FEBRUARY IS BLACK HISTORY MONTH!

February 21 - FINAL FOUR MYON READING CHALLENGE BEGINS (see flyer below)

February 22 - PTA Color Run - POSTPONED - NEW DATE COMING SOON!

February 25 - Spring Portraits (Uniforms Optional)

February 26 - Ready for Kindergarten parent meeting for incoming K students- 8:30 a.m.

February 28 - PBIS Yard Games

March 7 - Mother/Son Dodge Ball Tournament (see flyer below)

March 13 - Family Spirit Night at QDOBA (5:00-7:00)

March 17-20 - Spring Break (No School)

THE HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY SCHOOLS UPDATED STUDENT CALENDAR IS ATTACHED BELOW (with changes due to school closures for Hurricanes Helene and Milton).

Dear Pride Elementary Families,

It was a HEARTWARMING week at Pride Elementary! Kindness Week activities warmed our hearts and put smiles on our faces. SO MANY students were "caught being good," our LINKS OF LOVE chains are ready to be displayed at Tampa's Relay for Life event, the Book Drive was a big success, and our incredible lunchroom and custodial staff truly felt the love and appreciation from our students!

Teaching kindness is a powerful way to build community, foster inclusion, and nurture empathy. This week, some of our teachers shared inspiring videos with their students. We encourage you to watch them together as a family and discuss ways to spread kindness in our everyday lives:

📌 "Kindness Boomerang" – Life Vest Inside (5 min., 44 sec.)
🔗 Watch here

📌 "Happiness is Helping Others" – Haythan Ibrahim (3 min.)
🔗 Watch here

Our hope is that each of our students strives to be "someone who makes everyone feel like a somebody!"

With gratitude,

Mrs. English, Principal

Mrs. Moncrief, Assistant Principal

READY, SET, KINDERGARTEN!

SPREAD THE WORD TO YOUR NEIGHBORS!

PLEASE JOIN US ON Wednesday, FEBRUARY 26th at 8:30 a.m.

Parents of children entering kindergarten in August (must be 5 years old on or before September 1, 2025) are invited to attend this informational meeting and tour our school! For more information on enrolling your child and school readiness visit the link below.

Early Childhood Programs and Kindergarten / Kindergarten (hillsboroughschools.org)

• For the safety of students and families, please DO NOT use cell phones in the car line!
• When picking up in the carline, please have your QR pick-up code ready to be scanned and keep your numbered car tag hanging on your rear-view mirror until your child is in your car. Please stay in the center of the drop off/pick up lane near the cafeteria, far to the left of the yellow line and AWAY from the orange safety cones. DO NOT PULL AWAY FROM THE CURB UNTIL THE SAFETY PATROL HAS CLOSED THE DOOR AND STEPPED AWAY FROM THE VEHICLE and do not pull around cars in the line that are still loading.
• Review safe walker/pedestrian and bike rider laws/rules/procedures with your children.
• Bike riders are required to wear helmets.
• Follow all traffic laws/rules and drive cautiously through school zones and in the neighborhood.
• Please do not drop students off in surrounding streets or park/drop students off in surrounding neighborhoods such as Stone Creek Townhomes.
• Student supervision is not provided at Cross Creek Park. Students should be met at the park by an adult or should walk/ride bikes directly home while crossing guards are present.
• HOST students should not be picked up until 2:30 or later (after car line pickup is finished).
• You may reference our Quick Reference Guide for Parents (included in first day folders and on our website) for important information including detailed drop off and pick up procedures. Quick Reference Guide for Parents 2024.2025.pdf (hillsboroughschools.org)

SEND NO MONEY TODAY! A proof or portrait package will be sent home from the school with information on how to order. (Allow 3-4 weeks).

PICTURE DAY ATTIRE Choose colors that compliment your child. Solid colors and small patterns work best. Avoid clothing with large images and logos. (Students are not required to wear uniforms for Spring picture day. )

Focusing Students on the Positive

The Attitude of Gratitude Mindset teaches us the importance of seeking the positives from every experience and being thankful for all that we have. Through this mindset, we learn that we can use the positives or the negatives of our lives as the foundation on which to build. Choose the positives, and we are on our way toward extraordinary success; choose the negatives, and we embark on path toward disappointment, resentment, and suffering. In these lessons, we guide students to focus on all the things they have, leaving no time to be distracted by what they don’t.

Click on the link below to read about how parents can encourage this mindset.

Please visit Givebacks to order spirit shirts, purchase yearbooks, purchase birthday marquee messages, make donations, and join our PTA.

We need volunteers to help in the cafeteria during lunch on a daily basis between 10:00 and 1:30. Ideally, we would like to have recurring volunteers, but any time you can help would be greatly appreciated! The role involves monitoring student behavior, assisting students with opening food items, escorting students to the bathroom or health clinic, helping with spills, etc.. Parents must have an approved volunteer application on file in order to volunteer. Please click on the link below to sign up!

Pride Elementary: Lunchroom Support Volunteers (signupgenius.com)

Please click on the attachment below to see a list of our teachers who are working on additional certifications and currently teaching subjects out of field.

Every day matters when it comes to attendance! There is a strong link between regular attendance and academic success. Research indicates that missing 10% of the school year, which is 2 days a month, negatively affects a student’s academic performance. Compared to students who are chronically absent, students who attend school regularly have greater success in all grade levels. Elementary school students who regularly attend class are 1.7 times more likely to achieve grade-level scores in English Language Arts and 2 times more likely to achieve grade-level scores in Math. Chronic absenteeism (10% or more of school days) leads to students struggling to read proficiently. Please note that absences for vacations and family visits are considered unexcused absences. Whenever possible, please try to schedule these activities for when school is not in session. Teachers are happy to provide students with suggestions for making up missed assignments but cannot replicate all of the learning that takes place in the classroom.

Email: Pride.Elementary@hcps.net
Website: hillsboroughschools.org/pride
Location: 10310 Lion's Den Drive, Tampa, FL, USA
Phone: 813-558-5400
Facebook: facebook.com/PrideElem