Work In-Progress: Pond Excavation, Placement of on-site fill dirt, Foundations and Underground Utilities

Aerial Photo taken July 18, 2011 

Good news for parents!  We have space on our three buses for every family that completed a request form as of 7/21/11 and lives east of our school.  We'll also continue to transport all riders from last year and their siblings.  We have 12 requests for the Trinity area, and hope to provide a double run to provide for these families.  This will be determined once our bus routes are laid out so we know which bus can do  a double run.  

We will run three buses, and a fourth bus will be available for back up.  Bus 1 will continue to service Land O Lakes Blvd, Bus 2 will provide pick up along  Collier Parkway, and Bus 3 will go along 54 from the Sam's Club area west to the school.  

Office

Kathy Helean, Principal

Christina Krueger, Coordinator of Student Services

Jennifer Rodgers, Business Manager

Margarida Wainraich, Registrar

Dayna Reiss, Office Manager

Josephine Maggio, Reception

Primary Clusters   

Tina Brush, Dawn Henderson Jennifer Neff (1, 2, 2)   

Nicole Cleary, TBA, Aimee Wynacht (K,1, 2)

Veronica Acosta, Laura Wingard, Dayna Moraguez (K, 1, 2)   

Lisa Daily, Heather Hertenstein, Susan Reiss (K, 1, 2) 

Lisa Barnes, TBA (K, K) 

Intermediate Clusters  

Jessica Hawley, Jessica Kupcik, Melanie Pendleton (3, 4, 5)

Patricia Hammerberg, Roxanne Templeton, Aimee Williams (3, 4, 5)  

Still finalizing the configuration for these four classrooms: Deborah Corbett, Charlotte Denson, Laura Kordalski and David Smith  (3, 3, 4, 5) 

Middle

Darlene Ax, Liska Garcia, BreAnne Kilmer, Lauren Lojo, Sapna Patel, Christie Favero, Science TBA   

Specials

Lance Courtney, PE

Gladys Glynn (Zak), ESE 

Note- Any approved uniform wear from previous years is allowed to be worn by students.  For instance, yellow and burgundy shirts may still be worn.

Top 10 Math Websites  

Engaging your child in mathematics activities during the summer can be challenging, especially when it's difficulty to know exactly what your child should be learning.  Here are the top 10 websites to build your child's math muscle.*

1.   www.mathforum.com . This online community includes teachers, students, researchers, parents and educators who have an interest in math and math education. The site includes Ask Dr. Math, Problems of the Week, discussion groups and much more.

2.   www.AAAmath.com . Customized by grade level and topic, AAA Math features explanations of various mathematical topics, practice problems and fun, challenging games.

3.   www.coolmath.com . This fully interactive site and allows the user to sharpen basic math skills, play games and explore new math concepts.

4.   www.figurethis.org . Created by the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, this site helps families enjoy mathematics outside school through a series of fun and engaging challenges.

5.   www.mathcats.com . Math Cats provides playful explorations of important math concepts through games, crafts and interactive projects. Includes a magic chalkboard and an art gallery.

6.   http://www.ixl.com/.    This website is aligned with Florida's Sunshine State Standards and emphasizes math for the left and right brain so your child will be kept in the zone.  Highly recommended for students who lack confidence in math or simply require additional practice to master mathematics.  Fee based.

7.   http://www.kidsites.com/sites-edu/math.htm.    Can't find the perfect website here?  Kidsites links you to many more great math websites.

8.   www.mathleague.com . The Math League, designed for students in fourth grade through high school, specializes in math contests, books and computer software. The "Help Facility" is handy reference guide for math topics complete with examples, definitions and explanations.

9.   http://www.learningplanet.com/stu/index.asp?tab=0.   Learning Planet covers many subject areas.  The website is easy to navigate by age and subject area, getting you where you want to be quickly.

10.   www.funbrain.com/numbers.html . This site includes 17 original games based on soccer, car racing and much more Other games include Math Baseball, where a child can score runs with correct answers and Operation Order, where students can build pyramids with their knowledge of algebra.

*from http://tutoring.sylvanlearning.com   

Students who don't read much over the summer show a decline in reading performance from the end of one grade to the start of the next. Research done at Harvard University by James Kim shows that even reading 4 or 5 books over the summer helps to prevent the summer slump.

Having books at home explains how much students read over the summer. Unfortunately, the very students who are most at-risk are the ones who often don't have enough books. Summer Reads changes this situation by providing accessible, engaging texts for at-risk readers... for FREE! And it provides enough text for an entire summer of reading. This is a wonderful resource for all families!

The 2011 Summer Literacy Adventure is sponsored by Florida Department of Education.  It provides an opportunity for students to pledge to read a specific number of books over the summer.  You can view the information here. Additional links and information is below. 

Find a Book Link 

Summer Recommended Reading List 

Parent Tips 

I'm pleased to provide our families with the following challenge activities courtesy of the National Education Team of Imagine Schools.

The activities for each grade level address the six strands of mathematics according to the National Council of Mathematics Teachers (NCTM): Number Sense, Algebra, Geometry, Measurement, Data Analysis & Probability, and Process Standards.  These challenges are also closely aligned to the Common Core standards.  It is our hope that these packets will assist you as you consider how to keep your child engaged in math problem-solving and practice over the summer months.   We hope students will enjoy the challenges and by way of keeping up with regular practice, retain more conceptual understanding over the break. 

Student packets coincide with the grade level they have just completed.  For example, current kindergarten students should use the Kindergarten packet to review their math learning for the year and complete extension activities to prepare them for the following first grade year.  The K-2 packets are designed for students to work with their parents to complete the activities. In other words, parent support is expected for children to be successful with each activity. The packets for grades 3-8 are designed for students to complete the challenge activities more independently (with minimal parent support).  Each attached grade level packet has at least 18 math activities on grade level and 2-3 above grade level activities. 

This release of summer math packets is a pilot program and our school will provide feedback and suggestions for improvement this fall.  Certificates will be provided to students who finish the summer math challenge.

To our Current and Future Middle School Students: Please be sure to visit the Middle School website for important information and updates throughout the summer.

http://imaginemiddleschool.posterous.com (password: landolakes)

Once you are logged onto our website, be sure to sign yourself up by clicking "Subscribe by email" in the box labeled "Get Updates" at the bottom right of the screen.  When we update the site, you will receive a direct email notifying you.  

**Hints**
It is not necessary to create your own Posterous site to get notifications.
Please make sure you are entering the correct web address.  Anything different (ex. www.posterous.com = not correct), and you will not be at our password protected secure site.

This is our primary form of communication throughout the year, so please be sure to sign up to get the hang of it over the summer!

Thanks,
The Middle School Team

Each year students in the Middle School are required to read 25 books.  We know that this might seem like a lot, but that's why we'd like to encourage students to begin their reading over the summer.  Students may bring completed projects and parent signature slips in to school once directed to do so.  Please find all of the 25 Book Club information and a suggested reading list here.  If you have any questions, please contact Ms. Lojo or Mrs. Kilmer.  

Happy reading and have a great summer!
The Middle School Language Arts Department   

School volunteers must submit a new online volunteer application and undergo a background check every year. Volunteer approvals are valid from July 1 to June 30 of each year. Each family is required to volunteer a minimum of 20 hours during the course of the school year. Please click on the link below to apply online.

Volunteer Application Link