I was driving to work today and thought to myself what if we all lived our lives knowing that a five year old was watching us? Would we behave differently? Would we follow rules? Would we have better manners? Would we choose better words that come out of our mouth? It kind of locked me in for the day with how I was going to interact with others. Let me be the last to judge, but it really made me reflect and I thought I would share that with you. If it hit you in some way that is great. I feel like this was put on my heart and that someone needed to hear it. I want to see the kindness come back into the world. I have also noticed when I look for the kindness I find it.

Something else I wanted to share. I started a gratitude journal several years ago. Most days I make it a point to end the day with two good things that happened, and then I start my day reading those two things. It really makes me focus on the things I am grateful for each day. It works.

We begin testing in May and I cannot express enough how much better our students do if they are testing in their normal testing environment. If they are absent or late, they need to do make up tests and the students statistically don't score as well. If your child is sick, please keep them at home, but if they are not please make sure they get to school.

We are very quickly getting into May. Once May hits the time usually flies by. The whole year has flown by honestly. Please remember that our last day of school is Friday, May 30th and it is a true half day. We dismiss at 11:45 AM.

I was personally thrilled to hear that Mrs. Travaglino was selected as Hillsborough County's Music Teacher of the Year. She spends countless hours with our kids and fosters a love of music in our students. When I watch her at our music programs, I see her face as she works with the kids, and there is nothing but pure joy.

A fun story about her dedication: We were at the rock band performance at Beef O'Brady's, and she came up to me out of breath. She said she had just come back from school because, when she was setting up the drums, they didn't sound good enough. She quickly drove back to get a new drum kit so the kids would have the best instruments to play. This is just a small example of her dedication. I have been blessed to know her and work with her. She is a remarkable lady

We are thrilled to see how well our students perform on test days, and we want to ensure they have the best possible environment to succeed. To help them focus and be ready, please make sure your child arrives at school early on test days. This will allow them to settle in and prepare mentally for the test.

We have put in a lot of effort to prepare our students, and we want to avoid the need for make-up tests. Your cooperation is greatly appreciated.

Thank you for your support!

• May 1 - 3rd grade ELA
• May 2 - 5th grade ELA
• May 6 - 4th grade ELA
• May 7 - 3rd grade Math
• May 8 - 5th grade Math
• May 9 - 4th grade Math

• May 13 - 5th grade Science

We had a strong attendance week. We even had one day with fewer than twenty tardies, which was great. We need to figure out our Mondays and Fridays. Think of some ways to motivate your kids to get out of bed. We can do it! We are still waiting for that magical day of either 100 percent attendance or zero tardies. It has been rumored that Mr. Gibson will shave half his head if we hit this mark. It is a rumor, but we have it from somewhat reliable sources. I am looking forward to another week of great attendance. Let's go, Claywell!

Some notes just for you. If you have bought a shout out then you also want to buy the yearbook. The shout outs were closed out last week. You buying a shout out doesn't mean that you have bought a yearbook. Yearbooks are 25 dollars, and you can order below.

Fifth grade parents I am giving you a couple updates for work's sake, so you only need to take some time off for one day instead of two. We have decided to have a separate awards assembly just for our fifth graders at 8:00 AM sharp in the cafeteria May 29th. About ten minutes after the conclusion of that program we are going to do our annual clap out starting at about 9 AM. More information to come.

I just wanted you to have the information well before for your own personal schedule. The clap out is the same routine in the Shillington parking lot. You can decorate your cars, bring confetti, the whole deal. This should be a lot of fun. Friday will be a normal half day with no fanfare. It will make it for a quiet day on Friday. Again, more information is to come.

Monday, April 28th

• Spring concert 5:00 PM 🎤 🎹🎵
• Irene Johnson 🎈
• Layla Gagne 🎈

• Mia Edmonds 🎈
• Waleed Hamdan 🎈

Thursday, May 1st

• Third grade ELA FAST Test (Please make sure your kids are here and on time so they can be mentally prepared for the test. 📝💯
• SAC Meeting 2:30 (Tentative)
• Makenzie Moreno 🎈

Friday, May 2nd

• 5th Grade ELA (Please make sure your kids are here and on time so they can be mentally prepared to take this very important test.) This test for fifth graders is one of the items used for class placement in middle school. 📝💯
• Azaliah Parrish-Olivo 🎈

Saturday, May 3rd

• Mila' Birthday (Head Custodian) 🎈

Sunday May 4th

• Daniel Fernandez 🎈
• Bryson Gatchell 🎈
• Giana Versaggi 🎈
• Barrett Mosley 🎈
• Winona Dedon 🎈

🎈=birthday