May 2010

Justina Road Elementary

Connection
Maxey’s Corner
As we come to the close of our 09-10 school year we want to say thank you to
each parent who truly took this year to get involved in their child’s education.
Learning does not stop with the end of the school year. Please use this newsletter
to find ways to keep your child learning throughout the summer. This could
include trips to the library, museum or other educational activities. It could
involve you enrolling your student in one of the programs offered by Duval
County. Whatever your decision please make sure that you encourage continued
learning through out the summer. Statistics show that students will actually lose
ground through extended vacation time. Let’s make sure that’s not our Justina
Students!
Upcoming Events Continuing Learning through the Summer
May 5 Play Day From June 21 - July 30, 2010 Duval County Public Schools (DCPS) will host
several FREE summer school opportunities for our elementary, middle and high
May 11 5th grade visits Fort Caroline
school students.
Middle
Superintendent’ Summer School
May 12 Early Release Your child is eligible to attend this program to help remediate and enrich him/
May 18 3rd grade field trip to the her in areas of weakness in reading, mathematics and science. The programs will
MOSH Planetarium begin on Monday June 21st and end on Friday July 30th. There will be no school
July 5th. Students will attend from 8:30 am-3:00 pm. Breakfast will be provided
May 20 IB PYP International Fair at 8:00 am. Stop by the front office for your application today!

May 24 Student of the Month Summer Reading School

If your child is recommended to attend summer reading school for promotion
May 28 No School
you will be notified by the school.
May 31 Memorial Day No School ESOL Summer Maintenance

June 11 Last Day of school
*dismissal at noon
Library Books Due
Some of our students seem to have
lost or misplaced these books and
now is the time to find them.  Summer Voluntary Pre-kindergarten Program
Please help your student locate his
or her book and get them turned in
before report card time. If books are
not returned or payment paid for
lost books, the final report card will
not be released to your student.
     Thank you for helping us
take care of this matter!
The ESOL Summer Maintenance Program helps students remember and use
the English they learned during the school year. All students who are in ESOL
classes now can attend the Summer Maintenance Program. The Registration
Letter was sent to parents in April to be returned to the teacher. Students may
also enroll at the summer school site until June 25th. The ESOL Summer Program
lasts 29 days, from June 22 through July 31.
The Early Learning Coalition of Duval will be registering for its Summer
Voluntary Pre-K (SVPK) program beginning April 15 - May 28, 2010.
The following Duval County elementary schools will participate in the 2010
SVPK program, which runs from June 18 - August 5, 2010: George W. Carver
Oceanway, John Finegan Pinedale, Highlands San Jose, Kings Trail Spring Park,
Sallye B. Mathis Timucuan, Normandy Village Windy Hill, Oak Hill Woodland
Acres.
Justina Road Elementary Connection
Summer Reading Tip For Parents
Summer shouldn't mean taking a break from learning, especially reading. Studies show that most students experience a
loss of reading skills over the summer months, but children who continue to read actually gain skills.
Efforts should be made during the summer to help children sustain reading skills, practice reading and read for
enjoyment.
Reading builds visualization, thinking and language abilities. Taking the time to read with your child can help you
evaluate your child's reading skills. If you discover that your child is having trouble with reading, he or she may have a
learning disability. 80% of children with a learning disability have difficulty with basic reading and language. But early
identification of such a disability gives a child the chance to develop ways to learn how to read effectively, and skills to lead
a successful and productive life. A recent National Institutes of Health study showed that 67 percent of young students at
risk for reading difficulties became average or above average readers after receiving help in the early grades.
Parents should remember that children need free time in the summer to relax and enjoy the pleasures of childhood. So
summer reading should be fun. Following are a few tips to make reading enjoyable for your children this summer:
Read aloud together with your child every day.
Make it fun by reading outdoors on the front steps, patio, at the beach or park. Also, let your children read to you. For
younger children, point out the relationship between words and sounds.
Set a good example!
Parents must be willing to model behavior for their children. Keep lots of reading material around the house. Turn off the
TV and have each person read his or her book, including mom and dad.
Read the same book your child is reading and discuss it.
This is the way to develop habits of the mind and build capacity for thought and insight.
Let kids choose what they want to read, and don't turn your nose up at popular fiction.
It will only discourage the reading habit.
Buy books on tape, especially for a child with a learning disability.
Listen to them in the car, or turn off the TV and have the family listen to them together.
Take your children to the library regularly.
Most libraries sponsor summer reading clubs with easy-to-reach goals for preschool and school-age children. Check the
library calendar for special summer reading activities and events. Libraries also provide age appropriate lists for summer
reading.
Subscribe, in your child's name, to magazines like Sports Illustrated for Kids, Highlights for Children, or
National Geographic World.
Encourage older children to read the newspaper and current events magazines, to keep up the reading habit over the
summer and develop vocabulary. Ask them what they think about what they've read, and listen to what they say.
Ease disappointment over summer separation from a favorite school friend by encouraging them to
become pen pals.
Present both children with postcards or envelopes that are already addressed and stamped. If both children have access to
the Internet, email is another option.
Make trips a way to encourage reading by reading aloud traffic signs, billboards, notices.
Show your children how to read a map, and once you are on the road, let them take turns being the navigator.
Encourage children to keep a summer scrapbook.
Tape in souvenirs of your family's summer activities picture postcards, ticket stubs, photos. Have your children write the
captions and read them and read them aloud as you look at the book together.
By: Coordinated Campaign for Learning Disabilities (1997)

