Brevard Public Schools
jf Edition 22; March 18, 2010

Quick Links


Top Stories

Donohue is TOY!


In The News

Art for a Cause

New Parent Involvement Website

Teen Book Club

Book Bash


Look Around BPS

Holtrop Honored

Fuel Up to Play 60

ExxonMobil Teachers

Edgewood Good News

Odyssey of the Mind


Did You Know?

McKay

Kdg Pre-Registration

Magnet Survey


Foundation

Entertainment Books


Wellness

Quit Smoking

Prescription Cost Savings


 

 

It's March Madness Time!

I'm not a huge basketball fan, so March Madness never made sense to me - until now.  No, I'm still not talking about basketball.  What I am referring to as "March Madness" is this month's challenges and surprises.  Everything from the budget to FCAT has come our way and we still have a few more weeks until spring break!

Therefore, I say, "If you can't beat 'em, join 'em!"  And jump head first into this March Madness theme by looking at what's happening in the district this month.

 

Sincerely,

  Christine A. Davis, Ed.S.

   Editor, Brevard Notebook

 

P.S.  Please tell me how you feel about the Notebook by completing the customer service survey (link located at the bottom left).  In addition, please let me know what your school, class or department is doing so it can be featured in upcoming publications.  Submit your story idea and photos using the link on the left below.  This link may be used to submit ideas for the electronic employee newsletter, the electronic parent newsletter, or the district's printed publication, the Mark of Excellence.

 

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Top Stories

Donohue is Teacher of the Year!

 

Atlantis Elementary’s fourth grade teacher, Christina Donohue has won this year’s coveted title of Brevard Public Schools (BPS) Teacher of the Year. Donohue was presented with the award Thursday, March 4, before an audience of over 400 people at the Radisson Resort in Cape Canaveral at BPS’ annual awards event hosted by Brevard Schools Foundation.

 

As Brevard County’s Teacher of the Year, Donohue receives prizes including a $500 check from Brevard Schools Foundation, a Teacher of the Year ring presented by Jostens, and a Florida Humanities Scholarship for a week-long stay at a summer workshop. She also receives a laptop computer from GovConnection and the use of a vehicle from Space Coast Honda. Clear Channel Outdoor-Daytona Beach-Melbourne donated a billboard located on Hwy 520 in Cocoa and signage at The Avenue in Viera honoring Donohue as The Teacher of the Year. Click here for more information.

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In The News

Art for a Cause!                                

Brevard County students and teachers are invited to submit their artwork for the inaugural Art for a Cause fund-raiser at the Melbourne Art Festival.  Health First Health Plans, Inc. (HFHP) in collaboration with Brevard schools and the 26th Annual Melbourne Art Festival, is presenting the fi rst-ever Art for a Cause fund-raiser. Judges will select donated art to be displayed and sold at this year’s Melbourne Art Festival on April 24 and 25. Health First Health Plans is donating all proceeds to support art education, the United Way of Brevard, and Brevard schools through the Brevard Schools Foundation.  Click here for more information

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District Launches New Parental Involvement Web Site

Brevard Public Schools announces the launch of its new Parental Involvement web site.  This site will provide announcements, meeting dates, parenting tips, Parent Leadership Team agendas, handouts and presentations, and a variety of valuable media links and resources for parents.    

You can access the new web site from the home page of the Brevard Public Schools’ website at www.brevardschools.org by clicking on Parent Involvement on the left navigation bar or by going directly to the following link:  http://middleschoolprograms.brevardschools.org/parents/default.aspx .

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Florida Teens Read Book Club Gatherings

Submitted by Sharon Reynolds, Library Media Resource Teacher 

The month of April is designated by our Governor as School Library Media Month.  To encourage reading throughout the year, Brevard’s high school media specialists promote books selected by the Florida Association for Media in Education known as the Florida Teens Read books.  This voluntary reading program engages teen readers and invites them to post their thoughtful comments about the books on the district's blog site dedicated to this purpose.  You can read this year’s blog at http://media.brevard.k12.fl.us/florida_teens_read_2009_2010/.  

This year the Florida Teens Read Book Club Gatherings are scheduled from 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. on Friday, April 9th in the media centers of Viera High School and Palm Bay High School.  These events allow students who have read this year’s titles to meet fellow readers from other high schools in the district and to engage in activities and discussions related to the books.  Your school library media specialist has all the details about how to participate.

