed in a row

4. Completed Work: The name and quiz score for each lesson your student has taken

Tips for supporting your child:

* Encourage your student to take each lesson and quiz question seriously. Emphasize “thinking before clicking” because just clicking through will not be a productive use of their time nor reflect what your student actually knows. Remind your student to read passages in their entirety, use paper and pencil to solve math problems, and use the tools that appear at the bottom of the screen in some lessons.

* Track and Discuss Progress Regularly review progress with your student using the My Progress page. Please ask your student’s teacher(s) for guidance on how many minutes they should spend on lessons each week. Our recommendation is that your student should aim for 45 minutes of i-Ready Personalized Instruction per subject per week while passing at least 70 percent of lessons.

* Celebrate your student’s progress. Celebrating milestones, such as passing a lesson or reaching a specific goal, can help keep your student motivated. You can share celebrations with the rest of the family and even decide on a fun activity as a reward.

October is National Bullying Prevention Month in the United States and this year its signature event, Unity Day, is Wednesday, October 22nd. The goal of the day is to bring together youth, parents, educators, businesses, and community members across the nation to emphasize the message that bullying is not acceptable and that all students deserve to be safe in school, online, and in the community.

ORANGE is the designated color for this day because it is commonly associated with safety, visibility, and protection, so show your support for the cause by wearing something orange. This vibrant statement can become a conversation starter. Often, those who were bullied felt that no one cared. On Unity Day, the simple act of wearing orange gives them a visible representation of the supportive, universal message that they are not alone. Hopefully this will empower them and others to speak up for students who have been bullied and for bullying prevention.

Unity Day also focuses on the positive behaviors that can transform schools, communities, and the online world into healthier communities. This newsletter has information about various activities for students and families to help plan different ways to support Unity Day in your school. Let’s raise our voices and encourage positive behaviors that reduce bullying by getting students and school staff involved in Unity Day this year, and show that our schools and communities believe that no child should ever have to experience being bullied.

Bullying is defined as intentional, aggressive behavior that is repeated and involves a real or perceived power imbalance between the person bullying and the target. Cyberbullying is bullying that occurs online. Other considerations include:

● The power derived by the person who bullies can be from physical size, strength, verbal skill, popularity, or gender.

● A target of bullying often feels tormented, helpless, and defenseless.

● Bullying can include hitting, name-calling, threatening, intimidating, kicking, spreading rumors, teasing, pushing, tripping, exclusion, or destroying someone's belongings.

Bullying must include all three criteria:

● Intentional - Behaviors or actions that occur on purpose.

● Repeated - Behaviors or actions that happen more than once.

● Power Imbalance - Students who bully use their power – such as physical strength, access to embarrassing information, or popularity – to control or harm

others.

Definition: Showing regard for the value of persons or things through courteous consideration and

appreciation.

Objective: Recognize and demonstrate respect for the differences within one’s community.

How can you show respect to others?

• Holding the door open for others
• Using table manners/cleaning up
• Greeting others
• Apologizing
• Send notes of appreciation
• Active listening
• Speak Kindly to others
• Raise your hand before speaking
• Say “please” and “thank you”

Respect quotes:

• “Show respect even to people who don’t deserve it; not as a reflection of their character, but as a reflection of yours.” Dave Willis
• “Respect yourself if you would have others respect you.” Baltasar Gracian
• “Treat people the way you want to be treated. Talk to people the way you want to be talked to. Respect is earned, not given.” Hussein Nishah
• “One of the most sincere forms of respect is actually listening to what another has to say.” Bryant McGill
• “Respect your efforts, respect yourself. Self-respect leads to self-discipline. When you have both firmly under your belt, that’s real power.” Clint Eastwood
• “If once you forfeit the confidence of your fellow citizens, you can never regain their respect and esteem.” Abraham Lincoln

Parade starting PROMPTLY at 9:00 AM

Students in PreK-5 grades are invited to dress as their favorite storybook character from a book on Friday, October 31st. Students are encouraged to come to school DRESSED as the character. Costumes/outfits must be appropriate for school. No masks, weapons (bows/arrows, swords, knives, or toy guns) blood or violent/scary costumes are allowed. Shoes must be worn at all times. Hats are allowed, however, must be removed after the parade. Students will need to have the book with them for the parade. After the parade, students MAY bring a change of clothes to change into (especially if they have PE that day). Students may wear clothes under their costume to allow them to change quickly. Pelican Elementary is not responsible for costumes/accessories that may be damaged, lost or stolen during the parade. Students who chose not to participate will be a parade spectator.

Students will parade around the interior of the school starting promptly at 9:00 AM.

To keep our campus safe and focused on students, this event is for students only, and we are unable to host visitors or parents on campus during the parade. Our enrollment is over 1,000 students now. We truly appreciate your understanding and support as we create a memorable celebration for your children.

Candy donations are being accepted until Friday, October 25th. When a student donates a bag of candy, they will be entered into a drawing to have lunch with Ms. Stanford and Ms. Milstein.

Any questions, please contact your child’s teacher.

The Scholastic Book Fair will be held from Friday, October 24th through Thursday, October 30th. The materials available for purchase at the Book Fair were not selected by the School District of Lee County. We encourage parents to review their student’s wish list and have a conversation about what they wish their student to purchase at the book fair before sending money to make any purchases.

The Book Fair will be open during Fall Festival!

• When students go through Open Gate, please remove umbrellas, chromebooks, and metal pencil/eyeglass cases from their backpacks to be ready to enter the school through Open Gate. Chromebooks need to be removed from their sleeve and placed on the table.

• Students may NOT be dropped off on campus before 8:15 AM or left after 3:30 PM unless enrolled in our PECP program. Students that are dropped off early in the morning or left in the office after dismissal will be charged $10.00 the first time and $20.00 each time thereafter.
• We LOVE birthdays! Please notify the teacher before sending in treats. Only store bought packaged treats can be brought in to school. No party bags or balloons are allowed.

Monday, November 3rd- Creative Club 7:15-8:15 am

Tuesday, November 4th- Garden Club 7:15-8:15 am

Thursday, November 6th-1st Grade hosts Movie Afternoon

Friday, November 7th-Canned Food Drive ends

Tuesday, November 11th- Veteran's Day- No School for students

Wednesday, November 12th- Q2 Interim Day

Thursday, November 13th- Art Fundraiser- Painting Night

Thursday, November 13th-Southern SnoBalls (after lunch)

Saturday, November 15th- Grinch Breakfast

Friday, November 21st-Turkey Trot ****volunteers needed****

Monday, November 24 through Friday, November 28-Thanksgiving Break-NO SCHOOL

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.

• District 1: Samuel Fisher, Chair

• District 2: Melisa W. Giovannelli

• District 3: William F. Ribble, Jr

• District 4: Debbie Jordan

• District 5: Armor Persons

• District 6: Jada Langford Fleming, Vice Chair

• District 7: Vanessa M. Chaviano