Wekiva Whispers
Wekiva Elementary School
Welcome Back to School Edition: September 2010
Principal: Michael Pfeiffer
Principal’s Message
The best way to start the 2010-11
school year is to highlight last year’s
success. SCPS is ranked #1 in the
state for FCAT results, compared to
the 17 largest districts, and #3 in the
state overall (out of 67)! Considering
this outstanding ranking, Wekiva is
proud to announce our school’s
success as we compare our school to
other district schools in arguably the
highest performing district in the state
of Florida. Wekiva is an “A” rated
school and made Adequate Yearly
Progress according to the federal
standards of No Child Left Behind.
Research indicates that standardized
test scores correlate directly to a
school’s socioeconomic status. In
layman’s terms, schools with a higher
socioeconomic status typically score
better than schools with a lower
socioeconomic status. Using this
formula, our ultimate goal is to always
be ranked in the top 12 or 1/3 of all
SCPS schools. A ranking of 6th-8th is
awesome and aligns with our
socioeconomic status (right where we
want to be). A ranking in the top 5 is
AMAZING!
Reading, Grades 3-5 Combined, %
At or Above Proficiency: 95.2%, 3rd
in the district.
Reading Lowest Quartile, Grades 3-
5 Combined, % At or Above
Proficiency: 75.4%, 4th in the district.
Math, Grades 3-5 Combined, % At
or Above Proficiency: 93.2%, 7th in
the district.
Math Lowest Quartile, Grades 3-5
Combined, % At or Above
Proficiency: 76.6%, 6th in the district.
Science, Grade 5, % At or Above
www.scps.k12.fl.us or www.wekivaelementary.com
1450 East Wekiva Trail
Longwood, Florida 32779
Phone: 746-3150 Fax: 746-3163
Assistant Principal: Michelle Baker
Proficiency: 74.4%, 10th in the
district.
Writing: 3.8 Average Score on a 6.0
rubric.
Simply stated, we are a top ranked
school in a top ranked district, among
the best of the best!
PRISM Elementary Science
Teacher of the Year
Congratulations to Julie Gabrovic, the
PRISM Elementary Science Teacher
of the Year! Mrs. Gabrovic is a
DYNAMIC educator and I personally
attribute her hard work and expertise
to Wekiva’s overall success. She is a
superstar teacher who always puts her
students and the school first. In her
lab, students are surrounded by
animals, microscopes, and technology.
Each lesson, correlated to adopted
curriculum and aligned with the
classroom teacher lessons, provides an
opportunity to see and experience
science at work. Abstract concepts
become concrete and science becomes
the proverbial “hook” that catches our
students’ interest, carrying over their
enthusiasm to school and all other
lessons. Whether it is a hands-on
experiment or a simulated experiment
using cutting edge technologies
through the use of a Mimio projector
and smart board, Mrs. Gabrovic has
made science REAL to Wekiva
students.
Parent Night
Parent Nights will be held on Aug.
26th, 31st, and September 1st. Parent
Night is a time for you to hear more
about the procedures, expectations,
textbooks and curriculum in your
child’s classroom. Due to limited
space and the importance of this
parent meeting, we ask that students
not attend Parent Night.
Seminole County Public Schools
Perfect FCAT Scores
FCAT scores are finally in! Wekiva is
proud to honor the following students
for scoring PERFECT scores on the
FCAT this school year! These
students are in the upper one half of
one percent of the students who took
the test.
Reading: Cassidy Ceppos, Arthur Liu,
Valerie Ezcurra, Hailey Fox, Caroline
Hull
Math: Spencer Blake, Tanner
Chamness, Steven Manso, Brianna
Barry, Jacob Ebanks, Natalie Rincon,
Hyerim Lee
Writing: Isabella Adams, Gianni
Martoccia
Science: Evan Raidt, Dylan Schehr
5th Grade Gives Back
We thank the 2009-10 5th Grade Class
for their generosity and support!
