Pioneer Press

Dear Garrison-Jones Families,

It’s hard to believe we’ve already arrived at the final month of the school year! As we reflect on the journey we've taken together, we recognize that the year began with challenges. But through resilience, unity, and support for one another, we’ve grown stronger as a community and made this a truly successful and memorable school year.

We have so much to celebrate from this past month!

Battle of the Books Champions
We are thrilled to announce that four of our students—Nora, Melissa, Micaela, and Ahleah—coached by the dedicated Mrs. Ward, won the district-wide Battle of the Books competition. Competing virtually against other schools as the team “The Book Ducktectives,” they triumphed and moved on to face the winners from nine other schools in the district-level finals. We are incredibly proud to share that they won the Pinellas County Battle of the Books!

Chorus and Strings Concert
Under the direction of Mrs. Greene, our talented students delivered a wonderful Chorus and String Concert. Garrison-Jones is proud to be one of only 12 elementary schools in Pinellas County to offer a strings program. Thanks to Mrs. Greene’s leadership and the support of our families, many of our string students continue to pursue music in middle school. The 4th and 5th grade chorus students gave a vibrant performance of At the Bandstand that truly wowed the audience!

Latinos in Action Leadership Conference
Our Latinos in Action (LIA) students had the exciting opportunity to attend a statewide student conference at University of South Florida in Tampa. Alongside thousands of other students, they engaged in leadership and team-building activities and even performed a song on stage. Garrison-Jones is proud to be the first elementary school in the nation to implement Latinos in Action. Thanks to the visionary work of Mrs. Valentino, Sra. Vazquez, and Mrs. Hawkes, our school helped shape what the LIA program looks like today in many elementary schools across the country. These incredible educators will be honored with the Visionary Leadership Award at the Dunedin Commission Meeting on May 8th at 6:00 PM.

As we have shared throughout the year, we are striving to become an A-rated school! We truly believe in the potential of every one of our students and know they are capable of excelling on their end-of-year assessments. You can help set them up for success by ensuring they get a good night’s sleep before testing, eat a healthy breakfast, arrive at school on time each day, and receive your continued encouragement and motivation to do their very best. Together, we can achieve this goal!

Finally, as you prepare for next school year, please be sure to have a Focus parent account before the end of the school year so that all forms can be completed over the summer and your child(ren) will be ready for the 2025-2025 school year.

As we head into the final weeks of the school year, thank you for your continued support and partnership. Let's finish the year strong—celebrating our students, staff, and the many accomplishments that make Garrison-Jones such a special place.

Mrs. Tapia

All visitors on campus during school hours, 7:45-3:15, MUST have a driver's license OR photo ID to enter the campus. There are no exceptions to this requirement. Thank you for ensuring we keep our school safe throughout the day!

Follow Garrison-Jones School on Facebook and Garrison-Jones PTA on Facebook! Visit the Garrison-Jones website to stay up-to-date on school information and events!

Mark these upcoming events on your calendar!

May

5-9 Staff Appreciation Week

6-9 - 3-5 FAST Reading Testing

14 - 5th Grade Science Assessment

14 - Last General PTA Mtg at 7:40 am in Cafeteria

19-22 - 3-5 FAST Math Testing

22 - 6:00pm Talent Show

23 - RoundUp and PRIDE Cart

26 - No School, Memorial Day

28 - 9:00 5th Grade Awards Ceremony

29 - Last Day of School - Full Day!

June

2 - 1st Day of Summer Bridge

August

8 - Back to School Open House 12:30-2:15 (more information to come)

11 - 1st Day of School

Students in Latinos in Action attended a student conference in April at the University of South Florida in Tampa. Students joined other students across the state to participate in leadership activities, team building, and even performed a song to the 100s of student participants. We are so proud of their initiative, leadership, and pride for themselves!

The purpose of this letter is to inform you that your grade 3-5 student will take the computer-based Benchmarks for Excellent Student Thinking (B.E.S.T.)

