Windy Ridge Families-
Last week, I had to take Wednesday off so I could help my son move into his apartment at the University of Florida. The next day at dismissal, looking at our kindergarten teachers organize these 4 and 5 year olds into 4 different groups heading in 4 different directions at the same time, I realize that this is exactly how it began for my son. It also makes me realize how fast the time goes by. This week our students will take their first progress monitoring test in reading. This data is used to drive our instruction to focus on the standards/skills that the students need the most help on. When the results of these assessments become available, I want to remind you that this test covers the standards for the current year. It is very typical to score low on this test. All students will take a similar assessment in December so we can monitor for growth.
As usual, there is a lot going on at the Ridge this week, please take a look through our entire newsletter.
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Our first SAC meeting will be held on Tuesday, September 1st at 5:30 in our Media Center. Thank you to the following parents who have applied for membership. We will vote on membership and positions at this meeting.
Susan Hollis
Carlos Vasquez
Gabriela Cerda
Turhan Hidalgo
Jessica Dagit
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On the off chance that there is severe weather in the area at dismissal, we will follow this procedure:
- Families will receive a Parent Square notice of a "Delayed Dismissal".
- During Delayed dismissals, we are not permitted to let the students leave, unless they are accompanied by an approved family/friend member as indicated in skyward.
- If you choose to come to the school, we will process all families through the cafeteria.
- You will first check in with someone that will arrange for your child to pack up and walk down.
- From that station, you will need to have your ID verified to ensure that you have permission to pick up any and all students that you are requesting.
- After your ID is verified, you will wait in the main hallway for your student(s) to arrive and you can leave through the main doors.
- We will not be able to release any students to an adult that does not have ID. This is a safety concern.
- You must be approved in Skyward to pick up any student that you are not personally responsible for. Please make sure that you complete the form that will go home on the first day. Any contacts that you added in the past will remain in the system.
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Middle School Families- We are reviewing all requests for schedule changes. At this time, we are not taking more requests.
Elementary School Families- Windy Ridge has seen an increase in enrollment, which we are excited about. For this reason, we may be hiring additional teachers at certain grade levels. If this happens, we will be sending out our procedures for balancing classrooms. We know that transitions can be difficult, but we are very confident in our grade-level teams ability to collaborate and support each other. While each teacher has their own personal style, the curriculum is identical.
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OCPS has connected with Community Connect to provide families with free or reduced cost resources. Here is the link:
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Hawk Bucks Are Here! We are excited to launch our Hawk Bucks program to celebrate and incentivize positive behavior across all grade levels. Students can earn Hawk Bucks throughout the week for demonstrating great character, responsibility, and school spirit, which they can trade in for fun prizes at our mobile Hawk Store. Encouraging great choices starts at home—ask your child how they’re working to earn their Hawk Bucks this week! |
We will be updating this with our concerts and performances throughout the year. |
⚽ Soccer Season Is Here, Silverhawks!
Our first soccer game of the season kicks off August 24th at Horizon West at 5:00 PM! Come out, show your Silverhawk spirit, and cheer on our Boys & Girls Soccer Teams! 📣⚽
Go Silverhawks!
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Fun Spot America is giving a Popcorn Party to the first school or team that reaches 100 registered participants! Let's have our school make the leaderboard! Register today at the link below:
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What a busy week in the library! 📖
This week, all of our middle school students in grades 6–8 participated in a library orientation! Students got a refresher on how to use the library, completed a fun library scavenger hunt 🔎, and checked out books. We are currently up to 680 books checked out—and that number is growing thanks to our middle school Silverhawks! 🎉📚
💻 Brainfuse Tutoring: During orientation, students also learned about Brainfuse, a FREE online tutoring platform available to all students K-12 through their Orange County Virtual Library card. This is a great resource for students who need a little extra academic support!
📕 Accelerated Reader (AR) Update: I have been receiving quite a few questions about AR, so I wanted to provide an update! We are renewing Accelerated Reader for this school year. I am currently working with the district and the company to get the program turned back on and students rostered. I will let teachers, students, and parents know as soon as it is ready for students to use again. It should be very soon! 📚
📅 Looking Ahead: Next week, the library will be closed for three days due to state testing and Picture Day. 📸📝 When the library is closed, students can still access eBooks and audiobooks through Sora on LaunchPad! 🎧📚
Thank you for supporting our readers and encouraging your Silverhawk to make time for reading! 📖
— Ms. Scurry
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In news from the cafeteria, you can celebrate your student's special day with Birthday Bites. Birthday Bites are a healthy way to celebrate your child's birthday with the entire class. You can scan the QR code or order at: https://www.ocps.net/261122_3
This is a reminder that all orders must be submitted one week in advance.
This week, the cafeteria started selling ice cream to students during lunches. Ice cream is $1 and is sold on Tuesdays and Fridays.