Raising a total of $580, last year’s 5th
grade students purchased a legacy gift
for the students of Wekiva. A fully
operational Weather Station, to be
used in science labs, is now located in
the common area outside the cafeteria.
The balance of these funds was used
to purchase various items for KNN.
Supporting Wekiva
We ask that parents and friends
support Wekiva as best they can by
doing the following:
• Support your child’s class by being
a DIVIDEND.
• Join PTA and Support PTA’s
Fundraisers.
• Support Trek for Tech.
• Shop at Target and designate
Wekiva as your “school”.
• Turn in Box Tops for Education,
Tyson labels, and ink cartridges.

PTA
We encourage all parents to join PTA,
THIS INCLUDES DADS, and invite
you to become involved as a volunteer
or board member. If unable to
volunteer, we still highly encourage
you to become a PTA member. Your
membership alone greatly supports
Wekiva and your children. For more
information, please call Jill
Mahramus, PTA President, at 407-
746-3173 (PTA Voicemail.) The
first 500 families to join PTA
receive a school calendar magnet.
General PTA Meeting
On September 21st, at 7:00 p.m., the
PTA will be holding its first General
Meeting of the year and will be
hosting Wekiva’s annual Ice Cream
Social and Book Sale. After general
business, parents, students, and
teachers are invited to “Get the Scoop
on Wekiva.” This is a great
opportunity to enjoy a tasty treat
served by the Wekiva teachers and
administration, and to enjoy time with
your family, as well as the Wekiva
family.
D÷v÷dends and Visitors
Just a reminder to our Dividends and
visitors, please make sure to always
sign in at the front office and to wear a
visitor sticker at all times. Parents
eating lunch with children must sign
in every time. If choosing to eat
outside, please use the picnic tables on
the patio.
D÷v÷dend Volunteers
Wekiva loves D÷v÷dends, our school
volunteers, as they truly make a
difference in the quality of education
our children receive. Remember, all
www.scps.k12.fl.us or www.wekivaelementary.com
volunteers in the classroom, attending
classroom parties, and chaperoning
fieldtrips must be registered
D÷v÷dends. Moms, dads,
grandparents, and community
members are welcome! We have
something to fit everyone’s interests
and schedule. All D÷v÷dends must
renew their registration EACH year
online at (www.scps.k12.fl.us).
Thank You PTA and Hospitality
The Wekiva staff would like to extend
a warm thank you to the PTA and the
PTA Hospitality Committee. Their
generosity and hard work welcomed
the Wekiva staff back to school,
supported by our business partners,
Chick-fil-A and Gator’s Dockside.
PTA and the PTA Hospitality
Committee also sponsored the
Kindergarten Coffee and Kleenex for
our new kindergarten parents.
Dress Code 2010-11
Please note that there has been a
change to the SCPS Student Dress
Code for the 2010-11 school year.
The complete dress code will be
included in the 2010-11 Student Code
of Conduct. Wekiva reminds all
parents and students to follow these
standard rules: no spaghetti straps,
tank tops, midriffs, hats/bandanas in
buildings, flip flops, or “low rider”
pants. Two substantial changes to
the Dress Code are that all shirts
should have sleeves or a collar and
shorts/skirts should be of proper
length. The questions of “what is a
tank top” and “how long should
shorts/skirts be” always come up and
can be answered by accessing the
SCPS web site. Photo examples are
provided.
School Hours
School hours are 8:35 a.m. to 3:05
p.m. Students should not arrive on
campus before 8:05 a.m. Students
are dismissed at 2:05 p.m. on
Wednesdays. The tardy bell rings at
8:40 a.m. Please make sure your
child arrives on time each day and
attends school every day. Avoid
early dismissal and schedule
appointments and vacations around
the school schedule.
Seminole County Public Schools
Rainy Days and Change of Plans
Parents are asked to set up a “Rainy
Day” plan with their child in case of
inclement weather. Also, please be
advised that changes to dismissal will
not be accepted after 2:30 p.m., 1:30
p.m. on Wednesdays. Exceptions
must be approved by administration.
