September 2014 - FishHawk Creek PTA

Fishhawk Creek Elementary
A Hillsborough County Public School
Volume 11
Issue No. 03
The WINGSPAN
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P TA N e w s l e t t e r
SEPTEMBER 2014
A Message from our President
P TA D o n a t i o n C a m p a i g n
Home of the Falcons
By Kathi Hayes, PTA President
Hello FishHawk Families!
First, I want to give a million “thanks” to all
the families who have participated in our Donation Drive! We
have heard a lot of positive feedback about how this year’s
fundraiser receives 100% of the proceeds which go directly to
fund the PTA Programs! This has been an easy way to raise
money so the students can receive fun things like spirit sticks
for awards, All Pro Dads, Tri-School Concerts, Pocket Flag
Project for our troops, and a new program called Building
Better Families. I enjoyed seeing all the silly socks of those
classes who had 95% participation! I look forward to seeing
the school reach 80% and see the Super Hero shirts!!! We love
making our school and our community the best, and with your
donations, we can make it possible.
We will quickly shift gears to our Annual Falcon Festival,
November 14th from 5-8pm. This is a fundraiser for our
wonderful teachers! Backyard games, delicious grilled food,
prizes, basket auction…and the best part is that the students see
their teachers in this fun environment as they work the booths
or share the evening with their families! Look for flyers to come
home to be a Falcon Festival Sponsors, a volunteer, and preorder punch cards/dinner!
Thank you Cherry’s of Park Square for our 1st Spirit
Night! Thank you to those who supported the evening! We
raised $275!!! A special “thank you” to Scott Schlabaum and
Ed Sosnowski for providing a great evening for our Falcon
Families!
As always, thank you for everyone’s donations and
support!
Our teachers, students, and parents appreciate
everything you do!
Kathi Hayes
VO L U N T E E R O P P O RT U N I T I E S
By Liz Kuba, Volunteer Committee Chairperson
volunteerfhc@gmail.com
Please consider spending a few hours helping out at our
school at the upcoming events listed below:
- 10 volunteers are needed to help with picture day,
Friday, October 24th.
- Book Fair volunteer sign-up will be posted soon.
Please watch out for the announcement on our website fhcpta.org or our facebook parent group. You may also email
Liz for details.
By Alisa Adams, PTA 1st Vice President
We’re almost there!
We have 3
weeks until October 17th to meet
our $30,000.00 goal. THANK YOU
to all of you who have already made
your very generous donations.
25.00
$ 20,4
Congratulations to our Superhero Silly Sock Day Winners!
These classrooms met the 95% participation goal by our halfway, Sept. 17th target - with Mrs. Massie - 5th grade at an
impressive 100% participation! Mrs. Hirn - 5th, Mrs. Lee - 5th
and Mrs. Ziegelhofer - 2nd at 95%.
More FUN activities are coming your way… so don’t delay, we
need your donations.
• When we reach 80% of our goal, the whole school will be
able to wear a Superhero Shirt!
• When we reach 100% of our goal, the PTA will have a free
family movie night at the school!
You may make your donation online at our PTA website
(www.fhcpta.org) or by sending in a check/cash (with the
donation form) to the school front office.
See you in the halls!
Alisa Adams
FHC CALENDAR
OCTOBER
02 Spirit Night at Park Square Pizza
13 Batty-Gram Sales Begin
14 PTA Board Meeting 9 a.m.
Skate Night - Skateland, Brandon 6 - 8 p.m. (Benefits 5th Gr Events)
16 Conference Night 3:30 - 8:30 p.m.
Spirit Shirt Throwback Thursday
17 PTA Donation Campaign FINAL Day
All-Prod Dads Breakfast 7:00 a.m.
20 Non-Student Day - No School
23 Read-O-Ween 5:30 - 7:30 p.m.
24 Picture Day - Individual Fall Photos
Reflections Deadline
NOVEMBER
06 Spirit Night
Falcon Festival Auction Baskets Deadline
07 Veteran’s Day Program
10 PTA Board Meeting 9 a.m.
11 Veteran’s Day Holiday - No School
14 FALCON FESTIVAL 5-8 p.m.
20 Spirit Shirt Throwback Thursday
Great American Teach-In
24 - 28 FALL BREAK - Happy Thanksgiving!
