PSE Newsletter​

Greetings Panthers! ​

Welcome to the 2024-2025 school year. We are excited to welcome all our students and families back to PSE as an "A school". I would like to thank our students, staff, parents, and community for all the hard work in helping our school attain incredible success last year. Our theme this year is “Diving into a Sea of Knowledge.” It is our mission to provide a safe environment where all learners are empowered to reach their fullest potential. As we get FOCUS(ed) this year, please do not forget to download our Focus Parent Portal in order to stay connected to your child's educational journey. I am looking forward to serving as your proud principal and strive to have another fantastic year. Lastly, remember that the School Advisory Council (SAC) is a perfect way to stay connected with the updated events and school business. Please join us at our monthly meetings. The yearly calendar will be shared at our first meeting on Tuesday, September 3, 2024, at 2:00 pm. Please know that my door is always open if you have any questions or concerns. ​

​Your Proud Principal,​

Denise Hanson​

Important Dates:​

• 8/21- Open House for PK, 1, 3, and 5​
• ​8/27- Coffee with Administration @9:00am in PSE Cafeteria​
• 8/28- Open House for K, 2,4, and ASD​
• ​8/30- Kona Ice @1:45​
• ​9/2- No School ​
• ​9/3- SAC Meeting @2:00pm​
• ​9/4- PTO Meeting @12:15pm​
• ​9/7- PSE Family Night at FAU Football Game​
• ​9/13- Dot Day​
• ​9/23-9/27- Fall Bookfair​
• 9/27- Interims Issued ​
• 10/1 – SAC Meeting @2:00pm​
• ​10/2- PTO Meeting @12:15pm​
• ​10/3- No School ​
• ​10/8- Fall pictures ​
• ​10/14- Teacher Planning Day​
• 10/15- Quarter 2 begins ​

Be sure to follow us on X (previously Twitter) @principalpse​

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​News from the Office​

Drop Off Policy​

Please be aware of our “item” drop off policy for the 2024-2025 school year. We will accept items up until 8:30 AM daily. Items may include lunches, water bottles, snacks, projects, homework, etc. This policy was established to minimize the disruptions to our academic day and ensure extra safety on campus. We thank you in advance for your cooperation. If you have any questions, please contact Mrs. Morell.​

​Back to School​:

Free and Reduced Lunch​

Please don't forget to apply/renew your application for free and reduced lunch today! Breakfast and lunch is free for all students this year. However, please still visit http://www.myschoolapps.com/ to complete an application.​

Volunteer Application​

If you are interested in volunteering, please be sure you have registered on the following website. This application must be completed every year. For more information go to https://www.browardschools.com/volunteer​

Register to Ride​

If you are a bus rider, you must register at https://www.browardschools.com/register2ride

Attendance

Attendance matters at Park Springs. Regular attendance is a key factor in a child's academic success. Regular attendance is when a student attends more than 95% of the academic school year; this may include up to 8 absences in a 180-day school year. Please use the school calendar, so vacations are planned around school days. We understand that exceptions may arise, but attendance is key to strong student success, and we appreciate your partnership!​

Labeling Items ​

Please ensure that all students' items including lunchboxes, water bottles, and jackets are labeled with their name. This will help us with returning these items when lost at the front office.​

FOCUS ​

The Focus Parent Portal account gives families convenient and secure access to their student’s school information, including school grades, attendance, interim reports, report cards, and more, anytime and anywhere. Register for the Focus Parent Portal at browardschools.com/focus​

Safety:

Submit a tip easily via our anonymous FortifyFL app. Provide as much detail as you can, including names of people involved, physical descriptions, school name, social media handles, etc. You can download the app or visit https://www.getfortifyfl.com/ ​

For more information​

Alyssa’s Alert is a mobile duress alert application that empowers staff members to immediately notify first responders in the event of an emergency. ​

Broward Schools has transitioned to the Plain Language Emergency protocol.​

This language will be used to conduct our monthly safety drills and in the event of an emergency.​

SaferWatch is a web-based and mobile app system that allows users to report an incident as they see it. ​

