Sanders Memorial Stallion News

We wanted to update you on some items that people continue to have questions about in regards to field trips, attendance and parker pickup 1.

1. Field Trips

We are excited about the upcoming field trips and want to ensure a smooth and enjoyable experience for everyone involved. Please take note of the following important guidelines:

• Rules:

· All participants must adhere to the rules set by their grade level teacher, team, and school.

· Field trips are voluntary

· Students must start the field trip on the designated bus at school to be eligible to attend. This is crucial for attendance and organizational purposes.

· Teachers may allow a checkout system for parents who wish to take their child home or stay longer on the field trip.

• Purposeful Learning:
• Field trips are an extension of the classroom, designed for purposeful learning. Teachers invest significant time in planning these trips, so please respect their guidelines and rules. There are some factors and guidelines that are beyond their control from the actual place of the field trip.
• Chaperone Guidelines:

• All adults must be registered volunteers. Unregistered adults and underage children or siblings are not permitted to join the trip.

• Make the day special by spending it with your child.

Link to Field Trip Chaperone Expectations

1. Attendance:

• Attendance is crucial for your child's growth. Consistent absences, early pickups, and late arrivals can significantly impact their education.
• Please understand that tardies, picking up early and being absent on a consistent basis can impact your child’s education and the status of your spot at Sanders Memorial and your student could be asked to go to their home school.

• We understand emergencies and appointments occur, but they should not be frequent. For more information on the impact of absenteeism, please read this article. https://nces.ed.gov/pubs2009/attendancedata/chapter1a.asp

1. Parker Pickup:

• K Parents: Arrive between 3:00-3:05 PM (or earlier) as K students are dismissed at 3:15 PM. If no parking spaces are available, pull up to the arrow in the queue as directed. Do not park in the front lot and walk to Parker Pickup 2. This takes up a space for our K-3 parents.
• If you are dropping off a parent to pick up a child, then you must follow the flow of the queue line and line and properly exit.

• Grades 1-3 Parents: Arrive at 3:25 PM to pick up your child. Avoid getting their early and sitting in a space and waiting, as this holds up the line.

• Follow the flow of the queue line and be aware of your surroundings. Refrain from backing into parking spots if there is a line of cars behind you.

• Stay on the sidewalk as long as possible before crossing to your car for safety reasons.

• Obey the 5 mph speed limit.

Thank you to SSG Berry, Mrs. Nissen, and Mrs. Rogers for ensuring the smooth flow of traffic and student safety.

We appreciate your cooperation and hope you and your child have a wonderful time on the next field trip.

Best regards,

Warm Regards,

Mr. Petry and Mrs. Hedgspeth

For the past two weeks, all of our Stallions, K-5, have been able to experience immersive learning through the StarLab. Students had lessons about night and day, constellations, geography and more. Through the portable planetarium, Mrs. Gilligan, our STEAM teacher, engaged our students in tailored lessons for each grade level according to their science standards. We love seeing our budding scientists experience hands on learning!

We had a record amount of participation in the SMES Science and Engineering Showcase 2025 from our intermediate students. It was inspiring to watch our Stallions conduct science experiments, generate hypotheses, design prototypes, and more to solve real world problems. Our Stallions are the future and it is bright!

Congratulations to the Stallions who will be going on to represent Sanders Memorial at the Pasco Science and Engineering Showcase on February 8th at Angeline Academy of Innovation!

Rory Quinlan

Sara Parulekar

Liliana Stephenson and Paige Rosario

Claire Delano

Jack Fierro

Lila Benson

Siena Stoeck

Noah Rauchmiller

Alandria Garcia

Stella Jackson

Jacob Manes

January 27th- 31st is Literacy Week across our County! There will be dress out days and activities as well as a reading mini challenge to go with it! Read each night for at least 20 minutes and log it into Beanstack and then log each At home activity in Beanstack as well!

Our Theme Days are:

Monday: Wear Your House Shirt

Tuesday: Dress for success! Come dressed as your future career!

Wednesday: Dress as your favorite book character!

Thursday: Dress in your favorite college team spirit!

Friday: Deck out in SMES spirit!

Here are some optional opportunities for our Stallions to celebrate and honor Black History Month at home.

The Black History Month Art Contest (K-3) is open to all kindergarten through third-grade students in Florida. Each student will submit original, two-dimensional artwork based on this year’s theme. Four statewide winners will be selected, and each winner will receive a $100 gift card for school supplies and a 1-year pass to Florida State Parks. Entries must be mailed to Volunteer Florida: Black History Month Committee, 1545 Raymond Diehl Road, Suite 250, Tallahassee, FL 32308. All entries must be received no later than 5 pm ET on Monday, February 3, 2025. Emailed, scanned, or faxed entries will not be accepted. Contestants are responsible for all shipping costs.

