Monday Reporter

Dear Parents,

The Sanibel School would like to thank the parents who take the time every Monday to read the Monday Reporter. This weekly newsletter serves as an important source of vital and timely school information for both parents and students. Great efforts are made to ensure that all parents are informed each week as to the happenings at the school and in the community.

During the school year students in Kindergarten and 1^st grade are recognized for being good citizens (good behavior, helpful attitude, and an eagerness to learn) at school. The following students are this week’s citizens of the week:

The School Board has adjusted our school start and dismissal times for next school year. Our new hours for the 2012- 2013 school year are:

EARLY DISMISSAL DAYS NEXT TUESDAY, WEDNESDAY AND THURSDAY Our last week of school is next week, and the last day of school is Thursday, May 24^th. The last three days, May 22^nd, 23^rd, and 24^th are early dismissal days. Students will be dismissed two hours early at 12:15 p.m. Breakfast will be served at the regular time and all students will be served lunch before they leave for the day.

We are proud to announce that The Sanibel School Performing Arts Class will be presenting “Guys and Dolls” musical on Thursdays & Fridays, May 17^th & 18^th at 7:00 p.m. The show is open to the public and will take place in The Sanibel School Cafetorium. Tickets are $8.00 adults and $3.00 students/children. Tickets will be sold at the door and seating will be on a first come, first serve basis. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. and the show begins at 7:00 p.m. and will last about 85 minutes. On Thursday and Friday, May 17^th and 18^th there will be a special pre-show performance by our middle school Rock Band. Be sure not to miss this special performance as our talented middle school students take the stage. All students must be accompanied by an adult.

Please be advised that all accounts are to be paid in full by this time Should you have any questions or require further information, please do not hesitate to contact Mrs. Stoneman at ColleenOS@leeschools.net

The Sanibel School’s Annual Talent Show will be held on May 24^th. Try-outs for interested students will be held after school on Tuesday, May 15^th and Thursday, May 17^th in the Cafetorium. The try-outs are to review the performance prior to the show. NO ONE will be allowed to watch the tryout of any of the acts. You may assemble outside while waiting for your turn. Your act may NOT be longer than 3 minutes. It is REQUIRED that students must turn in lyrics to any song that is being performed (this is to insure the appropriateness of all talent acts). A Talent Show application MUST be filled out and SIGNED by a parent in order for the child to try-out. Applications are available in all homeroom classes, in Mrs. Sanders’ room and in the office. Start putting those routines together! Any questions please contact Laurie Sanders at 472-1617 or email LaurieDS@LeeSchools.Net.

Please visit your child’s classroom on Thursday, May 17^th, as we host our annual Education Celebration. Your children have worked hard this year and want to show off their accomplishments during this annual event. The classrooms will be open for an hour beginning at 5:30 p.m.

YEARBOOKS ARE STILL AVAILABLE FOR SALE IN THE OFFICE. THE PRICE IS $50.00, PAYABLE WITH CASH OR CHECKS MADE OUT TO THE SANIBEL SCHOOL.

Congratulations to Tylor Stewart for being recognized as the 2011-2012 Lee County School District’s Elementary Environmental Educator of the year. Thank you Tylor for all you do to support environmental efforts at our school and in the community.

The "Ding" Darling Wildlife Society and the "Ding" Darling Refuge are becoming known for their firsts in the field of conservation education and wildlife research. On May 8, 2012, the team made history with the first-ever "Ding" Darling Conservation Education Awards. The “Ding" Awards recognize middle school teachers and students for outstanding service in the field of conservation education. The nominees from The Sanibel School were middle school science teacher, Mrs. Dana Sanner and middle school student, 7^th grader Haley Keller. Congratulations to these two deserving winners.