FishHawk Creek Elementary | 16815 Dorman Road | Lithia, FL 33547 | www.fhcpta.org or our parent group on Facebook
P TA O F F I C E R S
2014-2015
President
Kathi Hayes
hikat1212@yahoo.com
st
1 Vice President
(Ways and Means)
Alisa Adams
barclayadams@yahoo.com
nd
2
Vice President
(Membership)
Tre a s u re r ’s R e p o r t
by Kim Giliberti fhcptatreasurer@gmail.com
In August, we raised over $14,250. Our Fundraiser Income was from $6,480 in Donations, $4,802 in
Uniform Sales, $980 in Yearbook Sales & $650 from Business Sponsors. We raised over $1025 from
Membership Income & collected about $325 for Pre-Ordered School Supplies.
We spent under $2,000 in August and was $750 under budget for Interim/Summer Expenses. Our
Admin Expenses were $249 for our Website, about $250 for copy paper, about $104 in fees for accepting
credit cards, and about $125 for other expenses for our PTA closet supplies, Goal Thermometer and Bank
Fees. We spent about $32 for Fundraiser supplies to sell Uniform Inventory & issued 1 refund. About $18
was spent on Bike Fair and Remembrance Project supplies. About $1215 was used for Recognition: $750
for a Welcome Back Breakfast for our teachers, about $370 for Spirit Sticks & $95 for Volunteer Shirts.
Emily Carson
emilycarson29@gmail.com
Secretary
Anne Corl
apalmer84@hotmail.com
Treasurer
Kimberly Giliberti
fhcptatreasurer@gmail.com
Principal
Pam Bush
Pamela.Bush@sdhc.k12.fl.us
Assistant Principal
Amy Zulkoski
Amanda.Zulkoski@sdhc.k12.fl.us
Newsletter Editor
Jen Abrenica
thewingspaneditor@gmail.com
http://fishhawkcreek.mysdhc.org
16815 Dorman Road
Lithia, FL 33547
(813) 651-2150 ext. 530
www.fhcpta.org
The Wingspan is a
publication of the FHC
PTA. It is published the
last week of each month of
the school year, plus a
summer edition. It is
designed to keep our
families informed of all of
the activities of the FHC
PTA.
Submissions are due the
third Wednesday of the
month and should be
emailed to the newsletter
editor.
B o x To p s a n d L a b e l s
by Shona Husbands, shusbands@pobox.com and Kathy Glazewski, kathy_glaze@msn.com
Want to get a Box Tops Spirit Stick? How about a Labels for Educations Spirit Stick? When you
bring in exactly 50 TRIMMED Box Tops, you will earn 1 of 5 new Box Tops Spirit Sticks. If you hand in
any 50 Labels (a mixture of Tyson Project A+ and Labels for Education) you can earn the new Labels for
Education Spirit Stick. Be sure to put your full name and teacher on your bag to get credit for monthly
incentives. Also write “50” on your bag if you turn in a bag of 50 Box Tops or 50 Labels so you can get
your Spirit Stick the following month. Please double check that none of your Box Tops have expired,
they all have an expiration date on the front. Labels for Education do not expire.
Your Box Tops co-chairs this year are Kathy Glazewski and Shona Husbands.
Each month, 1 class will win an ice pop party & 10 winners will be guests on the morning show.
Winners will be determined by using the following point system: 1 Box Top = 10 pts, 1 Tyson Project A+
Label = 24 pts, Labels for Education UPCs = face value pts
I M P O RTA N T R E M I N D E R S
Sign up for FishHawk Creek PTA Updates at www.fhcpta.org to receive the latest updates! We
have a new system so you need to register for 2014-2015.
Sign up to receive text alerts! REMIND is a free, safe and easy way to receive important
information from the PTA! Your information is kept private.
Sign up today at https://
www.remind.com using the class code: FishHa
NEW STUDENT SPONSOR PROGRAM pair new FHC students with a buddy and introduce them
to the school. Complete information at the PTA Website.
UNIFORM ORDERS are done through 3FF Custom Embroidery at 16633 Fishhawk Blvd (office
complex behind Taco Bell) or visit them on Facebook at 3FF Custom Embroidery.
