Congratulations to the following students who recently participated in the Treasure Coast Children’s Museum’s Recycled Fashion Show by designing and modeling their outfit. The theme was Gatsby Glamour.

Zachary Cooper-deQuesada, Tiffany Coronel, Chelsea DeCambre, Nathan Elias, Alexis Hart, Deana Hasan, Alba Macias-Ramirez, Basia Price, Devon Siruchek, Alexandra Tyson.

Nathan Elias was awarded 1st Place in the Formal Category. Great Job!

May 1, 2014

Dear Parents, During May, we are looking forward to a fun-filled month of school-wide activities. Student Council will organize our annual Spirit Week activities from April 29-May 3rd. The week will culminate in a carnival for all students on Friday, May 23rd.

End-of-Year Awards for Grades 1-5 will be held in the gym on May 20th

End-of-Year Awards for Grades 6 & 7will be held in the gym on May 21st

End-of-Year Awards for Kindergarten will be held in the Cafeteria on May 29th at 9:45 am

End-of-Year Awards for 8th Grade will be held in the gym on June 3rd at 10:00 am (must have a ticket to attend)

Susan Seal, Principal

Follow me on Twitter @SLWK8_principal

www.stlucie.k12.fl.us/SLK

Volume Issue

Parent Drop-Off/ Pick-Up The school day for students is from 9:30 am to 4:00 pm. Supervision is provided from 9:10 am to 4:15 pm.

If someone other than the parent/guardian is signing out a child before the end of the school day, they must be at least 18 years old and be listed on the child’s emergency card. We will ask to see photo ID.

Shark News

Honor Roll (Gym): 9:45 Grades 3-5 10:45 Grades 6-8

May 6

NJHS Ceremony (Café) - 6:00 pm May 13

SLWK-8 Night @ Stevi B’s May 14

Gifted Grades 2-5 Talent Show - 2:30 pm (Café)

May 15

Progress Reports/Family Access May 15

8th Grade Dance—7-10 pm - Must have ticket (sold at lunch only)

May 16

Spirit Week May 19-23

End-of-Year Awards Grades 1-5 (Gym)

May 20

End-of-Year Awards Grades 6-7 (Gym)

May 21

6-8 Band Spring Concert —6:30 pm (Gym)

May 22

Memorial Day Holiday May 26

SAC—8:30 am (Media Center) May 27

PTO—4:20 (Media Center) May 28

End-of-Year Awards Kindergarten-9:45 am (Café)

May 29

Progress Reports/Family Access May 29

Moe’s Spirit Night May 29

Final Exams Reading/Language Arts—May 27 Science—May 28 Math—May 29 Social Studies/Electives—May 30 Critical Thinking/Research/ Creative Writing-June 2 Make-ups—June 3-4

May 27- June 4

Early Dismissal June 2-4

End-of-Year Awards 8th Grade–10:00 am (Gym*)

*Must have a ticket to attend

June 3

Last Day for Students June 4

Students Return for 2014-2015 Aug. 18

Important Dates

BUS RIDERS Students may not ride the bus with another student unless it is an emergency. A note must be sent in by both parents with their name and phone number and the reason for the emergency. The notes must be turned into the Dean’s Office by 10:00 am that morning.

SLWK-8 thanks our Business Partners, Volunteers and Parents for their continued support throughout the school year. Because of your support, our students continue to succeed. Please pick up a card from our front office with a list of our Business Partners and make sure you take advantage of the services that they have to offer. Please mention that you are a parent of a student at SLWK-8 and that you support our Business Partners.

PBiS has had such an exciting year! At the end of the third marking period, the middle school students were able to watch the EXCITING student vs. faculty basketball game. Faculty won by 2 (thank you Coach Williams!). Students in grades 3-5 participated in the faculty/student kickball game, and students in grades K-2 had field day games , which included bubbles and team building exercises. At the end of the current marking period, students will have more to look forward to. Students in grades K-2 will be having Kite day and students in grades 3-5 will be playing capture the flag. All students with 20 shark cards will be eligible to participate. These events will be held during resource time on June 2. Middle school students will have "ice cream daze" during lunch in the cafeteria on June 2, 3 & 4. For 1 full SHARK card, they may purchase an ice cream sandwich from our PBiS ice cream stand. PBiS has had a great year, and we look forward to doing more next year - be on the lookout for Pizza for your table, a cookbook, school-wide rewards and more.