On Monday, May 14^th, the third grade classes will be planting 45 new Slash Pines in the front of the school. They have been cultivating the saplings for the entire school year as a project with Richard Finkel of SCCF. Please watch out for the trees and avoid running into them. The trees are only about 2 feet in height at this point. They are planted around the bench area in the front of the school, in the parking lot island closest to the Rec Center, in the center island of the bus loop, in the grass area where the Rec Center mailbox is located, and in the planted area near the bike path where the school sign is. Thank you for helping our new trees grow!

All library and textbooks will need to be returned by Friday, May 18^th. Parents, please check with your child for any overdue books as the end of the year is rapidly approaching. Remember that all books must either be returned or paid for in order for students to attend our special end of the year activities, including the swim parties and the talent show.

END OF YEAR LIBRARY AND TEXTBOOK RETURNS
Summer vacation is almost here! This week will be the last week for library book checkouts at the Sanibel School. All library books and textbooks must be returned by Friday, May 18^th. For the next few weeks, we will send frequent updates from the library to inform parents of their students' current loans and to allow students plenty of time to locate missing books to be returned. It is our hope that with these helpful reminders sent by e-mail and/or printed memo, all students will easily take care of their library and textbook obligations before the end of the year reward parties and special events. Please send Mrs. Payne an e-mail or written note if you have any concerns about your child's library account or missing items. Thank you!

Our annual elementary swim parties are scheduled for Wednesday, May 23^rd. Parents are needed to help chaperone this event. If you are available to help that day please contact your child’s teacher.

ELEMENTARY REPORT CARD DAY IS THURSDAY, MAY 24^TH. MIDDLE SCHOOL REPORT CARDS WILL BE MAILED HOME THE WEEK OF JUNE 4^TH.

Parents of our 8^th grade students should have received a formal invitation to the 8^th grade promotion ceremony via email from the parents of the promotion ceremony committee. If you have not received an invitation please contact Nancy McDole at the school. Reminder to parents and students – please make sure your children are in compliance with the school dress code for dances as stated in the middle school planner: Girls – Dresses or tops must have straps and dresses or skirts must be at least fingertip length.

Congratulations to our Battle of the Books team who took 2^nd place in the district competition on Friday May 4^th. It was a hard fought competition against 15 other middle schools in the district. The students read and answered questions related to the 15 Sunshine State Young Readers books. We are so proud of their achievement. Congratulations to our team members Rachel Wexler, Emily McCallion, Isha Mehraz, Kai Phanthavong, Nicky Ashton, and Sam Arensman.

The National Junior Honor Society (NJHS) is collecting foods for Friends in Service Here (F.I.S.H.)’s program, “Blessing in a Backpack”. F.I.S.H. helps support families in need of assistance in our community. Donating to “Blessing in a Backpack” is a great way to help the less fortunate in our area (Sanibel & Captiva). The collection dates are from May 7^th through May 17^th. Please feel free to drop off the following foods at the designated bins within each classroom or at the Sanibel School office. If you have any questions, please contact Diane Cortese at 472-1617 or dianerc@leeschools.net

THANK YOU FOR HELPING THE SOLDIER’S CHILD BIRTHDAY FOUNDATION The Sanibel School’s National Junior Honor Society collected 620 apple and lacey murex shells! Mrs. Riley’s 4^th grade class brought in the most shells followed by Mrs. Franke’ 3^rd grade class. Thank you to all who collected the murex shells from Sanibel beaches to help a worthy cause.

Don’t stop collecting. Summer time is the perfect time for collecting box tops for education. Please help us to earn funds towards our school music program by collecting Box Tops for education. You can make a difference each time you go to the grocery store just by purchasing your favorite General Mills brands. Box Tops can be brought to The Sanibel School front office throughout the summer. Thank you and keep saving.

A growing body of research shows a connection between physical activity and academic performance.