FishHawk Creek Elementary | 16815 Dorman Road | Lithia, FL 33547 | www.fhcpta.org or our parent group on Facebook
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P TA S H O U T O U T !
FALCON FESTIVAL NEWS: November is right around the corner and our beloved event that benefit our teachers (100% of the
proceeds go back to support the classrooms). If you are interested in supporting Falcon Festival as a sponsor or providing in-kind
donations, please contact Colleen Horan-Green at 516.695.3647 or via email at colleenhoran@att.net
P TA M E M B E R S H I P P E R K S
By Emily Carson, 2nd VP
Please consider joining TODAY! It is only $6 to join. You can order your membership online at fhcpta.org or pick up a form at the
front office.
When you validate your card at www.Pta.org/Profile, you get discounts to the following places:
•
PTA Days at Legoland! Special $30.00 price year round for PTA members!
•
Hertz – 20% off using this code CDP# 1929580 every time you rent a car AND a free car seat during the rental!
•
Staples – 10% off supplies and furniture, 25% off copy and print and FREE shipping on Staples.com.
•
Sylvan Learning Assessment – 50% off an Sylvan Insight Assessment AND they donate $10 to our PTA for every
assessment done by a FHC student.
Don’t forget that you receive a 5% discount at our uniform vendor 3FF Custom Embroidery when you present your PTA Card.
Vo l u n t e e r o f t h e M o n t h
Our volunteer of the month for October is Colleen Horan-Green. Colleen was the Chair of our Field Day last
year and will continue to chair this effort for this coming year. She was also the Chair of our Health and Bike
Safety Fair and is volunteering to help secure sponsorships for the Falcon Festival. In addition, Colleen serves
in the Media Center each Monday and is very active in PTA and school activities. Colleen and her family
moved to FishHawk from Long Beach, NY last year after having lost their home to Hurricane Sandy. Both she
and her husband Gary and son Owen (9) are very grateful to have a place to finally call home with their 14 year
old pointer/lab, Cal Ripken, Jr. Colleen’s professional background is in non-profit executive management and
sport and special projects events. In addition, for almost 20 years, Colleen has been a special advisor and editor to the World
Transplant Games Federation, an affiliate of the International Olympic Committee (IOC). An avid runner for many years, Colleen
is enjoying exploring the FishHawk surroundings and is very appreciative that her son Owen is finally feeling settled and doing well
in a wonderful school with such a supportive community.
O u t a n d A b o u t - P TA S p o n s o re d E v e n t s
9/11 Remembrance Pocket Flags Project
FHC folded 4000 American Flags!
Superhero Silly Sock Day
FishHawk Creek Elementary | 16815 Dorman Road | Lithia, FL 33547 | www.fhcpta.org or our parent group on Facebook
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NEWS FROM THE NEST
2014-2015 REFLECTIONS
Participate in this year’s 2014-2015 Reflections Program, “The world would be a better place if….”!
Reflections is a PTA sponsored program designed to encourage children to create original works of art in the areas of:
photography, musical composition, literature, dance choreography , video production and visual arts ( which includes art forms such
as drawing, painting, print making and collage).
The program is designed to enhance quality arts education for students in grades K-12. All submitted artwork will be judged
at FishHawk Creek by local Artists. All winning entries will advance to the Council, District, Region, and State PTA round. Top
entries from each state PTA Reflections contest advance to National PTA for the final round of judging.
Ready to get started? A video link will be e-mailed out soon with creative tips from some local artists talking about their area
of expertise. Entry forms and guidelines can be found on FishHawk Creek’s website: http://www.fhcpta.org/reflections. The
deadline for entries is October 24th.
If you have any additional questions please contact our Reflection Chairperson, Kate Hyde at: mkatehyde@aol.com.
I M P O RTA N T F R O M Y O U R F L O R I D A P TA
Florida PTA Requests Changes to Florida's Accountability Assessment System
Over the past several years, Florida's system of educational accountability has been in a state of perpetual flux. Numerous
accountability changes along with the implementation of yet another new test is resulting in uncertainty and angst among students,
parents, teachers, and community members.
Florida PTA believes that valid assessment does not consist of only a single test score, and that at no time should a single test be
considered the sole determinant of a student's academic or work future. PTA believes that student assessments should identify how
instruction and learning can be improved and should be used to help parents and teachers determine the specific academic needs of
students and increase opportunities for student learning.