The Florida Assessment of Student Thinking (FAST) is a progress monitoring system that is administered three times per year to track your student’s progress in learning the (B.E.S.T.) Standards throughout this school year. The purpose of this letter is to inform you that your student will participate in the third administration (PM3) of the Grade 3-5 Florida Assessment of Student Thinking (FAST) Reading the week of May 6-9 and Mathematics assessment the week of May 19-23. Grade 5 will also take the FAST Science Assessment on May 14. The results from PM3 will show how well your student has mastered the grade level content standards, and you may access results in your Focus Portal or your child's Focus Portal. For specific directions on how to access the results via your Focus account: visit https://www.pcsb.org/fast

Your student’s FAST assessments are computer-adaptive tests taken on a computer or tablet. The questions get less or more difficult depending on how a student responds, and each student will see different questions from a common item bank. Each test attempt (PM1, PM2, and PM3) will present items that cover the entire test “blueprint,” meaning students will encounter items representative of the standards within the subject or grade level. For more information on the test design, please visit https://www.fldoe.org/accountability/assessments/k-12-student-assessment/best/. If you or your student would like to interact with the online testing platform or review FAST Writing, Reading, Mathematics, and Science sample items at home, sample test items and released tests at certain grades/subjects are available at https://flfast.org/families.html.

Please review the following policies with your student before testing:

• Electronic Devices—Students are not permitted to have any electronic devices, including, but not limited to, cell phones, smartphones, smart glasses, and smartwatches, at any time during testing or during breaks (e.g., restroom), even if the devices are turned off or students do not use them. If your student is found with an electronic device or is found using Bluetooth/wireless headphones/earbuds during testing, his or her test will be invalidated.
• Testing Rules Acknowledgment—All tests include a Testing Rules Acknowledgment that reads: “I understand the testing rules that were just read to me. If I do not follow these rules, my test score may be invalidated.” Prior to testing, test administrators read the rules to students, and students acknowledge that they understand the testing rules by clicking a checkbox beside the statement in the secure browser indicating they understand the testing rules.
• Calculator Policy—For Grades 7–8 FAST Mathematics assessments, approved handheld scientific calculators may be used. For Grade 6 FAST Mathematics, a handheld four-function calculator may be used. Calculator use is prohibited for Grades 3–5 FAST Mathematics.
• Discussing Test Content after Testing—The last portion of the testing rules read to students before they click the box to accept the Testing Rules Acknowledgment states that because the content of all statewide assessments is secure, students may not discuss or reveal details about the test content (including the passages, prompts, and writing responses) after the test. This includes any type of electronic communication, such as texting, emailing, or posting to social media sites. Please make sure your student understands this policy prior to testing and remind them that “discussing” test content includes any kind of electronic communication, such as texting, emailing, posting to social media, or sharing online. While students may not share information about secure test content after testing, this policy is not intended to prevent students from discussing their testing experiences with their parents/families.

• Working Independently—Students are responsible for doing their own work during the test and for protecting their answers from being seen by others. If students are caught cheating during testing, their tests will be invalidated.
• Leaving Campus—If your student leaves campus before completing a test session (e.g., for lunch, an appointment), he or she will not be allowed to return to that test session. If your student does not feel well on the day of testing, it may be best for him or her to wait and be tested on a make-up day. Please remember not to schedule appointments on testing days.
• Testing Accommodations—If your student has an Individual Education Plan (IEP), a Section 504 Plan, or is an English Language Learner (ELL) or a recently exited ELL, please contact the school to discuss the testing accommodations that will be provided for your student.

• Testing Irregularities—In the event a testing irregularity occurs in your student’s testing room, as part of a school investigation, your student may be asked questions to provide clarification of the incident. In addition, your student may be required to retake the assessment if a suspected irregularity is reported that may affect the validity of the test results.

If you have any questions related to this test administration, you may contact your child’s teacher.

For more information about the FAST program, please visit the portal at https://flfast.org/fsa.html.

Thank you for supporting your student and encouraging him or her to do his or her best during this test administration.

Mother's Day Plant Sale

Mother's Day plants will be for sale May 7th - 9th in front of the school in the mornings from 8:15-8:45am for $2.

General PTA Meeting

The final meeting will be on May 14th at 7:40am in the cafeteria. Please come to vote for our new PTA board for the 25-26 school year. There will also be spirit shop items on sale!

Spirit Night

Stop by Strachan's in downtown Dunedin on May 8th to help support our school! Proceeds from purchases that evening help support activities and events for our students.

Please be sure that you are reporting students every day for any absences on our webpage at: https://www.pcsb.org/Page/55 , scan the QR Code below OR scan the QR Code on your school magnet that families will receive at Back to School Open House on August 9th!

Always be a Bucket Filler - Not a Bucket Dipper!

Garrison -Jones Elementary School

3133 Garrison Rd

Dunedin, FL 34698

Phone (727) 469-5716

Fax (727) 469-5725