Sanders Memorial Stallion News

I hope this message finds you well. I am excited to announce that Blue House is our winning house for September! The final scores are as follows:

• Blue House: 639
• Green House: 559
• Red House: 537
• Black House: 529

Congratulations to our September winners! 🎉

Last year, the Black House (House of Givers) won the House Championship for two consecutive years. This is the house that scores the most points in a year. To commemorate their victory, we will be doing an SMES blackout and hosting a pep rally to recognize their outstanding achievements. We look forward to celebrating their success with all of you!

In other news, you may have noticed that the tarps are gone. Unfortunately, due to the heavy winds from Hurricane Helene, our tarps were ripped beyond repair. We have removed them and are currently in the process of purchasing a new tarp that will be better at withstanding high winds. We appreciate your understanding and patience as we work on this.

We have seen an uptick of Cyber issues involving students. We will not manage cyber issues outside the school unless the issues impact students in school. Cyber bullying/ harassment will be enforced with consequences at school. Additionally, we would like to share some important cyber safety tips for parents to help ensure your children’s safety online:

1. Monitor Online Activity: Keep an eye on your child’s online interactions, including chats, social media and YouTube.
2. Set Privacy Settings: If you allow your children on social media, ensure that privacy settings are enabled on all social media accounts to protect personal information.
3. Educate About Online Risks: Talk to your children about the potential dangers of sharing personal information online and interacting with strangers even on Roblox or Club Penguin
4. Encourage Open Communication: Make sure your children feel comfortable coming to you with any concerns or issues they encounter online.
5. Use Parental Controls: Utilize parental control features on devices and apps to limit access to inappropriate content.

Thank you for your continued support and involvement in our school community. If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to reach out.

Best regards,

Mr. Petry and Mrs. Hedgspeth

We are celebrating Black House on Friday, Oct. 4th because they are the House Champions from last year. Everyone will wear all black and we will have some fun celebrating the Black House! (Please do not wear masks or paint your face)

As many of your are aware, parts of Pasco County are faced with immense loss due to Hurricane Helene. Several Pasco families, including staff at West Pasco Education Academy have lost everything. In order to support the families, teachers, and students of west Pasco, we are starting a donation drive. Donations will be collected from October 3rd - October 10th All donations will go to the families and teachers of the West Pasco Education Academy. Together, we can help Pasco rebuild!

Students can bring in items to school or you can drop off items in the front office.

Let's make a difference! We are collecting new pairs of socks of all sizes that will be donated to the Solutions Thrift Store which serves the Sunrise of Pasco County who provide services to survivors of violence. The house that donates the most pairs of socks by Oct 31st earns 100 points!

The Parade Is Coming! The Sanders Memorial Annual STEAM parade is a chance for our Stallions to express their creativity and show innovation. Students are invited to create and wear a costume to our parade that fits in to one of the following areas to celebrate all things STEAM. Time:

Kindergarten (K): 10:00AM

Primary (1-2): 10:30AM

Intermediate (3-5): 11:00AM

Viewing: Please use the QR Code below to RSVP for the parade. Those who RSVP will have their visitor pass pre-printed waiting at the check in tables the day of the event! You must be raptored into the system to attend. Please visit the office prior to the parade to be put into our system.

Costume Suggestions: If you would like to donate your costume following the parade to SMES for task launches, room transformations or future parades, please drop it off in the front office. Some suggestions of costumes under each heading are… Types of Scientists, Types of Weather, States of Matterm Science Tools, Solar Systems, Virtual Reality ,Dash and Dot, Robot, Social Media, Google Coding, Legos, Blue Prints, Maker Space, Items Assembly Line, Pop Art, Famous Art Pieces, Art Tools, Fractions, Measurement, Calculator, Patterns, Even and Odd Shapes Numbers, etc.

Please complete and return the form that was sent home to your teacher by 10/28/24. It is also directly linked here

To RSVP, you can click the QR or use this link to RSVP

Our SMES Library will be opened for student checkout and class visits this week! Each student will be allowed to checkout 2 books at a time. 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 are very excited about this addition to our school.

Stallions keep logging your reading minutes in the Beanstack App! Our school wide goal is to reach 1,000,000 minutes by the end of the year! We are already at 177,262 minutes! We currently have 58% of our Stallions active on the Beanstack app, we are so close to 60% student participation! We can do it! Keep reading!

📱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.

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.

Tutoring Interest:

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

👩Caitlin Gryte

📧 cgryte@pasco.k12.fl.us

10/4 🖤Black House Day 🖤

10/9, 10/11, 10/12 4th Grade Field Trip to EMC

10/14 No School- Teacher Planning Day

10/15 No School- Staff Development Day

10/18 All Pro Dad Breakfast @ 8:00

10/23 Picture Retakes

10/25 Rock Your School Event

10/30 🎃Trunk or Treat 5-7pm 🎃

10/31 🎃Steam Parade 🎃

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!