VCS E-News 4-12-13
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VCS e-News An Electronic Newsletter from Volusia County Schools April 12, 2013 In this issue… Be There FCAT Testing Schedule Early Release Days Volusia 2013 Graduation Schedule Announced National Bike to School Day Teachers Take Part in Professional Learning Institutes Register Kindergartners in May News of Note Check Out ITV Launchpad Be There While eating dinner, ask your teen a question to stretch his/her imagination, such as “If you were the smartest person on earth, what would you use your intelligence to do?” FCAT Testing Schedule Below is the state-wide testing schedule for FCAT, which starts on Monday, April 15. Test Grades Dates April 15-19, 2013 FCAT 2.0 Reading 3, 4, 5, 7*, 8 and 10* FCAT 2.0 Mathematics 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8 FCAT 2.0 Science 5 and 8 April 22 – 26, 2013 FCAT 2.0 Mathematics 5* FCAT 2.0 Reading 6* and 9* Those grades denoted with an asterisk will be computer-based tests. Early Release Days Due to testing, there are no early release days scheduled for the remainder of April and most of May. Only two early release days remain this school year. They are May 29 and the last day of school, which is a Tuesday, June 4. Volusia 2013 Graduation Schedule Announced Graduation ceremonies will be held for area high schools beginning May 30 and ending June 2. Admission will be $3 per person. Parking will be $5 for ceremonies held at the Daytona Beach Ocean Center. Tickets will be presold at each of the high schools. Below is a list of the district's graduation ceremonies and information related to the graduating classes of 2013. Atlantic High School Graduation: Friday, May 31, 7:30 p.m., Daytona Beach Ocean Center Approximate number of graduates: 225 Senior Awards: Tuesday, May 28, 6:30 p.m., Our Lady of Hope Catholic Church Baccalaureate: Monday, May 20, 7 p.m., Our Lady of Hope Catholic Church, Port Orange Class Motto: “There are only two days in the year that nothing can be done. One is called Yesterday and the other is called Tomorrow. Today is the right day to Love, Believe, Do and mostly Live.” – Dalai Lama XIV Class Song: “Don’t Stop Believin’” by Journey Class Colors: teal, silver and black Class Flower: Tiger Lily DeLand High School Graduation: Sunday, June 2, 7:30 p.m., Daytona Beach Ocean Center Approximate number of graduates: 535 Senior Awards: Wednesday, May 1, 7 p.m., DeLand High School Auditorium Baccalaureate: Tuesday, May 28, Time/Place: TBA Class Motto: “Best you have ever seen” Class Song: “We Are Young” by Fun Class Colors: green and gold Class Flower: Forget-Me-Not Deltona High School Graduation: Friday, May 31, 4 p.m., Daytona Beach Ocean Center Approximate number of graduates: 325 Senior Awards: Thursday, May 23, 6:30 p.m., Deltona High School Auditorium Baccalaureate: Tuesday, May 21, 7 p.m., Deltona Alliance Church Class Motto: “Living the Dream, Class of 2013.” Class Song: “Tattoos on This Town” by Jason Aldean Class Colors: blue and silver Class Flower: Blue Hibiscus Mainland High School Graduation: Sunday, June 2, noon, Daytona Beach Ocean Center Approximate number of graduates: 365 Senior Awards: Thursday, May 23, 7 p.m., Peabody Auditorium Baccalaureate: Sunday, May 26, 6 p.m. Providence Church Class Motto: “The greatest pleasure in life is doing what people say you cannot do.” Class Song: “Walking on a Dream” by Empire of the Sun Class Colors: blue and gold Class Flower: Blue Rose New Smyrna Beach High School Graduation: Sunday, June 2, 3:30 p.m., Daytona Beach Ocean Center Approximate number of graduates: 420 Senior Awards: Thursday, May 30, 6:30 p.m., New Smyrna Beach High School Auditorium Baccalaureate: Tuesday, May 28, 7 p.m., First Baptist Church, Family Life Center Class Motto: "We may not know where we are going, but we are on our way.” - Unknown Class Song: “How Far We’ve Come” by Matchbox Twenty Class Colors: red, black and white Class Flower: Night Blooming Cereus Pine Ridge High School Graduation: Saturday, June 1, 1 p.m., Daytona Beach Ocean Center Approximate number of graduates: 375 Senior Awards: Thursday, May 23, 7 p.m., Pine Ridge High School Auditorium Baccalaureate: Tuesday, May 21, 6 p.m., Deltona Lakes Baptist Church Class Motto: “Life isn’t about waiting for the storm to pass…it’s about learning to dance in the rain.” Class Song: “Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)” by Green Day Class Colors: teal, black, and gold Class Flower: White Rose Seabreeze High School Graduation: Saturday, June 1, 4:30 p.m., Daytona Beach Ocean Center Approximate number of graduates: 380 Senior Awards: Monday, May 20, 6 p.m., Seabreeze High School Auditorium Baccalaureate: Thursday, May 23, 6 p.m., St Brendan Catholic Church Class Motto: “You can’t discover new oceans without leaving the shore.” Class Song: "Home” by Phillip Phillips Class Colors: red and white Class Flower: Hibiscus Spruce Creek High School Graduation: Saturday, June 1, 8 p.m., Daytona Beach Ocean Center Approximate number of graduates: 678 Senior Awards: Thursday, May 30, 7 p.m., First Baptist Church of Daytona Beach Baccalaureate: Tuesday, May 28, 7 p.m., First Baptist Church of Daytona Beach Class Motto: "The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams." – Eleanor Roosevelt Class Song: “Don’t Stop Believin’” by Journey Class Colors: black and gold Class Flower: Tiger Lily Taylor Middle-High School Graduation: Thursday, May 30, 7 p.m., Edmunds Center, Stetson University Approximate number of graduates: 124 Senior Awards: Wednesday, May 15, 6:30 p.m., Taylor Middle-High School Auditorium Baccalaureate: Wednesday, May 29, 6:30 p.m., Taylor Middle-High School Auditorium Class Motto: “I’m so glad we had this time together, just to have a laugh or sing a song, seems we just get started and before you know it, comes the time we have to say so-long.” Class Song: "Laughed Until We Cried” by Jason Aldean Class Colors: black and silver Class Flower: Stargazer University High School Graduation: Saturday, June 1, 9 a.m., Daytona Beach Ocean Center Approximate number of graduates: 512 Senior Awards: Wednesday, May 22, 6:30 p.m., Volusia County Baptist Church Baccalaureate: Wednesday, May 15, 6 p.m., Volusia County Baptist Church, Orange City Class Motto: “Living the Dream, Class of 2013” Class Song: "Hall of Fame” by The Script Class Colors: orange and white Class Flower: Lily National Bike to School Day There have been 25 pedestrian accidents this school year with 17 of those accidents involving students riding their bikes to or from school. National Bike to School Day will take place on May 8, as part of National Bike Month. This event encourages children to safely bicycle or walk to school and provides an opportunity for schools across the country to join together to celebrate. Kids are encouraged to bike (or walk) to school for three main reasons: • To enhance the health of kids - Increased physical activity can combat a host of health problems facing kids today. • To improve air quality and the environment - Replacing car trips to school with walking or bicycling can help reduce air pollution and traffic. • To create safer routes for walking and bicycling - Sidewalks, education programs and traffic calming measures are some of the ways to improve conditions. Whatever the reason may be, we want students to do it safely. Listed below are a few of the top Bike Safety Tips: • Make sure the helmet fits and your child knows how to put it on correctly. A helmet should sit on top of the head in a level position, and should not rock forward, backward or side to side. The helmet straps must always be buckled. • Adult supervision of child cyclists is essential until a child has good traffic skills and judgment. o Cycling should be restricted to sidewalks and paths until age 10. o Children should be able to demonstrate riding competence and knowledge of the rules of the road before cycling with traffic. • Children should not ride a bicycle when it’s dark, in the fog or in other low-visibility conditions. o If riding at dusk, dawn or in the evening is unavoidable, use a light on the bike and make sure it has reflectors as well. o Wear light-colored clothes and accessories that have retro-reflective materials to improve biker visibility to motorists. Teachers Take Part in Professional Learning Institutes More than 200 teachers in Volusia’s beginning teacher program, Empowering Educators for Excellence (E3), attended the second Professional Learning Institute (PLI) at Daytona State College. Meg Roa, professional development specialist, created the series of events to provide teachers new to Volusia County Schools opportunities to develop their expertise in specific instructional best practices. Coordinating the arrangements at Daytona State College was Dr. Les Potter, the Faculty/Academic chair of the College of Education. The PLI event was supported by district content specialists, Instructional Services Teachers on Assignment and VTO trainers. This is the first year that the beginning teacher program has offered the Professional Learning Institutes, and based on the feedback from the teachers, the PLIs will become the cornerstone of the program. E3 is a comprehensive two-year professional development program for all teachers new to Volusia County Schools, both novice and veteran teachers. The final PLI of the 2013-14 school year will be held on May 2 and DSC will be the host. For more information contact the Office of Professional Development and Support at 386-734-7190, ext.