April Wildcat News
Continuing the Legacy...Strong Alone, Unstoppable Together
Principal's Message
The 50th Anniversary Celebration was incredible! What a special day to come together to celebrate 50 years of history and memories. The words on our 50th Anniversary shirt reflect what it means to be a Woodbridge Wildcat; respect, determination, effort, pride, responsibility, and team. It is as a team that we will continue working to make Woodbridge THE BEST school in Hillsborough County. Thank you for your support and partnership!
Victoria Morse
Testing
With testing season here, we want to give students and families some helpful hints to ensure every student is ON TIME & READY TO ENGAGE THEIR MIND!
· Make sure your child has EVERYTHING needed for school the night before set aside in a special place (by the front door, in the kitchen, etc.). This includes laying out clothes, as well as organizing homework, and having their book bag ready to go.
· Make mornings musical. If your child wastes time in the morning, put on their favorite radio station or song. Your child knows that they have until the song ends to get out of bed or get dressed. Not only will this help your child pace themselves, but you may also find that their mood improves.
· Be prepared to leave home in plenty of time to allow for delays due to traffic, road conditions, weather, and other possible delays.
Testing begins promptly after the bell rings at 7:40; please be sure your student is in their seat and ready to show what they know.
Student Spotlight
Congratulations to Madison T. Elianna H., Lily J, & Rihanna V. for representing our school at the Student Literacy and Media (SLAM) Showcase Festival held at the Tampa Convention Center. Students created artwork connected to the book they read from their grade level.
Important Dates
4/5- FSA Reading Day 1 Grade 3
FSA Writing Grades 4 & 5
4/6- FSA Reading Day 2 Grade 3
4/8- Food Pantry Drive Up 10AM-12PM
4/11- Report Cards Available
4/14- Class Picture Day
4/15- No School
4/20- Spring ELL Parent Advisory Council (PAC) Meeting- 5:30 PM Media Center
4/22 Food Pantry Drive Up 10AM-12PM
4/27 Instruments of Change Concert- 6:00 PM- Cafeteria
Attendance Matters
April is testing season for our students and proper attendance is extremely important. So parents, please make sure to have students in class everyday by 7:35 AM, so they are ready and relaxed for their FSA and IReady testing.
We have great news!! We are doing another attendance-based Scooter raffle! To be entered in the raffle, students must have perfect attendance from April 1st through May 20th. So, parents please give your child the best chance on winning a new scooter!! The winners of the raffle will be picked on May 23rd.
Woodbridge Elementary had an overall attendance of 91.15% for the month of March, with kindergarten having the highest attendance percentage amongst all the grade levels with 93.37%. Let’s all work together to continue to progress to the district goal of 96% overall attendance. If you need any help or resources to help with attendance, please reach out to Woodbridge’s school social worker, Jovan Pagan.
Below is the full breakdown for grade level attendance percentages:
Pre-K: 85.71%
Kindergarten: 93.37%
1st Grade: 90.87%
2nd Grade: 91.48%
3rd Grade: 92.93%
4th Grade: 92.57%
5th Grade: 92.60%
Counselor's Corner
This month’s Character Education Focus is Compassion. Compassion has two components: the first is empathy, which means putting yourself in someone else’s shoes and trying to feel what that person feels, and the second is action, which means helping someone in need and performing acts of kindness without expecting anything in return. Compassion is when one understands how another person feels and takes action to alleviate that person’s suffering.
Some ways to build compassion at home:
-Model positive action- Show your children what it means to have compassion toward others. Let your child catch you in the act of kindness, such as driving an elderly neighbor to the store or offering a comforting word to a friend.
-Helping others-When students have an opportunity to lend a helping hand, it provides them with knowledge about current events as well as ways they can help provide assistance and create change for others.
-Read books with compassion themes. There are many books for children with kindness and compassion themes. The more the topic is discussed, the greater the opportunities to practice in real life.
PTA
PTA is looking for any interested parents/guardians who would like to join the PTA board for the 2022-2023 school year. The board plans fun fundraisers for the school, supports students learning with volunteers and funds plus so much more! If you would like to join our team, please email jillian.watson@hcps.net for more information.
PTA is excited to announce its partnership with the Spring into Reading Challenge and the April Attendance Challenge. PTA will be funding the prizes for each winner! Good luck students.
PTA is also excited to celebrate our fantastic staff here at Woodbridge! Staff Appreciation Week will be celebrated the week of May 2nd. Be on the lookout for more information in the coming weeks.
Reading Support at Home
Activities to support Word Recognition - Fluency
Texts that contain longer words with two or more syllables can be difficult to read for some students. Identifying prefixes, word endings, and root words can help students read the word. Help your student figure out a longer word’s pronunciation by: 1) breaking the word into smaller parts or chunks, 2) reading the parts separately, and then 3) reading the entire word.
-Introduce poetry to your child to build confidence in reading.
-Encourage your child to practice reading with expression and different tones.
Activities to support Word Recognition: Decoding Skills
-Play a game with your child. Challenge him/her to find words with several syllables in his textbooks. Have your student make a list of words he/she finds while reading. Once he/she has recorded the words, ask them to break them down into syllables. Assign a point to each syllable (e.g., harmonica = 4 points). You can do the same with words you find while reading. At the end of the day or week, see who has the most points. In addition, make sure that your child is able to define any words on their list. Encourage him/her to use the dictionary and create a definition using his own words.
-Show your student how to break multi-syllabic words into recognizable parts. At times, it can be difficult read words that are long and unfamiliar. Encourage him/her to slow down when reading and to sound out each part of the word and then blend them together.
ELL News
Our ELL Parent Advisory Council (PAC) spring meeting is scheduled for April 20 at 5:30 a.m. in the Media Center. ELL parents are encouraged to participate in and join so many available campus activities and organizations. During our PAC meetings we discuss the rights of parents, students, the school curriculum, events, and ways to support your child at home.
At our spring meeting we will discuss ways to support your child throughout the summer, receive helpful materials, and brainstorm for the upcoming school year.
Uniform Dress Code Policy
Uniforms are mandatory. The choices are listed below and may be purchased from any store as long as they meet the requirements described and are standard uniform style.
Shirts
· Color: White, Navy Blue or Flag Red
· Shirts must have a collar and sleeves.
· Shirts must be solid colors with no logos, no trim and no design.
· No oversized shirts are permitted.
· Woodbridge Spirit T-shirts may be worn with uniform bottoms on Fridays.
· Long sleeve shirts in solid white, navy blue or flag red are permitted during very cold weather only.
Bottoms
· Color: Navy Blue or Tan Khaki
· Bottoms may be pants, shorts, skorts, skirts or jumpers. No oversized pants are permitted.
· Length of shorts, skorts, skirts and jumpers shall be no shorter than fingertip length.
· Bottoms must be securely fastened at the waist.
· Jeans are allowed on Fridays.
· No synthetic or nylon fabric is allowed. No overalls are allowed.
Shoes
· Shoes must be securely fastened to the feet.
· Shoes are to have a flat heel and a closed toe.
· Athletic shoes are acceptable with socks and tied laces.
Outerwear
· Outerwear worn should be neat in appearance. No oversized sweatshirts.
Woodbridge Elementary School
Website: hillsboroughschools.org/woodbridge
Location: 8301 Woodbridge Boulevard, Tampa, FL, USA
Phone: 813-871-7460
Twitter: @WoodbridgeElem