Elementary—May 20th (Gym) 1st Grade—11:25 am 2nd Grade—1:00 pm 3rd Grade—9:45 am 4th Grade—1:50 pm 5th Grade—10:35 am Kindergarten—May 29th, 9:45 am (Café) Middle—May 21st (Gym) 6th Grade Makos—10:35 am 6th Grade Tiger Sharks—11:25 am 6th-7th Grade Whitetips—9:45 am 7th Grade Hammerheads—1:50 pm 7th Grade Whale Sharks—1:00 pm 8th Grade—June 3rd—10:00 am (Gym)* *Must have a ticket to attend (includes children/babies)

4 th Grade Lion Fish—4th Grade Lion Fish soared

through FCAT Reading and Math testing and their teachers are confident that they shone like the stars they are! We are

beginning to prepare our students for 5th grade in both Math and Reading, as well as undertaking project-work in many areas. The final Honor Roll assembly of the year will be Tuesday, May 6 at 9:45 a.m. in the Gym. The 4th Grade Awards assembly will be Tuesday, May 20 at 1:50 p.m. More information will be sent home about the awards assembly soon. Our last field trip of the year is May 13 to WonderWorks. Please remember that if your child is attending, they need to be at school by 7:15 a.m. and will be returning by 5:00 p.m. You will need to drop off your child in the morning and pick up your child promptly that evening. Please continue to check your child's planner for important information.

2 nd Grade Butterfly Fish – May is going to be

a busy month in 2nd grade – we have a lot

happening! First, and most important, our last

benchmark test in reading comprehension and

math will be happening this month. These tests will take

place on various days throughout the month. The students

are well prepared and we are confident that

they will do very well. We are also looking

forward to a school wide Spring Carnival on

May 23rd. This is a great time for

students to celebrate the end of the school

year with their friends! The 2nd Grade awards

ceremony will also be held this month. Please watch for

more information about both these exciting events! Thank

you parents and families for your support through this

final, full month and the entire school year. The students

have made tremendous gains and we couldn’t have done it

without you!

PAGE 2 SHARK NEWS

5 th Grade Stingrays—This month, the fifth graders will be involved in many activities here at school. May 22nd is our field trip to the Kennedy Space Center.

We will get hands-on experience and feel what it was like in the Space Shuttle Atlantis, visit Apollo/Saturn V, and experience the sensations of a launch into space. Buses depart at 7:00am from school and students will return at 6:30pm. Fifth grade students will also be participating in our Spring Carnival on May 23rd. During this event, the fifth grade team will be hosting face painting and an ice cone machine. In the classrooms, fifth graders will be working diligently on preparations for middle school next year! We are also currently planning our upcoming End-of-Year awards.

K indergarten Angel Fish—Hello SLWK-8 Kindergarten Parents and Students! We are almost there; the end of the year is quickly approaching! We have a few events this month to look forward to. Parents will receive more information as the dates get closer:

May 23rd Spring Carnival- This is a fundraiser for our school. May 29th Kindergarten Ceremony 9:45- Parents will receive invitations for this event.

Student assessments are also scheduled for this month. Easy CBM and Benchmarks will be starting on May 12th and continue through the end of the month. In Math, our main focus is addition and subtraction. Students need to be able to draw to represent a problem, solve word problems, and recognize addition and subtraction sentences. We will also be reviewing previous Kindergarten curriculum such as counting to 100 by ones and tens. In Reading, kindergarten students will continue to learn how to participate in shared reading, research, and writing projects applying reading strategies effectively and efficiently in order to construct meaning from a variety of text. In Writing, students will continue to be able to utilize the steps in the writing process, as well as drawing, dictating, and writing in order to compose opinion pieces, informative/explanatory texts, and narratives that describe an event. We will also continue to work on blending and segmenting sounds to create words. Please continue to work on the sight words. Remember that by the end of Kindergarten, your child should know most of the words on the word list. It has been our privilege to educate your children and we are excited about the progress they have made! We look forward to celebrating the growth and success of your child at the Kindergarten Ceremony!