Happening or submit a tip later. It also ​

Provides real-time communication during ​

The situations. Visit https://www.saferwatchapp.com/ for more information.​

Parent Teacher Organization​

Hello from the Park Springs Parent Teacher Organization (PTO)! Thank you for supporting the PTO at the Kindergarten Screening and Meet & Greet events! We enjoyed meeting you!​

​Open House nights are perfect for shopping for our full spirit wear collection and learning more about the PTO events and activities.  See us at both Open Houses and introduce yourself! Online orders are always welcome!​

​Join the PTO as a member with a $10 donation to our annual fund. Membership means you’re supporting your school! Want to volunteer? We would love to have you! Please fill out the county volunteer application at browardschools.com/volunteer.​

​Volunteers are welcome for PTO Meetings, Book Fairs, Ice Cream Day, and so much more! No time to volunteer at school? Support the PTO in other ways! Attend a Spirit Night at a restaurant, attend evening events at Park Springs, or take home a small project to complete on your own time. All events are included on the school calendar.​

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​PTO Meeting dates​:

​All meetings will​ begin at 12:15pm.​ 9/4, 10/2, 11/6,​ 12/4, 1/8, 2/5,​ 3/5, 4/2, 5/14.

Follow us on social media on Facebook @parkspringselempto and Instagram @parkspringspto. Links to these sites and more can be found at linktree.com/parkspringspto. ​

​Pre Kindergarten

​We are so excited to start the 24-25 school year!  Many of our little learners have never been to school before, so our Pre-K classes are starting the first quarter learning the rules and routines, as well as learning/practicing the different safety drills. While each of our Pre-K Programs are different, we are all working on communication, independent functioning skills, social skills and lots of academics in our own special way. We do our best learning through hands-on opportunities, learning about sharing, functional play, and having fun with many fine motor activities. During calendar time, we learn the days of the week, months of the year and count each day. Our first focus is “All About Me,” where we learn about our school, our friends, our families and ourselves! We look forward to a great rest of the year!​

Welcome Kindergarten Families!​

We loved the time spent getting to know each other and learning the rules and routines of the classroom.​

For the first few weeks, our ELA (English Language Arts) focuses on foundational skills and routines. We are working on the letters of the Alphabet.​

This month, in math, we will be working on numbers 0 to 5.​

We look forward to “Diving into Kindergarten” together this year!​

Autism Spectrum Disorder/Special Programs​

Welcome back to the PSE family. We are excited about this school year. Panther Pals will start in October. We will be participating in the Special Olympics as well as other inclusive activities that will be led by our Panther Pals. Please reach out with any concerns/questions. ​

​First Grade​

Welcome First Grade Families! We are excited to begin a new school year, and we are looking forward to “Diving into a Sea of Knowledge.”​

We have been spending time getting to know each other and learning the rules and routines necessary to help build a classroom community of learners.​

For the first few weeks, our ELA (English Language Arts) instruction focuses on foundational skills and routines that foster independent thinking and reading. Our ELA time will include establishing routines, phonological awareness, shared reading, phonics, shared writing, and independent reading.​

This month in math, we will be adding and subtracting within 10. We will use pictures and manipulatives to add and subtract as we build fluency.​

We look forward to working together to make your child’s 1st grade year a wonderful experience!​

Second Grade​

We are diving into learning this year in Second Grade and so excited to be able to teach this new group of students. This will be a wonderful year of social, emotional, and academic growth for these boys and girls.​

In ELA, we will be focusing on helping the students really understand what they are reading and to ask/answer questions about the text. We will also work on building rigor and stamina in our young readers. Our spelling words each week focus on a phonics rule, and it is important that the children (and you) understand what the rule is so that it cannot only be applied to the spelling words, but also to numerous other words. The students will be working on basic facts and relationships, number sense (place value) and concepts, and numbers to 1,000 in the first quarter.​

In science, we are learning about the scientific method and the steps to performing an experiment. We will be learning all about the matter. In social studies, the concept this quarter is geography.​

As always, please contact your child’s teacher, if you have any questions or concerns. We look forward to making this year in 2nd grade the best possible!​

Individuals with disabilities requesting accommodation under the Americans with Disabilities Act Amendments Act of 2008, (ADAAA) may call Equal Educational Opportunities/ADA Compliance Department at (754)-321-2150 or email us at: eeo@browardschools.com. ​