The Florida PTA has initiated and led many discussions about restoring reasonable testing instruments and schedules for our
children as well as fair calculations of accountability grades.
As a way forward to end the confusion, Florida PTA recommends that the Florida Department of Education and the state:
* Allow for proper field-testing and test development in areas with similar demographics to Florida's diverse demographics;
* Suspend the issuance of school letter grades until performance data has been deemed reliable;
* Allow additional testing and calculation flexibility to students with disabilities and students who speak limited English;
* Consider using multiple years of a new exam as a baseline for generating school grades and teacher evaluations.
The simple suggestions mentioned above represent Florida PTA's ongoing advocacy efforts for a fair educational accountability and
assessment process, which effectively informs and improves teaching and learning.
Without a reasonable transitional time to adapt to yet more new accountability standards, and without a fair calculation of
accountability grades, the future of our children will remain in flux and the viability of Florida's accountability system will remain in
question.
email source: http://campaign.r20.constantcontact.com/render?ca=6256a120-4504-47e8-962a-c91091b8f8db&c=55a1b740ecee-11e3-bce6-d4ae526edc76&ch=560cd520-ecee-11e3-bd00-d4ae526edc76
FishHawk Creek Elementary | 16815 Dorman Road | Lithia, FL 33547 | www.fhcpta.org or our parent group on Facebook
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NEWS FROM THE NEST
AT T E N T I O N 5 T H G R A D E PA R E N T S
The BattyGrams are BACK!
By Melissa Haddad, 5th Grade Committee Chairperson
samnmj@gmail.com / 813-957-3736
By Kristin McPherson, BattyGram Chairperson
ksmithmcpherson@gmail.com
PLEASE join the 5th Grade Committee and be a part of
this year’s efforts to raise funds to reduce the costs for the 5th
Grade field trip to Islands of Adventure and the End-of-the-Year
Banquet. We need your energy and creativity to make these
fundraising events FUN for everyone here at FishHawk Creek
Elementary!!
Also, please consider SPONSORING or asking someone
you know to SPONSOR one of the big events planned for the
year: ‘Minute To Win It’ (Jan 29, 2015), School Bash/Dance
(Mar 20, 2015), or the End-of-the-Year Banquet (Jun 4, 2015).
For information on all 5th grade events and to sign up, please
contact Melissa Haddad at samnmj@gmail.com or
813-957-3736. THANK YOU!
The 5th Grade Committee will be sponsoring a BattyGram
sale. These bats come with a special message and will be on
sale from October 13-October 30th. These are for any parent or
family member that would like to surprise their students or any
student that wishes to surprise another student or teacher.
For $1, all BattyGrams come with a special message (written
by you or your student) and a Gourmet Lollipop. They will be
delivered on the last 3 Fridays of October…October 17th,
24th and 31st.
Forms will be sent home soon and additional forms will be
available in the front office.
SAVE THE DATE!
S P I R I T N I G H T S AT F H C
There will be a Skate Night for FishHawk Creek Elementary
on Tuesday, October 14th from 6:00 – 8:00 p.m. Plan on
joining all your FishHawk Creek friends at Skateland of
Brandon for an evening of skating and fun!! We look forward
to seeing YOU there!!!
THANKS to all the families who supported our Park Square Pizza
Spirit Night on October 2nd!
Calling All Businesses!
Please consider becoming an FHC Business Partner. Details
can be found at our website - Business Sponsor Information
Have a question? Contact the wonderful Emily Carson and she
will help you!
Falcon Families are the BEST! The PTA appreciates your support!
We look forward to another year of spirit nights in the coming
school year!
Any questions or business suggestions, please email Patty Fry at
patrifido@yahoo.com
The Perks:
PTA Business Sponsor
Bronze: $150 – Includes Business Name listed as a Bronze
Sponsor on both PTA Website and Newsletter
Silver: $200 – Includes PTA Business Membership ($25
value), Business name listed as Silver Sponsor and PTA
Business Member on both Website and Newsletter
Gold: $300 – Includes PTA Business Membership ($25
value), Business name listed as Gold Sponsor, and PTA
Business Member on Both Website and Newsletter and a
Business Card size Ad on Website for 1 year, along with a link
to your business website from PTA website
Platinum: $500 - Includes PTA Business Membership ($25
value), Business name on the new electronic marquee,
Business name listed as Platinum Sponsor, and PTA Business
Member on Both Website and Newsletter and a Business Card
size Ad on every page of Website, along with a link to your
business website from PTA website.
