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SSSSSoaring Eaglesoaring Eaglesoaring Eaglesoaring Eaglesoaring EaglesImportant DatesTo Remember......January 1-6 - Winter Holiday

January 7 - 3rd Grading Period Be-

gins

January 8 - Early Release Day

January 8 - Grades on ParentPortal

January 9 - SAC Meeting

January 14 - Report Cards

January 15 - Early Release Day

January 16 - New Student Portraits

January 16 - SGA/FFEA Community

Event (after school)

January 16 - PTA Literacy Night

January 16 - CiCi’s Pizza Spirit Night

January 17 - Spelling Bee (Grades 4

& 5)

January 20 - MLK Jr.’s Birthday Holi-

day - School Closed

January 22 - Early Release Day

January 28 - PTA/Muffins for Mom

January 28 - 2nd Grade Field Trip

January 29 - Early Release Day

January 30 - PTA/Donuts for Dad

January 31 - 4th Grade Field Trip

DeBary Elementary School 88 W. Highbanks Rd., DeBary, FL 32713, Telephone: 386-575-4230 January 2014

Please visit our school’s web site at: http://myvolusiaschools.org

A note from the Principal

Sincerely,

Alisa Fedigan, Principal

A Note from the Principal

Superintendent of Schools

Margaret A. Smith, D.Ed

School Board Members

Ms. Candace Lankford, Chairman

Mr. Stan Schmidt, Vice-Chairman

Mrs. Diane SmithMrs. Linda CostelloMrs. Ida D. Wright

No pets on campus!For the health and

safety of students, please donot bring any pets on cam-pus at any time unlessit has been clearedthrough the schoolprincipal. Thank you!

Dear DeBary Family,

Welcome Back! I hope everyone had a wonderful and restful holiday break andyou are enjoying the few days of cold we have experienced recently. It certainlyreminds us that it is winter, even in Florida.

I would like to thank our PTA for organizing a successful holiday shop for ourstudents last month and hope that you will mark your calendars for the end of thismonth to join us for PTA’s Muffins for Moms on Tuesday, January 28, and Donuts forDads on Thursday, January 30.

We are thankful this holiday season to be able to provide assistance to all of ourDeBary families in need. I would like to thank the numerous organizations that workedwith our school to help provide for our families. King’s Lake Community, FaithCommunity Church, DeBary Civic Association, Faith in Action and students and theirfamilies from DeBary Elementary made the holidays bright for many. Thank you foryour tremendous generosity!

Students completed mid-year summative assessments before the winter break.These tests provide teachers valuable information about student learning and progress.Third grade and fourth grade students completed district assessments in reading andmath. Fifth grade students completed district assessments in reading, math, andscience. It is a good time of the school year to check in with your child’s teacher ontheir academic progress. These assessments can be discussed and explained atyour next parent/teacher conference. The second nine week report card will be avail-able on the Parent Portal on January 8, and a paper copy will be sent homeon January 14.

Thank you for your assistance and effort during school arrival time. We areworking to decrease our daily tardy students to school. The first bell rings at 7:50 a.m.and the tardy bell rings at 7:55 a.m. If you arrive after this time, please park and signyour child in at the office. Our campus is secured directly after the tardy bell and wedo not want students dropped off unsupervised. Morning routines can get hectic andtraffic close to school time can often complicate things. Please continue to plan aheadand leave your house with plenty of time to get to school. We are beginning to see adecrease in tardy students and hope to see this trend continue over the next severalmonths.

We are ready to head into 2014 with great expectations, I look forward to a NewYear and wish you a great start to your 2014!

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Florida Department of LawEnforcement (FDLE) web site

for identification of sexualoffenders and predators:

www3.fdle.state.fl.us/sexual_predators/

Crimestoppers Hotline1-888-277-TIPS

CiCi’s PizzaJoin us for “Spirit Night” at CiCi’s Pizza on Thursday, January 16th.

Proceeds benefit our “Future Problem Solvers” team that compete with otherschool districts.

Future dates for Spirit Nights are: February 20th, March 20th, April17th and May 15th.

They are all held at CiCi’s Pizza in Orange City from 3 to 9 p.m. Hope tosee you there!

SGA NewsThank you for the GREAT do-

nations for both the nursing home andthe toys for children living in DeBary.We couldn’t do it without your help!!

SGA also appreciates all of theCandy Gram sales. Our next CandyGram sale will take place inFebruary.

Dismissal ProceduresWe hope everyone had a safe and enjoyable winter break. Please remember

these dismissal procedures as we begin the second semester. We encourage younot to exit your car at parent pick up if you are located in the loop. For those not invehicles, please leave the sidewalk and hallway areas uncongested for easymovement of students. Early check outs will stop each day at 1:45 p.m. We askthat school rules are followed by all on our campus; this extends to siblings thatmay accompany you at dismissal time. We appreciate your cooperation with ourcampus procedures. By working together, we make our campus a safe place forour students.