Third Grade​

We are so excited to welcome our third-graders back to school! We look forward to seeing you all at our Open House on August 21 at 6 pm where you will learn more about our curriculum and a typical day in third grade. ​

In the first quarter, we work on building stamina, responsibility and independence. We also work on developing problem-solving skills. In math, we focus on the concept of multiplication. A great resource to practice fluency with addition, subtraction and multiplication facts is speedymath.com.  In reading, we are learning to ask and answer questions with text evidence for both fiction and non-fiction. We will also learn to identify the central idea of informational text and compare and contrast non-fiction. Third-graders should be reading books at their level in a variety of genres. In Social Studies, we will learn about the constitution and in science we will learn about Animal Classifications and Adaptations. We look forward to seeing our students develop great work habits and grow throughout the year. ​
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Fourth Grade​

Hello and welcome to fourth grade! We are so glad you are here! :) Just a reminder to please return all the paperwork that went home in your child's communication folder and your child's online code of conduct. It is imperative that all of this is done to ensure the safety of your child. Our open house is scheduled for 8/28 at 6pm. Please remember that this is for parents only and that we will be giving lots of important information. If you have any questions, please reach out to your child's teacher through email or their method of classroom communication.​

Fifth Grade​

On behalf of the 5th grade team, we would like to welcome all our new students. We are so excited to meet you and look forward to "Diving into a Sea of Knowledge" this school year! Now that you are "O-Fish-ally" in 5th grade, we know that you will step up to the academic challenge and try your very best! This year you will learn about many fun sciences, social studies, reading and math activities. Parents the Park Springs Elementary school website has useful links to information you need to start the school year. Please be sure to fill out all necessary forms such as code of conduct and emergency contact information. More parent information is to come at Open House. ​

Specials:

PE

We are so excited about the 2024-2025 school year at Park Springs Elementary.  I would like to welcome all incoming PreK and Kindergarten students to PSE, as well as any new students starting their first year here.  I would like to also welcome back all our returning students to PSE.  We are looking forward to a fun and exciting school year full of exercise and knowledge about health.  In our first quarter, we will touch on water safety, which is extremely important knowledge living in South Florida.  We will begin our units about movement and spatial awareness as well.  If you have any questions, please reach out to me at Bart.sheib@browardschools.com.​

Art​

Welcome to the art room! I am so excited to welcome new artists and familiar faces back into our art studio.   This year we will learn that art is a safe space to create and grow; we will learn about artists, experiment with materials and techniques, and have a lot of fun.  Artists will practice trying new things and learn that an artist lies in all of us.  Most of our completed artwork will either be displayed in the halls or kept in the art room, so the artists can keep a year-long portfolio; so, don't panic if you don't see a lot of art coming home in your artists' backpack.  I am keeping it safe here and will send it home in May.  The art room is a fun and messy place, so we are always graciously accepting donations of dish soap, microfiber cloths, and baby wipes.  If I can answer any questions for you; or if you would like to volunteer - my email address is katherine.soli@browardschools.com​
It will be a great year!​

Music

The music program at Park Springs provides an age-appropriate, socially accepting environment that affords our students the opportunity to experience, learn and grow. Our varied program meets the needs of students on many levels: physical, creative, quantitative, and early literacy while adhering to guidelines set forth in the Sunshine State Standards for Music Education.​

Throughout our music classes, students will be able to dance, sing, play instruments, learn about different styles of music, different cultures, instrument families, composers and so much more.​

Grades in music class are compiled from these areas of growth as assessed by the teacher:​

>Academic progress – mastery of curriculum being taught​

>Participation/Effort​

>Behavior/Citizenship​

In addition to general music classes during school hours, the PSE Music Program offers an opportunity for 4th and 5th graders to participate in our after-school PSE Chorus. Auditions for this year’s PSE Chorus will take place on August 27th & 28th. Weekly rehearsals are on Wednesday afternoons. Be on the lookout for additional information.​

Should you have any questions or concerns regarding our music program, please feel free to contact me at: David.Levitan@BrowardSchools.com.​

Media

Students in all grades will be learning and reviewing the book care rules and procedures in preparation for borrowing books from the PSE Media Center in a few weeks.​