The Black History Month Essay Contest (4th and 5th Grade)There are many examples throughout our state’s history of African Americans and their contributions to Florida’s success. Using your own words, write about an African American who has had an impactful effect whose story should be shared. The subject of the essay should be a Floridian.Students may enter only one essay, written in English, no longer than 500 words.

Student essay submissions can be submitted directly through this link

We are kicking off the new year with a mini reading challenge! The Stallion with the most minutes logged in each grade level between January 9th- January 31st will receive a spin ticket!

Lego Club at SMES has started! Our students are completing new and creative challenges every week in pursuit of becoming the next LegoMaster! We are also still looking for any Lego donations. Please send them to the front office. If you have any questions, please email earellan@pasco.k12.fl.us

Our SMES PTA is hosting our first Special Someone Dance! To RSVP and purchase a ticket (a ticket includes 1 student and 1 adult) use this link 2025 Special Someone Ticket . RSVP is required.

K-2nd grades: 5pm-6:15pm

3-5th grades: 6:45pm-8:15pm

Again, RSVP is required for this event. Dress to impress!

It seems crazy to think about, but our annual Field Day is coming up in March! Mark your calendars for Friday, March 7! Every year the PE Department takes pre-orders for shirts and those sales begin Monday, January 27 and run through Friday, February 7. No orders will be taken after this date so that we can place the order and receive the shirts in time. So, set an alarm if you want to get that shirt order in!

This year the shirts are green with black print (see image attached) and will cost $15. You can place your order on Student Quick Pay (the same place you pay for field trips and school fees). If you are unable to pay online (cash or check are on option) please reach out to Coach Satinoff at rsatinof@pasco.k12.fl.us.

Volunteer information will come out later, so be on the lookout for that closer to March.

We currently have 680, 024 minutes READ!

Our goal for the end of the year is 1,000,000! Let's blow it out of the water!

Our all time top readers for each grade level are:

K: Charlotte S.

1st: Elliott L.

2nd: William B.

3rd: Kanishkan N.

4th: Fedor D.

5th: Rowan K.

The grade level with the most minutes read is 3rd Grade!

Keep reading, Stallions!

📖Reading in the car? Log the minutes!

📖Reading in class? Log the minutes!

📖Reading with a sibling? Log those minutes!

Please remember to return your library books so all Stallions can enjoy our collection!

They can return the books when they are finished but they will go to the library at their assigned class time every other week. We want all Stallions to have a chance to check out our library books, so please make sure you return your books on time. For Sunshine State books, they need to be returned in one week.

🖐🏻We are in need of volunteers! 🖐🏻

We need 3 volunteers every Friday to help reshelve, check in return books, organize books, and any other things that might be needed for the library. Please sign up if you are available every Friday for the remainder of the year.

Sign Up to Volunteer for the Library

📱Wireless Communication Devices (WCDs) 📱

Policy Overview: Students in grades Pre-K through 5 are encouraged to leave their WCDs at home. If students do bring WCDs to school, they must ensure that the devices remain on silent mode and completely out of view for the entire school day. Classroom teachers may provide a designated cell phone storage area in their classrooms for students to use. This includes cellphones, watches and other communicative devices.

Why This Policy Matters at school:

1. Minimizing Distractions: Keeping WCDs out of sight helps minimize distractions, allowing students to focus better on their studies and classroom activities.
2. Promoting Social Interaction: Without the presence of WCDs, students are more likely to engage in face-to-face interactions, fostering better social skills and relationships.
3. Ensuring Safety and Security: By adhering to this policy, we can better ensure the safety and security of all students, as WCDs can sometimes be a source of disruption or misuse.

How You Can Help:

• Encourage Compliance: Please encourage your child to leave their WCDs at home or ensure they understand the importance of keeping them on silent and out of view during school hours.
• Discuss the Policy: Take a moment to discuss this policy with your child and explain why it is important for their learning and the overall school environment.
• Support Teachers: Reinforce the idea that teachers may provide a cell phone storage area in the classroom and that it is a safe place for their devices during the day.

We appreciate your cooperation and support in helping us maintain a focused and safe learning environment for all students. If you have any questions or concerns about this policy, please do not hesitate to contact the school office.

MyStudent Emergency Contact Information

Please make sure to log into MyStudent and update and acknowledge your contact information. This is essential so that we can get a hold of families and ensure you are receiving our communications weekly.

Signing Students out Early

We are requesting that students who need to be signed out early for the day, be signed out by 2:45 p.m. at the latest. after that point, they will not be called up to the office until they have arrived in their designated dismissal room. Unfortunately, we are not able to call students down to the office before parents arrive, as safety is our priority and ID's are required.

Carline Reminders

NO CELL PHONES IN THE CAR LINE!! Please put vehicles in "PARK" while children are loading and unloading. All children must remain in their seats while their vehicles are in motion for loading and unloading. For the purpose of safety, children cannot hang out of windows and sunroofs while cars are in motion.