Study Reveals That Many Youths Attempting Suicide Start in Elementary or Middle School

A shocking new study published in the Journal of Adolescent Health reveals that nearly 40 percent of young adults who said they'd attempted suicide had done so before beginning high school. According to the study, suicide-attempt rates showed a sharp increase around sixth grade (or at about age 12), with rates peaking around eighth or ninth grade. Researchers believe that these findings may be due to the struggles some adolescents face in regard to peer pressure, sexual orientation, and increasing autonomy, just to name a few. According to James Mazza, lead author and professor of educational psychology at the University of Washington, "This study suggests that implementation of mental health programs may need to start in elementary and middle schools, and that youth in these grades are fairly good reporters of their own mental health." To read the press release, visit: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2011-11/uow-4po112311.php

CONGRATULATIONS GOLFERS! There's big news in the world of Sea Dragon Golf. Sanibel’s golf team is made up of eighth graders this year: They are Lauren Lockard, Michael Stufano, Thomas Coyne, Daniel Young and Sam Roberts. They have all worked hard to improve their swings, drives, putting and chipping. They have participated in a number of tournaments. The golf team came in fourth place with a team score of 218. Lauren Lockard had the low score of 47 making her the female medalist. Lauren went on to compete in the district finals at Ft. Myers Country Club and won first place female medalist with a low score of 50. Congratulations Lauren!

Reminder to all athletes: team uniforms need to be turned in to Mrs. Kridle as soon as possible.

You are invited to the Sports Award Party on Wednesday, May 23rd. Athletes will be getting a flyer from Mrs. Kridle next week with details.

Congratulations to our new PTA board! Denise McKee-President, Tiani Macalka-Vice President, Melissa Rice-Seahorse Festival Treasurer, Leilani Sivsov-Treasurer, Colleen Stoneman-Recording Secretary, Kate Sergeant-Corresponding Secretary, and Chris Menzel-PR Chair.

Arlene Dillon, Paige Babcock, especially Milissa Sprecher. She has served as our PTA board for four years, and the last two as PTA President. She has given countless hours to our children and school community.

There will be a SSF meeting held on Wednesday, May 16^th at 8:00 a.m. in the conference room.

There will be a SAC meeting held on Wednesday, May 23^rd at 2:30 p.m. in the conference room

The Sanibel School is fortunate to have the Successmaker instructional software program which provides elementary and middle school learners with adaptive, personalized paths for mastery of essential reading and math concepts.

Please access the site below to view a 9-minute video about Successmaker reading and math. To begin the video, find and click the embedded arrow on top of the dog graphic.

The School District of Lee County will be participating in the Summer Food Service Program from May 29, 2012 to

July 27, 2012. Participating sites will provide nutritious meals to kids and teens 18 and under. The meals are free. There are no income or registration requirements. To find a site near you visit the Florida Summer Website at www.summerfoodflorida.org, or call 211.

At www.wegivebooks.org your student can read online books (for ages up to 10 years old) and earn credits for books to be donated to our school! Many of their books are AR titles, so starting February 14th your child can earn AR points while giving a free book back to The Sanibel School for every book read. Earning free books is fun and easy!

1. Just visit their site, www.wegivebooks.org. Starting in February you are able to sign up to read on behalf of the Read for My School campaign. You’ll want to practice reading on We Give Books beforehand to make sure that you’re ready to read and earn books for The Sanibel School when the campaign begins.

2. Enter our school name on the registration form so that the organization can track the number of books that our school earns. If you're already a member of We Give Books, please visit your member profile and enter The Sanibel School's name (Login > Settings > Country > School Name) before reading for the Read for My School campaign.

3. Choose a great children's book and read! Click "Give a Book" at the end of the story to be counted toward our school’s reading total.

4. Spread the word: Encourage friends and family members to participate and earn even more books for our school!

Monday Reporter

The Sanibel School

Monday, May 14th, 2012

*http://**sbl.leeschools.net*

Monday Reporter

The Sanibel School

Monday, May 14th, 2012

http://sbl.leeschools.net

*http://**sbl.leeschools.net*