3 rd Grade Parrot Fish – FCAT is over!

However, we are still engaged in learning

everyday. The 3rd grade is busy working on our

multiplication facts and moving into 2-digit

multiplication. We are also continuing to dig deep into

stories, compare and contrast plots, analyze and describe

characters, and identify cause and effect scenarios. In

Science, we are learning how animals and

plants change with the seasons. In Social

Studies, we are learning about the

Constitution and the three branches of

government. Please make sure students continue to read

and practice their multiplication facts nightly.

1 st Grade Tangs—With May being our last full month of school, the 1st graders are hard at work! They are learning new

skills and brushing up on some old skills that will make them successful in 2nd grade. The children are really excited about learning 2nd grade math! We are still focusing on phonics skills and fluency in Reading. Please make sure to have your child read for fifteen minutes every night. It is the first stepping stone in creating a true love for reading. We hope that everyone enjoys their Memorial Day weekend and will be able to join us for our awards ceremony on May 20th. Look for more information to come from your child’s teacher. See you there!

PAGE 3 VOLUME 14 ISSUE 9

T iger Sharks - The last day to check out library

books is May 16 and all books should be returned

by May 23. In turn, Reading Counts points goals

will decrease this marking period. We’re poets! In

Language Arts classes, we’ve been writing poetry—all kinds

of poetry! And you know what? We’re not half-bad. Wait

until we show you. We continue to write essays;

expository, persuasive/argumentative, and narrative, and

we continue to work on citing evidence in our writing. In

World History class, we said goodbye to the

panda, the dragon, the Great Wall, and

Emperor Shi Huang Di. We are now on an

adventure in our great home of North

America with stops in Central and South

America along the way. Time to explore the New World!

Tiger Shark scientists have been busy studying cells and

classification of organisms. We’ve been using microscopes

to explore, just like real scientists. The 3-D Cell Projects

were exceptional. Stop by the front office to view some of

the projects. The end of April began our study of human

body systems. It was so cool to learn how our body works!

Our Tiger Shark Math students are enjoying

geometry! We have learned about area and

perimeter of all different shapes. We even

learned the volume of a rectangular

prism! Parents, please be sure to check your child's

planner daily. During the fourth quarter, no papers are

accepted late! Everything must be submitted on time for

credit. We are trying to prepare your child for success in

seventh grade. Thank you, parents, for your continued

support this year. We appreciate it.

M akos - Sixth grade Science students are

investigating the functions of the major body systems. The 3-D cell project and poster is due on May 5th. Please be sure your child is

following the specific guidelines for this project. Thank you for your continuous support. In Ms. Statmore's Language Arts class, we are continuing our poetry unit—focusing on creating poems with figurative language such as onomatopoeia as well as “Show, Don’t Tell” language. Next, the students will be taking a journey back in time. We are visiting the sorrowful period in our country’s history when slavery was acceptable. Fortunately, there was the advent of the Underground Railroad. Students will be incorporating reading/writing skills through the study of the novel The Last Safe House by Barbara Greenwood. Please continue to use http://www.readwritethink.org/parent-afterschool-resources/ to aid your children

with their learning. In Mrs. Silas’s Reading class, we are reviewing all reading targets with a focus on text structure, main idea, and vocabulary. We have started to read The Tell-Tale Heart by Edgar Allan Poe. We will be analyzing, discussing and completing a variety of learning activities such as reciprocal teaching with this short story. Please continue to support your child’s reading by encouraging and checking reading logs. Students should continue writing two questions and answers about their independent reading book every day. Please study Frayer-model cards! In Math, the Mako team will be exploring integers and rational numbers. This will introduce negative numbers into addition,

subtraction, multiplication and division. Then we will begin wrapping up the year in preparation for our semester exams!

6th Grade

W hitetips—History, Ms. Lindberg: The 6th grade World History students have just finished their unit about ancient Greece. They are now beginning to study ancient Rome. Students will

learn about Roman government, Roman life and several of the most famous Roman emperors. Seventh grade students are currently studying for their Civics End-of-Course (EOC) Exam which will be given on May 2. Students can help themselves to review by using their online textbook and study guide at

home. We will also be studying for the exam in class. Eighth grade students are studying the Civil War, and are beginning to learn about Lincoln and the Gettysburg address. Students will be completing a document-based essay about the Gettysburg address. Science, Dr. Vergote: 6th grade is continuing their in-depth study of the human body, which includes a project and game. 7th grade is finishing up their study of Evolution and then moving into the study of Earth’s biomes where they will create a 3-D diorama. 8th grade has finished the study of our solar system, our galaxy, our universe. They are doing a debate on whether we did land on the moon. They will then be doing STEM activities.