Calling All FHC Dads!
All Pro Dad's Day is a simple idea with a
profound impact that can really strengthen a
dad’s relationship with his children.
Please join us for tthe All Pro Dad's Breakfast on Friday,
October 17th at 7:00 a.m. in the Cafeteria.
Our
FHC local chapter can be found at http://
www.allprodad.com/2293
FishHawk Creek Elementary | 16815 Dorman Road | Lithia, FL 33547 | www.fhcpta.org or our parent group on Facebook
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Principal’s Corner
Dear Falcon Families,
The first marking period is in full swing. Progress alerts have been sent home when a child is not making satisfactory progress. It
can be used at any time during the grading period that the student's work and/or behavior reflect below satisfactory progress (N or
U). Our Conference Night is October 16th from 3:30 - 8:30 p.m., however if you have questions or concerns about your child's
progress, please contact his/her teacher to set up an earlier conference.
School Advisory Council (SAC) - If you are new to the School District, you may be wondering what is the SAC. The School
Advisory Council provides a forum for parents, staff and community members to review the FCAT data from the prior year, monitor
and discuss the planned strategies that will increase student achievement and attendance at FHC. The elected members of the SAC
must reflect the racial and the ethnic composition of the school community. The SAC will meet a minimum of eight times each year
with meetings scheduled one Monday per month at 3:30 in the Media Center. The first meeting of the year will be held on Mon.
Sept. 29th at 3:30.
Resources for Parents to Learn more about the Fl. Common Core Standards and the Assessments - We encourage our
parents to visit a website the Fl. Dept. of Education launched this summer, which includes sample questions and problems that will
be similar to the ones on the new test (that replace FCAT) which will require students to do more writing. Some parent resources
include: 1) a blog geared for parents by the Fl. Dept. of Education: http://justforparentsblog.wordpress.com/ 2) try your hand at
sample problems and questions on the Fl. Standards Assessment website: http://www.fsassessments.org or 3) the Hillsborough
County School District has a website dedicated to the new standards: http://ccss.mysdhc.org.
mySPOT (Student Parent Online Toolkit) - mySPOT is a hub that contains both student and parent resources. It lists current
news and announcements, District resources and information specific to registered parents. Please check mySPOT.sdhc.k12.fl.us
often. Please note: resources available on mySPOT may change as more district resources become available.
Thanking you in advance for your support and involvement in your child's education!
Educationally yours,
Pam Bush
S P E C I A L T H A N K S TO A L L O U R B U S I N E S S S P O N S O R S A N D PA RT N E R S
Platinum
Silver
Bronze
http://www.melissarules.com
www.etsy.com/shop/3FFCustomEmbroidery
http://www.youngsmilesdental.net
http://www.ala*iariveranimalhospital.com
P TA B u s i n e s s M e m b e r s
We Care Pediatrics
The Waiting Game
Abdoney Pediatric Dentistry
Fishhawk Laundry and Cleaners
GC Dental Arts
Law Office of Leighton J Hyde
813-236-9310
813-600-3712
813-651-0400
813-200-4320
813-672-4900
813-870-9555
wecarepediatricsFL.com
pzapf@waiting-game.com
abdoneypedo.com
sandra_kalnins@yahoo.com
http://www.gcdentalarts.com
lhyde@hydelawoffice.com
http://www.valricoanimalclinic.com
Hillsborough County PTA / PTSA Board
President: Bridgitte Kramer
VP Organization: Tina Young
VP Leadership: MJ Kramer
Treasurer: Jenevieve Gillen
VP Areas: Shannon Gutierrez
Secretary: Gary Randolph
VP Advocacy: Jennifer Wiezorek
http://www.sdhc.k12.fl.us
http://www.hccptaptsa.org
http://www.floridapta.org
FishHawk Creek Elementary | 16815 Dorman Road | Lithia, FL 33547 | www.fhcpta.org or our parent group on Facebook
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