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PTA held its first PTA meeting of the school year on Wednesday, August 19th. It was a packed house for its first meeting. The next PTA meeting will be on September 2nd at 9am in Cottage 70.
Please Mark Your Calendars for Some Upcoming PTA Events:
Sept 2nd: Spirit Night Chick-fil-A Kirkman and Conroy Rd. Mobile orders between 2:00pm-8:00pm.
Sept 18th: STEM Night. The PTA hosts hands-on stations from The Orlando Science Center, and then finishes the program with their Kaboom show!
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Planning ahead, we would like to share some upcoming coloring days for our campus. On September 4th is College Colors Day, and starting September 14th is our annual tradition of Kindergarten Color Days, where our whole school wears a different color each day to support our Kindergarten students in learning their colors. |
Windy Ridge will be starting many clubs in the month of September. Two clubs have begun advertising upcoming meetings. We will be sharing additional club information soon.
For more information about:
- Girls Who Code contact Dr. Strawser at: Corydon.Strawser@ocps.net
- Battle of the Books contact Ms. Scurry at: Jessica.Scurry@ocps.net
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For any questions about upcoming health screenings you can email our school nurse Nurse Jones at: ashley.jones3@ocps.net. |
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August 24th- Soccer Game at Horizon West MS 5pm
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August 25th- FAST ELA PM1 Grades 6-8
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August 26th- Soccer Game at Chain of Lakes MS vs. Robinswood MS at 5pm
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August 27th- FAST ELA PM1 Grade 3-5
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August 28th- Picture Day
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August 31- Soccer Game at Carver MS at 5pm
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September 1st- FAST Math PM1 Grades 6-8, SAC meeting at 5:30 in Media Center
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September 2- PTA Meeting 9am Cottage 70, Soccer Game at Gotha MS at 5:30pm, PTA Spirit Night Chick-fil-A Kirkman and Conroy Rd. Mobile orders between 2:00pm-8:00pm
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September 3rd- Fast Math PM1 Grades 3-5
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September 4th- College Colors Day
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September 7th- Labor Day- No School
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September 8th- FAST STAR Reading Grades 1-2
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September 9th- Soccer Game vs Ocoee at Gotha at 5:30pm at 5:30pm
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September 10th- FAST STAR Math Grade 1-2, Westly's Mile Run Club begins, Hearing and Vision Screening (Grades KG, 1st, 3rd and 6th)
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September 14th- Soccer Game at Chain of Lakes 5:00pm, Kindergarten Color Days Begin
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September 15th- FAST STAR Reading Kindergarten
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September 16th- Soccer Game at Lakeview Middle School 5:00pm
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September 17th- FAST STAR Math Kindergarten
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September 18th- PTA STEM Night
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Picture day is this Friday. You can order online by scanning the above QR code. Students also received a picture day ordering form if you would like to order with cash or check. If you have any picture day questions, please email: jessica.scurry@ocps.net. |
Believe it or not, this week we will be conducting our first base-line data assessments. They are scheduled for:
Tuesday, August 25: ELA for Grades 6-8
Thursday, August 27: ELA for Grades 3-5
Tuesday, September 1: Math for Grades 6-8
Thursday, September 3: Math for Grades 3-5
Tuesday, September 8: ELA for Grades 1-2
Thursday, September 10: Math Grades 1-2
Tuesday, September 15: ELA Kindergarten
Thursday, September 17: Math Kindergarten
These tests are very important to establish where your child stands with regard to the standards they will learn this year.
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Look here for your student doing amazing things. |
This week, we will share photos of the leadership team and elementary teams. Next week, we will highlight our middle school, elective, and specials teams. |
Sarah Spolski, Daniel Kempinger, Jacqueline Lemieux, Juvi Velez Soto, Jessica Scurry, Siobhan MacElhiney, Wendy Setzer, Refmann Ly |
Katie Tunnell, Marsha Sutherland, Vicki Maroney, Robbi Lucas, Morayma Shaeffer |
Brittney Tucker, Samantha Salvati, Johanna Jackson, Kathleen Johnson, Ruth Rodriguez |
Abigail Lowe, Christina Botson, Yahaira Rodriguez, Chelsea Wegener Gillman, Elizabeth Higgins |
Edgaryluz Miranda, Punam Keazer, Adriana Fonseca, Priscila De Freitas, Ellen Phillips |
Ashley Tomlinson, Kendahl Steele, Yvette Baker, Jessica Macia, Ariana Santiago |
Brianna Thacker, Geeta Wadhwani, Jerilyn Brown, Jeffrey Robinson, Chelsey Rasmussen
Not Pictured: Stephen Lehnhoff, Ryan Tomlinson
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Mary Beth Smoot, Amy Gardenier, Sonoe Preston, Nushin Rafiean, Holly Al-Jibory, Lisa Chatman, Esther Thomas, Clementine Denmark, Dorette Bogle |
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