October Newsletter

Dear Parents and Guardians,

I hope this message finds you safe and dry. As we embrace the beautiful month of October, I am thrilled to share some wonderful updates from our school. Our students and staff are putting in tremendous effort, and it's truly heartwarming to witness the dedication and hard work happening every day.

Our school community is buzzing with excitement as students dive into new and fascinating topics. The enthusiasm for learning is palpable, and it's a joy to see everyone following the rules and procedures that keep our environment safe and productive.

To keep this positive energy flowing, we kindly ask for your support at home. Here are a few ways you can help:

• Reading Adventures: Encourage your child to embark on a reading adventure for at least 30 minutes each day. This daily habit not only enhances their literacy skills but also ignites a lifelong love for reading. Ask them questions about what they read about.

• Math Magic: Help your child practice their number recognition, addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division facts. Regular practice will boost their confidence and turn them into math wizards!

Thank you for being such an integral part of our school community. Your support and partnership are invaluable as we strive to help every student reach their fullest potential.

With warmest regards,

Sonya Basinger

Please join us October 3rd at 8:30 in the media to join our SAC. This group meets monthly to discuss Gulf Highlands and the progress that we are making towards our school goals. We value family input and need your help. Please complete this form if you are interested in participating on our GHES SAC:

https://ghes.pasco.k12.fl.us/mform/view.php?id=31228

Please mark your calendar and plan to join GHES on October 25th from 5:30-7:30. All families must enter through the cafeteria. We will start at 5:30 with the first station being a 10 minute parent meeting. This meeting will be recorded and on facebook live to allow for multiple options to view. All families must view this information on how you can support your child at home and how we are working as a school to teach your child. We look forward to sending you to the fun after our meeting. There will be trick or treating, bounce houses, face tattoos, and the fan favorite- hay rides!!! We can't wait to see you. If you are able please consider donating a bag of candy to our event. These must be wrapped and individual sized. Send in with your child and the winning class gets a special brew of punch on Halloween from Ms. Basinger and Mrs. D'Auria.

Students will not have school on October 14th-15th. We will see their lovely faces again on 10/16. These long weekends were built into the calendar so that parents and families could maximize those weekends for trips and appointments so students could be in school. Our school attendance rate is 91.6%. We will continue to share so you can see our progress. School attendance is vitally important. 2 or more days absent in a month is a lot. Please try to send your child daily unless they are contagious.

If your child's teacher does not assign homework it is because homework is not something that we are grading. We do encourage parents to read with their child daily for at least 30 minutes. After reading ask your child questions about the text.

• Who is the story about?
• What happened in the beginning? Middle? End?
• Where did the story take place?
• What was the problem the character faced?
• What was the outcome?
• What was the main idea? What supporting details helped you to determine that?
• What does that text feature help you understand?

Math support is fun and can be like a game. All students will need to know their addition and subtraction facts. They should be able to answer addition and subtraction questions quickly and fluently up to 100 by the end of 2nd grade. Students learn multiplication beginning in 2nd grade through arrays and then goes to multidigit multiplication into 5th grade. Students should be able to fluently (quick and in their mind) multiply 0-12.

We have noticed that our students are struggling with subtraction across place values. If your child is in 2nd-5th grade please have them practice subtracting at home and grade them. This would help them so much!!

Please join us for our Character Parade on Thursday, October 31st at 10:10. Parents and families should stand on the sidewalk closest to the parking lot. Students will walk by and families will have a chance to take pictures and see all the creative costumes. Please do not have your child bring weapons, bloody, gory, or scary items. No masks will be allowed.

Calling all 4th-5th grade parents. Please join us on October 22, 2024 from 5:30-7:30 for our science night. We will meet in the cafeteria and have dinner for you to enjoy. Please RSVP here: https://ghes.pasco.k12.fl.us/mform/view.php?id=34886

Families please take time to review the student code of conduct with your child. All students are expected to be respectful, responsible, and kind to each other and staff. We have noticed that students are not following the student code of conduct and school rules and it is impacting the learning of all. Many parents are calling sharing that students are using mean words and actions off and on campus. Please remind your child of the school and district expectations.

https://www.pasco.k12.fl.us/library/student_services/conduct/csc_eng.pdf

Progress Reports have posted to your child's progress report. Please take time to talk to them about their progress. Report cards will post later this month. Please pay attention to the Pasco County Grading Scale. It is not the same one we used 😉. Please call or email your teacher if you would like to set up a conference.

Mrs. Adams,

Always loving on her students, building relationships with them, while also holding them to her classroom expectations.
Mrs. Foster

Mrs. Correra-Martes,
Thank you for all your help with the clothing closet and setting up times for families to come in.
Mrs. Enerson

Luann always enters the room with positivity. She makes sure that you are noticed and address with a happy "You are doing great today" attitude; Always willing to help out with anything and willing to help find a solution, if she cannot solve it herself. .

Mrs. Lynch

Mrs. Rice,

For always helping out her team mates!

Ms. Bittner
Mrs. Landry,
Assisted my students to music safely from wind and rain.
Ms. Bradley

Branden,

Congratulations on moving up in Lexia. I am so proud of you!

Mrs. Enerson

Azlin,

Congratulations on moving up in Lexia. I am so proud of you!

Mrs. Enerson

Zaine,

Congratulations on moving up in Lexia. I am so proud of you!
Mrs. Enerson

Bryan,
Super helpful and friendly by showing new students around the classroom and with routines and procedures. He did this out of kindness without being asked.
Ms. Bradley

Harper,

Is a great helper to her fellow classmates.
Mrs. Foster

Nova,
I am so proud of your hard work.
Ms. Basinger

Dear Parent,

As a Title I school, we are required to inform you when a teacher (for four or more consecutive weeks) does not meet applicable state certification or licensure requirements, at the grade level and subject area in which the teacher has been assigned.

Your child’s teacher, , currently holds a teaching certificate in

Ms. Anderson- and is teaching out of his/her field in ESOL Endorsement

Ms. Bilotto- and is teaching out of his/her field inESOL Endorsement

Ms. Copus- and is teaching out of his/her field inESOL Endorsement

Mrs. Falk- and is teaching out of his/her field in ESOL Endorsement

Ms. Kinna- and is teaching out of his/her field in Art K-12

Mrs. Najera- and is teaching out of his/her field in ESOL Endorsement

Mrs. Petchulis- and is teaching out of his/her field in ESOL Endorsement and K-6 Education

Mrs. Rice- and is teaching out of his/her field in ESOL Endorsement

Ms. Roberts- and is teaching out of his/her field in K-6 Education

Mrs. Sangiamo- and is teaching out of his/her field in ESOL Endorsement

Ms. St/ Louis- and is teaching out of his/her field in PreK

Mrs. Van Horn- and is teaching out of his/her field in ESOL Endorsement

Ms. Vazquez-and is teaching out of his/her field in ESOL Endorsement

The District is providing assistance in meeting the certification requirements and we have full confidence in her ability to teach effectively in this assignment during the 2024-2025 school year.

We are dedicated to meeting the educational needs of our students and are working to ensure that your child receives the best possible education. Please feel free to call Diane Landry at 727-774-7700 if you have any questions or would like additional information.

Sincerely,

Diane Landry

Assistant Principal