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Book Bash Is Coming Soon

Submitted by Sharon Reynolds, Library Media Resource Teacher

More than 1,200 students in grades 3-8 will be celebrating the joy of books at Brevard Public Schools ninth annual Sunshine State Young Readers’ Award Book Bash.  Participating students will gather at various schools throughout the district to play memory games, design book jackets, and participate in dramatic readings of scenes from the 15 novels they have read.  The school library media specialists promote these Sunshine State Young Readers Award books throughout the year.  The celebration marks the 25th anniversary of School Library Month and will occur at our schools on the mornings of April 14th and 15th.  The elementary schools currently scheduled to be hosting the activities for grades 3-5 on April 14th are Andersen Elementary, Apollo Elementary, Enterprise Elementary, Harbor City Elementary, Lockmar Elementary, Meadowlane Intermediate, Roosevelt Elementary, Sherwood Elementary, Tropical Elementary, Westside Elementary, and Williams Elementary.  Students in grades 6-8 will participate in activities at these same schools (with the exception of Williams Elementary) on April 15th, along with students at Clearlake Middle and Edgewood Jr/Sr schools.  A total of 63 of the 70 eligible schools will participate this year.  The activities for students provide support for development of student literacy in a series of engaging, fun events including strengthening writing and critical thinking skills through online blogging.  Talk with your school’s library media specialist to learn more about these exciting events.

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Look Around Brevard

Holtrop Honored with Star Award

Mrs. Jennifer Holtrop from Manatee Elementary was honored with a Star Award at the Hidden Potentials award dinner.  The Star Award provides recognition for teachers and other individuals who have made a significant impact in the life of children with special needs in Brevard County.  We are all very proud of her!!!

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Fuel Up To Play 60

Submitted by Laura Brown, School Counselor/Wellness Teacher

Enterprise Elementary and Apollo Elementary are participating in the national Fuel Up To Play 60 program sponsored by the NFL and the National Dairy Council.  Currently our schools are the only 2 elementary schools ranked in the top 10 in Florida with Enterprise in 6th place and Apollo in 9th place.  In fact, for most of the first half of the contest, we were ranked 2nd and 4th place even though our students were competing primarily against much older students at other schools.   

This program is an online contest where students in grades K – 12 log in their daily healthy eating choices and active play time to earn points.  The contest encourages students to make healthy lifestyle changes by eating 3 servings of fruits, low fat dairy and whole wheat grains and 5 servings of vegetables each day as well as engaging in 60 minutes of active play daily.  Many of our students have been logging on to the Fuel Up To Play 60 website since October and are making healthy choices daily.  You can visit the website at www.fueluptoplay60.com.  

We are very proud of our students hard work and just wanted to let you know what they are doing!

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Local Teachers Selected to Attend 2010 Mickelson ExxonMobil Teachers Academy

 Three BPS teachers were selected from more than 1,200 teachers nationwide

Robin Robb, a gifted teacher at Indialantic Elementary, Shannon Daly a  fifth grade teacher from Manatee Elementary, and Randi Ondo a fifth grade teacher from Atlantis Elementary have been selected to attend the 2010 Mickelson ExxonMobil Teachers Academy at the Liberty Science Center in Jersey City, N.J.  Robb, Daly, and Ondo are three of 200 highly-qualified third- through fifth-grade teachers from around the country selected to attend the intensive one-week, all-expense paid professional development program this summer. Click here for more information

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Here is some feel good news about Edgewood Jr/Sr High School Senior Projects

With the effort of the school Senior Project Coordinator, Sheri Willingham, and the support of the Targus Corporation, Edgewood Jr. Sr. High School will be receiving a generous donation with a value of over $2200. The Targus Corporation has offered to provide twenty wireless presenters to the 12th grade students at Edgewood for their Senior Project Presentations later this spring.  In addition to the wireless presenters, each student will also receive a computer backpack for their personal use and for the storage of their laptops.  Targus Corporation’s main goal is to support Edgewood’s Senior Project  Program and provide students with the opportunity to make formal presentations with more advanced technology. The students will be making their presentations to small panels of community judges on April 23 on the school campus. 

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Odyssey of the Mind

Odyssey of the Mind had its district competition at Bayside High School on March 6, 2010. Dedicated students, parents, and teachers began the day at 7 am with the first competition and ended the day with the awards ceremony at 6:00 pm. It was a wonderful day filled with problem solving and creativity.

Approximately 800 Brevard County students, representing 114 teams participated in this challenging competition.  The following schools had teams progress to state competition at University of Central Florida on April 10:

Elementary Schools:  Roy Allen, Challenger 7, Creel, Endeavor, Enterprise, Gemini, Imperial Estates, Indialantic, Lockmar, Manatee, Palm Bay, Quest, Sunrise, and Suntree

Middle Schools:  Clearlake, DeLaura, Johnson, and Southwest

High Schools:  Eau Gallie, Edgewood, Space Coast, and West Shore. 

Thank you to the two Brevard Teachers who coordinated this awesome event at Bayside for our Brevard school children--- Laird Parsons (Quest Elementary) and Sharmaine Schenck (Manatee Elementary).

