April 2016
Lynch Pride Newsletter
Lynch Elementary School
Johnnie Crawford III, Principal 1901 71st Street North, St. Petersburg, FL 33702
Julie Jones, Assistant Principal Phone 727-570-3170
The Mission of Lynch Elementary School Community is to prepare every student for college, career and citizenship by
providing quality educational experiences and integrating literacy through all disciplines.
Vision: 100% Student Success
The School Board of Pinellas County, Florida, prohibits any and all forms of discrimination and harassment based on race, color, sex, religion, national origin, marital status, age, sexual orientation or disability in any of its programs, services or activities. www.pinellas.k12.fl.us
April 2016
Crawford’s Corner
Johnnie Crawford III, Principal
April is a busy time around campus, but we must stay the course so we can finish strong. Help us encourage our students to continue to give 100% and make every effort to meet academic and behavior expectations. As we start the final stretch of the school year we have much to celebrate.
Join me in congratulating our PRIDE (Program to Recognize Initiative and Distinction in Education) award winners: Ethan Bond for Math, Diego Lozada for Science, Raja Pla for Social Studies and Arianna Morrow for Writing! Fifth-graders must achieve an A average in their subject area to be eligible for an award and demonstrate a positive attitude while scoring the highest on subject area assessments. All elementary and middle school students who earned a PRIDE award for academic achievement were recognized Monday, April 4th, at Ruth Eckerd Hall. Each student winner received a medallion and a trophy. DITEK and the Pinellas Education Foundation sponsored the event.
Congratulations to our 3rd, 4th and 5th grade students who achieved Perfect Attendance, Honor Roll and Principal’s list for the third grading period. We honored them Friday, April 8th. Thank you parents for coming out to help us celebrate student achievement.
Our 5th Grade Moving-Up ceremony will be held the last day of school, Tuesday, June 7th, at 9:00 a.m. in the cafeteria.
Thank you parents for sending your students to school dressed for success. When students ask me, “why do we have to wear uniforms?” I tell them I wear a shirt and tie or something similar to the school uniform because it sends the message that I am here to work.When students wear their uniform it sends the same message.Parents, please help us reinforce this message by making sure students are in uniform each day. Encourage your child to follow the rules of the school as a first step to making them a respectful and law-abiding citizen.
Thank you and see you around campus,
Spring Fling ~ May 19, 2016
Spring Fling will be held on Friday, 5:30-7:00 p.m. We are looking forward to seeing you there. Some of the evening activities will include: a storyteller, kindergarten bug presentation, St. Petersburg History Museum presentation, playing soccer with 1st grade. Come explore these and many more activities. If you interested in helping with this event please contact Heidi Colbeck at .
Staff Appreciation Week ~ May 2-6, 2016
Teachers and school staff are real life superheroes. They educate, innovate, encourage and support. Every day they touch the lives of many of children, and their work and impact extends far beyond the boundaries of the school. Take the time to celebrate these real life superheroes.
Staff Appreciation Week is a time to recognize and honor the hard work and dedication of the Lynch Staff. Here’s one way your children can let the staff know how much they are appreciated. On Tuesday, May 3rd, a table will be set up from 8:05-8:35 a.m., at the front entrance so students may write a thank-you note to their teacher or another staff member.
Jones’ Jots ______
Julie Jones, Assistant, Principal
Oh my, it’s April! Our theme this year was “Knock it out of the Park”. We have been working so hard (students, staff and families) to keep our students academically growing. Students in 1st and 2nd grades have finished their SAT 10 assessments and the results from these tests will help next year’s teachers plan and support continued growth. Our 3rd graders just finished reading and math Florida Standards Assessment (FSA). We know they were ready and prepared and can’t wait to see the homeruns. Fourth grade has taken math and will be venturing in to their reading FSA and 5th grade will be taking their reading, math and science all in April…WOW! I am sure all the hard efforts from our Lynch family will prove again to be a success.
Soon we will switch gears and start the work for getting students ready for next year. We have some exciting plans in the works and you will hear about them shortly….Have a wonderful Spring!
School Guidance
Barbara Bitzer, School Counselor
After 24 years at Lynch Elementary (and 34 with Pinellas County Schools), I will be retiring at the end of this school year. My Lynch family –students, parents and staff – have been a big part of my life and will be greatly missed. At this time, I have no specific plans except to enjoy not hearing the alarm clock! I would like to do some traveling and devote more time to craft projects. And don’t be surprised if you see me next year as a Lynch volunteer.
Media News
Sherri Magill, Media Tech Specialist
Get into the Groove of Reading! Lynch’s Spring Book Fair is on its way.You can purchase your favorite new books right here in the Media Center and every purchase helps our school.Mark your calendars… May 16th-20th!
Book Swap is coming! Your child loved that book and now it has a chance to make another child happy. Help send home a gently used book with a student this summer by donating to our May Book Swap. For every three books you donate, your child will receive a golden ticket that guarantees they will have first pick of donated books. Last year, we collected 970 books that went home with students. Let’s recycle those books again this year. Books can be dropped off at the media center anytime.
PE Update
Fitness testing is complete; reports will go home with 3rd, 4th and 5th graders at the end of the school year. It is warming up so please remember to bring a water bottle to PE class. Any clothing left outside during PE will be taken to the lost and found table in the multipurpose room.
Title I Tidbits
Denise Malone, MTSS Coach
As a parent, you can help your child be a whiz at math, even if it wasn’t your best subject. Here are Tips for Parents on how:
Be positive about math. Express confidence in your child’s ability to do math. Don’t stress either your own fear of math or how difficult math is or how much you admire anyone who can do math. Remember, everyone can and does use math all the time.
