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Parent Newsletter
May 2024
Note from the Principal
Dear Andersen Families,
I cannot believe it is May! The school year is coming to a close with 15 days left. The students have been working hard and doing their best on FAST testing last week. I am so proud of how serious they took the tests and how hard everyone worked.
The last assessment for the school year is 5th grade Science on Wednesday, 5/8/24. Mrs. Lichtenberger, Mrs. Maslowski, Mrs. Enos, and Mrs. Keller hosted 5th grade science camp the last 5 Fridays. We had a great turnout of students there to review the 3rd and 4th grade tested standards with hands-on activities. Fun & learning were plentiful!
Teacher/Staff Appreciation Week is this week. Please see the PTO message below for each day's events and how you can send love & appreciation to your child(ren)'s teachers and staff members. Thank you to all our teachers and school staff for loving our kids and helping them grow each day!
We will round out the year with 6th grade activities such as a breakfast, a teacher v. 6th grade kickball game, and 6th grade award ceremony & clap out. We wish all of our 6th graders a bright future in Middle School. Thank you, 6th grade parents, for including Andersen in your child's journey.
Proud Principal of Hans Christian Andersen Elementary
Important Upcoming Dates
Monday 5/6
Teacher Appreciation Week
Tuesday 5/7
Wednesday 5/8
Science Test 5th grade
Lagoon Quest Day 1 4th grade
National School Nurse Day
Thursday 5/9
Lagood Quest Day 2 4th grade
Friday 5/10
Monday 5/13
BOGO Book Fair week
Tuesday 5/14
Night of the Arts
Wednesday 5/15
6th grade strings Andretti's
Thursday 5/16
GSP Research showcase 5:30-6:30
Friday 5/17
Rockledge High Andersen Alumni clap out 9am
PTO dance- Sock hop
Monday 5/20
Eagle Buck store
Tuesday 5/21
Eagle Buck Store
Wednesday 5/22
Early Release
Thursday 5/23
Early Release
6th grade breakfast
Friday 5/24
Early Release
Last Day of School
6th grade Awards 9am
Clap Out to follow
Next Year
Re-enrollment will take place in FOCUS in July. You will be sent a FOCUS message and it will be shared in social media posts when FOCUS will open up for you to complete all your re-enrollment forms online. We will have a meet & greet the week before school starts for you to meet your new teacher and complete all in person re-enrollment needs.
I will not be taking teacher requests for next year. There is a lot of thought and effort put into making classes each year. Many different things are taken into consideration when placing students. Please rest assured that we will be very thoughful in our placements.
Fill The Fridge
Thank you to PLG Kindness Squad for their donation of $500 worth of goodies to fill the fridge for our teachers and staff!
Rockledge High Chorus
RHS Chorus came to perform for our 5th and 6th graders during lunch.
Boxes Needed
Andersen will be under construction this summer and our teachers are in need of boxes to pack up all of their belongings. If you have boxes to donate you can drop them off in the front office anytime. Thanks!
Business Partner: Valderrama Orthodontics
Thank you Mr. Dougherty and Valderrama Orthodontics for the donation to Andersen! See their current special below.
ESE Parent Survey
Click link to access survey directly: https://fldoepaads.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_866ycaywrhatFXg
Each year, the Florida Department of Education (FDOE) surveys parents of students with an individual educational plan (IEP) to determine how well districts and schools are partnering with parents and promoting parent involvement in their student’s education.
The survey is open to all parents of students with an IEP receiving ESE services from preschool age to grade 12.
The survey will be open through June 30, 2024. For more information about the 2023-2024 Parent Survey, go to the ESE Parent Survey web page.
Bring Your Son's and Daughters to Work Day
We had a lot of staff participate in Bring Your Child To Work Day. Many students also accompanied their parents to work. What an experience!
Kdg Orientation
If you missed it you can still register
Tell your friends and neighbors to register now
PTO News
Andersen Students and Families
Wowzers!! We are in our final stretch. The very last month of the school year. We have had such an amazing year with you guys and we can't wait for next year.
First off I would like to congratulate our next year's board members; Anastasia Trueblood; President, Jillian Sedivy; Vice President of Programming and Amelia Juarez; Treasurer. We will be on the lookout for someone to fulfill our Secretary and Vice President of Fundraising for next year. Unfortunately we won't be able to support the staff and student body without a Secretary so if you would like to join our team please reach out to Anastasia at president@andersenpto.org.
We have a jam pack month and can't wait to celebrate all the great things from this year. First we have our 6th grade Masquerade Dance on May 3rd. We hope our 6th graders have a blast.
Teacher and Staff Appreciation week is May 6th to May 10th. We have some great things planned for our Staff at Andersen. We are still in need of some items so if you would like to help us out please click on the link below. We also have a flyer for some ideas of things that kids can do to say thanks to those amazing staff members. Look for the flyer that has been sent home. https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0449A9A923A2FE3-49263454-teacher
The last SPIRIT NIGHT will be at Gio's Italian Ice on Thursday, May 9th from 5:00 PM- 8:00 PM, they are next to the Aldi's on Barnes Rd. Make sure to check it out and mention Andersen Elementary.
Our last Book Fair is the Scholastic B1G1, from May 13th to May 17th, and you won't want to miss out. If you are a registered volunteer and would like to help us out please click on the link below to assist. https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0449A9A923A2FE3-49263439-b1g1
As a thank you to all of our students and their families we want to do an End of School Year Dance on May 17th from 6:30PM-8PM in the Cafeteria. We will have refreshments and we would love everyone to decorate or come in crazy socks. The 3 best decorated socks will win a prize. This is a FREE event but kids must be accompanied by an adult to attend.
