Windy Ridge Families-
Well, last week I learned that I had far fewer yellow and green options in my wardrobe than I had thought. This week I will be ready for Kindergarten Color week, I promise. Monday begins a very special week for our Hawks as it is "Starts with Hello" Week. This is a week that our student services plans activities to encourage all of our students to meet new friends and focus on inclusivity. During this week, we will hold our first Resiliency Day. For our middle school students, we will have an adjusted bell schedule to provide time to work on the lesson. Elementary students will complete the lesson with their homeroom. Monday, we will hold our pep rally to open up our Fun Run Fundraiser. The money raised by the PTA helps with teacher grants, student celebrations and teacher appreciation events, among others. Please contribute if you can.
Last week, we were notified of our teacher placements. I have reached out to them and hope to meet them this week. The teachers will have 3 days to prepare for their new classes. We will send out individual communication to families that have been impacted, but ultimately, I am excited for all of our teachers and students to have smaller classes which will result in more individualized attention. I want to thank all of you for your understanding and patience with this. The new district start date for those classrooms will be 9/30.
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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This week, our Silverhawks are joining schools across the country in celebrating Start with Hello Week, a national event organized by Sandy Hook Promise! Throughout the week, our Silverhawks will practice simple but meaningful ways to connect with others—saying hello, performing acts of kindness, giving compliments, celebrating our differences, and reaching out to someone new. A simple “Hello!” can be the first step toward making someone feel like they belong!
On Thursday, September 24, Windy Ridge K-8 will participate in our first of two school-wide Resiliency Days. These days support Florida’s state-mandated resiliency instruction under Florida Statute 1003.42. During the day, elementary and middle school students will complete grade-level Xello lessons, while middle school students will also complete a Resiliency Day module in Canvas. Additional activities are also planned for the day.
Middle school students will follow the modified bell schedule shared below.
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Thursday: Progress Reports for Quarter 1 were sent home. You can also view them on Skyward by clicking on the Portfolio/Report Card tab like the image above. |
Please mark your calendars for our next SAC meeting on October 6th at 5:30pm in the Media Center. |
Show your support for Breast Cancer Awareness this October! Students and staff will be able to wear this special-edition Silverhawk Pinktober shirt every Wednesday in October as we come together to raise awareness and show our support.
⭐ FOR SALE FOR ONE WEEK ONLY! ⭐
The last day to purchase is Tuesday, September 22nd. We will be submitting the order after that. The shirts will be delivered before the first Pinktober Wednesday.
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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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Elementary School Families- Windy Ridge has seen an increase in enrollment, which we are excited about. For this reason, we will be hiring additional teachers at certain grade levels. As this occurs, 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. |
We are excited to share that each elementary class will be participating in Kelso’s Choice starting in October! The conflict-management curriculum helps children learn to differentiate between problems they can handle on their own and those requiring adult intervention. The goal is to help our students develop and sustain the belief that they are capable of resolving their own small problems and gain lifelong conflict-resolution skills. Knowing how to deal with conflict in a positive manner will help reduce stress and conflicts at school and at home. Many students will remember Kelso the green frog and his poster wheel of choices. Please help us welcome Kelso back to Windy Ridge! Additional information will be sent home as we launch the school-wide program. |
OCPS has connected with Community Connect to provide families with free or reduced cost resources. Here is the link:
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Windy Ridge K-8 implements the CHAMPS Classroom Behavior Management Program. This is a proactive, positive approach to schoolwide and classroom management. Instead of reacting to misbehavior after it happens, CHAMPS focuses on managing expectations by overtly teaching students exactly how to behave during different classroom and schoolwide activities and transitions. CHAMPS is an acronym in which each letter represents an area of focus. |
It was another busy week on the field for our Silverhawks!
⚽ Wednesday vs. Chain of Lakes
💙 Boys: WIN 1–0 🎉
🤍 Girls: Lost 0–3
⚽ Thursday vs. Gotha
💙 Boys: After a hard-fought match, the boys fell to Gotha in penalty kicks, 4–2.
📅 NEXT GAME: Wednesday, September 23rd
🆚 Water Spring
⏰ 5:00 PM
📣 Come out and support our Silverhawk soccer teams and cheer them on from the sidelines!
LET’S GO, SILVERHAWKS! ⚽
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This week, we celebrated Hispanic Heritage Month by reading Adela’s Mariachi Band by Denise Vega! 🇲🇽🎺🎻 Students enjoyed learning about mariachi music and even got to listen to a little mariachi music during their library visit. 🎶
📚 Our Silverhawks have now circulated 3,542 physical books this school year! Our most popular books this week were, of course, Dog Man — Volumes #10, #5, and #7 took the top spots!
Keep reading and keep soaring, Silverhawks!
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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 is a reminder that the cafeteria sells ice cream for $1 on Tuesdays and Fridays.
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The PTA Fun Run Pep Rally kicks off on Monday, September 21st. Elementary students must have a signed parental consent form turned in to participate. The pep rally for middle school will take place during their lunch. The PTA Fun Run will take place on Friday, October 9th. Students must have a parent consent form turned in as well to participate in that event too. Students received a copy of the consent forms and Ms. Scurry has posted the forms on ParentSquare. |
For more information about both of these clubs, you can email Dr. Strawser at: corydon.strawser@ocps.net. |
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September 21st- PTA Fun Run Pep Rally (Elementary students must have a parental consent form turned in to participate, for middle school students it will occur during their lunch.)
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September 23rd- Soccer Game at Water Spring 5:00pm
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September 24th- Resiliency Day- Middle School will be on a modified bell schedule
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September 28th- Middle School Algebra I and Geometry PMA Testing
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September 29th- Middle School Civics and Science PMA Testing
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October 6th- SAC Meeting 5:30pm Media Center
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October 7th- Volleyball Tryouts Start for Middle School Students
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October 9th- PTA Fun Run (Students must have a parental consent form turned in to participate)
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October 12th- Teacher Workday/Student Holiday
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October 15th- Hispanic Heritage Family Night 5:30pm-6:45pm
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Middle School students enrolled in Algebra 1, Geometry, Civics, and Science will take their Progress Monitoring Activity (PMA) for Quarter 1:
September 28th - Algebra 1 and Geometry
September 29th - Civics and 6th-8th Science
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This week, we recognized our Silverhawks who were our Top 10 Readers in June and July for Summer Reading! ☀️📖 These dedicated readers logged their reading minutes in Beanstack throughout the summer, and we are so proud of their reading success!
Congratulations to our Summer Readers:
🌟 Shazad Araf
🌟 Lucas Bergolla Leyes
🌟 Mahari Certain
🌟 Luca Goulart
🌟 Timothy Kim
🌟 Jonathan Kim
🌟 Anas Khasanov
🌟 Gene Korbut
🌟 Luka LaLuzerne
🌟 Ella Scurry
🌟 Sammie Warren
🌟 Tamaya Warren
Students received fun prizes, including Squishmallows and kids' meal vouchers generously provided by Chick-fil-A at Kirkman & Conroy Road!
Way to keep reading all summer long, Silverhawks! Your hard work and dedication helped you soar to reading success! 📚
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