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

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

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.

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.

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!

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

Click here or the link below to access grade level resources provided by BPS to support math support at home.

We are in need of adults to mentor some of our students. Click below if you are interested.

Please only allow your child(ren) to exit the vehicle on the passenger side of the car. In the morning the left lane is a thru lane. It is not safe to get out on the left side.

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.

Monday- Thursday 8:30am-3:00pm

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.

We start instruction each day at 8:30am. Look at these numbers:

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!

You will need to be a registered volunteer. Go to http://www.brevardschools.org under Parents and Students , then click Volunteer Information. You will need to register online and follow directions for fingerprinting. Original fingerprinting fee is waved at this time.

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.

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 is open to parents to eat with their child on THURDAYS.

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 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&

We have two types of dismissal. The first is normal dismissal. Your children either walk/bike, get picked up in a car, or ride a daycare van or bus. If there is rain or sprinkles, we will dismiss normally.

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 are free to all students at Andersen. We are an approved CEP (Community Eligibility Provision) school.

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.

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.

Birthday treats can be ordered from our cafeteria for the class if you would like. Cupcakes, cookies, etc. Please call Mrs. Brothers in the cafeteria for prices.

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.

BPS has updated their dress code policy. Most importantly for elementary school: Slides and crocs are not to be worn at school. Our students attend recess and PE daily. Also hats, sunglasses, and hoodies on sweatshirts are not to be worn inside the building.

Please click the link below to access the entire BPS dress code policy.

Report cards are issued to students every 9 weeks. Interims will be issued in FOCUS midway through the 9 week period. Parents in grades 3-6 can access their updated grades in FOCUS at anytime. I encourage all parents to regularly check FOCUS to stay abreast of your child's academic standing and keep up with any work that may be missing. Great conversations can be had when parents and students regularly check their grades in FOCUS. If you have questions or concerns about grades please contact your child's teacher.

If you plan to volunteer or attend any field trips this year, you must be a registered volunteer. Please check your volunteer status to make sure you haven't expired. If you are new to BPS schools, you can go to https://www.brevardschools.org/site/Default.aspx?PageID=2327 to register online then you will be prompted to go to the Educational Services Facility to get fingerprinted and background check.

Please be sure to like and follow us on Facebook!

https://www.facebook.com/AndersenElementarySchool