Open House is Tonight!

It is going to be a great year. From my experience the most important part in every relationship is communication. This is the first opportunity for you to hear how your child's teacher runs their classroom. There are many new changes to district programs and the way you will find your kids grades, as well as the way we communicate. Please make sure you are in attendance tonight. As much as it may be tempting as it may be please do not block our communication. The first few weeks we communicate a lot, but after that most of the communication will be texted you through our newsletter. You should have received a text on Monday with your child's teacher, classroom and grade level time for Open House. Please make sure you are in the classroom five minutes before the presentation starts. The teachers have a copious presentation for you. Thank you.

Below are your family's goals by the time you depart from Open House at Claywell.

First of all be here and be present. There is a ton of information your child's teacher needs to communicate to you. Please make sure you are in your child's classroom five minutes before the presentation begins.

• You need to be registered for FOCUS ( Focus is a new one stop shop program for parents. )
• Let your child's teacher know how they are getting home the first day. Hopefully this stays the same all year.
• Sign up for PTA and become a paid, card-carrying member. The price is 10 dollars per parent. We gladly accept grandparents as well.
• We are also creating orders for spirit shirts, uniforms, sweatshirts, etc.
• Everyone will need to get a car tag as well whether your child will be a car rider or not. Keep the car tag in your glove box in case there is one day you will need to pick them up in the car line. If you miss open house and your child is a car rider the first day you will need to pick up the car tag. In other words do not miss OPEN HOUSE tonight.

Open House Schedule Tonight

• VPK, K, and 5th Grade- 5:00-5:55
• 2nd and 4th- 6:00-6:55
• 1st and 3rd 7:00-7:55

We hope that your child has an excellent learning experience everyday. Our staff's main focus is to make sure we have a warm, welcoming environment. When you get your kids here on time and in attendance everyday then they will be successful with our staff. If we had mountains in Florida I would climb the highest mountain or maybe drive the highest mountain to impress upon you how important it is for us to honor each other's time, and to teach that to our kids. There is a direct connection between your child being in school and graduating high school. You are your child's first teacher. They watch and listen to everything you say. Something fun I found out as a parent is that as our kids get older they remind us of things we told them. They also become miniature versions of you. This is just experience I am sharing. One thing I have told my daughter is to watch other people make mistakes, so you can learn from them and not make the same mistakes.

Robert.Jones@hcps.net

Greetings Claywell Families. My name is Diane Dunlap and I have worked in education for Hillsborough County for 19 years. I am a retired military spouse and mother of 4. As the Assistant Principal, I play a crucial role in supporting the educational and administrative needs of the school. Some of the various roles include behavior support, instructional leadership, crisis management, schoolwide systems, and collaboration between school stake holders. Although I wear many hats throughout the day, some of the more specific areas I can assist you with are managing student behavior and ensuring a positive school culture, providing support and guidance to students and teachers, and managing testing, curriculum, and grading procedures. I am looking forward to another "A"mazing year at Claywell Elementary!

Diane.Dunap@hcps.net

Hello! My name is Kayla Trozzi, and I’m honored to serve as the school counselor at Claywell Elementary. I’m dedicated to supporting the social and emotional growth of all our students through a wide range of services and programs. These include classroom lessons focused on social-emotional learning (SEL), anti-bullying efforts, and conflict resolution strategies.

Throughout the school year, I also help lead and organize a variety of school-wide events such as the Great American Teach-In, Start with Hello Week, Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS) activities, and our annual Veteran’s Day ceremony.

Beyond classroom and event support, I play an active role in student services. I assist in the Child Study Team (CST) process, collaborate on the development and implementation of Individualized Education Programs (IEPs), and manage all Section 504 plans to ensure every student receives the support they need to thrive.

If I can be a resource for your child or family in any way, please don’t hesitate to reach out. I also welcome volunteers for many of our special events—let me know if you're interested!

📞 813-975-7300 ext. 225
📧 Kayla.Trozzi@hcps.net

I am Kathryne Sanford and I am delighted to introduce myself as the school social worker here at Claywell Elementary. I am excited to be part of such a wonderful school community, and I look forward to working with students, families, and staff to support the social and emotional well-being of all our children. I believe in creating a safe and inclusive environment where every child feels valued, supported, and empowered to grow. Some of the things that I am here to help with include: helping students cope in times of crisis, improve attendance and obtain resources for school success; helping parents/guardians participate in their child's attendance, understand their child's developmental needs, access school and community resources.

Katheryne.Sanford@hcps.net

813-975-7300 ext.

Hello families! My name is Michele Dunnam and I’m excited to begin another great year as the ESE Specialist here at Claywell. In my role, I work closely with students, teachers, and families to support the academic, behavioral, and social-emotional growth of students with exceptionalities.

I collaborate with classroom teachers to provide appropriate accommodations and modifications, oversee the development and implementation of Individualized Education Plans (IEPs), and ensure that students receive the services they need to succeed. My goal is to help every student reach their full potential in an inclusive, supportive learning environment.

I look forward to working with you and your children this school year. Please don’t hesitate to reach out if you have any questions or need assistance. Let’s make this a fantastic year together!

Michele.Dunnam@hcps.net

My role as the E.L.L. Resource Teacher is to manage, maintain, and implement programmatic and compliance procedures. I ensure that English Language Leaner students have access to and receive program services, support, and resources that promote language acquisition. I work collaboratively with school staff, classroom ELL teachers, parents, and other stakeholders to ensure students receive comprehensible instruction, strategies, interventions and language resources that support ELL student's overall academic achievement.

Lorraine.Fernandez@hcps.net

Hello, my name is Elizabeth Wingfield. I use my middle name so you can call me Adair. I am your friendly neighborhood school secretary. I am here for customer service, administrative support and office management. I will typically be the first person you see when you come through our door. My objective at Claywell is to give the most amount of support to our students, parents, faculty and staff. I look forward to working with you this year.

You can reach me at

813-975-7300 ext 221

Elizabeth.wingfield@hcps.net

The ap below give ts you a heads up when your child's bus will be getting to the bus stop. Occasionally there will be delays in the morning or afternoon, so this is an excellent way to keep. Just use the QR code to get the ap.