Sanders Memorial Stallion News

I hope this message finds you well and that everyone has had a great start to 2025!

Houses:

We are excited to update you on the progress of our house competition as we reach the midpoint of the term. Congratulations to the Blue House for their December Victory!! Ugh!

Currently, the standings are as follows:

1. Blue House- 3621
2. Black House- 3252
3. Green House- 3179
4. Red House- 2585

As you can see, there is a close race, and the students are doing a wonderful job of showing their school spirit, following the rules and working hard to earn spin tickets and opportunities to earn house points. The competition is still very much alive, and we encourage all students to continue giving their best effort to support their houses! We appreciate your ongoing support and enthusiasm for this exciting event. More updates will be shared as we approach the final stretch of the term.

Homework tips

As we continue to support your child's academic journey, I wanted to share a few homework tips that can help create a productive and positive environment for them. Remember homework shouldn’t be a struggle for families it is practice on what is being learned in the classroom.

1. Create a Consistent Routine
   Establishing a set time each day for homework helps students manage their time effectively. Whether it's right after school or after a short break, consistency is key.
2. Designate a Quiet Workspace
   Ensure your child has a quiet, well-lit area free of distractions where they can focus on their work. A clutter-free workspace helps improve concentration and efficiency.
3. Break It Down
   If your child feels overwhelmed, encourage them to break their assignments into smaller, manageable tasks. This makes the work feel less daunting and helps them stay motivated.
4. Encourage Time Management
   Teach your child to prioritize their assignments based on deadlines or difficulty. You can also use timers to encourage focus during work periods, followed by short breaks.
5. Be Available for Support, Not Answers
   While it's important to be there for guidance, avoid doing the work for your child. Trust us we know when you do the work for them. Encourage them to ask questions when they're unsure but let them solve problems independently to build confidence.
6. Stay Positive and Celebrate Effort
   Celebrate their progress, not just the results! Recognizing effort and persistence builds a growth mindset and makes homework feel less like a chore.
7. Communicate with Teachers
   If you notice your child is struggling with a particular subject or assignment, don't hesitate to reach out to their teacher for support or additional resources.

By following these simple steps, you can help your child build better study habits and approach homework with a positive attitude.

Thank you for fostering a positive environment where your children can excel at home and at school.

Warm Regards,

Mr. Petry and Mrs. Hedgspeth

The Pasco County School Choice Window opens January 8 at 8:00am. It is very important that if you have a sibling in our school that you state this on the application. You must apply for ALL students (including siblings) not currently attending Sanders.

For more information please visit https://www.pasco.k12.fl.us/ed_choice

Our Winter Reading Land Challenge has concluded! Our class winners are...

K: Jonah K,Addie Jo S, Aryansh E, Lorenzo M, Charlotte S, Olivia Y, Izzy F, and Brooke S

1: Elliott L, henry R, RJ F, Grant K, Henry K, Hannah P, Mila G, and Geovannie M.

2: brooklyn M, Emmie H, Arella S, Masha V, Owen L, Alisa B, and Elijah A.

3: Tyler B, Noelle H, Anna P, Dhanyatha N, Emily A, Liliana S, and Jacob C

4: Carlie R, Aubrey L, Nicolas J, Noah S, Maddox M, and Fedor D

5: Isabella W, Carmella G, Brayden K, Elise K, Ethan S, Thanmayee G, and Declan D.

Our top staff members were: Mrs. Leung, Mrs. Gilligan, and Mrs. Tidwell

Congratulations to all of our readers!

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

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! More info to come!

We currently have 600, 293 minutes READ! We read the most minutes out of any school over winter break. Let's keep it up!

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: Jacob C.

4th: Fedor D.

5th: Rowan K.

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

Keep reading, Stallions! We will be introducing FLASH challenges for classes and grade levels in January!

📖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.

To join click Join the PTA

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

Become a SMES PTA Business Partner

1/13 Teacher Planning Day- No School for Students

1/17 Stallion of the Quarter

1/20 Martin Luther King Jr. Day- No School for Students/Teachers

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!