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Did You Know?

John M. McKay Scholarships for Students with Disabilities Program

Exceptional Education students may be eligible to participate in the John M. McKay Scholarships for Students with Disabilities Program, commonly known as the McKay Scholarship Program.  This program was created to provide enhanced educational options to parents of students with disabilities.  Currently, more than 19,000 Florida students are participating in this program. 

In order for a child to be eligible for the McKay Scholarship Program for this school year, he/she must meet the following requirements:   

● Your child must have been enrolled in a Florida public school for the 2008-2009 school year;

● Your child must be enrolled in kindergarten through 12th grade;

● Your child must have been reported by the school district for funding during the October 2008 and February 2009 student membership survey periods; and  

● Your child must have an IEP (Individual Education Plan)  

If your child meets these requirements, he/she may be eligible for the program and you may: 

  • Request a different public school within your district;

  • Request a public school in an adjacent school district; or

  • Receive a scholarship for your child to attend a participating private school.

To learn more about your child’s educational options, please visit the Department of Education, Office of Independent Education and Parental Choice website at www.floridaschoolchoice.org or call the Parental Choice Hotline at 1(800) 447-1636. 

You may also contact our school district’s Exceptional Education Office at 633-1000 ext. 503 or visit our website www.brevardschools.org : 

There are two ways to get the John M. McKay Scholarship information from our website: 

Click on Parent Portal

Underneath Choice Schools Portal, click on John M. McKay Scholarship Program for Students with Disabilities 

Or 

Click on Departments

Click on Exceptional Education

Click on McKay Scholarships

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Kindergarten Pre-Registration

 Kindergarten pre-registration for the 2010-2011 school year is being held at all Brevard County elementary schools April 12-16, 2010.  Children entering kindergarten for the first time must comply with Florida Statute 1003.21 regarding age, which states a child must be five years old on or before September 1, 2010.

To register a child for kindergarten, parents must provide the following:

  • child's original birth certificate for proof of age

  • current physical examination which must be performed within one (1) year of the day of entry

  • current immunization records which include five doses of DTP, four doses of Polio, two doses of MMR, three doses of Hepatitis B series and two doses of varicella vaccine as required by Florida Statute 1003.22

Varicella vaccine is not required if the child has documentation of a history of chicken pox.  Any student who does not have their immunizations or a proper exemption on the basis of medial or religious grounds will not be enrolled in school until fully compliant.

 

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BPS Asks Parents and Community Members for Input on Magnet School Survey

Brevard Public Schools (BPS) would like parents and citizens to share their thoughts and ideas on magnet schools themes. Beginning Monday, March 8, and ending March 26, a special community survey will be available on the school district’s Web site.

Community comment will help garner support for the need and interest in establishing magnet schools within Brevard County. Magnet programs in Brevard match students’ abilities and interests with specific areas of study while integrating core academic subjects with a theme unique to its curriculum. Brevard County Magnet Schools attract students with focused interests, those seeking greater challenges and students who do not relate to traditional instruction.

Parents and community members are encouraged to log on to www.brevardschools.org and click on the link under “News Room” to share their comments.  Once submitted, parent and community input will be included, aggregated and analyzed to be considered along with other information in the formation of the BPS Magnet School Grant.    For more information please contact the Office of School Choice at 321-633-1000, extension 395.

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Foundation

 

Entertainment Books are still on sale!  Just $25 each.  Please contact 633-1000 extension 756 for more information.

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Wellness

BROUGHT TO YOU BY THE BPS WELLNESS PROGRAM.
Lana M. Saal, M.S.


Smoking Cessation Options Through Programs and Quit Line –

Tobacco is the single greatest cause of disease and premature death in America today. It is responsible for more than 430,000 deaths each year. Nearly 21% of adult Americans currently smoke, and 3,000 children and adolescents become regular users of tobacco every day. The societal costs of tobacco-related death and disease approach $100 billion dollars each year.

There is good news for people who currently smoke or use smokeless tobacco and think they are getting closer to quitting. Thanks to grants made available free options to help people quit all forms of tobacco are available through one-on-one or group class settings.  Click here for more information

 


Prescription Health:  Pharmacy Cost Savings …some assistance to help you save money at the pharmacy

Prescription drugs play a role in the daily life of more than half of all Americans.  Between 20%-30% of people in the United States report having skipped or stretched a prescription medicine during the previous 12-months because of the cost.

In response to employee concerns heard by the Department of Compensation & Benefits regarding the recent doubling of co-pays from $10, $20, and $35 to $20, $40, and $70 for prescription medications, the Wellness program has created an informational flyer on programs and discounts within our community to help employees make the best financial choices when purchasing their prescribed medications. Click here for more information

 

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Editor:

Christine Davis, District Communications


 

 


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