Car and Bus Ramp Safety
Each year, Wekiva regrettably
experiences some individuals that do
not follow car and bus ramp safety
procedures. For the safety of all
students that attend Wekiva, parents
are asked to strictly adhere to all
arrival and dismissal rules.
• Car riders, please DO NOT use
the bus ramp. The bus ramp is
reserved for public school buses
and day care buses. Although this
may be convenient and save a few
minutes in the morning, it puts
students’ safety at risk. Also, it is
unfair to those parents who
patiently wait in the car line each
morning and afternoon.
• Cars are not permitted to make
a left from Wekiva Trail onto
Holderness. This cuts people in
line, causes a traffic jam, but most
alarming, blocks line of sight
creating a substantial hazardous
situation.
• Never stop on Wekiva Trail and
let your children out.
• Never use cell phones while in
Car Line. Your full attention is
required at all times for a safe
dismissal.
• Do not park on the car ramp or
bus ramp during arrival or
dismissal times.
• Please be considerate of home
owners in the school area. Do not
park on lawns, block driveways,
or leave trash.
Art Room Wish List
Please collect the following and send
to the art room for future projects:
old magazines, old silk flowers, scraps
of fabric, paint chip cards, old vases,
12 oz. plastic containers (sour cream),
small scraps of wood, black plastic
salad bowls from fast food drive-ins,
fronts of old Holiday/Christmas cards,
old maps.
 Wekiva Whispers
Wekiva Elementary School
1450 East Wekiva Trail
Longwood, Florida 32779
Phone: 746-3150 Fax: 746-3163
Welcome Back to School Edition: September 2010
Principal: Michael Pfeiffer Assistant Principal: Michelle Baker

SCPS Crossing Guards
All crossing guards are certified
employees of the Sheriff’s Dept. They
have had extensive training and have
been thoroughly cleared. Student
safety and supervision is their number
one priority!
Recycling at Wekiva
Did you know your cell phone is
worth fundraising CA$H? Any used
cell phone will do (please remove
your SIMM card). Wekiva is
ALWAYS collecting cell phones
throughout the year as well as empty
laser and inkjet cartridges, laptops (not
desktop computers), digital cameras,
PDAs, iPods, video games and
consoles, GPS devices, scientific
graphing calculators, and movie
DVDs. Please include all device
power cords and cables. We can even
provide free shipping of old ink and
laser cartridges directly from your
business on behalf of our school. If
you're interested or have any
questions, please call Mrs. Cook, our
technology facilitator at 407-746-
3151. Thank you for helping us
RECYCLE and REUSE!
Accelerated Reader Club
AR Club is a reading club where
students may silently read, check out
books, and take AR tests. The club
takes place in a silent media center to
maintain the best environment for
learning. AR Club will begin
Monday, September 13th, 2010. As
AR requires a student to be an
independent reader, this club will
focus on students in grades 2-5.
www.scps.k12.fl.us or www.wekivaelementary.com
In order to serve as many students as
possible, we have a 2nd and 3rd grade
group (group A) who will meet
Tuesdays and Thursdays, and a 4th and
5th grade group (group B) who will
meet Mondays, Wednesdays, and
Fridays. Hours for AR Club are 7:45
a.m.- 8:15 a.m. For more information
about AR Club, please contact club
sponsors, Mrs. DeBonville or Mrs.
Curtis.
Fall Festival
It’s the beginning of school and we
have already been hard at work
planning your annual WEKIVA
ELEMENTARY FALL FESTIVAL.
Make plans to save the date of
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 30th from
11:00-3:00. We have planned many
exciting things. Our 2010 Fall Festival
will include: a Velcro Wall, Bounce
Houses, Dunk Tank, Rock Wall, DJ
Music, Games, Art Stations, Spooky
Science Lab, Cake Walk, Chili Cook-
Off, Food from Subway and Sandy’s
Hot Dogs. Award winning children’s
book illustrator, Mark Wayne Adams,
will be back to do caricatures of our
children. New this year will be a
costume contest under our pavilion.