6th-8thGrade

G reat White Sharks—In Language Arts,

students are studying The Watsons Go To

Birmingham-1963 and will explore the important

people and events in the Civil Rights

Movement. In Math, we are working on

determining the surface area and

volume of 3 -dimensional

shapes. In Social Studies, students have

discussed the conflicts that pulled the North and South

apart in the mid-1800s. Now, we are studying how those

conflicts, especially slavery, contributed to the Civil War,

and the effects of this war on our country's future

development. In Science, we are studying the body

systems, specifically the immune system. We are so proud

of our students for the hard work they’ve done this year.

We have been “game on” for several weeks, dusting off

sixth and seventh grade science information and creating

study guides for three years of learning. Thank you for

supporting your child in their efforts to be successful in

science! In Reading, students are exploring a book in class

and focusing on a variety of skills. We are working on main

idea, details, cause/effect, compare/contrast,

theme, literary elements including idioms, metaphors,

similes, citing evidence, etc. Reading Counts is coming to a

close. Students should meet their Reading Counts points by

May 23rd. You can check your child's progress on Skyward

in the Reading Counts points column. Once a student

has met their Reading Counts goal, they are no longer

required to complete homework reading logs. However, they

should still be reading to increase their comprehension and

speed. You may want to check with your child's high school

summer reading list to get them ready for high school. It

has been a pleasure working with you in educating your

child. Have a great safe summer. Happy reading. :)

8th Grade

M egalodons—In Mrs. Ems U.S. History class, students are learning about immigration, art and literature, and social reform movements of the early 1800s.

Students will soon be learning about the American Civil War. In Mrs. Coons’ Reading class, students are reviewing poetry, how to understand it, the literary devices used within them, author’s purpose, and using context clues to define unfamiliar vocabulary. In Mr. Ageeb’s Math classes, students are working on angles and lines, triangle relationships, and linear functions. Ms. Kallich’s Language Arts students are working on deepening our understanding of the Anne Frank characters. The Megalodon Science students are finishing up technology for space exploration and Florida's involvement in the space program. In honor of Earth day students revisited the importance of conservation. In May, students will have a district mandated lesson on HIV/AIDS.

7th Grade

H ammerheads— Hammerhead Language Arts classes have finished reading Freak the Mighty, a story about friendship and honor. Novel study gives

students the opportunity to simply enjoy a good book. We’ll begin reading Hatchet next month. Reading classes are delving into the genres of myths, folktales, legends, and fables in which many universal morals are found. These stories are enriched with figurative and idiomatic language. In Ms. Laury’s Science classes, we will be studying the different ecosystems and the food chain. The students will study their connections, and what effect pollution can have on the ecosystems. In Math, the 7th grade Hammerheads will be using equation-solving skills to solve various geometry problems. In Civics, the students are currently studying American foreign policy--past and present.

W hale Sharks - Whale Shark Math students

are studying measurement and proportional reasoning. They are using the customary and Metric systems of measure. In Language Arts,

the 7th grade Whale Sharks are working on perfecting their punctuation skills. Students are reviewing sentence structure for correct placement of punctuation marks. In Civics, we are continuing our studies of the branches of government. We will be working on the executive and judicial branches before getting into U.S. foreign policy and reviewing for the Civics end-of-course (EOC) exam at the beginning of May. In Science, Whale Sharks are studying how changing environments and other factors contribute to adaptations in organisms. In Reading, we will be finishing our Hatchet novel, and completing a research project.

For the month of May we will be focusing on the

Character Trait of—

Responsibility

Proving you can be trusted with what is expected of you. True forgiveness is a gift that lasts beyond the moment.

Counselor’s Corner “The weak can never forgive. Forgiveness is the attribute of the strong.”

Mahatma Gandhi

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