Deer Tracks Margie E. Polen, Principal Mindy Predmore, Assistant Principal

Administrative Corner

A Message from the Principal, Margie Polen...

Arrival Procedures:School hours are from 8:30 A.M. to 2:50 P.M. Students may arrive at school between 8:20 and 8:35 A.M.. Students are not to arrive on campus prior to 8:20 A.M.. There is no adult supervision provided before that time. The late bell is at 8:40. If your child arrives at that bell or after, they must be escorted by a parent/guardian to the office to be granted a late pass. For safety reasons, our front parking lot gates are closed from 8:10-8:40 A.M. each day.

Dismissal/Early Dismissal & Rainy Day Procedures:Parents must have a clearly visible, school issued, car rider pass in order to pick up students in the car rider area. If you do not have a pass, you will be asked for your identification and we will be verifying your identification against the Emergency Contact card in the front office. In order to have a safe and smooth traffic pattern at dismissal, parents are asked not to leave their car in the drive through area.

Parents must come come to the main office of the school if they wish to have their child dismissed early. Only persons listed on the Emergency Information card may sign out your child, unless other arrangements have been made with the front office staff. Please be prepared to show proper identification to pick up your child. No students will be released from the classrooms. All dismissals will be from the front office. During stormy weather, we monitor conditions carefully through the use of a weather radio and online radar reports. If there is light to moderate rainy weather with no thunder or lightning, we will dismiss walkers and bike riders in the normal fashion. When conditions are favorable for extreme weather conditions, such as tornadoes, or heavier rain with thunder and lightning, we will not be dismissing walkers or bike riders into the community. Instead, they will be escorted to a POD and parents will need to come to the front office with their ID to sign out their child. We ask that if you must do early dismissal, that you do so before 2:30 P.M.

DEER PARK ELEMENTARY NEWSLETTER JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2013

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DATES TO REMEMBER:

Happy New Year!

January 2013

7 No School/Students8 Welcome Back!24 Skating Party Grades 2-529 PTO Used Book Sale31 IHOP Family night

February 2013

8 PTO Valentines’ Day Dance11 Market Day13 McBuck Family night18 Presidents’ Day No School25 FCAT Writes

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BELL SCHEDULE

ARRIVAL

8:20 No bell - Students are unloaded from cars and may wait in covered entryway where adult supervision is available.

8:20 Breakfast is available in our cafeteria.

8:30 First bell rings. Students should be going to their classrooms.

8:40 Tardy bell rings. After this bell, students need to enter office to get a tardy pass.

DISMISSAL

2:50 P.L.A.C.E. Students will be escorted to the cafeteria.

2:50 Car Riders are brought out to the car loop (east side).

2:50 Bus Riders are escorted out to the bus loop located (west side) Day Care Vans and the YMCA Bus will also be in this area.

2:55 All Walkers and Bike Riders are escorted to the designated east or west bike rack, whichever is closest to home.

2:55 All Park and Pick-Up students are escorted to front gazebo.

(Cars are not permitted in the bus loop.)

How to contact us:Deer Park Elementary8636 Trouble Creek Rd.

New Port Richey, FL 34653

Phone: (727)-774-8900 or (813)-794-8900

Fax: (727)-774-8991

Guidance Tidbits

The Character pillar for January is Fairness. Fairness means playing by the rules, being a good sport and not taking advantage of others. Someone who is fair takes turns, shares with others and thinks about the needs of others.

Mrs. Patel is teaching the “Too Good for Violence” program in guidance classes, Kg-5th grade. The following is a partial list of objectives in each component~Conflict Resolution, Anger Management, Respect for Self a n d O t h e r s , a n d E f f e c t i v e Communication. The curriculum teaches students the skills, attitudes, and behaviors that promote character development and non-violence.

If you have any questions, comments, or concerns please call 727-774-8907 or e-mail bpatel@pasco.k12.fl.us .

Mrs. PatelGuidance Counselor

Deer Nutrition

Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwiches are now available daily. Also Cheeseburgers are now back in the Menu rotation.

Free and Reduced-Price Meal applications available on-line:www.pasco.k12.fl.us/nutrition

Yearbook Sales -- Order Early

BUY  YOUR  YEARBOOK  ONLINE  until  January  29th!

You  can  pre-­‐purchaseyour  yearbook  by  going  to  the  Deer  Park  web  page  and  click  on  the  link  or    the  one  listed  here:www.yearbookforever.com  ,    and  search  for  Deer  Park  Elementary  School.You  can  also  pre-­‐order  your  yearbook  by  sending  in  your  payment  with  the  blue  order  form.    Limited  issues  available  after  February  1st.Yearbook  delivery  will  be  in  May,  2013.

