BARFIELD NEWS LETTER

Dear Parents and Guardians,

It is hard to believe that we are entering the last month of the school year. Just like years past, it seems to have flown by! While we only have a few short weeks left, we have many more academic and celebratory events taking place! My hope is that students, staff, and families take the time to enjoy these next few weeks and the memories they will create. Our students have grown as leaders this year, and it has been a joy to watch them continue to develop their own unique genius.

As we move through the month of May, there will be quite a bit of testing taking place. Please note the section below with specific grade level dates. It is important our students come to school on these days and are well rested and ready to do their best! We want to ensure they are set up for success and are provided with the best environment to demonstrate what they have learned this year.

The week of May 5th, TBE will be celebrating Staff Appreciation Week! We always look forward to this week and thank you for your continued support throughout the year. Our TBE staff is like none other and certainly deserves to be celebrated and recognized.

We look forward to celebrating our current 5th Grade students in our annual “Moving Up” Ceremony, which will take place on Friday, May 23rd at 9:00 am. More details about this ceremony will be sent home to 5th grade parents.

Please note there are two Early Release Days in May, including Friday the 23rd and May 30th, which is the last day of school.

All final report cards will be available via the portal in early June. Final report cards will not be mailed.

Just as a reminder, while we look forward to several exciting events happening in May, we still expect our students to follow school-wide expectations of being Respectful, Responsible, Leaders. Please remind your child(ren) that they should be proactive in following these expectations and encourage others around them to do the same. We are always better when we support one another!

Another reminder for students who have and use cell phones at home- parents please monitor what your students are engaging in online or via text messages. Many outside conversations and comments made through cell phones create unnecessary drama and discomfort here at school. Having rules and expectations in place for technology use at home can help eliminate any future concerns.

With this being my last TBE Banner, I would like to officially wish each one of you a healthy, happy summer. Please take the time to sharpen the saw with friends and family. Enjoy the slower pace and less hectic times. Have fun making memories as a family. I have enjoyed my last 7 years at TBE and will cherish all the experiences we created for our students. I look forward to continuing to support TBE in my future role. Thank you for always supporting my leadership- I feel confident that this partnership has helped all students be successful.

Proud to be…TBE!

Mrs. Ledbetter

Principal

Dear Parents and Guardians,

State Testing Dates

Please mark your calendars for the following state testing dates and be sure to schedule vacations and/or appointments on days when your child will not be testing. This will ensure the optimal testing environment that your child is accustomed to.

Backpacks and Toys at School

Thank you for helping our students stay organized! Please take a few minutes to go through your child’s backpack to throw away or remove outdated papers and make sure toys backpacks are free from distractions like toys, trading cards, etc. Please keep these items at home.

Attendance Procedures

We strive for all students to be at school all day, every day. In the event your child is sick and has to be absent, please either email tbedismissal@collierschools.com and let us know or call 239-377-8500 to report the absence. Reporting all absences avoids “unexcused” absences on your child’s attendance record. If your child visits the doctor, please submit a doctor note within 24 hours of returning to school to the office and the absence or early pick up will be marked “excused”. Excessive absences could result in Out of Zone designations being rescinded and/or having to attend truancy court.

Tardies

Most TBE students are on time every day! However, we want to decrease the number of tardy disruptions at the start of the day. The TBE first bell rings at 8:10. The TBE NEWs begins at 8:15. Students are marked tardy at 8:25. Please be reminded that after the 6th tardy in one semester your child will receive a detention for every subsequent unexcused tardy.

Dismissal Pick-Up

Please be reminded that only Zone 1 walkers will be dismissed and crossed to Zone 1. In addition, the parking lot on Cushing is for staff parking only. Parents are not permitted to pick up their child in this lot. There is no supervision in this back parking lot making it dangerous for elementary students. Middle schoolers use this lot to load their bus and walk through to Zone 2. To be safe, please pick up your child in the car line or safely on the side streets of Zone 2.

Dismissal time begins at 2:50 and we are usually finished by 3:05. To help cut down on traffic congestion, we encourage all students that are eligible to ride a bus to take advantage of this opportunity.

Update Parent Portal Information

Have you moved, changed the phone number or do you need to add another person to your child’s pick-up list? Please make sure all information in the parent portal is updated with any changes that may occur throughout the school year.