Box Tops

We are still collecting boxtops at Justina. Our goal is $ 1500. If every Justina family were to
collect 50 boxtops over the course of the school year we could easily reach this goal. You can
clip 10¢ Box Tops coupons from hundreds of your favorite products such as Cheerios®, Betty
Crocker®, Juicy Juice®, Ziploc®, Kleenex®, Hefty® and more! Make sure to turn in your
boxtops to your child’s classroom teacher.
Justina Road Elementary Connection

FALL ROUND UP
Title I Pre-Kindergarten
From April 26 - June 30, 2010, DCPS' Title I Office will host its annual Fall Pre-Kindergarten Round Up.
Designed to meet the special needs of four year olds who would be at-risk entering the regular school setting,
Title I Pre-kindergarten is currently offered at 21 Duval County elementary schools.
To be eligible for the program, your child must live in the school's designated attendance zone and must be
born between September 2, 2005 and September 1, 2006.
Kindergarten
Beginning April 26 - May 14, 2010, Duval County Public Schools (DCPS) will host its Annual Kindergarten
Roundup. During this time, all Duval County elementary schools will hold Kindergarten registration for the
2010-2011 academic year. If you are not sure what school your child should attend, please call our Pupil
Assignment Office at 904.390.2144.
Children must be five on or before September 1, 2010, to be registered for Kindergarten (NO EXCEPTIONS).

IB PYP International Fair 2010

Purpose
• Celebrate cultural diversity
• Learn and share information about countries of the world
• Utilizes the cultures of different countries to engage students in food, costume, celebrations, geography,
education, music and other features of the country chosen to study.
• The inquiry and discovery of your country requests the use of parental involvement and culminates in a
vivid presentation on your grade level hallway.
 
Come join us on May 20, 2010 for an evening (5:30 p.m.-7:30 p.m.) of maximum fun and learning!

Hip Hop Speaks to Children

Book of
the Month Learner Profile & Attitude:
Communicator Confidence & Creativity