I know most of the kids are super excited about the Eagles Bucks store and we have that planned for May 20th and May 21st. So get those bucks ready to spend. We also need some registered volunteers to help these students find some goodies to spend all those bucks on so click below to sign up. https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0449A9A923A2FE3-49263992-eagle
Lastly we as the PTO would like to get some of your feedback on ways to improve for the upcoming year. Please help us out by filling out the survey monkey.
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/JXVT7PK
Thanks for everything!! Go Eagles!!
Andersen PTO
Anastasia Trueblood
Andersen PTO President
FB: https://www.facebook.com/Hans-Christian-Andersen-Elementary-PTO-149345531760536/
Website: www.andersenpto.org
Community Events
Math at Home Resources
Mentors Wanted
Input Opportunities
Old News but still important!
Car Loop Safety Reminder
No parents are to park and walk their child(ren) to the gates. Please stay in your car and use the car loop lanes.
No cars are allowed in the front parking lot at the end of the day. If you are driving on campus your child shoudl be a car rider using the side car loop.
School Hours
Fridays- 8:30-am- 1:45pm
Breakfast hours 8:00am-8:25
Classroom doors open at 8:20am
Tardy bell warning 8:25am
Tardy Bell 8:30am
**No students should be on campus prior to 8:00am. There is no supervision at the gates prior to 8am so please time your students arriving to school AFTER 8am.
Classes begin instruction promptly at 8:30. If students are late to class they will miss instruction. Missed instruction means missed learning opportunities. Please do your best to have your child arrive on time.
Every Minute Counts
If your child missed 10 minutes a day that equals 50 minutes of learning a week. That equals nearly 1 1/2 weeks per year. By 12th grade that equals 1/2 year of schooling.
Thank you for being diligent about getting your child to class on time!
Do you want to Volunteer, attend field trips, help in school-wide events?
Don't wait until a field trip or special event is announced. Do so now because it does take time.
All volunteer opportunites are housed on the PTO facebook and website.
Front Office news
Always bring your ID when coming to the office. It is needed to check out your child or enter the school for volunteering or a meeting.
Thank you for your understanding and remembering to bring this at all times.
Lunch Visitors
To eat with your child, please drive into the front parking lot and check in at the front office. You will need your photo ID to do so. You will then receive a yellow vistor's badge. This must be worn on the upper front left or right of your shirt. Drive your car around to the side parking lot and park. Use the gate closest to the cafeteria. A BPS employee or SRO will let you in. Please wait for your child at the picnic tables outside. If you wish to purchase food from the cafeteria you may do so. Cash only is accepted for adult meals. Student meals are free.
After your child's lunch is over, he/she will go back with the class to continue their day. The campus is not open so you cannot accompany them back to class or to recess.
You may only eat with your child. Their friends cannot join you for lunch. Enjoy this special time with your child.
SpeakOut 1-800-423-TIPS
SpeakOut Hotline is designed to help you anonymously report any threatening behavior or situation that endangers you, your friends, family, community, or your school campus. Reporting isn't "snitching,” reporting is when you need to keep yourself or someone you know safe from threats, harmful behaviors, or dangerous situations. http://www.speakouthotline.org/sitemenu.aspx?ID=147&
Rainy Day Dismissal
Sometimes the rain is very heavy or there is lightning in the area and a decision must be made to change dismissal plans. Any change in dismissal is inconvenient for the school and for those picking up students so the decision is not made lightly. We will try to make the decision by 2:50 and once a decision is made there will be no changes.
In the event of heavy rain, where your child would get significantly wet, we will call a rainy day dismissal. Teachers will be notified to stage their students according to your plan and you will get a FOCUS notification. At registration you completed a Google form to let the teacher know how your child(ren) will get home if rainy day dismissal is called. Once the teachers are notified we are dismissing as a rainy day dismissal, they will refer to the google form and prepare the students to go home the way you indicated for rainy days. It is important that you remember how you responded so you know how to pick up your child where they will be waiting for you. If you said they will still walk/bike, then they will be dismissed through the walker gate. You may wait at the gate for them if you would like. If you said they will switch from a walker/biker to car in the event of rain then they will be with car riders waiting for you in the car line. There is not an option to pick up in the office. It is very difficult to get them to the office amid the change of plans that everyone is preparing for.
If there is lightning in the area ,we MUST hold the students and not dismiss until it is safe to do so. That means they may not be able to load in the cars or be released to walk /bike at that moment. I ask that you stay in your cars and wait until we are safe to dismiss. If we hold them you will get another notification when we are dismissing. If we hold for lightning we will then release under their rainy day plan so please plan accordingly.
Yes, the line will take longer. Yes, you may have to wait for a time, but we do so to keep the students and staff safe. We will release as soon as we can do so safely.
If you want to change your child's rainy day plans or you don't remember which mode you chose please contact the teacher soon so you are prepared.
Thank you for your cooperation!
Breakfast and Lunch
You are still encouraged to apply for free and reduced lunch status to possibly open up financial benefits for us and increased opportunities for you. Click here https://www.brevardschools.org/Page/3473 to apply.
To add money to your child's account to buy al-a-cart items and snacks create a MyMealpayPlus account so money is always available. http://www.mypaymentsplus.com/. Informational flyer below. Extra snacks will not be available for the first 2 weeks of school.
Birthdays/food deliveries
Birthday treats MUST be pre-arranged with the teacher. Classrooms cannot accommodate whole cakes, ice creams, etc. The teacher will not be able to cut serve, etc. Contact your teacher for anything birthday related.
Food deliveries from delivery services cannot be accepted at school. Following board policy we will refuse delivery. If you need to drop off lunch it will need to be from the parent/guardian on the registration.
Dress Code
Please click the link below to access the entire BPS dress code policy.
Grade Reporting
Volunteer information
Please be sure to like and follow us on Facebook!