E-Bikes, Bicycles, and Scooters

Please be reminded that e-bikes, and electric scooters are prohibited to be ridden on TBE campus, as well as city parks. All children, age 16 and under must wear a helmet when riding a bicycle, scooter and e-bike, according to state law and can be issued a citation if not worn. When riding any of these forms of transportation children must obey all traffic laws while riding on roadways, sidewalks, or bike lanes. Thank you for having these conversations with your children and keeping them safe.

Cell Phones and Smart Watches

Students must keep smart watches and cell phones powered off and in their backpack during school hours.

TBE Dress Code

Please be reminded that students must follow the Dress Code Monday-Thursday. On Fridays, students are permitted to wear TBE Spirit Shirts. On occasion, students are permitted to earn a dress down pass from their teacher or other staff member. Please visit TBE website for Dress Code information

https://www.collierschools.com/Domain/56

Dana Franklin

Assistant Principal, Curriculum & Instruction, Tommie Barfield Elementary School

It is not the voice that you speak with every day;

it is the voice that drives your heart.

Finding your voice is a process that involves reflecting on the things that you are good at, realizing the things you care about most, identifying the natural strengths you have, and putting those strengths and passions to work.

When you line up your passions and strengths and find a specific need you are driven to fill, you have found your voice.

But sometimes that voice gets lost. Distractions, busy lifestyles, and stress can overwhelm the passions and talents that fuel your voice.

If you feel you have lost your voice and passion, it is not gone forever.

Albert Schweitzer, a German—and later French—philosopher, said, “In everyone’s life, at some time, our inner fire goes out. It is then burst into flame by an encounter with another human being. We should all be thankful for those people who rekindle the inner spirit.”

We can find our voice again by finding others who have similar passions, strengths, and desires. And we can be the spark that rekindles another’s flame.

What will be your voice—your contribution?

Dear Parents,

Our Kindergarteners are continuing to work hard and learn so much as we approach the end of the school year.

We had a wonderful field trip to the zoo! Students had a blast getting to see many of their favorite animals up close and in person. We all used our observation skills to learn new and exciting things during our trip!

In reading, students will continue to work on describing characters, setting, and events in a story, as well as identifying the topic and multiple details of a non-fiction text. They will also work on identifying and using text features and descriptive words to better understand what they are reading.

During math, students are learning about and practicing all kinds of measuring – length, height, weight, and capacity! They are also learning how to describe and compare objects using these measurements. As we get closer to the end of the year, we will begin to review the many topics that were covered in Math throughout Kindergarten.

In science, students are learning about the pattern of day and night, as well as things they might notice during the day or at night. We will wrap up with how different objects in the sky look from Earth and learn about gravity.

During Social Studies, students have been learning about different jobs people can have and the tools they use for those jobs, as well as identifying needs and wants. They will also be learning about the different forms of money we can use.

Please continue supporting your students at home by reading and practicing high frequency words each night. You can reinforce math concepts by counting forwards to 100 from any number, counting backwards from 20, and skip counting. Students can also work on representing addition and subtraction problems with numbers and pictures. As always, we appreciate your support at home!

-The Kindergarten Team

The First Grade Team would like to give all the parents and PTO a BIG “Thank You” for all your help, generosity, and support this school year. Your help has been truly appreciated.

As the end of the school year approaches, please look around your house for any misplaced books and return them to school. All media books will be due on May 16th.

Although students are beginning to read more independently, reading to your child is always a very special treat. Choose books above his/her reading level to help expand vocabulary and comprehension of more complex text. This is a wonderful opportunity for families to curl up with a book, spend time reading together, and put those electronic devices aside.

On Wednesday, April 21st we will take our FAST ELA test, and our FAST Math test the following week Wednesday, April 30th. Please motivate your child to do their personal best and show off all the amazing things that they have learned this year! The last iReady Reading Diagnostic is on Tuesday and Wednesday, May 6 & 7th.

The following are imperative for success: encouragement, adequate sleep, a healthy breakfast, being on time for school, and most importantly celebrating their success and hard work! You are your child’s biggest cheerleader!

We are truly blessed to watch your children grow and lead!

Fondly,

Your First Grade Team

Dear Parents,

We cannot believe this is our final month of 2nd Grade! What an amazing year it has been! As we head into the last stretch, we are still working hard to prepare for the rest of our end-of-year testing. WE GOT THIS!