We continue with Hip Hop Speaks to Children. This anthology highlights

the use of rhythm and vernacular in hip-hop, rap, and African-American
poetry. The 51 pieces - which also include a passage from Martin Luther
King's "I Have a Dream" speech - use gospel rhythms, "hambone" rhythms
(which Giovanni explains in her informative introduction), jazz and blues
rhythms, and language from the fields and the city streets. Artists range
from Langston Hughes to Kanye West, from Eloise Greenfield to Queen
Latifah. Much of the subject matter focuses on hope, self-esteem, respect
for the past, and determination to make a better future.
Justina Road Elementary Connection
Academic Focus
Reading
K - Continue Theme 9 Targeted Comprehension Strategies and
Skills. Instruction begins in Theme 10. Targeted Comprehension
Strategies and Skills in Theme 10: Question, Story Structure:
Beginning, Middle, End; Predict/Infer, Compare and Contrast;
Question, Summarize, Story Structure: Plot, Making Judgments.
1 - Continue Theme 9 Targeted Comprehension Strategies and
Skills. Instruction begins in Theme 10. Targeted Comprehension
Strategies and Skills in Theme 10: Predict/Infer, Making Predictions;
Summarize, Sequence of Events; Monitor/Clarify, Cause and Effect.
2 - Continue Theme 5 Targeted Comprehension Strategies and
Skills. Instruction begins in Theme 6. Targeted Comprehension
Strategies and Skills in Theme 6: Evaluate, Author’s Viewpoint;
Summarize, Noting Details; Question, Problem Solving.
3 - Continues Theme 5 Targeted Comprehension Strategies and
Skills. Instruction begins in Theme 6. Targeted Comprehension
Strategies and Skills in Theme 6: Evaluate, Problem Solving and
Decision Making; Predict/Infer, Drawing Conclusions; Summarize,
Making Generalizations.
4 - Continue Theme 5 Targeted Comprehension Strategies and
Skills. Instruction begins in Theme 6. Targeted Comprehension
Strategies and Skills in Theme 6: Summarize, Following Directions;
Monitor/Clarify, Topic, Main Idea, and Supporting Details; Predict/
Infer, Making Inferences.
5 - Continues Theme 5 Targeted Comprehension Strategies and
Skills. Instruction begins in Theme 6. Targeted Comprehension
Strategies and Skills in Theme 6: Evaluate, Making Generalizations;
Monitor/Clarify, Topics, Main Idea, and Supporting Details,
Compare and Contrast; Summarize, Drawing Conclusions, Making
Judgments.
K - Explorations of how plants and
animals are alike and different.
Science
1 - Explorations of how living things
grow and change.
2 - Explorations of life cycles of animals.
3 - Explorations of testable questions.
4 - Explorations of balanced/unbalanced forces and
motion.
5 - Explorations of the transfer of thermal energy.
Mathematics
K - Count objects up to 20. Repeat non-
standard unit to quantify length. Record
measurements with numbers/pictures/words.
Keep track of a growing number of objects.
Become familiar with combinations of six.
Determine the larger of two amounts, up to 20.
1 - Develop a sense of what’s heavier/lighter
by feel. Develop language to describe/compare
weights/ capacity. Learn to weigh with a balance.
Compare weights of objects using a balance.
Represent results of weight comparisons.
Measure/compare capacities. Collect/keep track
of data.
2 - Develop conjectures about/make
comparisons of how things change over time.
Compare weights with a pan balance. Find how
far a number is from the next multiple of 10 or
multiple of 100. Solve addition problems with
multiple addends; keep track of steps. Develop
repertoire of addition strategies that rely on
students’ number sense and understanding of
number relationships.
3 - Represent numbers graphically. Interpret
changes in direction on a graph. Understand
how passage of time is represented on graphs
showing change over time. Find net change on
graphs. Explore/ sort/discuss common geometric
solids.
4 - Use familiar landmark numbers to solve
problems. Partition large numbers to multiply
them more easily. Solve double-digit
multiplication problems. Recognize division
situations. Use different types of division
notation. Solve division problems. Relate
multiplication/division equations. Make sense of
remainders.
5 - Build designs that change in a regular
way/that grow according to number patterns.
Predict later steps of number patterns/designs.
Make tables/ graphs to display number patterns.
Investigate changes in number of new tiles/total
number of tiles. Use language of speed/motion
to describe number patterns. Explore
relationships among distance/time/speed;
irregular increases/decreases in speed; ways that
speed/time/distance can be represented with
table/graphs/stories/ informal representations.
Interpret intervals in a table as reflecting speed.