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K-2 students will practice choosing books and how to use a shelf marker. Students will learn library skills such as sections of the library, how books are categorized and where they can be found in the library, as well as how books are labeled for easy finding. ​
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Students in Third Grade will be reviewing library skills such as the parts of the library ie: fiction, nonfiction, biography, and the sections within the Dewey Decimal system to learn how to independently find books they would like to borrow and begin a unit on genre studies. Students will be given assessments and grades will count towards science on their report card.​

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​Students in Fourth/Fifth Grade will continue to learn and review library skills, the Dewey decimal system, along with science. Fourth Grade will begin science with a unit on Earth's rotation and revolution. Fifth Grade will begin science with a unit on plant life cycle. Students will be given assessments and grades will count towards science on their report card.​

Book Fair will be coming back to PSE in just a few short weeks. We will have an on-campus fair for all students from September 23rd to 27th. All students will be able to shop during their scheduled Media specials that week. Cash will not be accepted at the fair. We will be using E-Wallet only. More book fair information will be coming very soon! We will need lots of volunteers for the Book Fair (8:00am – 1:45pm).​

All volunteers must be registered and cleared by BCPS. ​

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Reading Across Broward is a BCPS program that promotes and encourages reading in all our students. Park Springs participates in the program every year and all students who participate receive a certificate from BCPS in a special assembly at PSE. Be sure to get your form and start documenting all your books!  All forms are due April 3rd. No late forms will be accepted.​

The School Board of Broward County, Florida, prohibits any policy or procedure which results in discrimination on the basis of age, color, disability, gender identity, gender expression, genetic information, marital status, national origin, race, religion, sex or sexual orientation. The School Board also provides equal access to the Boy Scouts and other designated youth groups. Individuals who wish to file a discrimination and/or harassment complaint may call the Director, Equal Educational Opportunities/ADA Compliance Department & District’s Equity Coordinator/Title IX Coordinator at 754-321-2150 or email eeo@browardschools.com.​

​Spanish

Bienvenido!  Welcome!​

​

I am so excited to be teaching Spanish to our wonderful kindergarten, first and second grade students at Park Springs Elementary.  Spanish for primary students in elementary school is an exploratory program where students are exposed to the culture and basic words and conversation in the language.  The book we use is called "Descubre Espanol" (Discover Spanish).  That is exactly what we will be doing...discovering and learning about the cultural uniqueness of various Hispanic countries around the world.  Students will appreciate the different music, dances, celebrations, food and experiences shared by other children alike.​

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Our lessons will focus on word knowledge and simple sentences in the language, as well as making connections through communicating with others in Spanish.  These lessons are reinforced with songs, videos, activities and workbook lessons.  Have your child share with you what they learned in Spanish class and what they learned about other countries in the world.  ​

​Technology​

​Welcome!​
​

Another wonderful year awaits us at Park Springs Elementary Technology Class.  I really enjoy watching our 3rd-5th graders learn how technology has evolved throughout the ages.  During this quarter, students will also work on their keyboarding skills as they practice typing using various programs like typing.com, nearpod and arcademics.  The goal is for 3rd graders to type 15 words per minute, 4th graders 20 words per minute and 5th graders 25 words per minute by the end of the year.  During technology class, students will be exposed to science lessons. Third through fifth graders will learn science topics covered in the fair games standards.​

We have a busy year of coding, Nearpod, arcademics, typing, science research and projects, music and art technology programs, blooket, Kahoot, word processing, PowerPoint and so much more!​

The School Board of Broward County, Florida, prohibits any policy or procedure which results in discrimination on the basis of age, color, disability, gender identity, gender expression, genetic information, marital status, national origin, race, religion, sex or sexual orientation. The School Board also provides equal access to the Boy Scouts and other designated youth groups. Individuals who wish to file a discrimination and/or harassment complaint may call the Director, Equal Educational Opportunities/ADA Compliance Department & District’s Equity Coordinator/Title IX Coordinator at 754-321-2150, email eeo@browardschools.com, or Teletype Machine (TTY) 754-321-2158.​

Individuals with disabilities requesting accommodations under the Americans with Disabilities Act Amendments Act of 2008, (ADAAA) may call Equal Educational Opportunities/ADA Compliance Department at 754-321-2150 or Teletype Machine (TTY) 754-321-2158.