In Language Arts, students are applying their knowledge of figurative language and author’s purpose to better understand texts about different cultures and nonfiction biographies. These skills will help them ask and answer questions to deepen their comprehension. Please continue to encourage nightly reading at home so students can take quizzes and earn Accelerated Reader points!

In Math, we are working on Unit 3- Patterns within Numbers. We are also continuing to review everything we have learned this year. Keep practicing those addition and subtraction facts at home to strengthen fact fluency!

In Social Studies, we will be taking our field trip to Winn Dixie to learn and explore more about buyers and consumers.

In Science, our focus will be on how wind, weather, and the sun’s energy!

Thank you for your continued support. Let us finish the year strong!

Happy MAY!
— The Second Grade Team

Third Graders have been working hard this quarter!

In class, we will continue to review all the content that we have learned so far this year so that we finish third grade strong! On Thursday, May 1st we will take our FAST ELA test. Our FAST Math test will take place on Tuesday, May 13th. As stated, testing is right around the corner, please motivate your child to do their personal best and show off all the amazing things that they have learned this year! Homework is a great time for you to sit with your child and see the skills we are working on in the classroom. Homework is always a current learning goal or cumulative review.

The following are imperative for success: adequate sleep, a healthy breakfast, being on time for school, and most importantly celebrating their success and hard work!

The Third Grade Team

Parents,

We are ready to finish 4th grade strong! We have testing right around the corner. Let us hit a home run!!! As a reminder, our testing dates for 4th grade are as follows:

April State Testing

iReady Diagnostic – April 28 and 29

May State Testing

ELA – May 6

Math – May 14

May District Testing

Science – May 19

Over the next few weeks, review will be incredibly important. During this time, any standards our students need to brush up on will be retaught. This will be done with small groups of students and the whole class. Morning tutoring will continue. School work coming home will help with the review we do in class, and we need your support more than ever in making sure it is being done. A lot of care is taken to make sure we maximize the time we have left before testing. It is also important that the kids get enough sleep and get to school on time, especially on testing days. Thank you for making sure that happens!

When testing is behind us, we have fun learning activities planned for our students! We will read The Last Egret, which is a wonderful historical fiction novel. It was written by a Florida native and takes place in the late nineteenth century when the Florida Everglades supplied the booming trade in bird feathers for ladies’ fashion. With this novel we pull reading, social studies, and science all together. The students will also do a research project on space exploration, an animal research project, and in math they will be making math board games. We are also looking forward to a field trip to the Marco Historical Museum. What an exciting way to end a great year!

Thank you for your continued support,

The Fourth Grade Team

Dear Parents and Guardians,

What an awesome month it has been! Our students have been working so hard, and we are so proud of all they have accomplished.

The recent writing assessment went incredibly well—everyone put forth their best effort and truly impressed us with their creativity and focus. It is clear that all the hard work they have been putting in is really paying off!

As we gear up for the FAST test on May 15th, our math classes are focused on reviewing this year’s material through Bootcamp activities. This is a valuable opportunity for students to strengthen their understanding and boost their confidence before the big day.

We also encourage students to continue working on their ALEKS pie at home if they have not already completed it. Our school-wide goal is for all students to reach 100% completion—let us work together to make it happen!

In ELA, we have been diving into author’s perspective and purpose through our Magnetic Reading lessons. We also started an exciting novel, The City of Ember, which helps us review story elements, figurative language, text structure, and more. Up next is our Reading Bootcamp as we gear up for the FAST assessment on May 7th.

In Science, we are wrapping up our unit on forces and motion. Students have explored magnetism, gravity, pushes and pulls, balanced and unbalanced forces, and Newton’s 3 Laws of Motion. It was a fun and hands-on experience! Soon, we will begin our Science Bootcamp to prepare for the upcoming FAST assessment on May 20th. Please continue to encourage your child to study nightly and work hard on leveling up in Progress Learning. This program is excellent practice and review of all skills learned in K-5 science.

As always, thank you for your continued support at home. We are excited about what is ahead and so proud of the progress our students are making!

The Fifth Grade Team

Students have been creating beautiful masterpieces lately! Some of our 5th grade students have shown interest in seeing all their artwork done on Artsonia since 2nd grade. I would love to show each one but have limited time; please show them their artwork at home on the Artsonia app!