Parents, please no skimpy or overly
scary costumes. Don’t forget the most
anticipated event of the year…the
sliming of our very own principal,
Mike Pfeiffer at 1:00. Tickets will be
sold the day of for a price of $7
Students and $4 Pre-Schoolers.
Parents are free. If you would like to
be a part of this Wekiva tradition,
please call Tana Wash at 321-229-
0684. We look forward to seeing all
our Wekiva families on SATURDAY,
OCTOBER, 30.
Box Tops for Education
Wekiva Elementary is collecting the
product coupons from the Box Tops
for Education program, sponsored by
Seminole County Public Schools
General Mills. Each Box Top coupon
you send to the school earns our
school ten cents. Imagine if we collect
1,000 box tops a month!!! The school
would receive $100! The process is
fast and simple and an excellent way
to support our school in these hard
financial times. Here is how it works:
every week a 4th grade representative
will come to your child’s classroom
and collect the box tops. These box
tops will be counted, bundled, and
sent to General Mills. The 4th grade
representative has set up a
motivational system to reward the
class for reaching certain milestones in
giving. Twice a year, General Mills
sends the school a check for the box
tops submitted. Please consider getting
involved in this project. It is easy and
helps our school do some of the
“extras”.
Wekiva Walks for Autism
Fact 1: 1 in 110 American children
have Autism. Fact 2: Wekiva
educates students with Autism making
this fundraising close to our hearts.
"Wekiva Walks for Autism" will
continue again this year due to our
great success last year. Our committee
is planning fundraising events such as
breakfast for voluntary donations,
pizza box toppers, t-shirts, etc. The
walk will take place on Saturday,
November 13th, at Crane's Roost. All
are welcome to join Wekiva either by
helping out, walking, and/or donating.
Call our team captain- Ms. Amanda
Clodfelter-2nd grade at 407-746-1155
if you have any questions.
 Important Dates
8/31 3rd & 4th Gr. Parent Night,
6:30 p.m. Gifted 7:30 p.m.
9/1 K Grandparents Day, 12:45
5th Gr. & ESE Parent Night,
6:30 p.m. Gifted 7:30 p.m.
9/6 Labor Day, No School
9/8 Dividend Ambassador
Training, 9:00
9/9 No School
9/10 E Book Fundraiser Ends
POD Parent Training, 9:00
a.m.
9/13 Boy Scout Classroom Visits
9/14 MSS Training, 9:00 a.m.
Boy Scouts Sign Up Night,
7:00 p.m.
9/15 Room Parent Training, 9:00
a.m.
SAC, 5:00 p.m.
PTA Board, 6:15 p.m.
9/16 Fall Pictures K-2, Pre-K
9/17 Fall Pictures, 3-5
RAP Training, 1:30 p.m.
9/21 Tues. Enrichment Classes
Begin
PTA Ice Cream Social, 7:00
p.m.
9/22 ABCS Lunch
9/23 Thurs. Enrichment Classes
Begin
9/28 Boosterthon Pep Rallies
Boosterthon Parent Volunteer
Mtg, 8:30 a.m.
10/6 SAC, 5:00 p.m.
PTA Board, 6:15 p.m.
Parent/Student Book Club,
6:30 p.m.
10/7 Boosterthon Fun Run
10/12 4th Gr. FT to St. Museum
10/13 ABCS Lunch
10/14 4th Gr. FT to St. Museum
10/15 4th Gr. FT to St. Museum
10/18 Schools Closed
10/25-30Book Fair
10/29 K Pajama Day
10/30 Fall Festival, 11:00 a.m.-3:00
p.m.

Seminole County Public Schools

www.scps.k12.fl.us or www.wekivaelementary.com