Transportation Dismissal Changes: VERY IMPORTANT

Any changes in mode of transportation home must be entered in to the Transportation Change Request form on our SMES website by 2:45 p.m. EACH DAY to ensure a safe and smooth dismissal for all students.

Attendance Calls Reminder

Starting from the first day of school, we are enhancing our communication regarding your child's attendance. Keeping parents informed about their child’s attendance is vital for the safety and security of all students.

• Elementary School: If your child is absent, you will receive a notification (phone call and email) one hour after the start of school. Since school starts at 9:20, you will receive a call by 10:20.

Parking for events, arrival and dismissal:

We want to remind everyone about the importance of parking in designated areas only. Recently, there have been instances of vehicles being parked on the grass, over sidewalks and in non-marked parking spots along School Road and Lake Thomas Road.

Please be aware that these actions are ticketable offenses if a sheriff’s office deputy comes by. Additionally, parking in these areas is not conducive to being good neighbors to the residents along these roads and reflects poorly on our school community.

Parent Bill of Rights:

Parents, please ensure that you have completed all the Parent Bill of Rights information in your myStudent parent portal. These forms must be completed yearly.

Volunteer updates:

Volunteers (NEW REQUIREMENT): Sanders welcomes volunteers! Effective August 1, 2024, and every five years after, volunteers will need to pay a fee, currently $41.25 for a Level 2 Fingerprinting and Background Screening that will be monitored. Please visit the district volunteer website at https://www.pasco.k12.fl.us/hreq/page/volunteer to apply to be a volunteer. Volunteering includes any time an individual is around students other than their own.

Field Trip Reminders:

it is important to remember our field trip guidelines and to follow them. These guidelines are in place to ensure the safety and educational value of our field trips, which are an extension of the classroom.

Violation of Field Trip Guidelines

Failure to comply with these guidelines will result in either a reduction of field trip opportunities for all students in the next grade level or a limitation on opportunities for parents to serve as chaperones.

Importance of Compliance

It is crucial that these guidelines are followed to maintain a safe and productive environment for all students. Field trips are designed to enhance the learning experience, and your cooperation is essential in achieving this goal.

Tutoring Interest:

If you are looking for possible tutor services, please reach out to:

👩Caitlin Gryte

📧 cgryte@pasco.k12.fl.us

If you haven't already, please join our amazing PTA! Our PTA is always looking for new ideas to serve our school community.

Check out what is happening with PTA:

NEXT MEETING- January 28- PTA meeting 8:30am CDI & ZOOM

February 11- Someone Special Dance 4pm- 8:30pm

February 21- PTA Staff lunch 9am-2pm

February 25- PTA Meeting 8:30am CDI & ZOOM

To join click Join the PTA

If you are interested becoming a PTA business partner please fill out

Become a SMES PTA Business Partner

1/24 All Pro Dad

1/27-1/31 Literacy Week 📚

2/10 2nd Grade Field Trip to MOSI

2/11 Someone Special Dance 💕

2/14 No School for Teachers and Students

2/17 No School for Teachers and Students

2/19 **tentative 12 Book Party**

2/20 Spring Pictures

2/25 3rd Grade Field Trip to ZooTampa

ll students will be able to receive breakfast and lunch from the cafeteria free of charge. To help expedite the breakfast and lunch lines, as well as, to ensure your student wants the lunch of the day, please view the Sanders Meal Calendar for breakfast and lunch options.

Lunch with your child: Parents are welcome to have lunch with their child by making a reservation at 813-794-1500 ahead of time to check for availability. Lunch reservations are only for the current month and are only available Tuesday-Friday.

Parents must sign in, with an ID at the office to receive a visitor badge. To ensure the safety and supervision of all children, parents may only have lunch with their child(ren). We ask that you limit your visit to once a month. Lunchtime is one of the few times of the day where children can socialize with their classmates.

Sanders Meal Calendar

Pasco County Schools Calendar

Pasco County Student Code of Conduct

Student Quick Pay

School Spirit Shirts, School Fees, Field Trips, ID Badges, Car Tags

Houses:

🔴House of Friendship – Red Wolf

🔵House of Dreamers – Bobcat

🟢House of Courage – Alligator

⚫House of Givers – Rattlesnake

This Houses system will encourage “House” building and bonding between students in all grade levels. It will continue SMES’s path of positive culture and relationships with students and staff.

House Points: Throughout the year the houses will compete against each other in competitions and events to accumulate House points. Individual students can also continue to accumulate points for their House by demonstrating Stallion expectations and beyond.

Spin Tickets: Students can earn spin tickets from house leaders, and other random staff members. If a student earns a spin ticket, they will get to spin the wheel on Spinning Days.

House Champion: At the end of the year, the House with the most points wins the House Championship and all of the honor and glory that comes with it!