Show your kids math at work in their world.Get your kids used to math by thinking out loud when making calculations. Then, let your children work out some real-life puzzles themselves.For example: Let them measure when you bake. Ask them to figure out how long of a hose you need to reach from the faucet on the side of the house to the garden. Let your child figure out how many miles you’ll be driving on your next trip by using the information on a map. Have them sort silverware by knives, forks, and spoons or sort cards by suit or numbers.
Make math a game. Math games are fun and inexpensive. They are a wonderful way to get your kids to enjoy working with numbers, as well as improve their number skills. Here are a few suggestions: Many games that we take for granted are excellent math lessons. “Go Fish” teaches counting and grouping in sets. Games that use play money teach how to make change. Board games that use dice teach addition and counting.Backgammon teaches addition, subtraction, and strategy. Beans, stones, or marbles can be used to play number games. Let your child develop his or her own games by sorting beans into different sizes or types, setting up the rules for a counting game, or using different types of pasta to make a picture. Give your children a geometry lesson by letting them create a collage of circles, squares, and triangles.Challenge them to come up with as many different shapes as they can using only triangles. Play store with the items in your cupboard. A pan of water and some jars or cups of different sizes will amuse a child for hours while teaching capacity and volume.
Artistic Touch
Esta Levine, Art Teacher
One of St. Petersburg’s premier art shows is this month…The Mainsail Art Festival, April 16-17, at the Vinoy Park. One of the features of this festival is the Student Exhibition on display in the same show as professional artists. We have 2 students whose art will be in the exhibit. Congratulations to 1st grader, Rada Petrovic-Todic, and to 2nd grader Courtney Lockart. I encourage you to attend this art show and be sure to visit the student art exhibit.
Goodwill Drop Box
As you are “spring cleaning”, keep in mind we have a Goodwill drop box located in our east (18th St.) parking lot. The PTO receives 5¢ per pound for items donated! Your gently used items help fund activities for the students/school such as birthday books, field trips, recess and others.
Mark Your CalendarApril 21, Thursday / iChills Family Night 3-9 p.m., 7901 4th St N
May 2-6 / Teacher/Staff Appreciation Week
May 16-20 / Spring Book Fair
May 18, Wednesday / McFamily Night 4-7 p.m. 925 62nd Ave N
May 19, Thursday / Spring Fling, 5:30-7:00 p.m. (watch for fliers)
May 30, Monday / Memorial Day – School Closed
June 7, Tuesday / 5th Grade Moving-Up ceremony
Report cards distributed, Last day for students
Aug 10, 2016, Wed. / 1st day of school (2016/17 SY)
September 5, Monday / Labor Day – schools closed
Box Tops for Education
Lynch Families please keep those Box Tops coming in. Each one is worth 10¢ for our school. Just a reminder when sending in the Box Tops, please make sure your child’s teacher’s name is written on the Ziploc bag to get credit for their class. Also, check the expiration dates.
Our Box Tops collection has been going very well this year. We are about $500 short of our goal of $2,000.00. So let’s finish out the year strong and send in those Box Tops before June 1st.
Congratulations to the following classes who were our monthly winners so far this year:
September- Ms. Wilcox, October- Ms. Clingman, November- Ms. RJ, December/January- Ms. Roberts, February- Mrs. Goodloe, March- Ms. Nesmith
Now let’s see which classes will fill the last 2 spots of the year!!
School Psychologist Says…
Eileen Bonilla, Ed.S, LMHC
Discuss Your Interests To Avoid Arguments:
The main key to understanding child psychology is to know what characteristics are common between your child and you.
· It might be food, music, games, subjects, hobbies or any other thing.
· Discuss your interests with your child and have a plan about how to develop interests further and have fun.
· Having discussions of this type helps you avoid small fights and big quarrels
· Don’t Stop Talking Even If Your Child Is Not Listening:
· As a parent of a growing child, you will agree that your child does not listen to everything you tell him.
· Though he might argue with you, your advice will stay etched in his mind as he grows up.
· Even if he might not agree with what you say, the essence of your advice sticks with them.
· So do not stop your advice session as it will help your child as he grows and matures.
Arrival/Dismissal
Reminder that student hours are: 8:35 a.m. - 2:35 p.m.
Staff is on duty at 8:05 a.m. to supervise students; before that time you are responsible for your child. Please do not drop off before 8:05 a.m. It is important that students arrive and are in their seats ready to learn by 8:35 a.m. Dismissal is at 2:35 p.m. If you need daycare before or after school please contact one of the following resources:
· YMCA (housed on campus) 895-9622
· Roberts Recreation Center 893-7754
· Fossil Park (Willis S. Johns) 893-7756
Community Resources
2-1-1 Tampa Bay Cares is a non-profit organization that provides the only free, confidential, multi-lingual, 24-hour dialing code - 2-1-1 - for access to community information, services and resources for employment, food for your family, help for an aging parent, addiction prevention programs for teenage children, a place to stay for the night, affordable child care options, support groups and ways of becoming part of the community.
2-1-1 connects you to information about critical health and human services available in the community for every day needs and in times of crisis.2-1-1 provides a one-stop service and enables people to get assistance before they give up by providing someone to talk to and someone to listen.
Call 2-1-1, e-mail ,or visit our services site www.211connects.org. If you experience a rapid busy signal when dialing 2-1-1, please dial 727-210-4211.