Happy New Year! It is a tradition for lots of people to make resolutions at

the beginning of the year. It really is a great time to consider our habits andhow they relate to our overall health. Changes that we make that contributeto wellness and health will benefit us for years to come. Challenge yourfamily to come up with a Fitness/Health resolution this year!

Congratulations to our DeBary Hoop Shoot free throw contestage group winners. The 8-9 year old division was won by Noah V.and Sabrina C., while the 10-11 year old winners were Luke V.and Christina M. Perhaps we’ll see these students in the NBAand WNBA some day!

Session A for the Volleyball Club ended in December and thestudents demonstrated noticeable improvement in their skills.Coach Redmond will begin session B for the Club on Monday,January 13th.

Go Eagles!!

Our Clinic Needs ClothesOur school clinic is in need of clothes and

shoes. They are kept in the clinic and used whenthe children forget to wear proper ones or haveaccidents. There is a definite need for pants/jeans (size 6, 8, and 10) for both boys and girls.Also sneakers or shoes (no flip flops/sandals)are needed in all sizes up to size 7-8 for boysand girls. Thank you so much for your help.

Clinic NewsParents, please re-

member that studentsare not allowed to bring

any medication at any time to school.This includes any over the countymedication like chap sticks, coughdrops and any other item marked asmedicated. All medication needs tohave a doctor’s form filled out andparents are to bring the medication toschool and leave it with the Nurse.

If you have any questions, pleasecontact Nurse Mary at 386-575-4230,extension 42198.

School T-ShirtsRemember, Eagle T-shirts are $10

and are available through the PEcoaches. Get yours today!

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Media Center News

We are very excited to participate inCelebrate Literacy Week, Florida 2014!

The week of January 13th – January 17th is designated by Just Read, Florida! as a

tribute to literacy learning and teaching.DeBary Elementary will be celebrating with the theme

Reading Accelerates SuccessWe will participate in a variety of activities encouraging our

students to connect literacy with science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.

Monday, January 13th

Million Minute MaraMillion Minute MaraMillion Minute MaraMillion Minute MaraMillion Minute Marathonthonthonthonthon

Students from prekindergarten through 12th grade will participate in theMillion Minute Marathon aiming to reach the collaborative goal of

33 Million Minutes!DeBary Elementary will take part by participating in D.E.A.R. time!

(Drop Everything And Read!)Stay tuned after the news to view the story: How Much Is a Million by David Schwartz

(8 minutes, 17 seconds)

“30 minutes…of daily reading beyond the regular reading program significantlyIncreases student reading achievement.” National Center for Educational Statistics

Tuesday, January 14th

Reading Counts EvReading Counts EvReading Counts EvReading Counts EvReading Counts Evererererery Day!y Day!y Day!y Day!y Day!

We will run a report at the end of the day to see which class at each grade levelHas earned the most Reading Counts points in one day !!

Wednesday, January 15th

“Get Caught Reading”“Get Caught Reading”“Get Caught Reading”“Get Caught Reading”“Get Caught Reading”

Guess the number of books in our Media Center.

Thursday, January 16th

Hit the Books Assembly feaHit the Books Assembly feaHit the Books Assembly feaHit the Books Assembly feaHit the Books Assembly featuring Cubbturing Cubbturing Cubbturing Cubbturing Cubby ofy ofy ofy ofy of the Daytona Cubs the Daytona Cubs the Daytona Cubs the Daytona Cubs the Daytona Cubs

and Stor and Stor and Stor and Stor and Storybook Character Rally!ybook Character Rally!ybook Character Rally!ybook Character Rally!ybook Character Rally!

Dress up like your favorite storybook character!Teachers & students must bring the storybook to match their character costume.

Meet in the courtyard @ 1:10 p.m. – 1:40 p.m.

Friday, January 17th

Reading Buddies!Reading Buddies!Reading Buddies!Reading Buddies!Reading Buddies!

Intermediate students paired with Primary students.Please sign up in Media for a “Buddy” class.

Daily Activities:STAR READERS presented on WDES Morning News show!

Read, Read, Read!Shoot for the Moon and AcShoot for the Moon and AcShoot for the Moon and AcShoot for the Moon and AcShoot for the Moon and Achiehiehiehiehievvvvve Gre Gre Gre Gre Greaeaeaeaeat Success!t Success!t Success!t Success!t Success!

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PTAwishes you a...

Welcome back DeBary Elementary Family. We hope you had a

wonderful vacation and spent time with loved ones.

Holiday ShopThe children had a blast shopping for their families in the holiday shop.

We had another successful turnout and we hope you and loved ones enjoyed receiving

goodies from your children. Thank You for letting your child experience this fun event.

Hungry Moms and Dads?....

Come and Join us on the outside stage area for

Muffins for MomTuesday, January 28th, at 7:15 a.m.

AND

D nuts f r Dad

Thursday, January 30th, at 7:15 a.m.

Please RSVP on the reservation slip that will go home with your child.

Please indicate how many people will be attending each event, so we can plan accordingly.

Thank you!

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