Health and Wellness

Give Kids a Smile

The ADA will be offering FREE Dental Care to qualifying children on February 8th and a follow up if needed on February 22nd.

You must Pre-Qualify for services. Contact our school nurse, Jeanne Hoidalen, at 727-774-8905 to complete pre-qualification process and to schedule an appointment.

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PE Shorts:

The Deer Park Elementary Special Olympics Basketball Team won First Place in the District Basketball Tournament held on January 11, 2013. The Team members include: Kristen Snyder and Skylyn Nicholson, (Majorana), Arthur Matson, (Day), Alexis Smith, (Foster), Deborah Dellaporte, (Brewster), Gage Nicholson, (Collins), Zachary Mohney, (Shafchuk), Alex Cucchiara, (Morano) and Vash Velez, (Smith). The Team will now move onto the Regional Championships held in Tampa on February 15th & 16th, 2013. Great Job, Good Luck and Go Bucks!!

Habitat & Recycling

It may feel like Spring, but it is winter in The Habitat and Outdoor Classroom. The plants are in a resting mode. Enjoy this dormant time of the year. The pond is closed down for repairs at this time. There are leaks in the the liner. They appear to have come from the rocks which have been pushed into the pond as well as other things thrown in there. Parents, please supervise your children when having lunch in the Habitat. Students, please respect this beautiful area of Deer Park.

The barrel which recycles the water needs to be replaced. Years of use and being outdoors have caused wear and tear on the waterfall. That will be another forthcoming project.

The second Adopt-a-Road clean up was on December 5th. Thanks to Clara Chapman, Tricia Riggs, Beth Brewster, Gina, Brandon and Cory Taylor and Nancy and George Pratt. Collecting 8 bags of trash shows that much of Trouble Creek was cleaned-up. We enjoyed the fresh air, exercise and goodwill towards Deer Park.

Did you know that Florida’s Arbor Day is in January? That is a good time to plant trees. The trees in the Habitat are a good example of how small trees can grow in 22 years and form a canopy overhead. April is the month that Arbor Day is celebrated in most of the U. S.. Earth Day is on April 22nd.

Continue to support our recycling projects by dropping off newspapers in the Green Fiber bins and sending in your household batteries.

Adults, please do not smoke on campus including the car loop. Cigarettes do not bio-degrade for many years. Thank you for your support in helping to keep Deer Park clean and beautiful.

“Keep a smile on your face and a song in your heart, and I will see you again real soon.”

Mother Earth

PTO Corner

I hope everyone had a wonderful Winter break. I hope Santa was very good to all!

Our PTO Sing-a-Long was a huge success with several Deer Park families joining us in a night of Christmas carols, hot chocolate, cookies, crafts and visiting with Santa. Thank you to all that had attended.

January brings our Used Book Sale and Pizza dinner, January 29th from 6:00-7:30 P.M. St Pizza catering will be bringing their pizza ovens to our cafeteria to fill everyone’s belly with great food to go with the book sale. Don’t forget to come hungry; it is all you can eat!! Moms and Dads, please remember to start the Spring cleaning early and clean out your bookshelves of old books and turn them in to your child’s teacher by January 23rd. The team with the most books collected will win a prize!

The Valentine’s Dance is fast approaching and will be held in our school cafeteria on February 8th. Flyers are on the way home for pre-sale tickets and further info!Please save the date and join us for an evening of music, dancing, snacks and fun! Remember, all children must be accompanied by an adult.

Stay tuned for more events on our Spring calendar including: Muffins for Mom, Donuts for Dad and our Spring Pizza Fundraiser. We are getting closer to our fundraising goals with every event. Thank you for the support.

M.J. Aldrich PTO Presiden

DEER PARK ELEMENTARY NEWSLETTER JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2013

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Kindergarten Pre Registration

The Pasco County School District will hold it countywide Kindergarten Pre-Registration on Monday, May 6, 2013. Deer Park’s registration hours will be from 8:00 A.M. to 12:00 noon. Students must be five years old on or before September 1, 2013 to qualify for registration. If you have any questions regarding the registration process, please call our Data Entry operator, Mrs. Chellew, at 727-774-8906.

Florida State Law requires that the following be provided to the school for registration:* Birth Certificate* Social Security Card* Proof of Residency* Health Exam within one year of

08/19/2013 on DH form 3040* Certificate of immunizations on DH

form 680

NOTE: All Kindergartners are required by law to have completed Hepatitis B and Varicella (chicken pox) immunizations.

The Pasco County Health Department offers free immunizations. You must provide them with a record of your child’s prior immunizations. The telephone number for the Health Dept. on Little Road, (near the entrance of Timber Oaks), is 727-861-5250 for further information.

DEER PARK ELEMENTARY NEWSLETTER JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2013

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