Kinder students learned about Piet Mondrian, horizontal and vertical lines, and primary colors to create their own Mondrian Lines:

First grade also learned about Chinese Porcelain Vases, symmetry, and patterns before they made vases for their flowers:

Second grade learned about famous women artists but focused on Yayoi Kusama, the Princess of Polka Dots, before creating their overlapping polka dots:

Third Grade focused on geometric shapes while creating their geometric robots:

Fourth Grade learned about Japanese artist, Hokusai, and his Great Wave of off Kanagawa.

Fifth Grade learned about New York Artist, Yung – wu and used her methods to create their Abstract art:

If you haven’t check out your student’s artwork on Artsonia, check out their art here: https://www.artsonia.com/connect/TCCPZFNC

To look at our artist’s work or to see who the Star Student was for each day, follow @beauvaisCCPS on twitter.

Let’s BEAT THE DRUMS for the End of another GREAT SCHOOL YEAR! It’s time to Celebrate our Success… A little Holiday Flare for Cinco De Mayo moving to a bit of Patriotism for Memorial Day will lead us to the Grand Finale with a wonderful Fifth-Grade Graduation. Summer offers so many ways to bring music into our students’ lives. Attend a concert, go to a camp, or just sing along to the radio. Whatever you choose, just have fun!!!

Craig Greusel

Teacher, Music, Tommie Barfield Elementary School

Congratulations to our Final Mile Runners and our Golden Sneaker Award winner, Kashton. It was a great event, and the students did so well as they ran with many other elementary school students. They showed great sportsmanship as they cheered on all the runners, and I am so proud of them.

While it is not mandatory, run club will continue through the end of the school year for any of our runners who would like to continue to run.

Typing: ⌨ ALL students at ALL grade levels begin Tech Class with a 10-minute warm-up activity of keyboarding at their different developmental levels. Grades K-1 typing targets focus on locating all letters and using two hands on the keyboard. Grades 2-5 Typing Targets are: sitting with proper posture, keeping fingers on the home row keys, and using the correct finger paths.

• K & Gr1 practice with Typing Club’s Jungle Junior, which teaches them how to use two hands and different fingers for typing different keys (called finger paths). K-1 students can access the program from home on any computer or laptop through Canvas/Resources page.
• Grs. 2 & 3 practice typing with a fun website called: Dance Mat Typing, accessible on Mrs. McCarty’s Canvas Resource page, so students can practice at home.
• Grs. 4 & 5 use Grade Level courses in Typing Club’s Typing Jungle & can access the program from home on any computer or laptop through Canvas/Resources page

In Q4, Grades K-2 learn Digital Media skills and Microsoft programs through which they can creatively express their learning. Grades 1 & 2 learn how to create a Microsoft PowerPoint slideshow to share their robot and animal facts, respectively. Grade K research Naples Zoo Animals coinciding with their Field Trip. Following this, Kindergarteners learn to create a digital project to share this learning.

Grades 3-4-5: Minecraft Education – Engineering, Coding, & 3D Design

• Grades 3-4-5 learn creative communication, 3D-thinking and problem-solving, modeling and simulations, engineering, coding, innovative designing, and even electrical circuitry using Redstone through the District Resource Minecraft Education program. Please remind students that they are ONLY allowed to use this program in Tech Class with Mrs. McCarty for Tech Class assignments. We are NOT playing the Minecraft video game nor are we using Survival Mode.

Jody McCarty

On Thursday April 11th we had 18 second graders celebrate their success by reading and passing Accelerated Reader tests on the 5 SSYRA Jr Independent Reader books. We enjoyed ice cream sundaes! Reading is sweet!

April 25th we will be celebrating the 3-5th Graders who read 11 or more of the 15 SSYRA 3-5 books this year.

Accelerated Reader

Is your child using the program? If they need assistance or have questions, we are happy to help in the Media Center. Here are the number of WORDS READ by each grade level so far this year. Way to go TBE!

AMAZING!!!!

The end of the school year is fast approaching. For the 1st week of May, (May 5th -9th) we will be celebrating all our teachers and TBE staff... Please keep an eye out for requests to help make this a special week to thank these amazing people who inspire, teach, and love our children.

We will be doing our Annual Ice-cream social for all students this year on May 28th. This year the Hennessey Family sponsors it; we would like to thank them for their kind generosity.

This year we have changed the company we use for school supplies; this company provides competitive pricing and good quality products. Please take the time to order early. It is just a few clicks, and you will not find better pricing anywhere.

EPI School Supply Packs - Educational Products, Inc.

That is all from the PTO until next year. We thank you all for your continued support and look forward to another great school year.